SANTA ROSA, Calif. – It certainly was not the best performance for host Cardinal Newman so far this season, but despite the mistakes, miscues, and penalties the Cardinals still got it done, and they did in impressive fashion against the top team from the CIF Northern Section.

After all was said and done, Cardinal Newman (5-0) overcame an early 7-0 deficit, stayed unbeaten and celebrated being placed in the Cal-Hi Sports TOP 50 state rankings at No. 49, and as the only team from the Redwood Empire portion of the CIF North Coast Section to crack the rankings, with a 37-10 victory over a very solid Pleasant Grove-Chico. 

Besides making the TOP 50 the Cardinals also moved up a spot to No. 5 in the Cal-Hi Sports Medium Schools state rankings.

Quarterback Tino "LT" Retamoza, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound freshman making his second start, had a tougher time against Pleasant Valley than he did against Bishop O'Dowd in a 56-0 rout last week, but despite a couple of gaffes and dropped passes he still finished 10-of-21 for 181 yards passing with one TD, and he rushed for 16 yards.

One must remember that Retamoza is still a freshman in only his second start and by and large he played well despite not having great numbers. 

"There were a couple of dropped passes and a couple of mistakes by our quarterback understanding where to go with the ball, but he managed the game well and I'm proud of him," remarked Cardinal Newman head coach Richard Sanchez. "When you can make mistakes on offense and still be productive, the learning experience is always a positive."

While Retamoza got the job done as the signal caller the real power on offense came from a Cardinals offense that scored four TDs with its ground game. The other difference maker was a Cardinal Newman defense that played through 90-yards of penalties the offense and defense committed and pretty much held the Pleasant Valley offense in check all night.

Primary running back Jamari Gentry, a 5-foot-11, 172-pound senior, started a bit slow, but he still finished with 104 yards rushing on 14 carries with one TD and he caught three passes for 53 yards. 

While Gentry had his usual day at the office, it was solidly-built 5-foot-11, 206-pound senior Zacharia Raia, who got some reps against Vacaville two weeks ago and scored a TD, but only had 16 carries all season, that got 10 carries and bulled his way to 54 yards rushing with two touchdowns. 

"I came in here and I was ready to get carries, and I didn't know if I was going to, but I was going to help out the team no matter what," said Raia, who also saw time at linebacker. "If it was carrying the ball or getting tackles, I was prepared for whatever the coaches asked me to do to contribute."

Cardinal Newman won the opening toss and deferred. After 6-foot-2, 247-pound senior defensive end Jimmy McKenzie got a sack to force a three-and-out on the first series for Pleasant Valley, the Cardinals got the ball at the Vikings 21-yard line after a shanked punt only went 11 yards, and it looked like Newman was in business. 

Unfortunately for the Cardinals faithful a 10-yard penalty on the first play of the drive ended up leaving Newman trying a 36-yard field goal by senior kicker Patrick Gardner that sailed wide left. 

Pleasant Valley got the ball back and after two plays gained no yards Newman went offside and left the visitors with a third-and-five on their own 25. It looked like McKenzie and senior 6-foot-3, 255-pound Oregon State-bound defensive lineman Jesse Myers had corralled Pleasant Valley quarterback Lucas Benson for another sack. 

However, somehow the 6-foot, 200-pound senior escaped and the defensive secondary let senior wide receiver Lucas Peloso get past them. Benson found him for a 75-yard touchdown that would be the longest play of the game. The lone touchdown in the game for Pleasant Valley gave them a 7-0 lead, but it did not last long. 

Cardinal Newman answered with a 13-play, 78-yard drive to tied things at 7-7 with 2:12 left in the first quarter, but it did not come easy. The drive appeared to stall after Retamoza was sacked leaving the Cardinals with fourth-and-11 at the Pleasant Valley 30, but rather than try another field goal Sanchez gambled and JT found sophomore wide receiver Carmine Guevera for a 21-yard pass play that got it down to the nine. From there Raid blasted in the equalizer running over a couple of tacklers. 

The Newman defense got the ball back when Meyers and 6-foot-4, 294-pound sophomore defensive lineman and occasional fullback Kahlio Vaetoe sacked Benson to force a punt. 

From there Cardinal Newman mounted another long drive, this one covering 71-yards on 12 plays culminating in a 4-yard TD run by Gentry and the Cardinals had a 14-7 lead it would never relinquish.

The third Newman TD came on 3-yard run by Vaetoe where he carried three tacklers into the end zone. The PAT was no good and the lead was 20-7 at the half.

Cardinal Newman got the second half kickoff but couldn't do anything and a 32-yard field goal by Gehrig Spina cut the lead to 20-10 with 7:26 left in the third quarter, but that would be the final Pleasant Valley tally. 

After a sack by Meyers and McKenzie preceded an interception by Raia, he took advantage of his takeaway by scoring his second TD on a 9-yard run to make it 27-10. The fifth Newman TD came when LT fumbled the snap, picked it up and tossed a 41-yard TD pass to standout 6-foot, 170-pound sophomore wide receiver Zion Cargill that made it 34-7 on the second play of the fourth quarter. Gardner closed out the scoring with just over two minutes left with a 25-yard field goal.

"We had a busted coverage on the one touchdown, but the defense held their own and we got a couple of turnovers," said Sanchez. "I think we pretty much protected the ball all night."

For Pleasant Valley (2-3) their offense was able to produce 192 total yards, but 145 of them came on three long pass plays. For a team that likes to run the ball the Vikings were held to 17 yards rushing and only one yard in the first half. 

The defending CIF Northern Section Division II and state CIF Northern Regional Division 5-AA champions there three losses are to CIF Sac-Joaquin Section small school power Central Catholic-Modesto, a sold Nevada large school standout Spanish Springs and Cardinal Newman, so that makes them more than prepared to defend their Northern Section title. 

"We like to play tough competition in our non-league schedule, and we like to come down her and play. It's fun," said Pleasant Valley head coach Mark Cooley whose team has played Rancho Cotate the past four seasons, including a 35-7 victory last season in Rohnert Park. 

Cardinal Newman now has a bye this week before a showdown with arch-rival Windsor on the road in two weeks to open Redwood Empire Conference Football Adobe League play.