At least five league titles will be decided directly on the field this coming week, while numerous others still hold intrigue and at least a shadow of doubt. We take a quick tour around the section, telling you what you need to know, as fast as we can. Let’s take a look back at the week that was in the Central Coast Section, and the week ahead.
- San Benito and Palma each took care of business on Friday, setting the stage for a winner-take-all showdown in the MBL-Gabilan. No one in the league has come within two scores of San Benito, and the Chieftains have been even more dominant in league play, with a 41-19 win over Alvarez serving as their smallest margin of victory.
Of course, with San Benito standout Hunter Nye and Palma standout Emilio Martinez, both teams will look to establish the run in this battle for the league title.
- With St. Francis’ come-from-behind win over Valley Christian on Friday night, the West Catholic Athletic League is currently a three-way tie for the league lead. The Lancers and Warriors are heavy favorites this week, facing St. Ignatius and Sacred Heart Cathedral, but the same cannot be said for co-leader Serra.
The Padres, who have a one-point win over St. Francis and a seven-point loss to Valley Christian, finish the regular season by hosting Bellarmine. Serra has won five straight games after opening the season 0-4 against four of the top teams in all of Northern California.
- This week’s Homestead at Cupertino game is still for the El Camino title, but lost the opportunity to match a pair of unbeaten teams in league play when Cupertino fell on the road at Fremont. The Pioneers racked up 503 yards of offense in the loss to the Firebirds, but could not contain the pass-and-catch trio of Fremont quarterback Roman Stien and receivers Rodney Chand and Jaylen Wynn.
Homestead, meanwhile, is averaging over 250 yards per game on the ground, and is on a seven-game winning streak.
- Carmel can complete an unbeaten regular season this week, facing third-place Pacific Grove. The Padres already beat second-place Soledad, 32-7. The combination of senior running back Covossay Windham and quarterback Daniel Higman has been nearly unstoppable for Carmel, and the Padres would love nothing more than to finish the regular season with a win over the nearby Breakers.
- After its 64-40 win over Prospect, Overfelt is looking to clinch an outright West Valley title and an unbeaten slate in league play. The Royals face second-place Gunderson, who lost to Del Mar this week for its first loss in league play. If Gunderson can get the win, it could force a three-way tie for the league title. Overfelt beat Del Mar, 38-32, back in late September.
Royals quarterback Moses Barajas threw for four more touchdowns last week against Prospect, and now has 12 touchdown passes in the last three weeks.
- Westmont heads to Branham this week, looking to wrap up an unbeaten slate in Santa Teresa play. Branham, meanwhile, sits a game back at 5-1 in league, and can stake its own claim to the league title with a win this week.
Branham has a 13-0 loss to Silver Creek on its resume, but the Bruins’ 31-6 victory over winless Mt. Pleasant on Friday ensured that the league title will get decided on the field. Westmont, led by former Menlo College coach Mark Kaanapu, is 8-1 overall, with a lone loss to Leigh.
Senior running back Nolan Berry has been a standout this year for the Warriors, running for 1,269 yards and 17 touchdowns.
- The most perplexing league champ could be Seaside in the MBL-Pacific. After registering a big 34-32 win over Gilroy in early October, the Spartans were held to 18 points in a win over Alisal, the fewest points allowed all season (at that point) by the Trojans, and then survived a strange 6-5 win against Watsonville on Friday. Regardless, Seaside is unbeaten in league play heading into Saturday’s home game against Monterey.
- Los Gatos clinched the De Anza title with its win over Wilcox, San Mateo secured the PAL-Lake title with its win over Mills, Menlo-Atherton scored the last 35 points of the game to pull away from Hillsdale and clinch the PAL-Bay title, while Half Moon Bay and Menlo finished tied atop the PAL-Ocean.
Half Moon Bay did defeat Menlo, 36-27, but lost later to The King’s Academy, opening the door for the Knights, who took advantage by winning their last four games in league play.
- After a week of three blowouts in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League, Aptos will go for its sixth straight league title, facing the last team other than the Mariners to win a championship.
Aptos heads to San Lorenzo Valley on Saturday afternoon, carrying its 32-game league winning streak into the game which will decide the status of the league title race. SLV and Scotts Valley each sit one game behind the Mariners, with Aptos having previously defeated Scotts Valley, 21-14.
Scotts Valley is heavily favored against Santa Cruz on Friday night, so if the Cougars could pull the upset, it would likely leave all three teams tied for the league title.
