Bo Banks scored on an 85-yard punt return to break a scorless tie with 1:10 left in the first half, and Tyrone Duckett delivered the knockout punch with fourth-quarter touchdown runs of 61 and 14 yards as top-seeded Encinal High (10-1) beat Sonoma Valley 28-0 in Friday's North Coast Section Division III playoff opener in Alameda.

"That punt return was the momentum shift we needed," Duckett said. "Big players make big plays and that turned the game around. After that we were able to get our offense in a rhythm."

The defending NCS Division III champion Jets (10-1) overcame costly mistakes in the first half, including two penalties that gave Sonoma Valley (4-7) first downs after it had been forced to punt. Encinal also missed a field goal and a had a touchdown called back because on an illegal-formation penalty.

"Mental mistakes cost us in the first half," Duckett said. "We need to cut out the mental errors and get ready for the next round."

Duckett wound up with 104 yards rushing and 60 passing. Andrew Ve'e scored on a 3-yard run late in the third to make it 14-0, giving the Jets all they needed.

The Dragons never got inside the 20.

Miramonte 30, Healdsburg 28: After letting a 10-point third-quarter lead slip away, the visiting 12th-seeded Matadors (5-6) scored the go-ahead touchdown with just more than two minutes left and held on for the Division III upset.

Trailing with 28-24 with

"We might have worn them down a little bit," Miramonte coach John Wade said when reached by phone. "We kind of pounded the ball at them on that final drive."

Healdsburg (6-5) reached Miramonte's 40-yard line on its final possession, but Brett Collins intercepted a deep fade pass to seasl the win.

The victory moved Miramonte into the quarterfinals against the winner of today's first-round game between No. 13 Piedmont and No. 4 Novato.

— Staff

Analy 19, Acalanes 17: Penalties and a sluggish fourth-quarter hampered the host Dons (5-6) in their first-round NCS Division III loss to the Tigers.

Analy (7-4) took its only lead on Cooper Maloney's 2-yard scoring run with 4:38 to play that capped a 12-play, 68-yard drive.

The Tigers capitalized on five Acalanes fouls and a fumble to dominate the second half.

"Our kids played hard and never gave up; we just didn't make it happen tonight," Acalanes coach Mike Ivankovich said. "We certainly didn't get any breaks, but we don't want to make excuses or take away from what the other team did."

The Tigers ran the ball just seven times in the first half and relied heavily on the arm of quarterback Jake Zanutto (15-for-30 passing for 187 yards and no interceptions). Maloney finished with 25 yards on 14 carries. Analy had more than eight minutes of possession in the fourth quarter, holding Acalanes to just one first down in the last 12 minutes.

Running back Tyler Malley led the Dons with 162 yards on 22 carries. Bo McSwine rushed for 42 yards on five carries for Acalanes.

— Kelli Bryson, correspondent

Tamalpais 33, El Cerrito 13: Bobby Burton rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns to lead the visiting Hawks (8-3) over the sixth-seeded Gauchos (7-4) in a Division III first-round game.

Both teams came out a little sloppy on offense, combining for three punts on the game's first three possessions. However, on the fourth, Tamalpais' Graeme Black connected with Jackson Palmer on a 21-yard touchdown pass. It was the first of three scoring passes for Black and the Hawks never trailed.

Black hooked up with Gabe Bram on the first play of the second quarter for a 40-yard touchdown and a 12-0 lead. El Cerrito responded later in the period when Byron Thomas found Isaac Goins for a 15-yard score. That made the score 12-7 at halftime.

Tamalpais took the second half kickoff and marched 50 yards on six plays to open the game up. Black hit Ryan Hall from 37 yards out for the touchdown. The Gauchos countered with a drive of their own, with Thomas and Goins setting it up with a 68-yard completion to the Hawks 1. Lyonel Louis took the ball in on the next play to make it 20-13.

That's as close as El Cerrito could get. Burton scored on runs of 8 and 6 yards, the latter coming at the end of a drive that chewed up nearly six minutes of clock in the fourth quarter.

— Damin Esper, correspondent

Eureka 61, Pinole Valley 7: Spartans running back Donovan Henderson returned the game's opening kick for a touchdown, but the No. 4 seed Loggers (9-2) shut down No. 13 Pinole Valley (7-3) the rest of the way en in a runaway Division II first-round victory.

"It's tough to travel as far as we did and play a game," Pinole Valley coach Steve Alameda said, "And when you play someone that's better than you, it's doubly tough."

No. 13 Pinole Valley (7-3), which played all but two of its games on artificial turf this year, had a tough time getting its footing during the rainy night. The Spartans failed to get much push in the trenches and were held without a first down until Henderson broke a 19-yard run with 1:41 left in the third quarter.

Eureka's Soma Vainuku ran for 239 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries.

— MediaNews staff

St. Elizabeth 30, Point Arena 7: Demario Robertson had a game-high 134 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, and the Mustangs' defense wore out an undermanned Pirates squad in a Division V first-round game at Burrell Field.

The No. 2 seed Mustangs (6-5) advanced to the semifinals, where they will take on Hoopa Valley.

The story of the game, however was the defense by the Mustangs. St. Elizabeth held the Pirates to just 93 yards for the game.

— Tony Gonsalez, correspondent

CCS football playoffs

Tracy 55, Enochs 24: Quarterback Casey Whichman ran for a 47-yard touchdown on the game's second play and later connected with Anthony Wills on touchdown passes of 27 and 25 yards, as the host Bulldogs overcame Depary Celestine's three touchdowns. Celestine ran for 142 yards on 10 carries, one of them a 10-yard touchdown scamper. He also had a 79-yard kickoff return and 62-yard punt return for scores.

The Bulldogs host Los Banos in the second round action Friday at 7 p.m. Tracy downed the Tigers 27-24 to start the regular season. Los Banos edged Modesto 27-26 in overtime on Friday night.

— Dave Campbell, correspondent