Seven championships are on the line this weekend in the North Coast Section, including five that have teams from the Bay Area News Group’s coverage area.
San Ramon Valley fell shot last week in the Open Division championship game against De La Salle, losing 17-7.
De La Salle has this weekend off before moving on to a regional next weekend.
SRV, as the Open runner-up, slides into the Division I final against undefeated Pittsburg, which lost to De La Salle in Open title games the past two years before winning D-I crowns.
Pittsburg is seeded third, SRV second.
El Cerrito and Acalanes face North Bay teams in their championship games, both on Friday. El Cerrito will play Windsor for the D-II championship and Acalanes will face San Marin for the D-IV title.
We preview the games here:
NCS Division I: No. 3 Pittsburg vs. No. 2 San Ramon Valley
Records: Pittsburg 12-0; SRV 10-2
Kickoff: Friday at Dublin High School, 7 p.m.
Series history: The teams have met five times in the MaxPreps era (2004 to present), with Pittsburg winning four. That includes a 16-7 victory in their most recent meeting in 2017.
Storylines: Both teams won NorCal regional championships last season before losing in an upper-division state title game in Mission Viejo. … In this year’s playoffs, SRV reached the Division I final by beating Campolindo 38-31 in overtime in the first round and falling last week to De La Salle 17-7 in the NCS Open Division title game. If SRV had beaten DLS, it would have had this week off before beginning regional play next week. … Pittsburg had hoped for the No. 2 seed in the NCS Open/Division I bracket and a shot at DLS, which the Pirates got in each of the past two seasons en route to winning the section’s D-I title. … Instead, they advanced to the D-I final as the No. 3 seed, beating Amador Valley 41-14 in the first round and California 35-14 in a semifinal. … SRV’s Luke Baker has had an exceptional senior season, throwing and running, and will be looking to bounce back after DLS held the Wolves to seven points last week. … SRV middle linebacker Marco Jones will be the center of attention for Pittsburg, as he has been on probably every scouting report this season. Hasn’t really mattered. Last week, the four-star junior had 21 tackles and an interception against DLS. … Pittsburg has yet to lose under first-year coach Charlie Ramirez, the former defensive coordinator who took over from Victor Galli after last season. … The Pirates’ ground game was in punishing form against California as Elijah Bow and Jamar Searcy accounted for more than 350 rushing yards. … If SRV slows down the Pittsburg ground attack, QB Marley Alcantara can move the ball through the air. … Pittsburg has won five NCS championships, San Ramon Valley has captured four.
Computer projection: Calpreps.com says Pittsburg prevails 27-26
– Darren Sabedra
NCS Division II: No. 2 Windsor vs. No. 1 El Cerrito
Records: Windsor 10-1-1, El Cerrito 11-1
Kickoff: Friday at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, 7 p.m.
Series history: The teams have met in the past two NCS playoffs. They are the only times they have played in the MaxPreps era that began in 2004. Two years ago, Windsor hung on to beat the Gauchos 33-32 in the D-III semifinals after leading 33-7 in the third quarter. Last season, El Cerrito nearly blew a 28-point lead in the second half before winning 34-27 in the D-III final.
Storylines: El Cerrito was the NCS D-III champ last year. Windsor won D-III in 2021. Now these teams are the class of Division II. … El Cerrito has not been challenged in the first two rounds of this year’s playoffs. The Gauchos beat Berkeley and Heritage by a combined score of 116-31. El Cerrito’s only loss this season was to De La Salle 31-12. … Windsor is 10-0 since starting the season 0-1-1. The Jaguars edged Rancho Cotate 14-7 last week. … Don’t be surprised to see college coaches in attendance Friday night. El Cerrito CB/WR Kamani Jackson is a 247sports three-star recruit committed to Washington State. OL Tome Veukiso (6-4, 270) also is a three-star. RB Micah Avery is a two-star recruit with an offer from Columbia, among other schools. QB Michael Vanhook and RB Ziare Eastman are drawing college attention as well. … The top recruit may be Windsor junior WR Hayden Anderson. The younger brother of Jaguars’ QB Judson Anderson, he is a three-star with seven Pac-12 offers including Cal, Washington, Oregon and Utah. … El Cerrito is explosive, averaging nearly 40 points per game. Jackson and Zion Shelton are solid receivers. Jackson has 39 catches for 822 yards and 12 TDs. Avery and Eastman are tough runners. Avery has rushed for 1,756 yards and 24 TDs. … On defense, the Gauchos are holding opponents under 10 points per game. … Windsor prefers the pass to the run. The Jaguars average 197 yards in the air, 140 on the ground. Hayden Anderson has 63 catches for 749 yards and nine TDs. Last year he had nine receptions for 88 yards and a TD against the Gauchos. Judson Anderson threw for 279 yards and two TDs but was picked off three times, twice by Jackson. … El Cerrito’s NCS title in 2022 was its first in football. Still, the Gauchos have had a successful past that included 14 league titles in 20 years under coach Frank Milo. Windsor’s only other NCS crown until 2021 came in 2011 when it beat Concord 14-0 in Division II.
Computer projection: Calpreps.com picks Windsor 28-27.
– Mike Lefkow
NCS Division IV: No. 2 Acalanes vs. No. 1 San Marin
Records: Acalanes 8-4; San Marin 12-0
Kickoff: Friday at Santa Rosa High School, 7 p.m.
Series history: The fifth meeting between the teams since 2010. Opened this season against one another, with San Marin winning 27-20. Acalanes won last year’s season opener against San Marin 21-14.
Storylines: Acalanes is seeking its first NCS championship and aiming to avenge the season-opening loss to San Marin. … Since ending the season with a heartbreaking 25-24 loss at home to Campolindo, Acalanes has breezed through the opening two rounds of the playoffs, routing Mt. Diablo 56-14 and Vallejo 56-20. … The Dons are 8-1 since a 0-3 start that included losses to San Ramon Valley and Amador Valley in addition to getting beat by San Marin. … Sully Bailey threw for 381 yards and three touchdowns against San Marin in August but completed only 38.1% of his attempts. … Dominic Ingrassia connected on 72.4% of his passes for San Marin in the first Acalanes game, throwing for a touchdown and running for another, as the Mustangs rallied in the second half after trailing 14-10 at halftime. … Anthony Scheppler was Ingrassia’s top target that night, catching 10 passes for 104 yards. … San Marin has won five NCS championships, including two in a row. The North Bay school also has captured back-to-back regional and state championships.
Computer projection: Calpreps.com says San Marin prevails 28-27
NCS Division V: No. 1 Miramonte vs. No. 2 St. Bernard’s
Records: Miramonte 8-3; St. Bernard’s 9-3
Kickoff: Saturday at Acalanes High School, 7 p.m.
Series history: The programs have never met in the MaxPreps era (2004 to present).
Storylines: Miramonte is appearing in its second consecutive NCS title game after losing to San Marin in last season’s Division V final. … Miramonte is seeking its first section title since 2013 … After being pass-happy last season with quarterback Luke Duncan, now at UCLA, the Matadors have been much more balanced this fall as Charlie Hwang, Carson Blair and Gabe Roman have all rushed for at least 350 yards … Blair, the team’s new quarterback, has thrown for 18 touchdowns and completing 61 percent of his passes … The Matadors started the season 6-0, then lost to DAL Foothill powers Acalanes, Las Lomas and Campolindo to close the regular season. … In the playoffs, Miramonte beat San Rafael 48-0 and Alhambra 34-17 to reach the title game. … Luke Milmoe leads Miramonte in tackles with 97. He is one of 14 players to record at least half of a sack this season for the Mats. … St. Bernard’s beat Terra Linda 45-7 and Analy 49-0 in the first two playoff rounds. … St. Bernard’s will take the 285-mile, five-and-a-half-hour trip from Eureka to the Bay Area. … Miramonte could have its hands full trying to contain St. Bernard’s running back Wyatt Simoni, a battering ram who has rushed for 30 touchdowns.
Computer projection: Calpreps.com predicts St. Bernard’s will win 28-21.
– Joseph Dycus
NCS Division VI: No. 3 Salesian vs. No. 1 St. Vincent de Paul
Records: Salesian 10-2; St. Vincent de Paul 10-2
Kickoff: Saturday at Rancho Cotate High School, 7 p.m.
Series history: The teams have only played twice in the MaxPreps era, both in the NCS D-V playoffs. Salesian won each time, 42-21 in the first round in 2013 and 48-6 in the quarterfinals the following year.
Storylines: Two teams with 11 NCS titles between them tangle on Saturday. Salesian last won an NCS championship in 2021, beating Justin-Siena 28-26 in Division VI en route to capturing the CIF State 6A crown. St. Vincent de Paul won D-VII in 2021, beating St. Helena, but it fell short of state, losing in the CIF NorCals. … The Mustangs have been impressive in this year’s tournament, beating Kennedy-Richmond 56-12 and Fortuna 45-21 in the first two rounds. … Salesian qualified for the D-VI title game by slipping past St. Mary’s-Berkeley 21-13 and Moreau Catholic 26-15. … Salesian, which has averaged 32 points per game this season, has a trio of standouts on offense. RB Luis Dejesus has rushed for over 800 yards and sophomore WR Carlton Perrilliat has caught 11 touchdowns. He stands 6-foot-5 and also stars on the basketball team. … The third member of this group is Marco Turqueza. He’s a wide receiver who rushed for 620 yards in six games at quarterback when starter Marcus Burke was injured. … St. Vincent de Paul, located in Petaluma and a member of the North Bay Athletic League’s Redwood Division, is 33-5 in the last three seasons under seventh-year coach Trent Herzog, who was at Casa Grande from 2009-2016 before taking over the Mustangs. … St. Vincent de Paul runs a balanced offense. … Sophomore QB Gabe Casanovas has thrown for 2,376 yards and 32 TDs. He has run for 597 yards and eight more scores. The 6-2, 190-pounder is already hearing from Cal, USC and Arizona State. … Casanovas’ favorite target is Jack Davis, who has 67 receptions for 1,155 yards and 14 TDs. The Mustangs’ most impressive win was a 45-21 clubbing of St. Bernard’s-Eureka, which is playing Miramonte for the D-V championship.
Computer projection: Calpreps.com picks St. Vincent de Paul 35-21.
– Mike Lefkow
SILVER BOWL: No. 1 McClymonds vs. No. 3 Oakland Tech
Records: McClymonds 7-2; Oakland Tech 6-5
Kickoff: Saturday at McClymonds, 7 p.m.
Series history: McClymonds has dominated the series in the MaxPreps era (2004 to present) with a record of 26-3-1. McClymonds beat Oakland Tech 40-0 in the regular season.
Storylines: McClymonds will try to send retiring coach Michael Peters out with the program’s 13th consecutive Oakland Athletic League title … Was allowed to host the Silver Bowl after Skyline forfeited what would have been Peters’ last home game against an Oakland opponent … The Warriors reached the 2-AA state title game last year, where they lost 26-18 to Mater Dei Catholic-Chula Vista … Oakland Tech lost the semifinal to Castlemont 27-20, but was given the forfeit victory after an investigation showed Castlemont had an academically ineligible player on its roster … McClymonds outscored its OAL opponents 251-0 this season … Its two losses were to the two best teams in the NCS, San Ramon Valley and De La Salle … John “Sharky” Tamale and Tajir Golden split carries in McClymonds’ talented backfield … Redmani Albert started the season at wide receiver, but Oakland Tech will have to deal with the league MVP as a quarterback … The Bulldogs will need all-OAL selections Safir Stills Bey and Samuel Towns to have the games of their lives to stay competitive with McClymonds.
Computer projection: Using calpreps.com’s “Project a Matchup” simulator, the computer says Mack 48-0.
Source: www.mercurynews.com