Rancho, Newman count on defenses in Nor-Cal games

NCS champions in state semifinals|

Defense wins championships, legendary football coach Bear Bryant said.

If that is true, both local high school football teams still in the hunt for state titles have darn good shots at bringing home the hardware.

In CIF NorCal bowl games - essentially state semifinals - Cardinal Newman hosts Los Gatos at 7:30 p.m. Friday, while Rancho Cotate travels to Manteca to face Sierra at 6 p.m. Saturday.

The following weekend, the winners will face the victors of the Southern California semis, with state championships the coveted reward.

And strong defenses surely will be at the forefront of winning those games.

Of course, offense - long touchdown passes, zigzagging rushes for 48 yards - is flashy and fun for fans, but defense - stopping those big plays - is at least as valuable, if not more.

In short, offense can score all day long, but if the defense gives up even more points, game over.

Coaches Gehrig Hotaling of Rancho and Paul Cronin of Newman are confident their teams’ defensive prowess compares with the best of them.

“Our shutout against that team and that running back in the division championship is one of the greatest defensive performances in the history of our school, and maybe the surrounding area,” Hotaling said of the Cougars’ 7-0 victory over Las Lomas last week, and the stifling of Oregon State-bound Isaiah Newell.

Newman battled Marin Catholic to a 13-10 finish, won on a last-second field goal by kicker Ethan Kollenborn after four quarters of stingy defense from both teams.

The numbers back both coaches’ confidence:

Newman (12-1), the North Coast Section Division 4 champ, welcomes Central Coast Section D2 titleist Los Gatos (12-1) with a defense that has allowed an average of only single-digit scoring (9.9) through 13 games.

In the last five, Newman’s defense has held opponents to 6.4 points a game, including two shutouts.

Rancho Cotate (10-3), the NCS D3 titleist, looks to build its defensive wall in front of Sac-Joaquin Section D4 winner Sierra (11-3).

The Cougars allowed an average of 17.5 points a game through 13, while tightening that up against even better competition during the last five games to 14.8. The Cougars’ defense also has two shutouts in the last five contests.

“The key for our defense is our D-line guys,” Cronin said. “They play so hard and they’re undersized. In some of the bigger games, they have been outweighed by 40-50 pounds.”

Daniel Boyle, Miles Wycoff, Conor Williams, Will Shirley and Bailey Ayre make up the Cardinals’ defensive line.

“Those guys have just have done an unbelievable job,” Cronin said. “They model their effort. They work so hard in practice and it carries over. It becomes infectious to the rest of the group.”

That defensive core is quick, strong and tough, he said. Even when they line up across from the other team and look small by comparison, which happened against Liberty earlier in the year.

Boyle lined up against a huge kid who is headed to play ball for Air Force.

“And he won several battles,” Cronin said. The entire line is “not backing down. They are overcome with toughness and smartness.”

Rancho’s tough running back, Rasheed Rankin, and quarterback Jared Stocker have garnered most of the team’s headlines this year. But Hotaling trumpets his defense as game-saving.

In an NCS quarterfinal win this year over Windsor, the Cougars pulled out a 38-33 victory, thanks to two defensive touchdowns in the second half.

Defensive backs Tai Peleti and Brandon Proschold, along with defensive ends Raymond Nixon and Gino Mencarini, had exceptional games against Las Lomas, Hotaling said.

“We needed them to step up and do the best they’ve ever done, and they did,” he said. “Every single person played great.

“I was pleasantly surprised. I know we’re capable of playing good defense and limiting the big plays. But I thought (Newell would) have more yards than he did. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we’d shut them out in the championship game. The defense certainly saved our season. But we’re a team. Sometimes offense saves the game and sometimes the defense does. We’re looking for the game where both are there.”

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