Prep football: Campolindo edges Rancho Cotate in NCS semifinals

It was the matchup everyone wanted.

It was the matchup everyone got.

Just as advertised, No. 2 Campolindo and No. 3 Rancho Cotate put on a show in Friday’s “Cougar Bowl,” with the game coming down to the final seconds.

Unfortunately, it was Campo’s night, not Rancho’s, as the home Cougars held on for a 42-41 win.

“It was a gritty, gutty performance,” Rancho head coach Gehrig Hotaling said. “The ball just didn’t bounce our way on two or three plays, and at this level, this distance in the playoffs, that’s the difference between winning and losing. I’m proud of the boys. Great effort.”

It was back and forth until the last play. Rancho was going for a two-point conversion, having just scored in the craziest way.

Wide receiver Sailasa Vadrawale caught a pass and ran for the end zone. He then was hit at about the 2-yard line and went flying. He tried extending his arm to get the ball across the goal line, but the ball came loose and tumbled into the end zone. Teammate Ananias Walker was there to pounce on it for the score.

On the conversion try, Jacob Pruitt’s pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage, and Rancho stayed down by one.

“We didn’t have our kicker tonight, and I didn’t want to go to OT on the road,” Hotaling said of the decision to go for the win.

That capped a wild, one minute and 17-second drive that included a fake spike by Pruitt. On that play, he found Dylan Gagnon down the sideline for 27 yards.

Both squads had their way on offense during the game. Pruitt had two rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns — none more important than a 6-yard score after converting a fourth and 1 to make it 35 apiece.

On the other side, Campo’s Dashiell Weaver had himself a game. The quarterback had three rushing touchdowns, including the go-ahead score.

Rancho’s Tupotu Hale also had a rushing touchdown, and Vadrawale had two receiving touchdowns.

“As disappointing as it was, and how painful this is, it was just a great effort and a fun game,” Hotaling said.

This marks the end of a season of adversity for Rancho Cotate, which finished with an overall record of 9-3 and a second-place mark in the North Bay League-Oak division at 4-1.

The Cougars certainly had to adjust, especially after a head injury suffered by quarterback Liam Keaney in their NBL opener. Keaney was at Friday’s game in Moraga, dressed in a sweatshirt with his white uniform jersey on top. The senior quarterback took his place at midfield as a captain for the coin toss.

“Nothing but proud of them,” Keaney said of his team’s journey this season. “It was not easy for them to kind of go through this season. It was a traumatic thing for the whole team, and to see them bounce back, install a whole new offense, and see them thrive under it, it’s been really awesome to see, and I’ve got love for every single one of them.”

Although Rancho is returning some key talent for next season, they are still losing a star-studded senior class. Along with Keaney, Rancho is graduating Vadrawale, Gagnon and Malik Cleveland, to name a few.

“They’re great human beings who know how to overcome adversity and fight to the bitter end,” Hotaling said of his seniors. “At the end of the day, it’s just football, but they’re going to take these life lessons onto the next chapter.”

You can reach Staff Writer Kienan O’Doherty at 415-887-8650 or kienan.odoherty@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @kodoherty22.