De La Salle and Clayton Valley Charter, teams seen all season as virtual locks to reach their respective North Coast Section championship games.
The Minutemen, with first-year head coach Mark Bywater, were considered a Division II longshot, especially after dropping to 2-3 following a 34-12 loss to Deer Valley-Antioch on Sept. 25.
[...] behind a punishing ground attack, led by senior Harold Tidwell (2,336 yards, 31 touchdowns), Concord (9-4) has won seven of eight since then, including a stunning 60-32 win over prohibitive favorite Miramonte-Orinda last week.
Four-star lineman Jalen McKenzie was lost to a season-ending knee injury on the second play of the year.
Quarterback Luis Ramos suffered a torn ACL in a quarterfinal win over Windsor, and his replacement — Zia Rahmany — went down with an ankle injury in a 34-6 semifinal defeat of Granada-Livermore.
Running back Ray Jackson (1,918 yards, 17 touchdowns) has been dealing with a knee injury, but also should start.
Foothill, after its fifth NCS title but first since 2000, is led by RB-CB Isaiah Floyd (1,798 yards, 32 TDs) and sophomore QB Ben Wooldridge.
Cougars, after their fourth NCS title and third in five years, feature junior QB Jacob Westphal (2,204 yards, 26 TDs), WR Max Flower (41 catches, 12 TDs) and 1-2 running punch of Niki Moore and Matthew Ringquist.
Analy, 47-5 over past four seasons, features QB Jack Newman (262-for-392, 3,684 yards, 51 TDs), RB Osiris Zamora (1,029 yards, 13 TDs) and four receivers with more than 41 catches, led by Schuyler Van weele (78 catches, 1,008 yards, 18 TDs).
No. 2 Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa (11-2) at Rancho Cotate, 7 p.m. Saturday — Both moved down a division and the winner probably will play in the regional Open Division title game next week. …
A great matchup of quarterbacks, featuring Marin Catholic’s Darius-James Peterson — who accounted for four touchdowns in a 31-27 semifinal win over Moreau Catholic — and Newman’s Jordan Brookshire.
No. 2 St. Bernard (11-1) at Alhambra-Martinez, 7 p.m. Saturday — Berean Christian, led by receiver-defensive back Isaiah Hodgins (86 catches, 1,387 yards, 22 touchdowns, six interceptions) and running back Joey Esco (1,279 yards, 15 touchdowns), is after its first title. …
