Campolindo QB thrives in opener of NCS playoffs HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
There were plenty of reasons that Grant Harper should’ve been subject to some extra nerves before his first playoff start at quarterback Friday night.
But the Campolindo-Moraga junior hasn’t shied away from a big moment all year. It’s a big reason the Cougars looked poised to go after a third consecutive North Coast Section Division 2 title — even if they might not be considered the favorite.
“I had a lot of experience” from backing up John Torchio last year, Harper said after throwing for 248 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-6 first-round win over visiting Redwood-Larkspur. “I’ve been prepared for a long time and felt I was ready to go. We just wanted to click on all cylinders, and I think we did that pretty well.”
Though Harper threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout Lucas Allen on the game’s opening drive, Harper and Campolindo didn’t really find their groove until late in the first half.
With Campolindo leading 7-0 with 2:44 left in the half, Harper found his rhythm. He led the Cougars on a 65-yard drive and went 5-for-5 with completions to four receivers. He capped the drive with a 23-yard pass to Allen.
Including that drive, Harper completed nine of his last 10 passes. His final throw of the evening was a 38-yard touchdown strike to a wide-open Luke Campo that give Campolindo a 35-0 lead with 3:11 left in the third quarter.
“Grant’s going off. We expected this of him though,” said Allen, who had six catches for 105 yards and two scores. “He had to step up. … We knew coming into this year he was going to be the keystone of our offense. If he keeps playing like this, we should be good.”
With his performance against Redwood, Harper surpassed 2,500 yards passing for the season. He has 28 touchdown throws and six interceptions. Nine of those TD passes have gone to Allen.
Campolindo (9-2), the No. 3 seed, will await the winner of Saturday’s matchup between sixth-seeded Ukiah and 11thseeded Maria Carrillo-Santa Rosa.
The Cougars aren’t adopting an underdog role because they are seeded behind Rancho Cotate-Rohnert Park and Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland. They’ve had one for a while.
“We’ve had that edge all year,” Campolindo head coach Kevin Macy said. “We’ve had a lot of injuries and we’ve just sort of been scrapping our way through the year. We don’t have any established formula other than finding a way to scratch or claw through a game.”
The Cougars got a strong rushing night from Ryan O’Neil, a linebacker who has been moved exclusively to running back because of injuries. He had 12 carries for 75 yards and a touchdown.
Redwood (6-5) was paced by running back Alex Aguero, who had 82 yards on 22 carries. Quarterback Matt Smalbach accounted for the Giants’ score on a 9-yard run.