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A highly anticipated Week 10 of high school football in the North Bay lived up to the hype.
In a week full of craziness, the biggest result probably belongs to Cardinal Newman, which steamrolled Marin Catholic to solidify its standing as a top team in the North Coast Section.
But that was far from the only big headline in Week 10. Maria Carrillo and longtime head coach Jay Higgins snapped some long losing streaks to Ukiah and head coach Paul Cronin in a stunning and thrilling shootout victory, while Rancho Cotate won its first game in two years in the Redwood Empire Conference’s Adobe division in a last-second victory over Windsor.
Plus, American Canyon cemented itself as the top dog in the REC-Valley with a blowout win over defending champion Casa Grande.
Here’s a closer look at our takeaways from Week 10.
Cardinal Newman’s domination
Well, that’s a way to make a statement.
The Cardinals proved that they belong in the upper echelon of the NCS with a 45-13 shellacking of fellow North Bay heavyweight Marin Catholic on Friday night.
It’s the most points the Cardinals have scored since a 49-0 win at Armijo earlier this season — and it’s n line with the point totals that observers were expecting from the Cardinals’ talent-rich group at the start of the season.
Did the offense play its best? Far from it, as the Cardinals could have put up more points had they not stalled multiple times in the second quarter. But with quarterback LT Retamoza at the helm for the first time since suffering an injury in Week 1, you could tell that the offense was a lot calmer.
The defense is continuing to improve — and that’s saying something, considering Newman is already one of the top units in the section under first-year head coach Frank McManus. The Cardinals had yet another interception — their 14th of the year as a unit — which came by way of Jonah Bertoli, who took it back for six points. Newman didn’t allow a single point in the second half on Friday night, and has allowed just 16 total points over the last three games.
Along with Retamoza returning, Newman also saw the debut of four-star Hawaii transfer King Pitts, who was forced to sit out as he awaited his transfer clearance. While he didn’t put up star-studded stats in his first game, his presence alone adds a whole different dimension to the trenches as a key defensive lineman for the Cardinals.
Barring any letdown this week against Vintage, the Cardinals entrenched themselves at the No. 3 spot in the NCS rankings and gave themselves a leg up in the REC-Adobe league title race. While I don’t think they’ve done enough to unseat Pittsburg at No. 2 in the NCS, they are clearly a top squad in the section.
— Kienan O’Doherty
Maria Carrillo’s stunner
While the Cardinals were rolling Marin Catholic, a major upset occurred just over the hill in Rincon Valley.
The Pumas scored four touchdowns of 65-plus yards and used a trick play to score a game-winning touchdown with just over a minute left in a wild 50-43 victory over Ukiah. The win snapped an eight-game losing streak against Ukiah that dated back to 2015 and was the first time in the last 18 meetings that longtime Maria Carrillo head coach Jay Higgins defeated Paul Cronin. Higgins only had one other win previously over Cronin, back in 2005 when Cronin was at Cardinal Newman.
The Pumas have been one of the surprise teams this season. They’ve now won five in a row and captured at least a share of the REC-Bay title. Carrillo has never won a league title before in football.
After starting the year 2-2 with losses to Petaluma and Redwood, the Pumas caught fire after their last-second 37-31 win over Milpitas. They’ve also leaned into their run-heavy identity on offens,e but the numbers they’ve put up over this streak are incredible.
They amassed a season-high 583 yards last week to bring their average over their last five games to 442 yards per game. They’re also averaging 43.6 points per game over that span and averaging more than eight yards per play.
At seven wins, Carrillo is a lock for the playoffs and they currently project to be a top-five seed in Division 5, where they could face league opponent St. Vincent in the second round. This Saturday’s battle against the Mustangs will not only be for the league title but also potentially for playoff seeding.
— Gus Morris
Rancho Cotate’s much-needed win
After going winless in league last season and starting this year 0-3 in the REC-Adobe, the Cougars finally broke through. Roman Perez punched in a 10-yard touchdown with just under 20 seconds left to lift Rancho Cotate to a 28-21 win over Windsor last week.
The win snapped a four-game skid for the Cougars and increased their chances of making a return trip to the playoffs this fall.
The 28 points are the most the Cougars have scored over the last two years in league play, led by junior quarterback Jackson Rhode, who passed for 254 yards with three touchdowns in his best outing since taking over as the starting signal caller a few weeks ago.
The Cougars’ defense has been its strength all year, but they’ve been stuck in the mud offensively for the last month (they scored 17 points over their four prior games).
Friday’s win over Windsor is a huge shot in the arm and a big confidence booster at this point in the year.
If their offense can produce at this level, they’ll be a dangerous, battle-tested team in the playoffs.
— Gus Morris
American Canyon back on top
The Wolves made it clear last week that the REC-Valley runs through them.
After finishing either tied for second or sharing the league title the last three years, American Canyon is finally on the cusp of clinching its first outright league title since 2017, when it was a member of the Solano County Athletic Conference.
They took sole control of first place in the REC-Valley race with a thorough demolition of Casa Grande on Saturday night, 48-7. The two teams had been tied for first in league heading into the game.
It’s the first time that American Canyon has beaten Casa Grande in their last three meetings, the two prior losses ultimately costing them in the league title race.
American Canyon is a lock for the playoffs, but its path to repeating as section or state champions will be much harder this week. The Wolves are projected to end up in Division 2 for the NCS playoffs, a much taller task than winning in Division 4 like last year.
For Casa Grande, their postseason fate suddenly comes down to the final regular-season game of the year. With four wins, Casa Grande is in jeopardy of not making the playoffs due to a change in the playoff structure that was implemented a few weeks ago. The Gauchos opted to schedule a brutal nonleague schedule to test themselves, but their 0-4 record before league may now cost them a spot in the postseason.
The Gauchos will need to beat crosstown rival Petaluma this coming Saturday in order to shore up their chances, but even then their playoff spot is not guaranteed. A loss, however, probably ends their season.
— Gus Morris