San Marin, MC eyeing section
Mustangs, Wildcats facing familiar foes in this weekend's championship games
Only the best of the best among prep football teams get to continue their seasons past Thanksgiving. San Marin is enjoying its third consecutive season of playing at this point while Marin Catholic is playing in its sixth North Coast Section Division III title game since 2016.
Both teams will see familiar opponents this week as No. 1 San Marin takes on No. 2 Acalanes at Santa Rosa High on Friday night. The programs have met in each of the past two season openers.
No. 1 Marin Catholic faces No. 3 Cardinal Newman at San Rafael High on Saturday night. The
Wildcats and Cardinals have battled over four section titles since 2017 with MC prevailing three times.
NCS D-IV Final
NO. 2 ACALANES (8-4) VS. NO. 1 SAN MARIN (12-0), 7 P.M. FRIDAY, SANTA ROSA HIGH >>
Although there was next to no recent history between these two programs prior to the 2022 season opener, a fierce rivalry has quickly sprung up since that meeting.
The Dons were one of only two teams — Marin Catholic being the other — to defeat San Marin last season. The Mustangs capped that campaign with NCS D-V, NorCal, and State titles and promptly got moved up to D-IV within the NCS.
San Marin and Acalanes entered this season expecting to be the two strongest programs in the division and faced off in the season opener again. The Mustangs won the battle this time around, prevailing 27-20 at home on Aug. 25 to basically secure the top seed in the division in the process.
Acalanes held a 14-3 lead early in that game before San Marin reeled off 21 consecutive points with touchdowns by WR Blake Hart, RB Jonah Lozano, and QB Dominic Ingrassia. The Mustangs also got a pair of field goals from kicker Lars Rau, which — combined with a missed extra point by Acalanes — accounted for the final margin.