Prep2Prep NCS Rankings
THROUGH WEEK 12
There were no upsets of any of the first 17 spots, but after that there was movement in all but one of the final eight spots. We also had one newcomer this week that takes the place of the team they defeated.
Note: Last week's rankings in parentheses
The top-seeded Spartans gave up a TD on the opening kickoff, but by halftime they had a 33-7 lead and from there they coasted to a 40-14 Open Division semifinal victory over James Logan. The game marked the return of defensive lineman Chase Tofaeono, who missed the entire regular season with a foot injury. Next up is the game everyone has been waiting for as De La Salle will take on Pittsburg in the title game for the third straight time in the top bracket of the NCS playoffs. The matchup is this Friday at Dublin High.
No one really expected BVAL rival Antioch to give Open Division No. 2 seed Pittsburg any more than they gave them two weeks ago in a regular season ending 27-point Pirates victory, and they didn’t in a 33-point that was 35-6 at halftime. Retiring head coach Victor Galli now gets one more crack at taking down his alma mater for what would be the first time any NCS team has beaten De La Salle since Pittsburg did it in the 1991 3A title game.
It was a teeter-totter affair of three-touchdown streaks with the Ugly Eagles scoring the first 21 points and California tying it midway through the third quarter with three TDs of its own. From there, however, the Uglies took over with the final 21 points that included two fourth-quarter TD runs by Nicholas Khashabi. No. 3 seed Clayton Valley now hosts Liberty for the right to play the loser of the Open Division title game.
The Division II second-seeded Cougars put it away early after taking a 28-0 lead midway through the second quarter en route to a 38-14 win over Granada. Senior quarterback Dashiell Weaver accounted for five touchdowns, passing for three, and opening the scoring by running for two scores. Next up is semifinal matchup at home with Rancho Cotate that could be a very good game.
There isn’t much you can say about a 69-0 rout by Division IV top-seeded Marin Catholic over Newark Memorial other than the fact Wildcats head coach Mazi Moayed hardly played his starters. Junior standout running back Charles Williams only had three carries and by the end of the game 10 different players rushed with the football. Marin Catholic now hosts No. 5 seed Del Norte, which pummeled No. 4 seed Tennyson.
Division II top-seeded San Ramon Valley put it away early with a 28-point first quarter and led 42-0 at the half. Next up is fourth-seeded Foothill; the Wolves will be heavily favored to advance to the championship game.
The defense of the Division III top-seeded Gauchos has been doing it all season and against Montgomery they pitched a third shutout of the season in a 41-0 rout. Not including a forfeit win El Cerrito has only given up 56 points in 10 games. It’s highly unlikely semifinal opponent Northgate will turn the tide.
The Jaguars were involved in a penalty-filled affair, in a game stopped by the officials with time still on the clock after a Windsor backup quarterback was injured on an illegal hit by a College Park player. When the dust settled, the hosts and No. 2 seed advanced the Division III semifinals with a 41-15victory. American Canyon is next but things are pointing in the direction of a title-game matchup with the El Cerrito team ranked directly above them.
It was the Jacob Pruitt show last Friday in Rohnert Park. The junior speedster who took over at quarterback five games ago when Liam Keaney was injured, accounted for all seven touchdowns in a 49-14 Division II victory by the third-seeded Cougars. Pruitt, who started the season as a running back and defensive back, passed for four TDs and ran for three more scores, and accounted for 319 yards of total offense. Three of the passing TDs went to Cal-bound Sailasa “Sai” Vadrawale. We’ll see and Pruitt, Vadrawale and the rest of the Cougars do on the road at Campolindo.
Acalanes let visiting Concord hang around for a quarter, but the Division IV No. 2 seed turned a 7-0 first quarter lead into a 28-0 halftime advantage before winning by six TDs in a blanking of the Minutemen. The Dons now have a very interesting matchup with visiting Cardinal Newman.
The fourth-seeded Lions were expected to get a game from an Amador Valley team that has been playing teams tough down the stretch but the visiting No. 5 seed had no answer for Nate Bell. The senior D1 quarterback prospect passed for two TDs and ran for two more scores in a 35-21 victory that gets them a date at Clayton Valley in the Division I semifinals.
It took some time for the Division IV third-seeded Cardinals to pull away from Petaluma, but after a 7-7 tie after one quarter and only leading 28-24 with eight minutes to go, Cardinal Newman scored three straight TDs before Petaluma answered with a score against subs with a minute to go in an 18-point victory. Next up is Acalanes and Newman will likely need to play better to win.
Season is complete with loss to Liberty. We’re not ready to drop a D1 level team that has played well in the latter part of the season below teams in D5 and lower. That doesn’t mean that the Dons are locked into the spot for future rankings.
Season is complete with loss to Clayton Valley. The same logic applies to California as Amador Valley, particularly after the short-handed Grizzlies were tied 21-21 with the Ugly Eagles before running out of gas.
Despite a 56-0 blowout of Alhambra, we can’t move the Division V top-seeded Mustangs ahead of D1 teams that lost at this time. They only lost by seven points to Acalanes on the road and also to Marin Catholic so potentially they can move up if they run the table starting this week with visiting No. 5 seed St. Bernard’s, a 51-25 winner over No. 4 seed De Anza.
The Division II No. 4 seed came off a bye week and prevailed at home in a close 34-28 victory over Vintage that had them trailing 21-20 at halftime. The Falcons took a 34-21 lead, but Vintage scored and recovered an onside kick with just under three minutes left. Vintage got the ball down to the Foothill 15 in the closing seconds, but the Falcons held them off. Next up is top-seeded San Ramon Valley.
We strongly considered moving the Mustangs ahead of Foothill, but the Division IV No. 1 seed just didn’t play that well. Although they were never really threatened and had a 21-0 lead after three quarters in a 28-15 victory over Hoopa Valley. Senior running back Kai Hall rushed for 124 yards and a TD and is now the all-time leading rusher in the Redwood Empire portion of the NCS with 5,473 career rushing yards. Next up is visiting No. 5 seed McKinleyville, a 9-0 winner at No. 4 seed Willits.
We have our first change in the rankings and it comes via the top team from Behind the Redwood Curtain. After dropping a spot last week The Warriors move up four notches this week after taking a 750-mile round trip to Hayward where the Division IV No. 5 seed routed fourth-seeded Tennyson in a 36-point victory. The road Warriors only have a 700-mile roundtrip this week when they visit top-seeded Marin Catholic.
Season is complete with loss to Pittsburg. The Panthers had to play Pittsburg in consecutive weeks and that added to their sub .500 record. No one played a tougher schedule than Antioch, although they did have a questionable loss to Vintage. However, they finished 3-2 in the BVAL and that’s the reason they maintain their spot.
Season is complete with loss to Del Norte. A No. 4 seed losing to No. 5 seed is not really an upset, but despite the large margin of the loss its only a two-spot drop due to the win over James Logan.
Season is complete with loss to De La Salle. The Colts took the opening kickoff to the house, but their 7-0 lead over De La Salle was short-lived and by halftime they faced a 33-7 deficit. The Tennyson loss cost them the WACC-Foothill title, but other than that is was a decent season.
Season was previously completed after failing to make the playoffs. Patriots drop a spot to remain behind James Logan that dealt them a loss.
The Division V second-seeded Mats move up a spot despite a loss to Las Lomas, but they have a win over Northgate and that team is still going in the playoffs with a win over Las Lomas. As for Miramonte itself this past week the offense had another big night in a rout of Sonoma Valley. Next up is a semifinal date with Analy in what could be another high-scoring affair. Analy outlasted San Rafael in its playoff opener, 49-42.
After losing 34-7 at home to Las Lomas in DFAL action, the Broncos turned the tables on the Knights. The Division III No. 5 seed went on the road to face their cross-town Walnut Creek archrivals and pulled out a 24-21 victory on an early fourth quarter 27-yard field goal by Lucas Lesieur. The defense held tight the rest of the way. Next up is top-seeded El Cerrito.
Season is complete after a loss to Northgate. The Knights took a 21-14 lead midway through the second quarter but could not score again the rest of the game. A second place 3-2 DFAL record allows Las Lomas to hold down the final spot.
