MC, San Marin set for a showdown
The game of the year in the MCAL takes place on Saturday when San Marin travels to Marin Catholic — and it turns out the league title will be on the line after all.
Marin Catholic removed itself from title contention a few years ago to pursue more non-league opportunities and improve its chances of landing a better seed in the North Coast Section playoffs.
The decision to pull MC back into the title mix had a lot to do with the Wildcats getting the league’s automatic qualification spot for the NCS playoffs.
In past years, if an MCAL opponent had defeated MC, the Wildcats would have retained the auto qualification. For his part, MC coach Mazi Moayed said he believes any MCAL team that defeats MC would have deserved that spot.
So MC is back in the league-title mix and might have been last year if the pandemic hadn’t completely messed up the length and timing of the season. No league titles were awarded in any MCAL sport last season.
Another postseason note — the NCS eliminated the eligibility requirement that a team must have at least an equal number of wins and losses overall or within its own division, per a board meeting held on Oct. 1.
Friday
Redwood (4-3, 2-2 MCAL) at San Rafael (3-4, 1-3):
7 p.m., San Rafael
The Giants will look to move back above .500 in league play when they travel to face the Bulldogs. Redwood won the previous meeting 57-0 in 2019 and hasn’t lost to San Rafael since 2010 — the year the Bulldogs went 11-2 overall and 6-1 in league. The Giants’ ground game was stymied last week in a 35-7 loss to Marin Catholic. Redwood QB Brady Weingart managed to throw for 202 yards in the loss — including a 45- yard touchdown to Rowe Stodolnic to give the Giants a 7-0 lead. San Rafael QB Charlie Grant scored his team’s only touchdown last week in a 42-6 loss to Tam. Grant ran for 67 yards and a touchdown and threw for 64 yards.
Tomales (1-4) at Calistoga (3-1): 7 p.m., Calistoga
Calistoga was expected to challenge for the North Central IV title with Stuart Hall and Branson but the Wildcats fell back down to Earth last week, losing 40-14 against Stuart Hall. Up until that point, Calistoga had won its three games by a combined score of 157-14. Common opponents reveal the possibility of another tough week for Tomales, which is coming off a 56-24 loss to Cornerstone Christian. Calistoga took down Cornerstone Christian 58-0 in the first game of the season.
Saturday
John Swett (1-3, 0-1 North Central IV) at Branson (5-0, 1-0):
1 p.m., Ross
The Bulls are about to enter the tough part of their schedule — a twogame stretch against Stuart Hall and Calistoga that begins next week. Branson is expected to roll past John
Swett, which has been outscored 204-92 this season. Swett edged Roseland University Prep, 44-40, and was blown out by California School for the Deaf, 366. Branson defeated those two teams earlier this season by a combined score of 124-14.
San Marin (7-0, 4-0) at Marin Catholic (6-1, 2-0):
2 p.m., Kentfield
The Mustangs have rolled everyone they have played so far this season, scoring more than 50 points per game this season while allowing just 61 total points over seven games. The Mustangs are entering the critical part of their schedule with games against MC, Tam and Redwood to close out the regular season. Marin Catholic hasn’t lost a game to a Marin opponent since 2008 so something has to give. The teams have met in each of the past two seasons. Marin Catholic spoiled the first game played under the lights at San Marin in 2019, winning 48-2. The teams squared off again in the season opener of the shortened spring campaign with MC winning 35-0. San Marin has a more balanced attack this season than in years past. QB Joey Cook has thrown 17 touchdowns against just one interception this year with Frankie Quinci and Andy Garcia as his top targets. San Marin will look to get its running game going against MC with Justin Guin and Aidyn Gendel. For MC, QB Michael Ingrassia has been strong throughout the season as expected. Sophomore RB Charles Williams is coming off his best game with 195 scrimmage yards and three scores against Redwood.
Tam (5-2, 4-0) at Archie Williams (5-2, 1-2):
2 p.m., San Anselmo
While the San Marin-MC game will have an obvious impact on the league’s title picture, unbeaten Tam can still keep pace with the winner by picking up a road win against Archie Williams. Although the Peregrine Falcons have made strides this season, they’ve yet to truly hang with one of the league’s topfour teams. The Red-tailed Hawks have already defeated Redwood this year but finish the season with big games against San Marin and MC. Tam defeated then-Drake 6312 in the second game of the spring season and has won the last several meetings in blowout fashion. Archie Williams’ last win in the series came in 2015. Tam’s sophomore QB Braden Young has thrown 10 touchdowns over the past two games — wins against Novato and San Rafael.
Terra Linda (1-6, 0-3) at Novato (1-6, 0-4):
2 p.m., Novato
Both teams will be entering this game thinking it’s a prime opportunity to pick up their first league win of the season. Novato came close to a victory earlier in the year, dropping a 15-14 heartbreaker against San Rafael. Recent history suggests a close game could be in the cards. The Trojans won 24-17 in the spring when QB Tommy Hayes and WR Jack Brody connected for a Hail Mary in the final minute. Novato won 26-20 in 2019.