 | | | Casey Harrington threw for four touchdowns in the Dons' win over Sonoma Valley. Photos Gint Federas
| | | | | | All three Lamorinda high school football teams will compete in the second round of the North Coast Section Championship playoffs this weekend.
Miramonte finished the season with an 8-2 record (5-1 DFAL), winning four straight to lock down the third seed in the Division II playoffs. In their first round game Nov. 16, the Mats put 20 points on the board in the third quarter to dismantle No. 14 Tennyson, 54-25.
"We knew we were in control after the second offensive play where we scored," said Mats' head coach Jack Schram, noting that his team has been playing very well offensively. Miramonte's red hot offense has scored 41 or more points in each of the games that followed their 38-10 loss to Campolindo on Oct.4, dropping a combined 248 points on opponents during the winning streak.
The Mats will have the home field advantage when they meet No. 6 Northgate at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23 in Orinda.
Acalanes (8-3, 3-3 DFAL) wrapped up its season nicely, winning four straight after dropping three in a row to Campolindo, Las Lomas and Miramonte.
"We battled through a tough stretch in the league," said Dons' head coach Mike Ivankovich. "We had a lot of significant injuries, but we've been consistently improving ... and are healthy."
The Dons won their first playoff game since 2005 on Nov. 16, hammering No. 10 Sonoma Valley 49-10. A pair of touchdowns in the final two minutes of the first half gave the Dons a 35-10 advantage. "That really was the back-breaker for (Sonoma)," said Ivankovich, who described his team's offensive play as "pretty explosive."
Acalanes will not have to travel far this weekend as they take on the top-seed Campolindo Cougars in Moraga at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22.
Campolindo finished the season a perfect 10-0 (6-0 DFAL) earning themselves a first round bye in the NCS Division III playoffs.
"It was probably the toughest 10-game season we've ever played," said Kevin Macy, the Cougars' head coach. "Of course a key to that success was Phillip Rei ... he really was a difference-maker."
Rei, the senior receiver, began the year at quarterback while starter Andrew Zolintakis recovered from an injury to his throwing arm. After resuming his usual role, Rei led the team with 557 receiving yards before tearing his ACL.
With several injured players, "We're in a tough place right now," Macy admitted.
The Cougars beat the Dons 24-14 during the regular season. Looking ahead to Friday's game Macy said, "Concern number one is stopping (Peter) Mitchell."
Both Macy and Ivankovich said there's no decided advantage to playing a familiar opponent.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA