DANVILLE, Calif. - Two young and talented Bay Area powers met up Friday night and though 20 points separating host Monte Vista and Pittsburg, there was really only one discernable difference.
That was at quarterback.
Brett Nottingham, shown here last year, was in command Friday.
File photo by Dennis Lee
The Mustangs, ranked second in the Bay Area by the
San Francisco Chronicle, pulled away from error-prone and sixth-ranked Pittsburg 45-25 thanks to UCLA-bound signal-caller Brett Nottingham, who threw for 326 yards and four touchdowns. Nottingham was cool and confident throughout while completing 15 of 23 including touchdown passes of 59, 21, 6 and 20 yards. He didn't throw an interception and the Mustangs committed just one turnover.
After a near flawless first half which featured no penalties or turnovers, Pittsburg (1-2) more than made up for it in the second half committing five turnovers including four interceptions from talented but raw junior quarterback Julius Mozee.
The 6-foot, 185-pound junior threw three of his interceptions in the third quarter, all by junior 5-foot-9, 180-pound cornerback/receiver Bryce McGovern, who had a monster all-around game with six catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns, including a scintillating 59-yard catch and run with 1:28 left in the first quarter.
Pittsburg played all but 10 plays without the state's No. 38 recruit Erick Dargan, who was cleared to play by doctors after bruising his left knee in a 30-20 loss to Granite Bay the following week.
The two-way standout clearly was missed, especially on the defense end as the Mustangs broke off numerous long plays after the catch.
Pittsburg coach Vic Galli, who made the call not to play Dargan until midway through the third quarter when the game began to get out of hand, didn't make excuses for his team or Mozee, who had several passes dropped and finished 14 of 29 for 183 yards.
Mozee could have easily thrown for more than 200 yards and only one of his interceptions was poorly thrown. But clearly the more experienced Nottingham was in charge.
"I didn't even think (Mozee's) passes were that bad," Pittsburg coach Vic Galli said. "They kid (McGovern) just made a couple real nice interceptions. I didn't think Julius played that poorly. I think they really came out hard and made big plays.
"Bottom line, is we're not that good right now. We're very young at key spots. But we'll get better. I promise you that."
Monte Vista (2-0) piled up 493 yards, including 161 yards rushing and two touchdowns by senior tailback Greg Johnson, to 377 total yards by Pittsburg.
The Mustangs set the tone on their first drive going 75 yards on eight plays capped by a 5-yard TD run by Johnson. Senior Michael Eidman, at 6-4 and 216, one of the region's most intimidating kickers, added the extra points and Monte Vista would never trail.
Pittsburg took advantage of the Mustangs' only error, a muffed punt, and turned it into a 14-yard scoring drive, capped by a 1-yard TD run by Breon Butler, who had 14 carries, 72 yards. The extra point failed however and with 5:28 left in the first, Monte Vista led 7-6.
After a 43-yard field goal by Eidman, who added eight touchback kicks, McGovern made the play of the game, turning in a short middle screen and turning it into a 59-yard touchdown.
By the end of the first quarter, McGovern had four catches for 140 yards. But it was his three picks in the third quarter while covering 6-3, 195-pound Jermaine Sims that had everyone amazed, including Cal-bound linebacker David Wilkerson, 6-3, 240, who was everywhere with 15 tackles.
Erick Dargan, shown here last year, sat out most of the game.
File photo by Dennis Lee
"I knew the kid had it in him, but it was great to see nonetheless," he said. "He’s shown signs of this at practice and he had a great game last week. He's not afraid to make big plays."
Said McGovern: "I think saw the height differential and tried to get the ball in there. I just went up and tried to get it. It feels awesome to have this kind of game but really it's all about my teammates. Having Brett throwing me the ball is everything."
A pair of touchdown runs by Pittsburg's Tracy Clark sandwiched a 21-yard TD strike from Nottingham to tight end Joe Labarbera, two catches, 100 yards, making the score 23-18 in a wildly entertaining first half.
But it all began to unravel for Pittsburg on its first possession of the third quarter when McGovern made his first interception followed by a determine 25-yard return to the Pirates' 6. On the next play, Nottingham found Dane Turner on a 6-yard scoring route.
"Brett was just being Brett out there today," Monte Vista coach Craig Berman said. "He was poised and made all the right reads and our receivers did a nice job after making the catch."
Case in point was Labarbera, who turned another short route into a 79-yard gain to the Pittsburg 2. Johnson scored his second touchdown on the next play and added a 2-point conversion, making it 39-18.
Another McGovern interception set up a 71-yard scoring drive that was keyed by 17- and 36-yard runs by Johnson and capped with a 20-yard TD strike from Nottingham to McGovern, making it 45-18 with 2:10 left in the third.
"This was a big confidence boost for us," Nottingham said. "That was a talented team we beat and though I'm sure Dargan not playing had an effect on the game it doesn't take away from all the good things we did."
No. 3 Serra 28, No. 17 Encinal-Alameda 13
According to Harold Abend of Cal-Hi Sports, visiting Serra (2-1) got a great performance from Adonis Smith to post a cross-section victory against the defending North Coast Section Division III champion Jets (1-1).
Smith, a 5-10, 180-pound senior running back, carried 33 times for 269 yards and three touchdowns on runs of four, 29 and 33 yards.
No. 10 St. Francis 24, No. 5 Los Gatos 14
According to West Catholic Athletic League statistician Patrick Segurson, Nathan Morace rushed for 152 yards and Kyle Miller hit Romell Hanks with a key 30-yard touchdown as the Lancers (2-1) bounced back from a humbling loss to Palma-Salinas last week.
St. Francis, in fact, bounced back after Los Gatos scored touchdowns on its first two drives on scoring passes from Nick Hirshman. But the Lancers scored the game's final 24 points capped by 30-yard TD run by Morace.
Game notes: Hirschman passed for 2 TD's and 125 yards in the first quarter, on 10 of 10 passes...Jack Hackman-Salazar scored the first TD on a 10-yard pass with 6:35 left in the first quarter...Andrew Berg scored on a 32-yard catch and run with 1:58 left in the first quarter...Miller scored on 2-yard run with 8:40 left in the second quarter...Spencer Rogers kicked a 32-yard field goal at the end of the second quarter for the Lancers...St. Francis gained possesion after a Los Gatos punt on their 42 yard line. Miller complete 3 of 4 passes on the drive for 27 yards and Morace gained 14 yards on a third-and-8 play for the first first Down of the drive...Braden Bishop caught two passes for 18 yards on this drive...St. Francis took the third quarter kickoff and drove 68 yards in 5 plays to take the lead 17-14...Poppy Livers caught a 37-yard long pass on the second play of the drive...Romell Hanks scored with 9:18 left in the third quarter, on a 30-yard pass from Miller, who completed two passes for 67 yards on the drive...St. Francis took over on their 7-yard line. Morace gained 85 yards in 9 plays running the ball and scoring on a 29-yard TD run with 2:24 left in the fourth quarter...Morace gained 152 yards on 19 carries...Hirschman passed for 177 yards on 28 attempts, 19 completed passes...Miller passed for 107 yards on 14 attempts, 7 completed passes...Los Gatos receiver Berg caught 7 passes for 93 yards...St. Francis finished with 300 yards to 223 for Los Gatos...Leading tacklers were Mike Mitchell for St. Francis with seven and Joey Vizzusi added eight for Los Gatos.
No. 8 Milpitas 37, Newark Memorial 2
Jon Fullbright rushed for 158 yards and Antonio Douglas hauled in a 65-yard bomb from Junior London on the third play from scrimmage as Milpitas (3-0) cruised to its third straight win, this one on the road.
Milpitas, which had allowed just one touchdown coming in, once again was stout on defense, giving up less than 80 total yards.
Other games
Oregon State-bound Sean Mannion threw for 185 yards and three touchdowns and junior receiver Cameron Rowland had two TDs as No. 4 Foothill-Pleasanton (2-0) rolled to a 35-20 nonleague win over No. 16 and visiting James Logan-Union City (1-2), which got three TDs from quarterback Jonathan Willis. ... No. 9 Deer Valley-Antioch (2-0) rushed for 384 yards and got defensive touchdowns by Brandon Williams and Lamontey Marshall in a 62-21 win over Sacred Heart Cathedral (1-2) at Kezar Stadium. ... Kyle Boehm threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as No. 14 Mitty (3-0) rolled to a 35-13 win over honorable mention Palo Alto (1-1) at Foothill College. Palo Alto junior quarterback Christoph Bono threw for 211 yards and touchdowns of 55 and 50 yards to Joc Pederson. ... All-State and Cal-bound receiver Josh Harper caught two touchdown passes and ran for another as host St. Mary's-Stockton had little trouble with seventh-ranked Bellarmine 34-10. ... Highly-touted Forrest Hightower rushed for 170 yards and Alec Pica added 130 and four touchdowns as Concord (3-0) steamrolled Skyline 64-6.
Information from San Francisco Chronicle and the Bay Area News Group were included in this report.
