Gauchos seek first win in first home game

Petaluma and Casa Grande high school football players can’t afford to overlook the present, while anticipating the future.

With the resumption of the Community Egg Bowl just nine days away, both Petaluma’s Trojans and Casa Grande’s Gauchos have clean-up work to do and momentum to build as they continue their pre-league schedules this weekend.

Casa Grande’s Friday night game against San Marin is especially important for the Gauchos, who will be playing their first home game for new coach Denis Brunk. They also will be looking to give their new leader his first win as the Gaucho coach after losing to St. Bernard’s, 42-14, last week.

Petaluma renews its annual Trojan vs. Trojan battle when it goes to Marin County to play Terra Linda on Saturday.

St. Vincent, fresh off its first win, plays at home for the first time after two road games, hosting Cloverdale in the North Central League I opener for both teams.

Tomales opens its season with a tough home game Friday night against Laytonville in the North Central League II eight-man league.

Lessons learned

Casa Grande’s Gauchos hope to put to good use lessons learned in their loss to St. Bernard’s last week in Eureka.

To be successful as they continue their season, the Gauchos must play a complete game and cut down on the mental and physical mistakes that plagued them in their opener.

Casa played a good st. Bernard’s team even for the first half in Eureka, trailing at the half just 14-7 when St. Bernard’s scored in the closing seconds of the half.

Mistakes opened the floodgates for St. Bernard’s in the second half.

Despite the loss, Casa Grande showed potential for a strong line and good running game with Kenneth Fitzgerald and Jack Leonetti carrying the ball. Starting quarterback Jance Offerman threw the ball well, but he was plagued by dropped passes. Jadon Bosarge came in late and threw a touchdown pass.

San Marin was impressive in beating Kennedy of Fremont, 35-18, in its opener last week.

The Mustangs displayed a balanced offense in that game. Seniors Jahmal Changeux (93 yards) and Mitchell Timberman (70 yards) led San Marin to 174 yards on the ground, while senior quarterback Colin Hickey passed for 233 yards, although completing just nine of 21 passes.

San Marin and Casa Grande hooked up in one of the most exciting games of the season last year, with the Gauchos holding on for a 24-22 victory in a game played in Novato.

Trojans vs. Trojans

Saturday afternoon’s game at Terra Linda High (2 p.m. varsity kickoff) will not only match two Trojan teams, but this year two unbeaten Trojan teams.

Petaluma’s high-scoring Trojans have defeated a pair of North Bay League teams, beating Montgomery, 55-48, and Santa Rosa, 49-12. Terra Linda’s Trojans have been equally high scoring, downing Richmond, 53-6, and Oakland, 43-8.

Last week against Santa Rosa, Petaluma ran up 462 yards in total offense, rushing for an even 300. Justin Turner led the way, running for 103 yards, but 11 Petalumans got in on the ball-carrying fun.

Terra Linda is led by Dominic Martinez and Jackson Zabierek, who are averaging 110 and 108 yards a game, respectively. Quarterback Matt Peters has completed 18 of 22 passes for 371 yards in his two games.

Mustangs at home

After a split in their first two games on the road, St. Vincent’s Mustangs finally get to play at home, opening North Central League I play against Cloverdale on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is at 2 p.m.

After losing its first game at Elsie Allen, 26-9, St. Vincent bounced back last week to defeat Portola, 28-6.

Cloverdale has split its first two games, defeating Berean Christian, 14-7, but losing last week to Stellar Prep, 16-0.

St. Vincent found a quarterback and an offense in the second half at Portola last week. Junior Trent Free completed 11 of 25 passes for 357 yards in leading the Mustangs to a win. The yardage total was the most for a St. Vincent quarterback since 1998.

The win proved costly for the body-thin Mustangs, who lost promising sophomore running back Andrew Kohler to a leg injury.

Expect a battle between St. Vincent’s aerial attack and Cloverdale’s infantry assault.

The Eagles bring to town a three-pronged running attack, led by quarterback James Wirt, and featuring running backs Bj Grady and Cesar Buenrostro.

Tomales debut

Tomales will begin its third season of eight-man football in the newly reconfigured North Central League III against Laytonville on Friday night.

Although still skimpy on players, coach Dominic Sachelli is optimistic about the upcoming season.

Laytonville is one game up on Tomales on the experience trail, but its experience wasn’t exactly pleasant, a 50-20 loss to South Fork last week.

Laytonville defeated Tomales, 44-24, last season.