It’s almost as if the schedule makers knew fans would be in need of a break.
The penultimate week of the Central Coast Section football regular season is relatively light on marquee matchups, setting the stage for an action-packed final weekend heading into postseason play. Menlo forfeiting its game at Wilcox due to a lack of healthy players took one of the best games of the week on paper off the calendar.
There are still a few big showdowns, most notably a de facto league championship game in the southern part of the section, but this week is more of a warmup for what’s to come in November. Still, these games are all worth checking out and carry major playoff implications for both teams.
Milpitas at Sequoia, 7 p.m. Thursday
The middle tier in the Peninsula Athletic League, the Ocean Division, is guaranteed a minimum of two bids to the CCS playoffs, and one of them is nearly certain to go to undefeated Woodside. Behind the Wildcats, this division has been an unpredictable mess. Half Moon Bay is probably the second-best team, but the Cougars have a triple-overtime home loss to Milpitas on their resume, and Sequoia — which lost 48-0 to Half Moon Bay — is right back in the mix after beating Aragon and Hillsdale.
The Trojans (4-4, 1-2 PAL-Ocean) are led by quarterback Jonah Mati and a whole slew of running backs, with Elisha Pena and Nizhir Bess getting the most touches out of the backfield. Sonny Elmashni is Milpitas’ leading receiver, although Jelani North and freshman Ayden Guglielmelli have combined for seven of the team’s 10 receiving touchdowns.
For the Ravens (4-4, 2-2), this is their final chance to move up the league standings, as they finish with an inter-divisional game against rival Carlmont. They have found an offensive rhythm in recent weeks with Luke Ostrander at quarterback and Jayden Russi as the featured running back. Ostrander had a career day against Hillsdale, completing 13 of 17 passes for 222 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Prospect at Yerba Buena, 7:15 p.m. Thursday
San Jose’s 46-9 rout of Prospect last week created a three-way tie in the BVAL-West Valley Division, which will send just one team to the playoffs. Now the Bulldogs, Panthers and Aztec Warriors are all 4-1 in league play, so at least some of the chaos will be resolved when Yerba Buena hosts Prospect this week.
Cody Roberts has been a steady presence behind center for the Panthers (4-4, 4-1), though he does most of his work in the short game by setting up easy receptions for his backs and receivers. Running back Joseph Silva leads the offense for the Aztec Warriors (5-3, 4-1), who also lost to San Jose but have a series of close wins in league play. Last week, Yerba Buena survived 40-38 at Mt. Pleasant to set up this Thursday night showdown.
Saint Francis at Sacred Heart Cathedral, 6 p.m. Friday
These two teams are sitting among the West Catholic Athletic League’s crowded middle. The Lancers (3-5, 3-2 WCAL) rebounded from a loss at Serra for a relatively stress-free 28-7 win over St. Ignatius, though the game did end early due to an injury to Saint Francis lineman Tevita Vea. Sophomore Drew Cumby has taken over at quarterback for senior Andrew Franzino, with Motu Keanaaina rushing for a pair of touchdowns last week and Sean Walsh and Sefania Alatini holding things down out wide.
The Fightin’ Irish (4-4, 2-3) are coming off a dramatic win over Valley Christian last week, taking the lead with four seconds left on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Michael Sargent to Chase Jenkins. Sargent was 11-of-17 in the victory for 194 yards and four touchdowns — three of them going to Jenkins, who had 136 receiving yards on just four catches. Legend Williams did his part as well, with 15 carries for 126 rushing yards and a touchdown.
St. Ignatius at Valley Christian, 7 p.m. Friday
This is as close as it comes to an elimination game in the WCAL, which sends six teams to the CCS playoffs. One of the two left out will almost surely be Bellarmine, and the other will likely be the loser of this game between the Wildcats (2-6, 1-4) and the Warriors (3-5, 1-4) in San Jose.
Caedon Afsharipour returned at quarterback last week for SI in his first action since early September, but was just 11-of-27 passing against Saint Francis. Freshman Isaac Liu has shown maturity beyond his years and may give the Wildcats the best chance to win. SI has weapons out wide in Zui Shelton and Ty Hicks, but this offense flows through running back Luke Tribolet, who has rushed for more than 120 yards in back-to-back games.
Valley Christian will need to bounce back after a heartbreaker against Sacred Heart Cathedral, and the Warriors will need big games from running back Ekiah McLemore (598 yards and 10 touchdowns this season) and wide receiver Riley McElvane (34 catches, 512 yards, six touchdowns). McElvane had three receiving touchdowns last week in the losing effort.
Soquel at Palma, 7:30 p.m. Friday
This is the one everybody in the Pacific Coast Athletic League has been waiting for — a battle of unbeaten teams that will almost surely determine the Gabilan Division title.
The Knights (8-0, 6-0) opened the season with two hard-fought non-league wins over excellent teams in Los Gatos and San Ramon Valley, but they have hardly been threatened in league play. Sam Whelan has been one of the section’s top quarterbacks all season, with a 73 percent completion rate, 1,971 yards, 20 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Whelan is effective running the ball as well, giving Soquel’s running game another dimension along with Keyandre Bailey, Kelton Forbus and Jayden Keller. Hudson Summerrill is the biggest name to know at receiver, but Ethan Mopress and Cash Moran give this offense an embarrassment of riches.
The Chieftains (8-0, 6-0) have cruised in every game, save for a one-point win in overtime against rival Salinas two weeks ago. While Palma has a very capable quarterback in Patrick Driscoll, its offense starts and ends with Eli Dukes, who has 105 carries for 1,576 yards and 21 touchdowns through eight games. David Garcia would have RB1 numbers on virtually any other team, with 647 yards and 16 touchdowns of his own.
