By Matt Schwab
Bay Area News Group
SACRAMENTO ? The St. Ignatius High football team, the surprise story of the Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs, ran into a Granite Bay ambush Friday night.
The overpowering Grizzlies routed the Wildcats 45-17 on a chilly evening at Sacramento State in the first California Interscholastic Federation Division I Northern Regional championship game.
Granite Bay (12-3), riding an 11-game win streak, advances to the Division I state championship game next weekend against Long Beach Poly or Clovis North at The Home Depot Center in Carson.
The Grizzlies' elusive John Cooley ran for 206 yards and four touchdowns, upping his season totals to 1,547 yards and 17 scores.
Granite Bay ran its vaunted fly offense efficiently. The lopsided game ended with a running clock for much of the fourth quarter.
St. Ignatius, the sixth seed in the CCS playoffs, stunned No. 1 Bellarmine Prep 13-10 in overtime in the section title game, after wins over Palma and Archbishop Mitty in the first two rounds.
But Granite Bay, the Sac-Joaquin Section champion that earned its first berth into the state finals, needed just three quarters to open up a 45-10 lead.
St. Ignatius has eight Marin players on the team, led by Mill Valley's Joe Lang, who is second on the team in receptions. The other players are linemen August Peters (Kentfield), Blaise Ducharme (Novato)
and Will Cook (San Geronimo) along with tight end Nik Bell (Mill Valley). On defense, Dennis MacInnis (defensive back, Novato) and Jack Student (linebacker, Tiburon) and Henry Buckingham (DB, Ross) are also from the county.Cooley scored three touchdowns in the first half, running for 112 yards on 14 carries in the first two quarters.
The Grizzlies struck with breakneck speed early on, needing just 1 minute, 33 seconds to score a touchdown on its first series and 2:29 on its second.
St. Ignatius, led by quarterback Jack Stinn's two touchdown passes, showed signs of life in the first quarter with a 14-play drive capped by a 31-yard field goal by Michael Capitolo.
But Granite Bay responded with 10 unanswered points to close out the half. Colin Brown nailed a 43-yard field goal to up the lead to 17-3. After St. Ignatius shanked a punt in the second quarter, Granite Bay needed four plays to march 42 yards and up the lead to 24-3. Cooley's 3-yard touchdown run came one play after quarterback Grant Caraway's 29-yard completion to Tony Ellison.
The Grizzlies outgained the Wildcats 258-68 in the half and 431-226 overall, including 309 yards on the ground. Granite Bay limited the Wildcats to one first down in the second quarter.
St. Ignatius was the only team from the CCS to receive a regional berth, which were only open to section champions.
Granite Bay has been surging ever since opening the season with three losses in its first four games. The Grizzlies beat Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills 35-23 for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I title.
Granite Bay coach Ernie Cooper coached previously in the CCS at Aptos (1989-95).
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