Senior quarterback Marley Alcantara threw for four touchdowns and the Pirates secondary had three key interceptions, two by UCLA commit Jadyn Hudson, to pull out a hard-fought 35-28 victory Friday over San Ramon Valley in the CIF North Coast Section Division 1 championship game at Diablo Valley College.

Down 27-21, San Ramon Valley (11-2) was going down to what looked like a go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter when Truly Bell picked off Rhett Thompson in end end zone.

The Pirates (11-2) smelled blood and Alcantara completed seven passes, three on wideout screens to 6-foot-4, 185-pound junior wideout Rolph Mosley. Alcantara finished off the drive with a 12-yard slant TD strike to Leduane Thomas and after a two-point conversion pass from Jamar Searcy, the Pirates led 35-28 with 10 minutes remaining.

From there, Pittsburg’s defense bent but did not break to move into the CIF Northern California Bowl Championships next week.

Two of Alcantara’s touchdowns when to Makari Kenion and another went to freshman Kenny Ward.

San Ramon Valley’s Owen Scott caught two touchdown passes and ran for another. The game ended the illustrious career of Marco Jones, the Texas A&M bound linebacker and tight end, considered the best player to ever wear a Wolves’ uniform.

Check all the scoring down below.

PREGAME: A rematch of last year’s same game is highly anticipated.

Pittsburg’s 37-21 victory in the North Coast Section Division 1 title game last year will be discussed at length when the two teams tangle again Friday at Diablo Valley College.

The Pirates (10-2) almost snapped De La Salle’s 32-year run of NCS titles and 277-game unbeaten streak against NCS opponents last week, losing 10-7 in the rain.

SRV-PITT AT A GLANCE/PICK ‘EM CHALLENGE

The Pirates are loaded with Division 1 talent, including future UCLA defenders, safety Jadyn Hudson and DE Juju Walls.

San Ramon Valley (11-1) has what its longtime coach Aaron Becker says is the most dominant and best player in school history in Texas A&M-bound LB-TE Marco Jones. They have plenty of offensive weapons led by senior QB and first year starter Rhett Thompson and UC Davis bound WR Owen Scott.

FIRST QUARTER

PITTSBURG TOUCHDOWN! Jamar Searcy 6 yard run. Pittsburg 7, San Ramon Valley 0. 9:33 1Q.

SAN RAMON VALLEY TOUCHDOWN! Rhett Thompson 13-yard TD pass to Dylan Deitsch. Great response. San Ramon Valley 7, Pittsburg 7. 5:15 1Q.

PITTSBURG BOMB! Marley Alcantara 71-yard touchdown pass to Makari Kenion. That didn’t take long. XP missed could be big. Pittsburg 13, San Ramon Valley 7. 4:05 1Q.

PITTSBURG TOUCHDOWN: Amazing pass and catch from Alcantara to Kenion, 33 yards. Pittsburg 20, San Ramon Valley 7. 0:32 1Q.

SECOND QUARTER

SAN RAMON VALLEY TOUCHDOWN: Owen Scott 27 yard touchdown pass from Thompson. 11:33 2Q. Pittsburg 20, San Ramon Valley 14.

INTERCEPTION JAYDN HUDSON: San Ramon Valley drives to the red zone, but Thompson fires second interception, both to UCLA bound Hudson. This one in the end zone.

TOUCHDOWN SAN RAMON VALLEY! Thompson is undeterred. He steps up in pocket, fires 27-yard to Scott. San Ramon Valley takes its first lead of the game. SRV 21, Pittsburg 20. 1:10 2Q.

HALFTIME: San Ramon Valley 21, Pittsburg 20

THIRD QUARTER

PITTSBURG TOUCHDOWN! Pittsburg takes opening kickoff of second half, freshman Kenny Ward takes hitch pass and travels 23 yards for touchdown. Pittsburg 27, San Ramon Valley 21. 9:21 3Q.

FOURTH QUARTER

INTERCEPTIONN PIRATES! Third interception of game for Pittsburg, Truly Bell with fantastic pick in end zone thwarts what looked to be go-ahead score for San Ramon Valley. Pittsburg still leads 27-21. 9:40 4Q.

TOUCHDOWN PITTSBURG: Alcantara 12-yard TD pass – his fourth of game – to Leduane Thomas. Completes amazing 80-yard drive almost all through the air, most on screens left to Rolph Mosley, the 6-4, 185-pound junior. Three times in a row. Double pass on 2-point conversion. Pittsburg 35, San Ramon Valley 21. 10:01 4Q.

TOUCHDOWN SAN RAMON VALLEY! Owen Scott 5-yard reverse run. Drive extended with couple of Pittsburg penalties. Pittsburg 35, SRV 28. 5:36 4Q.

SRV HOLDS! Pitt only one first down, SRV takes over with 3:38 left at own 24.

PITTSBURG HOLDS! Two drops leads to four and out. Pittsburg takes over after two penalties. Still 1:49 left and SRV has two timesout. Not quite over yet.

SEARCY ENDS IT: Searcy races for 40 yards to San Ramon Valley to 10. With no timeouts, this one is overl

FINAL: Pittsburg 35, San Ramon Valley 28.

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Pitching wins championships is an adage that has stood the test of time in baseball, and the Pittsburgh Pirates may not be far off from having a chance to prove that true again

MLB.com’s Will Leitch broke down one reason each team should be thankful, and for the Pirates, he tabbed their pitching staff and how dangerous they could be if everything clicked and they sneaked into the playoffs.

“Paul Skenes is reason enough to be thankful, of course, but don’t forget Jared Jones and Mitch Keller,” Leitch writes. “If the Pirates are ever able to sneak in the playoffs — and they just might in 2025 — that’s a triumvirate no one will want to deal with.”

Everything with the Pirates’ pitching staff starts and ends with Paul Skenes, who strung together one of the best first seasons in MLB history en route to winning the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year. Skenes was the Pirates’ first pitcher in franchise history to earn the accolade and the second player to do so, joining outfielder Jason Bay in 2004.

Skenes went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts and he set a Pirates rookie record with 170 strikeouts over 133 innings pitched. He was also the first pitcher in MLB history to have an ERA below 2.20 and over 150 strikeouts in their first 21 games and the second pitcher since 1913 to have an ERA below 2.00 through their first 22 appearances. Pittsburgh’s ace was also the the first rookie pitcher to start an All-Star game since Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo in 1995.

Beyond Skenes, though, Jared Jones and Mitch Keller are also solid in their own right. Jones went 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA over 22 starts, though, a strained right lat that cost him two months in the second half hindered his rookie season. Before the All-Star break, Jones was 5-6 with a 3.56 ERA over 16 starts.

Keller endured similar struggles that resulted in him finishing the season 11-12 with a 4.25 ERA. After the All-Star break, Keller was 1-7 with a 5.65 ERA.

Luis Ortiz also flashed promise with his strong ending to the 2024 season and Pittsburgh has top prospect Bubba Chandler knocking on the door to reach the big leagues. Chandler is MLB Pipeline’s No. 15 prospect and second-ranked pitching prospect in baseball.

There’s no disputing how good the Pirates’ pitching staff can be if everyone stays healthy and lives up to expectations. If they can get more production on offense to support their pitching staff, Pittsburgh may very well be the dangerous team no one would want to see in October.

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