This is it, folks. The end of the road. The last hurrah. The grand finale.
In other words, the high school football season is coming to its climactic finish this weekend. Which means the Forecast, at least in the football sense, will crown its first champ on Saturday night.
Since there are only four games this weekend that we really care about, we’re shaking things up a little.
The point values have been bumped up, and we’re picking final point totals to break any ties.
Chace went 4-7 last week for 15 points and gained a point on me. I went 4-7 for 14 points. Curtis was 4-7 for 13 points.
That means Curtis and I have some serious work to do to chase down the Chace-man, who enters the final week with 100 points. I lurk 7-points back at 93 and Curtis lingers at 79. Ben, who failed to forecast last week, has 63 points. Let’s face it, Ben. At this point, it would take a miracle…
On to the picks.
(12) De La Salle over San Leandro — What more do you need? The Spartans have won 13 straight NCS titles, 17 of the past 19 and 20 of the past 27. They still haven’t lost a 4A playoff game since that bracket was created in 1996.
By the way, that gaudy string includes a 4-championship-game winning streak over the Pirates in the early 00s. Frankly, I think that SL team was more talented than this one. My guess? 40-14 DLS.
TIEBREAKER: 54 points.
(9) Las Lomas over Irvington — I have to say the Vikings have earned my respect. I thought they played in a soft league, and weren’t going to be battle-tested enough to make a run.
Shows you what I know.
Still, both of their playoff wins were 1-point squeakers. That has to catch up to them eventually. Now is the time. Las Lomas coach Doug Longero is one of the best around, the Knights offense has started to click, and their defense is about as good as they come. Sweet dreams and flying Vikings in pieces on the ground…  This one gets away from Irvington early and Longero plays keep-away. My guess? 35-14 LL.
TIEBREAKER:  49 points.
(6) Ygnacio Valley over Miramonte — This one is tricky. Both teams are running the living bejeebers out of the ball. Both are playing solid defense. Both do what they do very, very well on both sides. What’s going to give? As much as I like the Matadors’ defense, I don’t know that they’ve seen an offensive unit as physically punishing as the Warriors. I’ve been saying all week that I think this is going to be the most competitive of the championship games. YV in a nailbiter: 28-24.
(3) Salesian over Ferndale — What do I know about Ferndale? Not much. But I do know that the Chieftains are lighting things up offensively with QB David Singleton, WR Andre Wells and RB Jahvid Best, and that’s going to be a tough trifecta to top.
Salesian by two touchdowns: 35-21.