The 13-week march that is Central Coast Section football is well underway now and will not end until Christmas decorations are up on the peninsula, in the Santa Clara Valley and in the Monterey Bay. Here is a look at some interesting games this week:
Serra (0-1) at De La Salle (1-0), 7:30 p.m.: Visiting Serra continues with its suicidal schedule that has already meant a 63-35 loss to state-ranked St. Mary’s-Stockton and next will mean a trip to formidable Pittsburg. This may be one of the worst years for such a gauntlet of titans as the Padres have only 11 linemen, though they do have some impressive size. St. Mary’s rambled for nearly 600 yards of offense last week, ripping off large chunks of yardage via ground and air. Padre fans will need to hope senior linebacker TC Lavulo is back from a strained hamstring that kept him out of the St. Mary’s game. Offensively Serra can move the ball, led by QB Leki Nunn who is a talented passer and runner. De La Salle yielded just 51 yards to Amador Valley in the first half of a 42-7 win last week. Tre White is a dangerous kick returner and the De La Salle rushing attack is typically potent, churning out 311 yards last week, led by Kairee Robinson with 134 yards.
Burlingame (1-0) at Half Moon Bay (1-0), 7 p.m.: Half Moon Bay trailed Saratoga by 13 points at halftime last week and then rallied for a 27-26 victory. Chase Hofmann (243 yards rushing, three touchdowns) and the pass-catch combo of quarterback Gavin Tomberlin to receiver Hayden Von Almen is formidable for the Cougars. Half Moon Bay continued to show a penchant for yielding big plays on defense, though it improved in the second half.
Burlingame went 9-2 last season and joined Sacred Heart Prep and Menlo-Atherton as tri-champs of the tough Peninsula Athletic League-Bay. The Panthers defeated Mt. Pleasant on Friday night in their opener, 49-16. The Panthers return just one starter from a defense that yielded less than 17 points per game last season. On offense Burlingame should be potent with Carlo Lopiccolo at quarterback and Sean Saunders, Cole Friedlander and Jason Rundle carrying the ball.
Corona del Mar (1-0) at Los Gatos (1-0), 7 p.m.: Los Gatos looks stout, defeating Pioneer 35-7 last week, led by Will Fordyce and Ben Grasty who led a ground game that picked up 295 yards. The Wildcats had 344 yards overall on offense and also have a capable passer in Kyle Reid. Corona del Mar, the program that defeated Sacred Heart Prep in a state playoff title bowl game in 2013, led Palos Verdes 14-13 after three quarters before losing 42-20. The Sea Kings did not run the ball well, but are potent through the air, led by QB Chaser Garbers (250 yards vs. Palos Verdes, two TD passes) and receiver Tae Le (98 yards on 10 catches, two TDs).
Antioch (1-0) at Milpitas (1-0): Antioch has arguably the top player in Northern California in Alabama recruit Najee Harris, an elusive running back. Antioch scored 38 points in the first quarter of a ridiculously easy 67-38 win last week against Lincoln-Stockton, led by Harris with 219 yards and three TDs rushing and a 35-yard pass reception for a score. Milpitas trailed visiting Homestead by a point last week before rallying for a 27-7 win. Tariq Bracy is a standout for the Trojans.
Saratoga (0-1) at Silver Creek (0-1), 7 p.m.: Saratoga led defending section champ Half Moon Bay by 13 points at halftime last week, only to see the Cougars rally for a 27-26 win. Still, the Falcons are potent, led by QB Will Liddle (286 yards passing, two TDs), running back/defensive back Nolan Chao (43 yards rushing, one TD) and receiver Kian Ghelichkhani (nine catches, 226 yards two TDs). Silver Creek started quickly against Lincoln-San Jose last week in a 33-20 loss, but had difficulty stopping a potent Lion running game.
