With two weeks remaining, a slew of teams are striving to become eligible for the post-season, and league championship races are in crunch time. With the NCS committees having made it clear in the past that they will accept every eligible team that applies, up to the 16-team field limit, the challenge in many divisions is simply to meet eligibility criteria. The one exception might be in Division III, and we’ll get to that later in this preview . . .
Freedom at Pittsburg: Two seasons ago, it came down to this same scenario, with the Bay Valley Athletic League title being decided at Pirate Stadium. In that game, the Pirates scored the apparent game-tying touchdown with a 30-yard touchdown on fourth-and-six, only to watch as current University of Washington player Darrell Daniels blocked the ensuing extra point, giving Freedom its first outright BVAL title by virtue of a thrilling 49-48 victory.
Both teams enter this year’s game with identical 6-2 overall records, and both are undefeated in league play. The Pirates have used a suffocating defense to propel their team, in contrast to their offense, which did not return a single starter in the same position as last year.
The 14 first-half points scored by Liberty last week were the first points allowed in BVAL play by the Pirates, and the defense responded by holding the Lions without a first down in the second half.
Offensively, both teams will look to establish their running games. Freedom has an experienced offensive line, along with sophomore running back Ronnie Rivers; Rivers has 816 yards rushing in eight games, along with 13 total touchdowns.
With Pittsburg boasting arguably the top secondary in the section, the Falcons will need to continue that success on the ground, despite the fact that the Pirates allowed just five yards rushing in last week’s win over Liberty.
Pittsburg’s Jaylyn Morgan and Nick Moore have been an effective combination at tailback for the Pirates, combining to run for over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns. When they can find running room, quarterback Keith Walker has been effective, throwing for over 1,100 yards. Tight end Armani Levias has been a favorite target, with 18 catches for 325 yards.
These two teams circle each other every season, and with the two longest-tenured head coaches in the league in Pittsburg’s Vic Galli and Freedom’s Kevin Hartwig, there are few secrets or surprises when these programs meet. With every other team in the league having already suffered at least two losses in BVAL play, the guarantee of a league title for the winner is just extra incentive in what has become a tremendous annual battle.
California at San Ramon Valley: The battle for second-place in the East Bay Athletic League is also a crucial one for playoff seeding. Cal’s earlier loss to Pittsburg would come into play if the Grizzlies and Pirates both win this week, while San Ramon Valley’s win over the Pirates would loom large with an SRV victory in this game. Likewise, if the Wolves lose this game, their loss to Logan will no doubt become a point of discussion in seeding meetings.
California is coming off a come-from-behind 30-19 win over Monte Vista, one in which the Grizzlies ground game had one of its best showings this season. Cal ran for 320 yards in the win, led by Simi Hingano’s 127 yards and two scores, along with two fourth-quarter touchdowns from Justin Locklear.
San Ramon, meanwhile, allowed nearly 200 yards on the ground to Granada last week in their 41-14 win, but got another magnificent outing from Zack Baker and the offense. Baker completed 13 of 16 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns, with JJ Koski on the receiving end of all three scoring passes. Koski now has 605 yards and 10 touchdowns in seven games played.
With the Grizzlies having allowed over 300 yards passing in last week’s win, pass defense against the Wolves will be a major point of emphasis for head coach Eric Billeci. Billeci will no doubt hope that his offensive line and run game can control the clock and keep the ball out of Baker’s hands for as much time as possible Friday night.
Las Lomas at Acalanes: Both teams found themselves in hotly-contested battles last week, leading up to this top-three game in the Diablo Foothill Athletic League. Las Lomas needed a fourth-quarter touchdown run by Zack Fulks to down Dublin 21-17 in the Knights’ Homecoming game, while Acalanes held off a late rally by Miramonte to beat the Matadors, 35-28.
Acalanes has won seven straight following a season-opening loss to Antioch, but has kept things close in its last three league games. The Dons needed to rally from a 15-point deficit two weeks ago against Dougherty Valley, and eked out a two-point win over Dublin the week prior. Acalanes also played without usual starting quarterback Casey Harrington last game, but got a strong effort on the ground from Nathan Edwards, who ran for 109 yards on 17 carries.
Las Lomas received strong games again last week from Fulks and quarterback Ben Wood, who completed 15 of 18 passes for 141 yards, and ran for a score. Fulks finished the game with 104 yards on 21 carries.
With both these teams also jockeying for position in the ultra-deep Division III playoff bracket, the winner of this game could find themselves staring at a top-three seed, while the loser could potentially drop into a battle to even stay in the top eight.
San Leandro at Castro Valley: San Leandro can set up a showdown against Tennyson next week for the WACC-Foothill division title with a victory over the host Trojans. Castro Valley, meanwhile, needs to win just one of its final two games to become post-season eligible after a grueling non-league slate which saw it lose four of its first five games.
The Pirates got UCLA-bound Stephen Johnson III back from injury last week, but the senior quarterback appeared rusty, completing just five of 17 passes and carrying the ball nine times for 31 yards. San Leandro’s defense preserved the needed victory against Bishop O’Dowd, however, with three interceptions, a defensive touchdown, and a big stop in overtime.
Castro Valley’s run game has proven dangerous against any opponent this season, as Namane Modise and Damon Mitchell are a highly effective one-two punch in the Trojans’ Wing-T attack. It’s the same offense that head coach Nic McMaster ran as a quarterback at Castro Valley, and the Trojans execute the run game as if they go to sleep dreaming of down blocks and pulling guards.
Redwood at Marin Catholic: Redwood finds itself in the perfect position to play spoiler to the three-way tie atop the MCAL standings. The Giants face both Marin Catholic and Justin-Siena in their final two games, needing one win themselves to become eligible for the playoffs.
Redwood nearly found itself on the wrong end of an upset last week, trailing Terra Linda 21-3 in the first half. But quarterback Aaron Dorfler completed a 10-play, 70-yard drive with a one-yard sneak into the end zone, allowing the Giants to pull out the 32-28 win. Sophomore Nick Cazaretta ran for two touchdowns in the comeback.
Marin Catholic, meanwhile, has rebounded from its earlier loss to Justin-Siena, and finds itself back in control of its own destiny after Novato’s shutout win over the Braves last week. Quarterback Darius Peterson has been very effective in recent weeks, with the offense scoring 96 points in the last two games, and the Wildcats’ secondary intercepted league-leading Tamalpais quarterback Jack Harris four times in their last game.
Qualifying For The Show – Division I
Heritage and Monte Vista both face prime opportunities this week to become post-season eligible. Heritage travels to Los Medanos College in Pittsburg to face Antioch, which became eligible last week with a 19-7 win over Deer Valley, and gets star running back Najee Harris back from a one-game suspension. The Patriots, meanwhile, are trying to move into third place in the BVAL after their earlier victory over Liberty.
Monte Vista has been led offensively by sophomore quarterback Jake Haener, who threw for 319 yards last week against Cal, and played tremendously in the win over Amador Valley. The Mustangs can become eligible this week against Livermore.
Qualifying For The Show – Division II
Four teams have great opportunities to punch their tickets in a somewhat thin Division II field. Casa Grande can guarantee a .500 record or better against the division with a win over 1-7 Santa Rosa this week. College Park, which opened the season with six straight losses, can clinch a winning record in the DFAL by beating Mt. Diablo this week.
The only way for Eureka to qualify is to beat Arcata this week, and finish with a .500 record in league play. The Loggers’ game with Enterprise next week can have no bearing on their post-season eligibility. Finally, Alameda can become eligible this week by beating Hayward. The Farmers are still alive themselves and needs to win their final two games.
Qualifying For The Show – Division III
With 15 teams already eligible for the playoffs in this deep field, mere eligibility will likely not guarantee entrance. That being said, Sonoma Valley can become eligible with one more win, and has that opportunity this week against El Molino. Ukiah, meanwhile, must beat Rancho Cotate this week, as its game next week against Division II Maria Carrillo will not have an impact on its eligibility status.
