By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
St. Francis of Mountain View and Crespi of Encino both pulled off their second big upset win of the season with the Lancers knocking off the Serra Padres and the Celts dropping nationally-ranked St. Bonaventure. Those are two of the big wins in this week's Top 10 Games to Watch Recap.
St. Francis 13, Serra 10
The Lancers pulled off their second upset of the season with a 13-10 win over the Padres. St. Francis scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter and held Serra without a point in the second half to pull off the win. St. Francis also upset Oak Grove the first week of the season and has now defeated the two teams that were regarded as the top two teams in the Central Coast Section at the beginning of the season. Sam Scudellari threw a touchdown pass to his brother Nick. Kamron Fariba scored the touchdown in the fourth quarter to give St. Francis the lead.
Bullard 27, Central 20
Bullard remained undefeated on the season and handed Central its first loss with a 27-20 victory. The win also keeps the Knights ranked No. 1 by the Fresno Bee. Clifton Rogers had a big night, rushing for three touchdowns on runs of 5, 2 and 13 yards. Rogers gained 179 yards on 29 carries to lead all ballcarriers, however it was Evan Klein who had the clinching score when he ran in from the 4 in the fourth quarter.
Birmingham 30, Dorsey 10
Milton Knox had one of his best games of the season, rushing for 176 yards on 22 carries with four touchdowns in the Patriots 30-10 win over Dorsey. Jonathon Franklin had 114 yards on 19 carries for the Dons, according to the Los Angeles Times. Birmingham won its fourth straight game (4-1) while Dorsey fell to 2-2.
Novato 24, Marin Catholic 10
The Hornets rallied from a 10-3 halftime deficit with 21 unanswered points in a 24-10 victory over Marin Catholic. Ian Von Tellrop had the key play when he intercepted a screen pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown that gave Novato a 17-10 lead. Kyle Campas and Jose Mendez combined for 176 yards, according to the Marin Independent Journal, with Mendez scoring the final touchdown for the Hornets. The win keeps Novato unbeaten at 4-0.
San Ramon Valley 23, Amador Valley 13
The Wolves used solid defense and a big outing by quarterback Joe Southwick to get past the Dons 23-13. See Story.
Crespi 25, St. Bonaventure 9
The Celts pulled off their second upset of the season with a 25-9 win over nationally-ranked St. Bonaventure. Crespi limited Seraph all-american running back Darrell Scott to 129 yards on 19 carries and no touchdowns, ending his streak of 200-yard rushing performances at three. Austin Shanks paced the Celts on offense as he carried 30 times for 148 yards and caught three passes for 113 yards. He scored on runs of 29 and 3 yards and caught a 78-yard scoring pass. The Celts, who also defeated highly-ranked Birmingham early in the season, are 4-1 with their only loss coming against Centennial of Corona, the No. 2 ranked team in the nation according to MaxPreps.com.
Bakersfield Christian 47, Sage Hill 0
In a battle of unbeaten teams, Bakersfield Christian easily defeated Sage Hill 47-0, shutting down the state's leading passer in the process. The Eagles (5-0) limited Jamie McGee, who had 1,247 yards passing and 17 touchdowns entering the game, to 9 of 34 attempts for 134 yards and no touchdowns. He also threw his first two interceptions of the season. Christian Taylor had five touchdowns to lead the Bakersfield Christian attack.
Big Bear 28, San Jacinto 8
The Bears returned to their winning ways with a convincing 28-8 win over San Jacinto. Kris Proctor ran for 76 yards and two touchdowns for the Bears while Jesse Ceron caught a touchdown pass from Proctor and also had a rushing touchdown. The loss was the first for San Jacinto, which fell to 4-1. Big Bear, which had won 17 in a row prior to last week's loss to Citrus Hill, is also 4-1. San Jacinto was ranked No. 1 in the Division by the Southern Section and Big Bear was No. 3.
Venice 41, Oaks Christian 35
Prior to the 2007 season, Oaks Christian had not lost a single game in nearly four years. In the past two weeks, the Lions have lost twice, including a 41-35 loss to Venice. Oaks Christian was unable to stop Curtis McNeal, who ran for three touchdowns and also had the gamewinner on a 35-yard interception return in the final minutes of the game. Although Oaks Christian led 28-16 at halftime, the Gondoliers scored three times in the final three minutes to pull off the victory.
Lutheran 31, Los Alamitos 8
Lutheran handed Los Alamitos its first loss of the season with a 31-8 victory. Blake Hyepock and Blake Ayles hooked up for a pair of touchdowns with Hyepock completing 16 of 20 passes for 179 yards. Lutheran stays unbeaten at 5-0 while Los Alamitos falls to 3-1.