We’re nearly to the midway point of the North Bay’s regular season in prep football and league play is set to start for a couple of the Redwood Empire Conference divisions this week.
The Press Democrat’s Game of the Week takes us to Marin County, where No. 9 Ukiah (2-2) will try to topple No. 2 San Marin (4-0) in a matchup of top-10 teams in the North Bay Football Poll. The Wildcats played the Mustangs tough in a narrow 38-35 loss last year, but San Marin looks as good as ever after a 45-3 thrashing of Casa Grande last week. Check back for a full game preview later this week.
Elsewhere around the region, No. 5 Windsor looks to keep up its undefeated start with one final tough nonleague battle, Petaluma and Redwood square off in what should be a competitive REC-Valley opener, No. 1 Cardinal Newman hits the road to face the top-ranked team in the Northern Section and Analy tries for its fourth straight win in its nonleague finale.
Here’s a closer look at the top games to watch in Week 5.
No. 5 Windsor (4-0) vs. Miramonte (3-1), 7 p.m. Friday: The Jaguars passed their first test of the season last week with a dominant 31-14 win over Dublin. Through four games, Windsor has outscored teams 150-34.
Miramonte presents a tougher challenge than Dublin, at least on paper. The Matadors, the North Coast Section Division 6 runners-up in 2024, are the highest-ranked team Windsor has faced this year, coming in at No. 22 in the NCS MaxPreps rankings. That being said, the Matadors are coming off a surprising 43-7 loss to a winless Benicia team last week.
Miramonte started the year with three straight wins over Oakland Tech (27-8), Alhambra (26-7) and Montgomery (40-6). Miramonte and Windsor both have similar strengths of schedule to this point, but Windsor has so far handled its business blemish-free.
The Matadors have a few potent playmakers who Windsor will have to check. Senior quarterback Carson Blair has passed for 827 yards with eight touchdowns and rushed for 129 yards with three more scores. He’s one of three Matadors with over 100 rushing yards, a group led by senior Charlie Hwang (219 yards, four touchdowns).
The Matadors also have four receivers with over 100 yards, led by junior George Gilbert, who has a team-high 20 receptions for 307 and three scores.
Windsor would guarantee playoff eligibility with a win Friday.
HSratings computer projection: Windsor 35, Miramonte 7
Press Democrat sports writer predictions: Gus Morris: Windsor; Kienan O’Doherty: Windsor
Petaluma (3-1) at Redwood (2-2), 2 p.m. Saturday: The Trojans bounced back well from their shootout loss to Analy with a 35-21 win over Maria Carrillo last week. It was the first time that they’ve been held to under 400 rushing yards in a game this year but they churned out a respectable 322 yards on the ground with a clip of over eight yards per carry. Still very efficient and dominant.
Redwood struggled offensively in its first two games but has found its form the last two weeks, picking up wins over Maria Carrillo (35-14) and Castro Valley (34-21). The Giants actually trailed 21-0 last week before 34 unanswered points to rally to the win.
Riley Ullin rushed for a pair of touchdowns and quarterback Tommy Vazquez — the third quarterback Redwood has used this year — passed for two scores.
The Giants defeated the Trojans 31-14 last year, but Petaluma looks to be the favorite this time, albeit by a slight margin. This game could also carry some big implications for the REC-Valley race.
HSratings computer projection: Petaluma 28, Redwood 21
Press Democrat predictions: Morris: Redwood; O’Doherty: Petaluma
No. 1 Cardinal Newman (3-1) at Pleasant Valley-Chico (2-2), 7 p.m. Friday: The Cardinals have been rolling the last few weeks after their disappointing season opener. After taking down state-ranked Grant in Week 2, they’ve outscored their last two opponents 88-7.
To close out nonleague play, they’ll make the road trip out to Chico to face the Vikings, a historically strong Northern Section powerhouse and top team in that section this year.
Pleasant Valley won the North Section Division 1 title last year, its third straight section championship, and finished the year 9-4 with a season-ending loss in the Division 3-A NorCal regional championship. The Vikings lost to Newman 37-10 last year but rattled off seven consecutive wins afterward.
Last year’s Pleasant Valley team relied heavily on the run and the playmaking ability of star tight end Gavin Garretson, who’s now playing at Arkansas.
The Vikings’ ground game is again a strong point, but they also now have an adept passer in junior quarterback Brayden Wynkoop. They only had five 100-yard receivers last year and already have three this season, led by senior Drew Van Nuys with 199 yards on nine receptions with two scores.
Senior running back Titus Andrus has taken over as their workhorse on the ground. He has 68 carries for 559 rushing yards and nine touchdowns so far this season. Their next-highest rusher has seven carries for 56 yards.
Pleasant Valley has played a tougher schedule than Cardinal Newman so far and has losses to Sac-Joaquin Section powerhouse Inderkum and Spanish Springs, a top-five team from Nevada.
The computer projection from HSratings has this matchup as being competitive and close.
HSratings computer projection: Cardinal Newman 28, Pleasant Valley 20
Press Democrat predictions: Morris: Cardinal Newman; O’Doherty: Cardinal Newman
No. 10 Analy (3-1) vs. Kimball-Tracy (3-1), 7 p.m. Friday: The Tigers had another strong showing last week to match their win total from a year ago.
This week, they’ll close out nonleague play with a strong opponent coming to town. The Jaguars rolled to a 72-14 win in their matchup last year, but this Tigers squad looks much improved.
This one could have the making of another shootout. Analy is averaging over 50 points per game over its last three contests, while Kimball has scored 123 points in its current three-game winning streak. The Jaguars scored most of those points in a 60-21 win over West-Tracy but showed some grit in a 22-15 overtime win over Mountain House in their third game. They’re coming off a 41-19 win over Golden Valley.
One knock on Kimball could be its strength of schedule. Its three wins have come against teams that are 2-13 combined.
Like Analy, Kimball likes to take to the air on offense. Senior quarterback Richard Sandoval has passed for 539 yards with six touchdowns and one interception and has connected with three receivers for over 100 yards and multiple touchdowns.
HSratings computer projection: Analy 48, Kimball 35
Press Democrat predictions: Morris: Analy; O’Doherty: Analy
You can reach Staff Writer Gus Morris at 707-304-9372 or gus.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @JustGusPD.
Week 5 schedule
Thursday
Round Valley at Elsie Allen, 6 p.m.
Friday
Calistoga vs. Tomales, 6 p.m.
Maria Carrillo at Milpitas, 7 p.m.
Montgomery at Rancho Cotate, 7 p.m.
Casa Grande at Napa, 7 p.m.
Sonoma Valley at Piner, 7 p.m.
Cardinal Newman at Pleasant Valley, 7 p.m.
Ukiah at San Marin, 7 p.m.
Windsor vs. Miramonte, 7 p.m.
Healdsburg at San Rafael, 7 p.m.
Justin-Siena vs. Tamalpais, 7 p.m.
Analy vs. Kimball-Tracy, 7 p.m.
St. Helena at Kelseyville, 7 p.m.
Santa Rosa at Burbank-Sacramento, 7:15 p.m.
Saturday
Petaluma at Redwood, 2 p.m.
Roseland University Prep vs. Anzar-San Juan Bautista, 2 p.m.
Cloverdale vs. McKinleyville, 7 p.m.