Friday night, the eighth-seeded Silver Creek Raiders will look to spring an upset when they travel to Milpitas to take on the No. 1 Trojans in the quarterfinals of the CCS Division I playoffs.
The Trojans (7-3) were the frontrunners for the SCVAL-De Anza Division title and a trip to the Open Division playoffs before they suffered an upset loss Nov. 2 against Saratoga. Instead of being a lower seed in the Open Division the Trojans will be the number one seed in the Division I bracket.
Meanwhile, when the Silver Creek football team opened the 2012 season with three straight losses, a CCS berth didn't appear likely. A playoff berth certainly didn't appear probable after the Raiders suffered back-to-back losses in October, including a 39-0 defeat at Westmont. The Raiders (5-5) finished strong, however, with a stunning 41-32 win at Gunderson in the last game of the regular season.
Silver Creek still needed a little help off the field in order to grab a playoff spot. The league champions Lincoln High School have a commitment to a Thanksgiving Day Big Bone game with San Jose and annually decline the invitation compete in the league playoffs.
As a result, the Raiders will be the lone representative from the BVAL-Santa Teresa Division, and will participate in the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Senior RB Marcos Bueno, who has scored 12 TDs and run for 785 yards on the season, leads the Silver Creek offense.
“All three backs are interchangeable and we have two quarterbacks that can run as well”, said Silver Creek coach Chris Bolding, referring to junior QB Donavon Ramirez (577 yards rushing) and senior RB Kieayre Davis (482 yards). “Our philosophy is that we want to keep things simple through the run but at the same time keep our opponents guessing by giving them a lot of different looks.”
Bueno, Ramirez and Davis will need another great performance in order to take down the determined Trojans. Junior QB Ronnie Reed and group of talented running backs including junior Squally Canada, senior CJ Reyes and senior Vita Vea lead the Trojans into battle.
“I think they just really like playing together," Milpitas coach Kelly King said. "And when you have a group of guys like that, you have a chance to do some great things. Above all that, these guys just have great talent."
