Fearsome defense meets mercurial offense on Friday night as Willow Glen (1-0) takes on Palma (2-0) at 7:30 p.m. at Salinas' Rabobank Stadium.
Palma is trying to achieve its first 3-0 start in nine years after opening with victories against Carmel (30-7) and St. Francis-Mountain View (21-12). The victory against St. Francis was especially impressive.
"We did well to contain their run game and their dynamic quarterback," Palma coach Jeff Carnazzo said about last week's game. "But they were able to chip away at us with their zone read -- we had some alignment issues."
This week the Chieftains have the headache of trying to contain Willow Glen's three-headed monster of running backs Hakeem Mays and Isaiah Sires-Wils and quarterback Josh Landers.
Mays was the man last season for Willow Glen and he rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns in the Rams' opening victory against Saratoga. He had plenty of help from senior running back Isaiah Sires-Wils (137 yards, one TD) and senior quarterback Josh Landers who rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown and passed for 94 yards and a score.
But Palma's defense is a few steps up from Saratoga's, led by leading tackler Eduardo Barbosa on the line.
Last week against a traditionally powerful St. Francis running attack, Palma held the Lancers to 53 yards on the ground on 29 carries and stopped St. Francis rushers for losses 11 times. Talented Lancer QB Akina Kamalalii did have some success through the air, completing 4-of-7 passes for 115 yards.
Besides leading tackler Barbosa, Palma is paced on defense by Angel Maldonado, Zac Tamangi, Zach Berry, Liam McMillin, Xavier Woods, Aaron Zender, Joe Coffelt and Adrian Valdez.
Barbosa was the Defensive Player of the Year last season in the Monterey Bay League-Gabilan and is "a tough kid to block," said Carnazzo.
Palma's defense will be bolstered by the return of lineman Christian Aoelua, who missed the first two games. He plays next to Barbosa.
On offense, the Chieftains are dangerous enough. Quarterback Jack Richardson threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns last week. Wesley Johnson and McMillin are his favorite receivers and sophomore running back Emilio Martinez pierced the Lancer defense for 108 yards on 28 carries.
Despite Palma's quick start (a perfect record so far, as opposed to last season's 0-3 record out of the gate), Carnazzo is leery of the Rams.
"They're fast and athletic up front," he said. "(Mays) is something special, the other kid (Sires-Wils) is good too and their quarterback is very athletic." .
Willow Glen coach Oscar Caballero knows the Rams face a stiff test in facing the all-boys' Catholic school of 625 students with 11 section football titles and such alumnus as former San Francisco 49er offensive lineman Chris Dalman and Chicago Bears quarterback David Fales.
"They're a very sound football team that does great things in all three phases," Caballero said. "We need to limit our mistakes -- we won last week but made quite a few mistakes and we need to clean that up."
Despite having Mays (2,129 yards rushing, 25 touchdowns), quarterback Trent Paganini and running back Sires-Wils in the backfield last season, Willow Glen went just 6-6 overall, 3-4 in league. A defense that yielded 21.1 points per game was one of the reasons why.
The Ram defense got off to a good start this season by limiting Saratoga, but faces a sterner test at beautiful Rabobank Stadium on Friday night.
"It's going to be a long trip, but we're excited for it and excited to be playing in that venue," Caballero said.
TOP GAMES
Friday
Terra Nova (0-2) at Pioneer (1-1), 7 p.m.: The Tim Adams era on the coast-side is off to a little bit of a slow start with successive losses to Bishop O'Dowd and St. Ignatius. But SI is stout and TN made a bushel of turnovers against O'Dowd. Terra Nova still has Anthony Gordon at QB and plenty of talent around him. The Tigers have playmakers on defense as well. The Mustangs have had a bi-polar season so far, losing to Valley Christian 55-0 and beating Gunderson 61-20. Quarterback Zach Silva is dangerous, especially when throwing to Lou Coulumbe (5-144, 2 TDs).
Saratoga (1-1) vs. Sacred Heart Cathedral (2-0) at Kezar Stadium, 7 p.m.: Saratoga can sling it around with QB Williams Liddle (33-of-48 passing this year for 127 yards) and WR Vinny Faylor (seven catches, 87 yards, 1 TD). But defense is often an issue for the Falcons who beat Hillsdale 28-27 in their opener and then fell last week to Willow Glen 33-7. The Fightin' Irish are led by RB Jamar Sheppard-Williams (348 yards rushing, five TDs) and QB Logan White (269 yards passing, three TDs). SHC outscored Galileo and Novato by a combined 86-20.
Alvarez (2-0) vs. Menlo (2-0) at Sequoia HS, 7 p.m.: Menlo will have to contain multi-talented Alvarez QB Edrick Gamble. The Eagles are coached by Dave Bottom, the 2013 Prep2Prep Coach of the Year after taking an 0-10 team in 2012 to an 11-1 record last season. Menlo coach Mark Newton is outstanding as well, squeezing every ounce of talent out of a team with 24 players. QB Austin D'Amba has thrown for 482 yards and six TDs and WR Jack Marren has caught eight passes for 182 yards and three scores.
Gunn (0-2) at Branham (2-0), 7 p.m.: Branham hasn't lost since October 11 of last season, 19-7 to Andrew Hill. The Bruins' wins this season came against Leigh (23-20) and Castlemont (23-6). Overall, Branham has won seven consecutive games. Luke Morin has thrown for 231 yards and three touchdowns and run for 145 yards and one score. Larry Atkins has rushed for 145 yards and one score. Gunn has fallen to San Mateo (27-20) and Carlmont (24-19). The Titans are paced by QB Noah Riley and running backs Forrest Larson and Nozuma Imanaka.
San Benito (2-0) at Los Gatos 2-0), 7 p.m.: The Wildcats are paced by QB Dru Brown, RB Joey Wood and OL/LB Jack Jarnigan. They're efficient and talented and have defeated two usually stout programs in Mitty and Menlo-Atherton. San Benito has outscored opponents (Hilmar and Palo Alto) by a combined 75-0 and is led by QB R.J. Clark who has passed for 101 yards and two scores and has rushed for 84 yards and three TDs. Chris Blake is the Haybalers' main threat on the ground, averaging nearly 10 yards per carry.
Milpitas (2-0) at Valley Christian (2-0), 7:30 p.m.: Milpitas had some big plays last season at home against the Warriors, but eventually were overwhelmed by the visitors' ground game. All of that V.C. talent is back led by Kirk Johnson and Mark Quinby at RB and Michael Machado at QB. Collin Johnson (brother of Kirk) is an attractive target for Machado. The Trojans are led by QB John Keller, RBs Cros Chavez and Christian Rodriguez, WR/DB Christian Rita and DE Jason Scrempos. Scrempos committed to Washington on Wednesday.
Half Moon Bay (1-1) at Gilroy (0-2), 7:30 p.m.: Half Moon Bay plays its first game since the death last Saturday of Cougar assistant coach Rocky Perry. Perry was already in bad shape entering last week's game and the Cougars affixed RP decals to their helmets for that one and will continue to think of him. The Cougars fell to a formidable Monterey team 48-23 in their opener and beat Santa Clara 59-27 last week. Gilroy is led by QB David Munoz who has thrown for 233 yards this season. But the Mustangs only rushed for 104 yards combined in losses to Live Oak (31-21) and Sobrato (39-0).
Salinas (1-1) at Sacred Heart Prep (2-0), 3:30 p.m.: Salinas will invade Atherton with its 92-man roster and a .500 record after a 21-14 loss to Aptos and a 61-29 win over Carmel. SHP has struggled a bit without star LB/RB Ben Burr-Kirven, defeating Leland 32-20 and Riordan 14-7. Burr-Kirven will not play on Friday night either, but did commit to the University of Washington on Wednesday night. He probably won't return to the field until the Gators' October 4 game against Woodside. The Gators are well-coached and have a versatile QB in Mason Randall and some tough runners in Riley Tinsley and Lapitu Mahoni.
Piedmont Hills vs. Bellarmine at SJCC, 7 p.m.: The Bells found themselves trailing Franklin by several touchdowns in their season opener, but stormed back for a 42-28 victory; they have also beaten San Leandro, 28-17. Running backs Anthony Guttadauro and Kyle Macauley and TE Josh Bringel lead the Bells. Aaron Tillak is a versatile threat for Piedmont Hills, whether throwing, catching or running.
Saturday
St. Mary's-Stockton at St. Ignatius, 1 p.m.: The Wildcats are off to a hot start with tight victories against two good teams, Marin Catholic and Terra Nova. S.I. is led by senior QB Ryan Hagfeldt. St. Mary's likes to keep it on the ground and does so well with Marcell Spady who has rushed for 234 yards and four scores this season. Quarterback Noah Righetti (245 yards passing, two TDs) is also a threat. The Rams' defense is stout, holding Central Catholic-Modesto to 118 yards rushing and 84 yards passing.
San Lorenzo Valley (1-0) at Mills (2-0), 1 p.m.: The Under-the-Radar bowl is set for Saturday afternoon in Millbrae as the Vikings have defeated San Jose (26-0) and Mission San Jose (57-13) and SLV has routed Marina (44-0).
Quarterback Nick Salibi (123 yards, one TD) and RB Noah Gentry (104 yards, two TDs) lead the Cougars. Brighton Hart has been averaging 40 yards per catch for SLV and has scored two TDs. Mills doesn't typically have big rosters or D-I players, but are always well-schooled by veteran Mike Krieger.
