Football: Spartans Clinch ACCAL Title

Pinole Valley 49, El Cerrito 13

The star: Pinole Valley running back James Lewis rushed for 198 yards and four touchdowns, despite sitting for much of the fourth quarter.

The turning point: With the game tied at 7 late in the second quarter, the Spartans' Nehemiah Watson caught a 33-yard touchdown pass to take the lead going into halftime. El Cerrito never recovered.

The quote: "We didn't want to share the title with anybody. We wanted it just for us," said Pinole Valley running back James Lewis.

What's next?: Pinole Valley plays at Richmond next Friday at 7 p.m. in the regular-season finale.

Bottom line: The Spartans left little doubt as to who the best team in the ACCAL is. They clinched the championship in dominating fashion.

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Some jumped and danced while others yelled and high-fived. And as the Pinole Valley Spartans celebrated Friday night's win over El Cerrito — and the ACCAL championship it clinched — they doused their coach and spilled onto the field, drawing a sideline interference penalty.

For once, this was a flag coach Steve Alameda didn't mind.

"I can live with that one, for sure," Alameda said.

The Spartans played shutdown defense and relied on a dominating running game to roll past the Gauchos, 49-13. By winning the game, Pinole Valley (8-0-1, 5-0 ACCAL) guarantees itself the school's first league championship since 2006. 

Had El Cerrito won, it would have set up a scenario in which the Spartans and Gauchos could have shared the title with Berkeley.

"We didn't want to share the title with anybody," Spartans running back James Lewis said. "We wanted it just for us."

They got their wish largely thanks to Lewis, who led the team with 17 carries for 198 yards and four touchdowns. Many of Lewis' carries were around the edge of the offensive line, and he left plenty of Gauchos' defenders grabbing for air on his way downfield.

"They had eight or nine guys in the box all night, but they were just over-pursuing me," Lewis said. "I was able to cut back for more yards."

Lewis scored his first touchdown on a four-yard run late in the first quarter. After El Cerrito tied the game in the second quarter, the Spartans took the lead with 21 seconds remaining in the first half on a 33-yard pass from Craig Campbell to Nehemiah Watson. 

And in the second half, Pinole Valley began running away with the game, at one point scoring 35 consecutive points.

"I don't think much changed on our part from the first to the second half," Spartans coach Steve Alameda said. "That just was not an optimal effort by El Cerrito."

Lewis scored on a 10-yard run early in the third quarter and then again on an 8-yarder later in that quarter. He capped his night with a 44-yard touchdown scamper — on a fumbled snap, no less — early in the fourth. Pinole Valley's Carvonte Hill then scored on a 6-yard run minutes later, and Christopher Yee ran 17 yards for the final Spartans touchdown midway through the fourth.

For Alameda, it was encouraging to see his team bounce back from a subpar performance against Hercules last week and to realize that after many years in coaching, he can still guide a league champ.

"After all these years," he said, "this shows I've still got it."

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Pinole Valley 49, El Cerrito 13

El Cerrito 0 7 0 6 — 13

Pinole Valley 7 7 14 21 — 49

Scoring summary

3:30, 1st — P: James Lewis 4 run (Maxwell Naterman kick)

5:40, 2nd — E: Rovante Burgin 6 pass from Byron Thomas (kick good)

0:21, 2nd — P: Nehemiah Winston 33 pass from Craig Campbell (Naterman kick)

9:51, 3rd — P: Lewis 10 run (Naterman kick)

3:10, 3rd — P: Lewis 8 run (Naterman kick)

11:48, 4th — P: Lewis 44 run (Naterman kick)

9:33, 4th — P: Carvonte Hill 6 run (Naterman kick)

6:30, 4th — P: Christopher Yee 17 run (Naterman kick)

2:44, 4th — E: Kris Jackson 41 pass from Jorden Webster (try failed)

Individual statistics

Rushing (car-yards): E — James Savage 13-82, Jeremy Crowder 1-1, Webster 4-0, Byron Thomas 5-(-24); P — Hill 13-97, Lewis 17-198, Tay Holley 1-1, Campbell 2-(-1), Yee 1-17.

Passing (comp-att-yards-int): E — Thomas 4-9-30-0, Webster 3-6-66-0; P — Holley 1-2-27-0, Campbell 1-2-33-0.

Receiving (rec-yards): E — Burgin 2-15, Jalen Harvey 2-15, Jackson 3-66; P — Winston 2-60.

Team offense (rush-pass-total)

El Cerrito 59-96-155

Pinole Valley 312-60-372

Fumbles/lost: P — 1/1. E — 3/1.

Records: Pinole Valley 8-0-1 (5-0 ACCAL), El Cerrito 4-5 (3-2).

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East Bay Football Coverage

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Pinole Valley 49, El Cerrito 13 — El Cerrito / Pinole — By Jordan Conn

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