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Football

 2005 Varsity Football Team

Assistant Coaches

Roger Fernando, Alex Georgakopoulos, Dan Lloyd, 

Jim McDermott, Ken Major, Ray Morris, Randy Takahashi, 

Cass Mulholland

11/19

NCS Playoffs

@ Bishop O'Dowd

1:00pm

28

27

8-3

6-3

NCS Semi-Finals

Ygnacio Valley Mt. Diablo HS

As the leader of an experienced squad, Beeman will try to guide the Dons to their first league title in 25 years. The senior could wind up being one of the most dangerous players in the DFAL with both his arm and scrambling ability.

Several DFAL teams feature a premier running back this season as the normally pass-happy league could have a more smash-mouth look to it than normal.

Among the top runners are Alhambra's Brandon Rutley, Acalanes' Connor Ring, College Park's Brandon Fragger, Dublin's Mike Plimmer, and Northgate's Evan Navarra. Miramonte's Bryce Hawthorne, a transfer from Vallejo, is somewhat unknown in the East Bay, but he rushed for 755 yards and 10 touchdowns on 76 carries last season.

Hawthorne should help Miramonte rebound from a tough 2004 campaign. But to win their fifth league title in six years, the Matadors will have to get by challenges from Las Lomas and Acalanes.

Predicted Finish:

• 1. Miramonte
• 2. Las Lomas
• 3. Acalanes
• 4. Alhambra
• 5. College Park
• 6. Campolindo
• 7. Dublin
• 8. Concord
• 9. Northgate
• 10. Mt. Diablo

==========================================================

Acalanes

• COACH: Ron Thompson, sixth season

• 2004 RECORD: 8-4, 7-2 DFAL

• TOP RETURNEES: QB Gavin Beeman, Sr.; DB Sam Briggs, Sr.; OL/DE Mike Balestrieri, Sr.; OL/DT Dan Lopez, Sr.; OL/LB Nike Bruzzone, Sr.; LB/FB Chris Bohannon, Sr.; TE Cole Adcock, Sr.; WR/DB Dan Masi, Sr.; RB/LB Charles Updegraff, Sr.; DE Fraser Grove, Sr.

• TOP NEWCOMERS: QB Don Miller, Jr.; RB Connor Ring, Jr.; OG/LB Chris Durgin, Jr.; WR/DB Dustin Montero, Jr.; RB/DB Matt Wood, Sr.; WR/DB Brooks Baker, So.; DT Mike McGlynn, Jr.; DB/RB Brett Kelly, Jr.

• KEY LOSSES: QB Greg Corbett, RB Zane Blackman, WR Mike Lichtenstein, OL/DL Wyatt Zorn, OL Nick Corr

• OUTLOOK: Scoring wasn't a problem for the Dons last season -- stopping other teams from doing the same was. But with nine defensive starters returning, Acalanes should be much improved on that side of the ball. The offense remains dangerous with Beeman and newcomer Ring, whom Thompson thinks very highly of. If the Dons stay healthy and limit their mistakes in big games, then they could be in line to win their first league title since 1980.

After the ninety-minute session, Lloyd, the Chargers wrestling coach, manages to carve out some time for a quick shower and shave. Then it's off to teach his first PE class of the day.  Just before the final bell rings, Lloyd hops into his 2004 Ford Escape and hits the road. And so begins the daily pilgrimage up Interstate 680 from the south San Jose high school and into the heart of Lafayette, where's got to be at Acalanes in time for 
football practice.

"It's suckin' the gas hard," Lloyd said with a smile.

For Lloyd, this zany, jam-packed schedule -- did we mention he's also the director of operations for the football team at Cupertino's De Anza College? -- is all geared toward getting his "football fix."

And right now, Lloyd, a former linebacker with the New York Giants and longtime high school coach, is getting that football fix with the Dons. Lloyd is in his first year as assistant coach at Acalanes, where he spearheads the defensive unit.

"I'm flattered they're letting me in on this," Lloyd said. "I'm not trying to save the day or anything."

But his presence will definitely help, which is precisely why Acalanes head coach Ron Thompson asked Lloyd, his friend of many years, to come aboard.

Lloyd and Thompson have developed a type of simpatico that dates back nearly two decades. The two first met at Cal State Hayward in 1983, when Lloyd became the team's defensive coordinator. Thompson was a defensive back at the time.

"Yes, he's that old," Thompson quickly interjects.

But seriously ...
"Knowing what he does and his attention to detail, I know we're going to be better," said Thompson, whose team opens the season tonight at home against Ukiah. "I really felt this team was special, and I wanted to go over the hump, so I asked if he'd help. We've been at a certain level for a while. I think bringing Dan Lloyd here will help us go over the top."

Lloyd played collegiately at Washington and was drafted by the Giants in 1976. He spent seven seasons with New York (1976-82), before a bout with non-Hodgkins lymphoma cut his career short.

"It wasn't because I got a blown out knee," said Lloyd, who also spent two seasons in the USFL. "I went through two years of cancer treatment, and that makes it hard to play. What do you say? 'Take me. I'm an old, beat up lineman with cancer.' It doesn't work that way."

Lloyd's time in the NFL may have been brief, but it was long enough to leave a lasting impression. A recent posting on an NFL message board highlighting his play during a 1979 game against the Atlanta Falcons is proof of that.

"Dan Lloyd played the game of his career," the post read.

According to the post, Lloyd blocked a punt, picked off a pass and recovered a fumble to help New York topple the Falcons 24-3.What's not to like about that?

"It gives him instant credibility," Thompson said. "He's played with Lawrence Taylor. He knows what he's talking about. I talk more about (his NFL experience) than he does. He's very modest."

Aside from his stint in the pros, Lloyd also brings a wealth of coaching experience to Acalanes. He's been coaching at high schools within the San Jose Unified School District -- namely Pioneer and Leland -- since 1986.

While at Leland, Lloyd helped coach Pat Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinals safety who was killed on April 22, 2004, while fighting with his Army Ranger unit in Afghanistan. Lloyd later guided the Chargers to a Central Coast Section title in 1999.

"We had some pretty good years," he said. "...We're not running a professional defense. It's just, 'How can I get something easy out of it?' I use a systematic approach to defense. I'm just trying to give them the tools. The kids are picking up what I'm asking them to do."

Last Week: Miramonte beat Encinal 36-13, Acalanes beat Ukiah 24-6.

Notes: Chucky Watts scored three touchdowns, one coming on a 49-yard pass play from Clark Feusier in the Matadors' win over Encinal.  Fullback Chris Bohannan rushed for two touchdowns in the Dons' victory over Ukiah. Acalanes topped Miramonte 24-12 last season.

Beeman was flushed out of the pocket, knocked to the turf and given an unobstructed view of the Matadors' defensive line.

As it turned out, the early frustration was only temporary. The tide began to turn late in the second quarter, and the Dons rode the momentum to a 21-7 win over the Matadors in their Diablo Foothill Athletic League opener.

"We weren't executing and we couldn't really get it going, but I knew the guys would come through," Beeman said. "The line did a great job. I don't know what else to say."
Beeman paused for a second to collect his thoughts.

"It doesn't get any better than this."
Here's why. Not only does the win give the Dons a big momentum boost early on in DFAL play, but it also hands them their second league win over the Matadors in two seasons. Acalanes (2-0, 1-0 DFAL) picked up its first league win over Miramonte since the 1988 season with its 24-12 victory last year.

"We're finally getting to that upper echelon," Acalanes coach Ron Thompson said. "It feels very nice to say we've beaten Miramonte two times in a row."

Getting there wasn't easy, however. The Dons came up empty on their first four possessions, two of which ended with Beeman in the turf. 

The holes finally started to emerge late in the second quarter, and when they did, Beeman exploited them. With under one minute to play in the half, Beeman broke off a 33-yard run up the middle. Two plays later, he was celebrating in the end zone, after tying the game at 7 with a 15-yard run.

Beeman rushed for 68 yards on 14 carries. He completed 6 of 13 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns.

As big as Beeman was, so too was Dan Masi. The senior caught five passes for 104 yards, including a 34-yard scoring strike to put Acalanes up for good with 8:28 to play in the third quarter.

Masi also made his mark on defense, picking off two passes, one by Clark Feusier and the other by Chris Vasilas.

"Props to Masi," Beeman said. "He played an unbelievable game."

Miramonte (1-1, 0-1 DFAL) got off to a strong start, rotating Feusier and Vasilas into the game. Behind some solid lead blocking, Vasilas put the Matadors on the board first with a 68-yard romp with 10:20 to play in the half.

Things went downhill from there. Miramonte reached the red zone only one time the rest of the way, and that drive ended with a muffed snap to thwart a field goal attempt.

The Matadors were on the move again in the fourth quarter, but the Dons defense changed things in a hurry. Facing a fourth-and-one from the Acalanes' 30, Gavin Lowery was stopped shy of the first down, giving the ball back to the Dons.

Turnovers also cost Miramonte, as it had two fumbles and two interceptions in the final 10 minutes of the game.

Miramonte 0 7 0 0 -- 7
Acalanes 0 7 14 0 -- 21

M -- Vasilas 68 run (Saura kick)
A -- Beeman 15 run (Kephart kick)
A -- Masi 34 pass from Beeman (Kephart kick)
A -- Adcock 32 pass from Beeman (Kephart kick)

M A
First downs 9 13
Rushing yards 23-170 38-154
Passing 11-26-3 6-13-2
Passing yards 79 136
Total offense 249 290
Fumbles/lost 5/2 3/1

Individual statistics
Rushing: M -- Vasilas 6-103, Lowery 15-60, Humphrey 1-7, Feusier 1-0. A -- Beeman 14-68, Briggs 11-51, Bohannon 5-19, Ring 6-13, Updegraff 2-3.

Passing: M -- Vasilas 8-15-2 54, Feusier 3-10-1 25, Saura 0-1-0. A -- Beeman 6-13-2 136.

Receiving: M -- Lowery 4-30, Watts 4-28, Hagelin 1-10, Chovanes 1-4, Berkowitz 1-3. A -- Masi 5-104, Adcock 1-32.

Records: Acalanes 2-0, 1-0 DFAL; Miramonte 1-1, 0-1 DFAL.

Others receiving votes: Amador Valley (2-0), Berkeley (1-1), College Park (1-1), San Ramon Valley (2-0). The Times football poll incorporates all East Bay high schools and is compiled by the staffs of Contra Costa Newspapers.

The Chronicle Top 25 football rankings include schools within San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin and parts of Sonoma counties, along with members of the West Catholic, Marin County and Santa Clara Valley athletic leagues. 

After a stunning 49-33 season-opening victory over Clayton Valley, the Falcons ran into an old nemesis last Friday night at Diablo Valley College in their Diablo Foothill Athletic League opener.

Campolindo came calling, and the outcome, despite the fact that the Cougars were gutted by graduation and sustained a 35-21 Week 1 loss to San Ramon Valley, was the same as it has been for some time now. Another Falcons loss.

Since College Park moved from the Bay Valley Athletic League to the DFAL in 2000, it has played Campolindo six times. After last Friday's 31-21 loss, the Falcons are now 0-6 against the Cougars in that span, and have been outscored by a combined total of 200-86.

Once again, the Cougars used a balanced offensive attack to down College Park. Campolindo amassed a total of 458 offensive yards, 175 on the ground and 283 in the air. They scored two rushing touchdowns and two more via the pass.

College Park, on the other hand, was typically one-dimensional. Running back Brandon Fragger racked up 203 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, accounting for 67 percent of the team's rushing (303 yards) and scoring output, and 62 percent of the total yardage gained.

Next up for the Falcons: Acalanes. College Park heads to Lafayette at 7 p.m. on Friday to take on the Dons, who are 2-0 (1-0 DFAL) after a big 21-7 early season win over rival Miramonte.

The Falcons (1-1, 0-1) haven't beaten the Dons since 2000, when they won 32-6 at DVC. Since then, Acalanes is 4-0 by an average score of 30-20.

Like the Cougars, the Dons feature a balanced attack, albeit slightly more focused on the run. Acalanes rushed 38 times for 154 yards against the Matadors to handily win the time-of-possession battle. Quarterback Gavin Beeman was 6-for-13 passing with two interceptions, two touchdown passes and 136 yards passing. Beeman also rushed for 68 yards and another score.

Running back Chris Bohannon, who had just 19 rushing yards, is the Dons' primary ground threat after the shifty Beeman.

One positive note for the Falcons entering the contest is that the Acalanes defense has been susceptible to the run, which plays right into College Park's hands.

The Dons allowed 170 yards rushing to the normally pass-happy Matadors. However, much of that came on a 68-yard second-quarter touchdown run by Chris Vasilas.

• Gavin Beeman, Acalanes football -- Beeman was the consummate double threat last Saturday as he helped lead the Dons over Miramonte with both his arms and his legs. Beeman threw for 136 yard and a pair of TD passes, and he also rushed for 68 yards and one score.

Last week: College Park lost to Campolindo 31-21; Acalanes beat Miramonte 21-7.

Notes: In the teams' last two meetings, the Falcons and Dons have combined for 137 points and 1,641 yards of offense. 

And for those who weren't present to see the College Park High School football team beat host Acalanes 35-31 on the game's final play, well the next seven paragraphs probably won't do it justice.

The Falcons won the Diablo Foothill Athletic League contest by scoring 14 points in the last 87 seconds of the game. While College Park (2-1, 1-1 DFAL) had several heroes during the improbable comeback -- quarterback Joey York (five completions and a TD pass in the final 1:27), Daniel Ress-Nathans (TD catch) and Taylor Cannone (an onside kick recovery) -- the Falcons' ultimate savior came in the form of junior lineman Dan Matheson.

With Acalanes (2-1, 1-1) leading 31-29 with five seconds remaining, College Park lined up for a 29-yard field goal attempt by Nico Hunter. The attempt sailed wide left, but a flag was thrown for roughing the kicker and Hunter was carried off the field by a pair 
of teammates. The result allowed the Falcons one more chance to win, this time a 22-yard attempt by backup place kicker Shane Wright.

Wright's kick was a low line drive that went directly into the chest of oncoming Acalanes lineman Nate Alexander. As the Dons celebrated an apparent victory, Matheson stood in the end zone holding the football.

"I heard a lot of noise and saw the ball on the ground," Matheson said. "I just picked it up and ran. I didn't know if it was a touchdown or not, I just stayed in the end zone."

With both teams standing on the field, the officiating crew conferred and then signaled touchdown. According to the head referee, as long as the blocked attempt remained behind the line of scrimmage, it was a live ball and could therefore be advanced by the 
kicking team.

"We're watching the film," Acalanes coach Ron Thompson said in a phone interview an hour following the game. "The call was correct, but we're protesting on the fact that the refs called the play dead. ... There were whistles and hand signals. But the bottom line is the College Park kids played hard."

College Park 35, Acalanes 31

College Park 7 7 7 14 -- 35

Acalanes       7 7 7 10 -- 31

A -- Briggs 53 run (Kephart kick)

CP -- York 1 run (Hunter kick)

CP -- York 1 run (Hunter kick)

A -- Masi 14 pass from Beeman (Kephart kick)

A -- Bohannon 3 run (Kephart kick)

CP -- Fragger 49 run (Hunter kick)

A -- Bohannon 2 run (Kephart kick)

A -- Kephart 27 FG

CP -- Ress-Nathans 19 pass from York (Fragger run)

CP -- Matheson 6 run (no PAT)

CP A

First downs 15 12

Rushing yards 45-215 41-272

Passing 9-20-0 5-12-1

Passing yards 140 56

Total offense 355 328

Fumbles/lost 2/1 1/0

Individual statistics

Rushing: CP --York 25-108, Fragger 10-75, Ress-Nathans 3-10, Bautista 3-8, Wright 3-8, Matheson 1-6. A -- Briggs 18-166, Beeman 3-44, Ring 5-34, Bohannon 12-32, Masi 1-5, Kelly 1-3, Kephart 1-(-12).

Passing: CP -- York 9-20-0 140. A -- Beeman 5-12-1 56.

Receiving: CP -- Wright 4-77, Fragger 2-30, Bautista 2-14, Russ-Nathans 1-19. A -- Masi 3-24, Ring 1-17, Kelly 1-15.

Records: College Park 2-1, 1-1 DFAL; Acalanes 2-1, 1-1.

Chris Bohannon drives for yardage in College Park game.

Jim Mannion, Special to The Chronicle
Saturday, September 24, 2005

They'll be talking about this one for years to come. 

Folks at Acalanes hope sooner than that. 

College Park offensive lineman Dan Matheson scooped up his team’s blocked field goal attempt, and rumbled into the end zone with no time left, capping a wild and improbable 35-31 Diablo Foothill Athletic League comeback victory over host and 25th-ranked Acalanes on Friday night. 

Down 31-29 with one minute to play, College Park (2-1, 1-1 DFAL)) recovered an onside kick, and quickly marched into field goal range, led by quarterback Joey York. 

With 13 seconds remaining, York hit running back Brandon Fragger on the 13-yard line, setting up a 30-yard field goal attempt by kicker Nico Hunter with five seconds remaining. 

The kick sailed wide left, but a roughing the kicker penalty gave the Falcons a second chance, with no time left on the clock. With Hunter injured on the previous play, junior Shane Wright stepped up for a potential 29-yard game winner, but the attempt was blocked. 

As Acalanes (2-1, 1-1) celebrated, Mattheson picked up the ball behind the line of scrimmage, and ran into the end zone untouched. 

“I just turned around, picked it up, and ran with it,” Mattheson said. “I didn’t know (if the score would count), that was crazy.”  After conversing for a few minutes, the officials ruled the ball could be picked up since it did not pass the line of scrimmage after the block. 

The decision set off a wild College Park celebration, and left Acalanes stunned, with the clock reading 35-31 with no time to play. The Acalanes coaching staff are protesting the game, however, because they heard an inadvertent whistle during the sequence. That should have stopped play and given the Dons the victory. Their protest will be heard this weekend. 

York was everywhere for College Park, picking up 106 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, and completing 9 of 18 passes for 122 yards and one touchdown, including four completions on the game winning drive. 

Acalanes seemingly had the game in control, holding a 31-21 lead with 1:30 to play in the fourth quarter, but were stopped with a chance to run out the clock, and forced to punt.  The punt sailed quickly out of bounds, giving College Park excellent field position at the Acalanes 30-yard line. 

York capitalized, connecting with senior running back Daniel Ress-Nathans on a 19-yard scoring strike. After Fragger plunged in on the 2-point conversion, the Falcons we right back in the game, setting up the exciting final minute of play. 

Acalanes held College Park's star running back Fragger (10 rushes, 78 yards) in check much of the evening, but the senior came through in the clutch, first on a 49-yard touchdown scamper in the third quarter, and ultimately, securing the grab that set up the field goal attempts in the final seconds. 

Acalanes running back San Briggs led the Dons with 178 yards and one touchdown on the ground. After sticking mainly with the running game out of their veer offense, York and company came up big with the pass when they needed to in the furious final minutes. 
Wright, a junior, finished with 75 receiving yards on four catches. 

• Sam Briggs, Acalanes football -- On his first carry of the Dons game against College Park, Briggs rumbled for a 53-yard touchdown. He finished as the game's leading rusher with 166 yards on 18 carries.

=======================================

• Taylor Lee, Acalanes girls golf -- Lee earned medallist honors in back-to-back matches last week. The Dons senior golfer carded a 44 in a loss to Miramonte at Orinda Country Club on Wednesday. Then on Thursday, Lee came back with a 41 to lead the Dons past Campolindo by 10 strokes at Moraga Country Club.

Notes: The Dons gave up two touchdowns in 87 seconds last week, including a controversial score on the game's final play. Cougars starting quarterback Emre Sezgin injured his knee in the first quarter of the loss to the Gaels. Without him, Campolindo managed just 31 passing yards the rest of the way.  The district rivals are both looking to get back on the winning track after coming off tough losses. The Dons suffered a heartbreaker at home when they lost to College Park on the last play of the game. As for the Cougars, they ran into a tough Dublin team and struggled to a 34-6 loss. If either team is to regain its footing in a wide-open DFAL race, it will need to get a win tonight.

Dons regroup after stunner

By Chace Bryson

Oh, the agony.
Losses like the one the Acalanes High School football team experienced against College Park last Friday don't come around very often.

The host Dons surrendered 14 points in the final 87 seconds, and lost the Diablo Foothill Athletic League contest on the final play, 35-31. And it was one wingdinger of a final play.

After the Dons successfully blocked the Falcons' 22-yard, game-winning field goal attempt, Acalanes began to celebrate as College Park lineman Dan Matheson scooped up the ball and ran into the end zone. With both teams standing on the field, the officiating crew conferred and then signaled touchdown. According to the head referee, as long as the blocked attempt remained behind the line of scrimmage it was a live ball and could therefore be advanced by the kicking team.

Losses like that stick.

"It's just the worst way to lose," Acalanes quarterback Gavin Beeman said. "We made a bunch of mistakes and knew we could play better. We knew our responsibilities, we were just stubborn and didn't take care of 'em."  Losses like that can also define a season.

"I'm hoping it takes us to another level," Acalanes coach Ron Thompson said of the loss. "I'm hoping that it raises our attention to detail and allows us to learn from our mistakes."

That's a message also being embraced by the players.

"We've got more games to play," Beeman said. "It's good that we can learn from a loss like this early in the season, rather than the first or second round of the playoffs."

Despite all that unfolded in the game's final 1:27, Thompson still asserted that the Dons had plenty of positives in the game.

"I told the kids that you have to look at this game past the mistakes," Thompson said. "College Park needed the sun, stars, moon and everything else to align in order to beat us. So there were some good things. But in the end, we didn't do what we needed to do to finish off the game."

The Dons (2-1, 1-1 DFAL) will look to do just that tonight when they travel to Campolindo. The Cougars (1-2, 1-1) are coming off a tough 34-6 loss to Dublin in which a handful of starters were sidelined by injury.

"It's a rivalry game," Thompson said. "They supposedly have some guys hurt, but it's a rivalry game and you never know what's going to happen."

The intensity of a rivalry game should be just what the Dons need to regain the momentum they hope will carry them to the top of the league standings.

"It's a close-knit group, we just got to keep getting better," Beeman said.

Without Sezgin, Campolindo no match for Acalanes

By Jennifer Starks

MORAGA - Campolindo High School quarterback Emre Sezgin stood on the sidelines, his uniform replaced with khaki shorts, a baseball cap and a big brace supporting his right knee.

"All you, Kava," Sezgin yelled, while leaning on a pair of crutches "Let's go O. This game isn't over."

The Cougars needed more than just his moral support Friday night. Without Sezgin in the lineup, Campolindo struggled to move the ball and, as a result, suffered a 35-3 loss to Acalanes in a Diablo Foothill Athletic League game.

Sezgin tore both the medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments in his right knee in last week's loss to Dublin. The senior said he's hoping to be back in five weeks.

"I want to get in a couple plays here and there before the season's over," Sezgin said. "We'll see."  Things looked promising for Campolindo (1-3, 1-2 DFAL) early, despite Sezgin's absence. With senior Kava Tyrell -- normally a tight end and linebacker -- filling in under center, the Cougars went 64 yards on their opening drive and took a 3-0 lead on a 23-yard field goal by Matt Wright.

Then the well went dry.

Campolindo managed only 14 yards the rest of the first half and didn't fare much better in the second. Tyrell completed just four of his 18 attempts for 37 yards. He had five interceptions.

"We were ready for anything," Acalanes receiver Dan Masi said. "Emre could've been back, or Kava could've the next Joe Montana. You never know. We came out prepared for anything. Our team is like a freight train. Once we get going, you can't stop us."

With quarterback Gavin Beeman at the controls, the Dons (3-1, 2-1 DFAL) certainly continued to pick up speed. First, Beeman ran for 20 yards to help set up Chris Bohannon's 9-yard scoring romp for a 7-3 lead. Less than four minutes later, Beeman was on the move again. He bounced off one tackle, cut back to the inside and scored on a 
43-yard run to put the Dons up 14-3 with 1:07 to play in the first half.

Then Beeman decided to air it out, and Masi was right there waiting. Masi caught four passes for 90 yards, including two fourth-quarter touchdowns.  Beeman was 8-for-12 passing for 155 yards. He also ran for 64 yards.

"This is his team," Masi said. "He's our leader, the one the guys look up to. He can make so many big plays with his arms and legs."

Acalanes 35, Campolindo 3

Acalanes      0 14 0 21 -- 35

Campolindo  3  0 0  0 --   3

C -- Wright 23 FG

A -- Bohannon 9 run (Kephart kick)

A -- Beeman 43 run (Kephart kick)

A -- Masi 20 pass from Beeman (Kephart kick)

A -- Masi 26 pass from Beeman (Kephart kick)

A -- Ring 15 run (Kephart kick)

A C

First downs 16 13

Rushing yards 37-204 39-104

Passing 8-12-0 5-19-5

Passing yards 155 41

Total offense 359 145

Fumbles/lost 1/0 2/1

Individual statistics

Rushing: A -- Beeman 6-64, Bohannon 9-45, Briggs 11-30, Ring 7-29,Kelly 1-22, Miller 1-10, Masi 1-10, Updegraff 1-1. C -- Roth 22-53,Tyrell 7-32, Irving 2-12, Antono 5-9, Bernie 3-(-2).

Passing: A -- Beeman 8-12-0 155. C -- Tyrell 4-18-5 37, Irving 1-1-04.

Receiving: A -- Masi 4-90, Adcock 3-53, Richmond 1-12. C --Canbazoglu 1-13, Irving 1-10, Hodgkinson 1-10, Tyrell 1-4, Piatt1-4.

Records: Acalanes 3-1, 2-1 DFAL, Campolindo 1-3, 1-2 DFAL.

Last week: Acalanes beat Campolindo 35-3; Mt. Diablo lost to Dublin 42-7.

Notes: The Dons have yet to drop a game to the Red Devils since the DFAL re-formed in 2000, winning the past five contests by an average score of 32-17. Mt. Diablo has not held Acalanes to fewer than 21 points in any one meeting in the least the past eight years.

Chris Bohannon ran for three touchdowns as the Don's routed the host Red Devils.  The Acalanes running back hit pay dirt on a 1-yard touchdown run and two scores from six-yards out. In all, Bohannon ran the ball eight times for 68-yards.  However, the Don's (4-1, 3-1, DFAL) leading rusher was Sam Briggs, who gained 111- yards on 13 rushes.  He scored on a 10-yard run to start the scoring.  Gavin Beeman returned a kickoff 95-yards for a touchdown for Acalanes.  Mt. Diablo (1-4, 0-4) scored on a 21-yard run by Mark Fisse that pulled the Red Devils with 12-6.  However the Don's rolled from there.

Acalanes 6 14 14 7 -- 41
Mt. Diablo 0 6 0 0 -- 6

A -- Briggs 10 run (kick failed)
A -- Bohannon 1 run (Kephart kick)
M -- Fisse 21 run (kick failed)
A -- Beeman 95 kickoff return (Kephart kick)
A -- Masi 2 pass from Beeman (Kephart kick)
A -- Bohannon 6 run (Kephart kick)
A -- Bohannon 6 run (Kephart kick)

A M
First downs 13 13
Rushing yards 33-248 49-227
Passing 3-7-0 3-7-0
Passing yards 20 13
Total offense 268 240
Fumbles/lost 2/1 3/2

Individual statistics
Rushing: A -- Briggs 13-111, Ring 7-85, Bohannon 8-68, Miller 2-(-2), Beeman 3-(-14). M -- Fisse 13-91, Brown 21-89, Mendieta 13-43, Powell 2-4.

Passing: A -- Pestal 1-1-0 21, Beeman 2-6-0-1. M -- Mendieta 3-7-0 13.

Receiving: A -- Adcock 1-21, Masi 1-2, Montero 1-(-3). M -- Brown 2-7, Fisse 1-6.

Records: Acalanes 4-1, 3-1 DFAL; Mt. Diablo 1-4, 0-4.

============================================

DFAL
W L PF PA Ovrl
Las Lomas 4 0 125 38 4-1-0
Acalanes 3 1 128 51 4-1-0
Alhambra 3 1 143 122 3-2-0
Concord 3 1 100 84 3-2-0
College Park 2 2 140 132 3-2-0
Dublin 2 2 131 78 3-2-0
Miramonte 2 2 73 49 3-2-0
Campolindo 1 3 68 132 1-4-0
Mt. Diablo 0 4 33 170 1-4-0
Northgate 0 4 59 144 0-5-0

Last week: Acalanes beat Mt. Diablo 41-6; Concord beat Dublin 31-28.  Notes: The Dons have outscored their last two opponents 42-0 in the second half. The Minutemen have not beaten Acalanes in the regular season since 1999.

Pinned on their own 2-yard line late in the third quarter and with the score tied at 14-all, the Dons needed a spark. The lightning came from quarterback Gavin Beeman's surprising 29-yard strike to tight end Scott Emery.

The Dons (5-1, 4-1 DFAL) continued out of the hole to drive 98 yards in 11 plays, scoring a minute into the fourth quarter. They scored 28 fourth-quarter points against surprisingly tough Minutemen (3-3, 3-2) in Concord's homecoming game at Los Medanos College.

Dan Masi was also a catalyst in the quarter, recovering a fumble on the Minutemen's ensuing possession and finishing the night with three touchdowns.

Acalanes 42, Concord 20

Acalanes   14  0 0 28 -- 42

Concord     0 14 0  6 -- 20

A -- Briggs 1 run (Kephart kick)

A -- Masi 17 pass from Beeman (Kephart kick)

C -- Saimere 20 run (Zuniga kick)

C -- Otaguno 2 pass from Kloberdanz (Zuniga kick)

A -- Emery 13 pass from Beeman (Kephart kick)

A -- Bohannon 1 run (kick failed)

A -- Masi 32 run (Richmond pass from Beeman)

C -- Galvin 3 pass from Kloberdanz (kick failed)

A -- Masi 7 pass from Miller (Kephart kick)

A C

First downs 19 14

Rushing yards 239 166

Passing 9-13-0 9-20-0

Passing yards 138 80

Total offense 377 246

Fumbles/lost 3/1 2/1

Individual statistics

Rushing: A -- Briggs 17-99, Ring 8-71, Bohannon 11-40, Masi 1-32, Kelly 1-1, Beeman 1-(-4). C -- Otaguro 18-76, Saimere 8-67, Kloberdanz 11-20, Pearce 1-2, Dadami 1-1.

Passing: A -- Beeman 8-12-0-131, Miller 1-1-0-7. C -- Kloberdanz 9-19-0-80, Egter 0-1-0-0.

Receiving: A -- Emery 3-64, Masi 3-39, Adcock 2-28, Socha 1-7. C -- Jones 3-40, Tagart 1-15, Egter 1-12, Zuniga 1-7, Otaguro 2-3, Galvin 1-3.

Records: Acalanes 5-1, 4-1 DFAL; Concord 3-3, 3-2.

=======================================

DFAL          W L PF PA Ovrl

Las Lomas    5 0 153 52 5-1-0

Acalanes      4 1 170 71 5-1-0

Alhambra     4 1 163 136 4-2-0

Concord      3 2 120 126 3-3-0

Miramonte   3 2 115 65 4-2-0

Campolindo  2 3 89 139 2-4-0

College Park  2 3 154 160 3-3-0

Dublin         2 3 147 120 3-3-0

Mt. Diablo    0 5 47 190 1-5-0

Northgate   0 5 66 165 0-6-0

Last week: Dublin lost to Miramonte 42-16.  Acalanes beat Concord 42-20.  Notes:  After winning three of their first four games, the Gales have dropped two straight.  Last week, the Gales yielded 26 unanswered points in losing to the Mats.  The Don's could not shake the Minutemen and entered the fourth quarter tied 14-14.  Dan Masi scored three TD's in the hard-fought game.

Sometimes, whoever has the ball last is bound to win. Luckily for the Gaels (4-3, 3-3), the ball was in the hands of quarterback Marcus Roberson.

Roberson ran for a two-point conversion in the second overtime period to lead the Gaels to a thrilling victory over the host Dons.  Dublin seemed to have control of the contest, leading 21-7 going into the fourth quarter. That's when Acalanes' offense suddenly woke up, scoring three straight touchdowns to take a 28-21 lead with 1:03 remaining.

Acalanes (5-2, 4-2 DFAL) and its fans rejoiced in the stirring comeback, but Gaels senior Mike Plimmer had an answer. Plimmer took the ensuing kickoff 98 yards to silence the home crowd, sending the game into overtime.

Dublin's offense had the first chance in overtime, and struck on their first play, a 10-yard pass from Roberson to Plimmer to take a 35-28 lead. Acalanes needed three plays to tie on a 7-yard scoring pass from Gavin Beeman to Alex Richmond.

Since first possessions alternate in overtime, the Dons were on offense next and scored instantly. Connor Ring took the ball 10 yards up the middle for the touchdown.

The Gaels (4-3, 3-3) needed two plays to answer back. Roberson passed to Russell Hallett for 8 yards, followed by a 2-yard touchdown run for Justin Townsend.

After several timeouts by both teams, the Gaels decided to go for a two-point conversion, the first try for either team all game.  Roberson's run off left tackle for the score sent Dublin into an end zone celebration.

Dublin 43, Acalanes 42 (OT)

Dublin    7  7  7   7 - 7 8 -- 43

Acalanes 0  7  0 21 - 7 7 -- 42

D -- Ferguson 16 pass from Roberson (Rivera kick)

D -- Townsend 2 run (Rivera kick)

A -- Bohannan 16 run (Kephart kick)

D -- Hallett 26 pass from Roberson (Rivera kick)

A -- Ring 16 pass from Beeman (Kephart kick)

A -- Adcock 31 pass from Beeman (Kephart kick)

A -- Bohannan 2 run (Kephart kick)

D -- Plimmer 98 kickoff return (Rivera kick)

D -- Plimmer 10 pass from Roberson (Rivera kick)

A -- Richmond 7 pass from Beeman (Kephart kick)

A -- Ring 10 run (Kephart kick)

D -- Townsend 2 run (Robertson run)

D A

First downs 21 17

Rushing yards 41-183 34-122

Passing 11-24-1 11-29-0

Passing yards 228 228

Total offense 411 350

Fumbles/lost 3/1 1/1

Individual statistics

Rushing: D -- Plimmer 20-253, Ferguson 3-21, Townsend 7-17, Roberson 11-(-8). A -- Ring 8-42, Bohannan 10-35, Beeman 5-29, Briggs 9-23, Updegraff 1-1, Miller 1(-8).

Passing: D -- Roberson 11-24-1 228. A -- Beeman 11-29-0 228.

Receiving: D -- Hallet 4-113, Ferguson 4-92, Plimmer 3-23. A --Adcock 4-75, Masi 4-60, Ring 2-56, Baker 1-30, Richmond 1-7.

Records: Dublin 4-3, 3-3 DFAL, Acalanes 5-2, 4-2.

=========================================

DFAL

W L PF PA Ovrl

Las Lomas 6 0 174 66 6-1-0

Acalanes 4 2 212 114 5-2-0

Alhambra 4 2 191 171 4-3-0

Concord 4 2 155 154 4-3-0

Miramonte 4 2 141 84 5-2-0

Dublin 3 3 190 162 4-3-0

Campolindo 2 4 103 160 2-5-0

College Park 2 4 173 186 3-4-0

Northgate 1 5 94 186 1-6-0

Mt. Diablo 0 6 68 211 1-6-0

• Gavin Beeman, Acalanes football -- The Dons quarterback threw for 228 yards and three touchdowns in a 43-42 overtime loss to Dublin. Beeman's scoring passes were for 7, 16 and 31 yards.

• Taylor Lee, Acalanes girls golf -- The Dons senior owned Lone Tree Golf Course on Monday. Lee shot a 1-under 71 for medalist honors at the DFAL tournament. More than that, her score helped Acalanes secure the league title and earned Lee the league MVP award.

• Alex Bouza, Acalanes girls volleyball -- The Dons came away with a four-game victory over Las Lomas thanks to a 41-assists, 5-dig  effort from their setter.

Last week: Acalanes lost to Dublin 43-42 in OT; Las Lomas beat Campolindo 21-14.

Notes: Dons coach Ron Thompson has never beaten Las Lomas, his former school, since taking over at Acalanes. The Knights can clinch a share of the DFAL title with a win. It would be their first league title since 1992.

Without question, the biggest game in the DFAL this Friday will take place at Las Lomas. With a win, the Knights (6-1, 6-0 DFAL) can clinch a share of their first league title since the 1992. The Dons (5-2, 4-2) are coming off their second loss of the season, both losses came on the last play of the game. Most recently, it was a double overtime loss at home against Dublin. Acalanes needs a big win, not just to stay in the league title picture, but to rebuild confidence as it moves toward a near-certain playoff berth.

With the Dons' 16-7 Diablo Foothill Athletic League win over Las Lomas on Friday night, Thompson recorded his first coaching win over the team he led for two years in 1997 and 1998.

"Finally," a relieved looking Thompson said. "Get the monkey off my back. ... It's a big win for the team. But I've been out of high school for a long time, so it doesn't matter to me."

Acalanes (6-2, 5-2 DFAL) used a swarming, opportunistic defensive effort and just enough offense to get past its nemesis. The Dons held the Knights (6-2, 6-1) to just 265 yards of total offense, pulling within one game of the league leaders with two to play. Las Lomas entered the game averaging nearly 100 yards more than that (360.3) on the season. Acalanes mustered just 173 yards on offense. But it was the three turnovers that the Dons forced -- including two inside their own 5-yard line -- that saved the day.

"The defense, they stepped up," Thompson said. "They played really well, held it together tonight. It's a good win for Acalanes."

Quarterback Gavin Beeman, who doubles as the Dons strong safety, was involved in seemingly every play. When he wasn't running the ball or passing it efficiently, he was sticking his nose in at the line of scrimmage and making the tackle. Beeman completed 9 of 10 passes for 77 yards, ran eight times for 12 more, and had too many tackles to count.

He said everyone on the team knew just how important the game was to their coach.

"He read us the newspaper article before the game," Beeman said. "We wanted to do it for him."

Thompson produced a folded-up scrap of newsprint from his back pocket after the game which read, "Dons head coach Ron Thompson has never beaten Las Lomas, his former school, since taking over at Acalanes." He waved it in the air and said, "I want a retraction!"

The Dons led 7-0 at the half thanks to a six-minute, 13-play, 82-yard drive on their first possession of the game, which culminated in a 1-yard scoring plunge by Chris Bohannon. The Knights marched 58 yards to the Dons 7 on their next possession, but Doug Stinson fumbled on first-and-goal and Ben Englehart recovered for the Dons at their 3.

Las Lomas tied it at 7-7 at the 10:27 mark in the third quarter when Johnny Volan returned a fumble 32 yards for a score.

But Acalanes jumped right back ahead. Connor Ring returned the ensuing kickoff 74 yards from the 1 to the Las Lomas 25, setting up Don Kephart's 31-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead. Six minutes later, Beeman found Cole Adcock for a 14-yard scoring strike to push the lead to 16-7.

The Knights ripped off an 83-yard drive that took most of the fourth quarter, only to see it snuffed when Donny Miller stepped in front of a Jordan Kerl pass at the 2 for an interception that all but iced the game.

Acalanes 16, Las Lomas 7

Acalanes 7 0 9 0 -- 16

Las Lomas 0 0 7 0 -- 7

A -- Bohannon 1 run (Kephart kick)

LL -- Volan 32 fumble return (Pierce kick)

A -- Kepart 31 FG

A -- Adcock 14 pass from Beeman (kick failed)

A LL

First downs 14 13

Rushing yards 34-96 38-160

Passing 9-10-0 11-17-1

Passing yards 77 105

Total offense 173 265

Fumbles/lost 1/1 2/2

Individual statistics

Rushing: A -- Ring 13-35, Bohannon 7-26, Briggs4-13, Beeman 8-12, Masi 1-11, Adcock 1-(-1). LL -- Pomerantz 17-98, Stinson 14-69, Onn 1-0, Kerl 5-(-2), Davis 1-(-5).

Passing: A -- Beeman 9-10-0 77. LL -- Kerl 11-17-1 105.

Receiving: A -- Masi 7-63, Adcock 1-14, Ring 1-0. LL -- Harkins 4-43, Volan 3-21, Rulifson 2-22, Davis 2-19.

Records: Acalanes 6-2, 5-2 DFAL; Las Lomas 6-2, 6-1.

============================================

DFAL

W L PF PA Ovrl

Las Lomas 6 1 181 82 6-2-0

Acalanes 5 2 228 121 6-2-0

Alhambra 5 2 224 192 5-3-0

Miramonte 5 2 190 94 6-2-0

Concord 4 3 174 182 4-4-0

Dublin 4 3 223 189 5-3-0

Campolindo 3 4 131 179 3-5-0

College Park 2 5 200 219 3-5-0

Northgate 1 6 115 207 1-7-0

Mt. Diablo 0 7 78 260 1-7-0

With The Chronicle's No. 21-ranked Las Lomas playing for at least a share of the Diablo Foothill Athletic League title, who else would led Acalanes to a 16-7 victory Friday night in Walnut Creek. 

Beeman, a 6-1, 195-pounder, wouldn't be denied his first chance to beat Las Lomas. Holding a 10-7 lead, the quarterback found tight end Cole Adcock down the middle on a 14-yard scoring strike. 

Senior safety Dan Masi teamed up with Beeman on the defensive side of the ball, hovering near the line of scrimmage and not allowing the Las Lomas duo of Doug Stinson and Alex Pomerantz to get on track. Stinson finished the game with 77 rushing yards, but neither senior running back was able to break free. 

"We asked (Beeman) to be the man tonight," coach Ron Thompson said, "and he was the man from start to finish." 

Acalanes (6-2, 5-2) set the tone early on the defensive side. Las Lomas (6-2, 6-1) reached the Dons' 19-yard line on its opening drive, but was stopped on a 4th-and-1. 

The Acalanes offense took over, and it rattled off a 13-play, 83-yard drive, capped by a 1-yard touchdown plunge by senior running back Chris Bohannon. 

Las Lomas responded with a 13-play drive of its own, but Acalanes cornerback Ben Englehart recovered a fumble inside his team's own 10-yard line to halt the drive. 

With Acalanes holding a 7-0 lead and the momentum early in the third quarter, Las Lomas linebacker Jonny Volan scooped up a fumble and rumbled 32 yards to tie the score. 

Masi was Beeman's main target on offense, hauling in seven catches for 67 yards, including a crucial 14-yarder with four minutes to play and the Dons backed up on their own 3-yard line. 

• Gavin Beeman, Acalanes football -- The Dons senior quarterback completed nine of 10 passes for 77 yards and the game-clinching touchdown to Cole Adcock in a 16-7 Acalanes victory over Las Lomas.

Last week: Acalanes beat Las Lomas 16-7; Alhambra beat Northgate 33-21.
Notes: Dons coach Ron Thompson earned his first win over the Knights, a team he coached in 1997 and 1998. The Bulldogs scored 33 unanswered points to beat Northgate.  After last Friday's 16-7 win over then league unbeaten Las Lomas, the Dons enter this battle of 5-2 second place teams on a serious emotional high. Whether they can keep that up under the rumbling barrage of Alhambra's Brandon Rutley remains to be seen. The winner stays in the race for the DFAL crown.

Note:  This game is Alhambra's homecoming and parking will be at a premium, plan to arrive early.

"Who? What school does he play for?" an inquisitive Thompson asked. "I've never heard of him."

C'mon. Seriously?

"Almost 200 yards per game? He's in my sleep."  Maybe it's a good thing Thompson has kept his sense of humor. After all, when it comes to Rutley, a junior running back from Alhambra, sometimes all the opposition can do is laugh. Laugh and lose sleep.  Rutley has been keeping opposing coaches awake at night all season. 

Now it's Thompson's turn, as Alhambra hosts the Dons in a Diablo Foothill Athletic League game tonight at 7. Rutley leads the region in rushing and has amassed 1,533 yards on 153 carries, meaning the Bulldogs are virtually guaranteed a first down every time he touches the ball.

Rutley is averaging 191.6 yards per game through eight games. What's more, the 5-foot-10, 180-pound back has scored 21 touchdowns, 20 coming on the ground. He ran for 179 yards and scored three touchdowns in last week's 33-21 win over Northgate.

"It's just hard work. Focus and hard work," Rutley said. "It's not an individual effort. Everyone's playing well. Things are opening up nicely, and we're doing just fine."

Things are going so well for Rutley, he's been held under 100 yards just once this season. Ygnacio Valley clamped down and held him to just 71 yards in Week 1. Since then ... well, we've seen the numbers.

"Brandon's very elusive," Thompson said. "He makes people miss and he runs really hard. He's a type of guy that can run away from you. It's going to take more than one person to stop him."

That task has become a bit more difficult for Acalanes since the team is now without lineman Dan Lopez, who suffered a knee injury last week against Las Lomas. Thompson said Lopez is week-to-week, but he definitely won't play tonight.

"He clogged up the middle for us," Thompson said of Lopez. "You just have to ask others to come in and stop it. But it doesn't take one guy (to stop Rutley). Dan couldn't stop (Rutley) by himself."

Rutley's track record -- 191.6 yards per game, 10 yards per carry, 20 rushing touchdowns -- was all the evidence he needed. But Thompson never could have imagined this.

Rutley put his own gaudy numbers to shame Friday night by rushing for 312 yards on 19 carries. He scored three touchdowns in the process and led the Bulldogs to a 24-15 victory over Acalanes in a Diablo Foothill Athletic League game. Rutley, already the region's leading rusher, pushed his season total to 1,845 yards. He also kept his team's playoff hopes alive.

"I don't think the kids believed how good he really is," Thompson said. "He proved to us he is the best back in the league."

If the Dons (6-3, 5-3 DFAL) did in fact doubt Rutley's ability, the junior made them believers on his first carry of the game. Rutley took a handoff from quarterback Matt Butler, made one quick stutter-step and was off to the races. Rutley's 60-yard scamper, 
which came on just the second play of the game, put the Bulldogs (6-3, 6-2) up 7-0 with 11:14 to play.

That was nothing compared to what Rutley did next.

Acalanes managed to drive all the way to the Alhambra 1 but coughed up the ball on third down. Bulldogs tackle Justin Frazer recovered the fumble, putting Alhambra back in business.

Back in business? From the 1? With Rutley in the backfield, anything is possible, even a 99-yard scoring romp. And that's exactly what happened. Rutley burst up the middle, broke to the outside and once again, gave the Dons defense a good glimpse of his back.
That run -- the longest of Rutley's career -- put Alhambra in front 14-0 with 3:18 remaining in the first quarter. It also put Rutley over the 100-yard mark on just his fourth carry of the night.

"Oh, man! The line. They were amazing," Rutley said. "That hole was great. It was huge. I thought everybody played great. Our focus was to play together, and that's what we did."

By the end of the first half, the 5-foot-10, 180-pound back was just 11 yards off his season average. In fact, he out-gained the entire Acalanes offense 180-137 after two quarters.

Rutley, who also had an interception, put the game out of reach in the third quarter with another impressive run, this one from 59 yards out.

In addition to stopping the run, the Dons also struggled offensively. Acalanes was held scoreless until quarterback Gavin Beeman scored on a 5-yard keeper with 8:46 to play in the third quarter. Beeman finished with 108 yards on 15 carries.

"We shot ourselves in the foot," Thompson said. "I liked the way we came out in the second half, but it's disappointing all the way around."

Acalanes 0 0 7 8 -- 15
Alhambra 14 3 7 0 -- 24

ALH -- Rutley 60 run (King kick)
ALH -- Rutley 90 run (King kick)
ALH -- King 25 FG
ACA -- Beeman 5 run (Kephart kick)
ALH -- Rutley 59 run (King kick)
ACA -- Masi 30 pass from Miller (Masi run)

ACA ALH
First downs 12 19
Rushing yards 31-167 41-412
Passing 8-17-1 8-16-1
Passing yards 125 84
Total offense 292 496
Fumbles/lost 3/2 2/1

Individual statistics
Rushing: ACA -- Beeman 15-108, Ring 9-37, Bohannon 4-14, Briggs 3-8. ALH -- Rutley 19-312, Yarber 17-96, Butler 4-2, Bal 1-2.

Passing: ACA -- Beeman 6-15-1 70, Miller 2-2-0 55. ALH -- Butler 8-16-1 84.

Receiving: ACA -- Masi 3-68, Bohannon 3-30, Englehart 1-22, Emery 1-5. ALH -- Fortner 4-30, Yarber 2-17, Bal 1-31, Jones 1-6.

Records: Alhambra 6-3, 6-2 DFAL, Acalanes 6-3, 5-3.====================================

DFAL
W L PF PA Ovrl
Las Lomas 7 1 216 82 7-2-0
Alhambra 6 2 248 207 6-3-0
Miramonte 6 2 235 115 7-2-0
Acalanes 5 3 243 145 6-3-0
Dublin 5 3 265 202 6-3-0
Concord 4 4 174 217 4-5-0
Campolindo 3 5 152 224 3-6-0
College Park 3 5 233 232 4-5-0
Northgate 1 7 128 249 1-8-0
Mt. Diablo 0 8 91 293 1-8-0

Last week: Northgate lost to Dublin 42-13; Acalanes lost to Alhambra 24-15.

Notes: Running back Evan Navarro (132 total yards) accounted for more than half of the Broncos' 251-yard total against the Gaels and scored both touchdowns. After passing for 70 yards, Dons quarterback Gavin Beeman is now just 16 yards shy of reaching 1,000 in league games. He also rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown against the Bulldogs.

Host Acalanes scored four touchdowns in the first quarter and cruised to the win. Gavin Beeman led the way for the Dons by throwing two touchdowns and rushing for another. Dan Masi was on the receiving end of both scoring passes and finished with 76 yards receiving.

The Dons got off to a fast start. Beeman lobbed a perfect pass to Masi, who caught in the back of the end zone for a 27-yard score.

Following a Masi interception, Beeman lunged across the goal line for a 3-yard score. Beeman showed off his arm on Acalanes' next possession. He completed passes of 13, 47 and 11 yards to set up Chris Bohannon's 2-yard touchdown run.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Dons pulled off a perfect onside kick and recovered the ball on the Northgate 46. On the next play, Beeman aired out a deep pass to Masi, who a made diving catch between two Northgate defenders in the end zone.

The Broncos had two chances to chip into Acalanes' 27-0 lead. The first came on fourth down on the Dons' 20, but Northgate quarterback Steve Rankin's pass was intercepted by Ben Englehart. Then with eight seconds left in the first half and the ball on the Acalanes 
27, Rankin was intercepted again, this time by Beeman.

Northgate 0 0 7 0 -- 14
Acalanes 27 12 7 0 -- 46

A -- Masi 27 pass Beeman (kick failed)
A -- Beeman 3 run (Kephart kick)
A -- Bohannon 2 run (Kephart kick)
A -- Masi 36 pass Beeman (Kephart kick)
A -- Briggs 4 run (kick failed)
A -- Englehart 15 fumble return (kick failed)
A -- Masi 25 run (Kephart kick)
N -- Chatfield 85 kickoff return (Rankin kick)
N -- Navarra 2 run (Rankin kick)

N A
First Downs 8 9
Rushing yards 27-124 24-174
Passing 9-21-2 6-15-0
Passing yards 141 168
Total offense 265 342
Fumbles/lost 1/1 1/0

Rushing: N -- Navarra 22-120, Rankin 4-6, Ikeda 1-(-2). A -- Ring 5-79, Briggs 14-78, Beeman 2-6, Bohannon 3-11

Passing: N -- Rankin 9-21-2-141. A -- Beeman 6-11-0-168, Miller 0-4-0-0.

Receiving: N -- Mironov 3-38, Lawson 2-51, Navarra 2-2, Igor 1-56, Chatfield 1-1. A -- Masi 3-76, Emery 1-47, Baker 2-45.

Records: Acalanes 7-3, 6-3 DFAL; Northgate 1-9, 1-8.

======================================

DFAL Final Standings
W L PF PA Ovrl
Las Lomas 7 2 230 99 7-3-0
Miramonte 7 2 256 129 8-2-0
Acalanes 6 3 289 159 7-3-0
Alhambra 6 3 262 228 6-4-0
Dublin 6 3 282 216 7-3-0
Campolindo 4 5 194 248 4-6-0
College Park 4 5 281 266 5-5-0
Concord 4 5 208 265 4-6-0
Northgate 1 8 142 295 1-9-0
Mt. Diablo 0 9 115 335 1-9-0

The Dons (7-3) were handed a No. 5 seed at Sunday's seeding meeting and were told they would have to open the playoffs on the road against No. 4 Bishop O'Dowd (6-4).

"(The seeding) really didn't go as I thought it would," Dons coach Ron Thompson said Tuesday. "I thought we'd be a four seed based on who we played and who we'd beaten."

But it didn't happen that way, and it makes for a pretty tough road to the championship game, set for Dec. 2 at Las Lomas High School.  And yet, Thompson is OK with that.

"In our minds we are the best team going into this tournament," the Dons coach said. "We have a lot to prove the next three weeks, and I fully intend to play (No. 1 seed) Ygnacio Valley (in a semifinal) next week. "

Acalanes will have no shortage of motivation when it comes to playing the Dragons. Not only do the Dons feel disrespected with the No. 5 seed, they will be facing the same team that eliminated them from the playoffs a season ago. Bishop O'Dowd defeated Acalanes 28-7 in the semifinals before going on to beat Campolindo 35-21 in the 2A East Bay championship.

If Acalanes is to survive this year's matchup, set for 1 p.m. Saturday, it will have to focus on stopping the running game.

"They have a running back like (Alhambra's) Brandon Rutley, and that makes us nervous," said Thompson, who was forced to watch helplessly on Nov. 4 when Rutley torched the Dons for 312 yards on 19 carries. "O'Dowd plays in a bigger league and they think they are very physical, and we think that we're very physical. We'll just have to make sure to wrap and to tackle."

• WHERE: Bishop O'Dowd High School, 9500 Stearns Ave.
• WHEN: 1 p.m., Saturday
• LAST WEEK: No. 5 Acalanes beat Northgate 46-14; No. 4 Bishop O'Dowd beat Moreau Catholic 49-18
• RECORDS: Acalanes 7-3, Bishop O'Dowd 6-4
• NOTES: A bit of deja vu here, as the teams met in last year's NCS playoffs, albeit in the semifinals. Bishop O'Dowd won that game 28-7. Louis Arnold ran for 306 yards. Arnold, now a senior, ran for 411 yards last week against winless Moreau Catholic, bringing his season rushing total to 2,333 yards.

• Acalanes at Bishop O'Dowd -- Feeling slightly snubbed by being handed the No. 5 seed in the 2A East Bay bracket, the Dons (7-3) believe they have something to prove Saturday afternoon when they take on the No. 4 Dragons. To further fuel Acalanes' fire, it was Bishop O'Dowd that eliminated the Dons from the 2004 playoffs in the first round.

The Dons used the slow and steady approach to nip the host Dragons' big-play attack to advance into the semifinals of the North Coast Section 2A East Bay playoffs.  In beating Bishop O'Dowd, Acalanes (8-3) also avenged last year's 28-7 2A semifinal loss.

The Dragons took the early lead this time. Tailback Louis Arnold bounced off a scrum at midfield and ran in a 56-yard touchdown for a 6-0 lead. It must have felt like 2004 all over again for Acalanes, whose defense was shredded for more than 300 rushing yards by Arnold last year.

But 2005 took a turn for the better on the very next drive. The Dons set the tone for the game when they went right down the field, and scored on quarterback Gavin Beeman's 11-yard run. The Dons extended their lead early in the second quarter when Beeman hit wide receiver Brooks Baker on a 30-yard post pattern.

Bishop O'Dowd (6-5) used Arnold to generate big yards in a hurry. The junior blasted through the line on a 36-yard touchdown run, giving him almost half of his game-high 225 yards by halftime. The 14-12 halftime lead was just enough for Acalanes.

The Dons turned into a serious ball-control mode in the second half, and scored touchdowns twice after lengthy drives. Both scores were courtesy of fullback Chris Bohannon barreled in from a yard out each time.

But a fourth-and-10 touchdown pass from Dragons quarterback Milton Williams to Brian Mouton cut the deficit to 21-19. A wilder fourth-quarter call, a 54-yard pass from halfback John Bowler to Mouton for 54 yards brought the Dragons to within one.

After Acalanes covered Bishop O'Dowd's onside kick attempt with 1:54 to go, the Dons ran out the clock.

The flash of Bishop O'Dowd's Louis Arnold and Brian Mouton was at times spectacular. But the sum of Acalanes' parts was greater -- by a single point -- in a 28-27 North Coast Section 2A East Bay first-round game in Oakland on an unseasonably warm Saturday afternoon. 

While O'Dowd scored on dazzling runs and trick plays, Chris Bohannon powered in two second-half 1-yard TD runs after quarterback Gavin Beeman accounted for two first-half scores as the fifth-seeded Dons (8-3) advanced to semifinal play for the fifth straight year while avenging a season-ending 28-7 loss to the Dragons last year. 

"We haven't seen a team quite like that before," Arnold said. "They have it all. They're really well balanced." 

Arnold, the state's leading rusher after the regular season, rushed 25 times for 224 yards -- right at his season's average -- and had touchdown runs of 55 and 36 yards, while Mouton collected six passes for 169 yards, including TDs of 30 and 55 yards, the latter pulling O'Dowd (6-5) to within 28-25 with 1:54 to play. 

The Dragons went for a two-point conversion and made it, but their onside kick was recovered by Acalanes senior Charles Updegraff. O'Dowd had no timeouts, and after Beeman (14 carries, 91 yards) broke loose for a 19-yard run, the Dons ran out the clock. 

"Louis Arnold is an unbelievable back, but we definitely have a lot of different options," Beeman said. 

Beeman, a terrific 6-foot-1, 195-pound athlete who added an interception from his safety spot, keyed everything offensively. He mainly handed off to Connor Ring (14 carries, 71 yards) in the first half, but when the shifty running back went down in the second half with an ankle injury, Acalanes went to Bohannon, a 6-1, 220-pounder, who pounded his way inside for 62 yards on 12 carries. Acalanes finished with 248 rushing yards and 332 overall, to 380 total yards for O'Dowd. 

Acalanes           7 7 7 7 -- 28
Bishop O'Dowd 6 6 7 8 -- 27

BOD -- Arnold 56 run (kick failed)
A -- Beeman 11 run (Kephart kick)
A -- Baker 30 pass from Beeman (Kephart kick)
BOD -- Arnold 36 run (run failed)
A -- Bohannon 1 run (Kephart kick)
BOD -- Mouton 30 pass from Williams (Klausing kick)
A -- Bohannon 1 run (Kephart kick)
BOD -- Mouton 54 pass from Bowler (Simmons pass from Williams)

A BOD
First downs 18 12
Rushing yards 49-267 31-209
Passing 5-11-1 7-17-1
Passing yards 69 168
Total offense 336 377
Fumbles/lost 1/0 1/0

Individual statistics
Rushing: A -- Ring 16-98, Beeman 15-89, Bohannon 12-55, Briggs 6-25. BOD -- Arnold 25-225, Quinn 1-3, Williams 5-(-19).

Passing: A -- Beeman 5-11-1 69. BOD -- Williams 6-16-1 114, Bowler 1-1-0 54.

Receiving: A --Masi 3-25, Baker 1-30, Emery 1-14. BOD -- Mouton 6-168, Arnold 1-0.

Records: Acalanes 8-3, Bishop O'Dowd 6-5.

Gavin Beeman tosses completion in Don's NCS Win over Bishop O'Dowd 

2A EAST BAY NCS Football Playoffs

First round
Friday 11/18
Ygnacio Valley 49, No. 8 El Cerrito (6-5) 12
Miramonte 35, No. 7 Piedmont (6-4-1) 7

Saturday 11/19
No. 5 Acalanes (7-3) 28  at No. 4 Bishop O'Dowd (6-4) 27
No. 6 Encinal (5-4-1) 21 at No. 3 Dublin (7-3) 28

Semifinals
Nov. 25  Acalanes vs. No. 1 Ygnacio Valley (8-3), at Mt. Diablo HS, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 26  Dublin at No. 2 Miramonte (9-2), TBA

FIRST TEAM

QB -- Markus Roberson (Dublin). RB -- Brandom Rutley (Alhambra), Mike Plimmer (Dublin), Brandon Fragger (College Park). WR -- Chucky Watts (Miramonte), Gregg Irving (Campolindo). TE -- Cole Adcock (Acalanes). OL -- Brean Anderson (College Park), Jason Swisher (Las Lomas), Nick Bruzzone (Acalanes), Rob Sullivan (Miramonte), Will Rulifson (Las Lomas). DL -- Dan Lopez (Acalanes), KC Ruiz (Concord), David Luke (Las Lomas), Chris Osterloh (Miramonte). LB -- Jason Swisher (Las Lomas), Anthony Quilici (Dublin), Brock Glavin (Concord), Jonny Volan (Las Lomas), Josh Atkinson (Alhambra). DB -- Andrew Retelli (Miramonte), Kava Tyrell (Campolindo), Gavin Beeman (Acalanes), Camron Yarber (Alhambra). K -- Don Kephart (Acalanes). P -- Richard Zuniga (Concord). Utility -- Gavin Beeman (Acalanes).

SECOND TEAM

QB -- Gavin Beeman (Acalanes). RB -- Gavin Lowery (Miramonte), Alex Pomerantz (Las Lomas), Chris Bohanan (Acalanes). WR -- Dan Masi (Acalanes), Russell Hallett (Dublin). TE -- Oliver Cabazoglu (Campolindo). OL -- Cole Mercure (Alhambra), Phil Schwartz (Alhambra), Anthony Quilici (Dublin), Mike Balesteri (Acalanes), Anthony Carroll (Alhambra), Alex Field (Campolindo). DL -- Will Rulifson (Las Lomas), Paul Reams (Campolindo), Justin Townsend (Dublin), Jason Harrison (Alhambra). LB -- Kelsey Hicks (Miramonte), Chris Bohanan (Acalanes), Charles Updergraff (Acalanes), Brian Antono (Campolindo). DB -- Joey York (College Park), Mark Fisse (Mt. Diablo), Dan Masi (Acalanes), Sean Jones (Concord). K -- Matt Wright (Campolindo). P -- Ben Mendez (Mt. Diablo). Utility -- Kava Tyrell (Campolindo).

• Chris Bohannon, Acalanes football -- Bohannon was not the Dons' leading rusher in Saturday's afternoon 28-27 win over Bishop O'Dowd. However, when Acalanes needed a yard they went to the fullback. Bohannon had two 1-yard TD runs in the victory. He finished with 55 yards on 12 carries.

• No. 5 Acalanes (8-3) vs. No. 1 Ygnacio Valley (8-3), at Mt. Diablo High School, 7:30 p.m.

Last week: Acalanes beat Bishop O'Dowd 28-27; Ygnacio Valley beat El Cerrito 49-12.

Playoff history: The Dons are seeking to make the 2A East Bay section final for the first time since 2002. Acalanes has lost in the semifinals the past two years. A win would put the Warriors in their first championship game since winning the 3A East Bay title in 1999. Ygnacio Valley lost in the first round in 2002 and 2004 and in the semifinals in 2000 and 2001.

Notes: The Dons' three losses this season have come by an average of less than five points. The Warriors are 8-0 this season when scoring first.

ACALANES: Dons coach Ron Thompson all but predicted a win over Bishop O'Dowd in the first round of the Class 2A East Bay playoffs.

"I fully expect to be playing Ygnacio Valley next week," Thompson said last Wednesday.
His team didn't let him down.

With a 28-27 win, No. 5 Acalanes (8-3) returned the favor to a Dragons team that knocked the Dons out of the playoffs a season ago. Chris Bohannon had two touchdown runs in the Dons' victory, and senior quarterback Gavin Beeman threw for one score and ran for another.

The win puts the Acalanes in the 2A semifinals for the fifth straight year, where they will face No. 1 Ygnacio Valley (8-3) tonight at 7:30.

If the Dons are to best the Warriors, they will need to tighten a run defense that allowed Bishop O'Dowd's Louis Arnold 225 yards rushing. Ygnacio Valley features a punishing run-oriented offense powered by a skilled, senior-laden offensive line.

2A EAST BAY NCS Football Playoffs

First round
Friday 11/18
Ygnacio Valley 49, No. 8 El Cerrito (6-5) 12
Miramonte 35, No. 7 Piedmont (6-4-1) 7

Saturday 11/19
No. 5 Acalanes (7-3) 28  at No. 4 Bishop O'Dowd (6-4) 27
No. 6 Encinal (5-4-1) 21 at No. 3 Dublin (7-3) 28

Semifinals
Nov. 25  Acalanes vs. No. 1 Ygnacio Valley (8-3), at Mt. Diablo HS, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 26  Dublin at No. 2 Miramonte (9-2), 7:00 p.m.

But the Warriors wouldn't be making plans for next week had it not been for some timely plays by their defense, which made four critical stops in the second half to preserve a 21-7 win over Acalanes in a North Coast Section 2A East Bay semifinal at Mt. Diablo High.

The Dons trailed 14-7 at halftime but drove the ball four times into Ygnacio Valley territory in the second half. Acalanes, though, missed two field goals inside of 40 yards, had one pass intercepted and turned the ball over on downs on another drive to remain 
scoreless for the second half.

Acalanes moved the ball to the Ygnacio Valley 20 on its second drive of the third quarter. But a Gavin Beeman pass intended for Brooks Baker was intercepted by cornerback Eren Aktari, who made a one-handed grab at his 2-yard line.

The No. 1 seed Warriors (9-3) will play the winner of tonight's semifinal game between No. 2 Miramonte and No. 3 Dublin. It is the first time Ygnacio Valley has advanced to a section title game since winning the 3A East Bay championship in 1999.

Aktari said he and his friends used to come and watch that Warriors team when he was in middle school, and called them the best team he's "ever seen play."

Now he and his teammates will get a chance to match what that 1999 group accomplished.

"It just feels awesome to be here in this position with all of my friends from middle school," said Aktari, who has five interceptions this season. "We knew we had to stop them in the second half, and we did what we had to do."

Ygnacio Valley had a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter as James Lawson scored on a 35-yard run and a 21-yard screen pass.  But the Warriors failed to get a first down on its first three possessions of the second half. Acalanes offense spent most of the second half on the field, but it couldn't turn that time of possession into points.

"We made some adjustments at halftime, and we told the kids that they were going to us and that we were going to hit right back," Dons coach Ron Thompson said. "Our offense moved the ball in the second half, we just didn't punch the ball into the end zone when we needed to."

Lawson finished with 182 yards rushing on 31 carries, with 155 of those yards coming in the first half.

Beeman found a rhythm for the Dons (8-4) in the second half, competing 11 of 17 passes for 131 yards in the final 24 minutes. His favorite target was Dan Masi, who had six catches for 98 yards and a touchdown for the game.

Acalanes         0 7 0 0 -- 7
Ygnacio Valley 7 7 0 7 -- 21

YV -- Lawson 35 run (Sadeghy kick)
YV -- Lawson 21 pass from Havens (Sadeghy kick)
A -- Masi 12 pass from Beeman (Kephart kick)
YV -- Pamphile 55 run (Sadeghy kick)

A YV
First downs 15 13
Rushing yards 27-69 58-326
Passing 14-25-1 2-7-1
Passing yards 186 28
Total offense 255 354
Fumbles/lost 1/1 1/0

Individual statistics
Rushing: A -- Beeman 15-45, Bohannan 7-15, Ring 4-11, Updegraff 1-(-2). YV -- Lawson 31-182, Pamphile 15-125, Uaisele 5-13, Kalinowski 4-13, Havens 3-(-7).

Passing: A -- Beeman 14-25-1 186. YV -- Havens 2-7-1 28.

Receiving: A -- Masi 6-98, Baker 3-50, Bohannon 2-20, Updegraff 1-11, Englehart 1-8, Adcock 1-(-1). YV -- Lawson 1-21, Graffort 1-7.

Records: Ygnacio Valley 9-3, Acalanes 8-4.

He knew. 

Trying just to run out the clock, Pamphile took a pitch from quarterback Kyle Havens, blasted through the line and into the wide-open secondary, sprinting 55 yards for a touchdown with 2 minutes, 20 seconds left, capping Ygnacio Valley's hard-fought 21-7 North Coast Section 2A East Bay semifinal win over Acalanes on Friday night at Mount Diablo High. 

"Just like the Bishop O'Dowd (playoff) game in 1999," Ivankovich said, remember a similar run. "Different year, different team, different player but same result." 

Ivankovich and the top-seeded Warriors (9-3) hope they can repeat their 1999 season. It was the last time they won an NCS title. After a victory in which James Lawson rushed 31 times for 185 yards and accounted for two touchdowns, and Pamphile added 124 yards rushing, the Warriors move into next week's title game against today's winner between 
Dublin and Miramonte. 

It seemed over early as Ygnacio Valley dominated the first half, with a big edge in yards (246-82) and first downs (13-5). 

The Warriors' only turnover of the half, an interception by all-everything Gavin Beeman off a Havens pass, set up Acalanes' touchdown -- a 12-yard pass from Beeman (13-of-25, 185 yards) to wide receiver Dan Masi (six catches, 96 yards) with 1:17 left in the half. 

The momentum of the scoring drive carried into the second half for the Dons, who moved into Ygnacio Valley territory on five straight possessions. 

Missed field-goal attempts of 35 and 39 yards by Don Kephart and a spectacular one-handed interception by Ygnacio Valley's Erin Aktari, his fifth pick of the season, kept Acalanes off the scoreboard. Five sacks of Beeman, including two by Chris Pettit and one late by Garry Graffort, also were vital. 

"We moved the ball but we just couldn't punch it in," said Acalanes coach Ron Thompson, whose team (8-4) was eliminated in the semifinals for the third straight year. "We made the adjustments. It just didn't work out." After giving up 13 first downs in the first half, Acalanes didn't allow a single one in the second half until 3:20 remained. It was a big one as Graffort grabbed a 6-yard pass from Havens on 3rd-and-6. 

Five plays later, Pamphile scored the game-clincher. The Warriors controlled things early behind their double-wing attack. 

Acalanes quarterback Gavin Beeman and Freedom lineman Nathan Lallas are the Contra Costa County recipients of this year's National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Scholarships.

Scholar-athletes -- one back and one lineman from each of 12 Northern California counties -- are selected for their football prowess, achievement in the classroom and school and community leadership by committees of local educators, high school officials and sportswriters. Each honoree receives a $1,000 college scholarship, and all will be honored at a banquet in February.

Past recipients include De La Salle's Aaron Taylor and Miramonte's Drew Bennett.

Gavin Beeman

Congratulations to Gavin for a fine season leading the Don's to the semi-final football game against YV.  I thought our guys were going to pull that one out, but in defeat, I was so proud to be a Don's football fan and have the opportunity to witness such a stellar effort.  Gavin Beeman, Dan Masi and a bunch of others played nearly every down in a thrilling  game and gave the talented and #1 seed Ygnacio team a run for their money.  

The departing seniors will be missed, they put on a great show over the last few years, but in the last four or five games and especially in the NCS games, the play of Gavin and Dan has been remarkable.  Being on the field during the game was great, but it was when I watched the games replay did I really see their unbelievable performance.  I tip my hat to your effort and inspirational play.

Congratulations to Coach Thompson and his coaches, good luck to all the seniors, and the to rest of the returning team, the future looks bright for Acalanes Football thanks to your hard-working  and successful season.  

• SCHOOL: Acalanes

• YEAR: Senior

• POSITION: Defensive back

• HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6-0, 195

• THE SKINNY: In addition to playing quarterback, Beeman a;sp was essentially the quarterback of a sturdy defense from his free safety position. He had five interceptions to go with numerous tackles. Las Lomas coach Doug Longero paid Beeman the highest compliment when he said, "He's a great defender. He's just a great football player."

• WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW: Beeman's favorite radio station is 96.5 KOIT. "Light rock, less talk," he said. "You gotta have a little slow jam. It calms me down before the game."

Wide Receiver (6-1, 200, Senior)

Sure-handed receiver was a big target with 676 yards and 10 touchdowns.

• Acalanes Hall of Fame Crab Feed •

-- Jan. 28, 6 p.m., Shadelands Park, 111 Wiget Lane, Walnut Creek. 

This years' inductees will be Dave Maggard Jr. and Ryan McShane. For more information contact Randy Takahashi, 925-586-0784.

By Bill Kolb

In the latest in a series of coaching changes in the local high school football  ranks, Acalanes named Randy Takahashi as its new coach Wednesday.

Takahashi has been the school's athletic director the past four years and was  Ron Thompson's top assistant the past five seasons. Thompson resigned in  December.

"I'm sad to see Ron go," Takahashi said. "We're friends. As long as Ron was the  head coach, I never wanted the job. ... Not a lot of things are going to change.  He and I worked together in putting the program together, and if it's not  broken, don't fix it."

Takahashi, a former head wrestling coach at De La Salle and El Cerrito, has  never been a head football coach. He will remain the AD and continue to teach  math at Acalanes.

"Randy will do a good job," Thompson said. "It will be interesting the next  couple of years. There shouldn't be any drop-off."

In 2000, Thompson took over an Acalanes program that finished 2-8 in 1999, had  just two winning seasons in the previous 10 years and did not make the playoffs  in that span.

After going 3-7 in 2000, the Dons had five straight winning seasons and made the  North Coast Section 2A East Bay playoffs each year. Thompson compiled a 6-5  playoff record and coached the Dons to the NCS 2A East Bay title game in 2002.  Acalanes was 43-28 overall in six seasons under Thompson.

"It was time," Thompson said of his departure. "I loved the senior group I left  with and thought we could win a championship with them. There are no hard  feelings. It was just time."

Thompson said another reason for his departure is that he would like to coach at  a higher competitive level. "I would love to coach against De La Salle," he  said. "I love that kind of challenge."

Thompson said he has expressed interest in vacancies at Liberty and James Logan,  which are both in the NCS's largest football playoff division (4A) with De La  Salle.

NCS Playoffs

St. Mary's at Acalanes

NCS Semi-Finals

at Bishop O'Dowd

The Dons didn't have much trouble advancing past the first round of the NCS 2A East Bay playoffs, shutting out the Panthers until 1:37 left in the first-round game in Lafayette.

Acalanes (8-3) won the toss and elected to kick off, and its defense quickly set the tempo, forcing a punt and getting a huge return. Punt returner Gavin Beeman fielded the ball at his 45 and returned it to the 32-yard line before pitching the ball, while being tackled, to teammate Sam Chritton, who took it all the way down to the 6.

Two plays later, Chris Bohannan powered it in from the 2, and Acalanes never looked back against the Panthers (4-7).  In the Dons' next two possessions, tight end Cole Adcock fetched touchdown lobs of 25 and 19 yards from quarterback Greg Corbett in the corner of the end zone for a quick 21-0 lead.

"I'm hoping we get better defensively every week," said Dons coach Ron Thompson, whose team awaits the winner of today's Kennedy-Bishop O'Dowd game. "Offensively, we proved we can score."

The Dons had a defensive highlight in the third quarter when defensive end Mike Balestrieri reached behind himself with his right hand to intercept a David Pezzola screen pass intended for St. Mary's running back Rico Washington, then returned it 9 yards to paydirt. That made the score 45-0.

Friday also marked the final game for Panthers coach Jay Lawson, who announced his resignation earlier in the week. The loss signaled a bittersweet ending.

"It's a tough way to end it," Lawson said. "Acalanes is a really good football team."

Zane Blackman led the way for the Dons with 138 yards rushing and a touchdown. Ollie Churchill was the Panthers' offensive leader with 45 yards on the ground, and Washington scored their lone touchdown on a late 4-yard carry.

St. Mary's 0 0 0 6 -- 6
Acalanes 14 17 14 3 -- 48

A -- Bohannan 2 run (Arnold kick)
A -- Adcock 25 pass from Corbett (Arnold kick)
A -- Adcock 19 pass from Corbett (Arnold kick)
A -- Blackman 9 run (Arnold kick)
A -- Arnold 27 FG
A -- Litchenstein 4 pass from Corbett (Arnold kick)
A -- Balestrieri 9 interception return (Arnold kick)
A -- Arnold 27 FG
SM -- Washington 4 run (run failed)

SM   ACA
First downs 12 13
Rushing yards 35-125 36-312
Passing 6-18-2 4-9-0
Passing yards 65 61
Total offense 190 373
Fumbles/lost 2/1 1/0

Individual statistics
Rushing: SM -- Churchill 6-45, Gaines 12-25, Washington 8-20, Yates 2-16, Allen 4-13, Pezzola 3-6. A --Blackman 14-138, Loranzana 4-56, Ring 3-41, Floyd 5-34, Beeman 1-14, Bohannan 3-11, Richmond 2-9, Kephart 1-6, Corbett 1-6, Miller 1-(-1), Chritton 1-(-2).

Passing: SM -- Pezzola 3-11-1 39, Tully 3-7-1 26. A -- Corbett 4-8-0 61, Beeman 0-1-0 0.

Receiving: SM -- Boursse 4-30, Holloway 2-35. A -- Adcock 2-44, Beeman 1-13, Litchenstein 1-4.

Records: St. Mary's 4-7, Acalanes 8-3.

All-DFAL
CO-MVP
Nick Graziano (Campolindo) and Mike Healey (College Park)

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
QB Nick Graziano (Cam) Sr., RB Jason Palmer (Mt. Diablo) Sr., Brandon Fragger (CP) Jr., RB Bryan Kattenburg (Las Lomas) Sr., RB Matt DeJesus (Dublin) Sr., WR Phil Galligan (Cam) Sr., WR James Yamashita (LL) Jr., TE Kava Tyrell (Cam) Jr., C Brian Anderson (CP) Jr., G Jason Swisher (LL) Jr., G Justin Moore (CP) Sr., T Daniel Matheson (CP) So., T Chad DeLeuze (LL) Sr., PK Jamie Chandler (LL) Sr., P Mike Spieller (Acalanes) Sr., Utl. Mike Healey (CP) Sr., Utl Tristan Tool (Miramonte) Sr.

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
LB Ricky Doyle (Cam) Sr., LB Victor Green (Alhambra) Sr., LB Jason Swisher (LL) Jr., LB Mike Healey (CP) Sr., DL Oliver Canbazoglu (Cam) Jr., DL Jordan Atkinson (Alh) Sr., DL Justin Townsend (D) Jr., DL Chad DeLeuze (LL) Sr, DB Mike Vandenberg (Cam) Sr., DB Ron Lewis (Alh) Sr., DB Chase Swallwell (D) Sr., DB Kevin Merlander (LL) Sr.

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
QB Jon Loeliger (LL) Sr., RB Alex Solomon (Cam) Sr., RB Mike Plimmer (D) Jr., RB Alex Argenal (Alh) Sr., RB Zane Blackman (Aca) Sr., WR Chuckie Watts (Mir) Jr., WR Mike Vandenberg (Cam) Sr., TE Jon Gilmore (LL) Sr., C Michael Carey (Mir) Sr., G Sean Kwasnicki (D) Sr., G Phil Schwartz (Alh) Jr., T Mike Rankin (Cam) Sr., T Rob Sullivan (Mir) Jr., PK Greg McAtee (N) Sr., P Richard Zuniga (Concord) Sr., Util. Jimmy Schurr (N) Sr., Utl. Rick Reger (Con) Sr.

SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
LB Tom Martin (Cam) Sr., LB Clayton Goree (Alh) Sr., LB Chris Bohannon (Aca) Jr., LB Matt DeJesus (D) Sr., LB Rick Reger (Con) Sr., DL Gilbert Lauro (Alh) Sr., DL Mike Balesteri (Aca) Jr., DL Jeff Frisk (LL) Sr., DL Brian Anderson (CP) Jr., DB Gavin Beeman (Aca) Jr., DB Jason Palmer (MD) Sr., DB Reed Kelley (Mir) Sr., DB James Yamashita (LL) Sr.