With just two weeks remaining in the section playoffs, the best of the best are the only ones still remaining on the field, which means for an exciting slate of games over the next two weeks. We preview each semifinal game in the North Coast Section and Central Coast Section, with this feature focusing on the match-ups in the NCS Division 2 field.
Clayton Valley-Concord (6-5) hosting Foothill-Pleasanton (6-5), Friday, 7:00 pm
This match-up between Prep2Prep NCS No. 8 and top-seeded Clayton Valley and No. 5 seed and P2P NCS No. 19 Foothill, and two teams that are 6-5 would seem to look like a slam dunk for Clayton Valley since the Ugly Eagles totally grounded the Falcons in East Bay Athletic League – Mountain Division after a 41-0 shellacking.
The twist is both teams have had a who-beat-who season and only won one game in league with Clayton Valley getting the win over Foothill, but two weeks prior to that Foothill beat Division 1 No. 4 seed San Ramon Valley on the road and that team beat Clayton Valley 23-16 on the road.
“We caught them off guard last time with some changes to the offense but this time they will be much better prepared,” said Clayton Valley Coach Tim Murphy.
Junior Omari Taylor took over as the primary running back in that game for the Uglies after returning from an injury and rushed for 176 yards on 17 carries although he did not score. Last week with a heavy heart after his brother was killed while working as a DJ at the Orinda party that turned tragic, Taylor let off some steam on the gridiron with 222 yards and three TDs on the ground in a 35-9 thrashing of Napa.
Murphy has allowed junior quarterback Jake Kern to throw more this year than Clayton Valley has traditionally done, and at some point and maybe in this game he may need pass the football.
Foothill went to No. 4 seed and P2P NCS No. 23 San Leandro for the second time this season and after losing a season opener 28-20 in overtime Coach Greg Haubner and his boys turned the tables on the Pirates and came away with a somewhat surprising 41-20 victory.
Quarterback Bryce Lombardi helped lead Foothill into their first NCS semifinal appearance since 2015 and his 203 yards and two TDs passing and two more scores rushing were integral in Foothill breaking a five-game losing streak..
Murphy knows beating a team like Foothill that’s coming off a big win twice in one season will be difficult.
“I am always worried about beating a good team twice,” Murphy remarked. “Keys to winning are playing to win and not worrying about beating them 41-0. That is irrelevant knowing the team that lost last is always the one more motivated. And as in every game we cannot turn the ball over or get emotionally caused penalties.”
Vintage-Napa (10-1) hosting Campolindo-Moraga (9-2), Saturday, 7:00 pm
The way things shook out third-seeded Campolindo losing to Acalanes, which is a Division 4 team, cost them the No. 2 seed so they travel to Vine Valley League champion and second-seeded Vintage.
The P2P NCS rankings have No. 9 Vintage ahead of No. 12 Campolindo because the Crushers have a 28-20 home victory over Acalanes in week three.
If that was not the case Campolindo would be favored and they still have a higher computer ranking because of overall strength of schedule, but head-to-head is a primary criteria in the NCS seeding system.
Vintage is coming off a 25-0 blanking of Redwood-Larkspur in a game in which the defense took over and the Crushers rushed for 289 yards and three TDs and only completed one pass. Senior Pedja Zivkovic didn’t score but led the team with 110 yards rushing. Sophomore Dylan Smith had two TDs and 62 yards rushing.
Campolindo has some guys banged up coming out of a 41-16 win over Livermore and a heard week of practice but they ran the ball last week using nine different ball carriers for 263 yards and five touchdowns.
Quarterback Grant Harper barely broke a sweat but likely will not have that luxury against a Vintage team Cougars Coach Kevin Macy claims that “under good circumstances, we don’t match up well to Vintage’s style of offense.”
Asked for keys to the game Macy had this to say. “We need to get our defense off the field and find ways to generate offense that helps keep our defense off the field.”
For Vintage Coach Dylan Leach he sees these things as key. “I believe the keys to winning will be the same as every other game. Don’t lose the turnover battle, create good field position, and win the line of scrimmage and time of possession.”
Since joining the NCS last season after coming over from the CIF Sc-Joaquin Section last year Vintage will be making a second straight trip to the NCS semifinals only this year it’s not in D1 like last season when they lost 14-3 at San Ramon Valley after upsetting top seed Antioch.
“We have tried to create a culture and environment at Vintage where this is a normal event,” Leach said. “Last year we made it to the semis in D1 and played San Ramon Valley pretty tough and back again this year versus a very tough Campo team.”
“Our kids are excited and have worked very hard to put the Crushers back on the map,” continued Leach. “At the same time we are fully aware of the challenges ahead.”
