Bay Area high school football roundup 2023: Best of Week 1 action
Leland stuns No. 24 Half Moon Bay by 33 points. Campolindo rallies late, edges Vanden in 2 OTs. Clayton Valley wins Nick Tisa's first game as head coach, shutting out Salinas.
Welcome back to the Bay Area News Group’s high school football roundup.
Here, you’ll find all the details from the weekend’s action in this news organization’s coverage area, which encompasses teams that play in leagues based primarily in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
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On to the roundup …
Ranked teams
Orange Lutheran 35, No. 2 De La Salle 14
Tied at halftime, De La Salle gave up three unanswered second-half touchdowns and lost at home against an opponent that comes from the same league that features Mater Dei and St. John Bosco. Steve Chavez was the star of stars for Orange Lutheran, rushing for three touchdowns, including one justifiably called “Beast Mode 3.0” by the junior running back’s coaches. Darren Sabedra has the complete story here.
No. 4 Clayton Valley 17, Salinas 0
Playing their first game under new coach Nick Tisa, the Ugly Eagles showed off a stout defense for the entire contest and finally got their offense rolling in the fourth quarter with two touchdowns. The game was scoreless until Will Carranza kicked a 31-yard field goal midway through the third quarter, giving Clayton Valley all the points it would need. Salinas, which was 10-2 last season and beat the Uglies in Concord, threatened to come right back in the fourth period, driving to the CV 30. But Nathan Underwood intercepted a pass to end that drive. The CV offense took control from there, driving 80 yards. Quarterback Mason Lovett capped the drive with a 45-yard touchdown pass to Tony Keck to make it 10-0 Clayton Valley with about nine minutes to go. The Cowboys drove into CV territory on their ensuing possession, but they missed a field goal, and Lovett scampered 5 yards for another TD with a minute left. Tisa has been CV’s co-head coach with Tim Murphy for the last few years, but he hadn’t been the sole head coach since he left Dougherty Valley after the 2017 season. He coached the Wildcats for six years. – Mike Lefkow
Helix-La Mesa 45, No. 6 St. Francis 21
St. Francis opened the game with a three-and-out and a quick touchdown on the ground, but Helix responded with 25 unanswered first-half points to roll to a win. Our Alex Simon was in Mountain View and has the story here.
No. 5 San Ramon Valley 42, No. 8 St. Ignatius 14
Luke Baker, last season’s Bay Area News Group player of the year, completed 19 of 25 passes for 307 yards in a rout at St. Ignatius. Junior WR Owen Scott had eight receptions for 133 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown. SI’s Pierce St. Geme scored on a 34-yard run to tie the game at seven apiece early, but SRV ran off 21 unanswered points to pull away. Madeline Kenney was in San Francisco and has the full story.
No. 7 Los Gatos 45, Soquel 14
AJ Minyard had quite the night leading the Wildcats to a season-opening victory at home over Soquel on Thursday. The senior completed 16 of 21 passes for 249 yards and five touchdowns as Los Gatos put the game away in the second half after a competitive opening two quarters. Scott Garwood caught three TD passes and Jaylen Thomas reeled in two. Check out Darren Sabedra’s game story here.
No. 10 Valley Christian 16, No. 9 Wilcox 15
The matchup between CCS powers did not disappoint, with Aaron VanderVeen’s third-quarter field goal for Valley being the game-winner in a defensive struggle. Last year’s WCAL RB of the year Uchenna Eke ran for 54 yards, and four-star WR Kai Hamilton had 48 receiving yards for VC. Tyson Bonilla and Elijah Walker combined to rush for 201 yards for Wilcox. Glenn Reeves has the full report from San Jose.
No. 14 El Cerrito 14, Amador Valley 7
El Cerrito got an immediate impact from senior Micah Avery when the Clayton Valley transfer scored on a 69-yard run in the first quarter. Senior QB Michael Vanhook added a rushing TD in the second to give El Cerrito a two-score lead. Amador Valley’s Aiden Foley connected with Nate Jetter for a six-yard TD with five minutes to go to cut the Gauchos’ lead to seven. Curtis Pashelka has the full story from Pleasanton.
No. 15 Liberty 49, Enochs-Modesto 3
The Lions led 42-0 at halftime in their season opener on the road Thursday. Jaxon Bell, the younger brother of last year’s star quarterback Nate Bell, had three touchdown runs. Receiver Ryan McKendry caught a 25-yard TD pass and ran the opening kickoff back for six points. Liberty has started each of the past two seasons against the Eagles (1-1) and has outscored them 105-3. Enochs is a relatively new school that began playing football in 2007. It has had only three seasons above .500. Liberty will go from one extreme to the other in quality of opponent next Friday when it kicks off its home schedule against Los Gatos. – Mike Lefkow
No. 16 Campolindo 29, Vanden-Fairfield 23, 2 OT
In a wild game in Fairfield, Joe Revelos caught a 17-yard touchdown pass with 1:29 left to pull Campo (1-0) even. The home team reached the Campo 30 in the final seconds before time expired, sending the game to overtime. In OT, both teams started possessions at the opponent’s 25-yard line rather than the 10. “There was much confusion on the overtime ruling,” Campo coach Kevin Macy said. “It was explained differently a couple of times.” Max Robeson’s 15-yard TD pass to Scott Lyon put Campo on top in OT. But the extra point was blocked. Vanden (1-1) answered with Marcellus Chandler’s touchdown reception but a bobbled snap prevented what would have been the game-ending extra point. Vanden was stopped on the first series of the second OT — one of numerous red-zone stops by Campo’s defense — and the visitors ended the game as Lyon kept Campo’s possession alive with a fourth-down reception to the 8-yard line and Tim Daugherty followed with a “Jet Sweep” run for the walk-off touchdown. “Complete madness,” Macy told the Bay Area News Group. “Our coaches agree that it was the strangest game we have ever been a part of. The defense was incredible.” James Giordani led Campo’s defense with an interception and numerous tackles. — Darren Sabedra
Bellarmine 17, No. 20 Menlo-Atherton 14
Bellarmine’s David Diaz-Infante leaned on senior quarterback Parker Threatt to win his first game as the Bells’ coach. Threatt ran for a 23-yard TD, and running back Reece McKeever also rushed for 113 yards on 29 carries. Menlo-Atherton’s 6-foot-7 TE Alek Marshall caught eight passes for 95 yards and one touchdown to lead M-A’s late rally. David Keefer has the complete story from San Jose.
No. 23 Archbishop Mitty 20, No. 18 James Logan 12
Junior WR/DB Alec Grimaldo’s 60-yard onside-kick return for a touchdown keyed Mitty’s crazy cross-section victory on the road over James Logan. Mitty’s AJ Cenizal rushed for 63 yards and a touchdown, and Joey Campagna threw for 179 yards and a TD. James Logan quarterback Jonathan Craft threw for two touchdowns and rushed for 73 yards. Joseph Dycus has the full story.
No. 19 Christopher 23, North Monterey County 13
Jaxen Robinson passed for 255 yards and two touchdowns and Amari Bluford, Jaxon Mundorff and Matthew Boles each had an interception on defense as Christopher, playing at home in Gilroy on Thursday, turned back North Monterey County. Bluford was also dynamic on offense, catching six passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns for a team projected to win the Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division. The Cougars also got 10 tackles and a sack from strong safety Evan Vernon. “North Monterey County was very tough,” Christopher coach Darren Yafai said. “Big, veteran team. They will win a bunch of games and contend for their league.” Christopher travels to Piedmont Hills next Friday. — Darren Sabedra
Leland 40, No. 24 Half Moon Bay 7
In perhaps the most stunning result of the night, Leland — which went 2-8 last season — went on the road and routed traditionally strong Half Moon Bay. The Chargers scored 14 points in the first quarter and 13 more in the second period to take a 27-0 lead into halftime. The visitors scored the final 13 points in the fourth quarter. Brady Hernandez threw a touchdown pass to Luke Whitson and also ran for a touchdown to lead Leland. The Chargers also got one rushing touchdown apiece from Diego Vasquez, Jack Christensen and Jordan Visperas as they avenged a 35-9 loss at home to Half Moon Bay in 2022. Leland plays host to Palo Alto on Friday. Half Moon Bay returns to the field Thursday at San Mateo. — Darren Sabedra
East Bay
Miramonte 28, Berkeley 12
Miramonte played three quarterbacks in its season opener as it tries to find a successor for Luke Duncan, now at UCLA. However, coach Jack Schram said Carson Blair was stellar during a third quarter in which the Matadors pulled away from a talented Berkeley team. Berkeley’s defense played well, with BJ Thurman returning an interception for a touchdown and Shawn Brown returning a fumble for a TD. PJ Mataafa led Berkeley with 85 rushing yards. Next Friday, the Matadors (1-0) host Piedmont and Berkeley (0-1) plays at Casa Grande. — Joseph Dycus
South Bay/Peninsula
Leigh 28, Lincoln-San Jose 0
Shayan Shariat rushed for 134 yards and three touchdowns in 11 carries and T. J. Donaldson threw for 104 yards and a TD to lead Leigh to a victory at home over Lincoln on Thursday. The Longhorns also got a big game from junior defensive end Jonathan Blanchard, who led the team in tackles and tackles for loss. Lincoln finished with 83 yards passing (all by DeZario Burciaga) and 36 rushing. For Leigh, the win avenged its 16-13 loss at Lincoln last season, which ended with Leigh winning just three games while Lincoln tied for first place in the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s “A” division, the Mt. Hamilton. “Great team effort to beat a good A league team,” Leigh coach Kyle Padia said. Next Friday, Lincoln plays host to San Jose in the Big Bone Game and Leigh will be at home to face Pioneer. — Darren Sabedra
Overfelt 36, San Jose 0
San Jose State commit John Stowers rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns and had 12 tackles and three tackles for loss to lead Overfelt. Senior QB Gabriel Martinez rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns, and Saulala Niufe scored one TD to go with 38 rushing yards. Pass rushers Lino Eti and Jermiaha Lara each had two sacks. Overfelt (1-0) hosts Woodside next Friday, while San Jose (0-1) visits Lincoln-San Jose in the Big Bone Game. — Joseph Dycus
San Mateo 20, El Camino 7
The Bearcats scored 20 unanswered points Thursday after falling behind 7-0 in the second quarter. Junior Emmanuel Fitzgerald was the workhorse for San Mateo, running for 200 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. Quarterback Cameron Palma, also a junior, snapped a 7-7 tie on a 9-yard TD run in the third quarter. He finished the night with 73 yards rushing. Senior Cole Mannick also had a TD for the Bearcats, who piled up 346 yards on the ground. El Camino got the scoring started midway through the second quarter when Joseph Conti recovered a San Mateo fumble and took it 55 yards to the house. San Mateo hosts Half Moon Bay next Thursday. El Camino plays at Hillsdale next Friday. – Mike Lefkow
Westmont 23, Del Mar 7
Mason Pound rushed for 80 yards, passed for 42 and accounted for two touchdowns as Westmont won a non-league game on the road Thursday. Quarterback Andre Latimore led Del Mar, rushing for 231 of the Dons’ 312 yards and one TD. Joseph Dycus has the complete details here.