Terra Nova-Palma football

Central Coast Section Open Division III Semifinals
Friday's game
No. 5 Terra Nova (6-5) vs. No. 3 Palma (7-4) at Rabobank, 7 p.m.
 This has been a strange season for the Tigers, who forfeited their opener because of an incident in a scrimmage.
 What followed was a four-game winning streak, in which Terra Nova put up 63 in knocking off CCS Division V semifinalist Scotts Valley and thumping Open Division I semifinalist Salinas 28-17.
 But then Terra Nova went out and promptly dropped four straight before salvaging its season and a trip to the playoffs with a regular season ending 17-14 win over Burlingame.
 The Tigers opened the playoffs with a 24-14 win over Aptos, meaning it has two wins against teams that beat Palma. Both teams have losses to Menlo-Atherton.
 Terra Nova is going to air it out as Nathan Gordon has thrown for 2,528 yards and 24 touchdowns this year. The Chieftains gave up a pair of touchdowns threw the air last week.
 Richard Walls and Jackson Kubal both have over 50 receptions and a combined 15 touchdowns this year for the Tigers, while Scotty Tomei is averaging over 15 yards a catch on 43 receptions.
 Palma will look to grind the ball with methodical drives behind sophomore Anthony Villegas, who has rushed for over 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns.
 During Palma's five-game winning streak, Villegas has gone over 100 yards in each game, including a single-game school record 327 on Oct. 27.
 Palma is 7-1 when Villegas rushes for over 100 yards, winless when he doesn't.
 What's different about the Chieftains this fall is the ability to get the ball down field with quarterback Grant Sergent having tossed seven touchdown passes during the teams five game winning streak.
 Dominic Scattini has quietly caught 30 passes this year. He also shares the team lead in interceptions with a pair.
 Still, Palma isn't interested in a shootout with the high scoring Tigers. Ground control will keep that explosive offense off the field. Limiting Terra Nova's play total is critical in extending the season.