Half Moon Bay defeated a second consecutive Monterey Bay playoff opponent, defeating Carmel 28-14 Friday night.
The CCS Division V semifinal win puts HMB in a section title game for the second time in its history as it faces Pacific Grove at 7 p.m. Saturday at Independence High.
"PG is a No. 1 seed for a reason," HMB coach Keith Holden said. "They defend the run well. Their QB is a good athlete who is good runner."
The Cougars won a second title 10 years ago when Holden was an assistant and current Cougars’ assistant Willie Hillyard was a player.
Matt Spigelman rushed for more than 200 yards and scored three touchdowns against Carmel.
Half Moon Bay (10-2) led 20-14 in the fourth quarter when Spigelman scored his third TD. After stopping Carmel on defense, HMB took over and used its strong running game to run out the clock.
Besides the heroics of Spigelman, Justin Terra starred on defense for HMB and sophomore Adrian Rangel stood out on special teams.
The Half Moon Bay team awards banquet is tonight.
