The North Coast Section playoffs take a huge leap forward this weekend with the quarterfinal round, and a number of compelling match-ups in each division. Our first feature focuses on the two upper divisions.
DIVISION I
FIRST-ROUND RESULTS
#5 Pittsburg 56 #12 Dougherty Valley 20
#6 Freedom 37 #11 Dublin 12
#7 Amador Valley 50 #10 San Leandro 21
#8 California 15 #9 James Logan 14
QUARTERFINAL GAMES
#8 California at #1 De La Salle
#7 Amador Valley at #2 Antioch
#6 Freedom at #3 Foothill
#5 Pittsburg at #4 Monte Vista
BVAL-EBAL reigns supreme again . . . James Logan nearly broke into the select quarterfinal group, but for the second year in a row, every school among the final eight belongs to either the Bay Valley or East Bay Athletic League. De La Salle plays an independent schedule in football, but draws games from the EBAL, and gets the EBAL’s automatic champion berth into the playoffs, as a full member in all other sports.
Logan is the last team from outside those two leagues to advance to the quarterfinals, having been the lone school from outside the EBAL or BVAL to advance to the quarterfinals in both 2012 and 2013.
Gaels, Wildcats glimpse into future . . . With playoff games against Freedom and Pittsburg, Dublin and Dougherty Valley both got a glimpse of what the weekly competition will be like as members of the East Bay Athletic League, starting next season.
Need to stop the run around here . . . With no offense to the marquee quarterbacks in this division, such as Monte Vista’s Jake Haener or Freedom’s Joe Sweeney, it is obvious that teams in this bracket are intent on establishing the run game in order to be successful.
Freedom’s Ronnie Rivers ran for 237 yards last weekend, Amador Valley’s Ronnie Jones and Ledre McCullough combined for 366 yards and six touchdowns on the ground, and California’s lone touchdown came courtesy of Justin Locklear, who carried the ball 21 times in the win over Logan.
And keep in mind the running backs that have yet to take the field this post-season. That includes De La Salle’s Antoine Custer and Andrew Hernandez, Antioch’s Najee Harris, Foothill’s Isaiah Floyd, and Monte Vista’s Albert Smith. By the way, Pittsburg’s Montaz Thompson had 91 yards and two touchdowns last week in one half of action, after running for 220 yards against Antioch the week before.
Rivalries renewed . . . Monte Vista’s 49-42 win over Pittsburg in September was one of the top non-league games this season, and broke a three-game Pirate winning streak in the series. History might be on Pittsburg’s side, however. The Pirates lost 44-14 to Monte Vista during the 2012 regular season, but wound up defeating the Mustangs, 55-29, in the first round of the playoffs that year. Then again, all three regular-season rematches last week ended up with the winning team from the regular season prevailing again in the playoffs.
A similar scenario exists between Freedom and Foothill, except that Foothill has won the last three regular season meetings, including a 28-14 victory this season. This will be the fifth meeting between the teams in the last three years. The last Freedom victory came in the 2013 playoffs, when Freedom off-set a 32-6 regular season loss to Foothill by winning 55-17 in the first round of the post-season.
Milestones on tap . . . Foothill’s Matt Sweeney will be looking for his 250th win as head coach of the Falcons.
Najee Harris, meanwhile, will be likely to break his own Antioch single-season rushing record. The junior ran for 2,263 yards last season, and currently has 2,217 yards this year. As for the Panthers, they will be looking to advance to their first section semifinal since 1984, when they lost to Kennedy-Richmond, 17-16, in the 3A semis.
Freedom not only looks to exact revenge against Foothill for its regular season loss, but also seeks the first section semifinal berth in school history. Freedom has reached the quarterfinals in each of the last four seasons, losing to Pittsburg each of the last two years. They lost to Foothill in an epic quarterfinal game in 2008, 48-41.
DIVISION II
FIRST ROUND RESULTS
#2 Miramonte 41 #15 Redwood 0
#3 Concord 56 #14 Hayward 0
#4 Granada 63 #13 Washington 7
#5 Tennyson 30 #12 Alameda 0
#6 Maria Carrillo 41 #11 Northgate 21
#7 Casa Grande 49 #10 American 14
#9 Windsor 44 #8 Pinole Valley 9
QUARTERFINAL GAMES
#9 Windsor at #1 Clayton Valley Charter
#7 Casa Grande at #2 Miramonte
#6 Maria Carrillo at #3 Concord
#5 Tennyson at #4 Granada
Déjà vu for MVAL champions . . . For the second straight season, the champion out of the Mission Valley Athletic League was handed the 10 seed, but got to host a first round game against a seven seed from the North Bay League.
Last year, Kennedy-Fremont went 10-0, but was seeded in the lower half of teams, and hosted a 7-3 Rancho Cotate team. The visiting Cougars went on to a surprisingly easy 38-13 victory.
History repeated itself, this time in the Division II bracket, when MVAL champion American puts its 8-2 record against a 4-6 Casa Grande team. The visiting Gauchos used a physical style of football to beat the Eagles convincingly, 49-14.
“We were a little sloppy at times, but played with great effort and toughness,” said Casa Grande coach Trent Herzog. “I felt we were the more physical team, and were able to neutralize their speed, which they had a lot of. Our offensive line did a great job protecting the quarterback (JJ Anderson), and opening up holes for Spencer (Torkelson).”
Torkelson, in fact, ran for 164 yards and two touchdowns, while Anderson threw for 208 yards and two more scores. Casa Grande led 28-0 by halftime.
Jags turn tables on Spartans . . . In the midst of Pinole Valley’s run to the section semifinals last season was a 29-14 quarterfinal win over Windsor, abruptly ending an eight-win campaign for the Jaguars. With the same backfield of Troyante McConico and Michael Kyle, Pinole Valley no doubt had designs on another late-season surge. Playing away from home this time, however, Windsor made sure that history would not repeat itself.
The Jaguars took a 31-3 lead into halftime, and did not allow a touchdown until the fourth quarter, when a running clock was already in effect.
Carrying the EBAL torch in Division II . . . With Granada’s blowout win over Washington, the Matadors ensured that all five East Bay Athletic League teams are still alive into the quarterfinals.
Granada held Washington to 159 total yards of offense, and led 49-0 at the end of three quarters. Ryan Silvas ran for 165 yards and one score, while Aaron Andrews added two more rushing touchdowns. The Matadors also scored on defense with an interception return, and on special teams with a punt return.
We meet again . . . Casa Grande and Miramonte will meet in the playoffs for the third straight season, having split the previous two games. The Gauchos knocked off Miramonte in the first round last year, 48-6, after having lost to the Matadors in the 2013 section title game, 41-28.
Miramonte has been forced to play without star receiver Sutter Lindberg, who tore his ACL against Campolindo and has surgery this week. Casa Grande, meanwhile, has battled the injury bug all season long, including three starting linemen who were lost for the year. They are as healthy right now as any point in the season, though, so this could be a game to keep an eye on.
“We know each other well, and they are a very well-coached team,” Herzog said. “Offensively, they are very good, and they cause a lot of problems on defense with their speed and athleticism. We need to get all our assignments correct this week.”
More work to be done . . . Clayton Valley’s Ray Jackson III has had a banner season in his first year on the field for the Ugly Eagles, but he still has yet to measure up statistically to the backs who have played for coach Tim Murphy since he arrived at Clayton Valley.
Starting with Joe Protheroe in 2012, who ran for over 3,000 yards that year, and then continuing with Miles Harrison in 2013 and 2014, Murphy has had a back run for over 2,000 yards every season. Jackson has 1,786 yards this year entering the quarterfinals.
NBL starts fast again . . . For the second straight season, the North Bay League went unbeaten in the first round of the section playoffs. Last year, however, only two of the league’s six teams in the quarterfinals moved on. This year, five NBL teams take the stage in the quarterfinals, with three of them in this division. Maria Carrillo, Casa Grande, and Windsor are all underdogs this week, however, so some work remains to be done if the NBL looks to surpass the total of two teams in the semifinals this year.
