Metro Area to be well represented in state finals

For years, we’ve been seeing a shift in power away from the Bay Area, heading East toward Sacramento and the Sac-Joaquin Section.

Once again, Metro schools proved that our eyesight is blurred.

For the second year in a row, eight Metro teams will be playing for CIF state-bowl titles, compared with two from the Sac-Joaquin Section and one from the Northern Section.

Granted, there are four sections in the Bay Area, including one-leaguers in Oakland and San Francisco that both have a team still playing: McClymonds-Oakland and Galileo, respectively.

•The Central Coast Section had a banner regional, going 4-1. The lone defeat was Salinas’ 43-42 loss to Placer-Auburn on a missed extra-point try in overtime. Host Salinas squandered leads of 21-0 and 27-7. Milpitas, Serra, St. Francis and Half Moon Bay all rolled to victories, combining to score 184 points (46 point average).

That total was inflated by Serra’s remarkable 76-43 win over previously unbeaten Tulare Union. The Padres broke the school record of 69, set against Riordan in 2001.

•The North Coast Section went 2-3 — wins by Pittsburg and Fortuna — but also advanced a third team. De La Salle-Concord previously had been selected to play in the Open Division final Saturday night at Sacramento State against Mater Dei-Santa Ana, the national consensus No. 1.

•Mater Dei (14-0), led by the highest-rated junior QB in the country, USC commit JT Daniels (11,781 career passing yards, 149 touchdowns, 14 interceptions), has called this its season of unfinished business.

The Monarchs beat preseason No. 1 Bishop Gorman-Las Vegas 35-21 to end the Gaels’ 55-game winning streak. The Monarchs twice defeated national No. 5 St. John Bosco-Bellflower — which eliminated Mater Dei last year — en route to their first Southern Section title since 1999.

They now have their sights locked on De La Salle, which beat Mater Dei four straight times starting in the late 1990s, including 42-0 in 1999. Mater Dei is led by head coach Bruce Rollinson, whose career record is 286-83.

•Four of the five championship games at Sacramento State feature Metro squads. One of those teams is Serra, which lost 42-40 to Sierra Canyon-Chatsworth in last season’s D2-A title game.

The Padres will play Cajon-San Bernardino (14-1), which routed Rancho Verde-Moreno Valley 70-23 in its regional final. Cajon benefited from six first-half turnovers and seven overall by Rancho Verde.

A week after facing Tulare Union tailback Kazmeir Allen, a UCLA-bound senior who broke a national season record for touchdowns (72), Serra will face dual-threat junior quarterback Jayden Daniels (6-foot-3, 175 pounds), who has accounted for more than 6,000 yards (4,795 passing) and 75 touchdowns (61 passing). He accounted for a relatively pedestrian — for him — 290 yards and three TDs on Friday.

•Galileo coach Mark Huynh was proud that his team was able to leave the “normal boundaries,” of San Francisco and travel 62 miles east to Rio Vista to win a tough 20-14 regional.

Now the Lions really get to be adventurous, drawing the 600-mile trip to Calexico — 120 miles east of San Diego, about 60 miles west of Yuma (Ariz.) — to face Vincent Memorial (12-2), which has outscored foes 618-235. “We wanted a road trip,” Huynh said. “We got it. We’re excited.”

•All the Northern California champions not in the top five divisions playing at Sacramento State must travel to Southern California foes. Other distances being traveled by local teams: McClymonds (216 miles), Half Moon Bay (505) and Milpitas (556).

•With his 228-yard, two-touchdown effort in Saturday’s 28-23 win over Manteca, St. Francis junior running back Darrell Page broke the school record for rushing yards in a season with 2,206. The previous record was 2,007 set by Charles Tharp in 1996.

Considering the history of St. Francis — it has 16 CCS titles — Page’s mark is significant. It’s surprising, however, that the quick and powerful 5-10, 185-pounder doesn’t have a college offer yet.

•This is the second straight year that two West Catholic Athletic League teams will play for a state title. Serra and Valley Christian each lost title games at Sacramento State last season.

State championships schedule

Open Division

Mater Dei-Santa Ana (14-0) vs. De La Salle-Concord (11-1) at Sacramento State, 8 p.m. Saturday

Division 1-AA

Folsom (15-0) vs. Helix-La Mesa (13-1) at Sacramento State, 8 p.m. Friday

Division 1-A

Pittsburg (9-2) vs. Narbonne-Harbor City (11-3) at Sacramento State, 4 p.m. Saturday

Division 2-AA

Serra (12-2) vs. Cajon-San Bernardino (14-1) at Sacramento State, 4 p.m. Friday

Division 2-A

St. Francis (10-4) vs. Grace Brethren-Simi Valley (13-2) at Sacramento State, noon Saturday

Division 3-AA

Shasta-Redding (12-1) vs. Bishop Diego-Santa Barbara (14-1) at Cal Lutheran, 6 p.m. Saturday

Division 3-A

Half Moon Bay (14-0) at Steele Canyon-Spring Valley (11-4), 6 p.m. Saturday

Division 4-AA

Placer-Auburn (13-1) at Crenshaw-Los Angeles (11-3), 6 p.m. Saturday

Division 4-A

Milpitas (13-1) at Southwest-El Centro (14-0), 6 p.m. Saturday

Division 5-AA

McClymonds-Oakland (13-0) vs. Golden West-Visalia (12-2) at Visalia Community Stadium, 6 p.m. Saturday

Division 5-A

Fortuna (13-2) vs. Katella-Anaheim (14-1) at Glover Stadium-Anaheim, 6 p.m. Saturday

Division 6-AA

Strathmore (15-0) vs. Orange (13-2) at El Modena HS, 6 p.m. Saturday

Division 6-A

Galileo (10-2) vs. Vincent Memorial-Calexico (12-2) at Calexico HS, 6 p.m. Saturday