Now in the second week of the North Coast Section playoffs, Prep2Prep takes a look at this week’s quarterfinal games happening on November 17 and 18 in each bracket. This preview focuses on the Division III quarterfinals.
LAST WEEK’S GAMES
#1 Marin Catholic 63 #16 De Anza 7
#2 Cardinal Newman 49 #15 Kennedy-Fremont 7
#3 Rancho Cotate #14 Las Lomas 10
#4 Bishop O’Dowd 49 #13 Terra Linda 7
#5 Acalanes 63 #12 Petaluma 25
#6 Eureka 48 #11 Alhambra 25
#7 Encinal 42 #10 Analy 19
#8 Miramonte 31 #9 El Cerrito 30
THIS WEEK’S GAMES
#8 Miramonte at #1 Marin Catholic, Saturday, 1 pm
Last year’s Miramonte at Marin Catholic quarterfinal game was a thriller, as the visitors led 18-7 in the fourth quarter before Marin Catholic rallied to take a 20-18 lead in the final seconds. Even then, a long kickoff return gave the Matadors a shot at a potential game-winning field goal, but the effort fell short.
Miramonte staged its own rally last week, after trailing El Cerrito 30-19 in the fourth quarter before pulling out the 31-30 victory after recovering an onside kick, and on the strength of two late touchdown passes from Will Cassriel, who is 3-1 as the team’s starting quarterback, with the lone loss coming by three points to Acalanes. Peter Stehr also ran for 164 yards and two scores last week.
Marin Catholic scored early and often last week against De Anza, as quarterback Spencer Petras threw for 203 yards and five scores in less than two quarters of action.
#7 Encinal vs #2 Cardinal Newman at Santa Rosa JC, Friday, 7 pm
Encinal puts the ball in the hands of quarterback Theori Oliver, and the Jets were at their best last week when it stayed there, as the senior three-year starter carried the ball 33 times for 376 yards and four touchdowns, part of a 537-yard effort on the ground as a team in the win over Analy, improving to 11-0 in the process.
Cardinal Newman quarterback Beau Barrington is another dual-threat, though he was much more efficient through the air in last week’s win over Kennedy. In that game, Barrington threw for 216 yards and two touchdowns, while running for 53 yards and two more scores, despite not playing a full game. Tanner Mendoza added 60 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.
After each of these programs won a section title in 2008, playing in different enrollment classifications, they met twice more in 2010 and 2012. Cardinal Newman beat Encinal for the Division III title in 2010 and again in the quarterfinals in 2012. The Cardinals are looking to repeat their success from last year, when they claimed the Division IV title.
Encinal completed its first unbeaten regular season since that 2008 championship team, and the double-digit win total was the first since 2011, which concluded a string of four straight years winning 11 games or more.
#6 Eureka at #3 Rancho Cotate, Saturday, 7 pm
Rancho Cotate’s starters played just one half in last week’s win over Las Lomas, but that didn’t stop Jake Simmons and Logan Reese from posting video game-like numbers. Simmons threw for 263 yards and seven touchdowns in his two quarters of action, while Reese had six catches for 123 yards and four scores. Standout Jaelen Ward did not play in the easy victory.
Meanwhile, Eureka was nearly unstoppable on the ground against Alhambra. Sergio Manzo ran for 271 yards and three touchdowns in the win, and the Loggers ran for 437 yards as a team, in a game they led 41-7 at the half. The win pushed Eureka’s record to 11-0 this season, its best start since going 13-0 and winning the NCS 3A Redwood Empire title in 2003.
These same teams met in last year’s quarterfinals, which was won 29-22 by Rancho Cotate. Manzo ran for 193 yards and two scores in that game, while Simmons accounted for all four Cougars’ touchdowns, throwing for 224 yards and a score while rushing for 131 yards with three more trips to the end zone.
#5 Acalanes at #4 Bishop O’Dowd, Saturday, 1 pm
The story going into this one is how well the O’Dowd secondary can contain Acalanes quarterback Robby Rowell, who has yet to be slowed down this season. That being said, the Dragons’ secondary contains a couple of the best defenders in the section, Jevon Holland and Quinn Brinnon.
Last week, in the Dons’ 63-25 win over Petaluma, Rowell completed 74 percent of his passes for 426 yards and five touchdowns. The senior signal-caller who has a preferred walk-on offer to Cal is also the team’s leading rusher, primarily due to his ability to pull the ball down and get out of trouble.
O’Dowd, meanwhile, features the backfield tandem of Austin Jones at running back and Brinnon at quarterback. When Brinnon goes back to pass, Holland is an explosive big-play threat, as he also is in the return game.
This is Bishop O’Dowd’s last year in Division III, having already secured a competitive equity promotion up to Division II next year, and the Dragons would love nothing more than to go out by repeating their section title from last season. The real tests in that journey start this week.
These programs have met four previous times in the playoffs, having split the four meetings evenly. Acalanes won the last meeting, 49-20 in 2014.
