Bay Area high school football roundup 2024: Best of Week 12 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 …

CCS Open/Division I

No. 1 St. Ignatius 45, No. 8 Salinas 7

Both teams had 8-2 records during the regular season, but that was about the only similarity between St. Ignatius and Salinas on Friday night in San Francisco. The top-seeded Wildcats scored three touchdowns in the final 5:05 of the first quarter and never looked back. Things are bound to get a little tougher when SI and No. 2 seed St. Francis tangle for the Open Division crown next Friday at San Jose City College. Six St. Ignatius players scored touchdowns against Salinas, led by Jarious Hogan, who had runs of 30 and 29 yards, giving him 23 for the season. The touchdown-maker broke a scoreless tie with his first six-pointer, then helped SI build the lead to 35-0 with his second TD run early in the third quarter. Quarterback Soren Hummel completed a 29-yard TD pass in the second quarter to Zui Shelton, Steve Malone had a 31-yard run for a touchdown and Odhran Kenny kicked a 34-yard field goal. Sui Gallegos-Hunkin and Happy Rosenberg had defensive TDs. Hunkin took back an interception for a touchdown and Rosenberg recovered a fumble and raced 22 yards for six. SI scored at least one touchdown in every quarter. – Mike Lefkow

NCS Open/Division I 

No. 1 De La Salle 42, No. 8 San Marin 10

Emery Speight scored a touchdown on De La Salle’s third offensive snap and Duece Jones-Drew crossed the goal line for another touchdown on the fourth as the Spartans cruised at home over San Marin to advance to the NCS Open Division title game on Friday against Pittsburg at Diablo Valley Valley College. Darren Sabedra has the DLS recap here.

No. 2 Pittsburg 35, No. 7 Clayton Valley 14

Pittsburg leaned on star running back Jamar Searcy to get over the hump against a tough Clayton Valley team. The Washington State-bound running back rushed for 167 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries. Marley Alcantara completed 10 of 17 passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns. Kenny Ward, Truly Bell and Makari Kenion each caught a touchdown pass for Pittsburg, which will advance to the NCS Open Division final at Diablo Valley College finals against top-seeded De La Salle. – Nathan Canilao

No. 3 San Ramon Valley 35, No. 6 California 7

Rhett Thompson completed 18-of-24 passes for 255 yards and four touchdowns to lead San Ramon Valley to an impressive victory at home. A physical defense held California star running back Jhadis Luckey to one touchdown a week after he had a school-record seven against Amador Valley. Justice delos Santos was in Danville and has the recap here.

CCS Division II

No. 1 Wilcox 36, No. 8 Santa Teresa 3

Behind senior Brayden Rosa and sophomore Elijah Vallejo, Wilcox rolled to an opening-round win in the D-II quarterfinals. Vallejo’s two early 50-plus-yard TD runs set the tone for a Wilcox rout despite the absence of injured starting quarterback Kai Imahara. Christian Babcock was in Santa Clara and has the scoop here.

No. 6 Menlo School 21, No. 3 Christopher 14

Menlo School avenged its 2023 playoff defeat to Christopher (9-2) with a one-touchdown win in Gilroy. This time, the Knights (8-3) pulled off the upset on the road. Jamie Forese scored on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Jack Freehill with 2:33 to go to put Menlo on top. Forese’s interception on the Cougars’ next possession gave the Knights the ball back and sealed the victory. The teams were tied 14-14 at halftime. Christopher senior QB Jaxen Robinson scored the first points of the game on a 3-yard TD run. Tyler Fernandez answered with a 69-yard catch-and-run score for Menlo. Freehill’s second TD pass of the game, a 24-yarder to Chuck Wynn, put the Knights up 14-7. Robinson responded with a 19-yard passing score to senior Josiah Garcia. Menlo earned two fourth-down stops to help seal the win defensively. – Christian Babcock

No. 4 Menlo-Atherton 35, No. 5 Monterey 7

Xander Eschelman threw three touchdown passes to lead the Bears. He hit JT Roeder with a 4-yard pass to initiate the scoring, a play set up by a 60-yard completion to Roeder. After Monterey tied it 7-7, M-A scored twice in the final minutes of the first half, on a 5-yard pass to Angelo Marin and a 60-yard interception return by Will Roberts. Eschelman and Marin connected again on a long touchdown pass on the third play of the third quarter. Then M-A went run-heavy and Monty Turner scored on the ground for the final TD. Menlo-Atherton (7-4) will play Wilcox in the D-II semifinals. — Glenn Reeves

NCS Division II

No. 1 Liberty 35, No. 8 Vintage 7

Liberty’s offense was cooking on Friday night as the Lions easily cruised past Vintage to advance to the Division II semifinals. Star running back Jaxon Bell did it all for Liberty, scoring touchdowns from three, six and 12 yards out. Quarterback Sage Robertson threw for two scores, to receivers Mekhi Reed and Andon Jones. Liberty will host O’Dowd on Friday. – Nathan Canilao

No. 2 Amador Valley 42, Las Lomas 21 

Oregon State-bound quarterback Tristan Tia threw for four touchdowns and ran for another to lead Amador Valley past Las Lomas. Nathan Canilao was in Pleasanton and has the full story here.

No. 4 Bishop O’Dowd 31, No. 5 Monte Vista 28 (OT)

The Dragons beat Monte Vista for a second time this season after kicker Vince Santucci knocked in a field goal in overtime to advance O’Dowd to the Division II semifinals. O’Dowd quarterback Devin Wilson turned in another efficient game, throwing for three touchdowns, to Jaren Beene, Trevor Erickson and Deji Ajose. Saliou Sow added a 48-yard rushing touchdown for O’Dowd. Despite the loss, running back Julian McMahan broke the Monte Vista single-game rushing record as he carried the ball 48 times for 307 yards. Fresno State-bound starting quarterback Brayden Turner and Arizona commit Kellan Ford were out for Friday night’s game, according to Monte Vista coach Johnny Millard. Monte Vista ended its season 5-6. O’Dowd travels to Brentwood on Friday to face top-seeded Liberty. – Nathan Canilao

CCS Division III

No. 7 Aptos 47, No. 2 Willow Glen 35

Aptos scored a lot of points to hand Willow Glen its only loss of the season. The Rams (10-1) did plenty of scoring as well in front of their home fans. Aiden Akery completed 24 of 45 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns, also rushing for 65 yards on 19 carries. Spencer Bartlinski caught a TD pass from Akery for the final score of the game. – Christian Babcock 

No. 3 Palo Alto 33, No. 6 Half Moon Bay 24

Isaiah Phillips rushed for over 200 yards as Palo Alto rallied late to pull out the win. Half Moon Bay had leads of 8-0, 16-7 and 24-13 after its three first-half touchdowns. Phillips scored on a 70-yard run on the first play of the second half to bring Paly within 24-20. Joe Kessler scored the final two touchdowns of the game, on a 65-yard pass from Justin Fung that put Palo Alto ahead for the first time, and on a 35-yard run in the final two minutes. Erik Taylor played a key role defensively with three interceptions. Phillips (58-yard run) and Paula Pongi (1-yard run) scored first-half touchdowns for Palo Alto (6-5), which plays Aptos in the semifinals. Half Moon Bay finishes 8-3. — Glenn Reeves

NCS Division III

No. 2 Campolindo 45, No. 7 Berkeley 7

Micah Parker used his ability to cut back to great effect in this first-round game in Moraga, rushing for 132 yards and three touchdowns. Campo coach Kevin Macy said “most of his carries looked as though he was doing it all on his own.” His backfield mate Blaise Clancy ran for 105 yards and a TD. Everett Zellmer caught a 35-yard touchdown from Reid Habas. Also, defensive tackle Austin Harris scored big-man TD by returning a tipped pass for a touchdown. Campolindo improved to 6-5 and will play host to San Leandro on Friday. Berkeley finished its season 5-6. – Joseph Dycus

No. 6 San Leandro 25, No. 3 Northgate 24

The Pirates didn’t appear to have a lot of momentum coming into the playoffs. They lost three of their last four games, the only exception being a win over 2-8 Castro Valley. Meanwhile, Northgate had won six in a row. But the playoffs are a different animal than the regular season, and the visiting Pirates (6-5) pulled off one of the bigger surprises of the night. Jaymieon Bradley scored his second touchdown of the game with under a minute left to play, then Justin Ammons ran in the 2-point conversion to hand San Leandro the one-point win. The game was close throughout. San Leandro led 10-8 at the half thanks to a 33-yard field goal by Erik Lepe Rios, but the Broncos (7-4) took a 24-17 edge into the fourth quarter. For San Leandro, Bradley had two touchdowns, including a 42-yard run in the first quarter. He finished with 185 yards rushing. Blayne Ballard stood out for Northgate, catching six passes for 140 yards and three touchdowns. De Anglo Smith rushed for 100 yards on 11 carries for Northgate. – Mike Lefkow

No. 4 Heritage 34, No. 5 James Logan 0

The Patriots couldn’t have picked a better time to play perhaps their best game since late September. After losing three of their last four regular-season contests, Heritage used two big plays and strong defense to build a 14-0 halftime lead, then scored three touchdowns in the fourth period to rout the visiting Colts. Next up for Heritage (7-4) is a visit to defending CIF state 3-AA champion Acalanes on Friday. James Logan finishes 4-7. Leading rusher Mekhi Adanandus scored three TDs, including a 56-yard run in the second quarter, to pace Heritage. The Pats took a 7-0 lead in the opening period on a 23-yard pass from quarterback Phillip Babbitt to Ilias Muhammad. In the fourth quarter, Adanandus ran for two TDs and Jordan Kinnaird returned an interception 60 yards for a pick-6. Adanandus ended the night with 156 rushing yards on 19 carries. – Mike Lefkow

CCS Division IV

No. 1 Piedmont Hills 10, No. 8 Live Oak 6

Top seed Piedmont Hills did just enough to eke out a win in the opening round of the D-IV tournament. Live Oak (3-8) scored first in this game with a 3-yard touchdown run by Gage Jones. The extra point was blocked, though, opening the door for Piedmont Hills to take the lead. The Pirates (9-2) went up 7-6 on a 37-yard passing TD from Alex Tran to Alonzo Johnson. Zach Pallach helped seal the win for Piedmont Hills with a 25-yard field goal. – Christian Babcock

No. 2 Branham 50, No. 7 North Monterey County 21

Branham rolled to an easy win in its opening game of the D-IV playoffs. Jack Lewis tossed three touchdown passes: a 55-yarder to Brayden Hodges, a 5-yarder to Jimmy Scibetta and a 35-yarder to Zayne St. Laurent. Michael Murphy ran in three TDs: a 50-yarder, a 20-yarder and a 10-yarder. Andrew Ho added a 5-yard run to cap the scoring for Branham (8-3). – Christian Babcock

No. 4 Burlingame 17, No. 5 North Salinas 14

Burlingame had a 10-0 lead at halftime before North Salinas scored one, then two second-half touchdowns, the latter occurring on a 1-yard run with two minutes left in the game to put the visitors up 14-10. The Panthers responded and drove from their own 38 for a 3-yard touchdown run by Lucas Kirk in the final minute. Jake Flood intercepted a desperation pass to close it out. Hayden Haba scored on an 8-yard run and Luke Dimech kicked a 38-yard field goal to give Burlingame the 10-0 halftime lead. No. 4 seed Burlingame (7-4) will play at No. 1 Piedmont Hills in the D-IV semifinals. — Glenn Reeves

NCS Division IV

No. 1 Ukiah 35, No. 8 Alameda 0

Because eighth-seeded Alameda was the WACC Shoreline champion, the Hornets got to host the top seed in Division II at Thompson Field. The home fans didn’t have much to cheer about, though, as Ukiah was ready after making the two-hour drive from the North Bay. Alameda finished its season 8-3. – Joseph Dycus

No. 3 Granada 28, No. 6 Livermore 14

Granada running back Estevan Duarte rushed for two touchdowns, and quarterback Jack Badger threw for two TDs as Granada beat rival Livermore for the second week in a row. Joseph Dycus was in Livermore and has the full story here.

CCS Division V

No. 3 Leland 30, No. 6 Stevenson 20

Leland earned a hard-fought win over visiting Stevenson thanks in large part to four interceptions. Caden Canter caught two, Javien Louie snagged one and Jacob Gibson grabbed another. The Chargers (8-3) also had game-changing plays on special teams, including a blocked punt by Wyatt Markos and a blocked PAT by Brady Hernandez. David Ahlgren kicked a 34-yard field goal for Leland. Gibson rushed for 5- and 3-yard TDs. Markos caught a 60-yard score from Hernandez. Canter returned a kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown. – Christian Babcock

No. 2 Alisal 21, No. 7 Overfelt 16

Overfelt bowed out of the D-V playoffs with a narrow loss to second-seeded Alisal of Salinas. The Royals finished the year with a record of 5-6. Alisal, which improved to 6-5, led 14-0 at halftime and held on to win in the second half despite a spirited comeback by the visitors from San Jose. Alisal will host third-seeded Leland in the second round next Friday. – Christian Babcock

No. 4 Sequoia 33, No. 5 Gunn 6

Shawn Royer threw three touchdown passes as Sequoia ended Gunn’s perfect season with a victory at home in Redwood City. The Palo Alto school brought a 10-0 record up the El Camino Real for the first-round game. But Sequoia advanced to play at top-seeded South San Francisco in the semifinals. Dave Kiefer was at Sequoia and has the game story here.

Division VII

No. 1 Moreau Catholic 49, No. 8 St. Bernard’s-Eureka 14

The Crusaders drew first blood with a pass completion for a touchdown midway through the opening period, but it was all Mariners after that. Moreau Catholic (7-4) scored six TDs to take a 42-7 halftime lead, and eventually led 49-7 before St. Bernard’s (6-5) scored again. The Mariners host Del Norte from the Humboldt-Del Norte Big 4 league on Friday in the D-VII semifinals. Leading rusher Jayden Bryant scored three touchdowns and QB Jeremiah Charles passed for three more. Charles was 10-for-11 passing for 221 yards. His TD tosses went to Bryant, Jaden Arnold and Jameson Ransburg. Peyton Collins had a running touchdown. Arnold caught five passes for 164 yards. Moreau Catholic amassed 425 yards of total offense yards. Del Norte (9-2), the No. 4 seed, eked out a 13-12 win over Kelseyville in the quarterfinals. During the regular season, Del Norte thumped Skyline 48-0 and defeated Oakland Tech 13-7. – Mike Lefkow