Top matchups
No. 2 St. Francis (6-0, 4-0) vs. No. 12 Bellarmine (5-2, 2-2) at San Jose City College, Friday, 7 p.m.: St. Francis’ path to its Nov. 6 showdown against top-ranked Serra has one more potential roadblock, this one against archrival Bellarmine. The Bells were the darlings of September, beating three consecutive quality opponents to announce their return to prominence. But they lost at Serra 41-7 in early October and last week fell out of West Catholic Athletic League title contention with a 20-13 upset loss to Sacred Heart Cathedral at SJCC. Now coach Jalal Beauchman is tasked with rallying his team for this rivalry game against an opponent that has beaten Bellarmine five consecutive times. There is no secret why St. Francis is undefeated and was the first team from this region in 30 years to beat De La Salle. The Lancers play solid, physical defense and run, run, run behind a dominant offensive line and a powerful back. RB Viliami Teu, whom the team calls “Juju,” has had five consecutive games in which he has gained 100-plus rushing yards. The senior has run for 1,065 yards and 13 TDs on the season. For Bellarmine to have a shot, it must take care of the ball. The Bells have thrown three interceptions in each of their two defeats. In their five victories, they have thrown two picks total. Junior Ben Pfaff leads Bellarmine in rushing with 573 yards and 11 TDs. Tight end Brody Stratz has five receptions, but three have been for TDs. When these teams met in the spring, St. Francis won 38-20. — Darren Sabedra
No. 3 De La Salle (5-2, 1-0) at No. 8 San Ramon Valley (5-2, 1-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: Five years ago, San Ramon Valley came within an eyelash of becoming the first team from this region since 1991 to defeat De La Salle, losing 28-27. Since then, De La Salle has outscored the Wolves 198-34 in the past four meetings between the East Bay Athletic League Mountain Division teams. Calpreps.com’s computer projects that it will be more of the same Friday, predicting DLS to win 42-12. DLS is coming off a 52-14 victory at home over previously unbeaten California last week. In that game, DLS was without a number of players and coach Justin Alumbaugh because of COVID-19 protocols. The Spartans are expected to be back at full strength for this matchup against SRV, which had won four in a row before losing at Clayton Valley Charter 28-21 last week. Journey McKoy stepped up in a big way for DLS against California, intercepting two passes, including one that he returned for a TD. The junior also had two kickoff returns that led to TDs and scored on a TD run out of the “Wildcat” formation. Charles Greer and Damonie Perkins each ran for more than 100 yards and accounted for three TDs last week. Jack Quigley has thrown for 1,155 yards and 18 TDs for SRV with only three picks. He passed for three scores against Clayton Valley. The Wolves also rely on RB Za’Darion Nardi, who has rushed for 654 yards and eight TDs this season. DLS is 16-0 against SRV in the MaxPreps era (2004-present). — Darren Sabedra
No. 24 Amador Valley (4-3, 0-2) at No. 6 Clayton Valley Charter (5-2, 1-1), Friday 7 p.m.: Amador Valley has lost three games in a row, and now it plays Clayton Valley, De La Salle and California to finish the season. A sub-.500 record will make it very tough to receive an invite to the North Coast Section playoffs. The Dons play in Open/Division I, where five spots are set and James Logan has one foot in the door for a sixth spot. That leaves two spots for five teams that have a realistic chance. Last week, Amador Valley lost to Monte Vista, 10-7, with five starters and at least 10 players sidelined by COVID-19 protocols, according to coach Danny Jones. Who knows what difference a full roster would have made? Clayton Valley appears back on track after beating San Ramon Valley 28-21. The Ugly Eagles ran for two touchdowns and passed for two, but 285 of their 366 total yards came on the ground. Rahsaan Woodland ran for 132 yards and Nicholas Khashabi picked up 75 more. Quarterback Brenden Bush threw eight passes and carried the ball 14 times for 62 yards. Don’t be surprised if the Eagles try to grind it out again. — Mike Lefkow
No. 7 California (6-1, 1-1) at No. 10 Monte Vista (6-0, 1-0), 7 p.m.: C.J. Anderson took over a Monte Vista team that went 0-6 in the spring, and the former Cal and NFL running back has been an immediate hit. But Anderson and his staff will be tested as never before over the final three games of the regular season, beginning Friday night against California. After that will be road contests at Clayton Valley and San Ramon Valley. The Mustangs were fortunate to eke out a come-from-behind 10-7 victory last week over undermanned Amador Valley, which had almost a dozen players, including five starters, sidelined because of Covid-19 protocols. Anderson sent out a tweet blaming himself for Monte Vista’s offensive struggles, pointing to his play-calling. But the Mustangs have had their ups-and-downs on offense, particularly in the past month, with 21 points or fewer in three of four games. The defense, however, has been outstanding. It has yielded only 49 points all season. Monte Vista hasn’t seen an offense as explosive as California’s, with quarterback Teddy Booras, receiver Jake Calcagno and running back Trevor Rund. Monte Vista counters with QB Dyllan Devitt, receiver Cole Boscia (6-3, 208) and 6-4, 227-pound Jack Endries, a 247sports three-star recruit with offers from San Jose State, Fresno State, Colorado State and a host of Ivy League schools. The calpreps.com computer is picking California by seven. TV: The game will be produced by NorCalSportsTV and aired on Comcast Ch 32 and AT&T Uverse Ch. 99 in most of Contra Costa County. — Mike Lefkow
No. 20 Foothill (6-2, 2-0) at No. 19 Dublin (5-2, 1-0), 7 p.m.: This game likely decides the EBAL Valley Division championship. As for the North Coast Section playoffs, both teams appear to be locks in Division II. Foothill finishes the regular season with road games at Dublin and Granada, but it can finish no worse than 6-4. Dublin has three games remaining and based on the way it has played thus far, the Gaels might run the table if they get by Foothill. The key for Dublin will be containing Falcons’ quarterback Nick Walsh. The 5-foot-10 senior has passed for 1,428 yards and 24 touchdowns while throwing four interceptions. Kenny Olson is the leading pass-catcher with 28 receptions for 422 yards and 10 scores, but Walsh spreads the ball around. Six other Falcons have caught TD passes. Dublin’s offense isn’t bad. The Gaels average 28 points per game, one fewer than Foothill. Senior QB Anthony Armendariz hasn’t thrown quite as much as Walsh, but the Gaels run a balanced attack. They have run for six more yards (1,155) than they have passed for through the first seven games. Dublin’s top receiver is 6-2, 240-pound tight end TJ Costello, who lists himself as a basketball player on MaxPreps. The calpreps.com computer favors Dublin by a touchdown, but this contest could come down to an extra point. — Mike Lefkow
Half Moon Bay (2-4, 1-1) at No. 18 Burlingame (7-0, 3-0), Friday, 7 p.m.: Burlingame is three-fifths of the way to winning the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division championship but will have to clear the two tallest hurdles to complete the job. In spite of its record, Half Moon Bay is a formidable foe that will try to keep its own PAL Bay title hopes alive. The Cougars’ only league loss was to Menlo-Atherton, which outlasted HMB 47-46. HMB’s non-league losses were to Serra, Los Gatos and Salinas. Burlingame closes out its league schedule next week against M-A, which is also unbeaten in the Bay Division entering the weekend. If HMB wins Friday and Burlingame beats M-A next week, the Bay could end in a three-way tie for first place. Burlingame has lost five of its past six games against HMB, including 19-10 in the spring. The Panthers have remained unbeaten this fall behind players such as QB Ryan Kall, who has passed for 996 yards and eight TDs, and running backs Lukas Habelt and Elijah LaGuardia, who have combined to run for 667 yards and 10 TDs. In HMB’s 36-10 victory over The King’s Academy last week, William Moffitt threw for a TD and ran for one and Quinn McCauley rushed for 145 yards and two TDs in 11 carries to lead the Cougars. — Darren Sabedra
Schedule
Thursday, Oct. 21
SOUTH BAY/PENINSULA
BVAL Santa Teresa
Branham at Pioneer, 7 p.m.
Willow Glen at Leigh, 7 p.m.
SCVAL El Camino
Gunn at Cupertino, 7 p.m.
PAL Bay
Menlo-Atherton at Terra Nova, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 22
EAST BAY
Bay Valley
Antioch at Heritage, 7 p.m.
Deer Valley at Pittsburg, 6 p.m.
Liberty at Freedom, 7 p.m.
DAL Foothill
Benicia at Acalanes, 7 p.m.
Campolindo at Alhambra, 7 p.m.
Las Lomas at Miramonte, 7 p.m.
DAL Valley
Berean Christian at Mt. Diablo, 7 p.m.
College Park at Ygnacio Valley, 7 p.m.
Northgate at Concord, 7 p.m.
EBAL Mountain
Amador Valley at Clayton Valley, 7 p.m.
California at Monte Vista, 7 p.m.
De La Salle at San Ramon Valley, 7 p.m.
EBAL Valley
Foothill at Dublin, 7 p.m.
Livermore at Dougherty Valley, 7 p.m.
MVAL/WACC Foothill
James Logan at Hayward, 7 p.m.
Moreau Catholic vs. San Leandro at Burrell Field in San Leandro, 7 p.m.
MVAL/WACC Mission
Castro Valley at Encinal, 7 p.m.
MVAL/WACC Shoreline
Newark Memorial vs. American at Washington-Fremont, 7 p.m.
Tennyson at San Lorenzo, 3:30 p.m.
Oakland
Castlemont at Skyline, 7 p.m.
McClymonds vs. Fremont-Oakland at Curt Flood Field, 7 p.m.
Oakland Tech at Oakland, 7 p.m.
Tri-County Rock
El Cerrito at Kennedy-Richmond, 7:15 p.m.
Tri-County Stone
Richmond at Bethel, 7:30 p.m.
Vallejo at Albany, 6:30 p.m.
Non-league
Bishop O’Dowd at Piedmont, 7 p.m.
SOUTH BAY/PENINSULA
BVAL Mt. Hamilton
Leland at Piedmont Hills, 7 p.m.
Lincoln-San Jose at Live Oak, 7:30 p.m.
Oak Grove at Overfelt, 7 p.m.
Silver Creek at Santa Teresa, 7 p.m.
BVAL West Valley
Del Mar at Mt. Pleasant, 7 p.m.
Evergreen Valley at Yerba Buena, 7 p.m.
Gunderson at Hill, 7 p.m.
San Jose at Lick, 7 p.m.
PAL Bay
Half Moon Bay at Burlingame, 7 p.m.
PAL Ocean
Aragon at Jefferson, 7 p.m.
Carlmont at Hillsdale, 7 p.m.
Menlo at Capuchino, 7 p.m.
PAL Lake
Mills at Woodside, 7 p.m.
Sequoia at El Camino, 7 p.m.
SCVAL De Anza
Homestead at Milpitas, 7 p.m.
Palo Alto at Mountain View, 7 p.m.
Santa Clara at Wilcox, 7 p.m.
SCVAL El Camino
Monta Vista at Fremont-Sunnyvale, 7 p.m.
Saratoga at Lynbrook, 7 p.m.
West Catholic
Riordan vs. Sacred Heart Cathedral at Westmoor HS, 3:30 p.m.
St. Francis vs. Bellarmine at San Jose City College, 7 p.m.
St. Ignatius at Serra, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 23
EAST BAY
MVAL/WACC Mission
Berkeley at Washington-Fremont, 7 p.m.
Mt. Eden vs. Kennedy-Fremont at Washington-Fremont, 1:30 p.m.
MVAL/WACC Shoreline
Alameda at Arroyo, 1 p.m.
Tri-County Rock
De Anza at Salesian, 1:05 p.m.
St. Patrick-St. Vincent at Pinole Valley, 6 p.m.
Tri-County Stone
Hercules at St. Mary’s-Berkeley, 1:30 p.m.
SOUTH BAY/PENINSULA
BVAL Santa Teresa
Prospect at Independence, 2 p.m.
Westmont at Sobrato, 7 p.m.
PAL Bay
King’s Academy at Sacred Heart Prep, 2 p.m.
West Catholic
Valley Christian at Mitty, 1 p.m.
Non-league
San Lorenzo Valley at Los Altos, 1:30 p.m.
Schedule changes
For schedule updates, please let us know at highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com.
How to report results/game details
We encourage Bay Area coaches or team statisticians to email the final score and key scoring plays (a few stats, if you have them) to highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com right after each game. Please include the school names in the subject line.
Predictions
Look here as the Bay Area News Group’s Darren Sabedra and Evan Webeck and correspondent Mike Lefkow make their Week 9 predictions.
