Bay Area high school football roundup 2024: Best of Week 2 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. 5 St. Francis 34, No. 7 McClymonds 14
St. Francis didn’t have too much trouble with McClymonds on Friday night thanks to Kingston Keanaaina. The Lancers’ senior running back rushed for 357 yards, breaking the school record. Christian Babcock was there as history was made in Mountain View.
No. 8 San Ramon Valley 14, Soquel 7
Quarterback Rhett Thompson connected on a seven-yard touchdown to Marco Jones with less than 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, capping a perfect five-for-five, 57-yard drive as San Ramon Valley narrowly defeated Soquel and recorded its second win of the season. Thompson completed 14 of 20 passes for 157 passing yards, and running back Matthew Garibaldi finished with 115 rushing yards and a 29-yard touchdown on the ground. Justice delos Santos has the complete report here.
Salinas 24, No. 9 Valley Christian 7
It was a rough Friday night home opener for Valley Christian, which fell to Salinas by three scores. Already down 10-0, the Warriors surrendered a punt return touchdown to fall into an even deeper hole. They responded with a TD pass to cut the deficit to 17-7, but Salinas sealed the game with a fourth-quarter touchdown. – Christian Babcock
No. 12 Wilcox 38, Hollister 13
The Chargers got up off the mat after a loss to No. 9 Valley Christian and handled Hollister at home on Thursday night. Wilcox sophomore quarterback Kai Imahara completed 11 of 14 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 64 yards and a score. Senior running back Brayden Rosa rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns. He added 24 receiving yards and a touchdown and also compiled 10 tackles and two forced fumbles on defense. Adam Kenny contributed two sacks. Kicker Armando Rodriguez went 3 of 4 on PATs and added a 32-yard field goal. – Christian Babcock
No. 16 Las Lomas 35, Benicia 0
Las Lomas pitched a shutout on Friday night to run its record to 2-0. Roman Mercado was dominant for the Knights, catching four touchdown passes from quarterback Dylan Thomas. Mercado’s sure hands were complemented by Kane Sekulich, who added a rushing touchdown. The score was 14-0 Las Lomas when Benicia quarterback Owen Wittry suffered a head injury early in the second half. Wittry was sacked and left the game after moving the Panthers inside the Knights’ 10-yard line. Benicia dropped to 1-1. – Christian Babcock
Sacred Heart Cathedral 33, No. 20 Sacred Heart Prep 6
In this all-Sacred Heart battle at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, it was hometown Cathedral that ruled the day. Quarterback Michael Sargent tossed two touchdown passes for Cathedral and rushed for two more. Zion Secrease caught both of Sargent’s passing TDs, and Legend Williams added a rushing score. Elliot Spieker had the lone touchdown for Prep, catching a pass from Max Courson. – Christian Babcock
No. 21 Menlo-Atherton 28, Monterey 7
Menlo-Atherton traveled down the coast on Friday night and handled Monterey in a comfortable road win. Quarterback Teddy Dacey passed for two touchdowns, and Angelo Marin and Evaimalo Ama each added a rushing score. Devin Hyde recovered a fumble for the Bears, who are now 2-0 this year. Monterey dropped to 1-1. – Christian Babcock
No. 24 Santa Teresa 25, Milpitas 7
In a matchup without much early scoring, special teams and unexpected plays made the difference for Santa Teresa. Jaylen Malcom ran for two first-half touchdowns as the visiting Saints built an 18-0 advantage. Christian Babcock has the full story here.
South Bay/Peninsula
Christopher 35, Piedmont Hills 7
Jaxen Robinson completed 17 of 32 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns, one to Matthew Anderson and the other to Terrence Barnes. Josiah Garcia rushed for 57 yards while Ray Waller and Hector Diaz scored rushing touchdowns. Diego Sandoval turned in a standout performance on the offensive line. Christopher (1-1) plays at Palo Alto and Piedmont Hills (1-1) is at Willow Glen, both on Friday. — Glenn Reeves
Del Mar 21, Mt. Pleasant 6
Del Mar senior Jake Schwoob continued to make the transition from wide receiver to running back look easy, rushing for 90 yards and a touchdown against Mt. Pleasant. Isaiah Molina was even more explosive for the Dons, rushing for 163 yards and a TD on just 13 carries. QB Aiden Rock also got into the end zone, and teamed with fellow signal-caller Eli Lenihan to run for 55 yards on 15 carries. Nico Collins had an interception for Del Mar. Mt. Pleasant avoided the shutout when Victor Ekwuru threw a touchdown to Andrew Tafoya. Mt. Pleasant dropped to 0-2, and Del Mar improved to 2-0. – Joseph Dycus
Evergreen Valley 20, Cupertino 0
Defense and special teams ruled the day for Evergreen Valley, which forced four turnovers and saw Kenneth Brown pin two punts inside the 20-yard line. Gavin Guerrero and Marco Aguilar each hd an interception, and Guerrero and Mateo Hernandez each had a fumble recovery. Linebacker Brandon Chan led the team with 11 tackles. After leading 6-0 going into the fourth quarter, EV’s offense came alive in the last period to pull away. Brown, Hernandez and Dylan Ly each rushed for touchdowns, with Ly going 43 yards for his TD. Evergreen Valley improved to 1-1 and Cupertino fell to 1-1. – Joseph Dycus
Half Moon Bay 21, Hillsdale 14
Half Moon Bay edged out a narrow win in this battle of Peninsula schools. Quarterback Dusty Dimas tossed touchdown passes to Brady Miller, Adler Halterman and Ronin McCauley. Dimas completed 8 of 12 passes for 104 yards. Halterman had Half Moon Bay’s team high in rushing yards (52) and receiving yards (43). Kingston Hua had a kickoff return touchdown for Hillsdale, and Jack Heywood caught a TD pass from Casey Strezo. – Christian Babcock
Harbor 27, Yerba Buena 18
Yerba Buena showcased an improved offense in a tough Thursday night loss to visiting Harbor. Junior quarterback Emmanuel Velasquez threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns. Wideout Elijah Duncan had 110 receiving yards and one touchdown, teammate Nathan Tran had 104 receiving yards and one touchdown, and both rushed for 40 yards. Yerba Buena defensive tackle Angel Estrada had a whopping eight tackles for loss and cornerback Yael Amezcua did not allow a single reception. The Aztec Warriors fell to 0-2. – Joseph Dycus
Leigh 21, Mountain View 14
A hard-nosed rushing attack powered the Longhorns to a Thursday night victory over Mountain View. After Mountain View’s Ishan Devarpalli threw a five-yard touchdown to Yannick Slimani late in the first quarter, Leigh’s Blake Zanger tied things up at seven apiece in the second period with a five-yard TD. Zach Pistor and Zanger each added another touchdown in the second half to put the longhorns up by two possessions. The Spartans cut the deficit back to seven with a fourth-quarter touchdown, but Leigh held on for the victory. The Longhorns improved to 2-0, while Mountain View remained winless at 0-2. – Joseph Dycus
Leland 21, Pioneer 17
This crosstown San Jose battle known as the “Battle of the Den” broke in favor of the Chargers by a slim margin. Jacob Gibson posted two rushing touchdowns for Leland. Brady Hernandez had a 6-yard receiving score and a 41-yard reception that set up Gibson’s 1-yard TD with under two minutes left in the game. Jesse Herrera rushed for 102 yards while adding 42 receiving yards and six tackles for Pioneer. – Christian Babcock
Los Altos 34, Rancho San Juan 2
The Eagles got back on the right foot and into the win column Thursday night one week after absorbing a tough 54-0 loss at Calaveras-San Andreas. Senior Colton Caputo led Los Altos on both sides of the ball with two touchdowns and 161 yards receiving, plus two interceptions defensively. Senior linebacker Miles Field anchored the defense with 16 1/2 tackles as the Eagles nearly pitched a shutout. Sophomore quarterback Giancarlo Mendoza completed 11 of 17 passes for 268 yards and four touchdowns. Senior Michael Manche and junior Gavin Wu each caught a Mendoza TD toss, with Wu’s going for 44 yards. – Christian Babcock
Lowell 28, MacDonald 0
MacDonald is still looking for its first varsity win after a tough home loss to Lowell of San Francisco. The Condors were within reach, down 13-0 at the half, and Dominic Hunt recovered an onside kick to start the third quarter. But a fumble on the ensuing drive was scooped up and run back 50 yards by Lowell’s Ezra Medal to put MacDonald down 20. Siaosi Hautau anchored the Condors’ defense with eight tackles. Linebacker Brandon Medina added six stops for MacDonald. Darey Villamar played at both center and nose guard for the Condors. Hunt added three solid returns to supplement his onside kick recovery. – Christian Babcock
Monta Vista 41, James Lick 0
It was all Monta Vista on Thursday night. After the Matadors scored 41 points in the first half, James Lick chose to forfeit the second half of the game. Senior Trevor Chan rushed for 90 yards on five carries to go along with two touchdowns. Junior Graham Ischo totaled 110 yards from scrimmage, catching a touchdown and rushing in for another. Junior defensive end Kingston Jourdan led Monta Vista’s defense with two sacks and a forced fumble. “Defense was stout and was very hard to stop overall,” Monta Vista coach Ceazar Agront told the Bay Area News Group on Friday. “Hopefully we can remain disciplined and focused in next week’s game against Kathleen MacDonald.” – Nathan Canilao
Prospect 49, Lynbrook 0
It was all Prospect in this battle of neighboring West Valley high schools. Caleb Coito led the Panthers with two rushing touchdowns. Quarterback Cody Roberts ran for two touchdowns and threw for another. Daniel Martinez caught an 8-yard TD pass, and George Bulychev snatched a 19-yard receiving score. Alex Dinh punched in a 1-yard touchdown run. Deshawn Augmon returned a punt 52 yards for a score. Bulychev converted a perfect 7 of 7 extra points. Senior quarterback Justin Kim led Lynbrook with 70 yards rushing and passed for 80 yards. Freshman running back Nathan Kim added 60 yards on the ground. – Christian Babcock
Saratoga 30, El Camino 7
Saratoga improved to 2-0 in the young season behind a balanced offensive attack. Doug Bettinger, Ian Johnson and Keion Ashjaee-Marshall each had rushing touchdowns for the Falcons. Charlie Arman caught a receiving score from quarterback Anson Hulme. Kicker Renn Blanco converted two extra points and added a 42-yard field goal. Tevita Pahulu posted 13 tackles and added a sack, while Morelia Pahulu contributed 16 tackles. – Christian Babcock
Silver Creek 33, Homestead 14
Giovanni Mejia completed 10 of 11 passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns to lead Silver Creek (2-0). Austin Price was on the receiving end of all three TD passes. He had five receptions overall for 88 yards. Jamontay Amataga carried nine times for 56 yards while Jasean Amataga added 30 yards and a touchdown. Tyler Nguyen had three of Silver Creek’s five sacks. Silver Creek plays at San Jose on Thursday and Homestead (1-1) plays at Gunderson on Friday. — Glenn Reeves