Casa Grande still has a chance to make the NCS playoffs

With just one win thus far, the Casa Grande High School football team still has an opportunity to make the North Coast Section Division 2 playoffs.

Most North Bay League teams, including Casa Grande, have had games canceled because of the recent firestorm. The Gauchos lost their scheduled game against Montgomery. North Coast Section officials have decided that those games will not be made up.

They have also decided to keep to the original playoff schedule, with the team selection on Nov. 5 and the playoffs beginning Nov. 10.

Playoffs will continue to be with 16-team brackets. To fill the brackets, the committee has waived the “even-record” requirement that requires playoff teams to have at least a .500 record overall, in league play or against teams from th same division.

If the Gauchos, now 1-6 on the season, can win their final two games, at home against Windsor Friday night and at Santa Rosa on Nov. 3, they would stand a good chance of being selected, based on strength of schedule.

Casa Grande coach Denis Brunk says that the Gauchos, coming off their first win of the season, a 34-28 victory over Terra Linda, are capable of doing their part.

“The morale is way up. Getting that first win has picked up their spirits,” he said. “Our team has taken a little while to get going, but they are coming together. They played almost a full game against Terra.

“I like our chances against our final two opponents. The opportunity couldn’t be better for us. We match up well against our final two opponents.”

Meanwhile, Petaluma will pretty much just be playing out the regular season in their final game Saturday night against Elsie Allen, a team that has played just five games, and lost four of them. However, the Lobos did record their first football win in three years when they defeated St. Vincent, 26-9, in their first game of the season.

Petaluma will be tuning up for the NCS Division 3 playoffs. The Trojans will almost assuredly begin the playoffs in the talent-loaded division on the road despite a sparkling 7-1 record. Trojan coach Rick Krist expects his team to be seeded somewhere between eight and 10 for the single-elimination tournament.