Prep Football: Broncos up against another storied program in semifinals; Titans to host Olympian

When Rancho Bernardo captured the San Diego Section Division II football championship in 2015, the Broncos claimed their third CIF title.

This year, they stepped all the way up to the Open Division, where the very best teams in San Diego County play.

That journey to win back-to-back crowns has already been an arduous task that gets even tougher.

Rancho Bernardo opened this year’s playoffs last Friday with a 24-0 victory over Oceanside, last year’s Division I champion, to set up a semifinal match Friday against defending Open Division champion Helix.

“We have respect for a team that’s done what Oceanside has done over the years,’’ Broncos coach Tristan McCoy said. “They are a storied program. So is Helix.’’

To say this year’s title quest is a step up from last year’s run to the Broncos’ third section title is an understatement.

Oceanside has won 15 CIF championships and had reached the semifinals in each of the last 22 seasons.

Helix has won eight CIF championships.

Top-seeded Cathedral Catholic plays in the other semifinal game as the Dons look for their 11th championship.

Rancho Bernardo has now won 20 consecutive games dating back to a 20-17 loss to Westview in Week 6 of the 2015 season.

“The streak is always on our mind,’’ McCoy said. “We enjoy it because we’ve been on the other end of a streak like that.’’

Rancho Bernardo, which won the Division III-A state championship last season, was 1-10 in 2012 and 1-9 in 2013.

“Back then we would have taken a 24-0 win over anybody, much less an Oceanside,’’ McCoy said. “This group of seniors were freshmen during that last one-win season, but they are 42-3 for us.’’

This week, the No. 3 Broncos (11-0) visit the No. 2 Highlanders (9-2) in the first ever meeting between the two teams.

Senior running back Milan Grice has led the Broncos during the five-game absence of quarterback Mark Salazar, who returned from a broken collarbone two games ago.

Grice has 207 carries for 1,418 yards and 18 touchdowns while Salazar has completed 71 percent of his passes for 1,122 yards, 11 TDs and only one interception.

Junior Malcom Ross-Turner leads the team with 32 catches for 634 yards and eight TDs.

Defensively, the Broncos face a team with quick-strike ability both on offense against quarterback Carson Baker, who has passed for 2,180 yards and 18 TDs, and on defense.

Leading the Broncos’ defense are linebacker Ramon Colon (115 tackles) along with linebacker Jackson Murdock (93 tackles), defensive lineman Matt Roehrig (86 tackles), defensive back Kaelan Pestano (80 tackles) and defensive lineman Aric Tateyama (77 tackles).

“At this point, it comes down to execution,’’ McCoy said. “It’s like a baseball team that can’t give a team extra outs by making errors.’’

McCoy is hoping his team’s odd approach will carry them on.

“I’ve had to adjust my philosophy more with this team than any team I’ve ever coached,’’ he said. “I felt like I was swimming upstream all the time. At best, they like to have fun out there.

“An hour before we went onto the field for warmups, the players took the helium balloons the cheerleaders put in the locker room and I could hear them talking funny after inhaling the helium.

“I was a player who had trouble having fun because I was so dialed in all the time.’’

But none of the Broncos is having trouble with all the fun from winning.

Division II

No. 4 Olympian (7-4) at No. 1 Poway (10-1), Friday at 7 p.m.

Last week: Olympian beat Granite Hills 40-26; Poway beat Westview 29-15

Notes: These two will meet for the second time this season. The Titans beat the Eagles 17-10 on on Sept. 9. It was an ugly game that included a combined 10 fumbles, four interceptions and a bunch of penalties. Expect a cleaner game this time around ... The Eagles have won four of their last five while averaging 21 points per game in that span. The running game is Olympian’s strength as it averages over five yards per carry. Senior Noah Lacsina leads the way with 950 yards and five TDs on 160 carries this year. Junior Rashaun Brown has also reached the end zone five times. WR Isaiah Williams is the main target through the air, as he has hauled in 27 balls for 367 yards and six TDs ... Jared Adelman and the Titans rebounded with ease after their first loss of the season. Adelman rushed for 273 yards and four TDs in the win over Westview last week. He will be the key again for the Titans, as they try to reach a section title game for the first time since 2012.

Prediction: Poway 28, Olympian 17

- Michael Bower

Monahan is a freelance writer.