Benefield: Santa Rosa, Windsor prepare for NCS football rematch

Twenty four points and 35 days will separate the football programs of Santa Rosa and Windsor high schools come Friday night’s kickoff in the quarterfinals of the North Coast Section Division 2 playoffs.

The last time these two North Bay League football teams met, on Oct. 14, Windsor ran away with a 50-26 win. The Jaguars finished with a 4-3 record in the NBL and a 7-3 overall record.

The Panthers, who roared to a 3-0 start in August and September, faltered at the end of the season, losing four in a row - a skid that started with that loss to Windsor. They finished 2-5 in league and 6-5 overall.

But a month is a long time in a high school football season.

The Panthers grabbed a No. 10 seed in the D2 tournament and promptly bounced No. 7 Northgate 48-25 in Walnut Creek for the first NCS football win for the school since 1930.

Windsor, meanwhile, put together an impressive league run and earned a bye last week. So they have been watching. And waiting.

Playing a team for the second time in one season can present a sticky psychological test for both the victors and the vanquished.

For Windsor, that October win ought to provide a jolt of confidence. The Jags were, after all, able to put an astonishing 416 rushing yards on the Panthers in that meeting.

But for the Panthers, there is something real about making amends for the loss they suffered at home, on homecoming night no less.

“We told them to study that film,” Santa Rosa coach Denis Brunk said. “We asked them to concentrate on the mistakes we made and learn from them. Absolutely that game before is a tool to teach the kids the positives and negatives.”

“But I think we get better week to week. The score doesn’t always indicate that,” he said. “Do I think we are better than a month ago? Absolutely.”

They’ll need to be.

The Jaguars owned the ground game in the first meeting behind massive games from the senior tandem of Jackson Baughman and David Escarcega.

“We are really lucky to have both of them,” Windsor coach Tom Kirkpatrick said. “They are very different. David is more downhill - you just run straight ahead, fast. Jackson is more an elusive, open-field guy.”

Baughman averages 9 yards a carry and Escarcega averages 6.

Jags quarterback Kobe Roman, too, has emerged as a threat with his feet. He’s averaging nearly 6 yards per carry and has more attempts than either Baughman or Escarcega.

“They did a very good job of running the ball,” Brunk said of the first meeting between the two teams. “They had a quick tempo and they ran between the tackles very well. Coach Kirkpatrick is a very good coach, he knows the little things that it takes to win.”

And Kirkpatrick knows the big things it takes to win, too. At or near the top of the list come Friday? Stopping Santa Rosa’s talented trio of wide receiver Kalei Aukai, quarterback Isaiah Steele and wide receiver Cassius Banks.

Aukai, a senior, had five catches for 238 yards and four touchdowns against Northgate.

“Oh my god,” Kirkpatrick said. “We were down watching. Northgate had no answer for him. He was catching short passes and turning them into touchdowns because nobody could catch him. He’s a special athlete.”

Banks, who also makes appearances behind center in the wildcat formation, is averaging 20 yards per catch and is neck and neck with Aukai for the team lead in all-purpose yards per game.

“Our guys can’t allow those guys to run free in the secondary,” Kirkpatrick said. “Your best pass defense is a pass rush.”

That means Steele will have to shine if the Panthers hope to win.

Steele has a 118 passer rating and also averages 6 yards a carry with a team-leading seven rushing touchdowns.

Add to the mix for the Panthers senior running back Carlos Lemus, who is averaging more than 8 yards per carry, and the Panthers offense, if it’s on, has the potential to be potent.

“They are just so darned athletic,” Kirkpatrick said. “They are going to score points, you know that. Our best guys are going to have to make plays.”

Kirkpatrick will need a big night from senior linebacker Joey Pignataro, who leads all Jaguars in tackles this season. Senior Jarrod Mulholland at outside linebacker and junior Bas Osborn at defensive lineman will also need to have solid games.

They’ve done it before. Windsor’s defense gave up just 14 points - total - in its first five games.

Kirkpatrick is counting on his defense to lock down the Panthers.

Same goes for Brunk. Friday can’t be all offensive fireworks if his team wants to live to play another day.

“Our D-linemen, Blake Leiva, Alvaro Reyes and Joseph Salinas, there are three for you that are going to have to have a good game,” he said.

“Both teams are going to come to play,” Brunk said. “It should be close and come down to the end. It’s going to be great.”

The team that solves the puzzle of playing a known quantity will earn the right to play the winner between No. 3 Concord and No. 6 Granada (Livermore), who play Saturday.

Both teams have something to prove - either that the meeting back in October was a one-off, or that it was simply a harbinger of things to come.

You can reach staff columnist Kerry Benefield at 526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com, on Twitter @benefield and on Instagram at kerry.benefield. Podcasting on iTunes “Overtime with Kerry Benefield.”