I don't know how Kaepernick completed that bomb to Crabtree on Sunday, but I do know this about the prep football scene:
C-DIVISION GAMES MEAN MUCHO: Friday night I arrived at Branham in time to take some pre-game photos of the teams and find a high perch on the Mt. Pleasant side for the Bruins vs. Cardinals showdown. It was a title showdown between C-Division games that went 1-9 last season. Both started the 2014 season in surprising 8-0 fashion and only one is still unbeaten, with coach Nick Gardiner's team winning 38-7.
The BVAL-West Valley is not to be confused with the stronger WCAL or even the SCVAL-De Anza or MBL-Gabilan. It attracts considerably less attention than those heavyweight leagues which makes sense. Private schools like Bellarmine, Mitty, Valley Christian and Palma have huge followings and plenty of readers. But C-Division schools have their followers as well.
By chance I sat next to the mom and little brother of Mt. Pleasant sophomore offensive lineman Adam Bonilla, undersized at 5-foot-8, 180 pounds. A few rows in front of us was the family of the Cardinals' exciting junior quarterback George Landeros, a pocket rocket at 5-6, 160.
Some members of George's family wore jerseys with "LANDEROS" on the back and cheered his one TD pass and many, scrambling completions. He's fun to watch.
To my left Bonilla's little brother, resplendent in an Oakland Raiders' jacket, pounded on the metal bleachers as Branham neared the goal line and offered a "Shut up, Branham!" after the Bruin fans cheered a touchdown. It made me chuckle inside, but I felt for him as well as all the Cardinal fans who wanted so much for their team to win.
Following Branham's title-clinching victory I met Pat Morin, the father of the Bruins' talented passer and runner Luke Morin. The Bruins' victory was deja vu for Morin who quarterbacked Branham to the 1976 league title.
"He had the opportunity to go to any private school he wanted, but he wanted to go to his dad's school and the school of his grade-school friends," Pat said. "It has been tough for Branham these past few years but he never wanted to play anywhere else. ... We are all so proud of the team. It is very humbling to see my son play for my alma mater some 36 years later and having a storybook season on top of it all as we did. Pretty cool stuff and definitely has the Branham alumni very excited."
You could tell the game meant much to both sides heading in. Following the national anthem Mt. Pleasant first-year coach Victor Avelar exchanged embraces with his assistant coaches in a sort of "here-we-go" gesture, revealing that this was not just another contest.
"It was a tough game. I give them credit," Avelar said after the loss. "They're a well-coached team and a well-disciplined team and wish them all of the luck in the CCS playoffs and I hope they go a lot further."
Outside the Branham locker room Pat Morin was all smiles as he reveled with friends at the team's accomplishments and maybe thought back to his playing days.
"Friends of mine still around the neighborhood are talking, texting, Facebooking and coming to games to be a part of a special season Branham is having thus far," Pat said. "It's a cool thing for us all. The interest has (been) piqued in our Branham community."
THEY'RE WOOFING AT SAN JOSE: Good for San Jose which defeated Gunderson 32-14 on Friday night to snap a 17-game losing streak. The Bulldogs hadn't won since defeating Lincoln in the 2012 Big Bone Game.
At a previous journalistic stop in San Bernardino the city's original high school -- San Bernardino High of course -- had a few lengthy losing streaks during my eight-year tenure. That kind of deal is tough for a school and a bummer for the athletic department. So props to San Jose for getting off the schneid under first-year coach David Ashkinaz who is also the AD.
Ashkinaz played football at Oak Grove and the University of Central Florida. Now he's a Bulldog and no doubt has a spring in his step this week.
FREMONT VICTORY WAS TRAN-SCENDANT:Two big upsets marked last weekend -- San Benito's shocking takedown of Palma and Fremont's 35-19 stunner against Wilcox. The host Firebirds went in with an 8-0 record but hadn't really been challenged and Wilcox is an SCVAL-De Anza heavyweight.
Fremont sophomore quarterback Phillip Tran threw five touchdown passes in the victory.
"Phil is special because his mood never fluctuates," Fremont coach Jake Messina said. "He brings a cerebral approach to the game."
And the win in general? "I thought the game was phenomenal because it was a way for our kids to prove that our style of football works. They tried to line up and beat on us, and we proved that we were just as physical as they were. And our balance on offense was difficult for them."
RIORDAN A UNIQUE PLACE: Saturday Prep2Prep's Jack Duffy of Bellarmine Prep traveled to San Francisco to cover St. Ignatius at Riordan, and I made an appearance on Phelan Ave. as well. I hadn't watched a game at the Crusaders' field since, well, the 20th century and I'm not sure it's changed much. It has a natural turf field that's not exactly a putting green, aged bleachers on the home side and no stands on the visitors' side -- though SI fans were designated a place to sit on the home side.
While the Riordan field is not Kezar Stadium it has its charms, including a nice view of the urban surroundings and a stellar snack bar. The Riordan band is great too.
Riordan has added a dorm that houses many foreign-born students and there are hopes of installing artificial turf on the football field which would be an improvement. Hopefully it will get done sooner than later.
Random Crusader notes: The first football game on the Riordan campus was played in 1951 (Willie Mays' rookie year with the New York Giants) and the Crusaders played a game against SI at old Seals Stadium on November 3, 1956.
THEY'RE NOT GATOR BAIT: Sacred Heart Prep clinched its first PAL-Bay title with an impressive 35-14 victory against host Burlingame on Friday night. The Gators (9-0, 4-0) are now bound for the CCS Open Division and will not be a tough out for anyone. Against Terra Nova in a double-digit victory last month the Gators were machine-like, moving the ball unerringly in taking a 35-7 lead en route to a double-digit victory. The temptation for many is to discount SHP because of its small-school pedigree and small roster, but I think it can keep up with most WCAL schools at least, with No. 1-ranked Milpitas the Goliath that will be difficult for anyone to slay.
IT WAS THE KNIGHTS' NIGHT: The King's Academy is no stranger to football success, as one might recall from the Amir Carlisle days. Carlisle scored a touchdown for Notre Dame in Saturday' Fightin' Irish loss to Arizona State.
A night earlier TKA defeated Carlmont 48-14 to clinch the PAL-Lake Division title and earn a berth to the section playoffs. Dominic Sabel threw for 241 yards and four touchdowns.
I saw the Knights in non-league down in Southern California as TKA defeated a strong Calvary Murrieta team 28-21. That was one week after the Knights' respectable 14-point loss to Sacred Heart Prep.
New Knights' coach Mike Johnson -- the former San Francisco 49ers' assistant -- has built nicely on the work done by last season's coach William Gittens (now at Valley Christian). And it was a good sign when Johnson was not even satisfied with that victory against some tough SoCal competition.
"We came down and accomplished what we wanted to accomplish," Johnson said. "We didn't have any energy the first half. We weren't doing our assignments right and, fundamentally, were just not there. It's something we can't have happen if we want to get where we're trying to go, and that's to be a playoff-caliber football team."
Mission accomplished for TKA, and now bigger game awaits in CCS Division IV play.
IT'S TITLE TIME: Two huge showdowns loom this weekend as BVAL-Mt. Hamilton teams Oak Grove (6-3, 6-0) and host Pioneer (8-1, 6-0) meet at 7 p.m. Friday and old WCAL foes Bellarmine and host Serra battle on Saturday.
It's winner-take-all at Pioneer with the division title and a CCS Open berth on the line. A day later the winner of the Bell vs. Padre showdown will share the WCAL title with Valley Christian (if the Warriors defeat Sacred Heart Cathedral on Friday night).
Bellarmine has the edge against Serra over the years, 48-22-2.
Serra defeated the Bells twice last season, 17-7 in league and 28-17 in the playoffs en route to the Padres' first Open title. The Bells beat Serra seven consecutive times before that.
Since 2001 when Patrick Walsh took over as the Padres' coach, the schools have split 18 games. More on the Bellarmine vs. Serra rivalry that began in 1946 can be read on the PrepCat blog on this page.
John Murphy is the Web Content Manager of Prep2Prep. He can be reached at jmurphy@prep2prep.com. Follow him on Twitter @PrepCat
