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 38, Central Catholic-Modesto 7
If there were any concerns about the Padres after uneven performances in their first two games this season, they put those worries to rest against a very good Central Catholic team Friday night in Modesto. Serra (3-0) outscored the home team 28-0 during a dominant second half in its final tuneup before West Catholic Athletic League play begins Sept. 22 against Sacred Heart Cathedral in San Francisco. Quarterback Maealiuaki Smith threw two touchdown passes and 6-foot-6 tight end Cole Harrison caught a pair of TDs – one from Smith, the other from Nano Latu on a halfback option – in the one-sided win. Perhaps more importantly to coach Patrick Walsh is that Serra has outscored its last two opponents 48-0 after intermission. “We played a full 48 minutes,” Walsh said. “We train for that. All the teams we play are strong. We have to play a full 48 minutes.” The game was competitive for a half. Jaden Green scored on a 5-yard run less than a minute into the game, but that was it for the offense until Thomas Gooch kicked a 45-yard field goal in the final two minutes of the second quarter to give Serra a 10-7 lead at the break. When the teams returned, it was all Serra. Harrison’s scores were from 27 and 7 yards. Braden Agosta caught a 34-yard pass in the third quarter that made it 24-7. Brooks Trimmer finished the scoring with a 2-yard run. Central Catholic fell to 2-2. – Mike Lefkow
No. 2 De La Salle 35, No. 12 St. Francis 17
In a game that was tight most of the way, quarterback Toa Faavae scored on a 12-yard bootleg with 4:19 left to give visiting De La Salle its first double-digit advantage of the season. The Spartans added another touchdown a short time later as they avoided their first 0-3 start since 1975. Darren Sabedra has the game story here.
No. 4 San Ramon Valley 45, Elk Grove 7
San Ramon Valley was back on the road for the third consecutive game on Friday. Once again, the Danville school — led by last season’s Bay Area News Group player of the year Luke Baker — sent a home team to a multi-score defeat. Baker threw six touchdown passes as the Wolves growled to a 28-7 halftime cushion and never looked back. Hudson Brinton’s 6-yard reception from Baker broke a 7-7 tie early in the second quarter. Baker’s second TD pass of the night to Owen Scott, this one covering 34 yards, widened the margin to 21-7. Baker followed with a 39-yard TD pass to Brinton for a three-touchdown advantage. Brinton finished with four TD catches. Evan Economos also had a receiving TD as SRV topped 40 points for the third consecutive game. In their first two games, the Wolves beat St. Ignatius 42-14 and Acalanes 44-21. SRV plays its home opener next Friday against McClymonds, which has outscored Bellarmine (40-0) and Bishop O’Dowd (45-0) by a combined 85-0. When SRV visited Mack last season, the home team won 45-42 in one of the games of the year. — Darren Sabedra
Grant-Sacramento 22, No. 5 Los Gatos 21
Despite being dominated in time of possession, Los Gatos came up just one point short in an intersectional battle against visiting Grant-Sacramento, a defending state champion, in a game that came about in the middle of the week on short notice after Live Oak canceled its game against the Bay Area team. Glenn Reeves has the complete report here.
No. 6 Valley Christian 34, Hollister 3
In its final game before WCAL play begins in two weeks, Valley Christian built a 13-3 halftime advantage on its way to a blowout victory. Sophomore Ekiah McLemore, who ran for two TDs in a win last week at Salinas, rushed for three on Friday to lead the Warriors. Joseph Stephens and Marcel Leggett Jr. also ran for touchdowns as Valley Christian, which won one game last season, improved to 3-0. Valley will have next week off and then will play host to Bellarmine on Sept. 23 in a WCAL opener. Hollister fell to 1-2. — Darren Sabedra
No. 8 McClymonds 45, Bishop O’Dowd 0
In the first matchup between Oakland’s premier public and private school football programs in over a decade, host McClymonds put up 328 rushing yards in a rout. Sharky Tamale and Tajir Golden each ran for two touchdowns to lead Mack. Joseph Dycus’ full report from Oakland is here.
No. 11 El Cerrito 34, Fremont-Oakland 0, forfeit
The game was stopped about two minutes before halftime, as Fremont had barely enough players to field a team. “Fremont had very low numbers, then a few kids got hurt,” El Cerrito coach Jacob Rincon said. The game will go in the books as a forfeit, Rincon added, but the stats will count. Micah Avery scored on touchdown runs of 15 and 70 yards in the first quarter. El Cerrito (3-0) added three more scores in the second quarter before the game was stopped. Gavin Thompson returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown, QB Michael Vanhook hooked up with three-star recruit Kamani Jackson for a 25-yard TD pass, then Vanhook added a 10-yard rushing score. Fremont’s next two games are non-league visits to Liberty and Livermore. Then the Tigers (0-3) will have back-to-back bye weeks before opening Oakland Athletic League play Oct. 13 against Oakland. – Mike Lefkow
No. 14 Monte Vista 40, Bellarmine 30
Quarterback Brayden Turner completed 11 of 19 passes for 328 yards and five touchdowns — one shy of the school record — to lead the host Mustangs past the Bells (1-2) in a non-league game. Leading by three, Turner evaded a blitz and found Julian McMahan open for a game-clinching 25-yard touchdown pass with 2:15 left in the fourth quarter as Monte Vista improved to 3-0 for the second time in three years. Bellarmine quarterback Parker Threatt scored three touchdowns and had a combined 295 yards rushing and passing. Curtis Pashelka has the recap here.
No. 17 Amador Valley 14, No. 22 Acalanes 12
Jake Goldsworthy scored on a 5-yard run and stand-in quarterback Aidan Foley ran it in from 10 yards out as Amador Valley overcame a 12-point deficit to defeat host Acalanes. The home team, which fell to 0-3, did all its scoring in the first half. Mike Lefkow has more details here.
East Bay
Hayward 48, Tennyson 12
The Farmers’ winning ways continued on Friday night as they improved to 3-0 by routing visiting Tennyson. Senior quarterback Kennedy Braziel passed for 188 yards and two TDs and also rushed for one touchdown. WR Emmanuel Sega turned his one catch into a 96-yard TD, and teammate Maurice Hall had 106 yards from scrimmage and two TDs. Junior RB Mateaki Paongo ran for 81 yards and one TD, and backfield mate Jordyn Wilson also rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown. Junior Isaiah Galli returned an interception for a touchdown for the second consecutive week, this time taking an errant pass back 101 yards. Hayward plays at Montgomery-Santa Rosa next Friday, and Tennyson (0-3) will seek its first victory at home against Oakland Tech. — Joseph Dycus
Oakland 44, Galileo-San Francisco 0
The Wildcats went three seasons without a victory, but all Oakland can seem to do now is win. QB Rah’shaan Buffin ran for 143 yards and two TDs, threw for 106 yards and one TD, and forced a fumble. Travis Williams returned the opening kickoff 87 yards for a TD and also had a sack and four tackles. RB Amiliohn Brown had eight carries for 56 yards, but his biggest contributions came on defense. He recovered two fumbles and returned an interception 78 yards for a TD. DB/RB Ymer Belvine had 42 yards rushing, nine yards passing, and 31 yards receiving. Malachi Sanchez had a 38-yard TD. Oakland (2-0) plays host to Hercules next Friday. — Joseph Dycus
South Bay/Peninsula
Cupertino 46, Yerba Buena 6
A determined effort from senior Arvin Hosseini on Thursday helped the Pioneers earn their first victory of the season. Hosseini rushed for 69 yards and three touchdowns on six carries. Senior quarterback Shen Hernandez-Ong completed 5 of 6 passes for 70 yards and two TDs, with seniors Jaidyn Sinclair and James Xue each catching a TD. Hernandez-Ong also had 91 rushing yards and one TD, and senior Eashan Chatterjee ran for 62 yards and a TD as Cupertino rushed for 285 yards. Cupertino (1-2) plays at Saratoga on Sept. 22, and Yerba Buena (1-2) plays host to Prospect on that same day. — Joseph Dycus
Half Moon Bay 26, Carlmont 12
After two blowout losses to start the season, Half Moon Bay relied on a steady running game Thursday to get back on track. Junior RB Connor Heath rushed for a two-yard TD and had a whopping 44 carries, and junior QB Dusty Dimas threw for three TDs. Junior Kenji Holcomb caught two of those touchdowns and Nolan Mullins brought in one TD. Carlmont’s Sean Chopoff had an interception return for a TD and senior RB Braeden Kumer rushed for TD. Half Moon Bay (1-2) will play at Burlingame next Friday and Carlmont (0-3) will travel to Aragon. — Joseph Dycus
Overfelt 38, Leland 21
Overfelt led 20-0 midway through the second quarter on Thursday thanks to a dominant running game and a relentless pass rush. San Jose State commit John Stowers rushed for 146 yards and a TD on 14 carries, to go with 15 tackles, two sacks and an interception returned for a TD. RB Daron Hall had 123 yards and a TD on the ground, and senior QB Gabriel Martinez was 8 for 12 for 146 yards passing. He accounted for two TDs. Coach Carlo Maningo said the offensive line “took over” the game. Isia Smith had 102 receiving yards and Taylor Gordon caught a TD. Jermiaha Lara and sophomore Jerome Mettos each had two sacks, and Lino Eti had one sack. Overfelt (2-1) plays at Christopher next Thursday and Leland (1-2) plays host to Willow Glen on Friday. — Joseph Dycus
Santa Clara 47, Del Mar 34
Nelson Gifford earned his first victory as Santa Clara’s coach on Friday as Joseph Manueli rushed for two TDs and Matt Nguyen ran for touchdowns of 8, 15 and 42 yards to lead the way. Alex Lopez also ran for a TD. Quarterback Matthew Conklin threw an 18-yard pass to WR Jeremiah Karongo for Santa Clara’s last TD. Andre Latimore did it all for Del Mar, rushing for over 183 yards and three TDs, and passing for 142 yards with two more TDs. Del Mar coach Robert Chapman said WR Jake Schwoob surpassed the 100-yard mark in receiving yards along with catching a three-yard TD. Miguel Medina caught a five-yard touchdown for Del Mar, too. Santa Clara (1-2) plays at Milpitas on Friday, and Del Mar (0-3) plays host to James Lick on Sept. 21. — Joseph Dycus
Silver Creek 49, San Jose 6
Silver Creek concluded the non-league portion of its schedule Thursday with a lopsided win. The Raiders led 35-0 at halftime. Ten players combined for 280 yards rushing. Alijah Guzman had a team-high 74 yards on six carries and scored two touchdowns. Gabriel Lim had 63 yards on six carries. Rushing touchdowns were also scored by Leo Lopez (4 carries, 41 yards) and Dominic Lim (3-49). QB Trajan Sinatra completed five passes with two going for touchdowns scored by Noa Wooden and Alonzo Hernandez. Defensively, Mathias McClain had a sack and the Raiders came up with six turnovers, four fumble recoveries and two interceptions. Silver Creek (3-0) begins BVAL Santa Teresa-Foothill Division play next week at home vs. Piedmont Hills. San Jose (0-3) plays at Evergreen Valley next in a BVAL West Valley Division opener. — Glenn Reeves
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Los Gatos comes up just short vs. Grant-Sacramento in last-minute matchup
De La Salle beats St. Francis to dodge first 0-3 start in nearly a half-century
Perfectly timed call helps Monte Vista hold off Bellarmine, remain perfect
Sobrato 48, North Monterey County 28
The Bulldogs reached 40 points for the second straight week, with junior Johnothan Cruz’s two interceptions helping Sobrato pull away on the road Thursday. Sobrato led 20-14 at halftime. RB Noah Taylor ran for 50- and 40-yard TDs after running for almost 300 yards last week. Junior QB Ray Perez threw for three TDs, two to junior Ryan Hankins and one to Alex Kushchanka, while also rushing for one TD. Junior Parker Orr ran for a touchdown on a jet sweep. Sobrato (2-1) plays host to Live Oak next Saturday. — Joseph Dycus
