It’s considered to be a lean week in terms of matchups in the Central Coast Section, but that’s simply because there’s an absence of matchups between top-ranked teams at the top of league standings, save for the Serra-Valley Christian game that’s featured in our NorCal Games of the Week. Still, there are some pivotal games that will have profound effects on the playoff race, including a few between bubble teams that could ultimately decide which teams are turning in uniforms in early November and which will be preparing for postseason football.
No. 14 Sacred Heart Cathedral (3-3, 1-2 WCAL) @ Bellarmine (2-4, 1-2), Friday, 7 p.m. at San Jose City College
The WCAL is almost certainly sending five or six teams to the postseason, and the winner of this game will have the inside track to fifth place. Since the teams met last year on October 27, a game the Bells won 34-14, they’ve completely reversed course. The Fightin’ Irish won their final two league games to reach the playoffs, while Bellarmine lost both and was bounced from the playoffs in the first round. The Bells have dropped four of their last five WCAL games and six of eight overall since the calendar turned to November last year after that win over SHC.
If the Bells are going to win this one, depth will be the reason. Finding players to complement Tyson Garcia and Anthony Magri could give the hosts an edge. Though Sacred Heart did find a host of receiving options to go with LeVar Watkins Jr., reverses to Watkins and the occasional designed runs by quarterback Cian Dowling were the only run plays that didn’t go to Anthony Heard, who had 29 carries for 220 yards and three touchdowns in a Bruce-Mahoney win over St. Ignatius. The Irish will also have a rare size advantage, with 270-pound sophomore Evan Branch-Haynes looking even bigger than usual against a Bells team that doesn’t have the same body types as much of the WCAL. On the other end of the spectrum, SHC also has 5-foot-5 Evan Dere, who made an impact last week in the secondary and even teamed up with Branch-Haynes for a sack.
Since joining the WCAL for football in 2008, the Fightin’ Irish have never defeated the Bells, but there seems to be no better chance to reverse the last ten years than this meeting.
No. 23 Menlo (4-2, 1-0 PAL Bay) @ No. 13 Menlo-Atherton (4-2, 2-0), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
While many of this week’s matchups declined in interest after one of the teams suffered a defeat last week, this one only grew in anticipation with Menlo posting a 44-25 win over Half Moon Bay despite an early 17-0 deficit. M-A got off to a slow start but used big plays from Troy Franklin and Jaeden Barker to pull away in the second half for a 30-8 win over Terra Nova, leaving the two neighbors undefeated in league play as they head into their first meeting since 2014. It’s hard to believe the two rivals, who occasionally get confused with one another, haven’t played since Adhir Ravipati became Menlo-Atherton’s head coach, but with the Bears typically in the PAL Bay Division and the Knights in the Ocean over the past three seasons, and both teams playing nonleague schedules often featuring games against out-of-section opponents, Friday’s matchup is one that’s been a long time in the making and should draw a huge crowd to Coach Parks Field, where parking is already at a premium to begin with.
Monte Vista Christian (2-4, 2-1 PCAL Mission) @ Alisal (4-2, 2-0), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Both teams are currently projected in the playoff field, but a win on Friday would provide a nice extra layer of security, especially with the Mission Division getting two automatic bids and one of those bids almost certainly going to Carmel. It would be a surprise if the Padres don’t lock up the league title, having already beaten MVC, but if the Mustangs pick up the road win Friday, it would leave the door open for a three-way tie if Alisal could pull off the road stunner at Carmel on the 27th. Should the Trojans defend their home turf, that game would likely decide an outright league title.
No. 16 Overfelt (6-0, 3-0 BVAL Santa Teresa) @ Del Mar (5-1, 2-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
With Del Mar’s shocking loss at Gunderson last week, this one admittedly lost a bit of its luster as fans were deprived of a clash between two unbeatens, but if the Dons bounce back this week, it would completely open up the Santa Teresa Division race. Unbeaten Independence would suddenly have the advantage, but one-loss Willow Glen could get back into the mix. The Royals haven’t even allowed a point over the last two weeks, beating Gunderson and Branham by a combined score of 92-0. Ulyses Alvarado and Laron Morris each broke the century mark on the ground last week, and though quarterback Ulysses Reyes threw just 15 times and only completed eight of those passes, he still managed to throw for 218 yards and three touchdowns. All four Del Mar touchdowns last week came on the ground, with two from Michael Graham III, one from Isaac Black and a 69-yard run by quarterback Marcus Morales.
Carlmont (4-2, 2-0 PAL Lake) @ Jefferson (4-2, 1-1), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
With the PAL’s five-game league schedule, one loss is typically a death knell, but with Woodside’s unexpected loss at El Camino, Jefferson is right back in the race, and a home win Friday would create a three- or even four-way tie atop the Lake Division standings. As of now, the Lake is projected to once again send only the one league champion to the postseason, but two other teams are currently part of the first five out in Prep2Prep’s most recent playoff projections.
Whereas Jefferson’ loss to Woodside was a pass-filled and penalty-marred game that didn’t end until 11 p.m., this one should be a much more swift affair. The Grizzlies will still take to the air behind quarterback Joaquin Alvarez (1,425 yards, 16 touchdowns), but Carlmont likes to keep it on the ground with Julian Morin (86 carries-588 yards) and Jonaven Kuhn (56-504). Even before quarterback Siupeli Netane got banged up last week (his status for tonight is questionable), the Scots were known as a ground-and-pound team.
Megaphone Game: King City (3-3) @ Gonzales (6-0), 7:30 p.m.
This annual rivalry is a nonleague game for the first time, with the teams in different divisions of the PCAL, but they lined up their league bye weeks to be able to meet in the middle of the season rather than plug it into the early-season schedule. While Gonzales is the heavy favorite to cruise to the Santa Lucia Division title, the Mustangs have a better chance than anyone else to spoil the Spartans’ perfect record, and a win on Friday at Dick Force Stadium would extend King City’s rivalry winning streak to 15. It would also give the Mustangs a shot at an at-large bid in the section playoffs. Assuming Gonzales does win the league title, King City would have a chance to get additional playoff points from beating a league champion.
Best of the Rest
Half Moon Bay is never an easy place to play, and with homecoming festivities adding to the atmosphere on Friday night, 15th-ranked Sacred Heart Prep’s perfect record will be on the line in what should be an interesting matchup, as neither team boasts tremendous physical size, but both offer excellent skill and crisp execution.
A 40-3 home loss to Salinas last week has 25th-ranked Christopher (3-3, 1-2 PCAL Gabilan) smarting, but if the Cougars can take their frustrations on the road and take them out on No. 9 Palma (5-1, 2-1), last week’s pain would quickly go away.
With No. 23 Live Oak (5-1, 2-1 BVAL Mt. Hamilton) getting blindsided at Piedmont Hills last week, Friday’s visit from Leland (3-3, 2-1) is now a matter of staying alive in the league title race rather than trying to maintain a position atop the standings. Leland travels to Oak Grove next week and Live Oak heads to Lincoln, and with both of those teams unbeaten in league play, the winner of this clash in Morgan Hill will suddenly have a chance to climb back atop the league. After getting burned by Gabriel Reclusado last week, the Acorn defense will have another tough test in Charger junior Carson Yates, who has accounted for 15 total touchdowns on the year.
