Week 7 Napa Valley football around the horn

The week that was in high school football for the Napa Valley included four of the six schools
playing against one another and one team taking control of its league race.

In the Vine Valley Athletic League’s version of a showdown battle, the Vintage Crushers
defeated the American Canyon Wolves 27-14. In the less heralded matchup, the Justin-Siena
Braves beat the Napa Grizzlies 36-32. On the Upvalley front, it was a rough night. The
Middletown Mustangs defeated the St. Helena Saints 34-7. In an 8-man football clash, the
Branson (Ross) Bulls defeated the Calistoga Wildcats 36-16.

Here’s a closer look but given the volume of all-local matchups, we depart from going in
alphabetical order:

American Canyon/Vintage

Looking back: The Crushers imposed their will in the early going as their offensive and
defensive lines were consistently creating a new line of scrimmage. The former had blockers
frequently reaching the second level. The latter was frequently in the American Canyon
backfield. The Crushers gained 246 yards rushing led by Viliami Schaumkel’s 126 on 21
carries and three touchdowns. Conversely, Vintage’s defense made the Wolves’ offense
one-dimensional to the tune of 75 yards on 32 carries.

Vintage led 20-0 after three quarters but two turnovers deep in American Canyon territory
kept the Crushers from putting the game away. To their credit, the Wolves pulled to within
20-14 with 3:03 left in the game as quarterback Vance Eschenburg ran for one touchdown
and threw for another to Antonio Perez. American Canyon got no closer as Vintage’s Jakob
Bittner returned an interception 27 yards for a touchdown to seal the win.

Looking ahead: With the win, the Crushers are 5-2 overall and 3-0 in Vine Valley Athletic
League. More importantly, they are in a position to win their first league title since they
shared a Monticello Empire League crown with Napa and Vacaville in 2005. Vintage closes
its season by visiting Justin and taking on Napa in Big Game. If the Crushers go on to win
the VVAL, it could potentially host a CIF North Coast Section Div. I playoff game.

The Wolves head into their bye week at 3-5 overall and 3-1 in VVAL. American Canyon will
need to win out and get help to win its sixth league title in a row. The Wolves won Solano
County Athletic Conference title the last six years, outright or shared. They next visit Casa
Grande on Oct. 19. Given that the Wolves are coming off a game against a physical opponent,
the bye comes at a good time. Casa Grande is 2-5 overall and 2-1 in VVAL. The Gauchos
defeated Sonoma 40-7 on Friday.

Napa/Justin

Looking back: The first ever meeting between these two programs could not have had a
crazier finish. Napa led 32-29 with less than two minutes remaining. Justin’s defense forced
a punt to get the ball back to the offense, except the offense did not get the ball. The Braves’
Grant Koehler blocked a Julio Alonzo punt that Miles Williams scooped up and ran into the
end zone. While the finish of the game was crazy, the entire game was maniacal.

Napa took a 19-0 lead before Justin erased that advantage in part because the Grizzlies had
to settle for two field goals. The lead changed hands three times before the aforementioned
decisive blocked punt.

Looking ahead: The season that has made alums cringe continues as the Grizzlies remain
winless, falling to 0-7. Napa hosts Casa Grande, which blasted Sonoma 40-7. Will a proud
program go winless? You don’t wish it on them but it’s quite possible if not probable. Justin,
which has been snake-bitten with three losses in VVAL, gets a one possession game in its
favor. The Braves are now 4-4 overall and 1-3 in VVAL and keep their NCS Div. IV playoff
hopes alive. Justin, however, finishes the regular season against the two top dogs in the
VVAL, at home against Vintage and on the road at American Canyon.

St. Helena

Looking back: It generally takes a pretty special team to beat Middletown on its homefield.
This St. Helena team has its good points but is not ready to beat the upper-tier teams in the
North Central League I yet. The Saints had the game within reach, trailing just 7-0 in the
final minute of the second quarter before R.H. Hess connected with Nico Barrio for a 52-yard
touchdown pass, making it 14-0 Middletown.  Mustangs’ running back Drake Harbison
carried 16 times for 136 yards and scored three touchdowns. Saints quarterback Daniel
Martinez led the team with 78 yards on 13 carries and scored the team’s lone touchdown.

Looking ahead: The Saints enter Friday’s home game against Fort Bragg 4-3 overall and
2-2 in NCL I. The Timberwolves are 3-4 overall and 2-2 in NCL I. St. Helena will try for
head coach Brandon Farrell’s 100th career win against a team they have not beaten since
2013. Fort Bragg defeated Clear Lake 21-6 on Friday. The Saints remain in position to
achieve an NCS Div. V playoff spot.

Calistoga

Looking back: The Wildcats entered Friday’s game giving up just 72 points in their first
five games (14.4 average). Branson scored half that much, blasting to a 24-0 advantage after
one quarter. Calistoga never recovered. Bulls quarterback Kwentyn Wiggins completed 8 of
12 passes for 82 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 129 rushing yards on 11 carries.
Wiggins amassed those numbers despite leaving the game with an injury midway through
the third quarter. Calistoga also hurt its cause with 10 penalties.

Looking ahead: Calistoga is now 4-2 overall and 1-1 in NCL III South. The Wildcats visit
the Tomales Braves on Friday. Tomales is 2-2 overall and 0-1 in NCL III South. The Braves
had a bye with its last game being a 62-28 loss to Branson. Calistoga went from 1999 to
2011 with losses to the Braves before beating them back-to-back seasons in 2012-2013.
Tomales returned the favor with a pair of wins over Calistoga in 2014. Since the two teams
have gone to the 11-man format in 2015, the Wildcats have won all three by a combined
score of 170-76.