Just once, Del Norte football coach Nick Barnett would like to see his team race out to a big lead.
Games like last week’s 42-35 victory over Oceanside showed the Nighthawks’ tenacity as they trailed 21-0 before getting untracked.
This week is a much bigger challenge, though, as Del Norte travels to Division 1 No. 1-seeded San Marcos, a team it lost to 27-21 two weeks ago in the Palomar League finale.
Both Del Norte and Rancho Bernardo, which travels to No. 2 Carlsbad, have their work cut out for them while No. 4 seeded Poway opens its Division 2 playoff run against No. 5 Point Loma at home.
“Even though we were down 21-0, we felt we could come back because we’ve had to do it before,” said Barnett. “We took the opening kickoff and drove to Oceanside’s 1-yard line where we fumbled it away, so we knew we could move the ball.
“It took us to the last drive to go ahead, but Ryan Remigio went straight up the middle, made a nice move and scored from about 20 yards out. Then we just had to play some defense.”
Del Norte (7-3) was one of only two visiting teams to win first-round games and although Barnett realizes San Marcos (9-1) will be a tough team to beat, he isn’t intimidated.
“We actually had two chances to win that game (two weeks ago), but we couldn’t convert two onside kicks,” said Barnett. “It has taken us a while to build the chemistry we have now after losing 35 freshmen. I don’t think people understand how hard that is, especially with a new quarterback.”
That would be Diesel Taylor, who has put up glittering numbers like completing better than 64 percent of his passes (183 of 286) for 2,369 yards, 20 touchdowns and just five interceptions, two of which were off tips.
His favorite receiver is Anthony Taylor (no relation) who has 53 receptions for 684 yards and six TDs, although Braxton Jones is right behind with 41 receptions for 559 yards and another five six-pointers.
Speedy Remigio keys the running attack with 767 yards on only 102 carries with six touchdowns. The only other Nighthawk over 100 yards is Barnett’s son, Kaden, with 138.
“Our mantra has been, ‘it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,’” Barnett said.
San Marcos’ Kreet Makihele has led the way for the Knights with 2,549 yards passing and 36 TDs, hitting speedy Jace Nix 37 times for 751 yards and 11 scores.
Meanwhile, Rancho Bernardo (9-2) is coming off a harrowing 28-27 victory over Brawley. The Broncos survived an apparent last-second penalty that was eventually waived off.
The only two losses for RB were a quirky 3-0 setback to Torrey Pines before falling to San Marcos, 44-14.
“This is a great opportunity for us,” said coach Eric Weddle. “We’re a lot alike but they have the big guys in the trenches on both sides of the ball. We’ve got a lot on our plate, but I expect a good game.”
Freshman Gaige Weddle, Eric’s son, assumed the quarterbacking duties halfway through the season and is a dual threat rushing and passing the ball. That’s before he moves over to the other side of the ball where he’s a starting safety.
Weddle is 62 of 93 (.667) passing the ball for 961 yards. He has tossed for 12 touchdowns while being intercepted only two times.
He is also the team’s leading rusher with 566 yards and nine touchdowns. When he hands off the ball, it’s usually to either Brayden Kaelin (358 yards) or Dylan Indigo (267).
When Weddle passes, his favorite targets are Jayden Bess (29-412), Hugo Gonzalez (20-353) or freshman Jacob Andrews-Johnson (16-310).
Gavin Valencia leads the defense with 121 tackles, including three sacks and two interceptions.
Balanced Carlsbad is led by QB Eli MacNeal, who has passed for 1,887 yards and 22 TDs, with Connor Hawk accounting for 44 receptions for 692 yards. Jake Morrison has rushed for 798 yards and 10 TDs.
Elsewhere, Poway (3-7) coach Brandon Harris knows Point Loma well after coaching against the Pointers while at Scripps Ranch and Serra (now Canyon Hills).
“They have a certain type of kid, very tough from a close-knit community,” said Harris. “They have a lot of speed and get the ball out quickly. Everybody is using the run-pass option now and they run it well.
“We have a home game and that’s good but personally, I prefer playing on the road because I think the players are less distracted. We had to prepare for either Point Loma or Valley Center but now we’re focused. That’s the nature of the playoffs.”
Poway’s 6-4 senior quarterback Ty Hurst completed 134 of 240 (.558) for 1,832 yards with 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Hurst doesn’t play favorites, spreading the ball around to Colin McCann (30 receptions for 467 yards), Gabe Menck (25-407), Jack Davy (17-248), Jake Asdal (17-200), Will Hawkins (14-204) and Luke Jorgensen (13-144).
Jorgensen leads the rushers with 762 yards on 117 carries, 10 of which have ended up scoring six points.
Sophomore QB Ryder Watson leads Point Loma with 1,354 yards passing. Romeo Carter is the main target with 67 receptions worth 1,038 yards.