Cribb’s strong effort exemplified Monte Vista’s grit
Congratulatory texts kept buzzing the phone of Gavin Cribb on Saturday night until he received an advisory one from a former coach.
“Three aspirin, hot shower, go to bed,” it read.
The 5foot9, 195pound Monte VistaDanville running back and defensive back obliged. “I was exhausted,” he said. Cribb carried the ball 30 times for 246 yards and two touchdowns in a 3327, seasonopening loss at AcalanesLafayette. He also threw a touchdown pass off a trick play and played every snap on defense.
All that came after a 15month hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic, an abbreviated preparation period (three weeks) and a positive virus test on the team that eliminated 20 players because of contact tracing. The Mustangs were limited to 22 players, making Cribb’s effort — and the team’s — even more impressive.
Monte Vista fell behind 130, took a 1413 lead, then fell back again 3314, before twice having possessions with a chance to take the lead despite a 260yard, fourtouchdown performance from Acalanes quarterback Brady Huchingson.
Cribb said lineman Kameron Bateni and punter Nathan Price filled in at times at cornerback.
“Everyone did their part,”
Cribb said. “Everyone played with so much heart. I told them at halftime how proud I was of them. I told them again after. There was nothing more they could give.”
There’s no rest for the weary this week as the Mustangs, with a full squad, travel Saturday to topranked De La SalleConcord (10), which piled up 609 yards in a 3527 openingnight win over a very good St. Mary’sStockton team.
Mekhi Norfleet (16 carries, 158 yards) and Nico Torrez (7, 142) rushed for two touchdowns each as the Spartans extended their unbeaten streak against
Northern California opponents to 311 games.
A 35yard touchdown pass from Dorian Hale (210 total yards) to Bryant Meredith midway through the second quarter started a 210 run and gave DLS the lead for good.
“I didn’t love our execution, but I did love how hard we played and our physicality overall,” De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said.
More tracing: Serra was down 18 players because of one positive coronavirus test — which ended up being a false positive — and contact tracing prior to its scrimmage against Bellarmine on Saturday. The secondranked Padres travel to No. 4 Valley Christian on Friday in the Bay Area Game of the Week.
Serra will be at full strength, but only after learning that San Mateo County — like the state — requires a 10day quarantine period compared with others that require 14.
“It was a very emotional week,” Serra coach Patrick Walsh said. “It’s hard enough to lose one player, let alone 18.”
⏩ Even though no Bay Area counties are above the 7casesper100,000 threshold required for testing, the West Catholic Athletic League continues to test its football teams.
⏩ Four varsity and two lowerlevel football games in the Sacramento region were canceled Friday because of coronavirus testing and contact tracing, according to the Sacramento Bee.
RiordanSacred Heart Cathedral:
The Sacred Heart Cathedral girls volleyball team will host Riordan on Wednesday in a twoofthreesets outdoor match. No Season 1 indoor CIF events currently are OK’d by California Department of Public Health guidelines.
At 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Riordan will host the Irish to open both schools’ football seasons. The teams will play again to close the season April 17.
The women’s NCAA Tournament field is set and now the fun begins with 64 teams descending on the San Antonio region for the event that was canceled in 2020.
This will be a tournament like no other, with every game played on a neutral court and teams that make the Final Four having to basically live out of a hotel room for three weeks. Here’s a look at what could happen over the next few weeks in tournament brackets.
There are a couple of rules by which to live:
Chalk rules: A No. 1 seed has won the national championship the past eight tournaments and 12 of 13. The only time that didn’t happen was 2011 when Gary Blair led Texas A&M to the title as a 2seed. Also since 2005, at least two of the No. 1s have made the Final Four every year except for 2016.
Lack of major upsets: Looking to pick a 14, 15 or 16 seed for an upset? Might want to look elsewhere as there has been only one victory by any of those seeds in the 38year history of the tournament. That was when 16thseeded Harvard knocked off No. 1 Stanford in 1998. The Nos. 14, 15 and 16 seeds are winless since then.
Watch out for those 12s: Just like in the men’s bracket, the 12seeds have some success in recent years upending the 5s. At least one 12 has made it out of the first round in three of the last four tournaments.
And some advice, too:
Wait: Don’t rush to fill out your bracket this year because there is that chance a key player or head coach could test positive for the coronavirus, which really could change the dynamic of the tournament.
And now, the picks:
Alamo Region
Analysis: Stanford is definitely the top overall seed for many reasons. The Cardinal are deep, led by Haley Jones and Kiana Williams, skilled, and already have spent two months on the road, so three weeks in a hotel room shouldn’t faze them too much. It won’t be easy with a highscoring Arkansas team as a potential Sweet 16 matchup. Dana Evans and Louisville potentially await the Cardinal in the regional final.
Other players to watch: Chelsea Dungee, Arkansas; Natasha Mack, Oklahoma State; Hannah Sjerven, South Dakota.
Upset watch: UC Davis will continue the trend of 12s knocking off 5s as the Aggies have a good shot to upset Missouri
State, which opted out of the Missouri Valley Conference tourney before the semifinals because of virus concerns for its opponent.
Firstround winners: Stanford, Oklahoma State, UC Davis, Arkansas, South Dakota, Georgia, Northwestern, Louisville.
Secondround winners: Stanford, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisville.
Regional semifinal winners: Stanford, Louisville.
Regional champion: Stanford. Hemisfair Region
Analysis: South Carolina has a lot of young talent, but unfortunately not much tournament experience. The Gamecocks could go a long way, led by Aliyah Boston and Zia Cooke. Getting to the Final Four, Dawn Staley won it all in 2017, but this squad will have to get through an Oregon State team that has figured itself out after a long coronavirus pause, and then
potentially UCLA or Maryland.
Other players to watch: Janelle Bailey, North Carolina; Kysre Gondrezick, West Virginia; Ashley Owusu, Maryland.
Upset Watch: Stephen F. Austin has won 19 straight and has a good shot to pull off the victory as a 12seed over Georgia Tech.
Firstround winners: South Carolina, Oregon State, Stephen F. Austin, West Virginia, Texas, UCLA, North Carolina, Maryland.
Secondround winners: South Carolina, West Virginia, UCLA, Maryland.
Regional semifinal winners: South Carolina, Maryland.
Regional champion: Maryland.
River Walk Region
Analysis: UConn has made the Final Four every season since 2008 and the young Huskies will be tested to get there. No head coach Geno Auriemma for the first two rounds and then
potentially a tantalizing matchup awaits in the Sweet 16 with either Iowa and freshman sensation Caitlin Clark, or Kentucky with Rhyne Howard. Get to the Elite Eight and Baylor could be waiting for the Huskies. They were supposed to play in January, but that got canceled when Lady Bears head coach Kim Mulkey contracted the virus.
Other players to watch: Paige Bueckers, UConn; Tiana Mangakahia, Syracuse; Reinna Davis, Tennessee; NaLyssa Smith, Baylor.
Upset watch: Florida Gulf Coast is led by Ohio State transfer Kierstan Bell. Once she became eligible early, the team hasn’t lost. The Eagles will have to find a way to slow down Big Ten Player of the Year Naz Hillmon.
Firstround winners: UConn, Syracuse, Iowa, Kentucky, Florida Gulf Coast, Tennessee, Marquette, Baylor. Secondround winners: UConn, Kentucky, Florida Gulf
Coast, Baylor.
Regional semifinal winners: UConn, Baylor.
Regional champion: UConn. Mercado Region
Analysis: N.C. State knocked off two No. 1 teams this season, beating South Carolina and Louisville. So the Wolfpack, led by versatile post Elissa Cunane, clearly can play with anyone in the country. However, it might come down to balance, and no team in the region is more balanced on offense than Texas A&M.
Other players to watch: Arella Guirantes, Rutgers; Aari McDonald, Arizona; Ashley Joens, Iowa State.
Upset watch: BYU could give Rutgers a tough test in the first round, but watch out for Indiana potentially knocking off N.C. State in the Sweet 16. The Hoosiers have had a great season and have a productive post player of their own in Mackenzie Holmes, who could go against Cunane.
Firstround winners: N.C. State, South Florida, Gonzaga, Indiana, Rutgers, Arizona, Iowa State, Texas A&M.
Secondround winners:
N.C. State, Indiana, Rutgers, Texas A&M.
Regional final winners: Indiana, Texas A&M.
Regional champion: Texas A&M.
The Final Four
Whoever gets this far will have been living in a hotel for three weeks, and that’s no small feat on its own. Stanford, UConn, Maryland and Texas A&M have been stellar all season.
The Cardinal have played strong defense and will find a way to slow down Maryland, the topscoring team in the nation.
UConn has made the Final Four every year since 2008, but lost in the national semifinals the last three times, albeit two of those on lastsecond shots in overtime. The Huskies will find a way to end that skid and reach the title game.
National champs
Stanford and UConn met in the 2010 title game in the Alamodome, and after an ugly offensive first half, the Huskies pulled out a 5347 win. The Cardinal will win this time, ending UConn’s undefeated streak in championship games and giving head coach Tara VanDerveer her third national championship.