PETALUMA – A week after losing the Sonoma County League title in a somewhat controversial 42-36 defeat at the hands of Analy-Sebastopol, the Petaluma Trojans rebounded for a 38-20 win over Novato in the opening round of the CIF North Coast Sections Division III playoffs in a game that was not as close as the score indicates.
The victory for Petaluma (8-3) was a first in the NCS playoffs since the 2009 season.
“It’s a big moment for the program to win a first playoff game in a while, but we’re not done,” said six-year Petaluma Coach Rick Krist.
The host Trojans used their ground game that rushed for 460 yards in the losing effort against Analy to grind out 363 yards on the ground against the visiting Hornets.
It was the senior duo of quarterback Brenden White and running back Lucas Dentoni that did most of the damage
White, a primarily running back in Krist’s system rushed for 170 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns and also passed for 79 yards and a third score on a 39-yard TD pass to Harrison Royall who also scored on a 4-yard pitch from White. Dentoni had 13 carries for 109 yards and one touchdown but was pulled in the third quarter to nurse a sore ankle.
The Trojans also got 68 yards rushing from Conor Richardson and a 28-yard field goal by Isaiah Blomgren.
Novato (4-7) got 117 yards passing and one touchdown from quarterback Ryan Burness on a 25-yarder to Jackson Talbott. John Viezcas rushed for a TD and also had an 87-yard kickoff return for a second score.
Sixth-seeded Petaluma was a strong favorite coming into the game over the No. 11 seeded Hornets, but after going six years without winning a playoff game for a program that has known success in the past, and after coming off the disappointing loss to Analy, White was taking nothing for granted.
“We came in knowing we had to stay focused to get back on track,” White said.
Petaluma now faces the winner of the Saturday night matchup between No. 14 seed Terra Linda and third-seeded Rancho Cotate-Rohnert Park.
“We’ll probably be facing Rancho Cotate and to beat a team like that we’ve got some things we have to clean up to get better and learn from tonight,” Krist remarked.
Other action in the Redwood Empire
Elsewhere in CIFNCS playoff action involving Redwood Empire teams No. 2 seed Analy-Sebastopol (11-0) lit up the scoreboard with a 70-27 victory over No. 15 seed Albany in an NCS Division III opener that was 56-13 at the half.
Second-seed Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa (9-2) had no problems in its NCS Division IV opener after a 56-7 win over Healdsburg. Third-seed Fortuna (11-0) was a 41-0 winner over Harker-San Jose, and No. 8 seed Fort Bragg (11-0) won its D4 matchup with St. Helena in a 28-21 victory.
In Division II ninth-seeded Windsor (7-4) was a 44-9 winner over Pinole Valley-Pinole.
In Division V it was the #MiddletownStrong boys from No. 7 seed Middletown (6-4) with a 47-0 victory over Willits.
