To download the entry form, click here: holiday_run_2017_registration_entry_form

By Jesus Cano

In a flash, during the North Coast Section Division 1 semi-final game last Saturday night, Freedom’s Giles Jackson shattered the hearts of many Antioch High football fans and players, especially the seniors, as his seven-yard run in overtime helped seal the ticket for the Falcons to win the game 45-39. They advance to their first ever NCS Division I championship game and will face Brentwood’s Liberty High Lions in their first championship appearance in over 100 years, at Heritage High, Saturday night, Dec. 2.

Many of Antioch’s players had their heads down, with tears running down their eyes which is perfectly normal reaction to have. Especially when some of these players will never be able to play another snap of football in a black and gold uniform.

According to the experts, Antioch was not supposed to get this far. The Panthers were not supposed to receive a number three seed in the NCS playoffs. Let alone, Antioch was not even supposed to win two games.

But they did, and they should be pretty satisfied with this season for shutting all the doubters up.

Najee Harris is a familiar name throughout the entire Bay Area, but Antioch is not a one-player team. They clearly asserted that with their performance.

Offensively, they had Dalaan Green getting a majority of the carries leading the team in rushing with 1,059 yards, followed by athlete Omari Harris backing him up when it came to power drives.

However, Willem Karnthong was the best of both worlds. Not only did he break the record for the most career touchdowns in Antioch history, but he is on pace to break the record for most career touchdowns. Essentially, making him the statistically best quarterback in Antioch’s history. And he has a whole campaign left in him.

He had a plethora of options to throw to, including junior Gaudie Campbell and senior Isaiah Avery.

Defensively, Antioch had one of the most dangerous offensive lines with Garrett Robinson and Timmy Dorsey. In fact, Robinson was robbed out of the Bay Valley Athletic League MVP award. The achievement instead went to Liberty’s Nicky Einess.

The most impressive performance by Antioch was during the Big Little Game against Pittsburg. Yes, they lost 14-12, but they were the team that came closest to beating the BVAL champs. Pitt beat the two teams in the championship game, blanking Liberty 35-0 and besting Freedom 47-32.

The Panthers will come back strong, fierce and hungrier than ever to win next year’s BVAL title. Antioch will have plenty of weapons remaining in their arsenal including junior linebacker and tight and Vinny Ballardo, along with sophomore DeJuan Butler.

By Don Martin II

John and Donna Soares wrapped up their 20th season of promoting at Antioch Speedway with the awards banquet Saturday night, Nov. 18.  Eight champions and “Rookie Of The Year” awards and the Top 10 drivers in all eight divisions were honored.  The Top three drivers also received point fund money, and the champions received two championship jackets sponsored by Hoosier Tire and the track.

Soares went to the podium before the awards were handed out.  He thanked all of the racers for their support and talked a bit about the state of racing.  Soares noted that he feels the track is on the upswing.

“At many places, racing is down. We’re doing okay and the numbers are coming around,” said Soares.

For those keeping track of the history of the track, John and Gladys Soares, the current promoter’s parents, opened the gates and ran the track from 1961-1980.  This means a Soares has promoted the track for 40 of its 57 seasons.

“Dad built this track and I felt I should keep the family name here,” Soares explained.

Art McCarthy made the biggest comeback of the season by making up over 60 points to win the Winged 360 Sprint Car title.  McCarthy won three Main Events en route to his second Antioch championship season.  Marissa Polizzi had a great season in second, and Burt Foland Jr. was third.  Jake Tuttle finished fourth in points and was this year’s top rookie.

Jeff Decker skipped the speech, letting his six wins and his third Antioch Speedway DIRTcar Late Model championship do the talking for him.  The battle for second went down to the wire, and David Newquist edged Shawn DeForest to finish there.  Kimo Oreta finished fifth in the final standings to win”Rookie Of The Year honors.

Bobby Motts Jr. set out to win the A Modified championship in dedication to Steven Cunningham, a family member and fellow racer who died prior to the season.  Motts, who has teamed with Mike Ferry for years, is a past Antioch Speedway Street Stock champion.  One win and four second place finishes helped propel him to the championship.  Sean O’Gara had his best season in second, and Eric Berendsen claimed Rookie Of The Year honors with his third place point season.

Bryan Grier needed his fourth win of the season to wrap up his Wingless Spec Sprint championship.  Grier won a very close battle for the Spec Sprint title three years ago at Watsonville.  He remarked that it is very difficult to win a points race before thanking his crew for their hard work.  Rick Panfili was just two points out of the lead going into the finale, but an opening lap crash ended his race.  Second is sill Panfili’s best season as he has been a part of the Spec Sprints since they were added to Antioch in 1999.  Five-time winner Bob Newberry ended up third.  Abigail Gonderman finished seventh in points and won the Rookie Of The Year award.

Kimo Oreta was already set to drive the Sun Drop Racing Late Model for his rookie season.  When Larry Damitz died before the season, they picked him to pilot Larry’s #15 championship Limited Late Model as well.  Oreta responded by winning four Main Events, finishing second five times and giving the team their eighth division championship between Antioch and Merced.  Oreta thanked the Sun Drop team for letting him drive their cars.  He also recalled how he had switched from racing pavement to dirt and how Damitz was there to help him win his first Hobby Stock championship.

Jim Freethy had a solid season and held off Mark Garner in a close battle for second.  Freethy won three Main Events, while Garner won two.  Garner maintained an impressive double division effort, and he used three wins to finish second in B Modified points.  Chad Hammer finished sixth in Limited Late Model points to win the top rookie award.

K.C. Keller had an amazing B Modified season that saw him only miss the Top 5 once during the year.  He scored four feature wins and won the championship.  Following Garner was Chuck Golden in third.  Two-time winner Todd Gomez was seventh in the standings and won Rookie Of The Year honors.

Another of the close battles took place in Hobby Stocks.  It was a four-car battle for much of the season before Chris Sorensen and Chris Long faded.  Cameron Swank had two wins late in the season after he had four seconds.  This resulted in him winning the championship. Rookie Of The Year Brent Curran won two races.  Though he had four of his five second place finishes in the last four races, Curran settled for second in points ahead of fellow rookie Chris Bennett.

Mike Corsaro won his first Dwarf Car championship on the strength of three wins.  He was quick to thank long time Dwarf Car racer Charlie Correia for getting him involved in the sport and all of his support.  Devan Kammermann was the top rookie and second in points after a close battle with David Michael Rosa.

Soares is already at work planning the 2018 season.  For more information visit www.antiochspeedway.com.

 

Panthers play Dublin Saturday, Nov. 18; Deer Valley makes first round of playoffs, but falls to Amador Valley

By Jesus Cano

PITTSBURG, CALIF. – Donovan Crosse’s interception with three minutes remaining secured the Bay Valley Athletic League title for Pittsburg. The host Pirates narrowly escaped the 99th Big Little Game with a 14-12 win over Antioch.

The teams scored equal touchdowns. However, the difference was two missed extra-point attempts by the Panthers.

“After missing the first kick we had to go for two,” Antioch head coach John Lucido said. “I’m never satisfied with losing but these guys rose to the challenge.”

This victory ended a two-year title drought for Pittsburg – the longest under head coach Vic Galli’s 16-year tenure.

Quarterback Justin Boyd is in his first year at the varsity level but is no stranger to big games, having played against juggernaut teams such as Serra and Centennial. The Pittsburg junior threw for 147-yard and two passing touchdowns.

“We should have won by more,” Boyd said. “I’m confident in my boys. They’re a good team, but we made a lot of mistakes.”

Boyd completed his first touchdown to his cousin A’Jae Boyd on a 74-yard catch-and-run in the second quarter. He then connected with Willie Harts III for a 66-yard go-head score in the third quarter.

Harts also believes his team should have won by more than two points. He said that if this game was played again, it would be contrasting.

“The result would be totally different,” Harts said. “We’ll be more prepared and take it more serious.”

Antioch was three points away from giving Liberty its first league championship in since 1985. Since the Lions defeated Freedom 37-35 yesterday, the Pirates needed to win in order to claim the BVAL title.

The Panthers scored on their first drive of the game after a series of Willem Karnthong keepers. The junior quarterback finished it off with a 41-yard soaring pass to Gaudie Campbell. As soon as Campbell’s feet touched the surface of the end zone, the entire home side of Pirate Stadium was on mute. Meanwhile, the visiting side erupted.

Antioch extended its lead later in the first quarter on a Dalaan Green six-yard rush after Karnthong set him up with a 28-yard pass to Campbell.

Despite Pittsburg winning the 99th Big Little Game and BVAL title, Galli was not satisfied with his team’s win. However, he acknowledged Antioch’s level of competitiveness.

“That team played their a** off tonight and they brought it to us,” Galli said. “Our offense owes our defense a lot.”

To watch a recap of the game, on MaxPreps, click here.

Antioch Blanks Irvington

In the first round of the North Coast Section (NCS)/Les Schwab Tires Division 1 championship on the evening of Veterans Day, Saturday, Nov. 11 the 3rd seed Antioch Panthers beat the 14th seed Irvington High Vikings of Fremont 38-0. Antioch was up 35-0 at half-time. The win gives Antioch a 7-3 record for the season.

Wolverines Fall to Amador Valley

In their first round of the NCS playoffs, the 7th seed Amador Valley Dons were too much for the 10th seed Deer Valley Wolverines beating them 26-13.

Panthers Face Dublin Saturday Night

Antioch moves on to the second round of post-season play when they face the 11th seed Dublin Gaels Saturday night, Nov. 18 at 7:00 p.m. in Dublin.

Good luck, Panthers!

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

By Jesus Cano

Antioch’s 20 unanswered points paved the way them to keep the city of Antioch Mayor’s Cup for the fifth year in a row in their 23-14 victory.

“A lot of these guys played with me as sophomores, so they never lost against Deer Valley,” Antioch head coach John Lucido said. “Our focus was to get those seniors that trophy, and keep it at Antioch.”

Deer Valley struck early in the game on just three plays in their first drive, where Patrick Robinson ended the play by scoring on a five yard touchdown run.

After that, the Antioch offense answered back just three minutes later. In similar fashion, Dalaan Green rushed into the end zone from three yards out to tie the game. The Panther’s took a gamble right after by attempting the two point conversion after and were successful. Antioch lead 8-7 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Deer Valley was in business inside the red zone, but fumbled just seven yards out, handing the ball over to Antioch in the process. Green ran 40 yards for the Panther’s and his quarterback Willem Karnthong simply rushed in for touchdown to extend their lead 14-7.

Karnthong also added another touchdown to his name, a much shorter two yard keeper. Karnthong ended the night with 72 passing yards and 42 rushing yards.

“We stuck with the game plan and came out with a W,” Karnthong said. “My line played great, they helped open it up for us.”

His teammate Green ended the night with 131 rushing yards. He also attributes his success to the offensive line.

A lot was on the line for Deer Valley, and they did not give up. In a blink of an eye, Jason Johnson took off to the house for a long 48 yard run into Antioch’s yellow end zone.

Omar Curiel added an insurance field goal from 25 yards out to advance Antioch to a 23-14 lead, which ended up being the final score.

This mark’s Deer Valley’s 18th straight league loss since 2014, which was head coach’s Robert Hubbard’s debut season.

“You can make a million excuse but at the end of the game they won the game,” Hubbard said. “We’ve been playing tough against every team but can’t pull off a victory.”

After the game Mayor Sean Wright presented the Mayor’s Cup trophy to the Antioch Panthers.

By Allen Payton

According to a post by Principal Louie Rocha on the Antioch High School Facebook page, this week’s Junior Varsity football game against cross-town rival Deer Valley High has been cancelled due sexual assault and bullying by some of the players.

The Thursday morning post reads: “A message from Principal Louie Rocha of Antioch High School: Please note that due to the misconduct of several members of the Antioch High JV football team, the game vs. Deer Valley for this Thursday has been canceled. Antioch High does not condone or tolerate any level of sexual assault and bullying. Any students involved in this type of unacceptable behavior will be held accountable. At our school, we take pride in offering and exposing our students to educational and awareness programs on these topics. For example, we recently hosted the Consent is Everything assembly for all our male students. Antioch Police Det. Brian Rose and motivational speaker and former NFL player Anthony Trucks spoke about the seriousness of sexual assault awareness, making good choices and respecting all. Thank you for your support of Antioch High School.”

In a comment posted on Facebook early Thursday morning, Melissa Waren, a parent of a female Antioch High student who was one of the victims of the harassment and bullying, wrote:

So in case you didn’t know what standards we hold our Antioch Football JV team to, I’m going to let you guys know. Many of the members, not all, have participated in harassing five of the students. One of them being my daughter and her good childhood friend. They threatened to beat up one of the girls, who I will not name, if she came near them. This is after school hours and this is the only way she walks home. She went and got her other friends to walk her to the gate to feel more comfortable. As they walked her to the gate the guys were constantly insulting and harassing the girl with inappropriate profanities, name calling and more. One of the girls walked up to them and POLITELY asked one of the guys to leave her alone to which he responded with by harassing her about her sexuality. He also told her to “hit me so I can drag your a** and beat the f*** out of you.” He also said to another girl “ I’ll drag your white a**”. And to another “ you look like you would be a b**** to press charges.” Another guy physically pulled his pants down and rubbed his bare bottom on this girl. There were also many other things that were said and done to which I won’t mention. Again, this is not the whole football team’s doing, but MANY of them were there +3 randoms. Apparently, they were suspended and their game is cancelled. I’m sorry but I think this needs more attention. And til this very moment some of the girls are still getting messages from people about how wrong it was for them to have gotten suspended and a game taken away. They don’t call it a team for nothing! We should not tolerate this!!! I will not tolerate this and will be paying Antioch High school a visit tomorrow morning.

When reached for comment, Waren said, “I went to the school, today to meet Principal Rocha. I guess I was one of the only parents he hadn’t contacted. He said he had been contacting parents of the students that were involved, yesterday. These students have been suspended. The game has been cancelled. He said that kind of conduct is not acceptable at Antioch High and that the students were being reprimanded. Their parents have come in. They may or may not be able to play their very last game against Pitt.”

“I brought my daughter in and her friend, who the problem had originated with, and Louie thanked them for taking a stand and saying, hey this is what’s going on, that it took some courage and he was proud of them,” she continued. “We spoke for a good hour.”

“They had already had an assembly with the boys and spoke about sexual harassment and the code of conduct, just last week, and this happened,” Waren added. “It was ninth and tenth grades. I think the 11 and 12th grades will have one this week.”

Please check back later for any updates to this story.