Road gets rough for Trojans, Gauchos

After successful first steps in the North Coast Section football playoffs, Petaluma and Casa Grande high schools move on to round two, and this time it will take a leap to get them closer to a NCS title.

Casa Grande, after beating American of Fremont, 49-14, last week, goes against No. 2 seed Miramonte on Friday night on the Matadors’ home campus in Orinda in a Division 2 quarterfinal match. Petaluma, a 38-20 winner over Novato in the first round of the Division III playoffs, takes on Rancho Cotate on Saturday night in Rohnert Park. Both games kick off at 7 p.m.

Talent-loaded Cougars

Petaluma will face a Rancho Cotate team that is the No. 3 seed in the playoffs, and is coming off a 63-14 walloping of Terra Linda in its first-round game. Earlier in the season, Petaluma defeated Terra Linda, 24-0. Rancho Cotate, like Petaluma, comes into the game with an 8-3 record, including a 49-28 win over Casa Grande.

Petaluma coach Rick Krist says the Trojans will have to find a way to contain both the Cougar power and their speed.

“They are a good football team,” he said. “They are awfully fast, and they run the ball very well. They have the ability to control the ball.”

The Cougars feature two outstanding running backs in Danny Shelton, who has rushed for 586 yards and eight touchdowns, and Moziah Ward, who has run for 726 yards and 11 touchdowns.

They also have a nearly unstoppable receiver in Chris Taylor-Yamanoha, who has caught 63 passes for 1,089 yards and 18 touchdowns.

But the talent that really fuels the Rancho Cotate offense is senior quarterback Gunner Mefferd. He has completed 161 of 265 passes (.609 completion percentage) for 2,561 yards and 31 touchdowns. He has a 122.5 quarterback rating. He has also run for 101 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, the Cougars have held opponents to two touchdowns or less in seven of their 11 games. Middle linebacker Tanielu Guerrero and strong safety Shelton are the heart of the Cougar defense, with Shelton leading the team with 124 tackles.

Ordinarily Krist would prefer to play Friday night so the Trojans could keep to their practice routine, but this week he is thankful for the extra day.

“We’re a little banged up from the Novato game,” he explained. “It was a very physical game and we can use the extra day after playing that kind of game.”

The extra day will also give running back Luke Wheless, key offensive breakaway threat and top pass defender, an extra day to rest an ankle injury that kept him out of last week’s game against Novato.

With Wheless, Lucas Dentoni and quarterback Brenden White all healthy, the Trojans will try to continue doing what has made them successful all season ­- run the football behind a physical offensive line that has been getting better with each game.

“They have a nice thing going,” Krist said of the Trojan line. “They hold one another to a high standard.

Familiar playoff foe

In Miramonte, Casa Grande will be meeting a familiar playoff opponent. Two years ago, the Matadors defeated the Gauchos, 41-28, in the North Coast Section championship game. Last year, Casa turned the tables on the Matadors, ousting them in the first round, 48-6.

Miramonte has an outstanding running back in Clayton Stehr, who has rushed for 1,121 yards and 22 touchdowns, and perhaps an even more dangerous quarterback in Tim Teague, who has completed 179 of 290 passes (.617 completion percentage) for 3,096 yards and 29 touchdowns.

The Gauchos catch something of a break with an injury to leading Miramonte receiver Sutter Lindberg. However, that still leaves three-year varsity veteran Ryan Anderson to cover. The senior has caught 47 passes for 748 yards and six touchdowns.

That doesn’t mean the Gauchos will be intimidated by either the Matadors’ talent or their gaudy 10-1 record and No. 2 seeding.

“They are an outstanding football team,” says Casa coach Trent Herzog. “But I feel comfortable we can play with them. They are very athletic, but if we go in with the attitude that we are the more physical team, I think we have a great shot.”

That attitude of being physical has served the Gauchos (5-6) well during their current three-game winning streak that includes a 49-14 win over American from Fremont in the first round of the playoffs.

Casa Grande, primarily a passing team early in the season, was perfectly balanced in the playoff win, rushing for 208 yards and passing for 208 yards. Spencer Torkelson had his best game of the season, running for 164 yards, while quarterback JJ Anderson was an efficient 14 of 25 passing for his 208 yards and three touchdowns.

It was all made possible by an offensive line that has been at its best during the winning streak.

Herzog says it was a matter of finding the right pieces to fit into a composite unit.

That group is anchored by center Kameron Chase, the only senior on a group that includes juniors Tommy Luchese, Jacob Voight, Brian Kolodin and Dylan Korte.