Napa Valley high school football around the horn Week 7

As the leaves fall from the trees, high school football teams either begin

sniffing for postseason bids or anticipating the start of winter sports

season. 

In Napa Valley, CA, on Friday, the Vintage Crushers put themselves in

a position to win another Vine Valley Athletic League title by defeating

the American Canyon Wolves 28-14. The Napa Grizzlies pulled away

from the Justin-Siena Braves 42-14. The Middletown Mustangs defeated

the St. Helena Saints 20-6. The Calistoga Wildcats fell to the Branson

Bulls 48-44 in eight-man football. 

Here’s a closer look: 

AMERICAN CANYON/VINTAGE

Looking back: Games with season-turning ramifications are often

decided by key sequences, look no further than this contest. American

Canyon tied the game at 14-14 with 30.3 seconds left in the first half

when quarterback Vance Eschenburg connected with Justin Del Rosario

for a 20-yard score. The Wolves received the second half kickoff but

could not parlay that momentum. 

On consecutive series, American Canyon coughed up the ball to give

Vintage possession at the Wolves 16 and 39 respectively. The Crushers

cashed in with two Pedja Zivkovic touchdowns. The other two Vintage

touchdowns were Jacob Aaron to Cutler Low connections. 

Looking ahead: With three regular season games remaining, the

Crushers (6-1 overall, 3-0 in VVAL) need wins over Justin, Sonoma and

Napa and sole possession of the VVAL title belongs to them. For Vintage,
continuing to win is vital in order to get a home game in the first round

home game in the CIF North Coast Section Div. II playoffs as it did last

season. 

For the Wolves (7-1 overall, 3-1 VVAL), the task becomes win your final

two games (Casa Grande-Petaluma at home and at Justin) to secure an

NCS Div. III playoff berth. The Wolves could potentially face Benicia,

which was in the Solano County Athletic Conference with the Wolves

from 2011-2017. 

NAPA/JUSTIN

Looking back: It was even back and forth battle for the first 26 minutes,

then the last 22 minutes happens. Justin’s Hudson Beers connected with

Miles Williams for a 26-yard score to tie the game at 14-14 but the

Grizzlies scored 28 unanswered points with two Isaiah Newton rushing

touchdowns and one each courtesy of Brock Bowers and Benito Saldivar.

For Napa, this victory represented a bounceback from the previous week’s

14-7 loss to American Canyon. 

For Napa’s offense, the numbers looked like old school Napa Indians with

258 yards rushing on 42 carries. Saldivar had 117 yards on 17 carries.

Bowers also had an 89-yard touchdown catch to go along with his

aforementioned rushing score. For Justin, Beers continued to pile up his

passing numbers, completing 15 of 25 for 262 yards, two touchdowns

and three interceptions. 

Looking ahead: Napa’s record (5-2 overall, 2-1 VVAL) and performance

indicates a much-improved product over the last two seasons (3-16). The

Grizzlies, however, need to beat their last three opponents (Casa Grande,

Petaluma and Vintage) to be assured of an NCS Div. II. Going 2-1 in that

span does not rule them out but it makes achieving a berth a more dicey

proposition. Napa should beat Casa Grande and Petaluma (3-10 combined

record) but the The Big Game matchup would feature a blood thirsty

Vintage team aching for another league title. 

Justin, like Napa, is a much improved lot. The Braves are 6-2 overall

and 2-2 in VVAL but face an even bigger drink of water than last week.

Justin visits Vintage on Friday and after its bye week hosts American

Canyon, both teams are a combined 13-2. Regardless of the outcome,

the Braves are in good shape in achieving an NCS Div. VI playoff berth.

There are 13 teams in Div. VI, only ten can mathematically win six games.

However, only five teams in that division have a stronger schedule strength

than the Braves. 

ST. HELENA

Looking back: Ivan Robledo and the Saints offense came back to Earth.

The offense had been producing video game like numbers but came across

a Middletown defense that offered much resistance. Robledo had 90 yards

on 20 carries along with the lone St. Helena touchdown. The Saints offense

was stuck in neutral, gaining 139 yards on 37 plays. The Saints defense

yielded 375 yards of offense but did well to limit the Mustangs to 20 points. 

Looking ahead: With two losses, even a share of a North Central League I

title is likely off the table. In the meantime, the Saints need to regain their

footing as the NCS Div. VII playoffs approach. To close the regular season,

St. Helena hosts Fort Bragg (1-5) and visits Lower Lake (5-2). The Saints

will qualify for the NCS Div. VII playoffs in all likelihood but will need a

strong finish to get a first-round home game. 

CALISTOGA

Looking back: The term wild and woolly gets thrown around freely but

is quite applicable here. The contest feature seven lead changes. If you

were looking for a defensive clinic, this game was not for you. Offensively,

however, the conversation is much different. The two teams combined for

92 points and 740 yards of total offense. For Branson, quarterback Blaize

Maier completed 15 of 28 passes for 298 yards, four touchdowns and one

interception. He added 93 yards rushing on 18 carries and two touchdowns.

Calistoga signal-caller Christian Caldera had 190 yards on 28 carries and

four touchdowns. He completed 3 of 11 passes for 59 yards, two

touchdowns and an interception. 

Looking ahead: With the loss, the Wildcats drop to 4-2 overall and 0-1 in

NCL III South. Calistoga will host the Tomales Braves on Friday. The two

teams were long-time combatants in 11-man football. The Braves defeated

Stuart Hall (San Francisco) 48-34. The Wildcats finish the season at Stuart

Hall and hosting currently winless Roseland Prep (Santa Rosa). If the

Wildcats win out, they have a good chance to qualify for a postseason berth.