Windsor to face #1 Campolindo on Friday at Diablo Valley College
The varsity football Jaguars will play in their first North Coast Section championship game in five years after scoring a lopsided 35-14 rain-soaked victory over visiting Granada on Saturday in the Division 2 semifinals.
Known as a run-heavy team, Windsor came out with guns blazing against #6 visiting Granada, as quarterback Kobe Roman stunned the Matadors with a first-half aerial assault that had them on their heels.
Benefiting from a couple of key turnovers, the Jaguars opened up a commanding 28-7 advantage at the break and their defense took over after intermission en route to one of the biggest wins in the program’s history.
“Our offense played a great first half and the defense did a great job in the second,” WHS head coach Tom Kirkpatrick said. “I’m thrilled that we’re playing our best ball at just the right time.”
Playing his first year of quarterback at the varsity level, Roman turned in a sensational game in rushing for one touchdown and throwing for three more, all in the opening half. He also completed a Herculean effort on defense in playing the entire game at strong safety.
“Kobe threw the ball really well in the first half and gave us a good lead,” Kirkpatrick noted. “I think Granada was expecting us to run the ball, but you try to find something that’s working and fortunately we did.”
The #2 seeded Jags (9-3) will now prepare for a titanic clash with #1 ranked Campolindo this Friday, Dec. 2 at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
The Cougars have been a juggernaut in the North Coast Section over the past decade, capturing North Coast Section Division 3 titles in three of the past five seasons before moving on to the state championship bowl game in each of those years.
Campolindo won the state Division 3 title in 2014 and fell to La Mirada of Southern California in the championship bowl game before moving up to Division 2 this year.
“Obviously they have a very strong program with a third-year starting quarterback that throws the ball well,” Kirkpatrick said. “They have three or four receivers that are really good and are solid defensively. We’ll have our hands full.”
Jags air it out
The Jaguars wasted no time in Saturday’s semifinal tilt against Granada, taking advantage of a fumble recovery on the Matador’s first possession. Roman cashed in a few plays later on a 7-yard keeper, followed by an Olin Piotter PAT kick for a 7-0 lead.
The Jags struck again three minutes later when Roman hooked up with streaking receiver Patrick Tappin to make it 14-0. Granada fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Windsor quickly obliged when Roman found running back David Escarcega on a 47-yard catch and run to put the Jags up 21-0 at the end of one.
Leading 21-7 in the second quarter, Roman put cap on a great opening half when he lofted a pass to leaping receiver Zack Rackham in the corner of the end zone for a 28-7 bulge at the break.
Just a week removed from blowing a 31-7 lead to Santa Rosa in the Jaguars weren’t about to let up after intermission.
“I didn’t have to say a whole lot at halftime,” Kirkpatrick noted. “The kids were well aware of what happened last week and were not going to let it happen again.”
Windsor used an effective ground game to work on the clock in the second half, limiting the Matadors to just one touchdown while adding another en route to a convincing 35-14 win.
Although no official stats were available, leading defenders included Roman, Brett Stibi, Bas Osborn, Jackson Baughman, Joey Pignataro and Justin Faagata.
The Jags will make their first trip to the NCS title game since their undefeated championship season of 2011.
