Bay Area high school football 2023: NCS, Oakland championship weekend preview

North Coast Section, Oakland Section finals: Pittsburg-SRV, El Cerrito-Windsor, Acalanes-San Marin among the matchups

This weekend in the North Coast Section, seven championships are on the line, including five for teams from the Bay Area News Group’s coverage area.

San Ramon Valley was defeated 17-7 by De La Salle in the Open Division championship game last week.

De La Salle is off this weekend before heading to a regional the following weekend.

As the runner-up in the Open, SRV advances to the Division I final against undefeated Pittsburg, which lost to De La Salle in the Open title game the previous two years before winning the D-I title.

Pittsburg is seeded third, and SRV is seeded second.

Both El Cerrito and Acalanes will play North Bay teams in their championship games on Friday. El Cerrito will compete for the D-II championship against Windsor, while Acalanes will compete for the D-IV championship against San Marin.

Here is a preview of the games:

NCS Division I: No. 3 Pittsburg vs. No. 2 San Ramon Valley

Pittsburg is 12-0, while SRV is 10-2.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. on Friday at Dublin High School.

The teams have met five times in the MaxPreps era (2004 to present), with Pittsburg winning four of them. Their most recent meeting was a 16-7 victory in 2017.

Last season, both teams won NorCal regional championships before falling in an upper-division state championship game in Mission Viejo. SRV advanced to the Division I finals this year after defeating Campolindo 38-31 in overtime in the first round and falling to De La Salle 17-7 in the NCS Open Division title game last week. If SRV had defeated DLS, it would have had this week off before starting regional play the following week. … Pittsburg had hoped for the No. 2 seed in the NCS Open/Division I bracket and a trip to DLS, which the Pirates won the section’s D-I title in each of the previous two seasons. Instead, as the No. 3 seed, they advanced to the D-I final, defeating Amador Valley 41-14 in the first round and California 35-14 in the semifinals. Luke Baker of SRV has had an outstanding senior season, both throwing and running, and will be looking to rebound after DLS held the Wolves to seven points last week. SRV middle linebacker Marco Jones will be the focus of Pittsburg’s attention, as he has appeared on nearly every scouting report this season. It hasn’t made a difference. Against DLS last week, the four-star junior had 21 tackles and an interception. Pittsburg has yet to lose a game under first-year coach Charlie Ramirez, the former defensive coordinator who replaced Victor Galli at the end of last season. The Pirates’ ground game was on fire against California, with Elijah Bow and Jamar Searcy combining for over 350 yards. … QB Marley Alcantara can move the ball through the air if SRV slows down the Pittsburg ground attack. … Pittsburg has five NCS titles, while San Ramon Valley has four.

Computer projection: Calpreps.com says Pittsburg prevails 27-26

NCS Division II: No. 2 Windsor vs. No. 1 El Cerrito

El Cerrito is 11-1, while Windsor is 10-1-1.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. on Friday at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill.

The teams have met in the previous two NCS playoffs. They have only played twice since the MaxPreps era began in 2004. Windsor beat the Gauchos 33-32 in the D-III semifinals two years ago after leading 33-7 in the third quarter. El Cerrito nearly blew a 28-point lead in the second half last season before winning the D-III championship 34-27.

Storylines: Last year, El Cerrito won the NCS D-III championship. In 2021, Windsor won D-III. These teams are now the class of Division II. El Cerrito has not been tested in the first two rounds of the playoffs this year. The Gauchos defeated Berkeley and Heritage by scores of 116-31. El Cerrito’s only loss this season was 31-12 to De La Salle. Windsor has gone 10-0 since beginning the season 0-1-1. Last week, the Jaguars defeated Rancho Cotate 14-7. … Don’t be surprised if college coaches show up Friday night. El Cerrito CB/WR Kamani Jackson is a three-star recruit according to 247sports who has committed to Washington State. OL Tome Veukiso (6-4, 270) is another three-star prospect. RB Micah Avery is a two-star recruit who has received offers from Columbia and other universities. QB Michael Vanhook and RB Ziare Eastman are also attracting college interest. … Windsor junior wide receiver Hayden Anderson could be the top recruit. He is the younger brother of Jaguars quarterback Judson Anderson and is a three-star prospect with offers from Cal, Washington, Oregon, and Utah. El Cerrito is a high-scoring team that averages nearly 40 points per game. Jackson and Zion Shelton are both capable receivers. Jackson has 39 receptions for 822 yards and 12 touchdowns. Avery and Eastman are both strong runners. Avery has 1,756 yards rushing and 24 touchdowns. On defense, the Gauchos are allowing less than 10 points per game. … Windsor prefers to pass rather than run. The Jaguars average 197 yards through the air and 140 yards on the ground. Hayden Anderson has 63 receptions for 749 yards and nine touchdowns. He had nine receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown against the Gauchos last season. Judson Anderson threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns, but he was intercepted three times, twice by Jackson. El Cerrito’s first NCS football championship came in 2022. Nonetheless, the Gauchos have a successful history, including 14 league titles in 20 years under coach Frank Milo. Windsor’s only other NCS title until 2021 came in 2011, when it defeated Concord in Division II 14-0.

Computer projection: Calpreps.com picks Windsor 28-27.

NCS Division IV: No. 2 Acalanes vs. No. 1 San Marin

Acalanes is 8-4, while San Marin is 12-0.

The game will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday at Santa Rosa High School.

History: This is the fifth meeting between the teams since 2010. San Marin won 27-20 in their first meeting of the season. Acalanes defeated San Marin 21-14 in the season opener last year.

Storylines: Acalanes is attempting to win its first NCS championship and avenge a season-opening loss to San Marin. Acalanes has breezed through the first two rounds of the playoffs, routing Mt. Diablo 56-14 and Vallejo 56-20 since finishing the season with a heartbreaking 25-24 loss at home to Campolindo. … The Dons are 8-1 since starting 0-3 with losses to San Ramon Valley and Amador Valley, as well as a loss to San Marin. In August, Sully Bailey threw for 381 yards and three touchdowns against San Marin, but he only completed 38.1% of his attempts. Dominic Ingrassia completed 72.4% of his passes for San Marin in the first Acalanes game, throwing for a touchdown and running for another as the Mustangs rallied from a 14-10 halftime deficit. Ingrassia’s top target that night was Anthony Scheppler, who caught 10 passes for 104 yards. San Marin has five NCS titles, including two in a row. The North Bay school has also won back-to-back regional and state titles.

Computer projection: Calpreps.com says San Marin prevails 28-27

NCS Division V: No. 1 Miramonte vs. No. 2 St. Bernard’s

Miramonte is 8-3, while St. Bernard’s is 9-3.

Saturday, 7 p.m., at Acalanes High School.

The programs have never met during the MaxPreps era (2004-present).

Miramonte is playing in its second consecutive NCS title game after losing to San Marin in the Division V final last season. Miramonte is attempting to win its first section title since 2013… After being pass-happy with quarterback Luke Duncan, who is now at UCLA, last season, the Matadors have been much more balanced this fall, with Charlie Hwang, Carson Blair, and Gabe Roman all rushing for at least 350 yards… Blair, the team’s new quarterback, has thrown 18 touchdown passes while completing 61% of his passes… The Matadors started the season 6-0 before falling to DAL Foothill powers Acalanes, Las Lomas, and Campolindo to finish the regular season. Miramonte advanced to the championship game by defeating San Rafael 48-0 and Alhambra 34-17 in the playoffs. Miramonte’s tackle leader is Luke Milmoe, who has 97. He is one of 14 Mats players to have at least half a sack this season. In the first two rounds of the playoffs, St. Bernard’s defeated Terra Linda 45-7 and Analy 49-0. St. Bernard’s will travel 285 miles in five and a half hours from Eureka to the Bay Area. Miramonte may have its hands full containing St. Bernard’s running back Wyatt Simoni, a battering ram with 30 touchdowns.

According to computer projections, St. Bernard’s will win 28-21.

NCS Division VI: No. 3 Salesian vs. No. 1 St. Vincent de Paul

Salesian is 10-2; St. Vincent de Paul is 10-2.

Saturday, 7 p.m., at Rancho Cotate High School.

The teams have only met twice in the MaxPreps era, both times in the NCS D-V playoffs. Salesian took the first round 42-21 in 2013 and the quarterfinals 48-6 the following year.

Storylines: On Saturday, two teams with a combined total of 11 NCS championships square off. Salesian last won an NCS championship in 2021, when they defeated Justin-Siena 28-26 in Division VI on their way to the CIF State 6A title. St. Vincent de Paul defeated St. Helena in D-VII in 2021, but fell short of state, losing in the CIF NorCals. In the first two rounds of this year’s tournament, the Mustangs defeated Kennedy-Richmond 56-12 and Fortuna 45-21. … Salesian advanced to the D-VI championship game by defeating St. Mary’s-Berkeley 21-13 and Moreau Catholic 26-15. … Salesian, which has averaged 32 points per game this season, has three offensive standouts. RB Luis Dejesus has rushed for over 800 yards, and sophomore wide receiver Carlton Perrilliat has 11 touchdown receptions. He is 6-foot-5 and plays basketball for the team. Marco Turqueza is the third member of this group. When starter Marcus Burke was injured, he rushed for 620 yards in six games as a wide receiver. St. Vincent de Paul, based in Petaluma and a member of the North Bay Athletic League’s Redwood Division, is 33-5 in the last three seasons under seventh-year coach Trent Herzog, who previously coached at Casa Grande from 2009 to 2016. St. Vincent de Paul has a well-balanced offense. Gabe Casanovas, a sophomore quarterback, has thrown for 2,376 yards and 32 touchdowns. He has rushed for 597 yards and eight touchdowns. Cal, USC, and Arizona State have already expressed interest in the 6-2, 190-pounder. Jack Davis, Casanovas’ favorite target, has 67 receptions for 1,155 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Mustangs’ most impressive victory was a 45-21 thrashing of St. Bernard’s-Eureka, which is competing for the D-V championship against Miramonte.

Computer projection: Calpreps.com picks St. Vincent de Paul 35-21.

SILVER BOWL: No. 1 McClymonds vs. No. 3 Oakland Tech

McClymonds is 7-2, while Oakland Tech is 6-5.

Saturday, 7 p.m., at McClymonds.

McClymonds has dominated the series in the MaxPreps era (2004 to present) with a 26-3-1 record. In the regular season, McClymonds defeated Oakland Tech 40-0.

McClymonds will attempt to send retiring coach Michael Peters out with the program’s 13th consecutive Oakland Athletic League championship… Skyline forfeited what would have been Peters’ final home game against an Oakland opponent, allowing Skyline to host the Silver Bowl… Last year, the Warriors advanced to the 2-AA state championship game, where they were defeated 26-18 by Mater Dei Catholic-Chula Vista… Oakland Tech was defeated 27-20 by Castlemont in the semifinals, but was awarded the forfeit victory after an investigation revealed Castlemont had an academically ineligible player on its roster… This season, McClymonds outscored its OAL opponents 251-0… Its two losses came to the NCS’s top two teams, San Ramon Valley and De La Salle… In McClymonds’ talented backfield, John “Sharky” Tamale and Tajir Golden split carries… Redmani Albert started at wide receiver this season, but Oakland Tech will have to deal with the league MVP as a quarterback… To compete with McClymonds, the Bulldogs will need all-OAL selections Safir Stills Bey and Samuel Towns to have games of their lives.

Computer projection: Using calpreps.com’s “Project a Matchup” simulator, the computer says Mack 48-0.