Marin Catholic edges O’Dowd in semis
Turnabout is fair play. A year after being stunned in the North Coast Section Division 3 final by Bishop O’DowdOakland, Marin Catholic-Kentfield returned the favor with a last-minute, 25-20 semifinal victory at home Saturday afternoon.
Two of Oregon State-bound quarterback Spencer Petras’ three touchdown passes to sophomore Gaven Cooke — the last a 14-yarder with 52 seconds remaining — sent the topseeded Wildcats (11-0) into next Saturday night’s championship game against second-seeded Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa.
“That was a great win against a team with a ton of talent and coaches who know what to do with it,” Marin Catholic coach Mazi Moayed said. “Both teams played amazingly hard with great attitudes, but ultimately, we just made one more play than they did.”
Bishop O’Dowd (9-3), the defending D3 and state 5-AA champion, beat Marin Catholic 27-7 in last year’s championship.
A 35-yard touchdown catch by Cooke from Petras, who completed 10 of 21 passes for 232 yards, cut O’Dowd’s lead to 20-19 with 8:44 remaining. But for the second time, the Wildcats missed the extra-point attempt.
A 40-yard completion from Quinn Brinnon to Isaiah Pitre gave O’Dowd great field position, but the drive stalled. A 41-yard field-goal try by Ryan Anderson barely missed.
That gave the Wildcats the ball back with 4:15 left at their 31. A 29-yard completion from Petras to Spencer Lauer put the ball at the O’Dowd 28, and after a penalty, the Wildcats had the ball at the 14.
Two plays later, Petras connected with Cooke, a 6foot-5, 240-pounder who likely will be Marin Catholic’s quarterback next year. In traffic, Cooke made a diving catch in the middle of the end zone. It was Petras’ 43rd TD pass of the season.
Three incompletions and a sack later, Marin Catholic had advanced.
Freedom 45, Antioch 39: Giles Jackson scored his fourth touchdown on an 8-yard run in overtime, lifting the second-seeded Falcons (10-2) past visiting Antioch (9-3) in the NCS Division 1 semifinal. Dalaan Green rushed for his third touchdown for Antioch, tying the game 39-39 with 3:40 left, but for the third time, Freedom blocked the PAT, forcing OT. On Antioch’s first possession, Freedom’s Ronnel Snell intercepted a pass, setting up Jackson’s winning TD. Jackson scored on earlier runs of 26, 58 and 10 yards. Granada 28, Ukiah 0: Tommy Reeves put the finishing touches on the NCS Division 2 semifinal win with a 71-yard touchdown run as secondseeded and host Granada (9-4) moved into Friday’s title game against top-seeded Campolindo-Moraga (9-4) at Dublin. Hercules 30, Harker-San Jose 14: In a Divsion 4 semifinal, Felix Reyes threw two touchdown passes and Christian Posey added a 23-yard pick-six as seventh-seed Hercules (11-2) reached its first NCS final with a win at third-seeded Harker (11-1). Hercules plays fourth-seeded Fortuna (11-2) for the title Saturday at McKinleyville.
St. Patrick-St. Vincent-Vallejo 60,
Clear Lake 44: Marshel Martin carried 12 times for 230 yards and four touchdowns as the top-seeded Bruins (10-1) beat visiting Clear Lake (7-4) in an NCS Division 5 semifinal. Akil Edwards completed 12 of 15 passes for 169 yards and a score and Kailon Johnson-Loud added an 86-yard kickoff return for a score for SPSV. The Bruins will face second-seeded Middletown (10-1) for the NCS crown at 7 p.m. Saturday at AlhambraMartinez. OAKLAND SECTION McClymonds 42, Oakland Tech 14: Jarmar Julien rushed for 253 yards and two touchdowns and the Warriors (12-0) recorded six sacks while beating the Bulldogs (8-3) at Laney College for their eighth consecutive section title. In winning the Silver Bowl, McClymonds extended its winning streak against Oakland Athletic League teams to 56 games. However, the team lost QB Emoreea Fountain to a knee injury in the third quarter. Coach Michael Peters called the injury serious after the game. Julien was dominant from the start, carrying the ball for 13, 24 and then 10 yards — the final run for a touchdown — on McClymonds’ first possession. Oakland Tech tied the score in the first quarter when Latrell Ray blocked a punt, recovered the ball, and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown. That was the high point for the Bulldogs, who were held to 169 yards total offense. Julien’s 3-yard run put McClymonds up for good. Fountain scored on a 1-yard run to make it 21-7 in the second quarter.
CENTRAL COAST SECTION
Serra 31, Valley Christian 14: Sophomore Nate Sanchez had two of the Padres’ four interceptions, and Edmond Lahlouh rushed for two touchdowns as top-seeded Serra (10-2) moved into next weekend’s Division 2 championship against another West Catholic Athletic League rival, St. Francis. Valley Christian (9-2), which got two touchdown catches from Alton Julian, couldn’t survive five turnovers. Serra, which won the regular-season meeting 35-7, took the early lead on a 1-yard run by Luke Bottari, and a 15-yarder by Isiah Kendrick made it 14-0 with 8:50 left in the second quarter. Sophomore quarterback Cory Taylor (312 yards passing) entered the game and energized Valley Christian, firing a 32-yard touchdown pass to Julian to cut the lead in half. Serra quickly struck back; following a 53-yard kickoff return by Kendrick, it scored two plays later on a 5-yard TD run by Lahlouh for a 21-7 lead.