California High School took care of business Friday night, advancing to the North Coast Section Division I semifinals after beating Foothill High, 36-6.
Second ranked Cal High was dominant on defense, suffocating seventh seeded Foothill’s running game and forcing three turnovers — two fumbles and an interception by Peter Farina after Foothill had advanced the ball inside the Grizzlies’ 30-yard-line.
Cal’s offensive line handled the trenches, providing big holes for running backs to dash and slice through the Falcon defense. Cal’s running backs scored three touchdowns — all by different players.
Cal junior quarterback added the other two touchdowns. One was a strike to senior Sohail Tooski, on the Grizzlies’ first drive of the game. The other was a long pass in the third quarter to receiver Blake Guardino, which gave California 33 unanswered points.
The Falcon’s offense wasn’t able to get anything going on the ground or the passing game against the stout Grizzlies defense. Foothill ended the game with six "three and outs." The Falcons' one bright spot was an amazing play by senior tight end Ray Hudson.
With a little more than one minute left in the third quarter and Foothill at the 35-yard-line, Hudson caught a short pass, bulldozed his way passed two Grizzlies defenders and sprinted alongside the sideline for his team’s only score of the night.
The Grizzlies have been able to run the ball on every team they faced all year, with the exception of De La Salle High.
“Our game plan was the same we’ve had all year,” said Billeci. “We established the run and threw play action passes off it.”
Cal High is now 9-2 on the season. Foothill finishes at 6-6.
Cal will play the winner of the Logan High School (10-1) and Freedom High School (9-2) game Saturday night.
