Ukiah rolls past Maria Carrillo in football

Volume 17, San Marin 7

The Crushers earned their biggest win of the season in a road upset of the Mustangs in the REC-Adobe game on Friday night.

San Marin (6-3, 1-3) entered the meet as the No. 8 seed in the North Coast Section and won CIF state titles in 2021 and 2022.

In wet and rainy conditions, Vintage (6-3, 2-2) returned to its roots of ball control and defense. The Crushers held a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter after touchdown runs by Bo Lode and Mason Howell and took a two-score lead into halftime after intercepting San Marin quarterback Daniel Rolovich deep in their own territory just before halftime.

They then opened the third quarter with a methodical, run-heavy drive that took over nine minutes and ended in a field goal to make it a three-score game at 17-0. The Crushers then intercepted Rolovich again late in the third quarter. Lode and Travis Larsen had the interceptions for Vintage.

San Marin scored the only touchdown of the game with 2:39 remaining.

“The defense was good all night, we created some pressure, took (Rolovich) off his goal and allowed him to scramble a little bit, and even though he’s a good scrambler, we had an answer for that as well,” Vintage said -head coach Dylan Leach. said. “… Offensively, we went back to the old Vintage, threw maybe three times and got the ball back in control. “We felt like if we could get rid of first downs and keep their offense off the field, we would have a much better shot.”

Vintage closes the regular season next week hosting Cardinal Newman.

Ukiah 40, Maria Carrillo 14

In a battle of the powers that be in the Redwood Empire Conference Bay division, Ukiah emerged with an emphatic victory on a muddy home court on Friday.

The Wildcats defeated Maria Carrillo at home to improve to 6-3 this year and 3-1 in league play.

Omaurie Phillips-Porter had three touchdowns for Ukiah on the night – two on special teams – and another on a long reception from quarterback Beau David, who also ran for two scores. Phillips-Porter had a touchdown 81 yards on the kickoff in the first half and then returned a punt 85 yards for a score in the second half.

Maria Carrillo (7-2, 3-1 REC-Bay) led 8-0 early, but Ukiah came back to take a 21-14 lead at halftime before pulling away in the second half.

“It was a good character game,” Ukiah head coach Paul Cronin said. “Muddy field, a lot of focus things had to happen because it’s easy to slip and all that stuff, but our guys were able to concentrate well, so I’m really proud of that.”

Logan Bruce scored two rushing touchdowns for the Pumas: the first from two yards out and the second from six yards out.

Maria Carrillo will look to turn the page quickly as the regular season concludes next week with a home game against first-place St. Vincent.

Puma head coach Jay Higgins praised the play of his defense – especially his ability to create devastating moments in Ukiah’s backfield.

“The difference was the explosive play. They hit (Phillips-Porter) for a touchdown on a long post route, and they made big, explosive plays on special teams to put them ahead by a comfortable margin,” Higgins said of Ukiah. “Other than those plays, it was just a slog where we were all trying to fight for a few yards. … I think a different situation – if we could have eliminated some of the chaos – could have been a different game. But that’s what happens.”

Friday’s loss ended Maria Carrillo’s five-match winning streak that stretched all the way back to September 14.

“We have been approached every week so far with the idea that we do not want to get ahead of ourselves; what we want to take care of today,” Higgins said. “In practice, that is every day of the week. Of course we want to take care of Friday evening, but you can’t win two games in one evening. You have to focus on the task at hand.

“We have been very good at staying in the present and not looking ahead, but focusing on the now. … I think the key is that we recognize that we have to own everything we do. Our previous record means nothing. All that matters is how we respond next week.”

Ukiah closes the regular season next week at Analy (3-6, 2-2).

Analy 40, Santa Rosa 20

For the second week in a row, Analy rode a dominant offensive line and a well-rounded defensive performance to get into the win column.

The Tigers went on the road to beat Santa Rosa, improving to 3-6 on the year and 2-2 in REC-Bay play.

“It’s good to feel like we’re getting something going late in the season,” Analy coach Dan Bourdon said. “I think this puts us in a position to play a meaningful game next week. I feel like if we win, we have a chance to at least qualify for the playoffs. So it’s good to feel like we’re still playing for something.”

The bad weather conditions made it difficult for both teams to move the ball through the air. But that wasn’t a problem for Analy, as the company had a lot of success running the ball.

“It was basically the same story as (last week’s win over Montgomery) – our offensive line played great,” Bourdon said. “Stayed on the ground and we were able to move him well. Also had some big kick returns.

Santa Rosa scored early in the second half to make it a one-score game. But the Tigers responded immediately, getting a huge spark when Oliver Sherwin returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown.

Analy’s Matthew Medina and Victor Villarreal each ran for two touchdowns and Brantz Jacobs for one.

Analy will make a big splash in the regular season finale when it hosts Ukiah next Friday.

For Santa Rosa, Miguel Gallardo ran for 110 yards on nine carries and had a touchdown of 67 yards. Rashai Thompson ran for two touchdowns and 116 yards on 15, including an explosive explosive run of 70 yards and Daniel Mills had 58 rushing yards on 11 carries.

The Panthers conclude the regular season next week with a road game in Montgomery.

(Staff writer Gus Morris contributed to this report)