CIF California Bowl Championships Saturday roundup: Pittsburg, Liberty-Bakersfield to face off again

Check here for results from all 14 regional games played on Saturday, including Granada Hills Charter's wild 56-55 win over Laguna Beach in SoCal 4-A

SI Editorial | Dec 4, 2022

The CIF Bowl Championships continued Saturday with 14 regional games throughout California.

The winners from the North and South will meet next week at sites to be determined, other than the top five divisions, which all meet at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo.

One exception is at the Division 7-AA level, where Pinole Valley (8-4) traveled to Mendota (9-5) for the state crown on Saturday. The visiting Spartans pulled out a gritty one.

Here's a snapshot of results compiled by SBLive from a variety of sources including staff reporters/correspondents/photographers, internet feeds, trusted Twitter posts, coaches and California journalists.

Preview and previous Bowl Championship material:

The Open Division title teams — the top two — have already been hand-picked by the 10 section commissioners and they are Serra-San Mateo (North) and St. John Bosco-Bellflower (South). They are scheduled to play last at Saddleback, 8 p.m. on Dec. 10.

SATURDAY

DIVISION 1–A BRACKET

NORTH: Pittsburg 35, Manteca 14

With a constant rain and chill, the running team (Manteca) seemed to have an edge. But Pittsburg (12-2), with Florida-bound quarterback Jaden Rashada and a host of Division I receivers, showed they are more than a passing fancy operation. Rashda only threw 13 passes but he accounted for 177 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore running back Elijah Bow rushed 22 times for 163 yards and two touchdowns. And Oregon State-bound receiver Zach Card had three catches for 102 yards, one a brilliant, diving 18-yard TD late in the first half that gave the Pirates the lead for good. The Pirates held the high scoring Buffaloes to 261 yards (all on the ground), including 167 yards on 32 carries and a touchdown from Florida State bound Blake Nichelson. Manteca finishes 11-2. STORY | VIDEO | PHOTOS

SOUTH: Liberty-Bakersfield 41, Yorba Linda 28

Known for its strength and physicality, the Liberty-Bakersfield football team (12-2) simply wore down previously unbeaten Yorba Linda (14-1). Junior quarterback Jace Nixon accounted for four touchdowns and Xancer Chisholm, Jalen Hankins and Mehki Delouth scored fourth-quarter touchdowns to lift the Patriots to a 41-28 CIF Division 1-A Southern California championship win on the Mustangs' home field. STORY | PHOTOS

DIVISION 2–A BRACKET

NORTH: San Ramon Valley 19, Marin Catholic-Kentfield 17

Austin Shelton kicked a 37-yard field goal with 18 seconds left lifting the host Wolves (12-2) to their first state-title game. Charles Williams rushed for 220 yards and two touchdowns but it wasn't enough for Marin Catholic (13-1). Luke Baker threw a touchdown pass to Owen Scott and Pau Mendoza rushed for a 60-yard touchdown for SRV. Scott also blocked a field goal with four minutes left that set up the game-winning drive, cashed in by Shelton. STORY | PHOTOS | SLIDESHOW

SOUTH: Granite Hills-41, Etiwanda 21

If there was any question that Granite Hills-El Cajon (12-2) was going to pull out all the stops, it was answered on the opening kickoff. According to Eric-Paul Johnson of the Press-Enterprise, the Eagles successful pulled off an onside kick. It led to a 27-yard touchdown by Zak Darling and Granite Hills was on its way to a victory over Etiwanda (9-6). Granite Hills will take on San Ramon Valley-Danville, a 19-17 winner over Marin Catholic-Kentfield, in next week's state finals, which takes place at noon Saturday at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. STORY | PHOTOS

DIVISION 3–A BRACKET

NORTH: Bellarmine-San Jose 35, Vanden-Fairfield 21

Ben Pfaff rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns and the Bells, at one time 3-6 on the season, scored three touchdowns in the third quarter to put the game away at San Jose City College. According to the San Jose Mercury News, QB Nate Escalda finished with 103 yards rushing and three total touchdowns and linebacker Reece McKeever had three sacks leading a defense that allowed 170 total yards. Vanden, the defending state 5-AA champs, finished 12-2. Bellarmine (8-6) will host a state title game next Saturday against Laguna Hills.

SOUTH: Laguna Hills 35, Birmingham-Lake Balboa 28

The Hawks (14-1) held on for the win against the Patriots (9-5), thanks to the fine all-around play of Troy Leigber. According to the Los Angeles Times, Leigber scored four touchdowns — three rushing and one on a kickoff return. He rushed 28 times for 121 yards. Peyton Waters scored three TDs for Birmingham (9-5).

DIVISION 4–A BRACKET

NORTH: San Marin-Novato 29, Menlo School-Atherton 21

The Mustangs (12-2), the defending state 5-AA champion, will host another state championship with a dominating performance. They recorded eight sacks and got touchdowns from Blake Hart, Ben Langford and Matt Goodin. Meno, making its first regional appearance, finished 8-6. the Knights fell behind 26-0 but made a game of it with a 21-3 run.

SOUTH: Granada Hills Charter 56, Laguna Beach 55

Dijon Stanley rushed for 250-plus yards and four touchdowns to lift the Highlanders ( 12-2) who rushed for more than 480 yards. There were 11 lead changes. Laguna Beach finishes 11-4.

DIVISION 5–A BRACKET

NORTH: Orland 41, Clear Lake 21

Orland is headed to its first CIF state championship game after a decisive home win Saturday night. The Trojans (14-0), one of two remaining undefeated teams in California according to CalHiSports, now have a shot at finishing a perfect 15-0 if they can defeat Shafter (11-4) for the CIF Division 5-A championship. The Trojans stuck to their ground-and-pound attack that has led them to success all season and it proved successful once again. Quarterback Grant Foster ran for three touchdowns, running back Jaime Albarran ran for two, and fellow RB Lucas Landeros capped the scoring with a sixth rushing TD. Never quit Clear Lake finished 12-2. STORY

SOUTH: Shafter 20, Walnut 16

Shafter (11-4) got two short rushing TDs by Christopher Espinoza and scored 17 straight points at one juncture. Walnut finished 11-4.

DIVISION 6–A BRACKET

NORTH: Atascadero 21, Colusa 0

Trey Cooks scored on a 9-yard run in the middle of the first quarter and that's all visiting Atascadero (10-4) would need because its defense played lights out. Cooks added a second TD with four minutes left in the second quarter on a 1-yard run. Colusa finished 10-3.

SOUTH: San Gabriel 46, Kennedy-Granada Hills 34

According to the Pasadena Star-News, Jacob Muniz threw for two touchdowns and rushed for two scores leading the Matadors (12-3) to the road win. Rpbert Lucero added added 132 yards rushing for San Gabriel. Kennedy finished 9-6.

DIVISION 7–AA State Championship

Pinole Valley 34, Mendota 21

According to Jesus Cano of the San Jose Mercury News, Larry McDonald's 36-yard touchdown run with 39 seconds left sealed it for the visiting Spartans (9-4). Ellis Shamsid-Deen had a touchdown run of 72 yards and caught TD passes of 38 and 26 yards from Maddux Wu. Mendota, of Fresno county, finished 9-6.

DIVISION 7–A BRACKET

NORTH: Lincoln-San Francisco (9-3), BYE

SOUTH: Crenshaw-Los Angeles 48, Whittier Christian-La Habra 7

The Cougars (8-6) outrace the Heralds (10-5) and will face Lincoln-SF for the CIF-State D14 title.

Published Dec 4, 2022

SI EDITORIAL