By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
Week 1 of the California high school football season had its share of upsets and near misses. Birmingham lost its opener to Crespi while Grant fell at Bakersfield. However the biggest near miss came in Southern California where Santa Margarita nearly knocked off St. Bonaventure, the No. 1 team in the state according to Cal-Hi Sports.
Here's a look at the results of the Top 10 Games to Watch.
1. St. Margaret's (San Juan Capistrano) 35, Mammoth (Mammoth Lakes) 6
Harry Welch's debut as the St. Margaret's coach was a successful one, as the Tartans upped their win streak to 15 in a row. Welch, who had a 46-game win streak as head coach of the Canyon Cowboys in the 1980s, took over as head coach at St. Margaret's this year after leading Canyon to the CIF Division 1 Bowl Game championship last year over De La Salle (incidentally, Oaks Christian won its 47th straight game over the weekend to break Canyon's Southern Section record for consecutive wins). Hunter Steffien ran for three touchdowns to lead St. Margaret's, which plays Maranatha this week, a team it defeated in the Northeast Division championship game last year.
2. Valley Christian (San Jose) 53, San Lorenzo Valley 0
The Warriors needed a big win to shake off the doldrums of 2006 and work their way back to championship form. A 53-0 rout of San Lorenzo might have done the trick. Cameron Marshall had three touchdown runs, including one for 58 yards.
3. Bakersfield 28, Grant (Sacramento) 21
The Pacers' 13-game win streak came to an end after the Drillers scored a late touchdown for a 28-21 win. Bakersfield gave Grant its toughest test last year, losing 14-7 in the season opener to the Pacers. Grant went on to go 13-0 with one of the top-scoring teams in the state. The Drillers scored the winning touchdown in the final two minutes and then got an interception to seal the win, according to the Sacramento Bee. Marselius Williams ran 20 times for 139 yards for Grant.
4. Serra (San Mateo) 41, Buchanan (Clovis) 7
The Padres easily defeated Buchanan 41-7 (see story) to set up this week's showdown with De La Salle.
5. Mission Hills (San Marcos) 20, El Camino (Oceanside) 14
The Grizzlies fell behind early after El Camino's Nelson Rosario caught an 85-yard touchdown pass. But Mission Hills slowly worked its way back into the game and took the lead in the third quarter en route to the 20-14 win. Eddie Nuckols, a 300-pound running back/defensive lineman scored one of the touchdowns for the Grizzlies. Rosario had a big night for El Camino, catching six passes for 144 yards, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.
6. Carlsbad 20, St. Augustine 3
The Lancers had little trouble with St. Augustine, overcoming a 3-0 deficit with three unanswered touchdowns over the final three quarters of play. Although RB Nick Pascarella and QB Justin Morales were the more hyped players in the Carlsbad backfield, it was junior David Cisneros who came through with a 56-yard touchdown run and finished with 115 yards rushing.
7. Sutter 38, Live Oak 7
What was expected to be a close game between two teams favored to win section titles turned into a rout in favor of the Huskies, who avenged a shutout loss to the Lions from last year with a 38-7 victory.
8. Crespi 20, Birmingham 6
It was a good news, bad news scenario for the Crespi Celts in their 20-6 win over Birmingham, the top-ranked team from the Los Angeles City Section. The Celts got a win over a highly-ranked opponent, but they also lost quarterback Kevin Prince to injury. The extent of Prince's injury was not known following the game, however he did not return after going down in the first quarter with a possible knee injury. Birmingham All-American candidate Milton Knox had 144 yards rushing and a touchdown; however he also had a fumble at the 2-yard line, which Crespi's EJ Woods returned 95 yards for a touchdown that solidified the win. Lonnell Jones had a 98-yard kickoff return for Crespi and Austin Shanks had three interceptions on defense for the Celts.
9. St. Bonaventure 15, Santa Margarita 14
The Seraphs needed a two-point conversion run by Darrell Scott with 37 seconds remaining to defeat Santa Margarita, which led 14-0 with 3 minutes, 54 seconds left in the game. The Seraphs scored on a 1-yard run by Tony Macarena with 2:06 remaining in the game. Macarena then hit Blayne Lewis with the second touchdown in the final minute. The Eagles limited Scott, who ran for 3,194 yards last season, to just 75 yards on 16 carries, according to the Orange County Register.
10. Centennial (Corona) 38, Dominguez 17
In a battle of two of the top-rated teams in California, the Centennial Huskies got the best of the Dominguez Dons, winning 38-17 on a 213-yard rushing effort by senior Ryan Bass. One of the leading returning rushers in the state from last year with 2,351 yards, Bass ran 24 times and scored a pair of touchdowns in the win. According to the Long Beach Press Telegram, Centennial also got a solid effort from defensive players Shelly Lyons, Brandon Magee and Vontaze Burfict, along with Will Sutton and Anthony Whitlow, to shut down the Dominguez attack.