This will be a busy Saturday, with five local teams still going.  Three of them at home and one other visiting the home team.
DIVISION 2
SATURDAY (7 PM)
No. 5 Casa Grande (5-6) at No. 4 Maria Carrillo (7-4)
KSRO 1350 AM/103.5 YSN365. COM GAME OF THE NIGHT
CALPREPS PROJECTION: Maria Carrillo by 3
 
No. 11 Pinole Valley (5-6) at No. 3 Windsor (8-3)
CALPREPS PROJECTION: Windsor by 23
The Casa Grande-Maria Carrillo game assures there will be a football preview next week.
This may be the first time Maria Carrillo has hosted a second round playoff game.   It is for sure the first time since 2001 and since the school opened in 1996, the guess here is that it is.
The best playoff run in school history was in 2005 when they went to the section championship, which they lost to Cardinal Newman 21-0.  To get to that game they went on the road twice, winning games at Casa Grande and Petaluma.
This is a series that was played yearly even before realignment.  Casa Grande has had its way with Maria Carrillo, leading the series 17-3.  The last time Maria Carrillo defeated them was in the 2005 playoff game.
When the two teams met during the league season, Maria Carrillo was the favorite to break that streak.  The game was on October 24th.  A week earlier Maria Carrillomoved into the NBL race with a 34-28 win over Rancho Cotate.  Casa Grande went into the game 1-6 and the week before had lost to Cardinal Newman 48-7.

Casa Grande defeated Maria Carrillo 19-14.  At the same time they knocked Maria Carrillo out of the race, the Gauchos turned their season around.  The Gauchos haven’t been the same team since.  They haven’t lost since and the last two weeks really kicked things in with one sided wins over Montgomery and Miramonte last week.
The loss to Casa Grande was just a blip for Maria Carrillo.  Behind the running of Alex Netherda, who is putting up some monster numbers, the Pumas have won three straight and five of six.
That this is an NCS playoff game makes it big.  That it is between two NBL teams makes it special.
At the same time, twenty miles away, Windsor, who finished in a third place tie in the NBL race with Casa Grande and Maria Carrillo, plays its second home playoff game against Pinole Valley.
Windsor had some people a little nervous when they ended the regular season with three straight losses.  The nervousness went away when after a slow start, they played their best game in two months in the playoff opener, a 35-9 win over Dublin.
Pinole Valley’s playoff opening 38-18 win over Tennyson seemed to come from nowhere.   After a 2-1 start, they lost five of six including a 55-14 loss to St. Mary’s in the regular season finale.   The offensive numbers weren’t that different, but Pinole Valley forced a season high six turnovers.   They did that against a Tennyson offense that averaged close to 37 points a game.
Pinole Valley got off to a slow start in the game falling behind 7-0.  That may have had something to do with a bus mix-up, which had them arriving late for the game.   Once they got going, they got going, scoring four straight touchdowns by halftime and weren’t threatened after that.
Quarterback Troyante McConico rushed for a three touchdowns and threw another.  Get used to that, as he has a 1,000 yard double-double on the season, hitting the mark in both passing and rushing.
Pinole Valley finished 1-5 in the Tri-County League.  That was the league won by Salesian.
FRIDAY (7 PM)
No. 8 Montgomery (5-6) at No. 1 Clayton Valley (11-0)
CALPREPS PROJECTION:  Clayton Valley by 37
 
No. 10 Granda (3-8) at No. 2 Concord (10-1)
CALPREPS PROJECTION: Concord by 23
DIVISION OVERVIEW:  The four teams under .500 are the most in any division in the North Coast Section.  The other four divisions have a combined two.

 
DIVISION 3
SATURDAY
No. 5 Acalanes (8-3) at No. 4 Analy (10-1)…7 PM
CALPREPS PROJECTION:  Analy by 7
 
No. 6 Alhambra (8-3) at No. 3 Marin Catholic (8-3)…1 PM
CALPREPS PROJECTION: Marin Catholic by 13
There might have been some concern at Analy.    Even while they were winning the SCL title in the regular season finale against Petaluma, it wasn’t a typical Analy win.
No need to worry.
Analy opened up the NCS Playoffs in Analy fashion, taking a 69-7 win over El Cerrito and all the numbers were there.
In a game they led 62-7 at the half, Will Smith passed for 283 yards and six touchdowns, all those numbers in the first half.  On the season Smith has passed for over 2,400 yards and 39 touchdowns.
Four of the five catches by Kerr Johnson Jr were for touchdowns.   That is a season high for scores and gives him 22 on the season.   His 157 yards was the second highest on the season and puts him one big play from 1,000 yards on the season.
Ja’ Narrick James rushed for 74 yards and two touchdowns.   He needed 72 to go over the 3,000 yard rushing mark in his Analy career.
Then there is the defense, which gave up a first quarter touchdown and nothing the rest of the way.
It was a complete and satisfying win against the team that eliminated them in the semi-finals two years ago
Next up is an Acalanes team, who started out the season with a loss and then didn’t lose again until two weeks ago.  Part of that is because they are a good team.  Part of it was because of the schedule.  They are in the Diablo Foothill League and the last two weeks they met Campolindo and Las Lomas.    We have talked about those two teams this weekend.  Neither game was close.
Acalanes is averaging 33 points a game and has given up 25.
During a seven game winning streak, they scored thirty five times.  They have also have given up twenty points in all but two games.
A win will give them their most since 2002, when they went to the NCS East Bay Championship.   That was during a stretch when they won playoff games at least five straight seasons, the last time in 2005.
Last year was the first time they won a playoff game since then.
This is probably the last home game for the Analy seniors, who have help put this football program on the map.
FRIDAY (7 PM)
No. 8 Cardinal Newman (8-3) at No. 1 Campolindo (11-0)
CALPREPS PROJECTION: Campolindo by 16
 
No. 7 Rancho Cotate (8-3) at No. 2 Las Lomas (9-2)
KSRO 1350 AM/103.5 FM AND YSN365.COM GAME OF THE NIGHT
CALPREPS PROJECTION: Las Lomas by 13
DIVISION OVERVIEW…The worst record of any team left in the final eight is 8-3…This is the second straight season as a No. 4 seed Analy is hosting No. 5 in the second round.  Last season they beat Cardinal Newman 33-30.
 
DIVISION 5
SATURDAY…1 PM
No. 9 St. Vincent (7-4) at No. 1 Salesian (8-2)
CALPREPS PROJECTION:  Salesian by 37
 
No. 7 Berean Christian (6-5) at No. 2 St. Bernard Catholic (10-1)
CALPREPS PROJECTION: St. Bernard Catholic by 21
If you read the Friday preview about the Clayton Valley-Montgomery game you can insert the same theme for the St. Vincent-Salesian game.
Like Montgomery, St. Vincent is coming off a good playoff win.
Like Montgomery, some of the St. Vincent faithful must have been thinking, “We did that for this.”
“This” is a Saturday trip to Richmond to take on No. 1 Salesian.
If three of five World Series Championships makes the Giants a dynasty, then so is Salesian. In fact, the Giants would like to be the dynasty Salesian is someday.
Salesian has won three of four NCS title.  The first two were in Division 4 and last season in Division 5.
But there is more to it than that.
Salesian has been to the playoffs every year since 2003.  After losing  opening round playoff games in 2003 and 2004, they won the Section championship in 2005.  They have won at least one playoff game all but one year since and have won at least ten games in all but two seasons.  One of the seasons was last year, when they won the Section title.
St. Vincent has a pretty good history itself, which includes four NCS crowns, the last one in 2008.
They are coming off a thrilling 27-21 win over Cloverdale in which George Sammon ran for a career high 261 yards and three touchdowns. Sammon has gone over 200 yards in both playoff wins.
Last year in the first round Salesian as a No. 5 seed went to St. Vincent and took a 42-21 win.
FRIDAY
No. 11 St. Patrick/St. Vincent (4-7) at No. 3 St. Helena (10-1)
CALPREPS PROJECTION: St. Helena by 16
 
No. 5 Stellar Prep (8-3) at No. 4 Middletown (8-3)
CALPREPS PROJECTION: Middletown by 7
DIVISION OVERVIEW…The bracket is set up for Salesian to meet Middletown in the next round.
Here is the rest of the schedule in Division’s that don’t have local teams:
 
DIVISION 1
FRIDAY (7 PM)
No. 9 San Ramon Valley (7-4) at No. 1 De La Salle (10-0)
CALPREPS PROJECTION: De La Salle by 43
 
No. 10 Antioch (7-4) at No. 2 Foothill (8-2)
CALPREPS PROJECTION: Foothill by 13
 
No. 6 Freedom (7-4) at No. 3 Pittsburg (8-2)
CALPREPS PROJECTION: Pittsburg by 13
 
SATURDAY (7 PM)
No. 5 Liberty (9-2) at No. 4 California (8-3)
CALPREPS PROJECTION: California by 2
 
DIVISION 4
FRIDAY (7 PM)
No. 7 McKinleyville (5-6) at No. 2 Piedmont (11-0)
CALPREPS PROJECTION:  Piedmont by 20
 
SATURDAY
No. 9 Moreau Catholic (6-5) at No. 1 St. Mary’s (9-1)…1 PM
CALPREPS PROJECTION: St.Mary’s by 37
 
No. 5 Del Norte (9-2) at No. 4 San Marin (8-3)…1 PM
CALPREPS PROJECTION: San Marin by 1
 
No. 6 Fortuna (8-3) at No. 3 Justin Siena (8-3)…7 PM
CALPREPS PROJECTION:  Justin Siena by 14

 
JC BOWL GAME
SATURDAY
STATE CENTER BOWL
No. 12 SRJC (7-3) at No. 25 Fresno City (6-4)…2 pm
 
VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY (ALL GAMES AT 7 PM)
DIVISION 2—No. 2 Maria Carrillo (28-8) at No. 1 Redwood (31-7)
DIVISION 3—No. 3 Sonoma Valley (27-3) at No. 1 Campolindo (29-7)
DIVISION 4—No. 3 Healdsburg (29-11) at No. 1 Marin Catholic (23-9)
DIVISION 5—No. 2 SF Waldorf (23-7) at No. 1 Anderson Valley (24-4)
Win or lose all teams have qualified for the Nor Cal tournament which begins next week.
My email address is jacpasquini@comcast.net