MC-Tam rematch highlights the playoff schedule
Four Marin teams will take the field this week as the North Coast Section playoffs reach the semifinal stage.
San Marin gets things going on Friday night, returning home after traveling to Hercules in the quarterfinals.
Marin Catholic and Branson are hosting games on Saturday, both facing teams they defeated two weeks ago. Marin Catholic hosts Tam while Branson hosts Calistoga.
Friday NCS D-V No. 4 St. Bernard’s (7-4) at No. 1 San Marin (10-1): 7 p.m., Novato
The Mustangs are hunting for their first section title since 2001 and to achieve that goal, they’ll have to defeat at least one team coming off a title as recently as 2019. The Crusaders, albeit in Division VI, won the NCS title in 2019 and also won it in 2015. San Marin’s likely opponent in the finals, No. 2 Del Norte, is the defending D-V champ from 2019. The No. 4 Crusaders squeaked past No. 5 De Anza, 14-7, last week. San Marin is coming off a 42-6 blowout of No. 8 Hercules. Crusaders QB Drew Sisemore has thrown for 1,607 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions this season. Sisemore is also the team’s leading rusher with 684 yards. Running backs Grant Omey (537 yards, 8.8 average) and Wyatt Simoni (541, 6.9 average) have also been key contributors on the ground. The Crusaders also have two receivers with more than 500 yards — Demarte Prudhomme (517) and Demetrius Dawson (569). San Marin QB Joey Cook has thrown for 1.636 yards with 23 touchdowns against just two picks. RB Justin Guin has rushed for 1.789 yards and scored 28 touchdowns on the ground. Frankie Quinci leads the Mustangs in receiving with 675 yards and nine TDs.
Saturday
NCS D-IV
No. 4 Tam (7-4) at No. 1 Marin Catholic (10-1): 1 p.m., Kentfield
Quarterback Michael Ingrassia has led the Wildcats back to the section semifinals, throwing for 2,148 yards with a spotless 30-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio this season. MC’s passing attack has been diversified all year, with seven receivers catching passes for more than 100 yards but no one over 400. Kyle McBride leads the way with 390 yards. Charles Williams paces MC with 688 rushing yards. The two teams squared off two weeks ago with MC rolling to a 41-0 halftime lead then held up as the final score. Despite the one-sided loss, Tam had some success running the ball, with RB Sebastian Chen picking up 90 yards on 22 carries. Both Tam quarterbacks — sophomore Braden Young and senior Nick Schottenfeld — saw action against MC. Schottenfeld got the start in last week’s 27-21 win against Petaluma. Against MC, Tam had no answer for Williams, who had 89 yards on 10 carries and 66 more yards on three receptions. MC receivers McBride (82 yards) and J.R. Bosch (93 yards) both had big games.
NCS 8-PERSON
No. 4 Calistoga (6-2) at No. 1 Branson (8-0): 1 p.m., Ross
The Bulls won the initial 8-person championship in 2018 but couldn’t keep pace with Cornerstone Christian in the 2019 final. The Bulls are favored to win the title this season, having steamrolled opponents by a combined score of 452-116. The one close game Branson played this season was two weeks ago, a 32-30 nailbiter against Calistoga. The Wildcats only threw for 358 yards this season, but managed to pass for 11 touchdowns despite the small sample size. Calistoga’s Yuliani Caballero and Edgar Caldera both threw for more than 100 yards this season but also ran for around 400 yards each. The duo combined for 18 rushing touchdowns. Branson is far more accomplished through the air, with QB George Gale routinely throwing for five or more touchdowns in games this season. Gale threw five touchdown passes against Calistoga with Alexander Getty accounting for three of them. RB Lucas Segal also had a big game against Calistoga. Branson was awarded a firstround bye but the Wildcats are also coming off a bye of sorts. Calistoga advanced to the semifinals when South Fork had to forfeit the game due to COVID-19 issues.