Welcome to the Bay Area News Group (Mercury News & East Bay Times) roundup of the best action in high school football from the second weekend of the fall season. Check back every Saturday for scores, highlights and top performers from the weekend’s games, updated throughout the day.
Ranked teams
No. 2 St. Francis 41, No. 12 Valley Christian 27
Viliami Teu was at it again for St. Francis, rushing for 282 yards in 27 carries to lead his team to a victory on its home field in Mountain View, which ended the Lancers’ four-game skid against Valley. Vytas Mazeika has the details here.
No. 3 De La Salle 31, Folsom 10
Zeke Berry returned the opening kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown and De La Salle never looked back against a home team that entered the game ranked No. 1 in Northern California. Darren Sabedra was in Folsom and has the complete recap here.
No. 4 Pittsburg 49, Heritage 14
Pittsburg, which had games against Serra and McClymonds canceled this season, played for the first time in three weeks Friday, beating Heritage in its Bay Valley Athletic League opener. The Pirates (3-1) led 42-7 at the half. “We’ve got some things we’ve got to get cleaned up,” Pitt coach Vic Galli said. “We need to get better.” Galli said the Serra and McClymonds cancellations will hurt in preparation for the postseason, as Pittsburg will be a heavy favorite in its four remaining BVAL contests. Against Heritage, junior quarterback Jaden Rashada threw for 363 yards, completing 21 of 30 passes and throwing for five touchdowns. Three of Rashada’s TD tosses went to Khai Taylor, who finished with four catches for 104 yards. Zack Card caught six balls for 74 yards and a score, and Rashid Williams had six receptions for 77 yards. Charles Brown Jr. rushed for 63 yards and two touchdowns. Heritage, which had only five seniors back from last season, is 3-3, 0-1. Patriots star running back Devon Rivers rushed for 88 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown. — Mike Lefkow
MORE PREP FOOTBALL WEEK 7 COVERAGE
No. 5 Los Gatos 37, Homestead 0
Emiliano Mejia rushed for 139 yards and three touchdowns, and Jake Boyd threw for a pair of scores as Los Gatos improved to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. With their victory Friday, the Wildcats have won 16 regular season games in a row. Mejia scored on runs of 3, 11 and 11 yards. Boyd threw both of his TD passes in the first half. He and Quinn Merritt connected on a 34-yard scoring strike in the first quarter, then he tossed a 27-yard TD to Alejandro Quijada shortly before halftime. Los Gatos led 21-0 at intermission. Senior defensive back Colin Kleis sparked the defense with two blocked punts and an interception. One of his blocked punts led to a third-quarter safety. If the Wildcats win their last three games, it would be their second straight perfect season. Last year they were 5-0 in the abbreviated spring campaign. Before that, Los Gatos hadn’t had an undefeated regular season since going 9-0-1 in 2007. The Wildcats still have games remaining with Palo Alto and Mountain View. Homestead saw its record evened at 3-3 overall and 1-1 in league. — Mike Lefkow
No. 6 California 19, No. 9 Clayton Valley 18
California, playing on its home field in San Ramon, stayed undefeated when Teddy Booras found Jake Calcagno in the back of the end zone with 15.5 seconds left for a 20-yard touchdown. Check out Phil Jensen’s story here.
No. 7 San Ramon Valley 41, No. 21 Amador Valley 13
San Ramon Valley scored the final two touchdowns to break open what was a competitive game for three-plus quarters in the EBAL-Mountain Division opener for both schools. Jack Quigley threw four touchdown passes, including two to heavily-recruited tight end Tyler Hoffman. Tanner Salisbury and Joshua Johnson were also on the receiving end of Quigley TD tosses, and Za’darion Nardi ran one in for a score. San Ramon Valley led 13-6 at the half and built the margin to 27-6 until Amador Valley scored first in the fourth quarter to make it 27-13. Amador Valley, which suffered its second straight defeat after opening with four straight wins, plays Monte Vista, Clayton Valley Charter, De La Salle and California before maybe getting a breather in the North Coast Section playoffs. SRV (5-1 overall) also has its work cut out with games against those same four teams over the next four weeks. — Mike Lefkow
No. 8 Bellarmine 42, Mitty 28
Bellarmine broke open a close game with three fourth-quarter touchdowns. The game was tied 14-14 at the half, then Bellarmine (5-1, 2-1 West Catholic Athletic League) finally grabbed its first lead when quarterback Wade Smith threw a 17-yard TD pass to 6-foot-3, 240-pound tight end Brody Stratz. A Mitty field goal made it 21-17 at the end of three quarters, but touchdown tosses by Smith to Stratz and Ben Pfaff made it 35-17 with 7:55 left. Smith finished the night with three TD passes. Pfaff scored three touchdowns, his first two coming on runs in the opening half. Junior linebacker Brandon Broch had a huge game for the Bells, intercepting a pass that set up their game-tying touchdown in the second quarter, then stopping Mitty with a tackle for loss on a third-down play. Mitty slipped to 1-5, 0-3, but the Monarchs have played better lately, losing to Riordan 14-7 last week before throwing a scare into Bellarmine on Friday. — Mike Lefkow
No. 11 Menlo Atherton 47, Half Moon Bay 46
In a thriller at Half Moon Bay, Jalen Moss clinched the victory for M-A with an interception in the end zone in the last minute, marking the second consecutive week that the three-star prospect with offers from Arizona State and Nebraska saved the Bears with a late interception. Last week, Moss picked off a pass near the goal line and returned it for a touchdown to clinch a 35-24 victory over Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills. Against Half Moon Bay, Joseph Flood, Thomas Taufui and Matt MacLeod rushed for scores for M-A (4-2, 1-0 PAL Bay), which led 41-30 at halftime. William Moffitt rushed for 235 yards and two touchdowns for Half Moon Bay (1-4, 0-1). Quinn McCauley added 168 yards on the ground and two touchdowns for the home team. — Phil Jensen
No. 17 Las Lomas 35, No. 16 Acalanes 34
Las Lomas, playing at home in Walnut Creek, held a 21-7 lead entering the fourth quarter and 35-14 with five minutes left, then had to hold off a massive charge by Acalanes to survive in this Diablo Athletic League Foothill Division opener. Las Lomas’ Frank Payne rushed for 200 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries as the Knights improved to 4-2 overall. Acalanes fell to 4-2, 0-1. — Phil Jensen
James Logan 35, No. 19 San Leandro 33
Khalid Robinson scored touchdowns on two long runs and sophomore backup QB Robert Mendez threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes to lead James Logan to an upset win over San Leandro. The Colts’ victory likely makes the Foothill Division of the MVAL/WACC a three-team race between James Logan, San Leandro and Bishop O’Dowd, which beat Hayward Friday night. San Leandro is 3-1 overall and 0-1 in league play, but came into this weekend as the favorite to win the Foothill race. James Logan and Bishop O’Dowd are 1-0 in league play. The Colts trailed 27-21 going into the fourth quarter. Mendez, who was playing in place of injured starter Marcus Sanders, connected on a 25-yard touchdown pass to Danzel Mercado that tied the score. Ricky Burton’s PAT put the Colts ahead, then he found Jack Morton from 8 yards to increase the lead to 35-27. Ferrari Miller Jr. scored on a 2-yard run for San Leandro with under a minute left to make it 35-33, but the two-point conversion failed. — Mike Lefkow
No. 20 Benicia 35, No. 22 Campolindo 0
After taking bad losses against Clayton Valley Charter and Windsor in two of its past three games, Benicia came out firing on all cylinders at Campolindo, building a 28-0 halftime lead. Tyson Wallace threw four touchdown paaes, two to Colorado-bound Simeon Harris and one apiece to Janari Boone and UCLA commit Croix Stewart. Boone scored the first touchdown of the game on a 13-yard run. The Panthers (4-2, 1-0 in the Diablo Athletic League Foothill Division) outgained host Campolindo (3-3, 0-1) 302-116 in total yardage. Campo had appeared to straighten itself out after a slow start that included a 49-0 loss at home to Aptos. “Funny thing is, we had kids in places to make plays. We couldn’t and they did,” Campo coach Kevin Macy said. “Most of the damage was done on big pass plays.” Benicia intercepted the Cougars four times. — Mike Lefkow
No. 24 Leland 21, Oak Grove 0
Leland stayed undefeated in BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division play as Nathan Wright threw two touchdown passes to lead the way. Wright connected with Nick Ames from 7 yards out for the first score and then completed a 9-yard pass to Mark Eby for a 14-0 lead after one quarter. The score didn’t budge until Pierre Goldstein crossed the goal line on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter. The shutout was Leland’s second of the season. For Oak Grove, the outcome marked the third time in five games that it was held scoreless. The Eagles have scored 33 points all season. Leland improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Mt. Hamilton Division. Oak Grove is 1-4, 0-3. — Darren Sabedra
No. 25 Dublin 39, Granada 10
Jayden Petrus rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns (3 and 10 yards) on 12 carries as the visiting Gaels won their East Bay Athletic League Valley Division opener. Brandon Burns also scored two touchdowns on receptions of 13 and 23 yards. He had four catches in total for 76 yards. He also opened the second half with a 97-yard kickoff return for a score. Dublin led 26-3 at halftime. The Gaels’ TJ Costello had three receptions for 66 yards, including a five-yard touchdown. Dublin quarterback Anthony Armendariz threw for 136 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively for Dublin, Gary Cabida had an interception, and KJ Sweeney and Costello played well at linebacker. Jake Conney, Raphael Garner and Josh Lijesen were standouts both on the offensive and defensive lines for Dublin, which improved to 5-2 overall. Granada fell to 2-5, 0-1. — Phil Jensen
East Bay
Bishop O’Dowd 46, Hayward 6
The host Dragons returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and didn’t look back in winning their MVAL/WACC Foothill Division opener. Daniel Harper scored on the kickoff return, and Ty Jones had touchdown passes to Alijah Brown, Isaac Greene and Tyler Barsi. Matt White had one rushing touchdown for the Dragons (2-4 overall), and teammate Julian Wilson recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown. Defensively, Joseph Matthews, Oliver Lucas and John Marcone provided constant pressure for Bishop O’Dowd, and linebacker Charlie Van Ness also had an outstanding game. Hayward fell to 1-5, 0-1 with the loss. — Phil Jensen
Northgate 41, Berean Christian 6
The host Broncos scored five touchdowns in the first half in their Diablo Athletic League Valley Division opener. Brandon MacCarter scored the first two TDs, on a 5-yard run and a 30-yard pass. In the second quarter, Michael Harris (35-yard run), Emanuel Webster (15-yard run) and RJ Anderson (45-yard pass) scored for the Broncos. In the second half, Northgate’s Gavin Kuruneru caught a 15-yard TD pass. Northgate improved to 4-2, 1-0. Berean Christian fell to 1-4, 0-1. — Phil Jensen
South Bay/Peninsula
Wilcox 42, Milpitas 14
Wilcox won its second game in a row in the SCVAL De Anza Division, taking charge immediately as Andrew Palacios scored on an 80-yard run on the first play Thursday. He finished with 101 yards. Luther Glenn, who ran for 300-plus yards last week against Mountain View, rushed for two TDs and caught a TD pass against Milpitas. Armand Johnson threw both of Wilcox’s TD passes. Wilcox improved to 3-4, 2-1. Milpitas slid to 1-5, 0-2. — Darren Sabedra
Pioneer 17, Leigh 14
Visiting Pioneer took a 14-0 lead in the third quarter, then held off a fierce charge by the Longhorns to stay undefeated in the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s Santa Teresa Division and snap Leigh’s 10-game winning streak dating to an undefeated spring season. Pioneer quarterback Gage Houser threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Kanye Henry and completed all six of his passes for 109 yards. Teammate Axel Garcia rushed for 78 yards, including a touchdown, on 13 carries. Defensively, Jeremiah Lolohea had 13 total tackles (six solo) and an interception for Pioneer (4-2, 3-0). Leigh fell to 5-1, 2-1. — Phil Jensen
Lincoln-San Jose 47, Piedmont Hills 0
Lincoln stayed in the BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division race on Thursday with a dominant performance on its home field in San Jose. The Lions built a 30-0 lead at halftime against an opponent that came in averaging nearly 25 points per game and Tayden Phillips’ 69-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter made sure there would be no comeback for the visitors. Lincoln improved to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the league. Piedmont Hills dropped to 3-3, 1-2. With the Big Bone game against San Jose played on Labor Day this season instead of Thanksgiving, Lincoln is eligible to participate in the CCS playoffs for the first time. At this point, the Lions are looking like they’ll qualify. — Darren Sabedra
Santa Teresa 34, Overfelt 0
Santa Teresa, playing on its home field Thursday, surged to a 27-0 halftime lead and coasted to victory in this BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division game. Ezekiel Herena’s 19-yard run put Santa Teresa on top 7-0 in the first quarter. The first of Joshua Reyes’s two touchdown runs — both from 3 yards out — extended the lead to 13-0, and Jayden Arevalo’s 32-yard pass to Kai Matthews made it 20-0. Arevalo also scored on a 1-yard run. Santa Teresa improved to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the league. Overfelt is 3-2-1, 1-2. — Darren Sabedra
Live Oak 38, Silver Creek 7
Looking to bounce back after a one-point loss last week against Leland, Live Oak dominated from the outset in this BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division game. The Acorns, playing at home in Morgan Hill on Thursday, led 17-0 after the first quarter and 31-0 at halftime. Each team scored in the third quarter to account for the final score. Live Oak improved to 4-2, 2-1. Silver Creek fell to 3-3, 1-2. — Darren Sabedra
Los Altos 34, Gunn 7
The host Eagles had two touchdown passes from Jimmy Flynn to Cole Rafferty in the victory. Zach Fagin, Ming Park and Greg Schumann reached the end zone on the ground for Los Altos (3-2, 2-0 SCVAL El Camino Division). The Eagles’ defense also played well, forcing two fumbles. Gunn (4-2, 1-1) took a 7-0 lead on a touchdown by Kevin Green. — Phil Jensen
Branham 42, Prospect 26
The visiting Bruins got four rushing touchdowns and 250 all-purpose yards from Will Augenstein in the victory. Teammate Jacob DeSousa added two rushing touchdowns in his first career game as a running back. Defensively, Branham (4-2, 2-1 BVAL Santa Teresa) forced three turnovers. Prospect fell to 3-3, 1-2.
— Phil Jensen
Del Mar 44, San Jose 6
Jakerion Thurman rushed for 276 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries as the Dons improved to 2-1 in the Blossom Valley Athletic League West Valley Division and 2-3 overall. Thurman also scored on a fumble return. Andre Latimore, a sophomore, added 60 yards rushing and a touchdown for Del Mar, and John Padilla returned a fumble 55 yards for another score. San Jose fell to 0-6, 0-3. — Phil Jensen
Cupertino 26, Fremont-Sunnyvale 21
Jayden Hall passed for 262 passing yards and three touchdowns as Cupertino, playing at home, remained undefeated (5-0, 2-0 SCVAL El Camino Division). Carter Tsang, Benjamin Chen and Harry Singh all caught touchdown passes and had 70 or more yards in receptions. Cupertino led 20-7 at the end of three quarters, but Fremont (3-3, 1-1) rallied to take a 21-20 lead on a Lenny Sinapati two-point conversion with three minutes left. However, Hall threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Tsang for the winning points. For Fremont, TJ Takafua had 12 carries for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Sinapati added 77 yards rushing and four receptions for 35 yards — Phil Jensen
San Mateo 34, Mills 0
San Mateo got 112 rushing yards, two touchdowns on the ground and one passing touchdown from Giancarlo Selvitella in the victory. San Mateo improved to 6-0 overall and 1-0 in the PAL Lake Division. Mills fell to 0-5, 0-3. — Phil Jensen