Lincolns’ Roman Lawrence scores a touchdown against Branham in the in the second half of a High School football game at Lincoln High in San Jose, Calif., Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (Photo by Josie Lepe)
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The last of the undefeated teams
There are 132 high school football teams in the Bay Area News Group coverage area.
Six weekends into the season, only 18 have unbeaten records.
Some are highly ranked (Serra, Wilcox, Campolindo), and some are more on the surprising side (Sequoia, Dougherty Valley).
Others that would have been on the list last week are no longer undefeated after losses over the weekend (McClymonds, Archbishop Mitty, Branham).
Here’s a look at the teams that still have a shot at a perfect season (listed in alphabetical order):
ACALANES (5-0): The Dons’ best win is a 42-35 triumph over Sheldon-Sacramento. Junior receiver Trevor Rogers has eight touchdown receptions.
CAMPOLINDO (5-0): Coach Kevin Macy seems well on his way to leading the Moraga school to its 11th consecutive complete season with at least 10 wins. Campolindo’s back half of the schedule includes league games against fellow undefeated teams, Northgate and Acalanes.
CHRISTOPHER (5-0): Sophomore quarterback Jaxen Robinson and senior running back Eric Argumedo have the Gilroy school rolling as it begins its first season in the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s Mt. Hamilton Division. The team will play host to another undefeated team, Lincoln-San Jose, in a league opener Thursday.
CONCORD (5-0): After going 1-9 last season, the Minutemen have dramatically turned things around. Junior running back Monte Beam has rushed for 657 yards and eight touchdowns.
DOUGHERTY VALLEY (6-0): Three seasons removed from a 1-9 finish, Dougherty Valley is tied with Livermore for the most wins in the North Coast Section. The San Ramon school, off to its best start in program history, scored 50 points last week against Vallejo.
EL CERRITO (5-0): The Gauchos have given up only 6.4 points per game thanks in large part to what could be the Bay Area’s best secondary. Cornerbacks Warren Smith and Kamani Jackson have Division I college offers. Smith has committed to Washington State.
HALF MOON BAY (5-0): Picked by the Bay Area News Group to finish third in the PAL/SCVAL Bay Division, the Cougars are headed for a better finish than that prognostication after edging league favorite Menlo-Atherton 22-21 on Friday. The league championship for HMB could come down to its game Saturday at Sacred Heart Prep.
KENNEDY-RICHMOND (5-0): The Eagles have won each of their games by no fewer than 14 points, including a 24-7 victory over Millenium-Tracy on Saturday. Their next two opponents, St. Mary’s-Berkeley and St. Patrick-St. Vincent, are also undefeated.
LINCOLN-SAN JOSE (5-0): The Lions scored 16 fourth-quarter points to edge Leigh by three in their season opener and won a tight game over Aragon. The rest of the victories, including a game Friday against previously undefeated Branham, have been blowouts.
LIVERMORE (6-0): The Cowboys have already matched last year’s win total. Elijah Hodgers (768 yards rushing) is leading the way.
NORTHGATE (5-0): The Broncos have played stout defense, allowing only 28 points thus far. Their biggest challenge yet could come Friday as the Walnut Creek school opens Diablo Athletic League Foothill Division play against high-powered Miramonte.
ST. MARY’S-BERKELEY (5-0): The Panthers have shut out three of their five opponents. They open league play at home Saturday against Kennedy-Richmond.
ST. PATRICK ST. VINCENT (5-0): If there’s such a thing as momentum, SPSV should have it in spades when it starts its league schedule Friday at home against Richmond. The Bruins demolished Salesian 50-14 on Saturday.
SAN RAMON VALLEY (5-0): Quarterback Luke Baker is completing 73% of his passes as SRV boasts an offense that is averaging 38 points per game. The Wolves have a tough game Friday at McClymonds, then comes East Bay Athletic League Mountain Division play.
SERRA (5-0): The Bay Area News Group’s top-ranked team cleared its toughest hurdles in the first two games, winning on the road over Folsom and De La Salle. The San Mateo powerhouse has opened West Catholic Athletic League play with lopsided wins over St. Francis and Mitty and is heavily favored to capture league and section titles.
SEQUOIA (5-0): The Ravens surpassed last year’s win total when they beat Los Altos 20-14 on Thursday in a league opener. Johnny Larios is completing 63% of his pass attempts.
WESTMONT (5-0): The Warriors had last week off after a dramatic second-half comeback on Sept. 22 to edge Leland 28-25. The Campbell school opens league play Friday at home against Sobrato.
WILCOX (5-0): With Elijah Walker and Andrew Palacios leading the ground attack, the Santa Clara powerhouse continues to roll. The Chargers survived their toughest test yet, beating Menlo-Atherton 21-20 on Sept. 23. A perfect regular season will likely come down to a visit to Los Gatos on Oct. 21.
— Darren Sabedra and Joseph Dycus
Pittsburg adjusts on the fly
Pittsburg has a four-star quarterback and the best wide receiver group in the Bay Area, so it obviously makes sense that the Pirates’ default strategy is to have Jaden Rashada throw to Washington-bound Rashid Williams, three-star Khai Taylor and several other great pass-catchers.
But in some of their biggest matchups thus far, a concerning trend has developed for the Pirates.
In a 23-15 loss to Folsom on Sept. 16, the Pirates gave up three sacks and many more pressures as Rashada was constantly forced to scramble and throw under duress.
Friday, it was more of the same.
Pittsburg beat McClymonds 39-21, but the Oakland powerhouse had six sacks and caused mayhem in the backfield.
But rather than sticking with the passing game, coach Victor Galli made an essential adjustment.
He scrapped the airial attack in favor of a methodical running game.
With McClymonds pass-rushers applying constant heat, there were gaps to be had for running back Elijah Bow, a sophomore who finished with 184 yards and a touchdown.
Pittsburg’s receivers, to their credit, did their part to make the ground game go.
“I want him to go score for us, and I want him to be great,” Taylor said. “Elijah brings that energy every week, and by the time he’s a senior, he’s gonna be that boy.”
— Joseph Dycus
Santa Clara’s break-out game
It hadn’t been a good start to the season for Santa Clara. The Bruins had lost three of their first four games, including a 17-7 defeat on the road against Carlmont on Sept. 16 in which the visitors had five turnovers in the red zone.
Santa Clara had the following weekend off and then erupted Friday for a 43-0 win over Cupertino.
The Bruins returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, a fumble for a touchdown and an interception for a touchdown.
Not a bad way to open the league schedule.
“You open up league play and they wanted to make a statement,” coach Andrew Calderon said. “They worked hard this week in practice and made a little statement for themselves.”
Santa Clara has 17 seniors on its roster and eight have never played football, according to the coach.
“Baseball kid, water polo kid, soccer kid, basketball guys and like five of them start,” Calderon said. “We knew this preseason was them getting accustomed to the game and them understanding how to finish a win. It just took some time.
“But I told them we expected that. You guys are taking some lumps right now, but it’s going to pay off in the long run. Sometimes you have to fail to learn how to win.”
— Darren Sabedra
How Monta Vista rallied against Saratoga
Monta Vista seemed on its way to a fourth loss in five games on Friday. The Cupertino school trailed Saratoga 28-6 at halftime. Isaiah Dimaya’s rushing touchdown provided the Matadors’ only points of the half.
Instead of allowing his team to sulk, coach Ceazar Agront uplifted his players.
“At halftime, my staff and I tried to breathe life back into the team, and asked they trusted us and our belief in them as a team,” Agront said. “I promised them if they got a stop on the opening defensive stand then they could win the game.”
Minta Vistra outscored Saratoga by 29 in the second half to win 42-35.
Running back Greyson Mobley ran for 127 yards and four of the team’s five second-half touchdowns.
The Matadors’ defense was also superb, with Mobley ending the game with an interception and the defense finishing with four second-half sacks.
Monta Vista is 2-3 overall and 1-2 in league play.
— Joseph Dycus
Peek ahead to Week 7
Thursday
Lincoln-San Jose (5-0) at Christopher (5-0), 7 p.m.: Not a bad BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division opener. Both teams have been superb to this point.
Friday
De La Salle (3-2) at St. Mary’s-Stockton (6-0), 7 p.m.: De La Salle will try to avoid a third loss to a NorCal team this season.
San Ramon Valley (5-0) at McClymonds (3-1), 7 p.m.: SRV QB Luke Baker vs. the McClymonds defense will be worth the price of admission.
Serra (5-0) vs. Bellarmine (3-2) at San Jose City College, 7 p.m.: Bellarmine scored only three points in a win over Riordan on Saturday. Will need many more to keep pace with Serra.
Clayton Valley Charter (2-3) at Amador Valley (3-1), 7 p.m.: After a third tough loss at home, Clayton Valley went on the road and beat previously undefeated Jesuit-Carmichael on Saturday.
Miramonte (4-1) at Northgate (5-0), 7 p.m.: Miramonte averages 37.4 points per game. Northgate is giving up 5.6 per game.
— Darren Sabedra
Originally published at Darren Sabedra, Joseph Dycus