FOOTBALL THIS WEEK: Casa can’t afford a slip Saturday

It may rain on local high school football teams this weekend, but it will be nothing like the downpour of emotion that will drench all four local schools the following week.|

It may rain on local high school football teams this weekend, but it will be nothing like the downpour of emotion that will drench all four local schools the following week.

Consider: Next week, Petaluma plays Redwood Empire talent monster Analy with a chance to tie the Tigers for the Sonoma County League championship; Casa Grande plays at Montgomery with the possibility of a North Coast Section playoff berth on the line; and St. Vincent and Tomales go head-to-head with the two either sharing the North Central League II title or St. Vincent winning it outright.

But that’s next week, and before any of the treats can occur, the locals have to avoid being tricked into an upset this week.

Casa Grande is the most vulnerable, hosting Santa Rosa on Senior Night needing a win to keep alive its flickering playoff hopes. Petaluma has already cleared the way to its showdown with Analy and will take the week off. St. Vincent makes the long trip to Upper Lake and Tomales must contend with a much improved Calistoga team in Tomales.

Both the St. Vincent and Casa Grande games are Saturday, with the Mustangs playing in Upper Lake at 2 p.m. and the Gauchos at home for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. The Casa game was rescheduled from Friday night to avoid a conflict with Halloween.

Tomales’ Braves aren’t worried about ghosts, goblins and other assorted spirits, and will play Friday night as scheduled, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m.

Gauchos vs. Panthers

Although Santa Rosa brings a team to the Big House that has won only one game all season, the Panthers can be dangerous. Their only win was a 14-7 victory over Ukiah from Casa’s North Bay League,and they barely lost to Sonoma County League title contender Petaluma, 13-12. The Panthers played well against Maria Carrillo, a team that gave Casa Grande a tough game last week before losing, 19-14. The Panthers lost to the Pumas, 35-26.

At 2-6, the Gauchos have won just one more game than the Panthers, but its win over Maria Carrillo last week have them thinking about the possibility of making the NCS playoffs. To qualify, Casa (2-3 in league) must win its final two regular-season games, starting with Santa Rosa Saturday night.

Mustangs vs. Cougars

On paper, St. Vincent should be able to take care of the winless Cougars, a team the Mustangs handled, 54-0, the first time around the four-team NCL II.

But the game is played on the turf, and comes at the end of a long bus ride for the Mustangs.

Despite the score of the first meeting between the two teams, Mustang fans were impressed by the determination and gutsy play of the Cougars, led by quarterback and team captain Mike Diandrea.

Braves vs. Wildcats

Tomales’ Braves get no cakewalk on their hopeful journey to the showdown with St. Vincent.

Although Calistoga is 1-7 for the season, with its lone win over Upper Lake, the Wildcats have shown signs of improvement as the season progressed. They gave Tomales a pretty good tussle before losing, 28-13, in the first meeting between the two teams, and last week trailed St. Vincent just 7-0 at halftime before losing, 26-0.

The game will gave Tomales fans one last look (at least during the regular season) at one of the best backs among small schools in the Redwood Empire. Senior Willy Lepori has already rushed for 1,228 yards and scored 12 rushing touchdowns.

Both teams are player thin. Tomales, without a junior varsity team, has just 20 players on its roster. Calistoga lists only 14 on its varsity roster, but with no JV game, will call up more players for Saturday’s encounter.

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