For the second straight week Maria Carrillo gets a one point win. This win not only keeps them in the NBL championship race, it gets a gorilla of its back.
Maria Carrillo edged Casa Grande 28-27 and the Pumas position themselves for a better seeding in the North Coast Section Division 2 playoffs.
Then there is that gorilla which is Casa Grande. Maria Carrillo hadn’t defeated Casa Grande since November 18th, 2005. The losing streak snapped was 11, which includes two playoffs games.

For the second straight week Josh Groesbeck had the winning score. Last week in a 36-35 win over Rancho Cotate it was a two point run with :28 left. In this game it was a 17 yard run with 4:03 left. Actually the winning point was the kick that followed by Sean Nagle.
With plenty of time left, Casa Grande still had a chance. But Groesbeck took care of that on defense with an interception that sewed things up.
The game had three ties and three lead changes and the difference turned out to be a blocked extra point by Fhestus Chomba after the Gauchos last touchdown, which gave them a 27-21 lead with ten minutes left.
Casa Grande had a 14-7 halftime lead erased when Cole Martin returned the second half kickoff 98 yards for the tying score. The next time they had the ball Martin scored touchdown number two to make it 21-14.
Casa Grande quarterback JJ Anderson threw two touchdown passes to give the Gauchos back the lead. On the night, Anderson passed for 307 yards and four touchdowns, which are both season highs. Unfortunately for Anderson and the Casa Grande faithful, he also threw a season high five interceptions.
The win keeps Maria Carrillo in the NBL race. The Pumas are one game behind Cardinal Newman with two to go.
With both teams in Division 2 it also puts Maria Carrillo in solid shape for a low seed in the North Coast Section playoffs. They could improve on that even more when Windsor, another Division 2 team, comes to town next week.
NORTH BAY LEAGUE
No. 1 Cardinal Newman 46 Ukiah 0
No. 7 Rancho Cotate 42 No. 5 Windsor 14 WATCH VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
No. 6 Maria Carrillo 27 Casa Grande 21
Montgomery 28 Santa Rosa 21 (2 OT)
SONOMA COUNTY LEAGUE
No. 2 Analy 48 El Molino 6
No. 6 Petaluma 59 Elsie Allen 9
Sonoma Valley 14 Healdsburg 7
Analy and Petaluma are one game away from the showdown for the SCL championship in two weeks.
That game is Analy at Elsie Allen next week.
Petaluma has a bye, so they will next be in action on November 6th when they play Analy with the SCL championship on the line.
Sonoma Valley gets its first win of the season. The Dragons score two fourth quarter touchdowns from running back Max Yankovic to rally for the win. The last one came on a 22 yard run with :09 left.
NCL I
Clear Lake (2-6) at No. 3 St. Helena (8-0) (FORFEIT TO ST. HELENA)
No. 4 Fort Bragg 81 Willits 0
No. 9 Cloverdale 42 Lower Lake 6
Middletown 7 Kelseyville 0
The showdown for the top of the NCL I race is set. Next Friday Fort Bragg is at St. Helena. Both teams are not only undefeated in league play, they are 8-0 overall.
Cloverdale is one game behind both teams. After a home game with Middletown next week, they end the regular season at Fort Bragg.
BAY FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Harker (San Jose) 55 St. Vincent 8
NCL III
Mendocino (1-6) vs. Calistoga (6-1) —(FORFEIT TO CALISTOGA)
Tomales 40 Potter Valley 20
Upper Lake 46 Point Arena 44
Rincon Valley Christian 75 Laytonville 24
Anderson Valley (6-1) BYE
Upper Lake rallied from an early 12-0 deficit to edge Point Arena in a battle of one loss teams.
Going into the last week of the season, Anderson Valley, Calistoga and Upper Lake are all 6-1.
JUNIOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL
No. 3 San Francisco 26 No. 9 SRJC 16
My email is jacpasquini@comcast.net