De La Salle hasn’t started a season without a victory through three games since going 0-2-1 in 2004.
The Spartans are 0-2 this season as they travel to St. Francis on Friday night for the first time since their 30-year unbeaten streak against regional opponents ended there two years ago.
St. Francis lost at DLS 35-3 last season.
The rematch headlines a Week 3 lineup that also includes top-ranked Serra visiting Central Catholic-Modesto, Oakland schools Bishop O’Dowd and McClymonds meeting for the first time in 11 years and Los Gatos playing host to Grant-Sacramento.
The Bay Area News Group will have complete coverage this weekend and all season. If you have not already, please sign up for a digital subscription. Your contributions keep us going.
Here are this week’s top matchups and schedule:
Friday
No. 1 Serra (2-0) at Central Catholic-Modesto (2-1), 7 p.m.: First road game of the season for the Bay Area News Group’s top-ranked team as Serra tries to beat Central Catholic for the second consecutive season. Last year in San Mateo, Serra won 42-30. Central Catholic won on the road over Bishop Manogue-Reno 16-7 last week after falling at Stockton powerhouse St. Mary’s 42-33 the previous week. CC quarterback Tyler Wentworth (6-6, 225) has passed for 469 yards and four TDs with three interceptions. Joey Alcutt (303 yards, 10 TDs) and Wentworth (203, three TDs) lead the CC rushing attack. WR/S Brooklyn Cheek, a Cal commit, has caught 10 passes for 214 yards and a TD. Serra is the undisputed No. 1 team in Northern California after opening the season with victories at home over Folsom (21-14) and De La Salle (28-0). Last week against DLS, Serra’s Maealiuaki Smith completed 19 of 28 passes for 243 yards and a TD. TE Cole Harrison caught seven passes for 122 yards and a TD. — Darren Sabedra
No. 2 De La Salle (0-2) at No. 12 St. Francis (1-1), 7:30 p.m.: Sixth meeting between the teams since 2017. DLS is 4-1 in the previous five. In their victories, the Spartans have won by an average of 30.5 points. But the game everyone remembers is the one DLS did not win. Two years ago, St. Francis built an early cushion at home against the Spartans and then rallied in the final minute to win 31-28, becoming the first team from this region to beat DLS since Pittsburg in 1991. DLS comes into this game searching for offense. The Spartans’ 28-0 loss last week at Serra marked the first time DLS had been blanked since 2005 (7-0 against Clovis West). Since scoring 14 points in a season-opening 35-14 loss at home to SoCal heavyweight Orange Lutheran, DLS has been outscored 49-0. In the loss to Serra, QB Toa Faavae was DLS’s leading rusher with 28 yards. He passed for 52. St. Francis won at Monterey Trail-Elk Grove 28-21 last week behind junior RB Kingston Keanaaina, who ran for 167 yards and three TDs in 30 carries. — Darren Sabedra
Grant-Sacramento (2-1) at No. 5 Los Gatos (2-0), 7 p.m.: Grant-Sacramento wanted a 10th regular season game. Los Gatos needed a game on short notice. So last weekend they communicated and voila! Grants is visiting the Wildcats on Friday night. This would have been a great matchup had it been planned two years ago. Last minute? Wow! Los Gatos was supposed to visit Live Oak, but the home team canceled. No reason has been given. The Pacers will be taking the long bus ride to meet a team that cruised past Soquel, then rallied from a three-touchdown deficit in the second half to beat Liberty 35-34 last week. Grant’s only loss was by three points to a very good Oak Ridge team. Sandwiched around it are a pair of 40-point wins. Grant slightly prefers the pass to the run and is explosive. RB Wayshawn Parker is averaging 158.3 yards per game and 9.9 yards per carry. WR Kingston Lopa, who goes 6-5, 190, has only eight catches in the Pacers’ first three games, but four have gone for six points. The four-star recruit is headed to Oregon as a safety. Grant will soon add UNLV-bound athlete Devin Green, a transfer from Sheldon-Elk Grove. Los Gatos counters with senior QB AJ Minyard, who stands 6-3. He’s thrown for six TDs in the first two games. His favorite targets are Jaylen Thomas and Scott Garwood, both excellent receivers. Expect plenty of points in this marquee matchup that seemingly took seconds to plan. — Mike Lefkow
Bishop O’Dowd (1-1) at No. 8 McClymonds (1-0), 7 p.m.: Bishop O’Dowd visits McClymonds in the first matchup between Oakland’s premier public and private school teams since O’Dowd won 33-26 in 2012. This would be Hardy Nickerson’s first signature win of his second stint as O’Dowd’s head coach. The Dragons have had three losing seasons since winning a North Coast Section title in 2018. McClymonds rocked Bellarmine 40-0 in its opener, holding the Bells to 12 yards from scrimmage. Senior Ta’Jir Golden rushed for three TDs and junior Sharky Tamale ran for one. Sophomore Rahsjon Duncan caught a TD pass from QB/K Isaac Espinosa. Meanwhile, O’Dowd lost 27-21 at Tamalpais before crushing Skyline 50-0. QB Devin Wilson and RB Elliott Lewis form a solid duo in the O’Dowd backfield. — Joseph Dycus
Bellarmine (1-1) at No. 14 Monte Vista (2-0), 7 p.m.: Will the real Bellarmine Bells please stand up? In Week 1, Bellarmine edged a pretty good Menlo-Atherton team 17-14. Last week the Bells were routed by McClymonds 40-0. The offense finished with a total of 12 yards (27 passing, minus-15 rushing). That kind of production isn’t going to work against Monte Vista, which is 2-0 by a total of 81 points. The Bells are in their first season under coach David Diaz-Infante, and there are kinks that need to be worked out. In the opener against Menlo-Atherton, the Bells led 17-0 in the fourth quarter, then had to hold off a late M-A rally. Bellarmine had 194 offensive yards in that one, including 111 on the ground by junior RB Reece McKeever. Last week he managed 18 against a ferocious Mack defense. Monte Vista is much improved under second-year coach Johnny Millard. The Mustangs opened by easily beating a Granada team that thumped Heritage last week in Brentwood. MV followed with a 50-8 trouncing of usually competitive San Leandro. QB Brayden Turner is 24 of 30 for 390 yards and four TDs in two games. He hasn’t thrown a pass to the wrong jersey yet. RB Julian McMahan has 272 yards and six TDs. MLB Talan Jones has 13 tackles. Sophomore DL Dakota Dickson had two sacks last week and just missed a third. The son of former Cal star Joel Dickson is only going to get better. Stream: NorCalSportsTV — Mike Lefkow
Hillsdale (2-0) at Woodside (2-0), 7 p.m.: Woodside’s running attack and Hillsdale’s balanced offense should lead to a lot of points in this matchup of undefeated Peninsula teams. Hillsdale has a close win over Livermore and a rout against El Camino. Woodside crushed Half Moon Bay and then defeated Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa Teresa-Valley Division contender Overfelt 39-30. Junior RB Evan Usher has 461 yards and six TDs in the first two games, but he’s far from a one-player attack for Woodside. Five others, including seniors Oliver Lyssand and Gerardo Ibarra, have run for a TD. Defenders Mason Furtado and Paco Arteaga both have two sacks. They will need to be in top form against Hillsdale QB Erick Waugh, who has thrown for 378 yards and four TDs. RBs Elliott Regan and Bennett Young have both rushed for over 100 yards. Hillsdale won the last matchup between the teams 49-0 in 2017. — Joseph Dycus
Saturday
St. Bonaventure (1-2) at No. 7 Archbishop Riordan (2-0), 2 p.m.: Riordan faces its first big test of the season when St. Bonaventure-Ventura travels to San Francisco. A powerhouse in the 2000s and early 2010s, St. Bonaventure is a solid team that has gotten off to a slow start. Sophomore quarterback Kaden Glover and junior RB Koen Glover (262 yards, four TDs) lead the St. Bonaventure offense. Archbishop Riordan’s offense, behind a rebuilt line and skill players such as WRs Chris Lawson and Cynai Thomas, has been unstoppable in blowout wins over Sacred Heart Prep and Moreau Catholic. Coach Adhir Ravipati’s attack is led by sophomore QB Mike Mitchell Jr., who has offers from Cal, Washington State and Arizona State. — Joseph Dycus
Schedule
Thursday, Sept. 7
SOUTH BAY/PENINSULA
Non-league
Alisal at Sequoia, 7 p.m.
Half Moon Bay at Carlmont, 7 p.m.
Leland at Overfelt, 7:15 p.m.
San Jose at Silver Creek, 7:15 p.m.
Sobrato at North Monterey County, 7:15 p.m.
Yerba Buena at Cupertino, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 8
EAST BAY
Non-league
Amador Valley at Acalanes, 7 p.m.
American Canyon at Foothill, 7 p.m.
Carrillo at Benicia, 7 p.m.
Castro Valley at Granada, 7 p.m.
De Anza at Berkeley, 7 p.m.
Dublin at Newark Memorial, 7 p.m.
Fremont-Oakland at El Cerrito, 7 p.m.
Logan at Antioch, 7 p.m.
Novato at Washington-Fremont, 7 p.m.
Piedmont at Mt. Eden, 7 p.m.
Pinole Valley at Alhambra, 7:30 p.m.
Redwood at Encinal, 7 p.m.
Richmond at Hercules, 7 p.m.
San Leandro at Dougherty Valley, 7 p.m.
San Lorenzo at Concord, 7 p.m.
San Marin at Moreau Catholic, 7 p.m.
Tamalpais at Las Lomas 7 p.m.
Tennyson at Hayward, 7 p.m.
Windsor at Campolindo, 7 p.m.
SOUTH BAY/PENINSULA
Non-league
Capuchino at Los Altos, 7 p.m.
Hill at Mt. Pleasant, 7:15 p.m.
Hillsdale at Woodside, 7 p.m.
Hollister at Valley Christian, 7 p.m.
Homestead at Gunderson, 7:30 p.m.
Jefferson at Terra Nova, 7:30 p.m.
Leigh at Mountain View, 7 p.m.
Lincoln-San Jose at Aragon, 7 p.m.
Mitty at Santa Teresa, 7 p.m.
North Salinas at Gilroy, 7 p.m.
Piedmont Hills at Oak Grove, 7:15 p.m.
Prospect at Westmont, 7 p.m.
Sacred Heart Cathedral at Wilcox, 7 p.m.
San Mateo at Christopher, 7 p.m.
Santa Clara at Del Mar, 7 p.m.
Saratoga at Harbor, 7 p.m.
Soledad at Branham, 7 p.m.
Willow Glen at Pioneer, 7 p.m.
INTERSECTIONAL
Alameda at Mills, 7 p.m.
Arroyo at Burlingame, 7 p.m.
Bellarmine at Monte Vista, 7 p.m.
Bethel at Rodriguez-Fairfield, 7:30 p.m.
Bishop O’Dowd at McClymonds, 7:15 p.m.
Castlemont vs. Dorsey-Los Angeles at Rancho Cienega Park in LA, 7 p.m.
Cathedral-San Diego at St. Ignatius, 7 p.m.
College Park at Oakmont-Roseville, 7 p.m.
De La Salle at St. Francis, 7:30 p.m.
Escalon at California, 7 p.m.
Galileo at Oakland, 6 p.m.
Grant-Sacramento at Los Gatos, 7 p.m.
Heritage at Whitney-Rocklin, 7 p.m.
Lincoln-San Francisco at El Camino, 7 p.m.
Livermore at Gregori-Modesto, 7:30 p.m.
Lowell at Gunn, 7 p.m.
Monterey Trail-Elk Grove at Pittsburg, 7:30 p.m.
Mt. Diablo at Oakland Tech, 7 p.m.
San Ramon Valley at Elk Grove, 7 p.m.
St. Patrick-St. Vincent at Vacaville Christian, 7 p.m.
Serra at Central Catholic-Modesto, 7 p.m.
Twelve Bridges-Lincoln at Northgate 7 p.m.
Vallejo at Pioneer-Woodland, 7:30 p.m.
Vanden-Fairfield at Freedom, 7 p.m.
Wood-Vacaville at Liberty, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 9
EAST BAY
Non-league
Irvington vs. American at Washington-Fremont, 7 p.m.
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Kennedy-Fremont at Deer Valley, 1:30 p.m.
Kennedy-Richmond at Ygnacio Valley, 2 p.m.
Salesian at St. Mary’s-Berkeley, 1:30 p.m.
SOUTH BAY/PENINSULA
Non-league
Independence at Evergreen Valley, 2 p.m.
Marina at Lick, 3 p.m.
Monta Vista at Fremont-Sunnyvale, 7 p.m.
Sacred Heart Prep at Palo Alto, 7 p.m.
Watsonville at Menlo, 2 p.m.
INTERSECTIONAL
Clayton Valley at Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills, 7:30 p.m.
Modesto Christian at Berean Christian, noon
Patterson at Menlo-Atherton, 2 p.m.
St. Bonaventure-Ventura at Riordan, 2 p.m.
