Prep2Prep NCS Rankings
THROUGH WEEK 13
The cliché “the beat goes on” couldn’t be more appropriate when talking about the CIF North Coast Section rankings and playoff championships. De La Salle is once again the Open Division champion, it’s the same matchup in the Division I final as last year’s, Division II has two familiar foes battling each other, and Division IV pits two Redwood Empire Catholic school powers that will be facing each other for the title for the second straight time and third time in the last four seasons.
Note: Last week's rankings in parentheses
The final score turned out to be close, but the upset that some felt was going to happen never materialized after Sparta marched down the I-680 to Dublin and came away with a 30-23 victory. Open Division top-seeded De La Salle has now won 30 straight NCS championships. The Spartans led 13-0 midway through the second quarter, 16-7 at halftime, and 23-7 up until around four minutes to go in the third quarter, but Pittsburg fought back and scored with a minute left. They tried a pooch kickoff but the Spartans recovered it to close things out. Charles Greer ran for two TDs and defensive lineman Chase Tofaeono, in his second game back after missing the entire regular season with a foot injury, led the defense with a sack to go along with sacks by Dylan Greeson and Matthew Johnson, and interceptions by Robert Santiago and Colton Seastrand. The Spartans now have a week to rest up before playing in the CIF Northern Regional playoffs.
The old expression “close but no cigar” applies perfectly to the Pirates performance in a 30-23 loss to De La Salle in the NCS Open Division championship game. Open Division No. 2 seed Pittsburg got closer than anyone has in an NCS title game since they defeated De La Salle 35-27 in the 1991 3A championship finale. The bottom line, however, is they just couldn’t get over the hump in a year some media outlets had them higher up in their pecking order than the Spartans. At this point the only team in the state to lose in a section title game and still be in action needs to duplicate what it did last year when after losing to De La Salle and dropping down the Division 1 they defeated Clayton Valley 28-14 for the championship. This week’s winner of the rematch move on to the CIF NorCals.
Early in the season when some had Clayton Valley buried six feet under we stuck with veteran head coach Tim Murphy and his decision to radically change his offense from a running juggernaut to a spread to accommodate the players he had, most notably quarterback senior quarterback and Pittsburg transfer Christian Aguilar. Now, after starting 1-3 including a 35-33 loss to a Turlock team that beat St. Mary’s who upset De La Salle, the Division I third-seeded Uglies are 7-1 with the lone loss to De La Salle and they’re back in the D1 title game against Pittsburg on Friday at Heritage after a 21-13 semifinal win over Liberty. Aguilar, who beat Clayton Valley last year in the D1 title game when he replaced injured Jaden Rashada, will get a chance to turn the tables on his former team.
The Division II second-seeded and defending champion Cougars got the semifinal win over No. 3 seed Rancho Cotate by a razor thin 42-41 final score in a game that was tied 7-7 after one quarter, 21-21 at the half, and 28-28 at the end of the third stanza. When Rancho Cotate scored with under a minute to go and went for a deuce and the win, the Campolindo defense stopped them to preserve the victory. Senior quarterback Dashiell Weaver was 16 of 21 for a season-high 339 yards with two TDs, and Dashiell dashed his way to a team-high 56yards rushing with four TDs, meaning he accounted for all six Campolindo scores. Next up is top-seeded San Ramon Valley in a rematch of last year’s D2 semifinal when SRV was also the top seed and Campo beat them 17-14 as the No. 4 seed en route to the championship. This could be another close game.
Host and Division IV top-seeded Marin Catholic played phenomenal defense like it has all season and the offense outgained No. 5 seed Del Norte in total offense 383-80 yards, but the flu-ridden Wildcats were a bit sluggish, made some gaffes on offense including a pick six for the Warriors only points of the game in a 20-7 semifinal victory. Senior quarterback Joey Cook did pass for 249 yards and all three Marin Catholic touchdowns. Next up is No. 3 seed Cardinal Newman for the title on Saturday night at San Rafael High. The two Redwood Empire Catholic school powers will be facing each other for the title for the second straight time and third time in the last four seasons.
Division II top-seeded San Ramon Valley punched its ticket to the Division II championship and a rematch of last year’s D2 semifinal when the Wolves were also the top seed but fell 17-14 to eventual champion Campolindo. In its semifinal matchup with No. 4 seed Foothill it was 28-0 at halftime and from there the Wolves coasted home to a 29-point victory. Two SRV running backs cracked the 100-yard mark with junior John Pau Mendoza rushing for 153 yards and a TD and senior Nick Rivera also had a TD and an even 100 yards rushing.
The defending Division III champion and top-seed El Cerrito overwhelmed No. 5 seed Northgate in a running clock 41-point victory. Senior running back Tony McAdoo rushed for 236 yards on only 14 carries with four TDs that accounted for the Gauchos’ first four scores. The victory sets up a rematch with defending champion Windsor for the D3 championship. In last year’s semifinal 33-32 loss, El Cerrito trailed Windsor 33-13 going to the fourth quarter, but came back with three straight touchdowns to get within a point before missing a 2-point conversion attempt with around six minutes left.
The difference between last year’s Division III title game and this year’s matchup is Windsor was the top seed, beat No. 4 seed El Cerrito 33-32 in the semifinals, and went on to defeat Benicia for the championship. This season Windsor is the No. 2 seed and El Cerrito No. 1, and the two will meet for the title on Saturday night at Benicia High. The Jaguars made it to the title game by surviving in a 35-34 victory over No. 3 seed American Canyon when they converted a fourth-and-one late in the game that allowed them to run out the clock.
Season is complete for the first team in the rankings to lose, but based on the loss coming to Campolindo in the tightest of tight affairs, the Cougars hold their spot. Rancho Cotate head coach Gehrig Hotaling made a decision to go for a 2-point conversion to win the game after the Cougars scored with less than a minute left, and the gamble failed and the No. 3 seed fell on the road in a heartbreaking 42-41 loss. Even so, it was a great season for Rancho Cotate after fighting through adversity with the loss of starting quarterback Liam Keaney to injury.
Season complete with a loss to Clayton Valley. The Division I fourth-seeded Lions gave Clayton Valley a good game before losing by eight points in the semifinals. In this group that gets them into the top 10 where they will likely finish.
The Division IV third-seeded Cardinals defense has been playing well down the stretch. They lost 14-13 to Windsor in their NBL-Oak finale, and although they did give up 31 points to Casa Grande in the quarterfinals, when it counted last Friday they held Acalanes to two touchdowns. They won the game on a 34-yard field goal by Patrick Gardner that just cleared the crossbar with 12.5 seconds left. Next up is the championship game on Saturday night at San Rafael high with top-seeded Marin Catholic.
Season complete with a loss to Cardinal Newman. The host and second-seeded Acalanes trailed 7-0 at halftime and 14-0 with around nine minutes to go in the third but came back with two TDs with the second one on a 13-yard run by Ellis Burger knotting things at 14-apiece, but a Cardinal Newman field goal with 12.5 seconds left ended the season for the Dons.
Season previously completed with a loss to Liberty.
Season previously completed with a loss to Clayton Valley.
The Mustangs exploded for 50-plus points for the second straight week after the Division V No. 1 seed followed up a 56-0 blowout of Alhambra with a 52-13 semifinal victory over No. 5 seed St. Bernard’s. Next up for the defending D5 champions is a Friday night date with No. 2 seed Miramonte at Rancho Cotate High.
Season is complete with a loss to San Ramon Valley. The Falcons were never really in the game and trailed 28-0 at the half before the D2 No. 4 seed bowed out in a 29-point loss.
At this point the Mustangs are likely about as high as they can go and hold tight after a 42-7 semifinal victory by the top seed over No. 5 seed McKinleyville. Senior dual-threat quarterback Jaret Bosarge only played two quarters but he had 229 yards and three TDs passing and 92 yards and two TDs rushing. Senior running back Kai Hall only played a half as St. Vincent de Paul built a 42-0 halftime lead. Hall only had six carries for 45 yards and now has 5,818 career rushing yards and 1,735 yards this season for the No. 4 reported mark in the NCS with none of the three players ahead of him still in action.
Season is complete with a loss to Marin Catholic. Their offense was totally stymied by Marin Catholic but they fought a hard fight and in comparing how they played in their 13-point loss the Warriors stay put and in front of Antioch
Season previously completed with a loss to Pittsburg.
Season previously completed with loss to Del Norte.
Season previously completed with a loss to De La Salle.
Season was previously completed after failing to make the playoffs.
The Division V second-seeded Matadors are into the title game on Friday night at Rancho Cotate High against No. 1 seed San Marin after a solid 34-6 victory over No. 3 seed Analy. With the victory the Mats will be playing for an NCS title for the first time since 2013 when they defeated Casa Grande for the Division II championship. In the Analy win UCLA-committed quarterback Luke Duncan had three TD passes.
Season is complete with a loss to El Cerrito. The fifth-seeded Broncos only trailed 7-6 after two field goals by junior kicker Lucas Lesieur, but from there they were shut out and gave up 40 straight points.
Season previously completed with a loss to Northgate.
