Football: Campolindo Thrashes Rival Miramonte With Another Offensive Explosion

Campolindo 42, Miramonte 6

The Stars: Campolindo quarterback Brett Stephens was incredible again, as he hooked up with seven different Cougar receivers en route to gashing the Mat’s defense for 271 yards and four touchdowns. He connected on two fade routes to Griffin Piatt for touchdowns and found Karl Thornton, who led the team with four catches for 70 yards, for another score. Piatt’s breakout campaign continued Friday, as he tacked on two key first half interceptions to go along with his receiving touchdowns.

The Turning Point: Campo turned the tables on Miramonte in the second quarter, after a defense struggle in the first, which left both teams tied at 0. Stephens found his favorite red-zone target Piatt in the end zone for two fade routes of 17 and 20-yards and hard churning runner Reiner Ebarle found pay dirt to put the Cougars up 21-0 at halftime.

The Quote: "You could just see the excitement on their faces. If you know this community, what this rivalry means to the kids and their families. It’s a year round thing. This is a lifetime treasure for them." — Campolindo coach Kevin Macy.

What's Next? Miramonte hosts Dublin Nov. 4 at 7. Campo will head on the road to face Alhambra Oct. 28 at 7.

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Moraga Road may never be mistaken for Bourbon Street, but Friday night the Cougar faithful were singing, dancing and rejoicing like it was Mardi Gras, basking in a 42-6 victory over their bitter cross-town rival Miramonte. 

The Cougars took sole possession of first place in the Diablo Foothill Athletic League and extended their perfect season with their eighth consecutive victory.

“Wow! This was unbelievable. The crowd was out of control. Just a dream come true,” exclaimed Campo quarterback Brett Stephens. “Miramonte is still a great team and will go to the playoffs and do some things. I am just overwhelmed by how well we played and how many weapons we have on offense. It feels good to be a Cougar.”

In a match-up where both teams entered with identical, 7-0 records, the last thing anyone expected was a 36-point blowout, especially not in favor of the Cougars who have struggled in recent years with the Matadors.

Stephens is leading one of the Bay Areas most explosive passing attacks, which has accounted for 126 points over the last three contests. The defense has been equally stellar, shutting down Brown bound quarterback Ross Anderson and holding their last three opponents to a combined 26 points (+100 for those keeping track at home).

“This is the best feeling ever. We have been preparing for this game our whole lives,” said safety and wide receiver Griffin Piatt. “Every year with Miramonte and Campo someone storms the field. I am just glad it was our fans this year.” 

The Cougars took advantage of Piatt’s rare combination of size and speed finding him twice on beautifully thrown touchdown passes directly over his shoulder.

He also patrolled the middle of the field at safety, intercepting a pair of Ross Anderson passes. Piatt led a secondary that picked off five passes and only allowed a single garbage time touchdown in the fourth quarter, already leading by 42. 

“The unsung guy for us all year long has been Griffin Piatt. Last year we played physical with Miramonte but they just tore us up through the air,” remarked Campo coach Kevin Macy. “Just having Piatt in the secondary, he is so smart and he covers for so many people.” 

Macy added that the Cougars came out of summer workouts just trying to put a team together, knowing that they would not have many players. The Cougars cannot afford an injury and to this point have avoided any major setback.

Stephens described Anderson as the DFAL’s best player a week earlier, but got the better of his quarterback companion on this night.  He threw for over 270 yards and four scores to go with one interception, while Anderson never looked comfortable, tossing four picks and only a single touchdown.

“Brett was just threading the needle out there,” said Macy. “He is just so pure and smooth.”

Stephens line again held-up against a vaunted Mat’s pass rush and gave their quarterback enough time to find his playmakers down the field. The offense used early seem and slant routes to setup late fade and post patterns and the Cougars never let the Miramonte defense catch-up. 

Miramonte could not shake the turnover bug. The Mats turned the ball over seven times with five interceptions and two fumbles on kick-offs.

Reiner Ebarle led the Cougars with 88 yards on 13 rushing attempts and also recorded a pair of touchdowns. He continues to make positive yardage after the first defensive contact and made several defenders miss on his 36 yard touchdown scamper.

Notes: The future is bright for the Cougars as Campolindo’s freshman, junior varsity and varsity completed their season sweep of Miramonte.

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Campolindo 42, Miramonte 6

Miramonte           0   0    0    6  — 6

Campolindo         0   21  21  0  — 42

Scoring summary
9:40, 2nd: C — Piatt 17 pass Stephens (Antezana kick)

3:59, 2nd: C — Ebarle 19 run (Antezana kick)

1:40, 2nd: C — Piatt 20 pass Stephens (Antezana kick)

10:30, 3rd: C— Thornton 20 pass Stephens (Antezana kick)

7:07, 3rd: C — Ebarle 36 run (Antezana kick)

4:01, 3rd:  C — Graziano 62 pass Stephens (Antezana kick)

11:55, 4th: M — Williams 9 pass Anderson (kick blocked)

Records: Miramonte 7-1 (3-1). Campolindo 8-0 (4-0).

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