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SECOND CHANCES: WHY PITTSBURG, ST. FRANCIS ARE STILL PLAYING
Pittsburg and St. Francis each lost rainy section championship games over the weekend by the same 10-7 score.
Second-seeded Pittsburg came up short against No. 1 seed De La Salle in the North Coast Section Open Division final. St. Francis, also a No. 2 seed, lost to top-seeded St. Ignatius in the CCS Open Division title game.
And yet, unlike other teams in the section playoffs whose seasons end with a loss, Pittsburg and St. Francis are still playing.
Here is why:
In both sections, the top eight-team bracket it set up to advance two teams beyond the section playoffs. It is done this way because the California Interscholastic Federation no longer allows section runners-up to advance to state football games.
The adjusted format makes a lot of sense in the NCS, given that no team in the section has beaten De La Salle in 33 years.
The CCS saw what the NCS was doing and made the change, too.
Let us explain how it works. In a traditional eight-team bracket, the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds are projected to meet for a championship in the third game. But in the current Open/Division I model that the NCS and CCS use, the top two seeds are projected to meet in the second game for the Open championship.
The winner advances to the state playoffs as an Open Division champion. The loser plays the survivor in the bottom half of the bracket for the Division I championship.
That’s where Pittsburg and St. Francis are now, getting ready to play another title game on Friday.
Pittsburg will return to Diablo Valley College to face third-seeded San Ramon Valley. St. Francis will be back at San Jose City College to meet fifth-seeded Los Gatos.
“We have an opportunity to play again, and we’ll be back here next week, and we’ll be ready,” St. Francis coach Greg Calcagno said after the loss to SI. “We’ll show up.”
Pittsburg took advantage of the unique format in the first three seasons the NCS used it, winning the section’s Division I title as a No. 2 seed in 2021 and 2022 and No. 3 seed last season.
For Pittsburg, the goal is not only to win Friday, but also two more games to capture the program’s first state title.
“At the end of the day, this team is ready to make a state championship run, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Pittsburg coach Charlie Ramirez said.
– Joseph Dycus
LOS GATOS: CATS STAY COOL UNDER LATE-GAME PRESSURE
It’s enough for any young person to have trouble staying focused.
With a CCS semifinal game on the line late in the fourth quarter, adrenaline is pumping and emotions are high. But a team still has to execute if it wants to win.
That’s exactly what Los Gatos did in its 35-28 win on Saturday over Archbishop Riordan. After failing to convert a fourth down on its previous possession, Los Gatos got the ball back after forcing a fumble on a Riordan run.
Five plays later, the Wildcats notched the game-winning touchdown. Scotty Brennan found a wide-open Owen Panu over the middle for a 17-yard score.
But Los Gatos’ composure didn’t end after the officials signaled touchdown. Panu remained composed even in the midst of, as he put it, the best feeling of his life.
He had been called for a personal foul after scoring his first touchdown of the game in the first quarter, leading to a short field and eventually a Riordan touchdown. He wasn’t going to make the same mistake with less than a minute to play.
“I got flagged for the first one,” Panu said. “So I told coach, ‘I’m not doing any celebrations on the second one.’ But yeah, I caught it, and I knew the ball, that play was for me.”
Once Mike Mitchell Jr.’s Hail Mary fell incomplete, the Cats didn’t have to keep their composure any longer.
“These are the moments that these kids have dreamt about since they were five, six years old growing up in the town of Los Gatos,” Los Gatos coach Mark Krail said after the game. “They’ve come to our games. They played flag football. It’s a town, it’s a family. And for me, it’s so gratifying to see them experience what they are right now.”
Krail let things rip a bit as well in his postgame speech to the team.
“We get another week, boys,” he said. “Thanksgiving football, you’ve gotta love it. I’m tired, man. Holy s—. Our fight’s been great all year. We have not buckled one time. And yeah, we’ve lost a couple along the way, but our fight never left us, ever. So proud.
“You’ve got to be just pumped with pride right now, gentlemen. We talk about brotherhood. We talk about all that. So do they. This is brotherhood. This is what it is. Six, seven years old, going to Helm Field to watch games, thinking someday, that’s gonna be me.”
On Saturday in San Francisco, when it mattered most, it was all of them.
– Christian Babcock
ST. IGNATIUS: INSIDE WILDCATS’ WINNING LOCKER ROOM
Not a whole lot went according to plan on Friday night at San Jose City College.
Torrential rains grounded the offenses of St. Francis and St. Ignatius, limiting the teams to 17 total points. But in the end, it was St. Ignatius that notched the crucial fourth-quarter touchdown.
Afterward, second-year SI coach Lenny Vandermade had a message to share with his squad as the team gathered jubilantly in the dryness and shelter of the postgame locker room.
“Real quick: That a way to speak it into existence, but most of all, that a way to work it into reality, men,” he said. “You guys are champions. Forever. Alright. That thing’s going up. Regardless of what happens from here on out, you are a champion, men. Congratulations.”
After announcing a warmly received victory Friday, Vandermade outlined the Wildcats’ plan for the next week, which will combine rest with preparation for the Cats’ NorCal title game on the weekend of Dec. 6-7.
With some time to reflect, Vandermade noted how SI still can’t shake its reputation of being a second-half team. He’d still love to see them put together a full game, but he’ll take what they’ve got going on right now.
After all, it was enough to win a CCS Open Division championship.
“They could have given in at any time, but they kept fighting and kept battling,” Vandermade told the Bay Area News Group. “Golly. Believe you and me, we try to get out early and put teams away. That’s just not our M.O. this year.
“We’re a defensive squad. Defense is our backbone, and they carried us to the championship. They kept us in it, held them to seven points the whole game. So that ended up being the difference.”
Perhaps SI can put it all together just in time for a NorCal title.
— Christian Babcock
MCCLYMONDS: WHERE WILL OAKLAND POWER LAND IN NORCALS
McClymonds won yet another Oakland Section championship with a 32-7 victory over Oakland on Saturday, locking up a spot in a NorCal championship game.
The Warriors are no stranger to the many levels of regional play, the four-time state champs having played in six different divisions – from 2-AA at the highest to 5-A at the lowest – since 2016.
McClymonds lost in 3-A last season, and this year was 2-3 against a rugged non-league slate before running through the OAL.
Longtime coach Michael Peters made the case that the perennial league champions, which only has 19 varsity players, shouldn’t be seeded too highly by the CIF.
“I’m thinking D-IV, but I don’t think they’re going to put me in there,” Peters said. “We’ve only got 250 kids at our school, so where should we be? Every year we say this, but they still put us so high. Some teams have more kids on their sidelines than we’ve got in our school.”
– Joseph Dycus
BISHOP O’DOWD: YOUNG KICKER STEPS UP
The kicking game has been one of O’Dowd’s secret weapons this season.
But just a week after starting kicker Vince Santucci made the game-winning field goal to lift the Dragons over Monte Vista in the first round of the NCS Division II playoffs, the sophomore was out sick for Friday’s semifinal against Liberty.
O’Dowd didn’t fret, though, because the Dragons knew Zach Brien is that guy.
Brien, also a sophomore, made kicks from 31, 27 and 25 yards out in the rain to help O’Dowd upset top-seeded Liberty on the road. Brien has been splitting kicking duties with Santucci, but he had the job to himself on Friday.
“Zach Brien was huge in the kicking game,” O’Dowd coach Hardy Nickerson said. “That’s no surprise to me because I see it every day. The kid just comes in and he’s got ice in his veins. Zach got the whole duty tonight, and he was lights out.”
– Nathan Canilao
LIBERTY: SENIOR CLASS WAS SPECIAL
As Liberty coach Mike Cable walked out of the locker room after the Lions’ loss to Bishop O’Dowd, he wanted to spend one last moment with his seniors – even in the pouring rain.
A teary-eyed Cable gave one last hug to all his upperclassmen and told them how much he appreciated their hard work this season.
“It was important to me to bring them back out onto this field for the last time that they ever get to wear this jersey, and tell them how much I appreciate everything that they put in and how much I love them,” Cable said. “I think of these boys as my sons, as my own family, and I can’t thank them enough for the memories that they’ve given me.”
Liberty’s season ended in a 23-15 heartbreaking loss at home on Friday night. The Lions will be graduating some of their top players, including quarterback Sage Robertson, linebacker Zaire Calhoun and offensive tackle Michael Klisiewicz.
“This team liked to have fun,” Cable said. “They enjoyed the time they had together. It was an honor to see them be who they are and I know they’re just going to do great things in their life.”
– Nathan Canilao
SERRA: FORMER QB MAKES FIRST COLLEGE START
Less than a year after starting in the state Open Division title game for Serra, quarterback Maealiuaki Smith made the most of his first college start for Oklahoma State. Smith threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for another score, in a wild 56-48 loss to Texas Tech.
Smith was a two-time all-Bay Area News Group selection during his time at the San Mateo powerhouse, and led the team to back-to-back undefeated regular seasons and consecutive CIF Open championship games.
“I love this kid and his family,” Serra coach Patrick Walsh wrote on social media platform X.
– Joseph Dycus
