It was a mixed bag across the board in the CIF Northern California regional finals over the weekend. There were the amazing performances, a few thrilling finishes, and a handful of games which became surprisingly one-sided. There was lots of terrific offense on display, for sure, but also some gutsy defensive performances, the kind which make you sit back and appreciate the type of effort which can be given by high school kids who started official practice back in the first week of August, and are on the verge of completing a season longer than most college kids, and equivalent to that of most professional players.
Let's take a look back at the weekend that was across Northern California, and a quick glance at the week which looms ahead:
- The most intense finish of the weekend, without a doubt, was the one which took place in Salinas. The host Cowboys, fresh off a win against previously unbeaten Milpitas for the CCS Open I championship, bolted to early leads of 21-0 and 27-7 against SJS Division 4 champion Placer, though a missed extra point (made longer by penalty) following Andre Calder's interception return for a touchdown proved to be a pivotal moment.
To its credit, Placer never strayed from its identity, and the Hillmen showed the steely resolve which Salinas expected all along, scoring 21 straight points to forge ahead by a single point, on a scoring run by Marshall Chapman and a two-point conversion by Brad Bishop. That placed Salinas in one of the most difficult situations a team of high school student-athletes can be in - as the team which just lost a big lead. The Cowboys responded valiantly, however, and re-took the lead on a one-yard run by Richard Cerda, minutes after teammate Mike Cortez was taken off the field in an ambulance, for precautionary measures.
When Cerda scored again with 10:08 left in the game, it appeared that the Cowboys would be able to make it a two-possession game, but Salinas went for two, looking to create a 10-point lead, and the missed conversion kept the lead at eight points. Placer capitalized on a 54-yard touchdown pass from Michael Stuck to Bishop, with under four minutes remaining, and when Bishop hauled in another two-point conversion, the game was tied and headed to overtime.
The Hillmen scored first in the extra period, once again by Chapman, the standout back in Placer's Wing-T attack, but the Cowboys answered, and actually did so twice. Quarterback Brett Reade scored from 22 yards out, but a penalty wiped that one off the board. Cerda, however, punched the ball across the goal-line once again. This time, however, the extra point sailed wide of the goal post, leaving the Hillmen to celebrate at The Pit, and head to the CIF 4-AA final against Crenshaw.
After the game, Salinas coach Steve Zenk lamented the 135 yards of penalties against his team in the first half, with the large majority of those after his team had built that early 21-0 lead, but dismissed any notion that those were a primary factor in the loss.
"(Penalties) were not why we lost this game. (Placer) is a very good football team," Zenk commented.
Despite the regional loss, Salinas finishes its season as the champions out of the MBL-Gabilan, along with some nice hardware as the CCS Open I champions, the first section crown for the Cowboys since they beat San Benito for the Division II title back in 2001.
- Two of the smallest public schools in the regional playoffs both emerged victorious on Saturday night, and did so in dominating fashion, as Half Moon Bay and Fortuna advanced to state finals for the first time in school history.
Senior JB Lewis ran for three touchdowns, and Fortuna scored 27 straight points, as the Huskies knocked off Bear River-Grass Valley, 34-20, in the CIF 5-A North regional. They will now face Katella, in Anaheim, for the state title.
Meanwhile, Half Moon Bay controlled the scoreboard from the beginning of its 28-7 win over Sutter, even though the visiting Huskies outgained HMB in terms of total yards. Regardless, the Cougars made the big plays on both ends of the field, thwarting numerous Sutter drives, while finishing their own drives with touchdowns. Chase Hofmann scored twice on the ground, Gavin Tomberlin ran for another, and gave his team an early lead with a beautiful strike to Jake Quosig.
Now, Half Moon Bay will make the 500-mile drive down to Spring Valley, just east of San Diego, in order to face Steele Canyon, a charter school which boasts more than twice the number of students than the small, picturesque high school on the peninsula. Then again, the Cougars have faced that kind of challenge all season.
- A pair of WCAL schools will appear in the "venue" games at Sacramento State this coming weekend, after Serra raced past Tulare Union and Saint Francis held off a gritty Manteca squad.
Serra scored a school-record 76 points to down Tulare Union, despite a pair of touchdowns from Kazmeir Allen, giving the UCLA commit 72 of them for the season, a state record. But the Padres simply could not be stopped from scoring, as big nights from Luke Bottari, Isiah Kendrick, David Coker, and Patrick Nunn propelled them into the CIF 2-AA final against Cajon, who also scored 70 points in its win over Rancho Verde. Stat-takers, have at least a dozen sharpened pencils for that one.
Saint Francis engaged in a physical battle with Manteca, and got a big game from junior running back Darrell Page to survive a gutsy effort from quarterback Gino Campiotti and the Buffaloes, who were harassed all night by Tyler Manoa, Junior Fehoko, and company. The Lancers now face Grace Brethren in the CIF 2-A final.
- Pittsburg has made the most of its first state playoff appearance in 92 years of the football program. The long-time NCS power was buried behind De La Salle until the section created an Open Division, and the Pirates are letting the CIF know exactly where they stand after powering past Granite Bay on Saturday night, 37-14.
Junior quarterback Justin Boyd - who was slated to play receiver this season until injury forced him behind center - threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns, while the defense kept the Grizzlies in check. When Granite Bay did close the gap in the second half, A'jae Boyd emphatically slammed the door, breaking a pair of tackles near the line of scrimmage and racing 73 yards on a bubble screen.
Meanwhile, the Pirates' defense was dominant, allowing just 144 total yards for Granite Bay, prompting defensive coordinator Charlie Ramirez to give credit after the game to his predecessor, long-time Pittsburg defensive coordinator Jim Shipe, who held the same post for 17 years before handing the title to Ramirez.
Pittsburg faces Narbonne in the CIF 1-A title game. Narbonne raced past Paraclete, 56-14, in the SoCal regional game.
- Unlike the last time these two teams faced off, in a largely defensive battle two years ago, there was plenty of offense on display as Milpitas raced past Campolindo, 52-38, in the CIF 4-A North regional.
Tariq Bracy showed everyone why he is considered one of the best all-around football players in Northern California, rushing for 310 yards and four touchdowns, in a game that featured over 1,200 yards of offense. His performance was enough to off-set a fantastic night by Campolindo quarterback John Torchio, who accounted for 461 yards and five scores from scrimmage.
Milpitas moves on to face Southwest-El Centro in the CIF 4-A title game. As one of the "non-venue" games, Milpitas will make the trip to El Centro, a town located minutes from the US-Mexico border, east of San Diego along Interstate 8, a drive of over 550 miles in each direction.
- Other NorCal winners include Shasta, which ended Marin Catholic's unbeaten season in the 3-AA regional final, and McClymonds, which seeks back-to-back CIF titles after beating East Nicolaus in the regional game for the second straight season.
Meanwhile, Strathmore will represent the North this year in the 6-AA title game. Last year, Strathmore lost in the 6-A final as a representative from the South, but avenged that loss this weekend with a 49-35 win over St. Patrick-St. Vincent, the team which won last year's 6-A title.
Finally, Folsom will face Helix in the 1-AA final, after Kaiden Bennett and company put on a show against Central-Fresno, winning 54-35 in the North regional final.
