HAYWARD — The road to the championship game wasn’t entirely smooth for Bishop O’Dowd. The Dragons lost three in a row in September. They stumbled in a crucial late-season league game against James Logan, an outcome that led to a second-place finish. They fell to a three seed in their playoff bracket.

But all of that is forgotten now.

Late Saturday afternoon, an O’Dowd team filled with young stars celebrated. They dumped a Gatorade bucket on coach Hardy Nickerson. They hoisted the winner’s trophy toward the heavens. They waved their Dragon flag back and forth amid all the smiles.

O’Dowd won its first North Coast Section championship in seven years, routing fourth-seeded Fortuna 59-21 in the Division VI final at Moreau Catholic High. The fourth quarter was played with a running clock.

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