This past weekend featured a record-setting game in the section, plus other key league matchups that instantly became memorable games. Comeback victories seemed to be the norm this week in the North Coast Section, as each game displayed the ability of well-coached teams to be resilient and fight until the final whistle.
Tennyson 85, Castro Valley 77: The Lancers’ basketball team must be jealous of the final score, as it never reached 85 points in a single game last season.
The football team, however, is taking the Foothill Division of the West Alameda Conference by storm, as the Lancers are currently tied with San Leandro for first place.
Tennyson’s offense racked up an amazing 846 yards of total offense, led by dual-threat quarterback Christian Silva. Silva completed 15 of 19 passes for 304 yards and four touchdowns, while carrying the ball 18 times for 260 yards and three more scores.
He was joined by senior running back Tukai Laginikoro, who merely ran for 223 yards and four touchdowns on his 21 carries.
The Lancers’ defense and special teams did not quite match the production of the offense, however. Despite a sizable halftime lead for the second consecutive week, Tennyson needed to pull out a victory late after Castro Valley rallied to tie the game at the end of regulation.
A 95-yard kickoff return by Namane Modise to open the second half cut the lead to nine points, and after 10 straight offensive possessions resulted in five touchdowns for each team, Castro Valley was able to recover an onside kick with 1:41 remaining, creating an opportunity to tie the game at the end.
Junior quarterback Brian Tognolini then found Jose Guzman for the 23-yard touchdown pass, his only completion of the game, and a Damon Mitchell two-point conversion sent the game to overtime.
Laginikoro scored his fourth touchdown of the game in the extra period, and Silva’s third two-point conversion run provided the eight-point margin. Consecutive holding penalties against the Trojans moved them back to the 30-yard line, where the Lancers were able to come up with a stop and finish the wild victory.
Castro Valley had two 200-plus rushers of their own as well, as Mitchell ran for 255 yards and five touchdowns on 18 carries, while Modise carried the ball 23 times for 246 yards and four scores. The two teams combined for 1,462 yards of offense in the game, to go with the 162 combined points. According to Cal-Hi Sports editor Mark Tennis, the 162 combined points and the 77 points scored in a loss by Castro Valley are both section records.
Campolindo 38, Las Lomas 28: The Cougars saw their chance to post four consecutive undefeated league seasons in serious jeopardy midway through the second quarter when visiting Las Lomas was leading 28-7 on Campolindo’s Homecoming night.
The veteran team did not panic, though, and when Jack Shurtz returned an interception 65 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter, the Cougars used that momentum to score ten fourth-quarter points and rally for the crucial win.
After a 23-yard touchdown pass from Ben Wood to Max Kulsuptrakul gave Las Lomas a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter, Campolindo’s defense locked the doors, and did not allow a single point for the remainder of the evening.
A 56-yard interception return for a touchdown by Knights two-way standout Zack Fulks extended the lead to 28-7, but would be the final score of the game for Las Lomas.
The Cougars responded twice before the half, first on a Nick Fadelli four-yard touchdown run, and again on a 44-yard completion from Jack Stephens to Tyler Petite. Fadelli would finish the game with three touchdowns on the ground, including the go-ahead score on a 22-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Campolindo improved to 8-0 overall with the win, and grabbed complete control of the Diablo Foothill race with the victory. A season-ending matchup at home with Acalanes appears to be the Cougars’ final remaining hurdle to another undefeated regular season and a top seed in the section playoffs.
Foothill 21, California 14: Foothill’s defense forced five turnovers as the Falcons battled back from a 7-0 first-quarter deficit to win a battle with the Grizzlies for first place in the East Bay Athletic League.
An early touchdown run by Cal’s Simi Hingano gave the Grizzlies the lead at the end of the first quarter, but turnovers prevented them from threatening again until late in the game.
Foothill, meanwhile, used touchdown passes from Kyle Kearns to Isaiah Langley and Isaiah Floyd to take a 14-7 at the end of three quarters.
Cash Connolly then extended the Falcons’ lead to 21-7 with 7:48 remaining after his nine-yard touchdown run before Cal made the game interesting.
Jacob Wooldridge, who threw for 254 yards in the loss, hit Alex Dohmann for a 65-yard touchdown pass on the ensuing Grizzlies’ possession, and the lead was down to seven. Cal’s defense then forced a quick stop, and the Grizzlies’ offense responded by driving the ball into Foothill territory.
Connolly came up big again for Cal, though, when he recovered a fumble after the Falcons’ defense sacked Wooldridge. Foothill now has wins over both San Ramon Valley and California in its quest for an EBAL title.
Salesian 30 St. Mary’s 23: Salesian moved a step closer to the TCAL-Rock division title with a win over previously undefeated St. Mary’s.
The Pride took advantage of a 21-point third quarter to pull away from the Panthers. St. Mary’s led 7-2 at halftime before Salesian’s offense began to click.
Dewayne Dixon grabbed a four-yard pass to give the Pride a 9-7 early in the third quarter. Tamarick Pierce briefly re-gained the lead for the Panthers with his four-yard touchdown run, before Dixon struck again, this time with a 90-yard kickoff return for a lead that the Pride would not relinquish.
St. Mary’s got within a touchdown twice over the remainder of the game, including a 28-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Jenkins to Erik Philip. Jenkins threw for 177 yards in the loss. Salesian’s most difficult game remaining on the schedule appears to be El Cerrito in two weeks.
San Ramon Valley 21, Amador Valley 17: Amador Valley bolted to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter on touchdown runs by Ledre McCullough and Ronnie Jones, but the combination of Zack Baker and JJ Koski was too much for the Dons’ defense, as the duo rallied San Ramon Valley to the EBAL win.
Koski hauled in touchdown passes of 78 and 35 yards in the second quarter as the Wolves tied the game by halftime. Koski then threw the go-ahead touchdown to Zach Nelson in the fourth quarter, allowing San Ramon Valley to win its second consecutive game in league play.
Baker completed 17 of 22 passes for 256 yards for the Wolves, as their usually solid ground game was held to 77 yards by the Dons’ defense.
Sitting Firmly In The Driver’s Seat: With victories this past weekend, Foothill, Campolindo, and Salesian appear to not only control their own destiny, but have also beaten what should be their most difficult opposition during the regular season.
Foothill has an always-dangerous cross-town rivalry game with Amador Valley still remaining, while Campolindo hosts a 6-1 Acalanes team to finish the season. Meanwhile, Salesian must still take care of an athletic El Cerrito team, but each team already has victories over presumably more difficult opponents.
Nothing Comes Easy Here: Both the East Bay Athletic League and Diablo Foothill Athletic League met the distinction last weekend of having every game feature a come-from-behind victory.
Acalanes trailed Dougherty Valley 22-7 before scoring 29 straight points, Alhambra trailed Dublin 26-22 late in the game before a 75-yard James Gonsalves touchdown run, and Campolindo rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat Las Lomas in DFAL action.
In the EBAL, Foothill trailed at the end of one quarter against Cal, San Ramon Valley was staring at a 14-0 hole against Amador Valley, and Monte Vista used three fourth-quarter touchdown passes from sophomore Jake Haener to rally for the 30-27 win after trailing 27-10 to start the final period of play.
Stat Watch: Mt. Eden receiver Dominic Williams caught three more touchdown passes against Hayward, bringing his section-leading total to 17 . . . St. Bernard’s-Eureka sophomore receiver Jack Rice became the first 1000-yard receiver in the section with 1031 yards and 12 touchdowns in seven games played . . . Antioch’s Najee Harris was held under 100 yards rushing for the first time this season, but still leads the section with 1,387 yards on the ground. He will not be in action next week against Deer Valley, however, due to a game ejection against Liberty . . . With three more touchdowns on the ground against Las Lomas, Campolindo’s Nick Fadelli leads the section with 15 rushing touchdowns and 19 total touchdowns, including two receiving and two return touchdowns.
