As the Central Coast Section kicks off its playoffs this week, we take a look at each bracket, which teams could emerge, and which players are most likely to affect the final outcomes.
OVERVIEW
There are times when a bracket is described as “wide-open” to make some of the lower-ranked teams feel good about their chances, but that’s not the case in this year’s CCS Division III field. It’s truly as wide-open as a bracket can get, with a range of teams that could just as easily win the title or get bounced in the first round. With two teams apiece from the BVAL Mt. Hamilton, PCAL Gabilan, PAL Bay and WCAL, there’s a great variety of teams that should offer a little bit of everything.
Want great quarterback play? Terra Nova’s Jared Julian, Palma’s Grant Sergent and Live Oak’s Jonathan Singleton can all provide that. Prefer a stellar run game? Sacred Heart Cathedral has one of section’s top backs in Anthony Heard, Marcos Reyes leads a lightning-quick Wing-T attack for Aptos and Edgar Valencia is a star for Pioneer. Appreciate defense? Only two teams have broken 20 points all season against Sacred Heart Prep. Looking for good young players that’ll be around for a while? Sophomore quarterback Raymond Price III leads Sacred Heart Prep, and St. Ignatius has junior QB Zach Taylor-Smith and linebacker Siaki Hunkin.
Up until two weeks ago, Aptos would definitely been the team to beat, as the Mariners were 8-0 and had won every game by at least 22 points. With tight losses to Palma and Salinas, the Mariners will take to the road to face Terra Nova, while Palma followed up a thrilling win at Aptos by topping San Benito to lock up the top seed in the field. The Chieftains will host Pioneer on Friday night, and although they’ll have to handle Valencia, Palma has some excellent skill players as well in Anthony Villegas (121.6 ypg, 10 TDs), Jon Jon Berring (21 receptions-364 yards) and Micah Olivas (25-701, 11 TDs).
The other three quarterfinal matchups should all be tremendous. Inconsistency has plagued Terra Nova, but the Tigers have no shortage of firepower thanks to Julian, and Aslan Carvalho has come along as of late as an excellent rushing option. Yes, Aptos is coming in off consecutive losses, but Randy Blankenship was much happier with his team’s performance in last week’s loss to Salinas, saying, “we may have lost the game, but I think I found my team tonight.”
The Saturday afternoon tilt between St. Ignatius and Sacred Heart Prep should be a showdown between two schools that like to play old-school football, but both have dynamic quarterbacks as well in Taylor-Smith and Price. There’s a chance for a Bruce-Mahoney rematch or a meeting of the two Sacred Hearts, but for that to happen, SHC will have to avenge a loss to Live Oak in last year’s quarterfinals.
One of the preseason Mt. Hamilton favorites, Live Oak largely lived up to the hype, averaging 36.5 games and finishing in a tie for second place. The Acorns are riding high off a win over Oak Grove, and Singleton has racked up 2,836 yards and 33 touchdowns in his senior year. His supporting cast is quite young, with juniors Nick Lomanto and Elijah Fernandez starring at running back and receiver. Live Oak also has a pair of excellent sophomores in wide receiver Caleb Ojeda and running back Mosiah Saulala.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Palma WR/CB Jon Jon Berring, Palma RB/LB Sam Lathos, Palma WR/CB Micah Olivas, Palma WR/CB Marco Pezzini, Palma QB Grant Sergent, Palma RB Anthony Villegas
Sacred Heart Prep WR/CB Dante Cacchione, Sacred Heart Prep DT Joey Dahlkemper, Sacred Heart Prep C/DE Jake Davison, Sacred Heart Prep OL/DL Ben Horvath, Sacred Heart Prep QB Raymond Price III, Sacred Heart Prep CB Wilson Weisel, Sacred Heart Prep FB/MLB John Willard
Live Oak ILB Jered Brindle, Live Oak LB Richard Cortez, Live Oak WR Elijah Fernandez, Live Oak LB Ashton Green, Live Oak RB/DB Nick Lomanto, Live Oak WR/DB Caleb Ojeda, Live Oak RB/LB Mosiah Saulala, Live Oak QB Jonathan Singleton, Live Oak C/DL Logan Wiemann
Terra Nova OLB Giovanni Borzoni, Terra Nova RB Aslan Carvalho, Terra Nova MLB/RB Layne Couri, Terra Nova S DeShawn Dawson II, Terra Nova RB/CB Giovanni Fabiani-Wyatt, Terra Nova DE/T Milo Greenwood, Terra Nova QB Jared Julian,Terra Nova T/DE Christian Novelo, Terra Nova WR Nate Rios
Aptos CB/RB Bubba Gallardo, Aptos RB/FS Vaughen Holland, Aptos QB/FS Hunter Matys, Aptos TE/OLB Shane Modena, Aptos FB/DE Josh Powell, Aptos RB Marcos Reyes
Sacred Heart Cathedral G/DE Evan Branch-Haynes, Sacred Heart Cathedral OLB Raphael Cervantez, Sacred Heart Cathedral CB/LB Evan Dere, Sacred Heart Cathedral QB Cian Dowling, Sacred Heart Cathedral T/DE Spencer Goldfein, Sacred Heart Cathedral RB Anthony Heard, Sacred Heart Cathedral OLB/WR Lio Mateo, Sacred Heart Cathedral WR/CB LeVar Watkins Jr.
St. Ignatius RB/DB Mark Biggins Jr., St. Ignatius WR/DB Topher Bligh, St. Ignatius DB Teddye Buchanan, St. Ignatius WR/DB Danny Burke, St. Ignatius OL/DL Jack Dyke, St. Ignatius OL/DL Declan Elias, St. Ignatius LB Siaki Hunkin, St. Ignatius WR/DB Matt Rosen, St. Ignatius RB/DB Jahsai Shannon, St. Ignatius QB Zach Taylor-Smith, St. Ignatius TE/DL Alfred Ugaitafa
Pioneer WR/FS Tanner Compani, Pioneer LB Chris Custer, Pioneer TE/DE Devonte Matthew, Pioneer WR/CB Alfredo Valencia, Pioneer RB/MLB Edgar Valencia
SLEEPER TEAM
Calling St. Ignatius a sleeper team would be too easy with the Wildcats’ record, as nobody is overlooking them. However, rival Sacred Heart Cathedral might be getting a bit less attention than deserved. Anthony Heard is a threat to break 200 rushing yards on any night, sophomore quarterback Cian Dowling is the epitome of hard-nosed and LeVar Watkins Jr. is an outstanding receiver. The Irish also have one of the most entertaining players around in 5-foot-5 Evan Dere, who is listed as a linebacker but can jump into the secondary at any moment. Dere is dangerous both in the secondary and on a blitz.
TITLE GAME PREDICTION
Aptos over Sacred Heart Prep
