After pulling off a major upset in last Saturday’s first round of the North Coast Section Division V playoffs, the St. Patrick-St. Vincent High football team will try to make it two upsets in a row when they take on the host St. Helena Saints in this Friday’s quarterfinals.
The Bruins (4-7), seeded No. 11 in the Division V bracket, shocked No. 6 seeded John Swett (9-2) last week, 14-6. It was SPSV’s first playoff victory since 2010 and avenged a 42-18 loss to Swett earlier this season.
“We have nothing to lose,” said SPSV first-year head coach Lane Hawkins. “All of the pressure was on Swett last week and now it’s on St. Helena.”
The Saints (10-1) come into Friday’s game fresh off a 45-18 thrashing of South Fork in the opening round. St. Helena led only 10-6 at halftime but scored three unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter to pull away. Senior quarterback Jack Preston is the heart and soul of St. Helena’s offense. Preston has completed 56 percent of his passes for 1,455 yards and 14 touchdowns with only five interceptions. He’s even more dangerous running the ball, leading the Saints with 1,054 yards on 141 carries and 13 rushing TDs.
The Saints also rely heavily on junior running back Jahaiver Otero, who leads the team in rushing attempts (151) and has 842 yards and 11 TDs. SPSV’s offensive strength is also found in its running game. Seniors Wesley Galloway and Marquis Perrilliat combined for 210 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s win over the Indians and have taken a lot of pressure off sophomore quarterbacks Anthony Olmes and Michael Pappas.
“We’ve transitioned into more of a running team on offense and we’re not blitzing as much on defense,” Hawkins said. “We’re more fundamentally sound than we were a few weeks ago.”
SPSV’s defense forced five Swett turnovers last week and will have to be as opportunistic Friday against the No. 3 seeded Saints. Marcus Oducado and Marcus Gay and each had two interceptions while Josh Cruz had a key fumble recovery late in the fourth quarter.
The Bruins are on a quest for their first NCS football championship since winning the Class A title in 2006. St. Helena hasn’t won a NCS football championship since 1977.
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