Welcome back to the Bay Area News Group’s high school football roundup.
Here, you’ll find all the details from the weekend’s action in this news organization’s coverage area, which encompasses teams that play in leagues based primarily in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
Check back every Saturday during the season for scores, highlights and top performers, updated throughout the day.
If you have not already, please subscribe here for complete digital access all season long. Your contributions keep us going.
On to the roundup …
CCS Open/Division I
No. 7 Wilcox 52, No. 2 St. Francis 28
Elijah Walker scored five touchdowns, four rushing and one on a kickoff return, as Wilcox pulled off perhaps the most stunning upset of the first round. The Chargers defense also forced three turnovers as Wilcox punched its ticket to the Open Division final and a spot in the Division I title game. Nathan Canilao has the full story from Mountain View.
No. 3 St. Ignatius 21, No. 6 Valley Christian 17
Soren Hummel ran to his right on third down and threw a 5-yard touchdown pass back over the middle to Monroe Barnum with 7.8 seconds left to lift St. Ignatius to a dramatic victory at home in the first round of the CCS Open/Division I playoffs. One month after winning at Valley 15-14, SI broke the hearts of the San Jose school again. Valley led 14-7 after three quarters and went back in front 17-14 when Aaron Vander Veen kicked a 27-yard field with 4:25 to go. But that was plenty of time for Hummel to lead SI (7-4) on a drive that sent the Wildcats into a semifinal next Friday at home against fourth-seeded Los Gatos. Uchenna Eke’s 29-yard run gave Valley a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Jarious Hogan’s 4-yard run evened the score 7-7 in the second quarter and McLemore’s 1-yard run in the third quarter reclaimed the advantage for Valley, 14-7. Jordan Vargas had two interceptions and Lovante Metcalfe had a sack for Valley, which finished the season 6-5. – Darren Sabedra
No. 4 Los Gatos 28, No. 5 Archbishop Riordan 14
After heartbreaking playoff defeats the past two postseasons, Los Gatos finally defeated a WCAL opponent to advance to the second round. Boxer Kopscak-Yeung rushed for 168 yards, and quarterback A.J Minyard threw for 232, most to top target Jaylen Thomas (120 yards). Glenn Reeves was in Los Gatos and has the full story here.
CCS Division II
No. 8 Christopher 32, No. 1 Archbishop Mitty 28
Lazaro Faraj-Washington scored a touchdown with about five minutes left to give Mitty a 28-19 lead in this opening-round D-II game at Foothill College. But Christopher’s Amari Bluford returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and then the eighth-seeded Cougars scored the winning TD on a 7-yard run by William Rizqallah with 42 seconds to play. When the defense knocked away Mitty’s final pass in the end zone from 25 yards out as time expired, Christopher advanced to the semifinals and gave retiring coach Darren Yafai at least one more game. The coach told his team after last week’s heartbreaking loss to Live Oak that he will step down when the season ends. Jaxen Robinson threw touchdown passes of 44 yards to Evan Vernon and 11 yards to Terrence Barnes to help lead Christopher. The QB was 14 of 22 passing for 222 yards. Vernon caught five passes for 67 yards and had 14 tackles and a fumble recovery. The Cougars also got two touchdown runs by Rizqallah. Jonah Kroenung, AJ Cenizal and Joey Campagna scored TDs for Mitty. Christopher (10-1) will play next Saturday at fifth-seeded Menlo School, which edged No. 4 seed Live Oak on Friday. Mitty finished the season 5-6. – Darren Sabedra
No. 5 Menlo School 30, No. 4 Live Oak 28
Andres Gonzalez Lombera sent Menlo to the second round on a 21-yard field goal with three seconds left in the road game. Live Oak scored first, with RB Anden Rogers running it in for a touchdown off a direct snap and Dominick Mckinney also running for a TD to give the Acorns the 14-0 lead. Menlo School quarterback Jack Freehill kept the ball on an option to send the Knights into the halftime locker room down 14-7. Willis Johnson tied the game with a five-yard TD run with four minutes left in the third quarter, and Menlo’s other QB, Mikey McGrath, scored on a touchdown run to give the Knights a 21-14 advantage. But the Acorns scored the next two touchdowns to put Menlo in a 28-21 hole with six minutes left to play. McGrath led another TD drive with two minutes to go, but Live Oak blocked the PAT. The Knights recovered the onside kick and put Lombera in position to win the game. Menlo (10-1) will play host to Christopher next Saturday. Live Oak finished the season 9-1. – Joseph Dycus
CCS Division III
No. 1 Menlo-Atherton 49, No. 8 Hillsdale 37
In a wild offensive showdown, Menlo-Atherton scored four third-quarter touchdowns to pull away from a 21-21 tie at halftime, and withstood a Hillsdale rally in the fourth quarter to pull out the win. Jordan Masuisui, a 280-pound running back, carried 21 times for 177 yards for M-A (5-6), the No. 1 seed in the CCS Division III playoffs. Teddy Dacey completed 7 of 13 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns, one to Aaron Becker and the other to Alek Marshall. Eva Ama also had a rushing touchdown for the Bears. For Hillsdale (7-4), Erick Waugh completed 19 of 37 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 74 yards. Drew Rollolazo caught six passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns. Jorge Hernandez also had a receiving touchdown. Dante Allendorf and Elliott Regan scored on the ground. M-A will host No. 4 seed Palma on Friday in the semifinals. — Glenn Reeves
No. 7 Alisal 20, No. 2 Capuchino 17
Lucas Zayac scored two second-quarter touchdowns to bring Capuchino back from an early 14-3 deficit, but Alisal’s Francisco Estrada kicked two fourth-quarter field goals to give the visitors from Salinas the win. Capuchino scored all of its 17 points in the second quarter. Alisal led 7-0 when Sebastian Zuniga’s field goal brought the Mustangs within 7-3. After another Alisal TD, Zayac scored on a 54-yard run and then on a 33-yard run with a minute to go before halftime. No. 7 seed Alisal (9-2) moves on to play at Scotts Valley on Saturday in the CCS Division III semifinals. Capuchino concludes its season 9-2 with the most wins in school history. — Glenn Reeves
No. 6 Scotts Valley 33, No. 3 Aragon 21
Visiting Scotts Valley jumped out to a 16-0 lead and never trailed in the CCS Division III opening-round playoff game. Amaziah Tanielu scored late in the second quarter for Aragon to make it 16-7 at halftime. A touchdown by Ivan Nisa to begin the third quarter brought the Dons within 16-14 and after a Scotts Valley score, another Tanielu rushing touchdown made it a two-point game again at 23-21. But Scotts Valley (10-1) kicked a field goal, and after Aragon was unable to move the ball, scored a touchdown to ensure the win. No. 3 seed Aragon concluded its season 8-3. No. 6 Scotts Valley will host Alisal in the D-III semifinals. — Glenn Reeves
CCS Division IV
No. 1 Palo Alto 55, No. 8 Seaside 21
When the Vikings endured four straight losses earlier this season, the last three without scoring a single point, it looked like it was going to be one of those years. But the Palo Alto offense has been on fire since then. It has scored 205 points over its last five games, including Friday night’s romp over Seaside. Paly is 4-1 in that stretch and 6-5 overall. The Vikings unleashed a strong ground game against Seaside. Jeremiah Madrigal had four rushing touchdowns and Jason Auzenne, the team’s leading receiver, had two running scores. But it was a 45-yard TD reception by Jeremiah Fung in the third quarter that put Palo Alto up 34-7 and pretty much let the crowd know this one was over. The Vikings put an exclamation point on their win when Isaiah Phillips gained 79 yards on three carries for their final TD. Palo Alto will host Leigh (8-3) next Friday in the semifinals. The Longhorns advanced by beating North Salinas. – Mike Lefkow
No. 2 Mountain View 49, No. 7 Burlingame 21
Mountain View could not be stopped in its opening-round rout of Burlingame, the same team that defeated the Spartans 21-14 in PAL Bay Division play on Oct. 6. Mountain View running back Arturo Hernandez rushed for 174 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. Quarterback Kevin Conway completed five passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns, and favorite receiver Lex Silver caught three passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Ami Sekona returned an interception for a touchdown. Burlingame QB Luke Levitt threw for two touchdowns, and Angelo Medina rushed for 135 yards and one TD. Zach Shapiro also caught two touchdowns for Burlingame, which ended the season 3-8. Mountain View (5-6) will play host to No. 3 seed Branham on Friday. – Joseph Dycus
No. 3 Branham 41, No. 6 Greenfield 14
Branham, playing at home in San Jose, built a 27-7 halftime cushion and rolled into next week’s semifinals with a lopsided victory. Jack Lewis threw four touchdown passes, two to Preston Conrad and two to Brayden Hodges, and defensive tackle Francis Mone dominated the line of scrimmage. Conrad scored on passes of 63 and 57 yards, the second TD widening the margin to 34-7 in the third quarter. Hodges scored on a 32-yard reception and turned a bubble screen into an 11-yard touchdown play. Elias Antillon added a 53-yard rushing touchdown and Logan Roza had a fumble recovery as Branham (9-2) advanced to play at second-seeded Mountain View in a semifinal on Friday. Greenfield finished 9-2. – Darren Sabedra
No. 5 Leigh 21, No. 4 North Salinas 20
The bus ride back to San Jose turned out to be a great one for Leigh as the Longhorns survived a tense and memorable opening-round game against North Salinas at Rabobank Stadium. Shayan Shariat’s 18-yard touchdown run in the third quarter put the Longhorns on top 21-14. Kai Ceralde’s touchdown early in the fourth quarter pulled the home team to within a point, but its two-point conversion attempt was no good. Leigh, which beat Westmont last week to qualify for the playoffs, held on for the next eight-plus minutes to set up a semifinal on Friday at top-seeded Palo Alto. Leigh took charge in the first quarter against North Salinas as Charlie Lyon threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Michael Valenti for a 7-0 lead and Lyon’s 45-yard pass to Ben Varnell widened the margin to 14-0. But North Salinas charged back in the second quarter. Demajae Roberson’s 11-yard run and Ceralde’s two-point conversion run made it 14-8. Ceralde’s 40-yard pass to Bradley Moyer evened the score 14-14 shortly before halftime. The second half was nail-bitingly close. Leigh improved to 8-3. North Salinas finished its season 7-4. – Darren Sabedra
CCS Division V
No. 1 Woodside 56, No. 8 Del Mar 21
Woodside took advantage of Del Mar turnovers in the fourth quarter to turn a 28-21 game into a first-round rout. “We kind of fell apart,” Del Mar coach Robert Chapman said. Woodside’s running game, which finished with 442 yards, made the Dons pay for their mistakes. Evan Frampton ran for 144 yards and one touchdown, Oliver Lyssand plowed ahead for 98 yards and three touchdowns, and Evan Usher and Mason Furtado each ran for two TDs. The Del Mar veer offense kept things close for a good portion of the game, with quarterback Andre Latimore rushing for 209 yards and two touchdowns behind key blocks by center Daniel James. Jake Schwoob returned an interception 85 yards for a touchdown, and Del Mar teammate Angel Nolasco forced a fumble on a sack. The Dons finished the season 7-4. Woodside will play host to No. 4 Santa Teresa on Friday. – Joseph Dycus
No. 7 Leland 24, No. 2 Overfelt 20
Jacob Gibson threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Luke Whitson with 10 seconds left to bring Leland from behind and pull off the first-round upset. Trailing 20-17, Leland was within range to attempt a tying field goal to send the game into overtime but took one more shot at the end zone. The Chargers went 70 yards in under two minutes for the winning score. “We saved our season,” Leland coach Kelly King Jr. said. Gibson also scored on a 1-yard run and threw a 6-yard TD pass to Brady Hernandez. John Stowers scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion for Overfelt (6-5). Fullback Saulala Niuafe scored on a short run and Walter Smith caught a pass for a touchdown on a fade route just before halftime. Leland (4-7) will play at South San Francisco on Friday at 7 p.m. — Glenn Reeves
No. 3 South San Francisco 14, No. 6 Silver Creek 0
Elijah Fields scored two first-half touchdowns and that was all South City needed as the defense turned in a dominant performance. Fields scored on a long run and a 2-yarder, rushing for more than 100 yards by halftime. SSF coach Kolone Pua lauded the defensive line play of John Langi, Mila Iopu and Soblessed Mauia as well as the play in the secondary of Darren Miller and Justice Goodwin. Silver Creek managed only 4 yards passing. Gabriel Lim was the top offensive performer for Silver Creek (7-4), rushing for 80 yards on 14 carries. Kyler Headley had 10 tackles and a sack. It was a big win for South City, coming out of the PAL Lake. “Silver Creek’s defense was one of the best we’ve faced,” Pua said. “I told the guys, `We’re not playing C league teams any more. We’re playing guys who know how to play football.” South San Francisco will host Leland in the semifinals on Friday. — Glenn Reeves
No. 4 Santa Teresa 34, No. 5 Los Altos 15
Ezekiel Herena ran for three touchdowns as Santa Teresa, playing at home in San Jose, opened the playoffs just as it did last season – with a victory. One year after the Saints captured section and regional championships, they are two wins from another CCS crown after rolling past Los Altos on Friday in a Division V game. Herena scored on a 4-yard run in the second quarter to break a 7-7 tie and then scored on runs 42 and 76 yards in the third quarter to put the outcome out of reach. The Saints also got a 36-yard touchdown run from Jaikob Wright to open the scoring in the first quarter and a 38-yard touchdown pass from Brenton Gaches to Kayin Lawson late in the second quarter to widen the margin to 21-7. Drew Rafferty scored on a 3-yard run early in the second quarter to pull Los Altos even. But the visitors didn’t score again until Rafferty caught a short TD pass from Noah Beedon and Fisher Sirey reeled in a two-point pass from Beedon to make it 34-15. Santa Teresa (5-6) advanced to play top-seeded Woodside on Friday. Los Altos finished 5-6. – Darren Sabedra
NCS Open/Division I
No. 1 De La Salle 48, No. 8 James Logan 20
The Colts lost to De La Salle in the first round of the NCS playoffs for the third straight season Friday night, but this game wasn’t quite as lopsided as the other two. After Toa Faavae ripped off a 67-yard touchdown run and threw a 56-yard TD pass to Robert Santiago before the first quarter had reached the midway point, Logan settled down and got back in it. Jose Rodriguez kicked the first of his two field goals, and QB Jonathan Craft threw a 13-yard TD toss to his brother Jeremy Craft. Suddenly you had a 14-10 score with only a minute gone in the second quarter. But De La Salle (9-2) scored 27 of the next 30 points and rolled into the Open Division championship game, where it will have a rematch with San Ramon Valley next Friday night at Dublin High. SRV lost to DLS in overtime earlier this season. It needed overtime to beat Campolindo in its first-round playoff match on Friday. Faavae and Dominic Kelley each had two touchdown runs for the Spartans. Derrick Blanche added one that went 65 yards. Faavae and Brayden Knight each threw a touchdown pass. The winner of the rematch between DLS and SRV will become the open qualifier to a CIF State matchup. The losing team plays for the D-I title, also with a berth in one of the CIF State games a possibility. Logan finished 6-5. The Colts lost their first four games, then won six in a row before visiting De La Salle. A tough non-league schedule was partially responsible for Logan’s rough start. But coach Eddie Smith said he’s going to continue with the challenging start, which he hopes will eventually payoff in the first round of the playoffs. – Mike Lefkow
No. 2 San Ramon Valley 38, No. 7 Campolindo 31, OT
Matthew Garibaldi scored the decisive touchdown in overtime on a 14-yard run as San Ramon Valley won a thriller at home over Campolindo to advance to the NCS Open title game against top-seeded De La Salle next Friday at Dublin High. SRV led 21-0 in the first quarter but had to rally late after Campo went ahead on Mack Fisher’s pick-six. Darren Sabedra has the complete game story here.
No. 3 Pittsburg 41, No. 6 Amador Valley 14
Makari Kenion caught two long touchdown passes in the second half to break open a defensive struggle and help the Pirates improve to 11-0. Pittsburg led 14-0 at halftime, scoring on a short run by Jamar Searcy in the first quarter and a 60-yard scoop-and-score fumble return by Japheth Tofaeono. The Pirates stretched their lead to 27-0 after three periods. Both teams scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Kenion caught TD passes of 85 and 44 yards. Pittsburg QB Marley Alcantara also hooked up with Bobby Shaw for another score. Next up for Pittsburg is a rematch with California. When they played in September at Pirates Stadium, Pittsburg came from behind and eked out a 38-35 victory. Amador Valley finished the season 7-3. The Dons are a young team who will get many of their best players back, including QB Tristan Tia. The junior missed the first five games while he waited to become eligible after transferring from Granada. Amador Valley won all four of his regular season starts, outscoring opponents 208-7. – Mike Lefkow
No. 5 California 31, No. 4 Clayton Valley Charter 24
Jayden Macedo drove the Grizzlies on an eight-play touchdown drive to score the winning touchdown with under two minutes to play. Cal High, playing at home, rallied from a 17-3 deficit. Joseph Dycus was in San Ramon and has the full story here.
NCS Division II
No. 1 El Cerrito 61, No. 8 Berkeley 14
El Cerrito used a two-headed rushing attack to wear down Berkeley in the first round of the NCS Division III playoffs. Micah Avery rushed for 207 yards and three touchdowns, and Ziare Eastman ran for 172 yards and another three scores. The passing game wasn’t too shabby either. Michael Vanhook threw for 220 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for another. Washington State commit Kamani Jackson had a 90-yard receiving TD, and Jayvon Bolds caught two passes for 92 yards and a touchdown. Savion Bandy and Elvis Mafuahingano each had an interception, and Sione Fanaika had four sacks. El Cerrito (10-1) will play host to the winner of Saturday’s game between No. 5 Heritage and No. 4 Redwood. Berkeley ended its season 7-4. – Joseph Dycus
No. 6 Rancho Cotate 40, No. 3 Granada 18
The Cougars proved to be unwelcome guests, scoring the first 27 points of the second half en route to an impressive win over No. 3-seed Granada. The Matadors finish their season at 7-4, their best record since going 9-3 in 2018. Rancho Cotate will visit North Bay Oak rival Windsor next Friday in the D-II semifinals. Windsor won the regular-season contest 35-7. Granada trailed only 13-10 at the half. Quinn Boyd threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Christian Clouser to put the Mats up 10-7 in the second quarter. Granada also held a 3-0 lead in the first period on a 45-yard field goal by Brandon Niemeyer. But Rancho Cotate delivered the knockout blow with a pair of TDs in both the third and fourth quarters. Granada didn’t score its first points of the second half until Boyd hit his brother Mikey Boyd from 2 yards out with 3:47 left to play. Quinn Boyd finished the season with 28 TD tosses. – Mike Lefkow
Division III
No. 2 Las Lomas 17, No. 7 Ukiah 7
Las Lomas won a tough defensive battle by outscoring the visitors 10-0 in the second half. Doug Soccol kicked a third-quarter field goal to break a 7-7 halftime deadlock, and Sava Pouridis ran for a touchdown in the fourth period, his second of the game. The Knights took an early 7-0 lead, but a pick-6 allowed Ukiah to even the score. Pouridis was the star for Las Lomas, rushing for 96 yards in addition to his two TDs. Las Lomas (10-1) advances to the semifinals next Friday, hosting third-seeded Cardinal Newman. The Cardinals, also 10-1, rolled past American Canyon 49-14 in the first round. Las Lomas coach Doug Longero said this will be the first time the Knights have played Cardinal Newman since at least 1997. – Mike Lefkow
NCS Division IV
No. 2 Acalanes 56, No. 7 Mt. Diablo 14
Sully Bailey threw three touchdown passes and Acalanes had 407 yards of total offense in an easy quarterfinal victory. The Dons (7-4) led 35-0 before Mt. Diablo (7-4) finally broke through with a touchdown in the final minute of the first half. Bailey threw touchdowns of 51 yards to Trevor Rogers, and 15 and 37 yards to Henry Souza. Acalanes also scored on a 38-yard pick-6 by Jake Boselli. Jack Giorgianni, Niko White and Deonte Littlejohn had rushing touchdowns for the winners. Next up for the Dons is a home game against Vallejo on Friday. Those teams already played once this season, with Acalanes winning 50-0. Mt. Diablo star Herschel Turner Jr. rushed for 52 yards, putting him over 3,000 yards for the season. He also caught three passes and tossed a 45-yard TD on the last play of the game. – Mike Lefkow
NCS Division V
No. 1 Miramonte 48, No. 8 San Rafael 0
Miramonte scored on all but two of its drives in a running-clock victory over San Rafael. Gabe Roman and Charlie Hwang got things started with touchdown runs, and then Mitch Reichenbach caught touchdown passes from Carson Blair and Preston Rguem to turn the game into a blowout. After lineman John Kelly bowled into the end zone for a touchdown, Reichenbach got the ball as a quarterback and ran in for his third TD of the day. Myles Bastani threw a touchdown to Grant Jediicka as Miramonte snapped a three-game losing streak. The Matadors (7-3) will play host to Alhambra on Friday. – Joseph Dycus
No. 4 Alhambra 49, No. 5 Piedmont 14
Bulldogs senior Beau Blau put on another show Friday night, passing and running Alhambra to victory with three rushing touchdowns and two passing TDs. Alhambra (8-3) will visit Miramonte in the semifinals next Friday. Blau has accounted for over 40 touchdowns this season. The 6-0, 170-pounder has rushed for over 1,000 yards in addition to his passing. He scored on runs of 9, 19 and 5 yards against Piedmont. He threw a 25-yard TD to Sylas Mankin and connected with Luke Beaty from 65 yards. It was Beaty’s 13th touchdown catch of the season. For Piedmont, the loss ended a storybook year. The Highlanders dropped their varsity program in 2022 after starting 0-6 (four losses, two forfeits), but bounced back this season to go 7-4 and win the MVAL/WACC Shoreline title. Alhambra was too much for the Highlanders in the playoffs. After the Bulldogs fell behind 14-7 in the second quarter, they scored the game’s final six touchdowns. Piedmont QB Markos Lagios got the scoring started with a 33-yard touchdown pass, but Alhambra tied it with two minutes left in the first period on a 5-yard run by Shea Murphy. It was his first TD of the season. Lagios threw a 22-yard TD to Tommy Ashton to put Piedmont back on top 14-7 with five minutes left in the first half, but Alhambra answered with a pair of scores on a 9-yard run by Blau and his 25-yard TD toss to Mankin. It was all Alhambra in the second half, with 14 points in each of the third and fourth quarters. – Mike Lefkow
NCS Division VI
No. 2 Moreau Catholic 21, No. 7 Arcata 18
In the NCS, league champions play host to first-round games if the opponent did not win a league title, no matter the seeding. For Moreau, which did not win its league, that meant a 616-mile roundtrip to McKinleyville High School to play seventh-seeded Arcata. The Mariners survived to see another home game. Barely. Jayden Bryant ran for 140 yards in 26 carries and Andrew Placido had six carries for 74 yards to lead the visitors into next Friday’s semifinals at home against St. Mary’s-Berkeley or Salesian. Moreau improved to 6-5. Arcata finished 8-3. – Darren Sabedra
