HERCULES - The Northgate football team wasted no time matching its win total from the previous season, controlling its game at Hercules from the outset during a dominating 35-6 victory.
The Broncos built a 21-0 lead by halftime, with a pair of first-half touchdown runs by Andrew Daigle sandwiched around a 49-yard touchdown pass from Jackson Malakoff to Nathan Wu early in the second quarter. In addition to Daigle's two scoring runs, Max Berrien carried the load on the ground for Northgate, and reached the end zone himself in the opening part of the third quarter when he ran the ball three straight times for 51 yards and the score for a 28-0 advantage.
Junior Robby Keyser capped the scoring towards the end of the third quarter with his touchdown run. Eric Prough had an excellent all-around night for the Broncos at tight end and middle linebacker, including a long catch-and-run to set up Daigle's second score of the night.
"It was a good overall team performance, and a lot of guys contributed to the win," said Northgate coach Ben Ballard. "Prough had some crucial catches to keep the chains moving on third down, along with his defensive play, and both Andrew (Daigle) and Max (Berrien) were great on defense, containing their quarterback. Jackson did really well at quarterback considering the cold and windy conditions."
Northgate will face Alhambra in its home opener next Friday, after the Bulldogs rolled past College Park.
Around the DAL
Grant Harper threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns, while Will Windatt scored three times during Campolindo's 40-0 win over Montgomery. Max Weaver had three catches for 100 yards while Daniel Wheeler had a pair of sacks.
Despite last year's quarterback, Nick Kresnak, deciding to give up football, Acalanes got a pair of touchdown passes and a touchdown run from new starter Mike O'Donnell, while Brady Hutchingson added a few more through the air in a 75-6 win over Armijo. Standout receiver Lucas Eppinger scored three times.
Sophomore quarterback Tommy Turner threw for six touchdowns and ran for another as Alhambra overwhelmed College Park, 60-19. Brenson Raygoza was on the receiving end of three of those scoring passes.
Mt. Diablo beat John Swett, 38-6, putting the Red Devils in the win column for the first time since Sep. 23, 2016, when they beat Oakland 30-22. Mt. Diablo had lost 23 straight games since that win, including an 0-10 mark last year under Donald James, who is back for his second year at the helm. The consistency seems to have paid immediate dividends with the season-opening victory.
Miramonte held a brief second-quarter lead against De Anza before the Dons scored the final 39 points of the game for a shocking 45-7 win over the Matadors, despite 213 passing yards from senior Matt Meredith. The De Anza defense held Miramonte to minus-11 yards on the ground. Reed Callister had eight catches for 84 yards in the loss.
Berean Christian was blanked by Skyline on Saturday afternoon in the Eagles' opener, 41-0. It was the first game under new coach Tim Schultz.
