This weekend might be lighter than previous weeks in terms of the number of games, but not in terms of a heavyweight matchup.

Pittsburg playing host to Folsom on Friday night highlights the schedule.

Other games of note include De La Salle at Cathedral-San Diego, Menlo-Atherton at Del Oro-Loomis and Archbishop Riordan at Sacred Heart Prep.

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Here is the Week 4 preview and schedule:

Top matchups

Friday

No. 2 De La Salle (2-1) at Cathedral-San Diego (2-2), 7 p.m.: This could have been a state championship game last season. But De La Salle lost to Folsom in a regional and a week later Cathedral defeated Folsom for the Division 1-AA title. But earlier in the season, De La Salle and Cathedral played in Concord. The home team won 49-21. Both teams have many new faces now, not all because of graduation. DLS is dealing with numerous injuries, including to standouts such as OL/DL Derek Thompson, LB Peter Rachwald and DL Chase Tofaeono. The Spartans have multiple freshmen and sophomores filling some of the gaps. Last week, DLS routed St. Francis 35-3, bouncing back from a three-point loss to Serra a week earlier. Dylan Greeson had four rushing attempts against St. Francis but finished with 136 yards and two TDs. Notre Dame-bound TE Cooper Flanagan chipped in with three receptions for 66 yards and a TD. Cathedral beat Helix-Las Mesa 14-13 last week. In its previous two games, Cathedral lost to Centennial-Corona 42-7 and Chandler (Arizona) 63-7. — Darren Sabedra

Folsom (2-1) at No. 3 Pittsburg (3-0), 7 p.m: The Pirates have survived a harrowing non-league schedule (and a trip to San Diego) unscathed, but they have another challenging test this week. Folsom has blown out two opponents. Its only loss was to Serra by five points. Rico Flores, a Notre Dame commit, has 344 yards receiving, and three-star QB Austin Mack has 10 touchdowns through the air. Pittsburg QB Jaden Rashada has lived up to his four-star status, throwing for eight touchdowns and running for another. While WR Rashid Williams rightfully gets most of the attention and his fair share of yards, Khai Taylor has been just as productive. The senior has three touchdown catches and is averaging over 22 yards per catch. — Joseph Dycus

No. 4 Menlo-Atherton (2-0) at Del Oro-Loomis (4-0), 7 p.m.: After having last weekend off, M-A will make the two-plus-hour trip to Loomis for a matchup against one of the Sacramento area’s traditional powers. Del Oro went on the road two weeks ago and beat Clayton Valley 31-27. In its other three games, Del Oro has won by an average of 30 points. Caden Pinnick is a big reason for the hot start. The QB has thrown for 481 yards and seven touchdowns while completing 72.2% of his passes. RB Kainoa Acia has rushed for 430 yards and three TDs. M-A opened its season with wins at home over Bellarmine and Elk Grove. Bears QB Billy Johnson has completed 37 of 56 passes for 569 yards and eight TDs. Jurrion Dickey, the five-star Oregon-bound receiver, has caught five TD passes. — Darren Sabedra

No. 11 Campolindo (3-0) vs. San Leandro (1-2) at Burrell Field in San Leandro, 7 p.m.: Campolindo has been the Cardiac Kids, rallying on the road to beat Aptos and Windsor the past two weeks. The Cougars scored on the final play last Friday against Windsor as Dashiell Weaver connected with Scott Lyon for the touchdown and 28-26 victory. Weaver has thrown for 575 yards and seven touchdowns. He also has five interceptions. San Leandro is coming off a 25-6 loss last week against Bellarmine at Burrell Field. Jayden Bryant ran for 135 yards and a touchdown in four carries in that game, but the defense gave up 348 rushing yards. When Campo and San Leandro played last season in Moraga, the home team prevailed 34-27 as Weaver threw for three TDs. — Darren Sabedra

No. 13 El Cerrito (3-0) at No. 25 Foothill (2-1), 7 p.m.: The host Falcons are going through the toughest part of their schedule. They lost to Vanden last week, play El Cerrito on Friday night, then have non-league games against Amador Valley and San Ramon Valley the next two weeks. El Cerrito might be the toughest defense Foothill will face all season. But the matchup all eyes will focus on will be Foothill receiver Chris Lawson and Gauchos cornerback Warren Smith. That in itself will be worth the price of admission. Lawson is a sophomore with a four-star ranking from 247sports and offers from half of the Pac-12. Smith is rated a three-star and has committed to Washington State. Foothill has another good receiver in 6-foot-3, 215-pound tight end Kade Millard. El Cerrito, however, can counter with safety Jermaine Hargraves and DB Kamani Jackson. The Falcons might run before they pass Friday night. They have rushed for 587 yards thus far, or 195.6 yards per game. — Mike Lefkow

Vintage (1-2) at No. 15 Heritage (3-0), 7 p.m.: It’s hard to envision Friday night’s contest being much more than a Heritage tuneup for next week’s visit to James Logan. The unbeaten Patriots are at home, they are tough to contain whether they run or pass, and Vintage has been a one-dimensional team in its first three games. The Crushers are averaging 261 yards on the ground and have passed for a total of 29 yards. Still, Heritage will have to be wary. In the Crushers’ last visit to East Contra Costa County two weeks ago, they twice rallied from two-touchdown deficits to shock Antioch in overtime. Third-year coach Dave Fogelstrom has Heritage on a roll. The Patriots beat a good Whitney team 30-13 last week. They held a two-touchdown lead most of the way. Senior RB Devon Rivers has gained 720 yards in three games, and sophomore QB Austin Peters has completed 23 of 35 passes for 405 yards and six TDs. He has a pair of inviting targets in senior Jerimiah Ruffin, who has a Nevada offer, and junior Brooks Davis. The Patriots are scoring 42 points per game. In fairness, Vintage has played a tough schedule, with losses to San Ramon Valley and Cardinal Newman in addition to the win over Antioch. — Mike Lefkow

Leigh (0-3) at Branham (3-0), 7 p.m.: Recent results between these teams would indicate that Leigh should be the favorite in this one. The Longhorns have won the last two matchups and five of seven. But more immediate history — ie this season — paints Branham as a huge favorite. The Bruins are undefeated. Leigh is searching for its first win. That said, Leigh’s first two losses were by one score each, an indication that the Longhorns are better than their record. RB Shayan Shariat has two touchdowns and almost 200 yards on the ground, and junior wideout Carter Williams has caught both of the Longhorns’ receiving touchdowns. Branham crushed Gunderson by almost 50 last week and quarterback William Augenstein has almost as many rushing yards (472) as he does passing (487). Junior RB Elias Antillion is averaging over 10 yards per carry, and Mateo Poso has 180 yards receiving and is also a destructive defender. — Joseph Dycus 

Saturday

No. 14 Archbishop Riordan (2-0) at No. 23 Sacred Heart Prep (2-1), 2 p.m: Adhir Ravipati’s Crusaders have been one of the pleasant surprises of the early part of the year, sitting at 2-0 and looking like they could be contenders in the West Catholic Athletic League. In order to continue its perfect start, the team will have to slow down Sacred Heart Prep’s prolific rushing attack. Andrew Latu leads an offense that averages more than 200 yards rushing per game. Defensively, Shay O’Kelly already has eight tackles per loss. SHP would be undefeated if not for a one-point loss to Sacred Heart Cathedral in Week 1. — Joseph Dycus

Schedule

Friday, Sept. 16

EAST BAY

Non-league

American Canyon at Livermore, 7 p.m.

Benicia at Moreau Catholic, 7 p.m.

California at Antioch, 7 p.m.

Campolindo vs. San Leandro at Burrell Field in San Leandro, 7 p.m.

Cardinal Newman at De Anza, 7 p.m.

Concord at Richmond, 7 p.m.

El Cerrito at Foothill, 7 p.m.

Granada at Amador Valley, 7 p.m.

Hayward at Tennyson, 7 p.m.

Hercules at College Park, 7 p.m.

Middletown at St. Patrick-St. Vincent, 7 p.m.

Monte Vista at Liberty, 7 p.m.

Northgate vs. Bethel at Vallejo, 7:30 p.m.

Newark Memorial at Mt. Eden, 7 p.m.

Redwood at Acalanes, 7 p.m.

San Ramon Valley at Las Lomas, 7 p.m.

Vallejo vs. Alameda at Thompson Field in Alameda, 7 p.m.

Vintage at Heritage, 7 p.m.

Ygnacio Valley vs. Kennedy-Fremont at Washington-Fremont, 7 p.m.

SOUTH BAY/PENINSULA/SF

BVAL Mt. Hamilton

Santa Teresa at Leland, 7 p.m.

PAL/SCVAL Lake

Fremont-Sunnyvale at Monta Vista, 7 p.m.

Woodside at Mills, 7 p.m.

Non-league

Aragon at Milpitas, 7 p.m.

Burlingame at Homestead, 7 p.m.

Cupertino at Terra Nova, 7 p.m.

Gunderson at Pioneer, 7 p.m.

The King’s Academy at Hillsdale, 7 p.m.

Leigh at Branham, 7 p.m.

Los Altos at Capuchino, 7 p.m.

Mountain View at Half Moon Bay, 7 p.m.

Overfelt at Silver Creek, 7 p.m.

Piedmont Hills at Westmont, 7 p.m.

Prospect at Independence, 7 p.m.

San Mateo at Gunn, 7 p.m.

Santa Clara at Carlmont, 7 p.m.

Sequoia at Jefferson, 7 p.m.

INTERSECTIONAL

Bishop O’Dowd at St. Mary’s-Stockton, 7 p.m.

Burton at Harker, 7 p.m.

De La Salle at Cathedral-San Diego, 7 p.m.

Encinal at Fremont-Oakland, 7 p.m.

Fairfield at Alhambra, 7 p.m.

Folsom at Pittsburg, 7 p.m.

Lowell at Dougherty Valley, 7 p.m.

Menlo School at Freedom, 7 p.m.

Menlo-Atherton at Del Oro-Loomis, 7 p.m.

Oakdale at Miramonte, 7 p.m.

Piedmont at Pierce-Arbuckle, 7:30 p.m.

St. Vincent at Oakland Tech, 7 p.m.

Turlock at Clayton Valley, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 17

EAST BAY

Non-league

American vs. Irvington at Washington-Fremont, 1 p.m.

Berean Christian at Salesian, 1 p.m.

James Logan at Marin Catholic, 2 p.m.

Mt. Diablo at Arroyo, 2 p.m.

San Lorenzo at Washington-Fremont, 7 p.m.

SOUTH BAY/PENINSULA/SF

Non-league

Riordan at Sacred Heart Prep, 2 p.m.

Sobrato at Gilroy, 7 p.m.

INTERSECTIONAL

Berkeley at Galileo, 2 p.m.

Deer Valley at Balboa, 2 p.m.

McClymonds at Tamalpais, 2 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 19

INTERSECTIONAL

Kimball-Tracy at Dublin, 6:30 p.m.

How to report results/game details

We encourage Bay Area coaches or team statisticians to email the final score and key scoring plays (a few stats, if you have them) to highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com right after each game. Please include the school names in the subject line.

Predictions

Look here as the Bay Area News Group’s Darren Sabedra and Joseph Dycus and correspondent Mike Lefkow make their weekly predictions.

Source: www.mercurynews.com