Title hopes: Marin Catholic eyes another 10-win season.
Top lineup has Wildcats in line for 11th straight 10win season
Marin CatholicKentfield has been one of the most dominating North Coast Section football programs since 2009, with doubledigit win totals every season entering 2019.
The secondseeded Wildcats (91) will reach that plateau for an 11th straight year if they secure a home NCS Division 4 quarterfinal victory Saturday over seventhseeded KennedyFremont (55).
Mazi Moayed, who has been the head coach since 2010, and the Wildcats have greater hopes than just 10 wins.
With one of the nation’s top recruited twoway linemen (6foot4, 295pound, USCbound Jamar Sekona), a gamebreaking 1,500yardplus running back (Matteo Perez) and one of the most promising sophomore quarterbacks in Northern California (Michael Ingrassia), the Wildcats have state title aspirations.
Aside from the highscoring offense (37.2 per game) and stifling defense (56 points allowed, three shutouts), Moayed has been thrilled with his team’s chemistry.
“Our senior leaders have built a great team chemistry and strong brotherhood,” he said.
The team closed the regular season on a high note, a 567 win over TamalpaisMill Valley (73), the fourth seed in Division 4. Tam hosts fifthseeded PinerSanta Rosa (91) at 1 p.m. Saturday.
In the win over Tam, Perez rushed for more than 200 yards, including a 90yard touchdown run. Ingrassia threw for 200 yards and four touchdowns, two of them to Gaven Cooke, who also passed for a score.
The defense registered eight sacks, allowed 129 total yards and forced three turnovers, fumble recoveries by Ryan Dolan and Joe Abell and an interception by Cooke. Gio Ghilotti and Sekona had three sacks each and Tyner Nies and Joseph Radachy added two sacks apiece. AAA semifinals set: Lincoln (81, 60) secured an unbeaten and outright Academic Athletic League championship with a 460 win at Galileo (19, 15). Luis Contreras rushed five times for 141 yards and three touchdowns, Jonas Francovich threw two touchdown passes and added a picksix, James Walsh had two catches for 115 yards, and Tyree Cross rushed for two scores for the winner. The AAA semifinal playoffs are set and scheduled for Thursday: Lowell (541, 33) at Lincoln and Mission (451, 42) at Balboa (55, 51). The winners of those games meet at 11 a.m. Thanksgiving morning at Kezar Stadium.
In other AAA games Friday, Lowell beat Burton 2220 and Balboa beat Mission 157. Kaufman steps down: Bishop O’DowdOakland football coach and former Raiders running back Napoleon Kaufman said Friday that he’s stepping away from coaching to “give more attention to my church.”
Kaufman, also a pastor at the Well Christian Community Church, led the Dragons to one state title, two Northern California crowns and two North Coast Section titles in his six seasons. They were 5125 in his tenure, including 151 in 2016 when they won the 5AA state bowl title with a 4324 win over Valley ViewMoreno Valley.
The former AllAmerican at Washington was also credited with the development of fouryear starting running back Austin Jones, now a freshman at Stanford. The Dragons finished 37 in 2019 and failed to make the NCS playoffs after winning the 2018 Division 2 title.
“We had a great run but won’t know the full extent of our accomplishments for 20 years when we see what kind of impact these young men have made on our society,” Kaufman said.
Heritage coach resigns: HeritageBrentwood seeks a new football coach after Don Sanders announced his resignation on Friday after seven seasons. Sanders led Heritage, playing out of the rugged Bay Valley Athletic League, to three NCS appearances and was 2847 in his tenure.
“Coach Sanders has been a positive, consistent fixture in the Heritage football program since the school’s opening, coaching at multiple levels,” said Heritage principal Carrie Wells. “His compassion for his athletes in his tenure as the head varsity coach over the past seven years has been evident in the structure of the entire program, allowing for athletes to succeed both on the field and in the classroom.”