SAN RAMON – The Santa Teresa High School football team methodically marched down the field on a 14-play, 95-yard drive in the second quarter of its game against California on Friday night, with Richard Arechiga’s short touchdown run bringing the Saints to within one score.
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Then junior Jake Hamilton took the ensuing kickoff 80 yards to the house – mostly untouched – to help the Grizzlies restore their two-touchdown lead.
That was the case throughout the game: every time Santa Teresa grabbed momentum, No. 15 California took it back as it posted a fairly convincing 31-14 intersectional win.
Quarterback Nicco Kovacs threw touchdown passes to Hamilton and Darius Brown, and the Grizzlies defense created two turnovers to help end the Saints’ 17-game regular-season winning streak, which began with a 34-28 victory over Branham on Oct. 11, 2024.
“Hats off to (Santa Teresa). They do a tremendous job with their program. They’re well coached. They’re disciplined,” said California coach Danny Calcagno, whose team has won two straight since a season-opening loss to Liberty. “(Creating) turnovers have been big for us this year, and then being able to execute on the other end of it.
“It was a good win for us. Our kids needed it.”
California took control in the second half.
Down 21-7, No. 18 Santa Teresa forced a Grizzlies punt and took over at its own 20-yard line with 5:28 left in the third quarter. But on 3rd and 3, California recovered a Saints fumble on what would have been a first-down reception.
On the next play, Kovacs had time in the pocket before he found Brown open deep down the middle for a 43-yard touchdown for what would become a 21-point lead with 4:21 left in the third quarter.
Often using a run-pass option with a runner in motion on fly sweeps to keep Santa Teresa’s defense off balance, Kovacs completed 11 of 17 passes for 161 yards. His favorite target was Hamilton, who had six catches for 85 yards.
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Kovacs also made a big play on 4th and 12 in the second quarter on the Saints’ 20-yard line, as he eluded a sack, escaped the pocket, and started toward the sideline before he cut back toward the middle. He was downed just short of the goal line, setting up Robert Cardwell’s one-yard touchdown run for a 13-0 lead before the extra point.
Despite the big plays, Calcagno would like his offense and defense to get a little bit crisper before the Grizzlies play on the road against Menlo-Atherton and El Cerrito. Kovacs was also sacked a couple of times, including once by Erick Arevalo.
“Our run game needs to start getting a little bit better because it sets up our pass,” Calcagno said. “But we’re so young up front. We’ve got two sophomores starting, but it was a good win.”
California’s defense often didn’t have an answer for Santa Teresa running back Trey Monroe, who was a workhorse and the Saints’ biggest threat with 178 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries.
Santa Teresa hosts Live Oak next Thursday, and while coach Steve Papin feels his passing game can become more effective, he also admitted, “We’re going to live and die with our run game, and Trey, he’s a man amongst boys sometimes. We’ve got to lean on him the rest of the way.”
“Now we’ve just got to reset. We lost to a good, well-coached, fundamentally sound football team. From top to bottom, that’s going to be the best team we face all year. So now we’ve just got to reset and get back to doing what we do.”
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