As part of a major restructuring process in the Central Coast Section for the high school football playoffs, the Blossom Valley Athletic League has been overhauled into three “B” divisions – the BVAL-Mount Hamilton North, BVAL-Mount Hamilton South and the BVAL-Santa Teresa – while the familiar BVAL-West Valley will now be classified as a “D” division. However, the designations themselves are not as significant because the entire CCS point system has been thrown out, and all CCS at-large playoff participants will be decided by the hsrating.com formula, which determines a team’s rating based on results and strength of schedule.
The BVAL-MH (North) and BVAL-MH (South) will receive two automatic bids apiece to the CCS playoffs, with the BVAL-ST and BVAL-WV getting one each. The West Valley champion will compete in a newly created CCS Division 6 four-team playoff against champions from the PAL-Lake and PCAL-Santa Lucia along with one-large team from one of those four divisions.
All 26 BVAL teams have played two games over the first two weeks of the season, and Santa Teresa of the BVAL-North has emerged as a strong contender to make the most noise among the league teams. The Saints have defeated a pair of historically strong “A” division teams Sacred Heart Prep and The King’s Academy to jump out to a 2-0 start. Junior Trey Monroe ran for 200 yards and four touchdowns in the 28-22 win over TKA.
In the BVAL-MH South, Lincoln and Willow Glen are also off to 2-0 starts. The Lions handled rival San Jose 38-7 behind 257 yards passing and four touchdowns from junior QB Luca Papoulias. Willow Glen edged Oakland Tech 38-36 as senior QB Declan Meehan threw for 183 yards and 2 TDs and ran for 88 yards and 3 scores.
Westmont is the lone 2-0 team in the BVAL-ST following a 22-0 win over Fremont. The Warriors, whose first two games have come against lower-level competition, figure to get a tougher test next week against BVAL-MH North representative Pioneer, which is 0-2 but lost just 15-14 against BVAL-MH South contender Lincoln in the opening week.
Finally, in the BVAL-WV, Andrew Hill and Independence are off to 2-0 starts following convincing wins in week 2. The Falcons followed up a season-opening win over El Camino with a 35-15 victory over Mt. Eden, while the Sixers thrashed rival Piedmont Hills, 28-7.
