Prep football: Week 1 preview capsules for all Marin teams

The second slate of games kicks off this weekend, highlighted by a rematch of one of the games of last season which saw Redwood score two late touchdowns to stun Rancho Cotate 35-34.

This year the game is in Rohnert Park, one of six games on Friday night. Both San Marin and San Rafael play in the county, with the Mustangs playing their home opener against Foothill of Palo Cedro.

Saturday’s two-game slate is highlighted by Marin Catholic hosting another touch team from the Sac-Joaquin Section in St. Mary’s (Stockton).

Friday

Stuart Hall (0-0) at Tomales (0-1), 6 p.m., Tomales

The Braves began their campaign last week with a 42-16 loss at the hands of Calistoga. The task this week is perhaps even more daunting as the Braves play host to a Stuart Hall program that has made it to the North Coast Section 8-person championship game in each of the past three seasons. The Knights have yet to win one, however, losing to Branson in 2021 and 2022 then falling as the top seed last year against No. 2 South Fork.

Foothill (1-0, #2 in Northern) at San Marin (1-0, #11 in NCS), 7 p.m., San Marin

The Mustangs are coming off a 52-20 road victory against College Park and face a Foothill team that they had similar success against last year, winning 55-28 in Palo Cedro. San Marin’s passing attack was unstoppable in that meeting, with Dominic Ingrassia throwing for 392 yards and five touchdowns. Current starter Daniel Rolovich got his first varsity snaps under center in that game, albeit in mop-up duty, completing 2 of 2 passes for 27 yards. WR Wesley Timmel, now a senior, caught seven passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns last season against the Cougars.

Fremont (0-1, #3 in Oakland) at San Rafael (1-0, #62 in NCS), 7 p.m., San Rafael

The Bulldogs opened the season with a win over Santa Rosa for the third consecutive year and now turn their attention to the Tigers, against whom they have no recent history. Fremont is coming off a 1-9 season last year and were defeated by Rodriguez 53-0 two weeks ago. San Rafael’s win last week was highlighted by a strong performance from RB Josue Munoz (two scores, plus a touchdown-saving tackle on defense), plus solid play from QBs Joe Miller and Lachlan Royston, who split time under center and both directed scoring drives.

Archie Williams (1-0, #80 in NCS) at Encinal (1-0, #95 in NCS), 7 p.m., Alameda

The Peregrine Falcons will look to equal their win total from last season against an Encinal team that has struggled in recent years. The Jets won one game in 2022, two games in 2023, and lost to Redwood 51-0 last season. Encinal defeated Hercules 42-16 last week, getting strong games from QB Geezy-Kyle Reyes (7/9 passing, 149 yards, 2 TDs) and RB Alexander Marston (10 carries, 151 yards, 2 TDs). Marston also caught an 82-yard touchdown pass. Nate Ryan and Jameson Wells were among the offensive standouts for Archie Williams with two touchdowns apiece in a 41-14 win over Kennedy (Richmond) last week.

Redwood (1-0, #42 in NCS) at Rancho Cotate (1-0, #20 in NCS), 7 p.m., Rohnert Park

The Giants will hope to reproduce perhaps their best result of last year — a 35-34 stunner against Rancho Cotate in the second game of the season. Redwood scored the final 14 points of the game, with QB Kody Vasquez finding Sean Cunneen and Carter Bowman for touchdown passes. Vasquez, who threw for 239 yards and four touchdowns, found Bowman for the winner with 14 seconds left. Rancho Cotate opened this campaign with a 40-22 win over Ukiah. As they did last season, the Cougars leaned heavily on the ground game, rushing 25 times for 297 yards and four touchdowns. RB Gio Martinez (181 yards, 2 TDS) and QB Wyatt Gregori (88 yards, 2 TDs) did most of the damage.

Tam (0-1, #23 in NCS) at St. Ignatius (0-1, #6 in CCS), 7 p.m., San Francisco

Both teams are coming off losses to tough opposition with the Red-tailed Hawks losing 51-13 against Bishop O’Dowd (ranked #18 in NCS) and the Wildcats falling 28-10 against San Ramon Valley (ranked #3 in NCS). Tam’s offense looks almost entirely different from last year’s unit with QB Gus Beyer (131 yards, TD), RB Miles Kelsey (75 yards, TD), and WR Timo Ural (53 yards, TD) the standouts last week. St. Ignatius was unable to get anything going on the ground last week, running for just 24 yards. The passing offense managed to put up 193 yards in the loss but accounted for four interceptions.

Saturday

Priory (0-0) at Branson (0-0), 1 p.m., Ross

Branson battled Priory in the second game of the season last year, falling 42-28. The Bulls struggled defensively that game, allowing then-senior QB Hudson Karnes to throw four touchdown passes, despite completing only 45 percent of his throws (9 for 20). RB Sebby Sechi, who returns for his senior season, was the Panthers’ top weapon with 135 rushing yards and a touchdown, plus another 49 yards and two more scores as a receiver. Then-senior RB Jaden Sher was Branson’s top weapon from that contest, as he piled up 99 rushing yards and 118 receiving yards but was held out of the end zone.

St. Mary’s (1-1, #6 in Sac-Joaquin) at Marin Catholic (0-1, #5 in NCS), 2 p.m., Kentfield

The Wildcats struggled in their opening game of the season, falling 26-0 to Inderkum on Saturday. MC faces a similar challenge this week, as the Rams sit just two spots behind Inderkum in MaxPreps.com’s Sac-Joaquin rankings. St. Mary’s starting quarterback Jaden Galvin missed last week’s win against Central Catholic of Modesto due to injury but indicated on X/Twitter that he should be good to go against MC. Kenneth Moore III has been the top all-purpose threat for the Rams so far, rushing for 172 yards and catching passes for 132 with three total touchdowns. MC played well defensively against Inderkum, allowing 180 yards of total offense. Two of Inderkum’s touchdowns came directly off turnovers and another turnover gave Inderkum a short field, which also resulted in a touchdown. Junior RB Kyle Conroy paced MC offensively with 73 rushing yards on 12 carries.

Bye weeks

Terra Linda (1-0); next game: Sept. 14 vs. Skyline (0-0), 7 p.m., at San Rafael High

Novato (0-1), next game: Sept 14 vs. Encinal (1-0), 2 p.m., Novato