Bay Area high school football roundup 2024: Best of Week 8 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.
If you have not already, please subscribe here for complete digital access all season long. Your contributions keep us going.
On to the roundup …
Ranked teams
No. 1 De La Salle 42, No. 3 San Ramon Valley 14
De La Salle’s Jaden Jefferson returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and the Concord powerhouse never let up as the host Spartans rushed out to a 21-0 lead after five minutes. Joseph Dycus was in Concord and has the full story here.
No. 2 Pittsburg 45, Heritage 0
Pittsburg ran away with this one early. Jamar Searcy rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns on six carries to lead the Pirates to their 26th straight BVAL win. Nathan Canilao was in Brentwood and has the story here.
No. 5 St. Francis 27, No. 4 St. Ignatius 13
If you tuned out at halftime, you probably thought St. Ignatius was cruising to a victory. Not so. The Lancers completed a stunning reversal in the second half, outscoring SI 27-0 to win this game between teams that had not lost in West Catholic Athletic League play. Kingston Keanaaina ran for 217 yards to lead St. Francis. Christian Babcock witnessed the comeback in San Francisco and has the story.
No. 7 Valley Christian 21, Sacred Heart Cathedral 7
The Warriors turned to their leading rusher and top tackler to win a defensive struggle against visiting Sacred Heart Cathedral. Marcel Leggett scored on two short runs and Corban Bixby returned an interception 21 yards for a touchdown for Valley Christian. The game was tied 7-7 at the half, with Leggett going over from the 1 for the first score of the game. Leggett then broke a 7-7 deadlock with an 8-yard run with 2:45 left in the third quarter, putting the Warriors in front 14-7. The TDs were Leggett’s fifth and sixth of the season. Leggett rushed for 116 yards against SHC, giving him 747 rushing yards for the season. Bixby added insurance in the final period with his pick-6. It was his first interception of the season. The outside linebacker/cornerback leads the Warriors in tackles. Valley Christian is 5-2 overall and 4-0 in the WCAL, but its last three league contests are against St. Ignatius, St. Francis and Serra. The Fightin’ Irish are 3-4, 1-3, quite a nice bounce-back from an 0-10 season last year. – Mike Lefkow
No. 17 Acalanes 28, No. 9 Clayton Valley 27
Trailing by one point with no time left on the clock, Clayton Valley coach Nick Tisa decided to go for the win. Acalanes rose to the occasion and got the stop, giving the Ugly Eagles their first DAL Foothill Division loss since returning to the league this year. Tyler Winkles threw for 243 yards and five touchdowns, and Niko White had two receiving touchdowns to help lead the way. Finley Rivera caught one TD pass, and Drew McKenzie was a monster on the Acalanes line, finishing with three sacks, two forced fumbles and five hurries. Bethel Imasuen also had a sack. Hayezon Jackson rushed for one Clayton Valley TD, and freshman quarterback Javale Jones threw for 189 yards and two touchdowns, CVC (4-3, 1-1) will play host to Campolindo on Friday. Acalanes (6-2, 2-0) plays the Cougars on Nov. 1 after a bye next week. – Joseph Dycus
No. 11 California 50, No. 19 Monte Vista 36
Jhadis Luckey rolled up five – yes, five – rushing touchdowns as California bounced back from a loss to San Ramon Valley with the team’s first EBAL Mountain victory of the season. Nick Fox caught a touchdown as well for the Grizzlies (7-1, 1-1). Washington commit Julian McMahan rushed for three touchdowns and Kellan Ford caught two scores for Monte Vista (5-2, 0-1). The Mustangs will travel to De La Salle on Friday. California will enjoy a bye week before playing DLS on Nov. 1. – Joseph Dycus
No. 13 Wilcox 42, Palo Alto 13
After a hard-fought first half that concluded with Wilcox in a 14-7 lead, the Chargers dominated the second half. Kai Imahara, Brayden Rosa and Elijah Vallejo all rushed for more than 100 yards. Imahara scored three touchdowns, Rosa one, and also had 50 receiving yards. LB Nick Hernandez and DE Adam Kenney stood out on defense. Wilcox (5-2, 2-0 PAL Bay) hosts Sacred Heart Prep while Palo Alto (5-2, 1-1) plays at Menlo-Atherton on Friday. — Glenn Reeves
No. 15 Liberty 42, Deer Valley 7
Quarterback Sage Robertson had his best game of the season, throwing for six touchdowns as Liberty dominated Deer Valley to improve to 5-2 overall and 2-0 in the BVAL. Jaxon Bell and Thomas Mota each caught two touchdowns for Liberty. Robertson’s other two scores were thrown to Chris Joe and Jameson Wolfe. Deer Valley dropped its second straight game to fall to 2-5, 0-2. – Nathan Canilao
No, 20 Menlo-Atherton 21, No. 16 Menlo School 18
Evaimalo Ama provided Menlo-Atherton with the first two-score lead in the game with an 85-yard run for a touchdown in the third quarter. And then with Menlo School, down by three points and itching for an equalizer in the fourth quarter, the 5-foot-10, 180-pound junior broke off runs of 30 and 31 yards as visiting M-A held on for a victory. Glenn Reeves has all the details here.
No. 21 Christopher 43, Oak Grove 20
Christopher continues to assert its dominance as the top dog in the Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division. Jaxen Robinson completed 15 of 27 passes for 219 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed for a score. Salomon Quintero, Terrence Barnes and Evan Vernon caught Robinson’s TD tosses. Vernon had 57 yards receiving on seven catches to lead the Cougars. Tyler Green ran back an interception 48 yards for a touchdown, with Quintero and Ty Jackson also snagging picks. Josiah Garcia led Christopher with 132 rushing yards on 15 carries. Rylan Antipuesto converted 7 of 7 kicks for the Cougars, including field goals from 38, 30 and 26 yards. Malakai Dominguez had two rushing TDs for Oak Grove. Ryan Wright tossed a passing TD and a two-point conversion to Felix Enow. Christopher improved to 7-1 and 4-0 in Mt. Hamilton play. Oak Grove fell to 0-7, 0-3. – Christian Babcock
Sequoia 21, No. 23 Half Moon Bay 20
Sequoia pulled off the upset and remained undefeated in PAL Ocean play after clutch fourth-quarter play in Redwood City. Jordan Crockett scored the second of his two rushing touchdowns with 3:20 left, and then Marco Baisch got an interception. Earlier in the half, Baisch caught a 45-yard touchdown from Shawn Royer. Half Moon Bay (6-1, 1-1) will travel to San Mateo on Friday, and Sequoia (3-4, 2-0) will try to continue the momentum at Milpitas on Thursday. – Joseph Dycus
The King’s Academy 28, No. 24 Burlingame 21
Burlingame’s first foray into the Bay Area News Group rankings ended with an upset loss at the hands of The King’s Academy. The Knights led 20-7 at halftime, 28-7 after three quarters and withstood a furious fourth-quarter rally by Burlingame to emerge victorious. Burlingame QB Luke Levitt completed 13 of 26 passes for 188 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Lucas Kirk led the Panthers with 49 yards rushing on 11 carries. Jake Flood posted 99 yards on five catches. Cole Hardtke led Burlingame’s defense with eight tackles. King’s Academy improved to 2-0 in PAL De Anza play and 3-4 overall. Burlingame fell to 5-2, 2-1. – Christian Babcock
East Bay
Campolindo 30, Las Lomas 7
Campolindo (3-4) enjoyed a complete performance as it cruised to a victory over Las Lomas (5-3), receiving contributions from offense, defense and special teams. Junior running back Micah Parker totaled 151 yards on 19 carries, reeling off an explosive 74-yard rushing touchdown. Junior quarterback Reid Habas connected on 14-of-22 passes for 233 yards and had his own big play, connecting with senior Joe Revelos on a 72-yard score through the air. Senior Blaise Clancy had both an interception and a rushing touchdown, junior Sean Parker had a pick of his own and junior Zach Tabibian hit all three field goals. Justice delos Santos has the full story here.
College Park 34, Alhambra 7
Quarterback James Voorhies passed for one touchdown and ran for another, and Izaac Jinks rushed for a pair of TDs, leading the Falcons to their first victory under first-year coach Jack Schram. The game did not start well for College Park when Alhambra’s Morgan Tran raced 90 yards with the opening kickoff to give the visitors a quick 7-0 lead. But it was all College Park after that in the DAL Valley opener for both teams. Jinks’ 10-yard run and Ryan Ranganian’s PAT knotted the score at 7-7 with a minute left in the first quarter, then the Falcons scored twice late in the second period to go up 20-7 at the half. Voorhies reached paydirt on a 2-yard run to make it 14-7, then he threw a 30-yard TD pass to Erik Hornbuckle to give CP a two-touchdown advantage at intermission. Jinks had a 50-yard run and Trevor Rosario scored from 10 yards out to complete the scoring. College Park (1-6) hosts Northgate next Friday in a contest that will likely decide the DAL Valley title. Alhambra (2-5) will be at Benicia. – Mike Lefkow
Hayward 48, Newark Memorial 20
The Farmers put up another offensive clinic, blowing out Newark Memorial to win their first MVAL/WACC Mission Division game. Quarterback Jaydyn Iriving completed 11 of 17 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns. Maurice Hall did it all for Hayward, totaling 277 yards from scrimmage (194 rushing, 83 receiving) and three touchdowns (one rushing, two receiving). Mateaki Paongo and Isiah Spearman each caught touchdown scores. Hayward moved to 3-4, 1-1 and is slated to play Kennedy-Fremont at home on Friday. Newark Memorial dropped to 4-3, 1-1 and will play Irvington on Friday. — Nathan Canilao
James Logan 34, Tennyson 3
James Logan stayed in the MVAL/WACC Foothill Division championship race after it rolled past Tennyson. David Mercado threw for four touchdowns, and Michael Smith paced a defense that coach James Barnes said held Tennyson to negative yardage on offense. Tennyson coach James Pangelina told BANG that his team, which got a 34-yard FG from Alex Gonzalez, is struggling with injuries. Logan (2-5, 2-1) plays at San Leandro and Tennyson (2-5, 0-3) will play host to Castro Valley on Friday. – Joseph Dycus
Kennedy-Richmond 21, Hercules 0
Kennedy continued its torrid play since starting the season 0-2, winning for the fifth time in its past six games. Jayson Scarbrough did it all for the Eagles, throwing one touchdown to Treshawn Ellis and rushing for two more. Scarbrough also picked off a pass on defense. Ellis’ touchdown was his 10th of the season. Hercules senior linebacker Will Tuinauvai and junior CB Sohaib Abdulla each had interceptions. Hercules (1-6, 0-1) will welcome Bethel and Kennedy (5-3, 2-0) will play host to St. Patrick-St. Vincent on Friday. – Joseph Dycus
Moreau Catholic 37, San Leandro 33
Jeremiah Charles scored from 2 yards out with 20 seconds left in the Mariners’ come-from-behind victory. Moreau began its winning drive at its own 30 with 4:41 remaining and San Leandro leading 33-30. Moreau led 24-8 midway through the second quarter before San Leandro scored 17 unanswered points to take a 25-24 lead early in the fourth period. The teams then traded touchdowns before the Mariners began their winning drive. Moreau, 5-3 overall and 4-0 in the WACC Foothill, holds a slim lead over Bishop O’Dowd (3-0 in league) and San Leandro, which is 2-1 in WACC Foothill contests and 4-3 overall. The Mariners and San Leandro each have to play Bishop O’Dowd. Peyton Collins rushed 25 times for 235 yards and Jalen Arnold caught four passes for 93 yards to lead the Mariners’ offense. The Pirates got over 100 yards and multiple touchdowns from Jaymieon Bradley. Linebacker/tight end Lemaj Roach performed well on both sides of the ball for San Leandro. – Mike Lefkow
Northgate 42, Benicia 0
Northgate rolled to its third straight win, blanking Benicia at home. Blayne Ballard caught three passes for 58 yards and two scores and also rushed for a touchdown. Quarterback Brady Willis was an efficient 5 for 7 for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Deangelo Smith, Ethan Chang and Jackson Jones each had a rushing touchdown. Northgate moved to 4-3 overall and 1-0 in the DAL Valley Division while Benicia dropped to 2-5, 0-1. – Nathan Canilao
Piedmont 49, Irvington 7
The Highlanders emphatically ended Irvington’s undefeated start to the season as Markos Lagios threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another. Brandon Dicke and Miguel Long also returned interceptions for touchdowns as Piedmont took control of the MVAL/WACC Mission Division title race. Joseph Dycus was in Fremont and has the story here.
South Bay/Peninsula
Carlmont 42, Milpitas 38
Johnny Dunne threw six touchdown passes, including two in the final five minutes, as Carlmont rallied past Milpitas in a wild offensive game. Milpitas led 38-30 after a Ricky Miramontes 28-yard field goal with five minutes to go. Brian Sagon‘s long kickoff return set up Dunne’s 10-yard scoring pass to Daniel Mattioli, but the two-point conversion failed. The Scots got the ball back and drove for the game-winner, an 8-yard pass to Lucas Robertson in the final minute. Robertson and Sean Chopoff caught two TD passes apiece. Sagon caught one. For Milpitas, Roman Johnson scored on a 71-yard run and a 93-yard kickoff return. Reynaldo Dunbar scored on 3- and 1-yard runs and on a 5-yard pass from Adrian Chavez. Dunne was 24 of 41 for 331 yards. Chopoff had six catches for 125 yards and made two interceptions. Milpitas (3-4, 0-3 PAL Ocean) hosts Sequoia and Carlmont (4-3, 1-1) is at home to face Terra Nova, both on Thursday. — Glenn Reeves
Gunderson 21, Evergreen Valley 13
This game was stopped early in the fourth quarter after an Evergreen Valley player left the field with a medical emergency. Bay Area News Group had not received an update on the player’s condition at the time of publication. Gunderson coach Jason Harrison told BANG that the result of the game was still to be determined by the CCS and/or CIF. Before the stoppage, Gunderson’s Andrew Fernandez tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Miguel Acosta, and Jason Stoner ran in two touchdowns for the Grizzlies. – Christian Babcock
Gunn 63, Lynbrook 0
This rout was another in a long list of one-sided Gunn blowouts this season. The Titans are now 7-0 and 5-0 in the Peninsula Athletic League’s Lake Division. Gunn has allowed only eight points all season and has shut out the opposition in six of its seven games. Yonatan Smolyar and Sam Tachner scored two touchdowns each for the Titans, while Sam Dellenbach, Jett Creighton, Andre Lee and Luke Hines each added one. Lynbrook dropped to 0-7 and 0-5 in the PAL Lake. – Christian Babcock
Leland 55, Prospect 8
This one was pretty much all Leland from the get-go. The Chargers (5-2, 2-0 BVAL Santa Teresa-Valley) led 35-0 at the half and cruised to a big win. Jacob Gibson ran for a score and threw for two more. Hudson Vye, Caden White, Marco Fanelli, Wyatt Markos and Daniel Yeon added rushing touchdowns for Leland. Prospect dropped to 0-2 in the BVAL Santa Teresa-Valley and 2-5 overall. – Christian Babcock
Piedmont Hills 14, Pioneer 6
This narrow BVAL Santa Teresa-Foothill matchup ended with the Pirates swashbuckling their way to a win. Alex Solarez ran in a 1-yard touchdown for Piedmont Hills, and Alex Tran had the game-winning score for the Pirates with a 38-yard interception return TD. Zach Pallach converted both extra points for Piedmont Hills. Julian Lopez caught a 35-yard score for Pioneer from Braeden Ries. Piedmont Hills improved to 2-0 in Santa Teresa-Foothill play and 5-2 overall. Pioneer dropped to 3-4, 1-1. – Christian Babcock
San Mateo 27, Terra Nova 7
Emmanuel Fitzgerald carried 18 times for 167 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bearcats. Tyce Copus scored on a short run and Cameron Palma connected with Logan Davis on a 32-yard scoring pass. San Mateo, which led 20-7 at halftime, rushed for 327 yards. With Sequoia upsetting Half Moon Bay, San Mateo (6-1, 3-0) is alone on top of the PAL Ocean standings and will host HMB on Friday. Terra Nova (2-5, 0-2) is at Carlmont on Thursday. — Glenn Reeves
Santa Teresa 17, Live Oak 16 (OT)
Santa Teresa pulled out a thriller over Live Oak in its homecoming game on Friday night. Casey Carr, fresh off a profile story in Bay Area News Group publications, converted a 20-yard field goal with 23 seconds remaining to tie the game 10-10 and force overtime. In the extra session, Live Oak scored a touchdown first but missed the extra point. Santa Teresa responded with a 1-yard TD run by Jaikob Wright on third-and-goal, and Carr nailed the ensuing PAT to give the Saints the walk-off win. Wright scored another rushing touchdown, a 9-yarder, in regulation. Robert Estrada had an interception for Santa Teresa, while Colby Faumui and Fabian Bustamante notched sacks for the Saints. Santa Teresa improved to 6-1 overall and is still in the hunt for the Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division title with a 2-1 league record. Live Oak, also in contention, fell to 3-1 in Mt. Hamilton play and 3-5 overall. – Christian Babcock
Saratoga 35, MacDonald 28
MacDonald — which had won two games in a row coming in, the first two wins in school history — almost pulled this one off too against an undefeated Saratoga team. The Condors recovered three onside kicks, including one with 1:43 remaining after a passing TD brought MacDonald to within one score. Quarterback Moussa Fall threw four touchdown passes and led the Condors down the field on the final drive before throwing an interception in the end zone. “Moussa was amazing all night,” said MacDonald coach Burt Codera. Dom Hunt caught three of Fall’s TD tosses, and Ethan Bugarin snagged one for the Condors. Saratoga improved to 6-0-1 and 5-0-1 in PAL Lake play. MacDonald fell to 2-5 overall and 2-3 in league action. – Christian Babcock
Silver Creek 31, Del Mar 0
Silver Creek handed Del Mar its first loss in BVAL Santa Teresa-Foothill play after Giovanni Mejia completed 16 of 22 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns. The Raiders also gave the Dons problems on the ground, with Lorenzo Garcia pacing the team with 83 yards and one rushing TD. Senior Austin Price caught two touchdowns, and Noa Wooden led the team with 83 receiving yards to go with one touchdown. Silver Creek (4-3, 1-1) travels to Piedmont Hills on Friday, and Del Mar (6-1, 1-1) plays host to Overfelt on Thursday. – Joseph Dycus
Sobrato 27, Westmont 21
Sobrato had the slight edge in this battle of BVAL Santa Teresa-Valley teams. Westmont is still looking for its first league win after its loss at home in Campbell. The Warriors dropped to 3-4 overall and 0-2 in Santa Teresa-Valley play. Westmont had a 7-0 lead early in the game but was unable to sustain the advantage. Sobrato improved to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in Santa Teresa-Valley action. – Christian Babcock
South San Francisco 29, Woodside 17
Elijah Fields scored two touchdowns to lead South City into first place by itself in the PAL El Camino Division standings. Fields scored on a 17-yard run to initiate the scoring. Then after Woodside went up 7-6, he scored on a 2-yard run. A 65-yard punt return by Darren Miller extended South City’s lead and his interception late in the game iced the win. South San Francisco is now 5-2 overall and 3-0 in league. Woodside, which went into the game tied with SSF, is 4-3 and 2-1. Woodside hosts Los Altos on Thursday. South San Francisco is at Fremont-Sunnyvale on Friday. — Glenn Reeves
Willow Glen 42, Gilroy 14
Willow Glen’s undefeated season continued on for another week with a big road win over Gilroy. The Rams are 7-0 overall and 2-0 in BVAL Santa Teresa-Valley Division play. Quarterback Aiden Akery rushed for three touchdowns and 152 yards on 15 carries, with a long run of 49 yards. Willow Glen rushed for 358 yards as a team. Spencer Bartlinski had an interception, while Ryder Frost and Caden Morefield had sacks for the Rams. The game was tied 14-14 at the half before Willow Glen scored 14 unanswered points in each of the final two quarters. Gilroy dropped to 2-5 overall and 1-1 in league play. – Christian Babcock
Yerba Buena 41, James Lick 16
Yerba Buena got its first victory of the season, doing it in style on Thursday as Elijah Duncan pulled in three receiving touchdowns for the Aztec Warriors. Micah Reyes, who enjoyed great protection from center Eric Bautista, threw four touchdown passes and rushed for another in the BVAL West Valley matchup. Giovany Rangel caught one TD, and Saul Castrejon ran for one. Aiden Rodriguez led the team in tackles. Yerba Buena (1-5, 1-2) plays host to Mt. Pleasant on Friday, while James Lick (0-7, 0-3) will be at home to face Gunderson. – Joseph Dycus