Six games, played by 12 teams, and decided by a total of 21 points. That was life in the North Coast Section last weekend, as league and non-league games both gave fans more than the price of admission.
Casa Grande picks up thrilling first win . . . After starting 0-5 in 2014, it was starting to feel like déjà vu all over again for the Gauchos entering Friday’s game with Windsor. The Jaguars handed Casa Grande its fifth loss last season, and the stage was similarly set entering last weekend.
This time, however, coach Trent Herzog’s squad used a huge stop on a two-point conversion late in the game to turn back Windsor, and earn its first victory of the season, 21-20.
“Our team played with great heart and determination,” Herzog said. “It was a very physical game on both sides, just an old-school defensive battle that came down to the last play.”
Even after stopping the Jaguars’ two-point conversion, Casa Grande’s defense had to make one final stand, and junior Spencer Torkelson preserved the win with a huge interception. He was hardly the only Gaucho to make big plays throughout the night.
Tight end and defensive tackle Elijah Chirco returned after missing the first four games with an injury and made an immediate impact. Chirco was disruptive all game, registering eight tackles, two tackles for a loss, and two sacks, while also adding a touchdown catch offense.
Wide receiver Kaleo Garrigan had another big game for the Gauchos, with four catches for 100 yards receiving, including a 65-yard touchdown. Garrigan also stopped a potential scoring drive for Windsor late in the third quarter with an interception in the end zone. Nic Petri added another interception early in the game for the Gauchos, along with 13 tackles at free safety.
“This was a big win for our team against a solid league opponent and Division II team that will make the playoffs,” Herzog said.
Casa Grande now hopes to replicate a similar run as last season, when the Gauchos won four of their last five regular-season games to reach the playoffs, and then advanced all the way to the section semifinals.
American knocks Moreau Catholic from ranks of unbeaten . . . The Eagles came out firing in an MVAL showdown with the Mariners, as Junior Diala hit Jared Luty out of the backfield on the first play of the game for a 40-yard gain, and later connected with Lamar Reid, Jr. and Aaron Bell for first-half scoring passes, as American built a 27-7 lead over the first three quarters and held on for the 27-20 victory.
“We wanted to come out aggressive, and make sure our guys were in the right mindset to go after them,” said American coach Bret Casey. “We knew it would be a fight all game long, and it was. They came back strong, and we made some big plays at the end to get the win.”
Behind 224 yards through the air by three-year starting quarterback Diala, the Eagles were able to control the offensive flow of the game for the first 36 minutes, especially during a 70-yard, six-minute drive to open the third quarter. That kept the ball away from the Mariners’ offense, especially junior running back Jullen ‘Booda’ Ison, who still ran for 180 yards and three touchdowns.
“We knew (Ison) was going to get his yards, and we just wanted to rally to the ball as best as possible,” Casey said. “I thought we did a great job getting as many players to the ball as we could.”
That defense rose up when Moreau Catholic was facing a fourth-and-five from the American 37 with just over three minutes remaining in the game. The Mariners put the ball in Ison’s hands, but a swarm of Eagles’ defenders held the star back a yard shy of the first down, and allowed American to run out the clock.
The team effort preached by Casey and the Eagles’ staff was not lost on the players, either, as Diala noted to Contra Costa Times reporter Phil Jensen after the game.
“The O-line just came together, and we played as a team,” Diala said. “Everything just clicked.”
Clayton Valley uses aggressive defense for win over Monte Vista . . . In a game covered by Prep2Prep’s Harold Abend, Clayton Valley battled back to beat previously unbeaten Monte Vista, 21-17. Ugly Eagles’ coach Tim Murphy singled out the defensive line play of Koti Vaisima and Bryce Brand, who had three sacks each in the win.
The Mustangs led 17-14 at halftime, but Clayton Valley was able to increase the defensive pressure in the second half and blank Monte Vista’s prolific offense over the final 24 minutes.
The Ugly Eagles were able to go on a 14-play, 80-yard drive in the fourth quarter, following an interception in the end zone by free safety Jake Peralta on Monte Vista’s previous drive. Clayton Valley quarterback Luis Ramos scored the go-ahead touchdown with a leap over the goal line on fourth-and-goal.
“Their line was going low to stop us, so I decided to jump over them,” Ramos told Abend after the game, also referring to the previous three plays in which the Mustangs’ defensive front held firm against Clayton Valley’s attempts to score.
The Ugly Eagles’ offense was powered by the tandem of Ramos and senior Ray Jackson III, who carried the ball 32 times for 199 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown run.
“(Ray) Jackson ran like a man all night, breaking tackles all over the place,” Murphy said. “Another huge key to the win was that, outside of my crazy fourth-down calls, we didn’t turn the ball over.”
Swett makes it three straight for Stone division in win over Salesian . . . Trailing 20-7 to defending Rock division champion Salesian, defending Stone division champion Swett battled back to nab a 21-20 victory. It was the third straight victory for a Stone division team over a Rock division team.
Senior receiver Devan Quesada had a big game for the Indians, with over 200 yards receiving, and two interceptions in the secondary. His second pick sealed the win over the Pride.
Back-to-back, long completions from Matt Thompkins to Quesada took Swett all the way to the Salesian 1-yard line after the Pride had taken the 13-point lead, returning momentum to the Indians’ sideline. After converting for a short touchdown, and then coming up with a big defensive stop, Quesada broke loose again, turning a short catch into a 75-yard reception back down inside the Pride 5-yard line and setting up the go-ahead score.
“I attribute the comeback to conditioning and heart,” said Swett coach Bob Quesada. “An average team could have folded at that (20-7) deficit, but great players show up in huge games and ours did.”
Traverso carries Terra Linda over Tam . . . Terra Linda running back JP Traverso carried the ball 47 times for 269 yards and two touchdowns as the Trojans took their first lead of the game with 59 seconds remaining on a short Traverso run, downing the Red-Tailed Hawks, 20-17.
“The offensive line is working its butt off,” said Terra Linda coach Damon Keeve, speaking to Marin Independent Journal reporter Ian Ross. “We give it to (JP) and a lot of times there’s not much there but then he finds something.”
Terra Linda battled back from a 17-7 deficit with just over seven minutes remaining in the game to pull off the improbable win and improve to 2-1 in MCAL play.
Deer Valley enters BVAL play on high note . . . Playing its final non-league game at Diablo Valley College, the former stomping grounds of their first-year coach, Robert Hubbard, the Wolverines held on for a wild 38-33 win over College Park.
Hubbard, who was an all-state junior college running back for DVC before starring at the University of Nevada, saw his own running back, Rai-Shyan Alexander, run wild for 149 yards and three touchdowns while also adding another 51 yards and a touchdown through the air.
College Park’s David Jones was nearly able to match Alexander in the loss, running for 153 yards and two touchdowns on just 13 carries. The game was also coach Bill Kepler’s first game on the sideline this season for the Falcons, as he came out of retirement in the wake of Joe Tenorio’s dismissal.
