The first-ever play-in game in the new CIF Bowl Game format takes place this Saturday in Atwater, and the contest has a couple of twists that make it an exciting match-up.
Like a lot of teams that will be getting placed for bowl berths on Sunday, neither of these teams has been involved previously, plus its a match-up of a metropolitan school against a small private Christian school on a huge run.
Saturday’s contest for Stone Ridge Christian-Merced (11-1) will be a special one as the Knights have a chance to break a state record of 10 consecutive victories with a shutout. Since September 4 when Stone Ridge Christian gave up 35 points in their only loss of the season to Ripon Christian-Ripon, the Knights have shut out every school they have faced while outscoring their opponents 565-0 during the 10-game span.
Last week the Knights became eligible for the play-in game with a 69-0 shellacking of Big Valley Christian-Modesto in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII title game.
“Going to this type of game is a first for our program,” Stone Ridge Christian head coach Arthur De Jager said, “We aren’t the most talented group, but we work really hard and the kids execute our system very well.”
Mission-San Francisco (9-3) got to the play-in game by beating cross-town rival Balboa, 14-13 last week on Turkey Day in the CIF San Francisco Section championship at historic Kezar Stadium. The game featured 10 turnovers, six of which were forced by the Bears tough defense. With that victory Mission has now won back-to-back section titles for the first time in over 80 years.
“Some of them are really excited but most of the guys are just taking it like a regular game," Mission head coach Joe Albano said. "I don’t know if they realize the opportunity or know a lot about the team (Stone Ridge Christian) and their record streak."
In the past Northern California bowl games were composed of divisions strictly by enrollment, although that is not the case this year as teams are now placed by the 10 section commissioners using a formula based on several variables including competitive equity.
As previously mentioned, what makes this match-up unique is two teams like this could never have previously met in an enrollment-based system. Mission has around 1,000 students attending the public school in the heart of San Francisco, while the private Stone Ridge Christian has only 114 students with just 50 total boys at the school. Both squads have exactly 30 players on their football teams.
Both teams like to run the ball. Stone Ridge Christian accumulated 5,424 rushing yards this season behind a three-headed monster of 1,000 yard rushers Shane Casillas, Jonathan Collazo and Austin Reez. Mission is led by the athletic tandem of quarterback Niamey Harris and running back Anthony Porter, who both can strike for a big play on any opportunity. Albano knows his team will have to break Stone Ridge Christians state tying record if they have any chance of winning Saturday afternoon.
“First of all hopefully we can put up some points," Albano remarked. "We've watched them on Hudl and they run a similar offense to Lowell and also Ygnacio Valley, so we're going to try to defend them like we did those two teams."
The Bears beat Ygnacio Valley 41-30 in Concord to open the season and beat cross-town San Francisco rival Lowell 50-6 on the road.
One of the main defensive players hoping to keep Mission off the scoreboard is Mark Hooker. The senior defensive end has 28.5 sacks this season and had 5.5 sacks in the victory over Big Valley Christian.
“We are really proud of his work this season,” De Jager noted about his defensive star. “He is the leader of the defensive front, he plays really aggressive and the younger players love to watch him play.”
De Jager took over the Stone Ridge Christian program three years ago and the team has been on the rise ever since. In his first year the Knights made the playoffs losing in the first round to Ripon Christian 50-20, while last year Stone Ridge Christian won the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 7 title 19-14 over Elliot Christian-Lodi. This year the Knights are excited their season isn’t over yet.
“We are just a bunch of regular guys,” De Jager said, “We are excited to keep playing. and Mission will definitely be a challenge for us. They are a really good team and we just need to try and execute.”
Can the Merced boys continue their streak and set a new shutout record, or will not only Mission score but will the city boys win the game and get the bowl berth? It should be a very interesting game.
Stone Ridge Christian and Mission will face off at 2 pm on Saturday at Castle Field on Castle Air Force Base in Atwater, and one of them will be moving on for placement on Sunday with the section winners.
