The North Coast Section playoffs keep delivering.
Three local teams advanced to section title games with wins last week, while another, Elsie Allen, was able to make history as it clinched its first section title in any sport in school history.
Cardinal Newman, St. Vincent and Ukiah will all try to join the Lobos as section champs this weekend with a marquee slate of games Friday and Saturday. The Press Democrat's coverage area has never before had four section champions in a single season and has only had three a handful of times, the last being in 2008 when Justin-Siena, Cardinal Newman and St. Vincent all captured titles.
The second round of the NCS playoffs last week once again provided some fireworks. The Cardinals steamrolled Acalanes in the second half of the Division 1 semifinals and Ukiah won on possibly the craziest finish we've ever seen, much less in a second-round playoff game.
St. Vincent battled its way back to a fifth consecutive NCS title game, holding off another good fight from a league opponent in Maria Carrillo.
Let's dive into our takeaways from last week's action.
The Wildcats won in arguably the most dramatic and crazy finish that's ever been seen in the North Bay.
Trailing 20-13, Ukiah scored with 22 seconds left and opted to go for two and the lead. On the attempt, quarterback Beau David was wrapped up by Vintage defenders in the pocket, but as he was going down, he was able to get off a pass attempt toward the end zone. The ball deflected off a referee in the end zone, bounced up in the air and was hauled in by Dareon Dorsey for a successful conversion that put Ukiah ahead 21-20.
But even crazier, Vintage nearly came back in the final seconds to steal the win back. Quarterback Blake Porter completed two long passes, the final putting the Crushers inside Ukiah's five-yard line and setting up what would have been a chip-shot field goal for ace kicker Henry Drozdowicz. However, Vintage didn't have any timeouts left and as they hurried to the line, the clock ran out and Ukiah, somehow, escaped with the win.
The Wildcats will face 3 seed El Cerrito, which defeated 2 seed Rancho Cotate 26-9 last week, in their first NCS title game appearance since 1999. The Wildcats won the 3A Redwood Empire section title that year, their only section championship in program history.
This will be the 12th section championship game for Ukiah head coach Paul Cronin, who has a 7-4 record in title games. Technically he's 7-3, but Cardinal Newman -- where he coached for 20 years -- lost a coin flip to determine the 2018 Division 3 title.
Cronin won six section titles at Newman and helped Windsor win the Division 3 title in 2021 in his one year at the helm.
-- Gus Morris
You could say it was a tale of two halves for the Cardinals on Friday night. They were tied 17-17 with Acalanes at halftime before erupting for 35 unanswered points in the second half to win handily and advance to the NCS Division 1 title game against Pittsburg, a top-15 team in the state.
It was an impressive performance from the Cardinals, who amassed a season-high 552 total yards, including a season-high 463 rushing yards, on just 42 plays. They also did it without starting quarterback LT Retamoza, who appears to have reinjured his collarbone in Newman's first-round win over San Marin.
The Cardinals started freshman Cash Boyd, who went 4-of-7 for 89 yards with a touchdown, but gave an array of different looks on offense. Junior Carmine Guevara -- who's filled in at quarterback most of the year with Retamoza sidelined -- got a few reps, but the Cardinals also went to the wildcat formation quite a bit with direct snaps to a host of running backs, who ran wild over the Dons.
Malakai Pathoumnourack rushed for 237 yards with three scores on 18 carries and could've had an even bigger night had touchdown runs of 85 and 44 yards not been negated due to penalties. Brody Estrela (seven carries, 132 rushing yards, two touchdowns) and Kordel Strane (six carries, 90 yards, touchdown) were also effective as the Cardinals averaged 13.6 yards per carry for the game.
Acalanes' defense had no answers for the Cardinals' rushing attack, but Pittsburg will be a different beast entirely this week.
-- Gus Morris
The feel-good story of the year got a perfect conclusion Friday night in southwest Santa Rosa.
Elsie Allen, historically one of the least successful football programs in the North Bay, is a section champion, bringing home the eight-person Division 2 title. It was a rematch of last year's eight-person Division 2 title game, which the Lobos lost 84-78 in heartbreaking fashion to Cornerstone Christian.
But this year, the Lobos would not be denied history.
Nicholas Lobato passed for three scores and Uriel Pacheco accounted for five touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with two minutes left in the game, and Andrew Menjivar sealed the win with a late interception to lift Elsie to a 40-36 victory.
Elsie Allen hadn't posted more than two wins in a season in program history before last year, their second as an eight-person program, when they won seven games and made it to a section title game. Elsie went winless in its first season as an eight-person program, a move the school made after not being able to field a varsity program for several years.
What makes this win even sweeter for Elsie are the uncertain circumstances around the school. Elsie Allen was on the chopping block to shutter due to budget issues within the Santa Rosa City Schools district and was even chosen to close last spring before a reversal by the school board.
The future of the school is still up in the air, which makes Friday's win even more of a moment to celebrate.
-- Gus Morris
The Mustangs were in another dogfight against a league opponent on Saturday but once again pulled out a win, 42-28 over Maria Carrillo, to advance to their fifth consecutive NCS title game in pursuit of their third straight state title.
This postseason run has been anything but easy for St. Vincent, but after two really good swings from Analy and Maria Carrillo in league rematches, the Mustangs have done enough to make it back to this point.
Their opponent this week, Ferndale, is also chasing down history. The Wildcats are one of only a handful of still-unbeaten teams in the state and are surely motivated by last year's runner-up finish in the NCS Division 7 title game, which they lost to Moreau Catholic 21-19. Ferndale won the NCS Division 7 title in 2023 en route to winning the CIF state division 7-AA title.
Ferndale is the smallest school that plays 11-man football in the entire section, with just 145 students. But the Wildcats' football program is ripe with history. They're actually second to De La Salle in the entire NCS with 14 section titles. This will also be the fourth meeting between St. Vincent and Ferndale in a section championship game. Ferndale has won two of those previous matchups, in 2012 and 1991.
These two teams have seemingly been on a collision course all season, and with the game set for a local venue Saturday night at Rancho Cotate High School in Rohnert Park, this is sure to be a can't-miss event.