Prep football: Week 6 game preview capsules for all Marin teams

The biggest week in Marin football is upon us as all eight former MCAL teams will square off against each other.

The decision to schedule all the Marin vs. Marin games this week — and on a Thursday no less — came about because the other North Bay counties play sports during Yom Kippur, which Marin does not. A slew of all-Marin games during this week could be a staple of the schedule in the coming years.

The slate is highlighted by Marin Catholic against San Marin under the lights as the top two teams in the county battle for supremacy and to earn an inaugural victory in their new league.

Tam and Redwood — now both in the Redwood Empire Valley League — renew their rivalry with a 4 p.m. game in Larkspur. The rest of the schedule sees Terra Linda head to Novato for a 4 p.m. game and Archie Williams travel for a night game against San Rafael.

Thursday

Terra Linda (3-2, 0-1 Mountain – #81 in NCS) at Novato (4-1, 2-0 Mountain – #69 in NCS) , 4 p.m., Novato

The Trojans head to Novato seeking their first Redwood Empire Mountain win. Terra Linda is coming off a 32-13 loss to Archie Williams which dropped them 15 spots in the NCS rankings. Meanwhile, Novato – which was ranked below TL a week ago – moved up 13 spots following a 22-0 win against Healdsburg. Novato has won the past two meetings against TL – 38-13 in fall 2021 and 14-12 in 2022. The Hornets played a non-league schedule last season, so they didn’t see TL during a campaign in which the Trojans made the leap from 1-9 to a 5-6 record. Novato’s current win streak has been fueled by a defense that has allowed 14 total points across four games. Novato will look to pound TL on the ground with a rushing attack led by John DeMartini (570 yards, 4 TDs). TL prefers an aerial attack, led by QB Joshua Milani (943 yards, 11 TDs), WR Mateo Pattani (359, 5 TDs) and WR Santi Frias (299 yards, 3 TDs). The matchup between TL’s receivers and Novato defensive backs Dom Scafani and CJ Castro could go a long way to deciding who wins this game.

Tam (1-5, 1-1 Valley – #36 in NCS) at Redwood (3-3, 1-1 Valley – #35 in NCS), 4 p.m., Larkspur

The Mt. Tam rivalry has been the most competitive football game in Marin in recent years and, if the MaxPreps.com rankings are to be believed, this edition should be no different. The Red-tailed Hawks had been ranked just in front of the Giants every week this season until this one when Redwood inched one spot above them. Both teams are coming off tough losses against the top teams in the Valley league. Tam lost 38-25 to American Canyon and Redwood lost 34-0 against Casa Grande. The Red-tailed Hawks and Giants have split the four meetings since the pandemic with Redwood winning 22-19 in the spring 2021 campaign then Tam winning 26-23 in the fall meeting that year. Redwood rolled to a 41-14 win in 2022 but Tam got the last laugh with a 35-17 victory on the final week of MCAL play. Tam did a strong job on Redwood RB Sean Cunneen last season, limiting him to 32 rushing yards. Cunneen recently ran for 218 yards against Petaluma. Redwood QB Kody Vasquez posted a 206-yard game in last season’s meeting with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Most of Tam’s top weapons from that game have graduated but WR Timo Ural had five catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. RB Ethan Koo ran for 39 yards.

Tomales (0-5, 0-1 North Central III) at Cornerstone Christian (5-0, 1-0), 4 p.m., Antioch

The Braves are coming off their most competitive defeat of the season, a 27-8 loss to Round Valley on Sept. 27. The task this week figures to be tougher against a Cornerstone Christian squad that was one of the four NCS Division II 8-person playoff teams a year ago. The Cougars have scored in bunches so far this season but have allowed at least two touchdowns in every game. Tomales has scored a total of 38 points this season – a mark Cornerstone Christian has exceeded in three games this year.

Branson (2-1, 0-0 North Central II) at Swett (1-2, 0-0), 4:30 p.m., Crockett

The Bulls open league play with the benefit of a bye week and the knowledge that they have already beaten a team that Swett has lost to this season. Branson took down Priory 40-12 in its season opener on Sept. 7. The Warriors lost 30-24 against Priory on Sept. 27 before securing their first win of the season last week, 34-32 against California School of the Deaf. Branson is averaging 32 points per game with QB Tom Lardner (701 yards, 7 TDs), WR Mo Jacoby (286 yards, 4 TDs), and RB Colin Buxton (230 scrimmage yards, 5 TDs) among the standouts.

Archie Williams (3-3, 1-1 Mountain – #82 in NCS) at San Rafael (3-2, 1-1 Mountain – #58 in NCS), 7 p.m., San Rafael

The Peregrine Falcons return to the scene of Saturday’s win against Terra Linda, looking to take down the Bulldogs this time around. Archie Williams and San Rafael have split four meetings since the pandemic with the Peregrine Falcons winning both games in 2021 – 14-0 and 29-22 – then the Bulldogs taking the past two meetings – 28-17 and 35-21. The Bulldogs trailed 14-0 a year ago before scoring 35 of the next 42 points to become playoff eligible in the process. With both teams sitting on three of the required five wins for playoff eligibility, this game will also go a long way toward fulfilling those postseason aspirations. San Rafael’s first string-quarterback Joe Miller has missed most of the past two games due to injury. Lachlan Royston has completed 29 of 53 passes for 304 yards and two scores since then.

Marin Catholic (3-2, 0-0 Adobe – #6 in NCS) at San Marin (5-0, 0-0 Adobe – #8 in NCS), 7 p.m., San Marin

The two most dominant teams from the last several years of the MCAL begin life in the Redwood Empire Adobe division by picking up exactly where they left off last season – with a huge game against each other. San Marin made history in that game – a 10-6 victory in Kentfield – by handing the Wildcats their first league loss since 2014 and winning the final title of the MCAL era. The only touchdown of that game was a 1-yard pass from QB Dominic Ingrassia to WR Blake Hart to start the scoring. MC kicked a pair of field goals to pull within 7-6 but the Mustangs capped the scoring with a 41-yard field goal by Lars Rau. MC QB Caedon Afsharipour had 166 yards against San Marin but his top target from that game, WR Braiden Bachich-Dixon, hasn’t played since sustaining an injury two weeks ago in a 17-7 win against Edison. Many of the key offensive players from last year’s game have graduated, including Ingrassia (240 yards), Hart (132 yards), and MC RB Charles Williams (66 scrimmage yards). MC did a respectable job of containing San Marin WR Wesley Timmel last year (five catches, 47 yards) and will need to do so again this week.