Heading into the second week of the season, there are already some huge non-league games between Central Coast Section schools, games which could have large impacts for playoff seeding down the road.
We already saw some key games take place last week between CCS schools, and the stakes only get higher as the season goes on. Also, for our top inter-sectional games this week involving CCS teams, check out Harold Abend’s NorCal Games of the Week column.
#11 Mitty (0-1) at #3 Menlo-Atherton (0-1), Friday, 7:30 pm
Friday’s battle won’t only be a critical one for two teams who suffered home losses in their season openers, it’ll also be a huge measuring stick. The WCAL picture should be much clearer as Mitty’s result will be compared to Bellarmine, who beat M-A 21-16 in a nailbiter on Friday.
As for Menlo-Atherton, Friday’s showing will give an idea of where the Bears factor into the overall CCS picture. They nearly took Bellarmine down despite a handful of unusual injuries. Starting safety D’arius Gipson missed the Bellarmine game after a car crash, and fellow safety Samson Motuliki was injured running out of the tunnel before the game. Both may be available against Mitty. It should be remembered that M-A has been at its best late in the season the past two years, so the Bears may not yet be in their final form.
#7 Palma (0-0) at #1 St. Francis (1-0), Friday, 7:30 pm
Palma and St. Francis will meet for their annual matchup on Friday, with St. Francis winning the previous two meetings. The game has typically been a defensive battle, with last year’s game finishing 8-7. Replacing record-setting rusher Emilio Martinez will be a challenge for Palma, and it will be especially difficult against a defense that includes Tyler Manoa, Joshua Pakola and Junior Fehoko, all of whom are entertaining Pac-12 offers.
St. Francis is coming off a comfortable season-opening win against another annual opponent, a 35-0 road triumph over a retooling Oak Grove team. Perhaps the most encouraging sign for the Lancers was the success of the rushing game. The tandem of Darrell Page and Lucas Andrighetto filled the role formerly occupied by Cyrus Habibi-Likio while Opeti Fangupo continued his dominance in short-yardage situations as a powerful fullback.
#12 Half Moon Bay (1-0) at #22 Palo Alto (0-1), Friday, 7 pm
Half Moon Bay made a statement with a 63-7 romp at Saratoga and will have a chance to cement its status as a serious PAL-Bay and CCS contender against another SCVAL opponent. Palo Alto will look to regain its footing after a season-opening loss at Patterson in which they trailed 27-7 and 37-14.
The showdown may be one of the most interesting CCS matchups on Friday from a matchup standpoint. Palo Alto will have a size advantage, something that the Vikings have rarely had in the last couple years against the behemoths of the De Anza League. Instead, Bryant Jefferson and the rest of the Palo Alto defensive line will have to match up with Half Moon Bay’s unconventional offense that has a knack for making plays look like rugby scrums. Both teams feature ultra-talented running backs, with Half Moon Bay’s Chase Hofmann countering Palo Alto’s Paul Jackson III. There’s also no shortage of talent at QB, with Gavin Tomberlin under center for the Cougars and Jackson Chryst for Paly.
#18 Oak Grove (0-1) at Salinas (0-0), Friday, 7:30 pm
Salinas has parted with its tradition of opening the season a night before the rest of the section under new head coach Steve Zenk. From 2008 to 2016, the Cowboys opened on a Thursday night in the first week of the season. Instead, they opted to get more practice under their belts before taking the field against Oak Grove in a battle of two of the most decorated public school programs in the section.
While it’s Zenk’s first year coaching the Cowboys, he’s no stranger to the area. He previously played at Palma and coached at North Salinas. He also has the advantage of a strong returning quarterback in Brett Reade. It’s the opposite scenario at Oak Grove, where head coach Jay Braun is still there but much of the personnel has changed. Efforts to replace running backs Maurice Washington and Jarmar Julien were hindered by a loaded St. Francis defense, and while Salinas’ front seven may not be full of Pac-12 offers, it should still be one of the better defenses in the section.
Christopher (1-0) at Live Oak (1-0), Friday, 7 pm
The annual battles between Gilroy and Morgan Hill teams continue as the Cougars travel north to face the host Acorns. Both teams are coming off comfortable wins in Week 1, with Christopher trouncing Sobrato 38-0 and Live Oak cruising in a 34-13 win at Alisal.
League opponents of Christopher and Live Oak will want to keep a close eye on this game, as it should show if one or both these teams can compete for league titles. Christopher is expected to be one of the top dogs, or top cougars, as it may be, in the MBL’s Pacific Division, while Live Oak may have a shot to unseat Oak Grove in the BVAL’s Mount Hamilton League.
Best of the Rest
Valley Christian (0-1) will host Wilcox (0-1) in a battle of teams that lost close openers to stout opponents. Valley’s late comeback at Manteca fell short on a missed field goal, while Wilcox hung tough with Monterey Trail.
Aragon (0-0) head coach Steve Sell has eschewed his traditional nonleague schedule of local rivals that typically brought big crowds but lopsided scores. Instead, the Dons will travel to Aptos (1-0) for their opening game to take on a Mariners team that rolled past Templeton to start the season.
Expect the scoreboard to light up on Saturday afternoon at Carmel when the Padres (1-0) host Gilroy (1-0). Sophomore quarterback Kae Lee was brilliant in his debut for Carmel and established a great rapport with receivers Dylan Houpt and Rashaan Ward, while tailback Luke Melcher churned up yards on the ground in a 40-26 win over Willow Glen. Gilroy is led by high-flying running back Joseph Barnes and QB Jon Jon Castro.
Another intriguing matchup is set for Saturday afternoon between two quietly successful small-school programs as Menlo (0-1) hosts Stevenson (0-0). Emilio Simbeck will be under center for the Knights, who had to replace most of their offense but do return receiver Aidan Israelski.
Menlo mustered just nine points in its opening game, but that was a long trip to Sutter County against an East Nicolaus team that won a state title in 2015 and reached a Northern California championship game in 2016.
New head coach Kyle Cassamas will have a tough task in his first game at Stevenson as he looks to find a way to stop Menlo’s JH Tevis, who collected 22.5 sacks as a junior and picked up his first two of the year at East Nicolaus to bring his career total to 39. The Pirates traditionally start the season one week later, due to the late arrival of their boarding students.
All rankings displayed are the Prep2Prep CCS rankings, which can be found here.
