SAN RAMON, CA - Tied at halftime, the host No. 3-seeded California Grizzlies used a demonstrative third quarter en route to the 31-24 victory over No. 6 San Ramon Valley to advance to the North Coast Section Division I semifinals.
The Grizzlies earned a rematch with Pittsburg, a 27-21 winner over Freedom.
“We went into halftime tied and we just knew that we couldn’t end our season right here,” said senior running back Blake Bierwith. “We’ve worked too hard and just came through and out-physicaled them, and came out with the win.”
On its first possession of the second half after stopping the Wolves, junior fullback Simi Hingano capped off a 9-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to give Cal a 24-17 lead with 6:14 remaining in the third quarter.
Four plays later, the Grizzlies got the back after forcing a three-and-out and finished it off with a 1-yard touchdown scamper from junior Zac Guardino, also a baseball star, to give themselves a 31-17 lead with 4.2 seconds left in the third.
However, San Ramon Valley scored with 3:06 remaining on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Stanford baseball commit Matt Winaker to JJ Koski to cut the Grizzlies lead to 31-24. But after failing to convert the onside kick, it only took two first downs to end the game.
Winaker closed out the night completing 25-of-31 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns, but with a crucial interception in the end zone by Guardino with 8:57 left as the Wolves still trailed 31-17.
Ground and pound was the main recipe for the Grizzlies success again. Bruising running back Blake Bierwith ran for 125 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, increasing his season totals to over 1,600 yards and 24 touchdowns.
“Definitely wasn’t my best performance, said Bierwith. “But I tried about as hard as I could but it was definitely nowhere near perfect.”
Bierwith’s teammate Hingano also powered his way through the Wolves' defense and accounted for 67 yards and one touchdown.
San Ramon Valley running back Marcus De La Pena also had an effective night rushing for 175 yards and a touchdown, along with a 6-yard receiving touchdown to give the Wolves a 14-7 lead with 1:51 remaining in the first. He currently holds offers from Air Force and Wyoming.
In wake of the firing of head coach Mark Kessler before last Saturday’s playoff win over San Leandro, many predicted the Wolves to fall apart, and not advance past the first round. Despite firing, they advanced to the NCS quarterfinals and came within one score of making it to the semifinals.
“It was a great year, De La Pena said. “I love my teammates and it was a good ride while it lasted."
With the victory, Cal travels to 2-seed Pittsburg next Saturday in the NCS semifinals. Last time the two faced back on September 6 in Pittsburg, a botched 2-point conversion gave Pittsburg the thrilling 35-33 victory.
“It’s going to be a really high impact game,” Bierwith said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Improvement will be needed for the Grizzlies hope to come out on top and advance to the championship. Pittsburg star running back and Oregon State commit Harris Ross leads the way for them as he returned this week after missing the last few games with an injury. If the Grizzlies come out on top, it will take more than the product on the field to get them through.
“We haven’t had a perfect game all season,” said Bierwith. “A lot of mental errors so I think if we fix that we will have a good shot.”
