Bay Area high school football roundup 2024: Best of Week 1 action
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.
Check back every Saturday during the season for scores, highlights and top performers, updated throughout the day.
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On to the roundup …
Ranked teams
No. 1 De La Salle 42, Grant-Sacramento 14
Duece Jones-Drew, son of De La Salle legend and former NFL star Maurice Jones-Drew, scored on a 64-yard run three snaps into the season opener as the host Spartans never looked back. Quarterback Toa Faavae ran for two touchdowns and Ant Dean stripped the ball from the opposing quarterback and scored on a 33-yard run as DLS led 28-0 at halftime. Darren Sabedra was in Concord and has the game story here.
No. 4 Serra 22, Folsom 21
Senior kicker Brody Smith knocked in the go-ahead 38-yard field goal with 10 seconds left to give, which replaced 18 starters from last season’s team, to a stunning victory over Sacramento-area power Folsom. An onside kick set up Smith’s heroics. Nathan Canilao traveled to Folsom and has all the details here.
No. 6 El Cerrito 38, Amador Valley 16
Behind a four-touchdown performance from James Logan transfer Jonathan Craft, El Cerrito easily took care of Amador Valley, riding a 20-point halftime lead to the finish line. While Gauchos ended up with a rather stress-free win, they needed a quarter to truly get rolling. Amador Valley struck first when Tristan Ti’a found Chudi Obiekea for a 21-yard touchdown, then connect with Anthony Harrington on the two-point conversion to give the Dons an 8-0 lead. El Cerrito, led by Craft, rattled off 31 unanswered points from there, not allowing Amador Valley to score again until the fourth quarter. Justice delos Santos has the full recap here.
No. 9 Valley Christian 24, No. 12 Wilcox 7
Two big plays in the final five minutes, an 89-yard pass reception and a 95-yard interception return, turned a hard-fought, close game into a 17-point margin of victory for Valley Christian. Ekiah McLemore rushed for 113 yards for Valley Christian, including a 51-yard touchdown. Look for Glenn Reeves’ game story here.
No. 10 Los Gatos 14, Soquel 7
The Wildcats began their CCS Division I title defense with a narrow win on the road in Soquel. In the first start of his senior season, Scotty Brennan was efficient through the air, completing 14 of 16 passes for 159 yards. Beau Musser returned the kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown right after Soquel had scored on a 50-yard touchdown pass by Sam Whelan. Grayson Doslak gave Los Gatos the lead with a four-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. He finished with 16 yards rushing on five carries. Brayden Smith carried the ball eight times for 30 yards. Jake Gerber was perfect on his two point-after-touchdown tries, and all of his kickoffs went for touchbacks. He added a sack on defense. Austin Krug had a sack as well, and Nate Rodriguez picked off a pass to help seal the win for the Wildcats. – Christian Babcock
No. 21 Sacred Heart Prep 38, Seaside 6
It was a Top-25 worthy performance for the Gators to start the season, as Sacred Heart Prep took the show on the road to Seaside and emerged victorious by a wide margin. The Gators’ defense clamped down with four interceptions and scored 28 first-quarter points. Sacred Heart went up 38-6 at the half and engendered a running clock in the second half. Greg Gamitian scored two touchdowns on the ground for the Gators. Cooper Karros and Kyle Chai also notched rushing scores, and Keon Ealey added a receiving TD. – Christian Babcock
Carmel 35, No. 23 Christopher 31
A back-and-forth battle between the Cougars and visiting Carmel ended with the Padres taking home a narrow victory. Carmel scored with 3:58 to go and held on for the win. Jaxen Robinson tossed two touchdowns for Christopher, plus a two-point conversion with 5:28 remaining that put the Cougars up 31-28. Hector Diaz and Ray Waller each ran for touchdowns, while Matt Anderson and Terrence Barnes added receiving scores. Evan Vernon caught the two-point conversion, and Barnes snatched an interception on defense. Rylan Antipuesto nailed a 31-yard field goal and converted 2 of 3 extra points – one was blocked by Carmel. – Christian Babcock
South Bay/Peninsula
Calaveras-San Andreas 54, Los Altos 0
It was a rough first time for Los Altos and new coach Mark Adams. The Eagles (0-1) traveled to San Andreas, a small town east of Stockton, to face Calaveras (2-0) and were rewarded with a resounding shutout for their efforts. Adams called Calaveras “a strong run-heavy team” with a stout run defense to match, one that limited Los Altos to 27 yards rushing and 116 yards in all. Sophomore signal-caller Giancarlo Mendoza struggled for the Eagles in his first varsity start, completing 5 of 12 passes for 89 yards. Offensive production was sparse and spread out for Los Altos. Kam Smith led the Eagles with 10 yards rushing on seven carries. Levy Nguyen added nine yards on two attempts. Manny Contreras managed seven yards on seven rushes. Dylan McAdams caught one pass for 40 yards. Carter Leban snatched a catch for 30. Michael Manche snagged one ball for a gain of 16. – Christian Babcock
Capuchino 27, Sequoia 3
Capuchino got its season off to a strong start on Friday night, taking down Sequoia on the road by three scores. The visitors built a 20-0 lead and never led by fewer than 17 points thereafter. Sequoia got on the board with a 23-yard fourth-quarter field goal by Kyan Amo, but Capuchino responded with another touchdown to seal the outcome. – Christian Babcock
Hollister 27, Branham 21
It was all going so well for Branham. The Bruins led Hollister 21-0 midway through the second quarter of their home debut. Then things started to break in favor of the road team. Hollister got on the board with a touchdown 38 seconds before the half and kept stacking scores in the second half. Suddenly, the visitors led 27-21 with 2:45 to go. They maintained that advantage until the final whistle. Jimmy Scibetta and Zayne St. Laurent hauled in receiving touchdowns for Branham, and quarterback Jack Lewis added a rushing score to accompany his two TD tosses. – Christian Babcock
Independence 21, Cupertino 13
Lio Sevelo rushed for two TDs and Myles Pagaduan ran for one as Independence prevailed. Both 76ers backs ran behind stellar linemen Angel Bravo and Santiago Hernandez. Christian Calvert recorded a sack and had a fumble recovery, too. Jacob Madrid kicked and made all three PATs. Brandon Cheng did it all for Cupertino, putting up almost 200 all-purpose yards and catching a 70-yard TD. Pioneers QB Aaron Stammerjohn also connected with Malachi Perez for a TD. Will Hawkins and Isaac Gutierrez combined for 125 yards rushing behind blocks by Gabe Shin. Cupertino (0-1) plays at Evergreen Valley on Thursday, while Independence will have a bye week before playing host to Evergreen Valley on Sept. 13. – Joseph Dycus
Leigh 27, Leland 9
The Longhorns started off the 2024 season with a comfortable win on the arm of quarterback Charlie Lyon. The junior signal-caller was 15 of 25 with 218 yards passing and three touchdowns. Zach Pistor had 49 yards rushing, one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown for Leigh. Michael Mogannam caught five passes for 104 yards, including a touchdown, and contributed an interception on defense. Miles Huntington added four catches for 60 yards and a touchdown. – Christian Babcock
Palo Alto 25, Mountain View 13
In a rematch of 2023’s CCS Division IV championship game that came down to one point, this meeting was not as close. Isaiah Walker’s first-quarter interception set up Palo Alto for an early score. Jake Wang scored two rushing touchdowns for the Vikings, as did Isaiah Phillips, who went over 100 yards rushing. Palo Alto coach Dave DeGeronimo called this Phillips’ “breakout game.” Jeremiah Fung put forth a substantial receiving effort and was the preferred target of his brother, Paly quarterback Justin Fung, who “made some great plays,” DeGeronimo said. First-year defensive coordinator Eddie Tonga led the Vikings to four fourth-down stops, which short-circuited Mountain View’s momentum on the Spartans’ home field. Diego Ortega Gerow and Luke Orrock scored touchdowns for Mountain View. – Christian Babcock
Pioneer 14, Aragon 7
The Mustangs took down Aragon in a tight one-score contest on the road in San Mateo. Pioneer’s Jesse Herrera rushed for 124 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. Brady Montgomery caught six passes for 61 yards and a touchdown for the Mustangs, compiling 85 total yards in the game overall. Aragon’s Conor Reidy caught the Dons’ lone touchdown, a 43-yard strike from Charley Henderson. Defensively, Pioneer had multiple players stuff the stat sheet. Tommy Fries had six tackles and two sacks. Julian Lopez contributed three sacks. Jordan Nunez added eight tackles and two passes defended. Roman Boudreaux tackled nine Aragon ball carriers and forced a fumble. Jesse Herrera totaled six tackles. “He was our MVP tonight,” said Pioneer coach Eric Perry. “Good win for us.” – Christian Babcock
San Jose 21, Mills 19
San Jose running back Bryan Santos punched in a last-minute touchdown to start off the season with a non-league victory over Mills. Omar Gomez, who set up Santos’ TD with a long run on the same drive, sealed the Bulldogs’ victory with an interception. Rolando Sanchez also made big plays at cornerback for San Jose. Michael Aliki and Mario Acosta both ran for San Jose TDs. Jeremiah Reyes and Givanni Angelini each scored a rushing touchdown for Mills (0-1), which plays at Pinole Valley on Friday. San Jose (1-0) will play host to rival Lincoln-SJ in the Big Bone game that same night. – Joseph Dycus
San Mateo 17, Balboa 6
Logan Davis scored on a 9-yard run and Cameron Palma threw a touchdown pass to Dean Qutteineh as San Mateo went up 17-0 at halftime. With Emmanuel Fitzgerald, who rushed for more than 1,200 yards last season, out with an injury, third-string running back Jovani Hernandez was pressed into duty and responded, rushing for 125 yards in the Bearcats’ triple-option offense. The defense played well throughout, allowing only 126 yards of total offense and a late touchdown. Yianni Fitzgerald, Emmanuel’s younger brother, stood out at middle linebacker. San Mateo plays at intra-city rival Aragon next Friday. – Glenn Reeves
Santa Teresa 48, Fremont-Sunnyvale 7
Santa Teresa’s home crowd was fired up to be back under the lights of high school football after a theft at the stadium put night games in doubt, and the Saints responded by putting on a show for their home fans. Santa Teresa lit up the scoreboard with touchdowns by Jaylon Malcolm, AJ Rangel, Brian Caldwell and Robert Estrada. Malcolm scored both on the ground and through the air, while Estrada’s score came on a 30-yard interception return. – Christian Babcock
Willow Glen 31, Lincoln-San Jose 7
Mere hours after contending with a bomb threat at school, Willow Glen started off its season with a resounding victory over its crosstown rival. In his varsity debut, quarterback Aiden Akery tossed two touchdown passes and ran for another score. Christian Babcock has the full story here.
Woodside 34, Overfelt 16
Woodside traveled to San Mateo and dealt Overfelt a double-digit defeat in the neutral-site season opener for both teams held at San Mateo High School. Daniel Torres posted two rushing touchdowns for Woodside and added one receiving touchdown from quarterback Charlie Dalrymple. Mace Bell caught a touchdown from Carmel Mendes, and TK Nicolas added a rushing TD for the Wildcats. Carlos Latu had three sacks for Woodside. – Christian Babcock