Twelve prep teams participate in passing tournament at St. Vincent

With the official start of the high school football season just weeks away, local teams are ramping up their offseason workouts.

On Friday and Saturday, 12 teams from the North Bay — a majority from Sonoma County — faced off at St. Vincent High School in Petaluma in a 7-on-7 camp put on by former NFL running back Khalil Bell, who was born in Santa Rosa, and his D1 Bound Football Academy.

Windsor emerged as the tournament champion, picking up three 40-point, double-digits wins during bracket play on Saturday. The Jaguars topped Tamalpais 40-21 in the championship game.

“Just proud of the guys, proud of the coaches, I know it’s 7-on-7 but I’m proud of the way our guys are competing and I think we’re heading in a really good direction as far as going into the season,” said first-year Windsor head coach Dean Sexton. “A long way to go, but I was proud of the guys this weekend because we did some really good things on both sides of the ball, and offensively I think we have a chance to be really special.

“Excited about this team.”

Windsor was one of nine Sonoma County teams fine-tuning their skills as the season nears. Also in attendance were Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Piner, Cloverdale, St. Vincent, Analy, Rancho Cotate and Montgomery, as well as Tamalpais, Novato and Archie Williams from Marin County.

Here are some notes and observations from Saturday:

Windsor outlasts Tam

The Jaguars rolled their way into the championship game, putting up big numbers in wins over Novato, Petaluma and Piner. In the finals, they met Tam, who advanced with three gritty wins over Montgomery, Rancho Cotate and Analy.

The Jaguars came out of the gates hot and never looked back. Rising junior quarterback Judson Anderson connected early on a touchdown with his younger brother, rising sophomore phenom Hayden Anderson, and hit rising junior wide receiver Gunnar Erickson for three more scores in the contest.

Along with Erickson and Hayden Anderson, another Jaguar who had a strong weekend was rising junior Joseph Campbell. Listed at 6-foot-2, Anderson’s primary sport is basketball, but he made quite an impression this weekend in the first football action of his high school career.

Analy, Rancho fall in shootouts

Tamalpais’ wins over Rancho Cotate and Analy were undeniably the games of the day.

The Cougars had swept through pool play on Friday and were widely considered the most talented team in the tournament’s field. But Tamalpais matched them punch for punch in a shootout that was decided in overtime. The Cougars rallied from two scores down over the final few minutes of regulation to force the extra period but couldn’t answer after Tam scored on its first possession.

Tam’s semifinal win over Analy followed a similar script, except this time it was the Red-tailed Hawks who had to rally late. Trailing 45-34 in the closing minutes, they ended the game with a touchdown and two interceptions (each worth three points), the last of which came as time expired to give them a walk-off win.

Other notes

•Rancho Cotate picked up a talented transfer from Windsor to add to its already potent arsenal. Rising senior Nick Fa’agata, a first-team defensive back and wide receiver, suited up for the Cougars for the first time this weekend. Fa’agata had 22 receptions for 328 yards with two touchdowns last year and was tied for the North Bay League-Oak lead with four interceptions. He only recently joined Rancho’s program and played sparingly this weekend but should be a major factor for the Cougars this upcoming season.

•While Montgomery and Petaluma went home on the early side Saturday, coaches in attendance over the weekend were impressed with their play and expect both programs to take a step forward this year. The Trojans and Vikings return a bulk of their talent from strong campaigns in 2021 and could make some noise in their respective league races.

•Analy quarterback Sammy Long, a rising senior, and Logan Mitchell, a rising junior wide receiver, displayed an adept connection all day. In the semifinal loss to Tam, Long hit Mitchell for several scores. Both should be players to watch this fall.

•Taylor Galloway is the new head coach at Cloverdale. The nephew of former longtime St. Vincent head coach Gary Galloway, his past stops include El Molino and St. Vincent.

•Piner’s NJ Roberts is emerging as a key piece for the Prospectors. The rising senior wide receiver is entering his fourth year on varsity and appears to have developed a nice rapport with quarterback Matt Erickson. They connected on a handful of impressive plays, especially in Piner’s 26-16 win over St. Vincent in bracket play on Saturday.

•St. Vincent will have options at quarterback. Eddy Stone and Jaret Bosarge, both rising seniors, offer different looks — Stone as more of a true passer and Bosarge as a running threat — which should give the Mustangs some versatility on offense.

•Santa Rosa’s Nolan Frost continues to impress. The rising junior tight end, listed at 6-foot-4, has been turning heads in the 7-on-7 circuit. He’s coming off a breakout sophomore season and looks to have taken another step since. He’ll be a player to watch in the NBL-Redwood.

You can reach Press Democrat Staff Writer Gus Morris at 707-304-9372 or gus.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @JustGusPD.