With just two weeks remaining in the section playoffs, the best of the best are the only ones still remaining on the field, which means for an exciting slate of games over the next two weeks. We preview each semifinal game in the North Coast Section and Central Coast Section, with this feature focusing on the match-ups in the NCS Division 3 field.
Las Lomas-Walnut Creek (10-1) hosting Hayward (10-1), Friday, 7:00 pm
The matchup between top-seeded and P2P NCS No. 15 Las Lomas and No. 4 seed and P2P NCS No. 21 Hayward could be very interesting given that the Knights showed a little chink in their amour with a 31-14 home loss to Campolindo that created a three-way tie for the Diablo Athletic League – Foothill title with that team and Acalanes.
Part of what makes it real interesting is although Hayward is the West Alameda County Conference – Shoreline champion the Farmers lone loss is also to Campolindo, but it was a 21-0 home shutout.
With Las Lomas in a stronger league and over 120 spots higher the Hayward in the computer power rankings, plus having a home field advantage it would all seem to favor the Knights, but anything can happen, and veteran Las Lomas Coach Doug Longero knows that very well.
“Hayward is a very talented team,” Longero said. “They fly around as a team. We have to play mistake free and inspired football tomorrow night.”
Coming off a 56-0 shellacking of Santa Rosa the Knights barely broke a sweat and didn’t need to as the line controlled things on both sides of the ball and the defense had three interceptions against a Santa Rosa team coming off a 31-27 upset of D4 No. 5 seed Piner-Santa Rosa.
Hayward hosted Vine Valley League co-second place finisher American Canyon and came away with a 29-13 victory after leading 29-7 behind a pair of TDs by Deven Franklin.
"We could be peaking at the right time, but our team also knows it needs great focus and preparation to get ready for Las Lomas," said Hayward coach Justin Redemer. "We rely on a lot of pressure and we will need to do that again this Friday night."
Other than the Campolindo team that blanked them Hayward has not seen the kind of talent Las Lomas has in its arsenal and for that reason the Knights will be favored over the Farmers.
Rancho Cotate-Rohnert Park (8-3) hosting Benicia (10-1), Saturday, 7:00 pm
Looking at this game solely from a computer based competitive equity standpoint Rancho Cotate has a slight edge, and that coupled with being at home makes the No. 2 seed and Prep2Prep NCS No. 16 Rancho Cotate just about as much of a favorite as the seedings and rankings as Benicia is ranked No. 17 in NCS and is the third seed.
The teams have two common opponents, El Cerrito and Maria Carrillo-Santa Rosa. Rancho Cotate was a 35-0 winner over El Cerrito and defeated Carrillo 55-21 in North Bay League – Oak Division action where the Cougars lone loss was 24-24 to D4 top seed and NCS No. 4 Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa. Benicia defeated Carrillo 34-6 on the road and last week they beat El Cerrito 34-14 in the quarterfinals. Still, there’s not a lot to separate the two with a slight edge to the host Cougars.
After beating them 33-20 in league with a second half comeback Rancho Cotate had to do it again and is coming off a hard fought 38-33 victory over Windsor that was almost an upset if not for a late interception return for a touchdown by star linebacker Mihalis Santorineos.
With the Diablo Athletic League – Valley Division is not very strong it’s hard to know if Benicia has played a team as good as Windsor other than the CIF Northern Section small school power Sutter team that beat them 23-20 at Benicia. Sutter is 10-1 after its only defeat came in a 21-7 home loss to Cardinal Newman, so there is another semi comparison involving teams playing each other.
Rancho Cotate is going to try and run the ball with big and strong senior Rasheed Rankin as the primary running back. He didn’t score but last week against Windsor but he ground out 134 yards on 23 carries and he will likely get at least 20 carries against Benicia. Senior quarterback Jared Stocker threw for 128 yards and one TD but the offense was not the key against Windsor, it was the defense as besides the heroics of Santorineos sophomore Mencarini had a 48-yard scoop and score in the third quarter.
Rancho Cotate Coach Gehrig Hotaling knows beating Benicia will not be easy against a Panthers team that likes to run the ball three time for every pass and a running game anchored by three solid senior running backs, Maurian Burrell Kendall Lane and Kameron Lane. Last week against it was Lane who stood out with three rushing touchdowns.
“To get past Benicia it doing to take a tremendous amount of grit, determination and courage, specifically from our defense to rally to these ball carriers and make tackles,” Hotaling said. “We can’t afford to give up big plays and long runs. If they score with have to make them work for it with long drives.
“Our group is very determined and well prepared,” continued Hotaling. “It’s going to be another great game.”
