| | Published November 24th, 2013
| NCS Round 2 Results
|
| Campo, Mira dominate to advance |
| By Michael Sakoda |  | | Photos Gint Federas | In the second round of the NCS football playoffs, No. 2 Campolindo (10-0, 6-0 DFAL) defeated No. 7 Acalanes (8-3, 3-3 DFAL) 38-14. Across town, No. 3 Miramonte (10-2, 5-1 DFAL) topped No. 6 Northgate in a shootout, 66-48.
 In the Nov. 22 rivalry match-up, the Cougars offense came out of their bye hot, getting two rushing touchdowns from Nick Fadelli (152 yards on the night) in the first quarter. But Acalanes fought back, scoring on a 9-yard rushing touchdown from Peter Mitchell to open the second quarter.
On the next possession, Campo went to the air with quarterback Andrew Zolintakis. The senior completed all four of his passes on the drive, throwing for 37 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown pass to Justin Dunn.
Campo’s offense was explosive: Zolintakis went 14/21 for 238 yards and two touchdowns and Isaac Christian found the end zone twice. Even with the dominant offense, it was their defense that won them the game.
With 6:20 to go in the second quarter, on an Acalanes first down from their own 25, Peter Mitchell (115 yards, TD) broke out of the backfield and seemed all but gone. Mitchell ran for 46 yards before Andrew Ahazie chased him down and knocked him out of bounds at the 29-yard line.
After failing to score, they entered the half trailing 21-7.
In the opening minutes of the third quarter, the Dons were in scoring position again. Led by Mitchell, and quarterback Casey Harrington, Acalanes marched 60 yards downfield, and had a second and goal. Harrington took the snap and fired a pass into the end zone where Ahazie came up with a huge interception, his first of two on the night.
“On their big drives of the night, (Ahazie) was the one who bailed us out,” said Campo head coach Kevin Macy. “The score doesn’t really tell the truth about the kind of game that was played on the field.”
The Cougars then stormed 88 yards down the field, taking a 28-7 lead on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Zolintakis to Christian.
In the fourth, Acalanes capped a 70-yard drive with a 57-yard touchdown pass from Harrington to Brett Merrill, but Campo added another touchdown of its own.
“We took a big step forward...eight wins...a playoff win,” said Acalanes head coach Mike Ivankovich. “You lose and it’s disappointing, but we can’t lose sight of what we accomplished this year...what we hope to build on next year.”
Campolindo will face No. 3 El Cerrito in a semifinal matchup Nov. 29 at 7 p.m.
The next night, Miramonte (10-2, 5-1 DFAL) defeated Northgate.
It was an offensive clinic with the teams combining for 1,078 yards of total offense, and despite being outgained 484-594 on the night, Miramonte never trailed.
Mats’ quarterback Drew Anderson led his team throwing for 358 yards and six touchdowns. Anderson’s younger brother, Ryan, caught four passes for 112 yards and three touchdowns after stepping in for standout Dominic Paoletti, who left with an injury shortly after returning a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
“Drew had a great game, and Ryan (Anderson) and Matthew Metheny really stepped up,” said head coach Jack Schram. “We just kept going...kept scoring...but the most important aspect was the unbelievable play of the lineman...Drew didn’t get sacked...didn’t even get hit.”
The Mats take on the defending champion, No. 2 Clayton Valley Charter, in the semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. |
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA