As fun as rivalry games are for all parties involved, they present a set of challenges not seen during the rest of the year. This year’s slate of CCS rivalry games adds a new wrinkle, as most are not the final game of the season. More than three-quarters of the section did not play the week of October 13, as games were postponed due to poor air quality from the North Bay fires.
With those games rescheduled for the week of November 10, traditional rivalry games are not the final games of the season. Many of these local contests that draw the attention of neighboring communities won’t be season finales, meaning teams will have to manage the excitement in the midst of playoff races.
90th Little Big Game: No. 12 Burlingame (5-3) @ San Mateo (6-2), Saturday, 11 am
Burlingame leads series, 53-32-4
One of the Bay Area’s oldest rivalries will reach a milestone on Saturday as Burlingame and San Mateo meet for the 90th time. With all the tradition that accompanies the game — the visiting marching band traveling to the game on foot, balloons, extravagant halftime performances — it’s fitting that it should be a game decided by traditional sturdy defenses. Each team has only allowed one opponent over 25 points on the year, and each of those were against the leaders of their respective divisions. Burlingame has won seven straight meetings, including four by at least 29 points.
No. 13 Bellarmine (4-4, 2-3 WCAL) @ No. 3 St. Francis (6-2, 4-1), Friday, 7 pm
Bellarmine leads series, 42-28 (37-21 in regular season)
Bellarmine had won 11 straight meetings until last year, when St. Francis jumped out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead behind two punt return touchdowns from Garrett McCarthy. St. Francis typically has a reputation for suffocating defense, but the Lancers can outscore teams as well, putting up 253 points in eight games, including 171 in five WCAL contests. Bellarmine, on the other hand, needs to rely on defense, having scored just 128 points on the year. Turning the game into the type of defensive battle that has marked this series for years would certainly favor the Bells.
This game has been colloquially referred to as the “Holy War” over the years, but has no official name. The schools have tried to separate themselves from the “Holy War” title, as the term refers to religious crusades fought in the Middle Ages.
70th Shoe Game: Carmel (5-4, 3-2 MTAL) @ Pacific Grove (1-8, 0-5), Friday, 7:30 pm
Carmel leads series, 34-33-2
The Shoe Game has developed a penchant as one of the highest-scoring games in the section, but perhaps the craziest game in the series came when the trophy wasn’t on the line. After Carmel won the Shoe in 2013 with a 40-35 road victory, PG came back in the postseason with a thunderous performance, toppling the Padres 77-53. Of the last nine regular-season meetings, Carmel has won eight.
63rd Battle for the Terremere Trophy: Sequoia (3-5) @ Carlmont (7-1), Friday, 7:30 pm
Sequoia leads series, 31-30-1
Sequoia has won five straight meetings, including four by lopsided margins, but Carlmont will be the favorite in San Mateo County’s second-oldest rivalry, one of the few times a Lake Division team will be favored over an Ocean Division opponent. The Scots suffered their first loss of the season last week to Jefferson, meaning they’ll need to win to secure their place in the postseason as an at-large team. Demarii Blanks ran for 211 yards and returned a kickoff 98 yards in that loss to Jefferson, but was shaken up in the third quarter and hardly saw the ball down the stretch. Sequoia’s defense has struggled as of late, allowing at least 26 points in all four league games.
59th Battle of the Strip: Mills (3-5, 1-2 PAL Lake) @ Capuchino (2-6, 0-3), Friday, 7:30 pm
Capuchino leads series, 37-21
Capuchino has won six of the last seven meetings, and all of the last seven games have been decided by at least 13 points, meaning this series is due for a thriller. Mills seems to own the upper hand via common opponents, as Capuchino suffered a surprising loss last week to an El Camino team that the Vikings had beaten three weeks prior. Expect both teams to rely on two-way players, as each team has under 30 players. Sione Langi will be key for Mills on both sides of the ball, and Capuchino will trust Brandon Mailangi.
56th Bell Game: South San Francisco (2-6) @ El Camino (3-5), Saturday, 2 pm
South San Francisco leads series, 46-9
The Warriors may have won 13 straight contests, but the Bell Game has a habit of coming down to the wire. Three of the last seven meetings have been decided by one score, including last year’s, an epic 28-27 thriller when a one-win El Camino team came within a two-point conversion of snapping the streak. This will be just the third time the game has been played at El Camino, as the Colts played most home games, including the Bell Game, at South City’s Clifford Field until the EC facilities were modernized in the 2013 season. The Warriors are no strangers to drama, with four games decided by one score. El Camino is allowing just 21 points per game, and that includes allowing 56 to unbeaten Half Moon Bay. However, the Colts are only scoring 13 points per game.
No. 8 Menlo-Atherton (5-3) @ Woodside (0-8), Friday, 7:30 pm
Woodside leads series, 32-26
Menlo-Atherton has won three of four PAL Bay games, but all three wins were within seven points, a testament to the depth of the league. Woodside, on the other hand, has struggled in the PAL Ocean, and will look to pull off one of the upsets of the year against a Bears team that has won six consecutive head-to-head meetings. Since Adhir Ravipati took over the program, Menlo-Atherton has made mincemeat out of Woodside, scoring 122 points over the last two contests. In an odd scheduling quirk for this rivalry, the teams don’t share a single common opponent.
53rd Battle of the Fleas: No. 6 Aragon (7-1) @ No. 23 Hillsdale (7-1), Friday, 7:30 pm
Aragon leads series, 34-18
It may be the most talent-packed Battle of the Fleas yet, as detailed in our CCS Games of the Week. The days of Aragon domination are over, and the Battle of the Fleas, named for the schools’ location on Alameda de las Pulgas, has once again become one of the best rivalries in San Mateo County. The Dons extended their streak to 22 consecutive wins in a 43-41 shootout in 2013. Hillsdale finally got its hands on the plaque in 2014 with a 14-13 overtime win and retained the trophy in 2015 with a 45-22 victory. However, the Fighting Knights trailed in that game 15-14 before taking the lead on a wide receiver pass on the final play of the first half and rattling off 31 consecutive points. The thrills didn’t stop in 2016, with Aragon scoring twice in the final ten minutes for a 37-27 win.
It’s hard to watch Aragon without focusing on Paul Lautaimi, as the junior has carried the ball 58 times in the past two weeks. However, he’s surrounded by talented skill players and linemen. Hillsdale features running back Nick Hulman, who has totaled 1,248 yards on the season. Until being held in check in last week’s loss to Menlo, Hulman had rushed for at least 124 yards in each game this year. Hillsdale can also air it out, with Jeremy Teteak completing 59 of 100 passes on the season.
No. 1 Serra (6-2, 5-0 WCAL) @ St. Ignatius (2-6, 1-4 WCAL), Saturday, 2:30 pm
Serra leads series, 34-16-1
The Serra-St. Ignatius rivalry doesn’t have a special name or a trophy. The basketball meetings are known as the “Beach Game” and the “Jungle Game”, but when the two meet on the gridiron, there’s no fancy name or hardware to play for. It’s a matchup built on two closely intertwined communities, with friends and neighbors trying to top one another on the field. Serra can claim at least a share of the WCAL title with a win, but St. Ignatius is playing well as of late.
The Wildcats erased a 21-7 halftime deficit at Mitty last week, took the lead on a two-point conversion with 2:16 to go and won the game when Mitty missed a last-second field goal. It was the fourth time this year St. Ignatius has played in a game decided by one score, and the third to come down to the last play. The previous two were losses at Kezar Stadium to rivals Sacred Heart Cathedral and Riordan.
51st Skull Game: No. 5 Half Moon Bay (8-0, 3-0 PAL Bay) @ No. 19 Terra Nova (4-4, 0-3), Friday, 7:30 pm
Terra Nova leads series, 33-15-2
The old adage about “throwing out the records” when teams get together for a rivalry game isn’t always true at the high school level. However, when the two Coastside foes get together, every cliché about rivalry games can be applied and then some. The last three Skull Games have been won by the underdog. Terra Nova is the underdog this time around, as the Tigers have lost three straight games. However, the most recent of those losses was a 35-30 defeat to a powerful Menlo-Atherton team in which the Tiger offense got out of the funk that had been plaguing the unit in recent weeks.
Half Moon Bay is 30-4 since the start of the 2015 season, but the Cougars haven’t beaten Terra Nova since 2014, at which time most of the current senior class was on the JV roster as freshmen. That class has won back-to-back section titles, but has yet to beat Terra Nova. There’s the off-chance these teams could see each other again, but Terra Nova would need to reach the postseason to do so. The Tigers are currently one of the at-large teams in the field, bolstered by a huge win over Salinas, but they’re currently skating on thin ice. A rivalry win Friday night would provide much more security, but a team that’s been considered one of the best in Half Moon Bay history stands in their way.
26th Stanfel Cup: Sacred Heart Cathedral (4-4, 1-4 WCAL) @ Riordan (2-6, 1-4), Saturday, 2:30 pm @ CCSF
Riordan leads series, 33-14 (14-11 in Stanfel Cup era)
These teams have battled at different sites around San Francisco throughout the last half-century, but the Stanfel Cup was introduced in 1992 to honor Nick Stanfel, a Riordan alum who taught and coached at both schools before passing away from a brain tumor. Since the trophy was introduced in his honor, the series has become much more competitive. Bragging rights won’t be the only thing on the line Saturday, as the Fightin’ Irish need a win to vault into the postseason. SHC is the second team out in our most recent CCS playoff projections. Both teams own tight wins over St. Ignatius, so the winner would own bragging rights as the top team in San Francisco.
Mission City Bowl: Santa Clara (6-2) @ Wilcox (5-3), Friday, 7 pm
As detailed by Nate Smith, this game should feature offense, and lots of it. Wilcox has scored 61 points in consecutive games and is averaging 36 points per game, and Santa Clara is averaging 45. Wilcox has won 31 straight meetings.
Battle of the Valleys: San Lorenzo Valley (4-5, 2-3 MTAL) @ Scotts Valley (6-3, 4-1), Friday, 7:30 pm
The Battle of the Valleys is always a fun one, but it’ll be difficult to top the 2015 game, a 52-51 Scotts Valley win in five overtimes. The Falcons have won two straight meetings, and a third consecutive victory would mean at least a share of the MTAL title in Scotts Valley’s first and only year in the league. The MTAL absorbed most of the SCCAL teams, and
Helmet Game: Cupertino (6-2, 4-0 SCVAL El Camino) @ Monta Vista (4-4, 2-2), Friday, 7 pm
Last year, Cupertino snapped a 16-year losing streak to the Matadors. The Pioneers now sit in the driver’s seat for the El Camino title, while Monta Vista could put itself in the playoff conversation if the Matadors can pull off the upset.
Saratoga (0-8, 0-4 SCVAL De Anza) @ No. 21 Los Gatos (3-5, 2-2), Friday, 7 pm
Saratoga owns just one win in the series in the past 30 years, a 21-17 victory in 2010. Other than that, Los Gatos has dominated the series. If history repeats itself and the Wildcats come out on top once again, they’ll be in position to finish the season strong and head into the playoffs on a high note.
North Salinas (1-8, 0-6 MBL Gabilan) @ Alvarez (2-6, 0-5), Friday, 7:30 pm
North Salinas has won two straight meetings in the series and will look to close out the season with a third straight win over the Eagles. Alvarez has one more game on the docket after this one, a rescheduled game next Friday at Aptos.
15th Valparaiso Bowl: Sacred Heart Prep (2-6) vs. No. 17 Menlo (6-2), Friday, 7:30 pm @ Foothill College
Series tied, 7-7
Another of our CCS Games of the Week, the Valparaiso Bowl, named for the street on which the two schools reside, has become one of the most tightly contested rivalries of all. Sacred Heart Prep has played one of the most rugged schedules of any team in the section, with six losses against teams with a combined 38-11 record, and two of those 11 losses were to other teams that the Gators faced. SHP’s wins aren’t too shabby either, coming against Terra Nova (4-4) and Sobrato (6-2).
In the two wins, the Gator defense has allowed a total of 13 points. Menlo’s defense has shone all year, allowing just one opponent over 16 points. Menlo has locked up the PAL Ocean title, while SHP is currently on the outside looking in for the Division III playoffs. A win would put the Gators in good position to reach the playoffs due to their incredible strength of schedule.
12th Belgard Kup: Watsonville (5-3, 2-2 MBL Pacific) @ Pajaro Valley (1-8, 0-5), Friday, 7:30 pm @ Cabrillo College
Watsonville leads series, 9-2
When Watsonvile and Pajaro Valley meet, two trophies are on the line. Not only do the teams play for the Belgard Kup, but the student sections battle for the 12th Man Megaphone, awarded to the side with the most spirited fans. Pajaro Valley won the Kup for the just the second time last year, a 3-0 win in head coach Ron Gregorio’s final game at the helm.
King’s Academy (2-6) @ Jefferson (7-1), Friday, 7:30 pm
King’s Academy leads series, 7-1
This matchup was implemented because neither team had a true rival to play at the end of the season. As a result, the game has taken on some additional meaning over the years. Even without geographic proximity, players on both sides are aware that the battle between the two blue and gold clad teams is a sign of the season winding down. The Knights have won two straight, a sign that Pete Lavorato’s efforts to rebuild the program have progressed much faster than anticipated. Jefferson locked up a playoff berth and the PAL Lake title with last week’s win over Carlmont, and the Grizzlies could pad their resume with a Senior Night victory.
