Cardinal Newman edges Windsor, 7-0

<p>Welcome to winning ugly.</p><p>Cardinal Newman, which has dominated the North Coast Section playoffs with its high-flying offense in recent years, won yet again when it mattered most Saturday night.</p><p>This time, however, the Cardinals did it with seven points. And zero style points.</p><p>Running their recently installed double-wing offense, the ninth-seeded Cardinals beat No. 8 Windsor, 7-0, in the first round of the NCS Division II playoffs.</p><p>Newman (7-4) managed 178 yards, averaged 3.7 yards per play and had as many turnovers (4) as plays that gained more than 10 yards. Its lone touchdown came on a nine-yard drive set up by a blocked punt.</p><p>Whatever. The defending section champions improved to 14-1 in the NCS playoffs dating back to 2006 and will visit top-seeded Petaluma (11-0) at 7 p.m. Friday in the Division II quarterfinals.</p><p>“We used to have the most fun team to watch in the history of Sonoma County,” said Newman coach Paul Cronin, who has led his program to three section crowns and two state-championship game appearances in the past four years. “But it’s not really about that. It’s about winning. You have to take the cards you’re dealt and work with them the best you can.”</p><p>And the Cardinals did just that despite starting sophomore Steven Tomasin, the tailback on the junior varsity this season, at quarterback. Tomasin was inserted into the starting lineup after senior Jack James was unable to play after suffering a concussion last week. Newman’s backup quarterback Matt Sullivan has been suspended for the rest of the season for disciplinary reasons.</p><p>Tomasin accounted for the game’s only score on a 1-yard sneak with 4:02 left in the second quarter. The touchdown was set up by a blocked punt by Newman’s Garrett Guanella.</p><p>And that was enough for the Cardinals to improve to 4-0 since waving goodbye to its sputtering spread offense on the heels of a 9-0 loss to Montgomery. In its past four games, Newman has attempted 11 passes, roughly as many as the Cardinals attempted on some drives in past years. </p><p>And Saturday, with Tomasin making the emergency start, the Cardinals’ playbook included four runs and two passes.</p><p>“A lot of people say it’s boring, but to us it’s fun because we’re football players,” said Newman running back Tyler Laron, who had a team-high 71 yards on 19 carries. “We like to hit. This is pound the ball, hit somebody and get five yards. This is fun for us. People may not like it, but we love it.”</p><p>Newman’s defense made the touchdown stand up as it limited the Jaguars (6-5) to 183 yards and forced two turnovers — a fumble and an interception by Tim Moreno.</p><p>Windsor quarterback D.J. King (18 carries, 42 yards) was hobbled by a high ankle sprain he suffered nearly two weeks ago, but he drove the Jaguars inside the Cardinals’ 20-yard line twice in the second half. After a Newman fumble in the third quarter, Windsor drove 29 yards to the Cardinals’ 12-yard line but turned the ball over on downs.</p><p>In the fourth quarter, the Jaguars drove 69 yards, but came up empty on a fourth-and-8 attempt from Newman’s 11 when a catchable pass from King fell incomplete near the goal line with less than six minutes left.</p><p>“We just didn’t execute at the end,” King said. “Everyone would be doing a great job and we’d be driving a little bit, but when we got down to the goal line we weren’t executing.”</p><p>Of course, the Cardinals’ defense, which has posted two shutouts and limited six opponents to fewer than 15 points, had something do with that.</p><p>Defensive lineman Rob Gingras and linebacker Blake Ratto had sacks for Newman, which has been remade as a team built around a power running game, a rugged defense and an opportunistic special teams.</p><p>That formula worked Saturday for a team that won ugly. And offered no apologies.</p><p>“Obviously we would have liked to have more points on the board,” Ratto said. “But seven points is seven points. And it was enough.”</p>