Prep football analysis: League title hopefuls state their case in openers

There weren’t many surprises across the county in Week 7 of high school football.

All the top teams in the North Bay League Oak division won handily — and the same for the better Vine Valley teams in action this weekend.

Cloverdale, meanwhile, took the inside track to the North Central League I title with a big win over St. Helena.

There was, however, a major shake-up in the NBL-Redwood, as Maria Carrillo fell to Ukiah in the league opener.

As we head into Week 8, which features several high-caliber matchups, the stakes only get higher from here on out.

Let’s dive into all the action.

Teams at the top

The Press Democrat’s top four teams — Rancho Cotate, Cardinal Newman, Windsor and St. Vincent — all won convincingly Friday night, as expected.

Before we get to the results, one of the biggest stories of the weekend was the injury to Rancho Cotate senior quarterback Liam Keaney. A late hit to the head in the Cougars’ win over Analy on Friday night left Keaney in a motionless heap on the field for several minutes. He came to and was responsive but was stretchered off the field and taken to the hospital.

He was released from the hospital Saturday morning and returned home, but his status for next week’s huge game against Windsor is obviously in doubt.

Windsor was also down its starting quarterback this week as junior Judson Anderson missed the game against Santa Rosa with an unspecified injury. His absence proved to not be an issue for the Jaguars as they tapped Judson’s younger brother, Hayden, to fill in at signal-caller.

The younger Anderson, who normally plays wide receiver, finished with 170 rushing yards and three touchdowns. It just goes to show that Windsor is a lot deeper than people think this year, and their backup plan when their starting QB is hurt is as good as any.

Rancho Cotate (5-1, 1-0) and Cardinal Newman (4-2, 1-0) had to overcome sloppy starts and a lot of flags in their openers. The Cardinals were aided big time by the return of senior running back Santino Acevedo, who had three rushing touchdowns in the third quarter alone to help Newman pull away for a 42-15 win over Montgomery.

The Cougars finally found their niche at the end of the third quarter, where two picks by Abel Calvillo helped set up their explosive offense in a 31-13 win over Analy.

Next week, Rancho Cotate plays at Windsor, Cardinal Newman plays at Analy and Montgomery welcomes Santa Rosa.

Herzog hits 100

St. Vincent head coach Trent Herzog tallied the 100th win of his coaching career Friday in the Mustangs’ 56-13 win over Piner.

Herzog began his head coaching career at Casa Grande, his alma mater, where he compiled a 66-35 overall record with the Gauchos from 2009 until the end of the 2016 season.

He took the St. Vincent job prior to the start of the 2018 season and has guided the Mustangs to a 34-11-1 record in four-and-a-half seasons.

Surprise in the Redwood

While the Mustangs still appear to be the team to beat in the NBL-Redwood, Friday’s battle between Maria Carrillo and Ukiah will likely determine who will be St. Vincent’s biggest competition for the league crown.

Ukiah emerged as 14-0 victors, claiming a fourth straight win and establishing itself as the current No. 2 team in the Redwood. The Wildcats were coming off wins over Eureka (13-6), Santa Rosa (28-25) and Casa Grande (27-20) and will face Healdsburg (0-6) next week before a huge tilt with St. Vincent at home on Oct. 21.

Cloverdale notches another big win

Cloverdale moved to 3-0 in the NCL I and 5-1 overall with a 44-36 win over St. Helena on Friday. The win snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Saints that dated back to 2009.

The Eagles and Clear Lake (6-0, 3-0) are currently tied for first in the NCL I and are set to face each other in the league finale on Nov. 4.

The good news for Cloverdale is that their schedule lightens up a bit in these coming weeks. Their next three opponents — Kelseyville, Middletown and Lower Lake — have a combined overall record of 4-14 this season and have been outscored 150-259. That’s not to say any wins are guaranteed, but if the Eagles can take care of business over the next three weeks, they should be in a great spot to win the NCL I (for the first time since 2009) ahead of that Clear Lake game.

Clear Lake, meanwhile, still has to face St. Helena and Willits, two of the better teams in the league, over the next three weeks before its matchup with Cloverdale.

You can reach Staff Writer Gus Morris at 707-304-9372 or gus.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @JustGusPD. You can reach Staff Writer Kienan O’Doherty at 415-887-8650 or kienan.odoherty@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @kodoherty22.