After finishing the regular season (4-6) the Matadors have resurfaced their drowning season by knocking off the No. 4 and No. 5 teams in the North Coast Section Playoffs.
At the end of the regular season their was speculation whether the Mats would even make, or deserved to make NCS. After finishing the season under .500 fans didn’t think the Mats would even make NCS let alone win a game.
The Mats came into playoffs as the 12th seed out of 15 teams and were set to face the No. 5 team the Healdsburg Greyhounds in their first game. The Mats didn’t let anyone doubt there ability to compete. They quieted all speculations after going to Healdsburg and winning 30 to 28.
The Mats came out of halftime with a ten point lead but let it slip away in the fourth. They were down 28-24 with four minutes to go in the game and scored the go ahead touchdown on a five-yard run by John Coupin.
After missing the extra point the Mats were up 30-28 and gave last shots to Healdsburg. With only a field goal needed to win the game the Greyhounds got the ball to the Mats 40 yard line and looked like they were going to win it with ease. Instead of going for short yardage and getting in field goal range the Greyhounds went for it all.
With time winding down the Greyhounds put the ball in the air and the Mats Brett Collins came down with it to seal the upset.
The Mats didn’t stop their upset trip here. The following week they went to Novato to face the No. 4 seed (8-4) Hornets. The Hornets had finished the Mats season two out of the last three years, two years ago in the NCS Championship game and last year in the semifinals.
The Hornets started the game driving, getting to the Mats 31 yard line before they were forced to settle with a field goal, only to have it blocked. They were given another chance to score halfway through the second quarter when Novato’s quarterback Dustin Trieck had his touchdown pass picked off by Eric Yee.
The Mats took advantage of the big turnover and took the ball 90 yards down the field with tow deep completions to James King and a one yard touchdown run by Coupin. The Mats extended the lead to 10-0 with a 48-yard field goal by Anthony Piganelli right before the half.
The Hornets couldn’t get the ball moving the second half as the Mats played lock down defense allowing Novato’s quarterback to only five completions. The Mats offense played off of their defenses energy and in the fourth quarter secured the victory with a seven minute touchdown drive on a one yard run by P.J. Gabrielli.
With two minutes left in the game the Mats squib kicked the ball to minimize the chance of a return and Mats kick off specialist Sean Curtis landed on the ball to secure the shut out and second upset of the Mats NCS Playoff run.
The Mats have already done the unthinkable upsetting two teams in a row but don’t want to stop there.
When asked if they were going to win this week Sean Curtis said,, “We have gone out there with don’t care attitudes the last two games and it has really paid off. Anything is possible.”
The Mats head to play the No. 1 seed (11-1) Encinal this Friday for a shot to go to the championship game.
