PITTSBURG – The rain never became anything more severe than a steady downpour during Pittsburg’s 35-14 victory over visiting California in its North Coast Section Division I playoff victory on Friday night.
But the electric talents of Pitt running backs Elijah Bow and Jamar Searcy, who combined for 349 rushing yards and four total touchdowns, were on full display as Bow bolted through tacklers and Searcy flashed across the field.
“Jamar Searcy, he’s lightning in a bottle,” Pitt quarterback Marley Alcantara said. “And Elijah, he’s him. He’s been doing that all year.”
California, which got 170 passing yards from Jayden Macedo and a 75-yard touchdown reception by Nick Fox, was able to hang with Pittsburg for a half, going into halftime trailing just 14-7.
But the Grizzlies were unable to corral the Pirate backfield in a show of force by the home team. In the final 24 minutes. Bow rushed for two touchdowns and Searcy caught a 35-yard wheel route out of the end zone to pull away.
“They just wore us down,” Cal High coach Danny Calcagno said. “Their backs are big, and they’re physical.”
Pittsburg looked like every bit like a championship-caliber team after the Pirates defensive backs belted Cal receivers and Pitt offensive linemen created massive holes in the second half.
And so, in the program’s first year under coach Charlie Ramirez, Pittsburg finds itself bound for a familiar place: the North Coast Section Division I title game.
The Pirates will take on San Ramon Valley after the Danville school squandered a fourth-quarter lead and fell to the Spartans 17-7 in the Open Division title game. SRV, as the loser of that game, slots into the Division I championship.
“We feel great about that,” Ramirez said. “As long as we’re playing our best possible games, we’re going to be hard to beat.”
Whether or not Pittsburg would be the one to face San Ramon Valley was in doubt until the second half. Pittsburg started the scoring when defensive back Samu Iosia returned an interception 50 yards, the first of what would be a couple backbreaking Cal High turnovers.
Macedo and the Grizzlies offense answered with his long touchdown bomb to Fox down the right sideline. After Bow rumbled into the end-zone for a 13-yard touchdown to cap off a six-play touchdown drive with two minutes left in the first quarter, the defenses stood firm until the third period.
“Since the Los Gatos game, the defensive line has been huge for us,” Ramirez said. “Having Juju Walls and Bradley Ruffin going both ways has been big.”
Midway through the third quarter, Searcy, who ran for 211 yards on 17 carries, snuck out of the backfield on a wheel route and caught Alcantara’s 35-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-7. It may have been his only score, but Searcy’s ability to turn a loss into a spectacular long run kept several Pittsburg drives alive.
Cal High responded with a resilient nine-play drive that got the ball into the red zone. But four-star prospect Jadyn Hudson showed why he has offers from major colleges when he forced and recovered a fumble to keep the Grizzlies out of the end zone.
“JuJu and Jadyn, they’re both amazing players,” Bow said. “I know they can make plays whenever.”
Pittsburg took over from there, getting two more rushing touchdowns out of Bow behind blocks by Ruffin and Starfordshire Taimani to salt away the win. Luke Taylor returned a late kickoff for California touchdown.
The Pirates will get their chance to win a third consecutive NCS Division I title, albeit under slightly different circumstances.
The past two years, Pittsburg was bumped down to Division I, where it defeated Clayton Valley Charter, after losing to its eternal nemesis De La Salle in the Open title game.
This time, the Pirates will be entering the championship matchup against San Ramon Valley with winning momentum.
“This team, as young as they are, they’ve been oblivious to the pressure,” Ramirez said.
Source: www.mercurynews.com