Long time no see, Crusaders and Padres.
The perennial West Catholic Athletic League powerhouse and the typical underdog in the midst of a dream season will meet again, for the second time in three weeks, and with arguably even more on the line this time.
Riordan’s 42-35 win at Serra on November 7 gave the Crusaders their first WCAL title since 2000 and completed an undefeated regular season. But the Padres have an opportunity for revenge Friday night at San Jose City College in the CCS Open Division championship game. The winner will earn a spot in a NorCal title game, as well as a week off, while the loser will put its season on the line next week in the Division I title game.
Serra (7-4) could not have drawn up a much better start in the game two weeks ago, taking a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter and making the mighty Riordan offense look more out of sorts than it had all year. But a muffed punt — and a controversial non-call — gave the Crusaders life, and Riordan (11-0) was on fire in the second half, riding four total touchdowns from workhorse running back Adonyae Brown to the victory.
The No. 1 seed Crusaders can strike quickly, as they did in last Saturday’s 42-9 win over Salinas, when senior quarterback Michael Mitchell Jr. was 17-of-23 passing for 385 yards and four touchdowns. While Cynai Thomas had a huge game in the first meeting with Serra, Kyle Welch and Judge Nash were kept relatively quite, so coach Adhir Ravipati is surely scheming up ways to get them more involved this time around.
The No. 2 seed Padres use both freshman William Orr and junior Caleb Bandel at quarterback, but Patrick Walsh’s team is committed to running the football, with Iziah Singleton, Jeovanni Henley and Andrew Takapautolo all getting their fair share of touches in the backfield. Serra most often uses Charlie Walsh — who had a rushing and receiving touchdown last week against Mitty — and tight end Jace Cannon when it does take to the air.
Either No. 3 seed Los Gatos (8-3) or No. 4 seed Palma (11-0) will face the Riordan-Serra loser next week on the Division I side of the bracket. The Chieftains have beaten Soquel twice, while the Wildcats fell by two points to the Knights back in Week 1, but Soquel lost star quarterback Sam Whelan in the first meeting with Palma and has not been the same team since.
Los Gatos used a late goal-line stand to beat No. 6 seed Saint Francis in last week’s quarterfinal, and quarterback Callum Schweitzer was 17-of-27 for 196 yards and two touchdowns.
Division II: Bruce-Mahoney rivals on collision course
No. 1 seed Saint Ignatius (5-6) rolled past Alisal last Friday night, and No. 2 seed Sacred Heart Cathedral (5-6) overcame a halftime deficit to beat Wilcox.
The Wildcats host No. 4 seed Menlo (9-2), a 17-7 winner over The King’s Academy last week, in the semifinals, while the Fightin’ Irish host undefeated Santa Teresa on Saturday at Kezar Stadium. The No. 3 seed Saints (11-0) got past North Salinas 21-14 in the first round thanks to a late defensive stop.
Division III: Chaos reigns supreme
The top two seeds both went down in the first round as No. 8 San Mateo took down No. 1 Woodside in overtime, and No. 7 Sacred Heart Prep outlasted No. 2 Carmel in a 49-48 barnburner.
The Bearcats (8-3) took down the previously unbeaten Wildcats on TJ Johnson’s touchdown run on the first possession of overtime, then sealed it with their defense. Meanwhile, the Gators (6-5) took the lead for good late in the fourth quarter on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Nico Pollioni to Charlie Ford and a pass from Pollioni to Alex Ford for the two-point conversion. Alatea Tau sealed it with an interception in the final minute.
San Mateo will travel to No. 4 seed Live Oak (9-2), which routed King City in the opening round. SHP makes the short trip to No. 3 seed Menlo-Atherton (5-6) for the second meeting of the year between the PAL-Bay Division rivals. The Bears beat the Gators 24-17 on October 17, and advanced to the semifinals with a 21-17 win over Stevenson.
Division IV: One-score games carry the day
Three of the four opening-round games were decided by one possession. Top-seeded Branham had to defend a late two-point conversion attempt to get past No. 8 seed Christopher 35-34, and No. 3 seed Lincoln got all it could handle from Scotts Valley before eking out a 24-21 victory.
The Bruins (6-5) will face No. 5 seed Half Moon Bay (8-3), which scored 29 unanswered points in the second half to overcome a 21-point deficit last week at Burlingame. Sophomore Joedoln Flores had three rushing touchdowns for the Cougars, who closed out the win with a goal-line stand and a Lane Miller interception on the final play of the game.
The Lions (8-3) hit the road to play No. 2 seed Willow Glen (9-2) in a battle of San Jose public schools. The Rams were the only team to win comfortably last week, beating San Lorenzo Valley 31-13.
Division V: Chalk holding strong
All four of the top seeds won without much trouble in the CCS’ lowermost bracket.
No. 1 Piedmont Hills overcame a somewhat slow start in a 31-6 victory over San Jose as quarterback John Palomo was 14-of-21 for 200 yards and two touchdowns. The Pirates (8-3) will face No. 4 seed Jefferson (9-2), which earned its first playoff win since 2010 with a 40-17 rout of Pioneer. Robert Saulny-Green rushed for 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns on just 10 carries to lead the Grizzlies.
The other side of the bracket saw No. 2 seed Sobrato (7-4) rally for a 28-17 victory over Santa Cruz and No. 3 seed Terra Nova (8-3) double up South San Francisco, 40-20. Tigers quarterback Joey Donati threw for 252 yards on just nine completions, three of which went for touchdowns. The Bulldogs will host the Tigers in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon in Morgan Hill.
