PETALUMA, Calif. - The last weekend of non-league play for many teams around the Redwood Empire saw some good games and a few blowouts. Let’s take a look at the action from Week 3.
St Vincent downs San Rafael on Homecoming Day
Trent Herzog’s Mustangs improved to 3-1 with a 33-20 win over San Rafael of the MCAL on Saturday afternoon. They started with 17 healthy players and ended up finishing with just 14 players ready to play. Rory Morgan and Andrew Kohler went down in the first quarter and didn’t return.
Freshman running back Kai Hall, however, racked up 31 carries for 296 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Jacob Porteus was 11-of-20 passing for 154 yards and a touchdown. Jeremy Bukolsky had four catches for 71 yards and a touchdown for the Mustangs. Drew Caveney hit Jack Healy and Nick Beeson for his two touchdown throws. Dante Antonini had a 54 yard interception return for a touchdown to seal the win for St Vincent.
The defense was big for St Vincent all game, and they’re led by brothers Gio and Dante Antonini. Dante was on assignment to stop San Rafael receiver Griffin Rudy and did that job to perfection. Gio was in on a few sacks and tackles for loss. Morgan Moriarty and Gio Vaca anchored the defensive line, and sophomore safety Liam O’Hare and freshman linebacker Nathan Rooks were also key to the Mustang defensive effort.
“Our team played with tremendous heart today and I’m extremely proud of them. It was hot and out players keep giving their all. We had some young guys really step up,” Herzog said.
Kai Hall’s big game now has him with 683 yards and nine touchdowns on the season, one of the leading backs in the North Coast Section. The single game yardage is the most yards by a Mustang since Raymond Tamblyn, who had 304 yards at Mendocino on Oct. 25, 1997. St Vincent hosts Burton-San Francisco next Saturday while San Rafael hosts Healdsburg on Friday.
Casa Grande falls to Maria Carrillo
Casa Grande led most of the game but fell to host Maria Carrillo 21-14 on Friday night. Casa Grande had a fourth-and-four on its own 37-yard line, and decided to go for it and missed, giving the Pumas excellent field position. Logan Kraut punched in the winning score from four yards out to give Maria Carrillo its first win of the season. Casa Grande falls to 1-3 and begins Vine Valley Athletic League play at Justin Siena Friday night. Maria Carrilo travels to Santa Rosa next week.
Del Norte crushes Petaluma
Petaluma fell victim to its second straight blowout loss, to Del Norte 49-7. The Warriors were led by running backs Kobe Mitchell, Levi Cox Cooley and Giovanni Gonzalez. Mitchell had 112 rushing yards, Cooley had 99 yards and Gonzalez with 97 yards on the ground. In total, Del Norte racked up 403 yards rushing.
Petaluma quarterback Jack Hartman fumbled the first snap and Mitchell took advantage by scoring four plays after the fact from one yard out. Del Norte took a 21-0 advantage into the locker room after Mitchell scored again, followed by Cooley adding one himself. The two scored again in the second half, while Chase Blackburn scored from 36 yards and Del Norte quarterback OJ Calleja threw a touchdown pass of 19 yards to Kaleb Price. Dante Ratto had a 45 yard touchdown run to get the zero off the board for Petaluma.
Del Norte is now 4-0 and will travel to Klamath Falls, OR to take on Mazama. Petaluma begins VVAL play with American Canyon at Ellison Field on Friday.
Piner does it again
Piner pitched its fourth straight shutout by blanking Sonoma Valley, 71-0, at Arnold Field Friday night. Piner has now scored 244 points without allowing a single one. The Prospectors' hot start is under new head coach Terrence Bell.
Piner quarterback Yonaton Isack threw for seven touchdowns and was 18-of-24 for 313 yards in the air. Isaac Torres scored on a 63-yard punt return. Piner will host Miramonte in their toughest challenge yet. Sonoma Valley begins VVAL play by hosting Napa next Friday.
Analy falls to Terra Linda late
Analy held a 14-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but was unable to hold it as Terra Linda scored 21 unanswered points to take down the Tigers in Sebastopol.
Analy held a 6-0 halftime lead after safety Gary Gritsch returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown. With 1:40 to go, Terra Linda traveled 70 yards down the field in just 50 seconds and scored on a six yard pass to win the game. Both teams are 1-2, as Terra Linda will start MCAL play at San Marin, while Analy hosts the Apple Bowl vs El Molino on Friday night.
