Miramonte airs it out in NCS Division V championship victory: “It’s awesome, just awesome”
NCS Division V football championship: Miramonte quarterback Carson Blair throws four touchdown passes as Matadors win first section title since 2013
LAFAYETTE – Miramonte, which had relied on a tough running game and tenacious defense to grind out victories all season, opened up the playbook in the Matadors’ 42-20 NCS Division V championship win over visiting St. Bernard’s.
Sophomore Carson Blair threw for four touchdowns against the Eureka visitors, two to sophomore Andrew Bjornson and another pair to Jack Quinnild, who caught his ninth and tenth touchdowns of the season to help Miramonte win its first section title since 2013.
“It’s just awesome,” said Miramonte coach Jack Schram. “The guys did an unbelievable job.”
The Matadors, who were playing at nearby Acalanes High School, were able to keep St. Bernard’s star Wyatt Simoni mostly in check, which was quite a feat considering Simoni had run for 30 touchdowns entering Saturday night’s game.
Schram praised his defense, which included relentless tacklers such as Luke Milmoe and Andrew Davenport. He did, however, draw attention to a less obvious factor that hampered St. Bernard’s running game.
“They were playing up there in the mud,” Schram observed. “Us having the No. 1 seed was key, because we played them on a legitimate, even field.”
In a game that Schram said was never in doubt, Myles Bastani threw a touchdown to Mitch Reichenbach and Charlie Hwang ran for one.
Miramonte jumped out to a 21-0 lead, and while the visitors cut the lead to 21-12 in the second quarter, the Matadors scored the next three touchdowns to seal the victory.
Miramonte defeated San Rafael and Alhambra to advance to its second straight Division V championship game. Last year, the Matadors were defeated in the championship game by San Marin, 42-28.
On the bus back to Orinda, surrounded by ecstatic players, Schram expressed his delight at adding another section title to the school’s trophy case.
But, regardless of who his team is assigned to on Sunday, he expects Miramonte (9-3) to go further than just a NorCal regional.
“We’ve got two more games in our sights,” Schram said. “We’ll find out who we play tomorrow, but we’re not done.”
Section VI
48 St. Vincent de Paul, 12 Salesian
St. Vincent de Paul-Petaluma led 48-0 before Salesian finally scored in the fourth quarter on a Luis DeJesus touchdown run. The Mustangs led 21-0 at halftime and scored four touchdowns in the third period in the NCS D-VI championship game at Rancho Cotate High. Salesian finishes the season with a record of 10-3. St. Vincent de Paul is 11-2 and will compete in the CIF NorCal regionals next weekend. – Michael Lefkow