Prep football: Week 9 game preview capsules for all Marin teams

The North Bay game of the year is finally upon us as the final two unbeatens in the Redwood Empire Adobe league clash on Saturday afternoon in Kentfield.

Cardinal Newman is the top-ranked team in the North Bay while Marin Catholic comes in ranked second. The two teams have a long history of meeting in North Coast Section title games, including each of the past four postseasons.

The in-county slate is overloaded this week with most teams playing home games. San Marin takes on Vintage in the lone Friday night game in Marin. MC, Archie Williams, Novato, and Tam all play home games on Saturday afternoon then Terra Linda hosts Sonoma Valley under the lights at San Rafael High.

Friday

Tomales (1-6, 1-2 NCL III) at Potter Valley (1-5, 0-3), 6 p.m., Potter Valley

The Braves have had a week off since earning their first victory of the season, 58-36 against Laytonville on Oct. 17. Tomales could be in a good spot to close the season on a three-game win streak with remaining games against Potter Valley and Elsie Allen.

Both the Braves and Bearcats have lost to Cornerstone Christian and Round Valley by 20-plus points. Potter Valley went to overtime against Elsie Allen three weeks ago, losing 60-52.

According to MaxPreps, Potter Valley only completed four passes through its first five games. RB Johnie Philips is basically the offense with 765 yards and six touchdowns.

Vintage (5-3, 1-2 – #25) at San Marin (6-2, 1-2 Adobe – #8 in NCS), 7 p.m., San Marin HS

The Mustangs are already playoff eligible with six victories but the big question is whether or not they will be selected to the Open Division playoffs. The seeding committee will select the top eight teams and San Marin has been sitting at eighth in the MaxPreps NCS rankings for the past four weeks.

San Marin — which lost to Cardinal Newman 31-3 last week — should be favored to pick up wins in its final two games against Vintage and Rancho Cotate. The Crushers are coming off a competitive 14-7 home loss against Windsor and will provide a challenge.

San Marin defeated Windsor 35-27 two weeks ago, with WR Wesley Timmel catching three passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns. QB Daniel Rolovich had 142 passing yards and three touchdowns. Rolovich also ran for a team-high 89 yards. RB Jonah Lozano had 72 rushing yards and a touchdown.

San Rafael (5-3 – #59 in NCS) at Stone Ridge Christian (7-2, #81 in Sac Joaquin), 7:15 p.m., Merced

The Bulldogs make the 140-mile trek to Merced to face a Stone Ridge Christian team that saw its seven-game win streak snapped last week.

The Knights possess a balanced attack and are averaging 33.5 points per game. QB Marcus Gray has thrown for 1,664 yards with 20 touchdowns against four interceptions. The Knights have run for 1,850 yards and 18 more scores, with four different ball carriers with more than 300 yards.

San Rafael’s offense has gotten a bit of a boost with the emergence of sophomore RB Rio Johnson, who has run for 211 yards and four touchdowns in the past three games.

QB Lachlan Royston has settled in as the starter, having thrown for more than 150 yards in each of his past four games.

Saturday

Branson (4-2, 2-1 NCL II) at Roseland University Prep (7-1, 2-1), noon, Santa Rosa

The Bulls, NCS 8-person Division I champions in both 2021 and 2022, are set to take on Roseland University Prep, which claimed the inaugural 8-person D-II championship last year with wins against Cornerstone Christian and Swett.

The Knights went 12-0 last year in the NCL III then got moved up into Branson’s league this season. Branson last faced Roseland University Prep in the first round of the 2022 NCS playoffs, winning 90-12 (not a typo!).

The tale of the tape this season suggests another Branson victory is in the offing. The Knights beat South Fork 44-42 and Branson rolled South Fork 58-0. Both teams have lost to Stuart Hall – the Knights falling 68-20 and the Bulls going down 40-34 last week.

Branson RB Colby Buxton is coming off his best game of the season, carrying the ball 34 times for 175 yards and three touchdowns.

Cardinal Newman (8-0, 3-0 – #3) at Marin Catholic (6-2, 3-0 Adobe – #6), 2 p.m., Kentfield

The top two teams in the North Bay are finally set to battle. Cardinal Newman moved up a spot to No. 3 in the rankings following a 31-3 win against San Marin last week. MC stayed at No. 6 with a 30-0 shutout against Rancho Cotate.

If there is no further movement in the rankings, these teams could see each other again in the first round of the NCS Open Division playoffs – but somebody has to lose this weekend.

The two programs have faced each other in section title games in four consecutive playoffs. The Cardinals defeated MC for a section title in 2019 before the COVID pandemic wiped out the 2020 playoffs. MC has beaten the Cardinals for section titles each of the past three seasons, including a 24-3 victory in 2023.

Marin Catholic TE Jordan Rogers had three catches for 44 yards and a touchdown in that game. QB Peter Macaulay and RB Charles Williams, who combined to rush for 161 yards and two touchdowns, were both seniors.

The task of replicating that success on the ground falls to QB Caedon Afsharipour and RB Jarred Geissberger. The two players combined for 92 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns last week.

Stopping the Cardinals this season will not be as simple as it was last year. Freshman QB Tino Retamoza has been sensational with 1,056 passing yards and a 13-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Retamoza threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns last week against San Marin. WR Jonah Bertoli burned the Mustangs for seven catches for 169 yards and two scores.

Piner (6-2, 3-1 – #47) at Novato (5-3, 3-2 Mountain – #65), 2 p.m., Novato

The Hornets wrap up league play this week having already attained two prerequisites for playoff eligibility. Novato will finish at least .500 overall and in league.

Piner provides a tough test having already beaten San Rafael by 22 this season. Novato lost to the Bulldogs by nine points a week ago.

Piner QB Soso Prak has thrown for 1,750 yards with 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Prak also has a team-high 272 rushing yards. Piner has a pair of wideouts putting up big numbers in Apollo Pereira (606 yards, 11 TDs) and Jaden Hernandez (661 yards, 9 TDs).

Novato’s powerful ground game was held in check by San Rafael last week. QB Trevor Cleary threw for a season-high 288 yards but was intercepted a season-high five times.

Healdsburg (3-5, 0-4 – #84) at Archie Williams (3-5, 1-3 Mountain – #81), 2 p.m., San Anselmo

The Peregrine Falcons are in a spot where they likely need to close the season with a pair of wins to become playoff eligible. The first task comes against a Greyhounds team that has already lost to San Rafael, Novato, and Terra Linda.

Healdsburg has lost five consecutive games but played both San Rafael and Terra Linda tough, losing 18-13 and 28-19, respectively. Healdsburg RB Frank Rea ran for 148 yards and a score two weeks ago against TL. The Trojans intercepted Healdsburg QB Nova Perrill II three times.

The Peregrine Falcons have dropped two consecutive games since a 32-13 win against Terra Linda, falling 41-12 against San Rafael then 35-0 against Sonoma Valley.

Petaluma (3-5, 2-2 – #61) at Tam (2-6, 2-2 Valley – #33), 2 p.m., Mill Valley

The Red-tailed Hawks are coming off a loss that might be one of their most impressive results of the season. Tam battled high-powered Casa Grande, playing the Gauchos closer than any other Valley team thus far in a 14-10 loss.

Tam cannot finish with a .500 overall record so the Red-tailed Hawks need at least one more league win to ensure a postseason berth. The good news is Tam will be favored to win both of its remaining games with Petaluma this week followed by Napa in the season finale.

This game will be a contrast in styles as Tam wants to throw the ball with QB Reed Edwards and WR Timo Ural. Petaluma wants to ground and pound, having run for an average of 298 yards per game this season.

Evan Clarke is the team’s RB1 with 849 yards and eight touchdowns, but the Trojans have three other ball carriers with more than 380 yards and four touchdowns.

Sonoma Valley (8-0, 4-0 – #24) vs. Terra Linda (4-4, 1-3 Mountain – #82), 7 p.m., San Rafael HS

The Dragons are finishing up a stretch of four Marin teams in four weeks, having already rolled past Novato, Archie Williams and San Rafael by a combined score of 119-13. Sonoma Valley has scored at least 35 points in every game this year after putting up 35 in a shutout win over Archie Williams last week.

The Trojans are in need of one more win to become playoff eligible and might need a repeat of last year when they beat San Rafael in the season-ending Bell Game to qualify.

TL played Piner close last week, falling 21-14 when the Prospectors scored a touchdown in the final minute. Terra Linda WR Mateo Pattani had a big game with a couple of long touchdown receptions.

Bye week

Redwood (5-4, 3-2 Valley – #36). Next game: Nov. 8 at American Canyon.