NCS football playoffs roundup: Casa Grande falls to Miramonte 47-29

Miramonte overcame Casa Grande's halftime lead and went on to defeat the Gauchos, 47-29, in a NCS Division 2 quarterfinal game Friday night in Orinda.

Casa had a 29-27 edge at intermission after the Matadors ran back a JJ Anderson pass for a touchdown in the final minute of the first half.

'That turned out to be a momentum changer,' Gauchos coach Trent Herzog said. 'We could've gone into the locker room with a 29-20 lead.'

Despite the interception, Anderson put up impressive numbers. He threw for three touchdowns while completing 12 of 25 passes for 246 yards.

While racking up more than 500 yards of offense, Casa also had two runners gain more than 100 yards. Spencer Torkelson had 155 on 22 carries and Andrew Floerkey picked up 125 and a touchdown on 17 touches.

Miramonte, the No. 2 seed, couldn't stop the No. 7 Gauchos' running game in the first half but it was a different story after the break.

'They kept our offense off the field a lot in the second half,' Herzog said. 'They were successful controlling the ball.'

The Matadors are now 11-1 while Casa winds up 5-7.

CLAYTON VALLEY CHARTER 52, WINDSOR 6

At Concord, the Ugly Eagles' defense held the Jaguars' running game to negative yardage while winning the Division 2 quarterfinal contest.

Chris Licea wound up being Windsor's leading rusher. He gained two yards on one carry. In the first half, the visitors were negative 17 yards in rushing.

'They were very athletic and fast,' coach Tom Kirkpatrick said of the Clayton Valley defense. 'We couldn't do anything.'

The Jaguars didn't get a first down in the first half as the home team raced to a 38-0 lead at intermission.

The top-seeded Ugly Eagles scored on their first possession and then recovered an outside kick and scored again.

'It was pretty frustrating,' Kirkpatrick said. 'The score was 18-0 before we ran a play.'

No. 9 Windsor got on the scoreboard in the third period on a 6-yard pass from Max Brown to Curtis Johnson.

Brown hit 17 of 28 passes for 105 yards and was intercepted once. His favorite target was Peyton Easton (7 catches for 63 yards).

Quarterback Scott Von Felden figured in four of Clayton Valley's initial five touchdowns. He hooked up with Luis Ramos on scoring passes of 24 and 43 yards. Then, the 190-pound junior ran for TDs of 93 and 28 yards.

'They run a double wing and we had success earlier in the season against teams that use that offense,' Kirkpatrick said. 'However, they were so fast and athletic, we couldn't stop them.

'I wouldn't be surprised if they wind up playing for the state championship. They are a really great high school football team.'

Clayton Valley will take a 10-1 into next weekend's semifinal game. Windsor goes to the sideline with a 7-5 record in Kirkpatrick's first year at the helm.

'This was a good group that always tried hard,' he said. 'We had our ups and downs, but the last month of the season made it a good year.'