Los Gatos and Mitty has developed into a hard-hitting, season-opening rivalry over the past three years.
Los Gatos won last season 21-13, but Mitty topped the Wildcats 28-20 in 2012 and 28-14 in 2013. The Wildcats gained a measure of revenge against the WCAL in 2013 by stunning St. Francis in the section title game.
Mitty has a new coach this season in Keith Burns, who has done stints in the college and pro ranks.
"I'm excited to start," Burns said. "It's hard to tell where you're at going into the first game. We had a scrimmage with Milpitas, but it was a controlled scrimmage -- we were just practicing against each other. We'll be young on both sides of the ball."
The Monarchs are now running a spread offense and will use either Fremont transfer Phillip Tran or erstwhile basketball player Sam Serra at quarterback. Tran put up big numbers at Fremont last season, but his eligibility is so far a mystery after he transferred before this school year to the Mitty Way campus.
"We're still waiting to hear from CCS (about Tran)," Burns said. "We're having some dialogue and there's paperwork involved."
Burns said he is "excited" to see the QB Serra, a talented athlete who starts in basketball, but took a year off from football last season. Serra played QB in a playoff game for Mitty two years ago.
As for Los Gatos, Burns said: "We've seen how they approached us in last year's opener, but we have a different offense now. Their defense is what it is and they coach hard and play hard and we have a lot of respect for them."
Other players to watch for the Monarchs (8-5 last season) are running back/defensive back Derek Bauerle, linebackers Matt Tofano and Blake Flovin and two-way lineman Jacob Martinez. Martinez is another standout who did not play Monarch football last season. He has a cast on his hand (ligament), but will play this week, Burns said.
Los Gatos has four consecutive wins against WCAL teams, ranging in intensity from the fiercely contested 2013 CCS title game against St. Francis to the scrimmage-like, consolation game against Valley Christian last season. The Wildcats went 10-3 in 2014 with a highlight being a 28-0 defeat of Serra in the first round of CCS Open play. The Wildcats fell 28-21 the following week to eventual champion Sacred Heart Prep in the section semis.
Players to watch for the Wildcats are quarterback Hunter Bigge, running back/linebacker Jake Holton, wide receiver/defensive back Ryan Gault, running back/linebacker Colt Doughty and tight end/defensive back Miles Beach. Beach is also a star baseball player.
Krail knows from experience at Pioneer, Los Gatos and his other stops that a WCAL opponent means hard hitting and top competition. What should fans at Foothill College on Friday night expect, he was asked?
"I’d say an early season game between two teams that are generally playoff teams," Krail said. "We know Mitty will come with tremendous effort and energy, and I believe we will as well. This will be a good test to see where we are, as we have many new players stepping into fill roles in all three phases of the game."
FIVE TO WATCH
Sequoia at Palo Alto, 7:30 p.m.: Palo Alto (3-7 in 2014) won this game last season in coach Jake Halas’ debut on a last-ditch field goal. This contest was a huge rivalry a half-century ago when it was played at Stanford Stadium. This year it’s at Paly and both teams will be revved up after last year’s close finish. Sequoia is physically strong and deep, going against a Paly program that lacked numbers last season, but has seen an increase in participation this year. Nick DeMarco or Patrick Lopiparo will run Sequoia’s no-huddle spread and Faavae Brown (6-2, 255) has moved from QB to FB. Justin Hull returns at QB for Paly and leading receiver Eli Givens is back, as well. Mike Grandy is a player to watch on the OL.
Sacred Heart Cathedral vs. Terra Nova at Kezar Stadium, 7 p.m.: Last season SHC (3-7 in 2014) played most of its home games at Terra Nova while the Fightin’ Irish home, Kezar, had a new running track installed. This season Terra Nova visits SHC at Kezar. TN coach Tim Adams played numerous times at Kezar as a player for Serra in the mid-1970s. The Irish are led by RB Jamar Williams-Sheppard (1,159 yards, 15 TDs last season), lineman Keith Ismael (6-3, 300), QB George Stefko, LB Tommy Franceschini and DB Jay Na. TN (7-6 in 2014) started slowly last season under first-year coach Adams, but finished with a flourish to win the CCS D-IV title with a 42-23 victory against Monte Vista Christian. Fifteen starters return, though Adams must rely on Joey Pledger to replace the graduated, record-setting QB Anthony Gordon, now at CCSF. Running back Reggie Auelua ran for more than 1,000 yards last season and he’ll scoot behind four returning starters on the offensive line.
De La Salle at Serra, 7 p.m.: Serra tends to play De La Salle better at home than on the road, including in 2013 when it led the Spartans by seven points with about six minutes left and had a field goal attempt -- with a chance to go ahead by 10 points -- miss the mark. De La Salle then scored to tie the game, intercepted a pass and scored again for a 21-14 win. Despite winning a second consecutive WCAL title last season, Serra was turnover-plagued throughout the season and will probably have no hope of staying in this game if it throw picks and puts the ball on the ground. QB Leki Nunn, RB/DB Kelepi Lataimua and WR Brandon Monroe star on offense for the Padres. De La Salle, coming off an error-plagued loss last week to Trinity-Euless of Texas, is still ranked No. 1 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports and is paced by running backs Antoine Custer and Andrew Hernandez, QB Anthony Sweeney, lineman Boss Tagaloa and TE/LB Devin Asiasi.
Palma vs. Sutter at Salinas Sports Complex, 7:30 p.m.: Palma tied for first in the MBL-Gabilan last season, went 9-3 overall and one of its losses was a meaningless consolation bracket setback to Serra in which both teams used many underclassmen. Junior Emilio Martinez ran for more than 1,500 yards last season and he’ll run behind OL Drew Dalman (6-3, 250), the son of former San Francisco 49er OL Chris Dalman. QB Jack Richardson threw for more than 2,000 yards last season and is also back, while LB Zach Barry and DL Angel Maldonado will lead the defense. The Chieftains averaged more than 30 points per game last season. Sutter opened its season last week with a 28-21 win against El Cerrito, rushing for 300 yards and completing just one pass (for 46 yards). Isaac Torres led the way on the ground with 157 yards and three TDs. Tanner Baroni was credited with 10 tackles, including one sack. The Huskies opened their 2014 season with 13 consecutive victories before falling to Campolindo 35-14 in the CIF-State NorCal Regional title game.
Bellarmine vs. Franklin at SJCC, 7 p.m.: Bellarmine (10-3 last season) finished third in the WCAL last year, made the CCS Open title game and is loaded with returnees this season, including TE/LB Josh Bringuel, RB/DB Kyle McCauley, OL/DB Wolfie Rehbock and QB Troy Martig. Rehbock will attend Air Force next year. McCauley is a speedster, as he showed last season with a punt return for a TD against Serra. Martig had an impressive TD dash of his own in a come-from-behind playoff win against Valley Christian. The Bells are ranked No. 5 in NorCal by MaxPreps. Franklin (No. 22 in the MaxPreps NorCal rankings) went 7-5 last season, including losing to Bellarmine 42-28 in Elk Grove. Heavily recruited DB/RB Lamar Jackson (6-3, 205) is the Wildcats’ best player with some 20 scholarship offers. He had a 29-yard option pass to Tariq Glenn (two catches, 43 yards, two TDs) last week. Franklin QB Jacob Lopez went 8-of-16 for 185 yards and two TDs with one intercepted, but the Wildcats only rushed for 82 yards on 23 carries.
Other games:
(Please alert us at info@prep2prep.com if you've altered your day, start time or venue)
NON-LEAGUE
Friday
Santa Clara at Alisal, 7:30
North Salinas at Alvarez, 7:30
Capuchino at Burlingame (CA), 7
Aragon at Carlmont, 7
Cupertino at Del Mar, 7
Gunderson at Fremont, 7
Live Oak at Gilroy, 7:30
Saratoga at Hillsdale, 7
Evergreen Valley at Homestead, 7
Mt. Pleasant at Independence, 7
King City at Monte Vista Christian, 7:30
Leigh at Branham, 7
Sacred Heart Prep at Leland, 7
Lick at South San Francisco, 7
King's Academy at Lynbrook, 7
Mills at San Jose, 7
Monta Vista at Westmont, 7
Watsonville at Pacific Grove (CA), 7
Gunn at San Mateo, 7
Pajaro Valley at Santa Cruz, 7:30
Hill at Santa Teresa, 7
Soledad at Seaside, 7:30
Silver Creek at Overfelt, 7
St. Francis-MV at Oak Grove, 7
St. Francis-CCC at Greenfield, 7
Valley Christian-SJ at Pioneer, 7
Mountain View at Woodside, 7
Milpitas at Antioch, 7
St. Ignatius at Campolindo, 7
Yerba Buena at Harker 7
Scotts Valley at Los Banos, 7
Hilmar at San Benito, 7:30
Saturday
Menlo at Carmel, 2
Gonzales at Harbor, 2 .
Soquel at Los Altos, 1:30
Christopher at Sobrato, 1:45
Jefferson at Galileo, 2
Menlo-Atherton at Marin Catholic, 2
Manteca at North Monterey County, 2
Washington-SF at El Camino, 2
