Before getting into to the preview here is an YSN365.com wish for everyone to have a Wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.
One of the goals that coaches talk about is spending part of Thanksgiving practicing for a football game.  It is a little harder to do that than it was a few years ago.  The added rounds to the state playoffs, has everything starting a week earlier.
Earlier or not, four of the teams we have been covering all season are still going.   Two are from the NBL and one each from the SCL and NCL I.
There are two games on Friday and two on Saturday.
This is the Friday preview. The Saturday preview will be showing up tomorrow.
Good luck to the local teams and that includes the Sonoma Valley Volleyball team.
 
DIVISION 2 (Both games Friday at 7 pm)
No. 5 Casa Grande (6-6) at No. 1 Clayton Valley (12-0)
CAL PREPS PROJECTION:  Clayton Valley by 38
 
No. 11 Pinole Valley (6-6) at No. 2 Concord
CAL PREPS PROJECTION:  Concord by 35
The preview for this division is getting boring.  It is the same thing each week.  Clayton Valley is meeting a team and figures to win big.
In fact, in the first preview that thought was about the countdown to the Clayton Valley-Concord rematch in the championship game.  That is one step away and each team has to beat a .500 team to get there.
Casa Grande and Pinole Valley have gotten to the .500 record in different ways.
Casa Grande did it with a big kick down the stretch.
Pinole Valley did it mainly with a 3-1 start.  Then they lost five of six before taking two playoff wins including the one over Windsor last week.
Both the.500 teams figure to end up one game under .500.
DIVISION OVERVIEW:  For the third straight week Clayton Valley and Concord are both playing on a Friday Night.
 
NCS DIVISION 3 SEMI-FINAL
FRIDAY…7 PM
No. 4 Analy (11-1) at No. 1 Campolindo (12-0)
CAL PREPS PROJECTION:  Campolindo by 20
 
SATURDAY…1 PM  (PREVIEW COMING ON FRIDAY)
No. 7 Rancho Cotate (9-3) at No. 3 Marin Catholic (9-3)
CAL PREPS PROJECTION:  Marin Catholic by 5
Division Notes:   KSRO 1350 AM-103.5 FM will broadcast both games…

Over the past three years the script has been the same for the Analy football program.
It hasn’t been a bad script with includes three undefeated SCL championships.  Next it was the NCS playoffs, which they won big in round one, not so big in round two.
This is where they want the script to change.   In the last two seasons the first two playoff wins earned them a trip to the No. 1 seed.
Those trips didn’t go well.
Two years ago, it was to El Cerrito where they dropped a 40-20 decision in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicates.
Last year it was to Marin Catholic and it was a 48-20 game that was closer than the score indicates, but still not very close.
In the last three seasons, they have lost as many NCS Semi-Final games as they have in the all the other games they have played.
It is interesting to note that the No. 1 seed that beat them in the semi-final, lost the following week in the championship game.
It doesn’t figure that the No. 1 seed is going to lose in any of the Divisions this season, including this one.   Campolindo is expected to win this game, probably with ease, go onto win the Section Championship and do some major damage in the state playoffs.
In last week’s preview there was information on how good and dominating Campolindo has been over the past few seasons.   Then they went out and showed that domination by beating Cardinal Newman 56-14 in a game that wasn’t close.
Campolindo led the game 49-7 at the half.
It took senior quarterback Jack Stephen just fourteen passes (nine completions) to throw for 328 yards and four touchdowns.  Those were all first half numbers.
It took Running back Nick Fadelli just eleven carries to gain 135 yards and score two touchdowns.
Campolindo averaged 16 yards a play and that includes the second half when they scored a modest two touchdowns.
Even with how impressive those numbers are, the most impressive might be that they gave up a first quarter touchdown and didn’t allow another score until the running clock was going in the fourth quarter.   That is against a Cardinal Newman offense that averaged 37 points a game, which was third best of the twenty seven teams in the YSN365.com coverage area.
This is nothing new for Campolindo.  They have given up 17 points a game and haven’t given up twenty in five games.   The 14 points they gave up against Cardinal Newman equals the most they have given up in those five games.
This is the second straight week that Analy is playing a team from the Diablo Foothill League, the league Campolindo went undefeated through for the fourth straight season.
Last week Analy won a wild shootout over Acalanes 49-41.   Three weeks ago to end the league season Campolindo defeated Acalanes 48-13.
These are two powerful offenses.   If Analy is going to pull this off it will be a game like last week’s against Acalanes.
If you are looking for hope that this could happen, Analy has been to Campolindo during this three year run.   In that second playoff game two years ago, as a No. 5 seed Analy went to Campolindo and wasn’t supposed to win that game.    They did taking a 38-34 win.
Of course the teams are different than two years ago, but who knows.
For Analy to pull this off it may have to be higher scoring than that game two years ago.
 
DIVISION 5 (Both games Saturday at 1 pm)
No. 3 St. Helena (11-1) at No. 2 St. Bernard Catholic (11-1)
CAL PREPS PROJECTION:  St. Bernard Catholic by 1
 
No. 5 Stellar Prep (9-3) at No. 1 Salesian (9-2)
CAL PREPS PROJECTION:  Salesian by 26
 
REST OF SCHEDULE NOT INVOLVING LOCAL TEAMS
DIVISION 1
FRIDAY
No. 4 California (9-3) at No. 1 De La Salle (11-0)
CAL PREPS PROJECTION:  De La Salle by 41
SATURDAY
No. 3 Pittsburg (9-2) at No. 2 Foothill (9-2)
CAL PREPS PROJECTION:  Foothill by 2
DIVISION 4
FRIDAY 7 PM
No. 3 Justin-Siena (9-3) at No. 2 Piedmont (12-0)
CAL PREPS PROJECTION:  Justin Siena by 1
SATURDAY 1 PM
No. 4 San Marin (9-3) at No. 1 St. Mary’s (10-1)
CAL PREPS PROJECTION:  St. Mary’s by 18
My email address is jacpasquini@comcast.net