San Ramon Valley-Danville 17, Monte Vista-Danville 16
The rivalry between San Ramon Valley and Monte Vista is as big as any in the North Coast Section and a big part of it is the two schools almost always have very competitive programs and the past few years nothing has changed.
The latest chapter unfolded last Friday when in a second overtime a Monte Vista PAT that would have forced a third OT was blocked sending the San Ramon Valley players, coaches and fans into a state of jubilation since with the win the Wolves now will be co-champions of the East Bay Athletic League – Mountain Division, and almost assuredly will earn the No. 4 seed in the CIF North Coast Section Division 1 playoffs.
For San Ramon Valley Coach Aaron Becker the victory against Monte Vista marked the fourth straight time he’s gotten the better of Mustangs Coach Matt Russi since Russi took the Mustangs helm for the 2017 season.
New Prep2Prep NCS No. 6 San Ramon Valley (7-3, 3-2) won the EBAL matchup in 2017, and then last season, en route to the NCS D1 title under the old format that included an Open Division, they beat their arch rivals once again in league and then won 21-17 in the quarterfinals.
This contest had a lot of twists and turns and clutch plays but none more clutch than the final Wolves touchdown when Becker eschewed a field goal and went for it on fourth down. Sophomore quarterback Jack Quigley kept his cool, and he barely got the ball off, and there were Mustangs defenders and another San Ramon Valley wide receiver JR Murphy, that went up for the ball, but senior wide receiver Jered Kenny came down with the pigskin.
“Jack had a kid in his lap but he threw it up and Jered outwrestled everyone for the ball,” Becker said
If Murphy had hauled in the TD his performance would have been even more impressive than what it was. The 6-4 230-pound junior defensive end and tight end already had an 11-yard TD pass reception earlier in the game, but it was his defense that made him a big star. Murphy had four sacks, with two in the overtime periods and one that forced a Monte Vista field goal that tied the game at 10-10 in regulation. He also had a tackle for loss in the first half on fourth down.
“Just to be in that game was crazy,” Murphy said. “But to get four sacks was awesome.”
Awesome as in a career performance that should get more major D1 programs interested in Murphy who has current interest from Cal, Duke Oregon State and UCLA mostly as a tight end.
Monte Vista (7-3-3-2) never was really able to get much offense going, but senior quarterback Jack Stewardson did convert a couple of fourth downs in the final drive, however it all ended with the blocked point after. The loss dropped Russi and his Mustangs three spots in the P2P NCS rankings to No. 7 and will mean they are likely to receive the NCS D1 No. 5 seed for the playoffs that start next week.
“Any time you win a league championship it’s big,” Becker remarked. “But to do it on Senior Night on our home field, and they way we won it, you couldn’t write a better script.”
Serra-San Mateo 10, Valley Christian-San Jose 0
Nowadays, with spread offenses and rules that have limited some forms of tackling, the scores have soared as many teams don’t seem to focus as much on defense as in years past. That may be true, but in San Mateo on Saturday afternoon that was anything but the case after host and Prep2Prep Central Coast Section top-ranked Serra (9-0, 5-0) used a vise-like and stifling defense and just enough offense to shut out P2P CCS No. 2 Valley Christian.
The Padres defense was described as “lights out” by Serra Coach Patrick Walsh and “A1 and killing it” by sophomore quarterback Dominique Lampkin. Valley Christian was limited to 137 total yards and only made on trip to the red zone as a result of one of the few mistakes by Lampkin when instead of eating it he threw a pick. At that point there was less than three minutes left and when a 39-yard field goal attempt had plenty of distance but went wide left, any hopes of the Warriors mounting a late comeback were dashed.
It was Senior Day and Polynesian Celebration Day and 6-6 defensive end Nusi Malani, who has around a dozen D1 college offers, including Nebraska, celebrated both with two sacks. Senior running back and defensive back Jackson Lataimua also celebrated with the game’s only touchdown on a 3-yard run that opened the scoring after a 0-0 tie at halftime, a sack and a batted pass.
Senior kicker and defensive back Damon Lewis had an interception and drilled a 32-yard field goal that split the uprights and closed out the scoring. Senior slotback and defensive back Nate Sanchez had a sack, senior wide receiver and defensive back Terrence Loville, had an acrobatic bat down of a pass, and four pass receptions for 34 yards.
As for Lampkin, his numbers weren’t spectacular, but for a first start against a defensive-minded state top 20 opponent, his performance after taking over for injured senior Daylin McLemore was pretty good under the circumstances. He didn’t complete a long pass but was 10-of-15 for 73 yards and the one interception. The 5-11, 170-pound Lampkin was sacked twice but still managed to lead Serra with 69 yards rushing on 15 carries.
Another sophomore that played a bigger role as expected with Serra needing to replace the running of McLemore was running back Hassan Mahasin. He only had 44 yards on nine carries but had some key runs and when you run against Valley Christian every yard is earned.
The bottom line is while the Valley Christian defense only gave up 232 yards they were unable to control the trenches which is their trademark.
“We had trouble up front, and we had a chance to make some plays and we didn’t,” said Valley Christian Coach Mike Machado, whose team has not won at Serra since 2009.
Valley Christian (8-1, 4-1) got the ball to start the second half but after a three-and-out that ended on the first sack by Malani, the Padres really started to assert themselves.
With the win Serra will now guarantee themselves of no worse than a co-West Catholic Athletic League title with the St. Ignatius-San Francisco team they meet in a league finale this week, but in the meantime the Padres will move up to No. 10 in the next state rankings according to Cal-Hi Sports Founder and Editor Mark Tennis, who dubbed the game an “old-fashioned WCAL slugfest” after the score was tied 0-0 at halftime.
St. Mary’s-Stockton 27, Lincoln-Stockton 14
Host Lincoln stuck with St. Mary’s for the first quarter and actually had leads of 7-0 and 14-7 but the Rams reeled off 20 unanswered points to secure the Tri-City Athletic League championship with a 5-0 record in league and 6-4 overall.
The victory was the 19th-straight by St. Mary’s over Lincoln since the Trojans last won in 2005. It also extended a league winning streak that dates back to the 2006 season.
Even though junior running back Tyrei Washington rushed for two TDs, the Rams had trouble running the ball against Lincoln, and although senior quarterback Noah May did throw an interception, he was still a sharp 15-for-19 for 265 yards and two TDs, including a 73-yard scoring strike to senior wideout Jamar Marshall, who had three receptions for 106 yards. Sophomore wideout and the little brother o Marshall, Jadyn, also had a TD reception and six catches for 91 yards.
The defense did its job with 67 tackles, two sacks and an interception by junior defensive back Charles Jones.
As expected Sacramento Bee CIF Sac-Joaquin Section No. 4 St. Mary’s received the No. 4 in the CIFSJS Division I playoffs and drew a first round bye. Coach Tony Franks and his boys will await the winner of the Elk Grove showdown between No. 5 seed Monterey Trail and No. 12 Pleasant Grove.
Lincoln (9-1, 4-1) drew the No. 9 seed and travels across town to meet Edison (8-1, 4-0), the No. 8 seed San Joaquin Athletic Association champion.
Best of the Rest
After a 10-7 win over Bishop O’Dowd last Friday secured a West Alameda County Conference – Foothill Division championship it’s looking like P2P NCS No. 14 Encinal-Alameda (9-1, 5-0) is solid favorite in the upcoming NCS Division 5 playoffs and the Jets should be flying high as the top seed. For O’Dowd (3-7, 3-2) there is a prospect of not making the 8-team NCS Division 3 playoffs, and even Coach Napoleon Kaufman wasn’t sure his Dragons would qualify, but in reality a third-place finish in one the top league in Alameda County will probably garner a fifth or sixth seed.
If folks in the Metro Sacramento portion of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section didn’t think the Davis Blue Devils were for real this season they better think twice. The reason is after a 27-14 victory at Cosumnes Oaks-Elk Grove upstart Davis (9-1, 5-1) has captured the Delta League title and in doing so earned the Blue Devils the No. 6 seed in the CIFSJS Division I playoffs and a date with Gregori-Modesto this Friday night. Cosumnes Oaks (7-3, 4-2) is now the No. 2 seed in the CIFSJS D2 playoffs and has a first round bye.
No, it wasn’t a cakewalk, but a 21-7 victory by Sacramento Bee CIFSJS No. 6 Capital Christian-Sacramento (9-1, 6-0) over Vista del Lago-Folsom earns Coach Casey Taylor not only a Capital Athletic League title but also the top seed in the CIFSJS Division III playoffs and a first round bye. Vista del Lago (8-2. 5-1) is the D2 No. 5 seed and opens on Friday hosting River Valley-Yuba City.
The margin of victory the past three weeks for Sacramento Bee No. 2 and Cal-Hi Sports No. 40 ranked Inderkum-Sacramento has been close, but after a 21-14 win on the road at Roseville Coach Terry Stark and his Tigers are 10-0 for the second straight season and earned a bye this week as the No, 3 seed in the CIFSJS Division I playoffs.
The game was not featured in the Best of the Rest but after Prep2Prep new No. 6 St. Ignatius-San Francisco (7-2, 5-1) put themselves in a position of a spoiler after a 21-7 victory over CCS No. 9 Archbishop Mitty-San Jose, the Wildcats have to get a shout out. If St. Ignatius can pull off an upset of P2P top-ranked Serra on Saturday afternoon at home, and Valley Christian beats Mitty, it could create a three-way tie for the West Catholic Athletic League championship.
