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When you get to the North Coast Section playoffs, chances are you know about the team you are playing.
In the Northern California playoffs, regardless of the sport, you have enough information from surrounding teams and coaches, you still get some decent information.
By the time you get to a CIF State Final, information is a lot harder to come by — and entering the game, a team may be flying a little blind.
Friday night when the Amador Valley High football team takes on Frontier High of Bakersfield at Long Beach Community College in an 8 p.m. game for the CIF State D-III AA title, it will be a pair of teams looking for answers.
Or is it?
The more film I see, and the more stats I digest, the more I think these teams are the mirror images of each other.
I had a chance to talk with Frontier coach Chris Bandy earlier this week to get his thoughts on his team, as well as Amador. He too sees a lot of similarities.
“This should be a great game of two evenly matched,” said Bandy, who coached his team to a 39-7 over Murrieta Mesa in the SoCal finals.
Both teams are 10-4 after starting 1-3 this year (Amador did get a loss changed to a win when El Cerrito was found to have used ineligible players when the two teams met), and both are playing their best football of the year.
Both teams are making their CIF Bowl game debut.
“We are very excited to play in our first ever state championship game,” Bandy said. “Any time you get to play in December and represent your city and community in a game of this magnitude — it’s a special thing.”
Looking at Frontier on offense, it seems like they have a very good quarterback, strong running game, and several guys that go up and get the ball.
Sound familiar?
Brady Campbell is the junior quarterback for the Titans. He has thrown for over 1,900 yards this year with 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
“He has really improved all year,” Bandy said of Campbell. “He is a great leader that is playing great right now and making big plays when needed.”
When Campbell lets go of the ball, he’s got options.
Kobie Watson (30 catches, 448 yards, 6 TDs), Malcom Watkins (33-652, 6), Nsongbeh Ginyui (20-427, 8) and Braxton Shirley at tight end have been getting it done. Both Watson and Watkins have been getting D-I offers in their junior season.
“That is a special group,” said Bandy of his receivers.
Running the ball RJ Green leads the way 148 carries for 868 yards and nine touchdowns.
“He’s been a workhorse,” Bandy said of Green. “He is extremely strong and fights for extra yards on every play.”
On defense the Titans are giving up only 9.6 points per game. The defensive line features sophomore LJ Riley and junior Nate Espericueta, with both making first-team all-league.
The linebackers have been good all year led by league MVP Logan Slaton, as well as Brandon Thomas. Ginyui is the team’s best two-way player, handling the safety duties, when not hauling in passes.
Amador had a heavy passing first mentality throughout the first half of the season before becoming incredibly balanced, or perhaps even run-first during the postseason run.
“Amador Valley is playing great football right now and you can tell on film that they are very well prepared, coached well, and is a disciplined football team,” Bandy said.
The offense used to start and stop with Oregon State-bound quarterback Tristan Ti’a, but thanks to the late season emergence of Ismael Duenas at running back, it’s a pick your poison mentality.
Ti’a is still the leader and enters the title game with 3,758 yards passing, 32 touchdowns and only four picks. Anthony Harrington is the go-to receiver with 86 catches for 1,503 yards, and 11 touchdowns.
Duenas has taken the top running title from Ti’a (who still has 871 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns).
But Duenas now has 1,067 yards rushing on the season with eight touchdowns. Vince Maiorana has also come on late out of the backfield, finishing with 466 yards, knocking out some big runs at some key times.
“Their QB definitely stands out on film and is a special player, which makes it no surprise he is getting so heavily recruited,” Bandy said. “The running game has been exceptional for them in the past few weeks. I know they execute very well on offense.”
The defense for the Dons recently, and after a tough first half in the NorCal final win over McClymonds, has made adjustments that have keyed the run to the state title game.
“Defensively they look very fundamentally sound and are a well-coached group,” Bandy said of the Dons. “They really don’t make many mistakes, which is why they’ve had so much success. I think it’s going to be a great game.”
The game will be shown on www.nfhsnetwork.com for a fee. There is also a viewing at SideTrack Bar + Grill in downtown Pleasanton.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. To contact him about his Pleasanton Preps column, email acesmag@aol.com.
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