Having scored 61 points in back-to-back games, CCS No. 10 Wilcox takes the field at home this week in its annual Mission City Bowl rivalry game with Santa Clara, facing a Bruins team which has scored 53 or more points on five occasions this season.
The host Chargers (5-3, 4-1 SCVAL-De Anza) got another standout performance from senior quarterback David Hernandez last week, as the signal-caller ran for 136 yards and five touchdowns on just seven carries in the 61-41 win over Homestead, while also throwing for 68 yards and a score on just five attempts. He has been the focal point of Wilcox's veer-option offense, with 977 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground, averaging 10.3 yards per carry, while adding 630 yards and seven scores through the air.
"David has been great this season," said Wilcox coach Paul Rosa, Sr. "His work ethic the past few weeks has paid off. He has been working very hard on the field and in the film room."
Sophomore Paul Rosa, Jr. also had a big game last week against the Mustangs, carrying the ball 19 times for 151 yards, as the Chargers ran for 511 yards as a team last Friday night. Rosa has 813 yards on the ground so far this season.
Wilcox now prepares for a Santa Clara team which has won four of its last five games and sits a half-game behind Cupertino in the SCVAL-El Camino standings, at 4-1 in league play and 6-2 overall. Last week, the Bruins raced past Monta Vista, 53-16. Senior backfield mates Chris Brown and Erik Ketton needed only minimal efforts in last week's win, but have been outstanding this year.
Ketton has rushed for 883 yards and 15 touchdowns, while Brown has exemplified what a three-year starting quarterback should be, completing 59 percent of his passes for 1,487 yards and 23 touchdowns, with just four interceptions.
"(Erik) Ketton and (Chris) Brown have been awesome. I'm not sure there is a better duo in the El Camino," said Santa Clara coach Hank Roberts. "They really propel our team one way or the other. We didn't have Ketton against Mountain View, and our offense struggled. He really settles things down for us. And Chris is Chris. He does everything that he is asked to do, and pushes everyone he comes in contact with. He forces you to be awesome and forces us as a coaching staff to know what the heck is going on."
That being said, Santa Clara is not entering this rivalry game with anything less than utmost respect for a Wilcox team which has dominated this series, including last year's 58-28 victory for the Chargers. The 2012 meeting was the last time this game was decided by 10 points or less, with a 36-26 Wilcox victory in that contest. Last season, the Chargers had three runners top the 100-yard mark on the ground, finishing the game with an astronomical 642 rushing yards. The talent facing the Bruins this week is evident to Roberts and his team.
"They are very good, very athletic, and the quarterback is the key to everything they do," Roberts said. "The problem is that he is incredible. Our biggest key is going to be our ability to contain everyone else. (Hernandez) is too good to stop, so we have to contain the rest of them."
For its part, Wilcox also looks forward to the Mission City Bowl with anticipation on a regular basis, with neighborhood bragging rights on the line.
"This game is always fun," Rosa commented. "All the kids know and have grown up with each other."
Both teams are currently in line to reach the post-season as automatic qualifiers from their respective divisions.
