The end of the road has come for high school football season in Napa
Valley, CA.
Four teams were one step shy of reaching the CIF North Coast Section
title game in their respective divisions entering the weekend. All four
came up short. In Div. II, the No. 2 seeded Vintage Crushers stood the
best chance before falling to the No. 3 seed Campolindo (Moraga)
Cougars at Memorial Stadium 28-21 on Saturday. In Div. VI, the No.
4 seeded Justin-Siena Braves fell to the No. 1 seeded Kennedy
(Richmond) Eagles 42-21 in a deceptively closer game. In Div. VII,
the No. 4 seeded St. Helena Saints were shell-shocked by the No. 1
seeded Salesian (Richmond) Pride. In the 8-man bracket, the top-seeded
Cornerstone Christian (Antioch) Cougars rolled to a 46-8 win over the
No. 5 seeded Calistoga Wildcats.
The 2019 season, however, was a success across the board with all six
teams reaching the postseason. The Napa Grizzlies and American Canyon
Wolves lost their matchups one week earlier in Div. II and III respectively.
It was a rare, if not perhaps the only time in Napa Valley high school
football history that every team reached the postseason. Granted, the
section playoffs have expanded gradually since their infancy in the early
1970s but the fact that it took potentially 45 years plus for that feat to
be accomplished is telling. When it comes to seasons, 2019 would
belong on Mt. Football Season More.
Though Napa Valley high schools are onto winter sports, let’s put a bow
on football season:
NCS Div. II playoffs
VINTAGE
Looking back: It is often said that “styles make fights.” What makes this
loss disappointing for the Crushers was that it seemed like a victory was
put up on a tee. Campolindo brought a diverse offense to town. The
Cougars offense got theirs, 28 points and 314 yards of total offense.
Most importantly, Vintage to some extent followed head coach Dylan
Leach’s commonly preached mantra of “make them one dimensional by
stopping the run.” Campolindo had 102 yards on 26 carries, good but
not great.
Campolindo entered the game averaging 30.9 points and 369.4 yards of
total offense. On Saturday, the Cougars gained 121 yards on two pass
plays, a 69-yard touchdown from quarterback Grant Harper to Rex Curtis.
The same tandem later hooked up for a 52 connection.
While you can’t summarily dismiss those plays, the Crusher defense held
their own and generated two timely interceptions courtesy of Jacob Aaron
and Bill Chaidez. Aaron’s pick set Vintage up at its own 40 with 4:21 left
in the game. Vintage was positioned to matriculate the ball down the field
for the go-ahead score. Except the Crushers fumbled and the Cougars
marched for the winning score with Harper connecting with Curtis for a
19 yard touchdown with :32.7 second remaining.
For Vintage to win this game, it was imperative to keep it a one score
game. The Crushers never led but never allowed Campolindo to hold more
than a seven-point lead. The Crushers were delivering body blows all night
with their punishing ground game to the tune of 246 yards on 47 carries.
They appeared primed to punch their ticket to the NCS Div. II title game
against Clayton Valley (Concord).
Looking ahead: With the win, Campolindo will play top-seeded Clayton
Valley for the title on Saturday at Pittsburg High. As long as Leach and the
current staff are in place, this program is in good hands. There is a difference
between team and program. The Crushers exemplify the latter. Leach, like
most any successful varsity coach, understands the importance of JV and
freshman programs to feed into the varsity. While success on those levels
do not always translate on varsity, they generally do when the program has
a strong foundation from top-to-bottom.
Before Leach, who is a 1992 Vintage High graduate, returned to the
Crushers the program was at times a ship wandering aimlessly. In Leach’s
four seasons, the program is 37-10-1. I’m not suggesting Vintage, which
finished 2019 10-2, wins a section title under Leach but it is set up for
long term sustained success as currently constructed and who knows,
maybe one year the program breaks through to win it all?
CIF NCS Div. VI playoffs
JUSTIN-SIENA
Looking back: For the second time in as many seasons, the Braves went
on the road and scared the lights out of a higher seed. Translation, while
the better team probably won, don’t be misled by the final score. Justin led
15-7 at half and while Kennedy outscored the Braves 35-6 in the second
half, the Eagles clinged 29-21 lead with roughly three minutes left in the
contest before two touchdowns after that point sealed the win.
Last season, Justin, as the No. 10 seed in Div. IV led No. 2 Del Norte
14-12 at halftime before falling 37-21. However, on this night, the Braves
had no answer for Eagles running back Trey Baker, who gained 215 yards
rushing.
Looking ahead: The win allows Kennedy to advance to the title game to
face St. Bernard (Eureka) on Saturday at Benicia.
As for the Braves, the 2019 season would be considered a success at and
somewhat of a breakthrough for head coach Brandon Larocco in his fourth
season. After going a combined 11-18 in his first three years, the Braves
went 8-4 this season. The shining moment of the regular season was their
17-10 win over American Canyon.
While Justin loses some key starters this season, the good news is
quarterback Hudson Beers and running back Noah Young are coming
back. The program still has a good enough foundation to continue
achieving playoff berths if it survives the regular season.
ST. HELENA
Looking back: Salesian and St. Helena have had some memorable
moments but the 2019 version was not one of them if you are a Saints
fan. The game started auspiciously with Cody DiTomaso scoring on a
19-yard run followed by an Ivan Robledo 2-point conversion to put St.
Helena on top 8-0. From there, it was all Salesian. The Pride led 22-8
at halftime before Dominic Fontanilla ran the opening kickoff of the
second half 83 yards to paydirt. Another DiTomaso touchdown cut the
lead to 28-14 but St. Helena got no closer.
The Pride gained 459 yards on 38 plays. St. Helena managed just 206
yards on 48 plays.
Looking ahead: Salesian will face Ferndale for the title on Saturday
night at Alhambra High in Martinez, CA.
On the whole, the season was a success for St. Helena at 9-3. The Saints
have the coaching and a successful JV team for the winning to continue,
something they have done regularly in the 2010s. The downside is
losing half of their double 1,000 yard rushing backfield as Cody
DiTomaso graduates. However, the program gets two more years from
sophomore sensation Ivan Robledo, who by the end of his career figures
to break more records and put the ones he has already set into the
stratosphere.
CIF NCS 8-man football
CALISTOGA
Looking back: Next time you hear the phrase, “the game was decided
at kickoff,” it probably applied to this contest. Jacob Ebert returned the
opening kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown. That score was part of the
Cougars scoring 46 unanswered points. Calistoga averted the shutout
with seven seconds left in the contest as Christian Caldera connected
with Isaac Garcia for a 30 yard touchdown pass. Cornerstone Christian
amassed 284 yards on 41 plays. Calistoga managed just 72 yards on
38 plays.
Looking ahead: Losing to the No. 1 seed that has outscored its
opponents by an average of 57.6-15.1 points per game is no disgrace.
The Cougars advance to the championship game to face No. 2
Branson (Ross) on Friday night at Rio Vista High. The season could
also be considered a success the Wildcats won their first playoff football
game since 2019 one week earlier, 20-14 over Tomales. Since entering
the 8-man football fray, Calistoga is 26-15, 16-7 under Mike Ervin
from 2015-2017 and a combined 10-8 under Jim Klaczak the previous
two years.
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