The 2018 edition of the Campolindo football team knows it has a slim chance of advancing to its fifth straight CIF regional final. The four-time defending North Coast Section champions will need to beat Bishop O’Dowd this coming week in the Division II semifinals and hope that Rancho Cotate loses to Marin Catholic in the other semifinal, just to get into a coin flip scenario.
But by the way the Cougars played against Ukiah on Saturday night, Campolindo is playing each week like it has every intention on keeping that streak intact. Against the Wildcats, Campo scored the first 42 points of the game and cruised to a dominating 49-14 victory.
After the Cougars scored twice on the ground in the first quarter, junior quarterback Grant Harper took over in the second period of play. The lanky left-hander first connected with Max Schoenberger for a 69-yard score, with 7:31 left in the quarter for a 21-0 advantage. Two and a half minutes later, on the next Campo possession, Harper hooked up with Schoenberger again, this time for a 13-yard score. He capped the first half with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Lucas Allen, with 1:38 left in the second quarter, for a 35-0 advantage at the break.
“After a few weeks off, we didn’t know what to expect, but our offense picked up right where we left off against Redwood,” Harper said. “Our game plan was to take deep shots, and we accomplished that. The offensive line also had another great game, giving me a lot of time.”
Campolindo put the game on ice as the third quarter, as Ryan O’Neil scored his second touchdown of the night, this time on a 90-yard kickoff return for an insurmountable 42-0 lead. Bryan Munoz and Lucas Stanley added third-quarter rushing touchdowns to get Ukiah on the board, sandwiched around a three-yard scoring run by the Cougars’ Mateo Larson.
Harper finished the night by completing 8-of-13 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns. O’Neil and Brett Donat each had first-quarter touchdown runs.
Campolindo will now head to Bishop O’Dowd in the Division II semifinals, after the Dragons cruised past Benicia.
“We’ve been looking forward to playing O’Dowd for a long time,” Harper added. “They have talent all over the field, on both sides of the ball, and we are looking forward to the challenge. It’s going to be a hard-fought game, and I know Coach Macy will prepare us well for it.”
Cardinal Newman offense fires on all cylinders
The Encinal defense had been stingy all season, and had dominated Petaluma in a first-round shutout victory three weeks ago. But the Jets were no match for Cardinal Newman on Saturday night in a quarterfinal rematch from last year, and the results were eerily similar as the Cardinals exploded offensively for a 56-21 victory.
Cardinal Newman junior quarterback Jackson Pavitt completed 24 of 25 passes for 382 yards and six passes in a virtually perfect performance, while the Cardinals also amassed 171 yards on the ground. Junior Giancarlo Woods had seven catches for 151 yards and two scores, while four other players caught touchdown passes.
“We played really well, and really almost clicked on all cylinders. Our receivers and backs made plays, our offensive line played great and our first string defense did its thing,” Pavitt said. “We have such a great coaching staff that I know success will come if I just go through our game plan correctly and efficiently.”
The Cardinals’ defense registered 16 total stops behind the line of scrimmage, including five sacks, led by another big performance from senior linebacker Dino Kahaulelio, who had 10 tackles, including three tackles for a loss, and one sack.
Cardinal Newman advances to face El Cerrito on Friday in the Division III semifinals.
San Marin wins thriller over St. Bernard’s
St. Bernard’s junior quarterback Will Omey was unstoppable on Saturday afternoon at San Marin. The dual-threat weapon completed 19-of-30 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for a whopping 260 yards and five scores, including a one-yard touchdown with less than a minute remaining to give the Crusaders a five-point advantage.
But that five-point advantage would be short-lived, as San Marin recovered the ensuing kickoff at midfield, and Mustangs’ quarterback Matt Sargent delivered twice to Julian Alcouffe to get San Marin in striking distance as the final seconds began to tick off the clock. Then, on the game’s final play from scrimmage, Sargent found Garrett Franz for a 20-yard touchdown, allowing the Mustangs to celebrate a wild 49-47 victory in the Division IV quarterfinals.
St. Bernard’s had raced past San Marin in last year’s quarterfinals, and the Mustangs were in danger of having this game slip away as well, especially when Omey scored on an eight-yard touchdown run with less than four minutes remaining in the game, making the score 41-30 in favor of the Crusaders. For the only time all game, however, St. Bernard’s kicked the ball deep following Omey’s touchdown, and Zak Cunningham made them pay, racing 78 yards on the return to trim the lead back to five points.
Cunningham finished the afternoon with 104 yards rushing on 20 carries, while Sargent added 156 yards on 12-of-21 passing.
San Marin advances to face top seed Moreau Catholic in the semifinals. The teams met earlier this season, with Moreau Catholic holding on for a 28-21 victory.
Marin Catholic holds off Granada
Marin Catholic scored all 14 of its points in the first half, and then held off Granada in the final two quarters for the 14-7 in the Division II quarterfinals on Saturday night.
Gaven Cooke gave the Wildcats a first-quarter lead with his five-yard touchdown run, and Matteo Perez added to it in the second quarter with his 50-yard dash to the end zone. Midway through the third quarter, Granada cut the lead in half when junior quarterback JJ Knight connected with Octavio Morales for a touchdown pass.
Granada had one final threat in the fourth quarter, but after a pass completion which carried the ball down near the Marin Catholic red zone, a fumble was recovered by the Wildcats to turn back the Matadors.
Marin Catholic will face Rancho Cotate in the Division II semifinals.
Salesian pulls away from St. Helena
Junior quarterback Ronald Robertson threw for five touchdown passes, including a game-clinching 50-yard connection with Kailan Chang in the fourth quarter, as Salesian pulled away from St. Helena for the 49-28 victory.
The host Pride racked up over 500 yards of offense, led by the Robertson to Chang connection. Chang had seven catches for 186 yards and four scores in the game. St. Helena got a strong outing from freshman running back Ivan Robledo, who had 186 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, and also scored on a pass reception.
Salesian advances to face Stellar Prep in the Division V semifinals.
San Ramon Valley rallies past Monte Vista
San Ramon Valley overcame a 10-point deficit in the third quarter to turn back rival Monte Vista in the Division I quarterfinals, 21-17. It was the second straight meeting between the teams, and the second close win for the Wolves.
Monte Vista took a 17-7 lead early in the third quarter when Jack Stewardson hit Ryan Colonna, who dashed 64 yards for a touchdown. Stewardson also threw a touchdown pass to Matt Prochaska in the second quarter.
But San Ramon Valley responded on the next drive, aided by a roughing the passer penalty on fourth down, and culminating with a three-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Cammisa to Deuce Palmer. With 7:46 left in the game, Noah Thomas scored on a short run for the Wolves, who then held off Monte Vista over the final minutes, including a fourth-and-two stop from the SRV 29-yard line.
San Ramon Valley will now host Vintage in the semifinals.
