LOS GATOS, CA – SEPTEMBER 29: Boxer Kopcsak-Yeung (22) of Los Gatos scrambles for a gain against Pittsburg in a non-league high school football game at Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos, Calif. on September 29, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Bay Area News Group)
Welcome back to the Bay Area News Group’s high school football roundup.
Here, you’ll find all the details from the weekend’s action in this news organization’s coverage area, which encompasses teams that play in leagues based primarily in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
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On to the roundup …
Ranked teams
No. 1 Serra 42, No. 15 Archbishop Mitty 0
Joseph Latu scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter and Jaden Green’s 4-yard run in the second quarter, set up by Kyon Loud’s 55-yard punt return, made it 14-0. From there, the visitors from San Mateo never looked back as they rolled to a victory in West Catholic Athletic League play over Mitty at Foothill College. Loud’s 5-yard run on an end-around extended the margin to 21-0 late in the first half and the Padres added three more touchdowns in the third quarter to improve to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the league. Mitty fell to 4-2, 1-2. Next Saturday, Serra will play host to Bellarmine and Mitty will visit Archbishop Riordan. — Darren Sabedra
No. 3 San Ramon Valley 35, No. 19 Clayton Valley 7
Marco Jones made big plays on offense (two TD receptions) and defense (strip sack, huge stop on third down) and QB Luke Baker (334 yards passing, four TDs) was impressive yet again as San Ramon Valley (6-0, 1-0) broke open a competitive game in the second half for a running-clock victory in EBAL Mountain Division play. Clayton Valley is 2-4, 0-1. Darren Sabedra has the recap here.
No. 5 Archbishop Riordan 55, Bellarmine 41
The visiting Crusaders won for the fifth time in six games, rolling to a 42-13 halftime lead. It was 49-20 after three quarters. Bellarmine outscored Riordan 21-6 in the fourth period, but the game was never in doubt. Riordan led 55-27 before Bellarmine struck for two touchdowns in the final four minutes. The only time the game was competitive was in the first quarter when Bells quarterback Parker Threatt ran 16 yards to trim Riordan’s lead to 14-7 with 6:30 to go. Riordan then went on a 28-6 run to close out the half and ensure that Bellarmine would fall to 1-5, 0-3. The Crusaders, who scored first Friday on a 48-yard run on first down, are becoming scarier with every passing week. They are 3-0 in WCAL play and have outscored their league opponents 138-92. That’s an average of 15 points per game. Riordan hosts Mitty next Saturday before it plays back-to-back contests at Serra and St. Francis. The game against St. Francis will be on only six days’ rest. – Mike Lefkow
No. 6 El Cerrito 64, Bethel 0
El Cerrito was unstoppable in a Tri-County Athletic League Rock Division opener against Bethel. Washington State commit Kamani Jackson got things started with a 50-yard punt return, and Ziare Eastman scored rushing touchdowns of 15 and 50 yards. Guardian Harper had an eight-yard run, and Ronald Williams scored on a one-yard TD. Senior running back Micah Avery had one- and 16-yard touchdowns. Quarterback Michael Vanhook threw a 40-yard TD to Jayvon Bolds and a five-yard TD to Terrell Turner. Sione Fanaika had two sacks as coach Jacob Rincon’s defense notched its second shutout of the year. The Gauchos have not lost a game in league play since 2019. El Cerrito (6-0, 1-0) plays host to Pinole Valley on Thursday, and Bethel (1-5, 0-1) will be at home to play Hercules on Friday. – Joseph Dycus
No. 11 Los Gatos 37, No. 23 Sacred Heart Prep 7
The Wildcats (4-2) put it all together against Sacred Heart Prep, scoring at least one touchdown in every quarter of their Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division opener. The Gators (3-3, 1-1) hung tough for a half, trailing only 14-7 at intermission. But Los Gatos outscored the visitors 23-0 in the second half, turning the game into a rout. Boxer Kopcsak-Yeung had a huge night. He scored three touchdowns and rushed for 164 yards. One of his touchdown runs went 73 yards. Quarterback A.J. Minyard connected on eight of nine passes for 109 yards and a TD. Jaylen Thomas caught an 8-yard pass from Minyard for Los Gatos’ first score. Cornerback Scott Garwood and linebacker Henry Masters had 10 tackles apiece. Los Gatos had a challenging non-league schedule that resulted in a one-point win over Liberty, a one-point loss to Grant-Sacramento and a 10-point loss to Pittsburg. But it should have toughened up the Wildcats for league play. The PAL Bay will get five automatic bids to the Central Coast Section playoffs, so SHP should be in the hunt until the end. The Gators handed Burlingame a 41-7 loss last week, and Burlingame turned around Friday and beat Mountain View. – Mike Lefkow
No. 12 Wilcox 41, Menlo-Atherton 3
In the first league matchup between these traditional public school powers, Wilcox dominated on defense and Tyson Bonilla ran the Chargers’ split-back veer offense to perfection, rushing for two touchdowns and throwing for another as the visitors rolled to victory. David Kiefer has the game story here.
No. 13 St. Francis 21, No. 9 St. Ignatius 6
St. Francis held St. Ignatius without a touchdown and Aaron Knapp threw two TD passes to Perrion Williams as the host Lancers bounced back from a lopsided defeat at Serra last week. St. Francis improved to 3-3, 2-1. SI is 3-3, 1-2. Glenn Reeves has the details here.
No. 14 Campolindo 49, College Park 21
Joe Revelos caught a 35-yard touchdown pass to start a big night for the Campo offense as the Cougars won at home in Moraga over College Park to improve to 4-1-1 overall and 2-0 in the Diablo Athletic League’s Foothill Division. Campo also got a 10-yard TD run from Mack Fisher, a 20-yard TD reception from Crosby Kelly and a 50-yard interception return for a TD from Jake Spencer. Micah Parker added two touchdown runs, from 24 and 20 yards out. Campo led 14-0 after the first quarter and 35-0 at halftime. Izaac Jinks and Hunter Pelayo both ran for more than 100 yards for College Park, and Langston Cook had some productive runs and played well on defense. “Our boys played really hard and fought the entire game,” said College Park coach Casey Moreno, in his first season with the team. “New program, we’re getting better.” Next Friday, Campo travels to Northgate and College Park (2-4, 0-3) will play host to Las Lomas. – Darren Sabedra
No. 17 Monte Vista 41, Foothill 14
Monte Vista running back Julian McMahan had 169 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns, and quarterback Brayden Turner threw for 280 yards and two TDs as Monte Vista won in coach Johnny Millard’s return to Pleasanton. Joseph Dycus was at Foothill and has the full report here.
No. 18 Hillsdale 35, Homestead 0
Erick Waugh threw three touchdown passes Thursday as Hillsdale improved to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the Peninsula Athletic League De Anza Division. Waugh completed 8 of 15 passes for 156 yards. Dante Allendorf carried nine times for 138 yards and one touchdown. He was also on the receiving end of two of Waugh’s TD passes. Bennett Young also had a receiving touchdown, an 83-yarder. Hillsdale’s defense held Homestead to 54 yards of total offense. Kingston Hua came up with two interceptions and Waugh had one. Hillsdale plays at Menlo on Friday. Homestead (1-5) is at The King’s Academy on Oct. 13. — Glenn Reeves
East Bay
Alhambra 71, Berean Christian 14
Beau Blau had himself a game for Alhambra as he passed for six touchdowns and ran for another while leading the Bulldogs to a dominant performance at home in Martinez. Luke Beaty caught three TD passes and Lucas Pieper had one receiving and one rushing touchdown. Sutter Allio, Logan Thompson and Cody Brown each scored one TD, and Sylas Mankin, Sergio Tapia and Michael Klapperich all had an interception. Kicker Mason Stinson was 9 for 9 on PATs as Alhambra improved to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the DAL Valley Division. Berean Christian dropped to 1-5-1, 0-1. Next Friday, Alhambra plays host to Mt. Diablo. Berean Christian has next week off and then will be at home to face Concord on Oct. 21. – Darren Sabedra
Hayward 65, Mt. Eden 13
Hayward scored seven rushing TDs in its victory over Mt. Eden in MVAL/WACC Mission Division play. Quarterback Kennedy Braziel rushed for three TDs and threw for one, and Maurice Hall had three TDs on three carries. Mateaki Paongo ran the ball three times for 87 yards and one TD. Emmanuel Sega caught three passes for 72 yards and Braziel’s lone TD pass. Defender Ayden Niuatoa recovered two fumbles and returned one for a touchdown. On Friday, Hayward (4-2, 1-0) plays host to Encinal and Mt. Eden (0-6, 0-1) will be at home to face Irvington. – Joseph Dycus
Miramonte 35, Benicia 7
Miramonte’s road victory over Benicia in DAL Foothill Division play was not as easy as the final score implied. Coach Jack Schram said his team is “limping into its bye week” with injuries, but praised LT Thomas Zwahlen, linebackers Gabe Savala and Andrew Bjornson, and wideout Mitch Riechenbach for stepping up when needed. Myles Bastani threw a TD and kept the offense moving even when starting QB Carson Blair was injured. Gabe Roman had a touchdown catch, as did Brody Bornstein. Joe Shallat had a nifty TD in the fourth quarter, blocking a screen pass, catching the ricochet for the interception and returning it for a TD. And in what is quickly becoming a weekly occurrence, WR Jack Quinnild had a spectacular touchdown catch. Benicia (1-5, 0-3) plays at Acalanes on Friday, and Miramonte (6-0, 3-0) plays host to Acalanes on Oct. 20. — Joseph Dycus
Salesian 49, Pinole Valley 0
Salesian scored on every first-half possession en route to an easy win in the Tri-County Athletic League Rock Division opener for both schools on Thursday. The Pride (5-1) led 42-0 at halftime against Pinole Valley (2-4), last season’s CIF Division 7-AA state champs. Salesian QB Marco Turqueza ran 60 yards for one touchdown and threw passes for two more scores, both to 6-foot-3 sophomore Carlton Perrilliat, one of the better scorers on the Pride’s high-powered basketball team. Joseph Tarin, Luis DeJesus and Ethan Soungpanya also scored touchdowns. The Pride is battling St. Vincent-Petaluma and Moreau Catholic for the No. 1 seed in Division VI of the North Coast Section playoffs. Moreau handed Salesian its only loss. The Pride doesn’t play St. Vincent. Of the four games left on Salesian’s schedule, only El Cerrito appears capable of beating it. Salesian hosts El Cerrito on Nov. 4. Pinole Valley could have a difficult time making the section playoffs. Calpreps.com has the Spartans ranked eighth in D-VI, which is an eight-team bracket. Pinole Valley has four games remaining, none against teams lower than Division V. – Mike Lefkow
South Bay/Peninsula
Branham 66, Gilroy 20
Jack Lewis completed 23 of 30 passes for 449 yards and six touchdowns and also ran for 35 yards and a TD as Branham breezed to a victory on the road over Gilroy on Thursday in BVAL Santa Teresa-Foothill Division play. “I thought it was Will Augenstein out there for a second,” Branham coach Stephen Johnson wrote in a text, referring to his team’s star last season. Brayden Hodges caught three of Lewis’ passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns, and Preston Conrad had five receptions for 98 yards and two TDs. Elias Antillion and Sebastian Golden each caught one touchdown pass as the Bruins improved to 4-2, 1-0. They play host to Piedmont Hills on Thursday. Gilroy (0-6, 0-1) visits Independence on Friday. – Darren Sabedra
Fremont-Sunnyvale 24, Los Altos 20
Trailing by 10 points late in the third quarter, Fremont rallied on Thursday to score two touchdowns as the Firebirds defeated host Los Altos in a PAL El Camino Division game. After a defensive stop with 4:30 left, Fremont drove 80 yards in 11 plays for the decisive TD with 35 seconds to play. On the scoring play, running back Elijah Smith appeared headed for the touchdown but fumbled at the goal line. Offensive guard Davis Scholten fell on the ball in the end zone to give Fremont a victory that improved its record to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the league. Los Altos fell to 2-4, 1-1. Noah Beedon led Los Altos with 189 yards passing and three TDs, all to wide receiver Drew Rafferty. The Eagles also got 82 yards in 18 carries from RB Maxime Morelle. Fremont QB Henry Buenrostro ran for 102 yards and a TD in 13 carries and RB Jordan McKinney added 74 yards and a TD in eight attempts. For Fremont on defense, Jonathan Regalado had an interception and Gannon Stein and Anthony Alas each had a sack. Fremont visits Woodside on Thursday and Los Altos travels to Santa Clara on Friday. – Darren Sabedra
Leigh 42, Mt. Pleasant 7
The Longhorns’ rushing attack could not be stopped as Leigh routed Mt. Pleasant in a BVAL Santa Teresa-Valley Division game. Shayan Shariat, a 220-pound power back, rushed for three touchdowns in the first half and caught one more as part of a 205-yards-from-scrimmage day. Zach Pistor rushed for 172 yards and two TDs on 21 carries, with both of his touchdowns coming in the second half. Quarterback T.J Donaldson threw for 147 yards and a TD. Cam Tchir was 6 for 6 on PATs and also had a 35-yard reception. On Friday, Leigh (4-2, 1-0) plays host to Willow Glen and Mt. Pleasant (3-3, 0-1) welcomes Sobrato. — Joseph Dycus
Originally published at Darren Sabedra, Joseph Dycus