Analy top seed in Division 3, El Mo seeded 13th in Division 4
Three months of blood, sweat and tears will be on the line for West County high school football teams this week, as Analy and El Molino get set for the North Coast Section playoffs.
The Sonoma County League champion Tigers finished up an unbeaten SCL campaign on Friday with a 77-0 shellacking of winless Elsie Allen, and were awarded the number one seed in the NCS Division 3 playoff tournament.
Analy (9-1, 6-0) will open the playoffs this Friday, Nov. 11 when they host 16th seeded Tamalpais in a 7 p.m. kickoff at Karlson Field. Should the Tigers win as expected, they will host the survivor of the El Cerrito-Acalanes game on Nov. 18.
“We are excited to get the post season started to test how we stack up against the best Division 3 programs in the section,” Analy head coach Dan Bourdon reported. “Our starters haven’t played four quarters in seven weeks and they need to be ready for that task.”
Meanwhile the Lions finished up SCL play with a tense, 7-3 win at Sonoma on Friday and are the 13 seed in the Division 4 tournament this week. El Mo will travel to number four Kennedy of Richmond this Saturday, Nov. 12 in a 7 p.m. tilt. If the Lions can pull an upset they’ll meet the winner of Piedmont-Lower Lake next week. For updated bracket information as it becomes available, check the NCS website at www.cifncs.org.
Tigers in a rout
Friday’s league finale against visiting Elsie Allen demonstrated the disparity of strength in the SCL again this year, and the Tigers didn’t waste any time in establishing dominance.
Quarterback Jack Newman cranked up the Tigers’ offense in a first quarter explosion, connecting on a record six touchdown passes in the first 12 minutes.
Newman waged an all-out assault, hooking up with receivers Jacob Ponzo (39 yards), Eric Bendyk (19 yards, 18 yards), Kyle Johnson (72 yards), Ross Simmons (21 yards) and Spencer Vogel (28 yards). Analy led 42-0 after one.
The carnage continued in the second quarter, with running back Cristian Fajardo finding pay-dirt on scoring runs of 59 and 12 yards. The Tigers finished off the half with a 6-yard touchdown run from Joey Lucas for a 63-0 cushion at the break.
With most of the starters on the bench, Analy called off the dogs after intermission, twice punting on first down to limit the damage. Theo Kolybakos added scoring runs of 7 and 11 yards as the Tigers powered to a 77-0 rout.
Newman continued to re-write the record books in less than one half of play, completing all nine of his passes for 229 yards and six TDs. Top rushers were Fajardo (6-100 yards, 2 TDs), Kolybakos (5-24 yards, 2 TDs) and Lucas (1-6, TD). Leading receivers included Ponzo (2-52 yards, TD), Bendyk (2-38 yards, 2 TDs), Simmons (2-27 yards, TD), Johnson (1-72 yards, TD) and Sam Ballenger (1-11 yards). Kicker Miguel Escamilla made good on all 11 of his PAT boots.
Top defenders were Kolybakos (8 tackles), Drew Valez (4 tackles, 4 assists), Anthony Lepori (7, 2), Darrick Smith 2, 5, sack), Fajardo (3 tackles), Dustin Wilson (3 tackles), Nick Savage (2, 2), Brandon Phan (1, 4), Austin Burnham (1, 4), Andy Noonan (FR, INT), Johnson (INT), Connor Kearney (2 tackles), Nick Chase (2 tackles, sack) and Toren Callison 1, 2, blocked punt).
Lions’ defense steps up
El Molino (5-5, 4-2) finished up league play in winning fashion at Sonoma Valley on Friday, jumping out to an early 7-3 lead and holding on to preserve the victory.
The Lions drew first blood in the opening quarter when quarterback Jacob Sani hit receiver Avery Ransome on a 28 yard scoring pass. Jack Fricker added the PAT kick and El Mo led 7-0. The Dragons answered with a 26-yard field goal and El Mo led 7-3 at the half. The defensive skirmish continued after intermission, with neither team able to cash in on their scoring chances.
The game would come down to the wire, as Sonoma made a desperate drive in the final minute of play. The Lions’ defense stopped the Dragons on three straight plays inside the one-yard line as the game expired, preserving a 7-3 victory.
