The Piedmont High School boys football team is on the verge of claiming a North Coast Section playoff berth after a 27-8 win over visiting Kennedy-Fremont at Witter Field on Oct. 31.
The Highlanders are now 5-4, 2-1 in West Alameda County Conference Mission League play.
A sixth win in the regular season finale at Newark Memorial on Nov. 7 would likely assure a return to the NCS playoffs for the third consecutive season.
“One hundred percent,” quarterback Jimmy Lagios said when asked if he would have been happy with a 5-4 record through nine games, considering how young the team is. “Especially because we have a shot at playoffs, too.”
Said Highlanders coach Jordan Seiden, “That was about where I thought we would be. We had a chance to be a little bit stronger in the preseason, we had a couple games we should have won but we didn’t, or should have been closer and had a better opportunity to win. If somebody would have told me we’d be 5-4 going into Week 10, I’m pretty happy about that. We have the chance to finish it 6-4 with an NCS bid.”
Piedmont controlled much of the game against the Titans. Lagios had perhaps his best game of the season. The sophomore completed 13 of 16 passes for 194 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. He connected on a 49-yard pass to Jack Meyjes on the Highlanders first possession to take a 7-0 lead. On the play, Lagios initially handed off to Jason Shum, who reversed the ball to Rehan Mumtaz, who pitched the ball back to Lagios. He then heaved it downfield to a wide open Meyjes.
“It was literally how we drew it up in practice,” Lagios said. “We went over that play so many times just to get it right. I saw Jack open so I just launched it down the field.”
Said Titans coach B.J. Hagood, “It was a few big plays. The double-reverse pass or whatever that was kind of hurt. The razzle dazzle. It came down to execution in the end.”
Kennedy (5-4, 1-3 WACCML) came back to take the lead with three minutes, 58 seconds to go in the first half. Derrick Diaz capped a nice 13-play, 71-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Kennedy. An offside penalty on the PAT led the Titans to go for two. Devin Mandal ran it in and it was 8-7.
But only briefly. Lagios hit Max Fujimoto with an 11-yard scoring pass with just 19 seconds left in the half for a 14-8 lead at the break. Kennedy went for a fourth-and-eight near midfield in the third quarter but Alex Lee and Colby Hong came up with the stop. Five plays later, Lagios connected with Dash Waters-Worthen for an eight-yard touchdown pass and it was 21-8. Piedmont got a late touchdown on a 15- yard run by Mumtaz to complete the scoring.
Xavier Henderson was again out with the after effects of a concussion. Diego Hurwitz and Fischer Veltri also missed with injuries. The Highlanders are hoping to get them back for the playoffs.
Diaz completed 15 of 25 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown but Piedmont intercepted him three times. Mandal ran for 71 yards on 17 carries for the Titans. Mumtaz rushed for 93 yards on 14 carries.
