With the pressure of playing for a league title and a CCS Open berth, the Serra Padres delivered a convincing 31-7 win over previously undefeated Archbishop Mitty.
In the process, the Padres set a new WCAL record with 4,195 yards after compiling 280 on Saturday.
Defensively, they might have made their biggest statement. Serra allowed only 211 yards, and 66 yards were on a scoring pass play from Trent Scharrenberg to Tommy Hudson, to a team averaging 312.4 yards and 31.7 points. Mitty’s terrific running attack also didn’t have a single running play go for more than eight yards.
"This is the best football we have played all year,” Walsh told Prep2Prep’s Adam Hegazy. “They are an outstanding team, but our team rose to the occasion and played very well.”
Top prospect Hamilton Anoa’i, who tore his ACL in last year’s game against Mitty, had his best statistical effort of the year with three touchdown receptions and also had one of three Serra interceptions against a team that had just four interceptions all season.
“I was just playing my coverage and all of a sudden the ball just landed in my hands,” said Anoa’i, “Our pass rush was getting to the quarterback who had no time to throw.”
The Padres will host Pioneer in the CCS Open quarters on Saturday and you can view all of the CCS brackets here.
NCS DIVISION I
Joe Mixon wasn’t ready to call it a high school career as the Freedom running back rushed for 281 yards and seven touchdowns against a solid Foothill defense in a startling 55-17 win.
Tenth-seeded Freedom racked up 535 yards and, after scoring more than 28 points just once in the first nine games, has done so in each of the last two weeks.
“You know we just played well, our team came out hard,” Mixon told Prep2Prep’s Chris Jackson. “We came out to play, they underestimated us and we handed it to them.”
Joe Sweeney 11-of-15 for 163 yards and completed passes to six different players. The sophomore may be coming into his own as he has completed 46-of-71 passes (65 percent) for 696 yards, six touchdowns, and no interceptions after throwing nine in the first eight games. Sweeney was a 46 percent passer before this recent three-game stretch.
The loss of Jamirr Holland seemed to have a dramatic effect on the Falcons defense as #7 Foothill allowed an average of 41 points in the three games the senior missed to close the season. Foothill allowed an average of 9.5 points in the first eight games.
No. 2 seed Pittsburg scored on its first seven possessions in a 47-13 thumping of No. 15 Irvington.
Jaylyn Morgan had another big game filling in for Harris Ross, scoring four touchdowns in the first half. Morgan now has 516 yards and 10 touchdowns in the three games he’s filled in for the injured Ross.
The Pirates clearly worked on their passing game as Armani Levias was 9-of-13 for 156 yards and a touchdown.
The Pitt defense has allowed 70 points in its last six games and now gets a huge test against Mixon and Freedom. The Pirates held Mixon to 74 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries in a 34-13 win on October 25. Ross stole the show with 272 yards and three scores.
In a stunning development, San Ramon Valley fired football coach Mark Kessler the day before its first-round playoff game and, with offensive coordinator Aaron Becker taking over the head coaching duties, won at No. 11 San Leandro, 42-24.
This game was tied at 21-21 at the half, but San Leandro standout quarterback Stephen Johnson was hurt late in the half and only played on one series in the second half.
Wolves quarterback Matt Winaker was brilliant, completing 16-of-21 passes for 324 yards and five touchdowns. Winaker now has 1,188 yards passing and no interceptions in his last five games.
Christian Fuca caught two of those scores, J.J. Koski had 103 yards receiving, and Marcus de la Pena added 96 rushing yards and a score.
It was the first time in his last seven games that de la Pena was held under 100 yards and, for Koski, it was his fourth straight game in which he had 100 or more yards receiving.
No. 6 San Ramon Valley now meets Cal for the second time in a month in the NCS Division I quarterfinals on Saturday night.
Filling in for injured Cameron Owen, senior quarterback Matt Lorenz passed for 157 yards and two touchdowns on only six attempts in a 37-12 first round #3 Cal win over #14 Dougherty Valley.
Dougherty Valley kept Cal scoreless in the first quarter and even had an opportunity to take a lead, but was stopped on the goal line.
Blake Bierwith finished with 133 of the Grizzlies 316 rushing yards.
Cal did allow 238 yards rushing and lost two fumbles and will need to shore that up before the San Ramon game. Cal won the first meeting, 35-21, when Owen ran for 106 yards and passed for 143 more and two touchdowns. The Grizzlies have won six of the last seven meetings.
No. 5 James Logan had a dogfight, but survived with a 14-7 home win over #12 Liberty.
The Colts had a key goal-line stand in the fourth quarter and defensive back Tino Mafi made the key stop.
"It felt good to make that block, it put a lot of pressure on the d-line, and fortunately I was able to make the tackle," Mafi told Prep2Prep’s Erin Woll.
Logan held Liberty to 32 first half yards and seven total passing yards in the game.
The Colts’ offense struggled and managed only one touchdown and 219 total yards, but Ahki Muhammad returned the second half kickoff for a touchdown and also ran for another score and had 106 yards on the ground. Logan is now 6-0 when Muhammad runs for 100 or more yards.
Logan overcame three turnovers in this game and has not played a turnover-free game this season.
It was the fourth time the Colts were held to 14 points or less and seventh time they’ve held the opposition to 14 or less.
Logan will now play at #4 Deer Valley in the quarters.
It was a familiar story for Deer Valley as Nsimba Webster had a big night, passing for three touchdowns and running for three more in a 49-21 triumph over #13 Castro Valley. Webster had 164 yards passing and 111 yards rushing.
Kyle McDonald had 62 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns, which included a 55-yard reception.
Catsro Valley once had the game tied at 14-14 in the second quarter and Demareyeh Lane ran for 163 yards.
No. 8 Granada beat No. 9 Amador Valley, 24-20, for the second time in 15 days as Tyler Offill’s 21-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Revay with 1:34 left was the difference.
The Mats played without their top two players as Casey Soltis and Javonn Williams are both serving suspensions.
“We had some unfortunate events, but it is all about the group of guys that we do have," Granada captain Riley Draa told Prep2Prep’s Konnor McIntosh. "We came together as a group and got it done.”
Offill passed for 124 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score, while Jacob Shinnick filled Soltis’ shoes with 108 rushing yards.
Granada plays top seed De La Salle and, for the first time since 2007, the schools didn’t meet in the regular season but averaged 50.5 points in wins over the Mats the last six years.
NCS DIVISION II
Xavier Crawford took the opening kickoff for a touchdown and #2 Clayton Valley Charter rolled past #15 San Lorenzo, 62-7.
Miles Harrison scored four touchdowns and ran for 119 yards on just nine carries.
San Lorenzo’s touchdown wasn’t scored until the final couple minutes, and it was the fifth time this season Clayton scored 62 or more points.
Despite being bottled up most of the night, Zack Fulks of #7 Las Lomas scored on a 10-yard overtime touchdown run to lift the Knights past #10 Washington, 29-23.
The Knights Henry Brunner blocked a 20-yard field goal near the end of regulation to preserve the season and send it to the extra session.
Las Lomas was held to 204 yards of offense and will need a lot more if they’re going to shock Clayton in the quarters.
No. 3 Miramonte’s Drew Anderson continued his torrid season with four touchdown passes and Ray Clark, who caught one of those scoring passes, also ran for 111 yards and three touchdowns as the Mats ended #14 Tennyson’s season for the second straight year, 54-25.
During Miramonte’s five-game win streak, Anderson has passed for 22 touchdowns and six interceptions.
The Matadors are one win away from their sixth 10+ win season in the last nine years and will host #6 Northgate on Saturday.
The Broncos overcame a slow start for a 41-29 win over College Park, their second win over the Falcons in a 15-day span.
College Park had a 29-20 lead on Northgate, went for it on fourth-and-one from their own 26, and after not converting, Northgate scored three plays later and never looked back, scoring 21 unanswered points to close the game.
Workhorse Eric Haynes finished with 27 carries for 263 yards and four touchdowns and he’ll be asked to control the clock and keep the ball out of Anderson’s hands.
Top seed Casa Grande led 45-0 at halftime in a 45-14 opening-round win over #16 Alameda.
The undefeated Gauchos received three passing touchdowns, one rushing score, and 96 yards on the ground from quarterback JaJuan Lawson.
John Porchivina ran for two touchdowns and also recorded two sacks.
Kicker Matt Abramo is one of the best kickers around but, after pulling a calf muscle in the season finale, didn’t play and his situation is worth monitoring as the playoffs continue.
Casa Grande has never won more than 11 games in a season before and look to make it 12-0 when it hosts NBL rival #9 Windsor on Saturday. Casa Grande defeated Windsor 42-28 on November 1.
Windsor avenged a 42-13 loss with a 32-10 win at #8 Rancho Cotate in the opening round and the defense has allowed just 10 points since the loss to the Gauchos.
Windsor had a 34-17 plays advantage in the instrumental first half and also forced six turnovers on the night.
Jalen Roman returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown and also caught a 30-yard scoring pass.
After looking sluggish in the final three regular season games, #4 Montgomery delivered with a needed 27-0 win over #13 American.
R.J. Flores passed for 240 yards two touchdowns while Logan Francavilla ran for 103 yards and the Vikings are now 7-0 when he runs for 100 yards or more.
No. 5 Concord doubled up No. 12 Newark Memorial, 50-25, as Mitch Daniels threw for four touchdowns and 304 yards on 14-of-23 passing.
The leading NCS receiver, Mason Knight, caught two of those scores and also added a 65-yard punt return for a score.
Malik Blackburn (38 yards) and the Concord running game were held to 70 yards, but the Minutemen didn’t turn it over and have just two in their last four games.
Newark did run for 265 yards and that is something Concord will focus on in preparation of Francavilla in the quarters.
NCS DIVISION III
No. 9 Hercules made the long trek but fell, 29-12, at No. 8 Eureka in a game that was closer than the final score indicated.
The Titans, who received rushing touchdowns from Joshua Jackson and Clarence Corbin, held a brief fourth quarter 12-10 lead but Marcus Finney returned a kickoff 96 yards for the Loggers and Eureka never looked back.
Eureka now has to play on Saturday at top-seed Marin Catholic
Will Smith found Kerr Johnson for a 82-yard scoring strike early and #4 Analy never looked back in a 42-6 rout of #13 Petaluma. Johnson ended up with three receptions for 222 yards and two touchdowns.
The Tigers compiled 292 yards and six touchdowns on only 15 first half plays.
The Tigers will host #5 Cardinal Newman on Friday after the Cards hammered #12 Drake, 53-7. Keaton Dunsford passed for 309 yards and three touchdowns, with two of those passes going to Dylan Kolman.
No. 7 Acalanes gets a rematch with No. 2 Campolindo after the Dons smoked #10 Sonoma Valley, 49-10.
Casey Harrington passed for four touchdowns and 194 yards, with 139 yards and three scores going to Brett Merrill.
Peter Mitchell ran for 112 yards and a touchdown and he’ll need a big game against Campo after the Dons were held to just 95 rushing yards in their earlier meeting with the Cougars.
Adarius Pickett returned the opening kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown and that would set the tone as #3 El Cerrito led 36-8 after first quarter and 64-8 at the half in the 64-8 final over #14 Tamalpais.
Pickett scored on three of this first four touches and this was the fifth straight game in which he scored exactly three times.
Six different players scored in all for the Gauchos and the defense held Tamalpais to 119 yards.
No. 6 Encinal dug itself a 21-0 hole at halftime and the lack of offense caught up to the Jets in a 23-6 upset loss to No. 11 Novato. Nathaniel Barkus ran for 85 yards and two touchdowns for the Hornets, who are major underdogs at El Cerrito this weekend.
NCS DIVISION IV
A total of 75 points were scored in the second half as #10 Piedmont won a wild one, 54-50, and avenged an earlier loss at #7 Moreau Catholic. The Highlanders will play at #2 Fortuna on Friday.
So much for my dark horse as defending champion #6 Justin Siena was upset by #11 Del Norte, 14-6, who will now play #3 Healdsburg in a Saturday quarterfinal. Jackson Evans ran for 106 yards and a touchdown.
No. 5 St. Mary’s took care of business and led 48-0 in a 48-13 win versus No. 12 Fort Bragg.
Lorenzo Logwood rushed for 156 yards and a touchdowns and Ian Bonde passed for 191 yards and two touchdowns
No. 4 St. Helena will host the Panthers in the quarterfinals after a 47-20 decision over No. 13 Kelseyville.
In one of the more entertaining opening round games, #9 Piner won in Vallejo over #8 St. Patrick-St. Vincent, 43-29, despite an 8-0 deficit at the half.
The Bruins were held without points in three trips to the red zone although Marcus Villalobos had a nice game with 179 yards and a score. Jalen Canty had a touchdown catch and three sacks, giving him 22 on the year.
Piner received a big game from Noel Hernandez and now plays at #1 San Marin on Saturday.
NCS DIVISION V
No. 2 Valley Christian has an impressive run game but it needs to throw to keep the defenses honest and Themon Taylor III threw for 160 yards and three touchdowns in the Vikings’ 50-18 quarterfinal win over #7 St. Bernard. Taylor also ran for 102 yards and two scores, while Vince Volpatti ran for 115 yards and also had a 78-yard touchdown catch.
The Vikings won their sixth straight and had a 487-341 yards advantage.
The Vikings will play third-seeded and defending champion #3 Ferndale on Friday at Chabot after the Wildcats 50-28 win versus #6 Calistoga
Ferndale ran for 321 yards, including 210 and four touchdowns from Kyle Chambers, who carried the ball 34 times and also threw a touchdown pass.
De’Angelo Hernandez rushed for 223 yards and two touchdowns for #5 Salesian in their 42-21 win at #4 St. Vincent. The Pride running game was in control as they had 376 yards and keyed a nine-and-a-half minute drive to open the game.
Salesian gets a rematch with top seed Middletown, which beat the Pride 21-14 in the season-opener (a game that would later be awarded to the Pride by forfeit).
Middletown hammered #8 Emery, 55-0, as Josiah Amos threw for 138 yards and three scores. Anthonie Guzman had six catches for 64 yards and two touchdowns, while Austin Benson had 10 carries for 132 yards and a touchdown.
It was the fifth shutout of the season and tenth straight game in which the Mustangs held an opponent to seven points or less.
Valley Christian, St. Francis, and Bellarmine win regular season finales
Valley Christian also secured a berth in the CCS Open after a 10-9 come-from-behind road win at St. Ignatius. Tre McCloud, who finished with 137 yards and 23 carries, had a bigger load this week with Kirk Johnson out of the lineup and scored the go-ahead score with 5:33 left on a 3-yard run.
“It was cool to see those guys step up in my absence,” said the injured Johnson to Prep2Prep’s Jack Sheedy. “The line did well, everyone did their jobs. Obviously I would have liked to be in there, but those guys followed the game plan extremely well.”
The health of Johnson (shoulder) is a big concern heading into the quarterfinal at Terra Nova. Valley Christian is averaging 338.3 yards per game with Johnson and just 137 yards in three games without him this season.
St. Ignatius, just 2-8 and 2-5 in league, has been competitive in every league loss and may be a favorite in CCS Division III. SI opens at Christopher.
St. Francis raced out to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter on its way to a 42-13 victory over Sacred Heart Cathedral. Devin Hurtado ran for 88 yards and two scores for a Lancers team that is the top seed in CCS Division II. Defending champion St. Francis will have a tougher road to the title this season with Palo Alto, Menlo-Atherton, and Los Gatos all in the bracket. The Lancers open at home versus Andrew Hill.
The Irish finished at 2-8 and 0-7 in league play in Ken Peralta’s first season. Sacred Heart Cathedral was struck hard by injuries and Peralta is a very good coach so the Fightin’ Irish will be better next year. The Irish will take an eight-game league losing streak into 2014 and have dropped 16 of their last 17 WCAL contests.
Of the four WCAL teams heading to the Open, Bellarmine is the shakiest.
The Bells were tied with Riordan at 14-14 entering the fourth quarter, but Anthony Guttadauro scored on a 56-yard touchdown scamper on the first play of the quarter, A.J. Forchette returned an interception 49-yards for another score and K.J. Carta-Samuels, on a fourth-and-2, scored on a 40-yard touchdown run as the Bells won in San Francisco, 35-22.
Gavin Lynam also ran for 110 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
In a losing cause, Riordan quarterback Zach Masoli capped a good career by tying the school record in completions and setting the record for attempts. He also passed for a season-high 223 yards.
For next year, keep an eye on the Crusaders’ Aidan Verba-Hamilton. The sophomore, in his first varsity game, had four catches for 119 yards.
The Bells have won six straight Open quarterfinals but that streak will be tested at Wilcox.
Los Gatos forces three-way SCVAL De Anza first place tie with Wilcox and Milpitas
Corey Olivet caught two touchdown passes, ran and threw for scores, and also returned an interception for a touchdown, his second interception of the night, as Los Gatos throttled Milpitas, 55-34.
With the win, Los Gatos shares the SCVAL De Anza league title with the Trojans and Wilcox.
The Wildcats are heading into the CCS Division II playoffs on a high note, scoring 90 points over the last two games in wins over Paly and Milpitas. Plus, the passing game looks great with San Diego State-bound Nick Bawden passing for 207 yards and three touchdowns in the finale.
Wilcox, because of power points, takes the CCS Open berth after its 48-20 victory over Saratoga. Senior Delshawn Mitchell ran for 229 of the team’s 439 yards and scored twice. Mitchell now has 1,641 yards and has scored a touchdown in eight straight games and his team has won six straight.
More Notable CCS Games
• Anthony Gordon tossed seven touchdowns and had 411 yards in the first half of Terra Nova’s 56-0 victory over Half Moon Bay. The good news is that John Wallace was back in the lineup and had 6 carries, 72 yards, and also caught a touchdown pass. Terra Nova is a much better team than the one that has been blown out the last two years in the Open quarters.
• Menlo-Atherton surprisingly struggled with Woodside in a 40-33 win. Isiah Nash rushed 33 times for 249 yards and four scores, but the Bears have allowed 39 points per game over the last three contests.
• Chris Lee’s touchdown run was the difference for 9-1 Sacred Heart Prep in a 10-3 Valparaiso Bowl win over Menlo, who was playing without quarterback Jack Heneghan.
• Pioneer clinched the Mt. Hamilton title by edging Piedmont Hills, 34-33. Junior Tim Geraghty blocked two point-after attempts and Anthony Logan rushed for 195 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.
"I'm very excited and happy for my team -- we deserved this win," Logan told Prep2Prep’s John Murphy. “We've been working very hard and, honestly, I couldn't have done it without my line, without my quarterback, without my wide receivers -- everybody. It's a team effort and we did it."
• The Mustangs were able to win the Mt. Hamilton because Leland fell to Independence in double overtime, 37-31, as Norel Booker found twin brother Nate Booker for the winning touchdown pass.
• Live Oak’s Trevor Bearden is the state’s regular-season rushing champion after rushing for 300 yards and four touchdowns on 27 carries in the Acorns 35-26 triumph over Evergreen Valley. The win also assured the Santa Teresa title.
• Andrew Hill took the West Valley outright title with a 21-14 win over Overfelt.
• Burlingame took the 86th Little Big Game, 48-0, at San Mateo as Keone Keahi scored three touchdowns for the 10-0 Panthers.
“Burlingame did a good job defensively not giving us much at all,” San Mateo head coach Jeff Scheller told Prep2Prep’s Bryan Anderson. “They controlled the offense, so hats off to them.”
• Palma only allowed San Benito to run seven plays in the first half and the defense shut out the Haybalers, 14-0, for the Monterey Bay-Gabilan.
• Carmel won its 40th straight league game and captured the Mission Trail title for the sixth straight year, 40-35, over Pacific Grove. Connor Marden passed for 273 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for two scores and 78 yards.
• Palo Alto heads to the CCS Division II playoffs after a 48-5 win over Santa Clara and the Vikings need a win to avoid their first losing season in several years.
• A.J. Johnson had seven catches for 148 yards and also finished with 14 tackles as Fremont sent Mountain View to relegation to the El Camino league, 39-35.
Recruiting News and other Tidbits
• San Ramon Valley senior running back Marcus de la Pena, who continues to somehow slip under the radar, was offered by Army.
• Freedom’s five-star senior back Joe Mixon, who already has a narrowed down list, was offered by BYU. Mixon spoke with Mitch Stephens this week.
• De La Salle junior defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie was offered by Illinois and senior teammate Larry Allen III was taking a visit to UCLA this weekend.
• Dougherty Valley junior Kieffer Longson was offered by Colorado
• If your school’s athletic program is under financial hardship, you have until the 30th of this month to apply for the Muscle Milk Recovery Grant.
They Said It
"We said all week as coaches that we're going to go out and try to win this game. We're not going to play cautious. We pulled a bunch out of our hat tonight, and we felt this was the game to do it." –Los Gatos coach Mark Krail to the Mercury News after his team won a share of the De Anza.
"This group did a special job. Best record in 22 years. The senior group went 0-6 as freshmen. Worked their tails off the last couple of years to get to this point." –American coach Bret Casey to the Contra Costa Times after his team’s first round loss.
“For the first eight games, we didn’t start the same offensive line two games in a row. They’ve finally been healthy for three games and we controlled the line of scrimmage today as a result.” –Salesian coach Chad Nightingale to the Press Democrat after his team made it to the semifinals.
“Against St. Francis (two weeks ago), he reached out for the pylon and got hit at the same time and tore ligaments in his shoulder. He’s obviously a key player for us and is a big-time back. He is seeing doctors. His dad is a former NFL player, so he knows a lot of people in the business.” –Valley Christian coach Mike Machado on injured running back Kirk Johnson to the Mercury News.
“I love Riordan.” –Tweet from Zach Masoli after his high school football career wrapped up with a 35-22 loss to Bellarmine.
“Clayton Valley better go to state with us man!” –Tweet from De La Salle running back John Velasco.
"I don't know how long I've been saying it, but this guy (Anoa'i) can play at a lot of places. A lot of places in the country and a lot of places on the field. He was the difference today. It was good to see, because when he got hurt last year it broke my heart on a lot of levels." –Serra coach Patrick Walsh to the San Francisco Chronicle on his standout senior.
"We just did what we did all season. That's rally together as a group and keep fighting through adversity." –San Ramon Valley quarterback Matt Winaker to the Contra Costa Times on his team’s response after the firing of its head coach.
Top Games for This Week
1. Valley Christian at Terra Nova
2. San Ramon Valley at California
3. James Logan at Deer Valley
4. Bellarmine at Wilcox
5. Freedom at Pittsburg
6. Northgate at Miramonte
7. Mitty vs. Palma at Salinas Sports Complex
8. Concord at Montgomery
9. Cardinal Newman at Analy
10. Acalanes at Campolindo
Follow Prep2Prep for more coverage on these top games.
