Boys football gets third seed in NCS
Piedmont High School’s boys football team wrapped up its regular season with a 31-7 win over visiting Newark Memorial at Witter Field on November 8.
The Highlanders finished the regular season at 9-1, champions of the West Alameda County Conference Mission Division and the third seed in the North Coast Section Division 7 playoffs. They will host No. 6 Fortuna on November 15. The winner of that game will face the winner of the Vallejo at Ferndale game the next week.
Once again, Piedmont dominated the opposition, outgaining the Cougars, 380-135. It’s the sixth time this season the Highlanders held an opponent under 200 yards. Jordan Alemania led the defense with 5 ½ tackles for loss, three sacks, six solo tackles and two assists. The defense held the Newark Memorial running game to 111 yards on 39 carries (2.8/carry).
Tommy Ashton ran for 85 yards on 10 carries with three touchdowns, including a 42-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Markos Lagios completed 15 of 24 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown. Sam Shelby caught seven passes for 58 yards. Cash Elmquist caught four for 80 including a touchdown.
“Felt pretty good,” Piedmont coach Jordan Seiden said. “Tommy ran well. Defense played well. We were pretty effective stopping the run.”
Ashton put Piedmont on the board on its first offensive possession, running the ball in from the 3-yard line. Shelby kicked a 37-yard field goal early in the second quarter to make it 10-0.
The Highlanders took the second half kickoff and went 74 yards on five plays with Lagios hooking up with Elmquist on a 45-yard touchdown pass to make it 17-0. An 11-play, 73-yard drive bridging the third and fourth quarters ended with a nine-yard Ashton touchdown run and a 24-0 lead.
Quarterback Malosi Gaoteote ran the ball in from the 1 for Newark Memorial’s only score. Gaoteote was two of seven for 24 yards throwing the ball. Jacob Malimban led the rushing game with 72 yards on 15 carries.
Fortuna is 4-6 on the season, but went 2-1 in the Humboldt-Del Norte Big Four league, good for second place. The Huskies ended a five-game losing streak in their season-finale when they defeated 28-20 win over visiting Eureka to claim a playoff berth. Senior linebacker-tight end Jake Houseworth is committed to play at the University of California and is one of the best players ever to come out of Fortuna.
“Real athletic, big guy,” Seiden said. “He’s a D1 recruit. He’s a kid we’ll definitely have to keep an eye on, be a big part of our game plan to make sure we have to keep him under control.”
He added about the game, “We’re looking forward to Fortuna coming out on Friday. Coming a long way down the coast. We’ve really got to come out and play disciplined, hard-nosed football.”
Seiden felt his team was slighted with only getting a third seed but he’s happy to have a home game and believes in his players.
“I have all the faith in the world in my kids,” he said. “We’re 15-5 over two years when the program was going to be thrown in the dumpster.”
CIF NCS Div 7 round 1 game will be at Witter Field this Friday Nov. 15 at 7pm. Your Highlanders are the #3 seed and will host Fortuna HS.
Photos from Highlanders Football Facebook page.