Questions swirled around the Campolindo football program prior to this season, as the Cougars prepared for a grueling non-league schedule, a transition to a new league designed by competitive equity, and the loss of multiple key parts from the two previous teams which advanced to state title games.
This past Friday night, however, Campolindo rolled to a surprisingly one-sided 38-0 win over Concord, improving its record to 3-0 in the Diablo Athletic League’s Valley Conference, and 6-2 overall. The two losses came in the non-league schedule, 21-7 in the season opener against CCS powerhouse Valley Christian, and 28-21 against Sac-Joaquin power Oakdale a few weeks later.
“We were just fighting to hang on for dear life against these bigger schools,” said Campolindo coach Kevin Macy. “We lost four linebackers (one for the season) in Valley Christian’s first seven plays on offense, all in the first possession. We’ve just been scrapping together different pieces each week.”
One of the big challenges for this year’s team has been the size of the dog in the fight. The biggest offensive lineman for the Cougars checks in at a whopping 220 pounds, a far cry from last season, when Sterling Strother and Wyatt McNeil dominated opposing defensive lines. McNeil was the smaller of the pair at 250 pounds, while Strother is now playing on the offensive line at Yale.
“After our recent success, we had to take the pressure off this team a bit, after the non-league schedule,” Macy commented. “We scrapped the idea that we have a certain format to winning, and instead now, just find different ways to succeed on a week-to-week basis. We’re a bit more random, and have different kids stepping up each week.”
One area where Campolindo has relied on the same kids, out of necessity, has been the offensive line. The Cougars only had five offensive linemen available going into the Concord game, so the coaching staff has tried to keep those five away from the defensive side of the ball. With those numbers playing against the Cougars, no one predicted their performance last Friday against the Minutemen.
“Our secondary really played great against Concord, and Joey Berzins had a great game on both sides of the ball (tight end and defensive end),” Macy said. “Also, Lev Garcia (former defensive back) has moved to outside linebacker, and he had a great game. That’s been huge for us.”
Indeed, the Cougars’ pass defense held Concord and standout quarterback Nick Nunez to just 97 yards through the air, on 41 attempts. Meanwhile, Campolindo quarterback Jacob Westphal was outstanding, completing 21 of 28 passes for 355 yards and two touchdowns. For the season, Westphal has been consistent under center, completing 59 percent of his throws, for 1,803 yards and 12 touchdowns, with just three interceptions.
Westphal has also been able to spread the ball to numerous receivers; six different Cougars have double-digit catch totals, and nine different Campo players have scored offensive touchdowns this year.
That’s not to say the Cougars have not been challenged in league play this season. In fact, after a 56-3 win over Las Lomas, Campolindo found itself trailing by a point in the fourth quarter to a very good Miramonte team. Defending a league winning streak now in its sixth year (and now standing at 33 games), the Cougars could have panicked, but instead rose to the occasion.
“I saw no panic on any of the players’ faces, just an approach that they would get the job done,” Macy said. “The tough schedule early probably helped with that, and it turned out to be a huge win, and gave us a ton of confidence heading into the Concord game.”
In that Miramonte win, the Cougars drove 87 yards for the go-ahead score, highlighted by a back-shoulder sideline reception by Kannah Cruickshank, and then put the game away a possession later for the 37-25 victory.
Campolindo faces Acalanes this week, looking to improve to 4-0 in league play, heading towards a season-ending game with 7-1 Clayton Valley, who is also unbeaten in league play. Regardless of the outcome against the Eagles, Campo is likely to be selected as the top seed for the Division II playoffs, barring an upset this week. At that point, the Cougars will start the quest for their third straight section title.
Unbeaten teams
All four teams in the section which entered last week unbeaten remained that way. Monte Vista scored the first 35 points of the game in a 35-7 win over Amador Valley, Pittsburg scored the last 56 points of the game in a 56-7 win over Liberty, Freedom scored 41 straight points in a 48-14 win over Heritage, and Kennedy-Fremont beat James Logan for the first time since 1983, 34-16.
At least one unbeaten team will fall this week, however, as Freedom travels down Highway 4 to take on Pittsburg, in the confines of Pirate Stadium. Freedom has only beaten Pittsburg three times in the history of the rivalry, and last did so in 2012, a thrilling 49-48 victory for the Falcons. Last year’s game ended in a 33-29 win for Pittsburg, after A’jae Boyd cut across the Freedom defense for a long touchdown reception in the final minute of the game.
Stat stars
Berean Christian senior Isaiah Hodgins became the section’s first 1,000-yard receiver last week, despite having missed one full game, and also playing sparingly last game due to an ankle injury. He leads the section with 59 catches for 1,024 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Analy senior Eric Bendyk is close to joining Hodgins in the club, as he currently has 44 catches for 961 yards and 12 touchdowns. Hercules junior Emany Johnson, Rancho Cotate junior Jaelen Ward, Freedom junior Baylei Coston, St. Bernard’s junior Micha Fontenot-Cornely, and Fort Bragg senior Shane Giaccani round out a group of receivers who are all above the 800-yard mark.
Defensively, Kennedy-Richmond senior Ryan ‘Juice’ Robinson is having a banner year at outside linebacker, a big reason for the Eagles’ 7-1 start. Robinson leads the section with 20.5 sacks, trailed by San Leandro’s Jahari Kay, who has 16 sacks. Windsor junior Bas Osborn and Hercules senior Isaiah Kelly each have 14.
Santa Rosa two-way standout Cassius Banks leads the section with eight interceptions. The senior has also accumulated 908 yards and 12 touchdowns from scrimmage. Hercules’ Johnson and Ukiah’s Eddie Holbrook each have six interceptions, while Heritage senior Tyriq Mack and California senior Brandon Perrilliat have five interceptions apiece.
Shoreline logjam
After losses for both Hayward and Arroyo last week, both of whom had been unbeaten in league, four teams are now tied for the league lead in the WACC-Shoreline Division. Along with the Farmers and the Dons, Encinal and Alameda are part of the four-team tie.
Hayward has an earlier win over Encinal, and finishes with both Arroyo and Alameda, leaving the Farmers still in control of their own destiny. Arroyo has a loss to Encinal, Encinal lost to Hayward, and Alameda has a loss to Arroyo. Encinal and Alameda play this week in the annual Island Bowl, while Arroyo finishes with Hayward this week and then Mt. Eden, the team which just beat Hayward.
Confused yet? Don’t worry. With this week’s games, only two teams can be tied for the lead going into next week. After that, though, all bets are off.
