Jared Goff Open Thread: Can He Lead Marin Catholic To CIF Division III Crown?

Who: Marin Catholic (14-1) vs. Madison-San Diego (13-1)

When: Noon

Where: Carson (Los Angeles County)

TV: CSN California in Northern California, TWC SportsNet in Southern California. Please check with your local provider for channels and times.

Audio: Should be available here online.

The next Cal quarterback can be seen in action this afternoon as Jared Goff tries to lead his team to a Division III State Championship This is Goff's final high school game; he'll be enrolling in Cal this spring.

It's been a nearly perfect high school career for Marin Catholic-Kentfield quarterback Jared Goff.

Except for one thing.

He hasn't finished a season with a victory.

The Wildcats are 39-3 since the Cal-bound Goff joined the team as a sophomore, but each of the past two seasons have ended with bitter defeats - 20-15 to Encinal-Alameda in 2010 and 20-18 to Campolindo-Moraga last season.

...

Those two defeats can be largely erased for Goff and the Wildcats, who take on Madison-San Diego in the Division III Bowl Championship at noon Saturday at the Home Depot Center.

Here is a great profile on Goff that shows off his unflappable nature.

In fact, during last week's nail-biting, come-from-behind thriller, Goff's expression was no different after he'd thrown two interceptions in the first five minutes than when he had put his team ahead by 11 points with a 16-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.

"Jared stays very composed," said Marin Catholic coach Mazi Moayed. "He has that coolness about him. That's what makes him special above his talents."

MC quarterbacks coach Dan Munoz notices the same innate quality.

"Jared is pretty stoic," Munoz said. "An even-keeled temperament is a great quality for a quarterback. That's something you can't teach."

Goff says it's quite simply his job to keep his composure, regardless of the circumstances during the course of a game.

"The team looks to the leader for a cue. That's how it works," Goff said. "To be honest, I was really upset with myself for throwing those picks. But I knew I couldn't show it because then everybody else would feel it."

Goff was unflappable and the Wildcats followed suit.

You have to like those anecdotes. And the record of course speaks for itself.

Marin Catholic will face off with Madison, who's star attraction is running back Pierre Cormier. Cormier will be joining Rich Rod in Arizona, so we might be seeing him again in due time as the next in line to move along with Ka'Deem Carey.

Also, later tonight? De La Salle (with Cal linebacker commit Victor Egu and targets like Austin Hooper and USC commit Michael Hutchings) are in action for the state championship. They take on Centennial, with Cal offensive tackle commit Cameron Hunt manning the outside. TV information is the same, except the time for the game is 8 p.m.