The North Coast Section Division 2 playoffs take a huge leap forward this weekend with the quarterfinal round. Last week, we saw Santa Rosa and Redwood each win their first playoff games in school history, with Santa Rosa knocking off higher-seeded Northgate, and Redwood streaking past Casa Grande, who snuck into the playoffs after beating Santa Rosa in a regular-season finale. We now enter the quarterfinal round with four competitive games in Division 2. Let’s go inside each matchup in the NCS Division 2 quarterfinal round.
#9 Redwood (9-2) at #1 Campolindo (7-3), Friday, 7:00PM
After Campolindo received a well-deserved bye last week, after a tough loss to Clayton Valley Charter the week before, the Cougars now host the 9th-seeded Redwood Giants on Friday night. The visiting Giants dominated 8th-seeded Casa Grande, 56-14 last week.
The Cougars are led by senior quarterback Jacob Westphal, who has thrown for 2,365 yards and 12 touchdowns. His favorite target is junior receiver Vince Mossotti, who has 881 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Senior running backs Matthew Ringquist and Branden Bocobo lead the rushing attack and have a combined 299 yards and six touchdowns.
For Redwood, look for senior running-back Nick Calzaretta to be an offensive threat. The senior has amassed 2,536 rushing yards and 42 touchdowns, including a 356-yard, six-touchdown performance last week. Another player to watch for the Giants is senior receiver Alex Wilson, who has 833 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns.
#5 Ukiah (7-4) at #4 Livermore (6-5), Saturday, 7:00PM
After being down 12-0 in the middle of the third quarter against Alameda, the Ukiah Wildcats rallied to beat the visiting Hornets 19-12 last Saturday night. Meanwhile, Livermore won its first home playoff game since 1999 last week, by beating Mt. Eden 30-20. Livermore is coming off one of their best regular-seasons in years.
Senior running back Dominic Range looks to be a huge playmaker for the host Cowboys, accumulating 1,043 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.
Ukiah senior quarterback Brett Hofstetter leads the visiting Wildcats with 1,465 yards and 15 touchdowns. His favorite target is junior Nick Brocchini, who has 440 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
#10 Santa Rosa (6-5) at #2 Windsor (7-3), Friday, 7:00PM
The 10th-seeded Santa Rosa Panthers upset the seven-seed Northgate Broncos 48-25 last Friday night, as senior wide-receiver Kalei Aukai had five receptions for 238 yards and four touchdowns. The Panthers now travel to second-seeded Windsor, who was on bye last week. The Jaguars beat the Panthers 50-26 in mid-October.
Also look for senior quarterback Isaiah Steele to pass the ball to senior receiver Aukai. Aukai has 1,134 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns, and has also returned an interception for a touchdown. Steele has passed for 2,527 yards and 34 touchdowns while also rushing for 452 yards and seven touchdowns.
For Windsor, look for senior running back Jackson Baughman to lead the rushing attack for the Jaguars. The senior has rushed for 779 yards and 16 touchdowns. On the defensive side, Baughman also has three interceptions for 89 yards.
#6 Granada (5-6) at #3 Concord (7-4), Saturday, 7:00PM
The Concord Minutemen cruised past Hayward 53-6, while the Granada Matadors blanked College Park 42-6 in the first round last weekend.
The Matadors have standouts in senior quarterback Jason Frost and fellow senior running back Tai Phan.
Quarterback Nick Nunez has showed off his arm all year for Concord with 1,540 yards and 12 touchdowns, with senior Joey Agostino as his top target. Mike Davis Jr. leads the rushing attack with 734 yards and five touchdowns. The Concord defense has been a threat, led by Deandre Morgan and Alex Cruz, who have combined for 142 tackles. Cruz is also the team's place-kicker, and produces offensively as a receiver.
