Pirates Against Pirates San Leandro Meets Pittsburg in 1st Round of NCS Playoffs By: Katie Sowell Photos by Bob Kaehms

He  described Pittsburg as, "big, fast, and athletic." In his belief, the key to  winning the football game would be to keep containment on Pittsburg's top two  players, Steve Simonton and Braxton Duffey. Simonton led the BVAL with 1,061  yards on 129 carries for a total of 13 touchdowns. The quick running back was  still recovering from a sprained ankle. Duffey, the pirates' athletic  quarterback, had completed 66 of 134 attempts this year. His totals were  1,163 yards for 13 touchdowns. Another Pittsburg player San Leandro needed to  watch out for is receiver Justin Amaral who had caught 23 passes for 556  yards and 8 touchdowns this season.

Critics of San Leandro said that the east bay pirates had their work cut  out for themselves. The team had been averaging 45.8 points per game in the  season until they suffered some slight setbacks in the last two games of the  regular season. The pirates defeated Castro Valley by the slim margin of  28-14 and beat the Arroyo dons 41-27. While these are not scores to scuff at, they are defiantly not San Leandro's trademark shutouts. 

The Pittsburg pirates needed to keep an eye on running back Tau Faumuina,  who had 1,027 yards on 117 carries for 19 touchdowns. Fellow running back  Jarrad Page had a standout game last week against Arroyo, going 196 yards on  16 carries for 2 touchdowns. As always, Pittsburg needed to look out for  junior quarterback Dennis Dixon throwing into the capable hands of receiver  Sam Cheatham. 

However, San Leandro's numerous star athletes were just too much for  visiting Pittsburg to handle in the first round of the 4A NCS playoffs, with  San Leandro blowing by with a 41-0 shutout. The SL pirates looked in top form  as they rushed 153 yards and passed 223 yards for a total yardage of 376.  While the offense was pushing up the scores, the defense was making sure  Pittsburg couldn't get near the end zone. The defense held Pittsburg to 154  total yards and forced five turnovers. This was the 5th shutout for the San  Leandro defense in only ten games. 

Ahead 7-0 in the first quarter, the defense stepped up its game after the  team's lone turnover. With Pittsburg on San Leandro's 20-yard line, the  defense forced Steve Simonton to a loss of three on the first down and no  gain on the second. Quarterback Braxton Duffey threw an incompletion on the  third down. On the fourth down, the pirates tried a trick play with backup  quarterback Vince Seeno throwing to the end zone. While it looked like  Pittsburg might get its first TD, Jarrad Page leaped up and blocked the pass. 

The offense took over on downs and drove for 74 yards on 7 plays. Jarrad  Page had a 33 yard run, then senior Tau Faumuina took the ball in from the 2  yard line, making the score 14-0.  Junior Sam Cheatham had a big game, catching 5 passes for 136 yards and three  touchdowns. He was responsible for Pittsburg's most galling turnover, when in  the third quarter Cheatham intercepted a pass intended for Justin Amaral and  ran for 40 yards to San Leandro's 45. That set up his last touchdown. 

Dennis Dixon also had a good game. He completed 11 of 14 passes for 223 yards  and four touchdown passes. Faumuina scored two touchdowns and ran for a  team-high 56 yards on 14 carries.  Pittsburg quarterback Duffey had a rough game, trying to make some big plays  amid a mass of San Leandro blue. He completed 6 of 25 for 56 yards. He also  threw three interceptions. Steve Simonton rushed for a game-high 95 yards on  17 carries. 

The San Leandro pirates will face Foothill in the NCS semi-finals next Friday  night at Burrell field. Pittsburg closed out the season with 5 wins and 6 losses.