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Bellarmine’s place in WCAL
Jalal Beauchman had just addressed his Bellarmine football team on the San Jose City College field, the scoreboard showing that the Bells defeated Central Catholic 28-21.
The Modesto power brought an undefeated record to San Jose on Friday that included victories over St. Mary’s-Stockton and San Ramon Valley.
Bellarmine is now 3-0.
The Bells have beaten then-No. 5 Menlo-Atherton 56-41 and then-No. 14 San Leandro on the road 41-6.
Friday, they toppled one of the Sac-Joaquin Section’s top programs.
PREP FOOTBALL WEEK 4 COVERAGE
There is no doubt that Bellarmine, in its first fall season since Beauchman took over from the legendary Mike Janda in March 2020, is back among the Bay Area’s top teams after a half-decade slide.
But with the West Catholic Athletic League starting this weekend, are the Bells good enough to pose a threat to favorites Serra and St. Francis, ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in last week’s Bay Area News Group Top 25?
Are they good enough to finish ahead of No. 10 Valley Christian?
Over the past five seasons, including the one last spring, Bellarmine has not beaten any of those three teams. The Bells are 0-5 against both St. Francis and Valley and 0-4 against Serra.
The prevailing thought is that the WCAL championship will be decided on Nov. 6 in San Mateo when St. Francis visits Serra.
But will Bellarmine spoil that party before we get to that point?
The Bells visit Serra on Oct. 2 and play archrival St. Francis at San Jose City College on Oct. 22. In its last game, St. Francis ended De La Salle’s 30-year regional unbeaten streak.
Bellarmine opens WCAL play Friday at SJCC against Riordan.
Beauchman was asked about the WCAL as he stood on the field after the victory over Central Catholic. The Bellarmine alum (Class of 2006) said the league looks tougher than it has been in a long time.
“I don’t pay too much attention to the rankings, but I’m sure you know, WCAL schools are high up there,” Beauchman said. “It’s really going to come down to who prepares well the week prior to the game and who shows up to play on game day.
“I don’t think anyone’s favored, and I truly mean that. Week in and week out, you can’t sleep in this league. That’s how you’ll get yourself a loss.”
Bellarmine began this season unranked. The Bells are No. 9 now, with the updated Bay Area News Group Top 25 set to post Tuesday morning.
They’ve gone from dial-up to high-speed overnight, modernizing the offense and promoting their brand and players frequently on social media.
A day after the victory over Central Catholic, Bellarmine Football tweeted four photos of the players in the weight room.
“Less than 24 hours and we’re right back to work,” the team tweeted with a strong arm emoji. “No time to waste.”
Less than 24 hours and we’re right back to work 💪 No time to waste ⏰ #GoBells pic.twitter.com/5Ohqik0WU9 — Bellarmine Football (@bcpfootball) September 19, 2021
The players love it.
They won Friday when Thomas Divittorio caught a 34-yard touchdown from Wade Smith with 56 seconds left and Nate Escalada intercepted a pass in the end zone as time expired.
Asked outside the locker room what Beauchman has meant to the program, Divittorio said, “Oh man, the culture change. Everything he is doing, we expect to win every single day, every single game, no matter who we face. As long as we stay disciplined, there is no one that can stop us.”
Smith added, “I’m confident in our team. There’s nobody I’d rather go out to battle with against any WCAL team than these boys right here in the locker room. We’ve just got to keep working, keep getting better every week.”
Sergio Beltran’s secret? A former Bellarmine QB
After Menlo’s hard-fought 15-6 win at home in Atherton over Terra Nova on Saturday, the Knights’ offensive coordinator called quarterback Sergio Beltran to the front during his postgame address to the team.
“He’s been our light for two years,” Austyn Carta-Samuels said.
Beltran — everyone calls him “Serg” — has passed for 18 touchdowns in four games, all wins for unbeaten Menlo. Seventeen of those came in his first three contests, and seven came in his very first half of football this fall — a program record for a whole game.
What’s the secret to his success?
“That guy right there,” Beltran said, gesturing to Carta-Samuels, the offensive coordinator who came to the idyllic Atherton campus after a quarterbacking career of his own that took him from Bellarmine (2006-08) to Wyoming (2009) and finally Vanderbilt (2011-13). He started coaching at Missouri, where he helped recruit and coach future NFL second-round pick Drew Lock, before returning to the Bay Area prep scene.
“I mean, he played quarterback in the SEC,” Beltran continued. “He knows what he’s talking about. We know we can trust him, and we trust each other.”
Carta-Samuels knows how a quarterback thinks; trust is the biggest component, he said.
“You have to protect the quarterback’s mind,” Carta-Samuels said. “Let him operate and be himself. He’s an incredible player. The only pat on the back I give myself is I let him be him.”
On Saturday, Terra Nova’s physical defense stifled Beltran’s arm more than any other opponent this season (14-28, 167 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT), but he beat them with his legs (157 yards rushing).
His passing totals were still enough to increase his yards to more than 1,000 this season in his first four games. The 14 incompletions were more than he threw in his first three games, combined.
“How’d you play today, Serge?” Carta-Samuels asked his quarterback after he embraced him in front of the team.
“I played all right,” Beltran responded.
They both knew it wasn’t the prolific performance that had become the norm in his first three games this season. Beltran, a physical runner for his stature at 5-11, also took some hard hits, including two personal-foul penalties.
After dismissing the rest of the team, Carta-Samuels put his arm around Beltran’s shoulder and talked privately for a few more minutes.
“I see a lot of myself in him,” Carta-Samuels said.
With more than 1,000 yards and 18 touchdowns already, with six games still to play, Beltran said he doesn’t have any records in mind.
“A lot of those touchdowns are because of the receivers,” Beltran said with a laugh. “I throw 5-yard slants, and they take it 80 yards to the house.”
De La Salle’s lessons for its bye week
De La Salle is off this week, but the Spartans won’t be treating this like a bye week.
The Spartans rebounded with a statement win following their first loss to a regional opponent in 30 years, but they still have room to improve, coach Justin Alumbaugh said.
Asked if they need a more complete game to beat Folsom in three weeks, Alumbaugh immediately turned to St. Frances Academy (Baltimore), who’s next up on the Spartans’ schedule.
But first, De La Salle gets a week to regroup.
“We’ve got a bye week, but we can’t use it as a bye. We have to get better,” Alumbaugh said. “We knew this was going to be a challenging schedule. We did it on purpose. We’re being challenged.”
The Spartans spotted 14 points to St. Francis and Cathedral Catholic each of the past two weeks. They were able to respond and emerge with a 42-20 win on Friday, which Alumbaugh credited to a more impassioned and cohesive effort.
The biggest area of improvement, Alumbaugh said, was on defense and in the running game. (Charles Greer’s 237 yards ranked among the top 20 rushing performances in school history.)
“Last week (against St. Francis), I was really disappointed in our defense,” Alumbaugh said. “We were out of position and not physical. I was really mad. It was disheartening. This week, our defense was really physical (and had) better spots. … I was much more pleased with the defense. …
“Our offensive line has been good all year,” he continued. “Our runners finally started breaking tackles.”
Week 4 isn’t over
Clayton Valley Charter found an opponent to come to Concord for a Week 4 game: Benicia.
The teams will play tonight (Monday, Sept. 20) at 7 p.m.
Each team had games canceled Friday but both wanted a home game. Clayton Valley will pay Benicia $3,000 to make the 17-mile trip to Concord, Ugly Eagles coach Tim Murphy told the Bay Area News Group on Saturday.
Clayton Valley is ranked 11th, Benicia 12th.
Peek ahead
Wilcox (1-3) at Los Gatos (4-0), Friday, 7 p.m.: SCVAL De Anza favorites meet in a league opener. Wilcox is coming off a 31-26 loss to No. 3 Pittsburg.
St. Ignatius (2-1) at St. Francis (2-0), Friday, 7 p.m.: St. Francis’ first game since its historic victory over De La Salle.
McClymonds (3-0) at Menlo-Atherton (1-2), 7 p.m.: Mack looked really good in its win Friday over Marin Catholic. Another big test awaits.
El Cerrito (3-1) at Monte Vista (3-0), Friday, 7 p.m.: El Cerrito has won three in a row since opening with a 6-0 loss to Marin Catholic.
Foothill (3-1) at Amador Valley (4-0), Friday, 7 p.m.: The battle of Pleasanton has the looks of a thriller.
Las Lomas (3-1) at San Ramon Valley (2-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: When these teams met in Walnut Creek last spring, SRV won 35-28.