Willow Glen and Lincoln established themselves as contenders in the BVAL-Mount Hamilton South by improving to 3-0 with wins over BVAL-MH North teams Branham and Piedmont Hills, respectively.
The Rams needed triple overtime to get past Branham, 28-20, dropping the Bruins to 0-3. Quarterback Declan Meehan connected with Owen Ford on a touchdown pass in the third overtime and then Ford clinched the victory with an interception on the ensuing Branham possession. Chase Azus caught 8 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns plus the two-point conversion in the third overtime. Andrew Ho threw for 154 yards and a touchdown and added 87 yards rushing in the defeat.
Lincoln built a 41-point lead in the first half and cruised to a 56-21 win over Piedmont Hills (0-3) in its home opener. Adan Aguiniga led a balanced rushing attack with 70 yards on just seven carries and Luca Papoulias tossed a pair of touchdown passes to Michael Whitelaw for the Lions, who visit Branham next week. Piedmont Hills host Willow Glen Thursday.
Santa Teresa fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with an out-of-section 31-14 loss to California-San Ramon. Junior Trey Monroe had another big day on the ground with 171 yards and a touchdown, but quarterback Salvador Guerrero was held to just 77 yards on 8-of-15 passing. The Saints host Live Oak Thursday.
In the BVAL-Santa Teresa, Westmont suffered its first defeat under first-year coach Stephen Johnson with a 41-9 loss to Pioneer. The Warriors will look to get back on track next Friday in their homecoming game against Independence. Gilroy improved to 2-1 with a 52-0 thrashing of Yerba Buena and will travel to Evergreen Valley Friday.
Independence is off to a 3-0 start and looks like the team to beat in the BVAL-West Valley following a 13-6 win over Pajaro Valley, snapping the Grizzlies’ seven-game winning streak over two seasons. Quarterback Gurshan Randhawa threw a touchdown pass to Jessiah Amaral and Chase Pagaduan added a third-quarter score to extend the lead to 13-0. The Sixers face possibly their biggest test when they visit Westmont Friday.
