We're about one-third of the way through the prep football season now -- remember Sacred Heart Prep played 15 games last season -- and the contenders are being separated from the pretenders.
But there are still plenty of significant games this weekend, including unbeaten league squads squaring off in St. Francis at Serra, Sacred Heart Prep at Terra Nova, Westmont at Lincoln and Pioneer at Santa Teresa.
Said Terra Nova coach Tim Adams of his young team: "From an offensive standpoint we can score on anybody and it's just about growing and cleaning things up on offense and on special teams. We're confident and we're going to compete."
Plenty of intrigue at Serra just for starters as Padres' junior transfer QB Hunter Bishop will take the snaps against his old school and fans will be watching closely for any sign Serra utility player Kava Cassidy might get his first action since Game 2 against Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks when he broke his collarbone and clavicle.
Meantime, Pioneer coach Eric Perry has his wish of cooler weather at Santa Teresa granted for the Mustangs' game against the Saints, who played some games in toasty weather last month. This game was originally scheduled for Friday night but infrastructure issues related to the new lights has caused Santa Teresa to play day games this season.
TOP GAMES
Friday
San Benito at Alvarez, 7:30 p.m.: San Benito has lost two consecutive games in the final seconds and is paced offensively by backs Chris Blake and Kyle Cameron. Alvarez was bumped up to the MBL-Gabilan this season and lost its opener to Monterey, then bounced back to defeat North Salinas. The Eagles are led by QB Edric Gamble, a dangerous thrower and runner.
Monterey at Salinas, 7: p.m.: The Toreadores, led by QB Carter Aldrete, are eyeing eye an MBL-Gabilan title, Open Division berth and bowl consideration, but get a tough Salinas team returning home after five consecutive road games.
Leland (2-3, 1-1) at Piedmont Hills, 7 p.m.: Leland absorbed a 31-17 loss to Oak Grove last week and needs a win to stay in the race. QB Kevin Cance leads the Chargers with his passing and running. The Pirates fell to Pioneer 55-28 in their BVAL-Mt. Hamilton opener but rebounded with a 42-21 win against Leigh. QB Marcus Romero (92-151, 1,215, 15-6) leads the Pirates and utility Aaron Tillak is dangerous.
Sacred Heart Prep (5-0, 0-0) at Terra Nova (2-3, 1-0), 7 p.m.: Terra Nova started 0-3 as it experienced the growing pains of replacing 20 of 22 starters and the difficulty of facing two strong private schools and Pioneer to start the season. The Gators could be vulnerable on the ground without star LB Ben Burr-Kirven or considerably more stout with him.
Hillsdale (3-2, 0-0) at San Mateo (4-1, 0-1), 7 p.m.: Both teams need a win in this PAL-Bay game, especially San Mateo which dropped its league opener to Half Moon Bay. Line Latu, Austin Perez and Memo Gomez did have nice games for the Bearcats against HMB. Hillsdale is paced by QB Brett Wettleand (70-111, 1,090, 7-11) and RB James Hollon who averages 4.3 ypc and has six TDs.
Westmont (5-0, 2-0) at Lincoln (2-2, 1-0), 7 p.m.: Westmont is yielding just 6.8 points per game, but the overall record of the Warriors' opponents so far is 4-19. Lincoln has quality wins against Santa Teresa and Willow Glen.
Saturday
Pioneer (4-1, 2-0) at Santa Teresa (4-1, 2-0), 1:45 p.m.: Pioneer has averaged 50 ppg. in its last four games, including league wins against Piedmont Hills (55-28) and Willow Glen (44-43). Mustangs' QB Zach Silva (51-84, 895 yards, 15-3) figures to go over 1,000 passing yards for the season in this game. Santa Teresa has already scored an upset in league, defeating Willow Glen 26-23 in the opener.
St. Francis (4-1, 2-0) at Serra (3-2, 2-0), 1 p.m.: Transfer (from St. Francis) junior QB Hunter Bishop gets his second start for the Padres and there's a chance senior utility player Kava Cassidy (RB, WR, DB) could return from the broken collarbone and clavicle he incurred in Game 2. The Lancers are led by RB Devin Hurtado, LB Steven Dinneen and DL Thomas Toki. Serra won three consecutive against St. Francis with Lynn Swann in the lineup from 1967 through '69 including a 45-27 victory in '68 at San Mateo High in a de facto WCAL title game. St. Francis won 33 consecutive games from 1973 through 2005 until the Padres defeated the Lancers 21-17 in 2006. Counting '06, Serra holds a 5-3 edge over the Lancers, but has dropped the last two.
Valley Christian (3-2, 1-1) at Riordan (1-4, 1-1), 1 p.m.: The Warriors routed Bellarmine last week after opening league with a 14-point loss to Serra. VC, led by RB Kirk Johnson and WR Collin Johnson, DB Morian Walker and two-way standout Mark Quinby is hitting its stride. Riordan played a tough, non-league schedule and lost 25-22 to St. Francis in the league opener, but upset Sacred Heart Cathedral last week, led by RB Rayvonne Sanders.