Patterson, Placer play for perfection, semifinal berth

The forecast on Friday calls for sunshine and unseasonably warm temperatures on the West Side, but Patterson football coach Rob Cozart can sense a storm is coming.

Two teams on historic rides will collide at Patterson Community Stadium in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs.

The fourth-seeded Tigers are 11-0 for the first time in school history, with a chance to make their first semifinal appearance since 2010. That year, Patterson was knocked out by Del Oro, the eventual D-III champion.

“It’s crazy how it’s a cycle; how it keeps repeating itself,” Cozart said. “It’s a new cast of characters, but they’ve all got some kind of connection to the 2010 team.

“One of our coaches made the comment the other day, ‘These guys don’t know how to lose.’ Think about it: (junior quarterback) Kevin Todd is 29-1 during his junior varsity and varsity years. The juniors didn’t lose at all last year.”

On Friday, perfection is promised to only one.

Placer is also 11-0 under ninth-year coach Joey Montoya, who has turned the Hillmen into a section juggernaut.

Placer boasts a major Division I recruit in offensive lineman Jacob Capra, who committed to Oregon, along with two 1,000-yard running backs. Jared Halbert is the workhorse, totaling 1,028 yards on a team-high 130 carries, while Owen Scott gashes defense. He has 1,208 yards on just 84 touches.

“The big, green machine,” Cozart said before the start of Thursday’s walkthrough. “Montoya has it going on in terms of the Wing-T and the run game, and mixing in play-action at the right time.”

Patterson is no stranger to the Wing-T, which relies on deception and fakes. The Tigers ran away from Escalon in their season opener, and then dusted Ripon and Central Valley en route to the Western Athletic Conference championship.

Cozart said all of that exposure will be for naught if the Tigers can’t match Placer’s pace.

“Oakdale and Placer take it to another level. They’re completely happy playing a game that is 50-30 or 60-35. The points won’t be that big a deal on offense, because they want to score,” Cozart said. “Anybody that can be that super-explosive, those teams are going to drive me nuts.”

Case in point: Yuba City, a dangerous No. 13 seed with a misleading record.

“They feel like they passed the test with Yuba City,” Cozart said. “They knew they weren’t a 4-6 team based upon their schedule. We didn’t take those guys lightly at all.”

The Tigers recovered seven fumbles during last week’s 73-42 victory over the Honkers. The turnovers, some of which were unforced bobbles and spills, were the saving grace.

Those opportunities will be few and far between on Friday.

“You have to do everything possible to be disciplined on defense, tackle well and try to get a turnover here and there. If the ball falls on the ground, you have to jump on top of it and take advantage,” Cozart said. “In a game like this, in a game this critical and this big, you can’t afford to have just one fumble.”

The Tigers will punch back with a multifaceted offense. Todd sits at the controls of the triple-option spread offense, feeding Michael Lawson, Jamal Broussard, Pierre Williams and a host of other playmakers.

Normally, 70-and-sunny would favor the host Tigers on Patterson’s fast turf, but Cozart knows a storm will follow Placer down the hill.

“They’re good. Either one of us could have been the No. 4 seed,” Cozart said. “This is probably that game the section is looking at like, ‘Well, let’s just let it play out.’ ”

This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 7:32 PM with the headline "Patterson, Placer play for perfection, semifinal berth."