A look at some of the top games this weekend:
Clayton Valley at De La Salle, Friday 7:30 – Clayton Valley Charter makes the trek down Treat Boulevard to take on the four-time Open Division state champion Spartans. The NCS Division II champion Eagles look like the favorite in the DVAL, but will have difficulty stopping the seasoned De La Salle offense.
As Nate Smith observed at their Friday scrimmage, the Spartans are once again loaded and senior quarterback Chris Williams, in his second year as a starter, looks particularly impressive.
Prediction: De La Salle 48, Clayton Valley 20.
James Logan at Del Oro, Friday 7:30 – The Colts have a lot to prove after graduating one of their better senior classes and a banner 12-2, NCS runner-up season. Can James Logan get major performances from Nevada commit Ahki Muhammad at running back and new junior quarterback Christian Leota?
As for the Golden Eagles, they parlayed their 20-13 overtime win over Logan last season into a stretch of good football and reached the SJS Division II semifinals. This season, Del Oro has standout receiver Tyler Meteer and running back Dylan Kainrath, who was the second leading rusher on the team. Defensively, Meteer was the leading tackler and Tanner Woods had 10 sacks.
Prediction: James Logan 14, Del Oro 13.
El Cerrito at Sutter, Friday 7:30 – Both these teams saw their seasons end to Jared Goff and Marin Catholic. Sutter was 13-1 last season and the CIF NorCal Division III bowl representative, while the Gauchos made it to the NCS title game and also finished 13-1.
With USC commit D.J. Calhoun, Cal commit Jalen Harvey, and highly touted Adarius Pickett, El Cerrito is the favorite here. The Gauchos run on talent doesn’t stop there, and a second season as starting quarterback for senior Keilan Benjamin makes El Cerrito better than last season. Sutter, meanwhile, has a new quarterback this season, has to replace two thousand-yard rushers, and only have one returning starter on offense. Senior Alex Ingram is a pivotal playmaker for the Huskies and scored nine touchdowns a year ago.
Prediction: El Cerrito 30, Sutter 13.
San Ramon Valley at Buhach Colony, Friday 7 – San Ramon Valley impressed in its scrimmage at Monte Vista on Friday night and the Wolves believe they are better defensively, especially against the run, as they head into a brutal four-game stretch to start the season (Buhach, Logan, Folsom, and DLS). The Wolves allowed 341 rushing yards in last year’s tilt for a 28-24 loss to the Thunder.
Marcus de la Pena is one of the top backs in the Bay Area and will look to improve on his 167-rushing yard effort against Buhach. San Ramon Valley is more experienced and looks like the favorite to exact revenge. Thunder quarterback Darin DuPont is a major threat to run and might need a big game as Buhach tries to replace a lot of premium talent from last year’s outfit.
Prediction: San Ramon Valley 28, Buhach Colony 24.
Amador Valley at Freedom, Friday 7 – In another revenge game, Freedom will be looking to beat Amador Valley after the Dons surprised Freedom last season, 29-27, on their way to a banner year.
Freedom running back Joe Mixon told Prep2Prep he’s looking to score 50 touchdowns and run for 3,000 yards this season. As unattainable as that appears to be, Mixon looked terrific in the scrimmage at Monte Vista. How much pressure can he take off the shoulders of sophomore quarterback Joey Sweeney? How will the Dons look after graduating one of the better senior classes they’ve had?
Prediction: Freedom 34, Amador Valley 18.
Castro Valley at Monte Vista, Friday 7 – The Monte Vista coaching staff has to be excited about the team’s offensive potential heading into 2013. Quarterback Nikita Zamora, who threw for 185 yards and two scores against Castro Valley last season, looked very accurate in his team’s scrimmage last week and has a new, but solid offensive line. Marco Zamora will be the favorite target and can stretch the field, but also make tough catches across the middle.
Castro Valley’s Demareyeh Lane leads a potent Trojans running attack but, in losses to the Mustangs the last two years, the defense has allowed 38 points per game.
Prediction: Monte Vista 42, Castro Valley 24.
Pittsburg at Analy, Friday 7 – Victor Galli appears to have a strong team once again at Pittsburg, led by senior back Harris Ross, who is poised to have a big season and watch more Division I offers roll in. This game could be a chance for new quarterback Keith Walker to emerge.
As for Analy, they had their best season in school history as the Tigers finished 12-1 and reached the NCS Division III semifinals. 6-foot-4, 305-pound Jacob Hicks leads a solid line and 5-foot-4 Ja’narrick James is one of the more elusive players in the NCS and scored 10 touchdowns a year ago.
Prediction: Pittsburg 42, Analy 30.
Miramonte at Marin Catholic, Saturday 2 – In terms of pure quarterback matchups, this one is the best of the weekend. Marin Catholic senior Morgan Mahalak has already committed to Oregon even though this is his first season as the Wildcats signal-caller. Mahalak had a great summer, including at the Elite 11, and also has a terrific receiving mate in Nevada commit Andrew Celis.
Miramonte’s Drew Anderson is going to put up monster numbers this season after leading the team to 35 points per game in the final five contests of last year. Speaking of 2012, Marin Catholic scored 90 points in two wins against the Mats, including a 59-6 playoff win. Miramonte did play tough in the regular season opener, a 31-14 Wildcats win, last year.
Prediction: Marin Catholic 34, Miramonte 21.
Bishop O’Dowd at Las Lomas, Friday 7 – Last year, O’Dowd made quite the season-opening statement in a 47-21 win over Las Lomas. This season, the Dragons have to replace a lot of skill talent, but have a strong linebacking corps, including 6-foot-4 Alex Holme. Junior Chris Hagmaier received valuable experience at quarterback last season.
As for Las Lomas, the Knights also have a junior quarterback in Ben Wood. He is joined by backfield mate Greyson Bromstad, who ran for 388 yards last season.
Prediction: Bishop O'Dowd 20, Las Lomas 17.
Washington at California, Friday 7 – Cal has beaten the Huskies in each of the past three seasons, including a 40-7 win last season. In fact, the Grizzlies have averaged 39.3 points in the last three meetings and look to be explosive again this season. Senior quarterback Cameron Owen is poised to have a big year and fullback Blake Bierwith could be looking to repeat his 90-yard, two-touchdown game against Washington last year.
The Huskies are led by skill players Terrance Jones and Nate Woudstra, who will also be a huge help in the secondary.
Prediction: California 42, Washington 20.
Heritage at Campolindo, Friday 7 – Jack Stephens, younger brother of the graduated Brett Stephens, is the Campo quarterback while Andrew Zokintakis recovers from a stress fracture in his throwing arm. The good news is that Stephens has one of the top receivers in the Bay Area in Justin Dunn and it appears the Cougars have an improved ground game.
As for Heritage, we get a look at new quarterback Sohail Mohsini and this could give us an idea how much better the Patriots are than last season.
Prediction: Campolindo 24, Heritage 19.
Hercules at Acalanes, Friday 7 – These were both NCS Division III playoff teams last season, but Acalanes hammered the Titans, 34-7, in last year’s season opener as Peter Mitchell ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Mitchell, a senior, is poised to have a big season and, if the Dons passing game has evolved, may be a 1,500+ yard running back.
Prediction: Acalanes 34, Hercules 13.
McClymonds at Highlands, Friday 7:30 – McClymonds is regarded as one of the top 25 teams in the Bay Area again and junior Lavance Warren is ready to follow a fantastic sophomore season.
For Highlands, Junior Jenkins had a ridiculous 148 tackles last season while Greg Eason is the top returner on offense for a team that was a San Joaquin Section Division V semifinalist last year.
Prediction: McClymonds 30, Highlands 18.
Concord at Liberty, Friday 7 – Concord quarterback Mitchell Daniels will be looking to put big numbers against a Lions defense that allowed 33.7 points per game last season. Ivan Oseguera is the Lions top player and one of the more exciting players in the BVAL.
Prediction: Concord 34, Liberty 19.
College Park at Alhambra, Friday 7 – This is an underrated rivalry game that usually opens the season for both programs. College Park has won five of the last seven meetings, but Alhambra has taken two of the last three. This includes the Bulldogs 38-27 victory a year ago as they raced out to a 24-0 lead and capitalized on four College Park turnovers.
Alhambra is expected to be much improved this season and quarterback Josh Evans performance in this game will be intriguing.
Prediction: Alhambra 28, College Park 24.
Foothill at Novato, Saturday 2 – The Falcons obliterated Novato last season, 52-9, as then-sophomore Kyle Kearns completed seven of 10 passes in his first start, including six touchdown passes.
Kearns has fellow junior Isaiah Langley and senior Jamirr Holland in what may be one of the best trios in Northern California. The Hornets also have a junior quarterback in Robbie Cassee and are coming off a 7-4 playoff season.
Prediction: Foothill 34, Novato 21.
San Marin at St. Patrick-St. Vincent, Friday 7 – Arizona State commit Manny Wilkins quarterbacks San Marin against a Bruins team that is looking to put last year’s disastrous 1-9 season behind them. Washington basketball commit Jalen Canty, who goes 6-8 and 240, also plays football and will be a force at defensive end and receiver for St. Pat’s.
Prediction: San Marin 28, St. Patrick-St. Vincent 7.
San Leandro at Valley Christian-Dublin, Friday 7 – After eight straight winning seasons, San Leandro now has to bounce back from a rare 1-9 season. After good experience on varsity the last two seasons, Pirates junior quarterback Stephen Johnson looks to have a big season.
The Vikings are stacked up front with linemen Logan McHone and Sean Flynn, who average 6-foot-4.5 inches and 275 pounds.
Prediction: San Leandro 22, Valley Christian-Dublin 20.
Windsor at Granada, Friday 7 – Both teams were 4-6 last season, but are playoff hopefuls. Granada, in particular, needs a win here to better its chances, but also to sustain confidence. It will be interesting to see who gets a majority of the snaps at quarterback between the Mats’ Tyler Offill and Casey Soltis.
Prediction: Granada 30, Windsor 13.
Cardinal Newman at Modesto Christian, Friday 7:30 – The Cardinals had their way last year with the Crusaders, 48-20, and bring back one of the top quarterbacks in the area in senior Keaton Dunsford.
Prediction: Cardinal Newman 44, Modesto Christian 21.
