Rancho Cotate powers past Campolindo

Rancho Cotate High School’s football team proved it’s the real deal in a 35-21 victory over Campolindo on Friday that was closer than it appeared.

The two teams, both nicknamed the Cougars, entered the game undefeated. Rancho is the one that came out still ?unbeaten, at 4-0.

“We knew it would be a battle and we know that’s one of the best programs in Northern California,” said Rancho Cotate head coach Gehrig Hotaling.

The night did not start well for the host Cougars. On Rancho Cotate’s first possession of the game, quarterback Jared Stocker had trouble finding receivers. After going three-and-out, they attempted to punt but a poor snap only allowed them to put the ball on their own 35-yard line.

Campolindo quarterback Grant Harper and company took advantage of the field position with quick passes and a strong running game led by running back Michael Brewer, scoring the first points of the game on a short goal line run from Brewer.

“The key to victory was No. 1 being mentally tough, especially because we got down for the first time this year. We had never been down on the scoreboard until tonight and it happened right away, and it was interesting to see how we responded to that,” Hotaling said.

After a couple stalled possessions and impressive defensive stops from each team, Rancho Cotate responded by getting its offense going and feeding powerhouse running back Rasheed Rankin and backup Sumari Jones. Jones drove down the field to the opponents’ 6-yard line, and Stocker finished the drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Trevor Lee, tying it 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Rankin was amazing in the win and could not be stopped. The team relied heavily on the run game but looked good passing, too, like on a third-and-long where Stocker threw a 33-yard touchdown to wide receiver Jack Reese, giving Rancho Cotate a 14-7 lead with eight minutes left in the first half.

On the next drive, Stocker’s chemistry with wide receiver Connor Barbato began to show itself and Rancho Cotate’s offense really began to open up. In the final minutes of the first half the team proved why it should not be overlooked, capping another successful drive, again on a long touchdown pass from Stocker to Reese.

With the minutes dwindling in the first half, Campolindo looked to try and shorten its opponent’s lead with a successful offensive drive. Harper ripped off a couple of decent chunks through the air, driving Campolindo back to Rancho’s side of the field.

But Rancho Cotate kept up its defensive stronghold, forcing Campolindo to punt, and went into the locker room with the 21-7 lead.

Harper and Campolindo opened the second half with some long completions, and a few costly penalties from Rancho Cotate helped put the visitors back in contention. And at the end of the drive on fourth-and-goal, Harper completed a short pass to wide receiver Max Schoenberger for a touchdown.

Rancho Cotate only held a 21-14 lead, but with the ball back in its possession the Cougars continued running with Rankin and once again drove down the field with relative ease, ending another drive with points, this time on another short touchdown run by Jones, increasing the lead back to two scores.

Campolindo’s passing game started to come together in the second half as Harper tried to keep his team in the game by methodically moving the offense down the field, completing another successful drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Kaleo Nelson.

It was back to a one-score game with Rancho Cotate leading 28-21.

But Rancho Cotate continued the heavy rushing attack, only choosing to throw when necessary. And on a crucial defensive series for Campolindo it was unable to stop Rankin as he capped the drive with a short touchdown run to give Rancho Cotate the 35-21 lead with less than six minutes left in the game.

Rancho Cotate plays its next game against Pleasant Valley high school at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 14 in Rohnert Park.