By Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com
Delton Edwards Jr. couldn't look his father in the eye.
"I couldn't look at him at all," the Pinole Valley junior receiver admitted.
What had Edwards Jr. done that was so shameful?
Crash the car?
Come home late?
Get bad grades?
No, no and no.
He scored a touchdown - a last-second, game-winning touchdown no less.
So why the shun?
Pops was on the opposing sideline.
Delton Edwards Sr. is the head coach for host Oakland Tech, which watched a 19-7 lead finally disappear with Junior's 4-yard TD reception from Derek Crenshaw with 54.7 seconds remaining to give Pinole Valley a 28-26 non-league victory last week.
Edwards Jr., a 6-foot-5, 200-pounder, set up the score with his first reception, a 32-yarder from Crenshaw to the Tech 8. Two plays later, Crenshaw was flushed from the pocket and found Edwards Jr., who made a fine sliding catch.
"I was so happy I really wasn't thinking about dad," Edwards Jr. said. "When I did, I thought about looking over but I couldn't. My teammates told me he was shocked."
That was more, Edwards Sr. said, because Tech (1-2) had squandered the big lead. The Bulldogs actually responded to the score and drove all the way to the Pinole Valley 8. But a offensive pass interference call pushed the ball back and Pinole Valley (3-0), ranked 18th in the Bay Area by yours truly, held on downs.
Afterward, the father and son met at midfield.
"I grabbed him, told him I loved him and that I was glad it was over," Edwards Sr. said. "I didn't give him a bad time about beating his old man until the next day."
Both said they felt unusual pressure all week heading into the game.
Edwards Jr. has lived with his mother in Pinole since his parents divorced approximately a dozen years ago, Edwards Sr. said.
The father and son are extremely close and talk almost everyday, though they hadn't spoke since three days before the game.
"I think we both started focusing on the game real early," Edwards Jr. said. "It was hard."
The younger Edwards said his dad taught him the game, though he never formally coached him.
"I think it's just too awkward coaching your own son," Edwards Sr. said. "Everyone thinks that there's favoritism. It's hard on everyone involved."
Said Edwards Jr.: "He taught me how to throw and catch. He'd sit me down and we'd watch college games and he'd give me pointers how to do things in the games."
That's why Friday's game-winning catch brought on mixed emotions.
"Of course I wanted to win," he said. "But you never want to beat your own dad."
It was strange for Junior considering he grew up around the Tech program and was even a ball boy for the Bulldogs when he was 11.
There was talk of him actually attending Oakland Tech, his father said, but the commute to Pinole was too great.
Edwards Jr., also Pinole Valley's sixth man on its varsity basketball team last season, hopes to play college football. It's his No. 1 sport.
If Pinole Valley, which played without star running back Deante Purvis (hamstring injury), continues to win, he should get more exposure to help pursue that dream.
When the final gun went off Friday, Edwards Jr. said he was on "Cloud Nine," but he tried not to let his dad see it. He didn't even mention the catch when he called his dad Saturday morning.
"We talked a lot about the game," Edwards Jr. said. "He gave me a couple tips on what I could do better, like coming off the line harder."
Edwards Sr., who coached Buffalo Bills running back and AFC Rookie of the Year candidate Marshawn Lynch at Oakland Tech, has another son who should also star in high school.
Ke-Sean Edwards, 10, is a defensive back for the East Bay Warriors, a Pop Warner team that beat Oak Grove-San Jose Saturday morning. Ke-Sean, the half brother of Delton Jr., had five tackles and two sacks.
Dad promises he won't be coaching against Ke-Sean in high school.
"I never want to go through that again," Edwards Sr. said. "Win or lose."
WCAL OPENERS: Most leagues get underway this week, with the most anticipated games taking place in the West Catholic Athletic League.
With bottom teams from last year, San Jose schools Valley Christian, Bellarmine and Mitty, all vastly improved plus Riordan-San Francisco, this figured to be an exceptional year.
Few thought, however, the league would go an accumulative 22-3-1 in non-league play. All seven teams are in our top-25 rankings (see below) - actually all are within the top 22.
"It's better than it's ever been which is saying a lot," Serra-San Mateo coach Patrick Walsh said. "No one is going undefeated."
Right now St. Ignatius, Mitty, Bellarmine and Valley Christian are without a loss. The only three losses were to some pretty good squads: nationally-ranked De La Salle-Concord, Washington state power Archbishop Murphy (Riordan) and Sac-Joaquin Section power St. Mary's-Stockton (St. Francis-Mountain View).
This week's openers are some doozies, though every week will be great match-ups.
On Friday, Mitty plays Bellarmine at San Jose City College and Serra plays at St. Francis. Valley Christian travels to St. Ignatius on Saturday.
RUN NICO RUN: Marin Catholic-Kentfield junior Nico Dumont was one of the most impressive sophomores I've ever seen last year. His season was cut short by an off-the-field incident.
Dumont is running with even more heart this season as he showed last week in a 48-21 road win over Justin-Siena of Napa.
According to Harold Abend, Dumont rushed 29 times for 327 yards including touchdowns of 31, 27, 79 and 15 yards. He fell just short of the school record 332 yards set in 1998 by former Oregon star Allan Amundson.
Dumont will be up against probably the best defense he'll face all season on Saturday when the Wildcats (1-2) take on two-time defending North Coast Section 2A Redwood champion Novato (3-0).
TURNAROUND GAME: Two of the biggest turnaround teams this season face off Saturday in Concord.
Antioch (3-0) plays at Ygnacio Valley (3-0) at 1 p.m. in a game last year won handily by Antioch, 31-7. The Panthers are averaging just below 30 points per game, while Ygnacio Valley, 5-7 last year, has outscored three opponents 129-6.
Granted the combined records of opponents for the two teams is 2-17, but still this game should go a long way at helping to decide the Bay Valley Athletic League title.
NEW TOP 25
1. De La Salle (3-0, last week No. 1) - A 55-0 win over then No. 6 Palma-Salinas shows just how far ahead the Spartans are from the rest of the class. Have a bye this week before traveling to Mission Viejo, which figured to be one of the country's top games. But Mission Viejo was stunned by Vista-San Diego.
2. Vacaville (3-0, No. 2) - Bulldogs won their 14th straight game and avenged its only loss last year with 41-20 win over Granite Bay as Johnny Fester and Terrance Dailey combined for 285 rushing yards and three scores and Marcus McMillan returned an interception 102 yards for another TD. Saturday host Vallejo.
3. Valley Christian (3-0, No. 3) - Warriors took off this week to prepare for Saturday's game at St. Ignatius.
4. Mitty (4-0, No. 4) - Elliot Stewart passed for three scores and Kenny Jackson ran for two more in 42-6 win over a good Salinas team. Friday against sixth-ranked Bellarmine at San Jose City College.
5. Serra (3-1, No. 5) - The Padres are starting to kick it into high gear heading into WCAL play after rolling up 498 rushing yards in 52-31 home win over good Gilroy squad. They'll need to play better defense Friday at arch-nemesis St. Francis-Mountain View. Senior RB DeLeon Eskridge scored three TDs including one with 3.9 seconds left last year to lift Serra to its first win over St. Francis in 34 tries, 21-17.
6. Bellarmine (4-0, No. 15) - After a 26-0 win over San Benito, Bellarmine has outscored its foes by a combined 158-41. Friday's game against Mitty should be a classic.
7. James Logan-Union City (3-0, No. 14) - We've been lagging with Bellarmine and Logan. Both teams have proven to be top-10 material. The Colts shut out a better-than-its-winless-record Berkeley, 27-0. Friday at hungry Pittsburg squad, which showed its better than a 1-2 record with 20-6 win over previous 16th-ranked Deer Valley-Antioch.
8. Los Gatos (2-0-1, No. 8) - Had easy tune-up for Friday's showdown at Palo Alto with 42-7 win over Independence-San Jose.
9. Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa (1-1-1, No. 10) - Joe Ferguson rushed for three scores and Max Pond accounted for 230 yards in a wild 42-39 win over Sac-Joaquin Section power Oakdale. Friday at Rancho Cotate-Rohnert Park.
10. Novato (3-0, No. 11) - Jake Davis caught three TD passes from Jeff Stephens in a 59-0 win over Tamalpais-Mill Valley. The Hornets will have their last tough game until a non-leaguer at Deer Valley in more than a month when they play at Marin Catholic-Kentfield on Saturday. The last time the two teams played there, Marin Catholic romped 48-7 in 2005. Novato, however, got the last laugh beating the Wildcats in the NCS Redwood Empire 2A finals.
11. Foothill-Pleasanton (2-1, No. 12) - The Falcons gave up less than 150 yards in a 31-0 win at Skyline-Oakland. Friday at California-San Ramon.
12. Palma-Salinas (2-0, No. 6) - The Chieftains have allowed more than 900 yards the last two games. We'll need to regroup in a big way Friday at home against undefeated North Salinas.
13. San Ramon Valley-Danville (2-0-1, No. 7) - Had unexpected hiccup in 35-35 tie with Washington-Fremont. Will also need to regroup quickly with Friday home game against No. 15 Amador Valley-Pleasanton.
14. St. Francis (1-1-1, No. 9) - No shame in a tough 20-13 home loss to SJS power St. Mary's-Stockton. Friday hosts Serra.
15. Amador Valley (3-0, No. 19) - Should be well-rested after 61-12 home win over Bear Creek as Dons led 40-0 at halftime. Typical balanced Amador Valley team will get much stiffer test Friday at San Ramon Valley.
16. St. Ignatius (4-0, No. 22) - Wildcats' coach Steve Bluford is showing he's one of best young coaches in the Bay Area, following up last year's first-ever CCS championship season with 4-0 start. With virtually new starting team, St. Ignatius continued to impress with 44-14 win over previous No. 24 St. Ignatius as Chris Viehweg, brother of UCLA distance runner Ciara, accounted for almost 200 yards of offense. First major test is Saturday at home against No. 3 Valley Christian.
17. Monte Vista (2-1, No. 20) - The Mustangs are getting all the kinks out following 48-9 win over Castro Valley as USC-bound Drew McAllister accounted for six touchdowns, four passing. Friday hosts Granada-Livermore.
18. Pinole Valley (3-0, No. 17) - Purvis should be back in Friday's showdown at Berkeley.
19. California (3-0, No. 18) - Cal swept three nonleague games against HAAL squads, including 21-13 win over San Leandro last week. Now the Grizzlies enter rugged EBAL with home game Friday against No. 11 Foothill.
20. Freedom-Oakley (3-0, No. 23) - Anthony Anderson caught two TD passes, giving him four scoring receptions in four straight quarters as Freedom improved to 3-0 for the first time in school history with 34-21 win over Heritage-Brentwood. Friday hosts Clayton Valley-Concord.
21. Oak Grove-San Jose (2-1, 25) - Nevin Gardiner rushed for 112 yards and his team's defense allowed just 107 yards in a 27-7 win at Palo Alto, which ended Oak Grove's season last season. Friday at Live Oak-Morgan Hill.
22. Riordan (2-1, NR) - Darius Bell, brother of UCLA starting running back Kahlil Bell, rushed for 96 yards and passed for three touchdowns in a 21-6 win over Burbank-Sacramento. Crusaders play San Francisco-rival Sacred Heart Cathedral in nonleague game Saturday at Kezar Stadium.
23. Palo Alto (2-1, No. 13) - Defending Northern California D-II champions can't lick wounds as it hosts Los Gatos on Friday.
24. Pittsburg (1-2, NR) - With backs against the proverbial wall, the Pirates showed they are much stronger than record, allowing just 109 yards in impressive 20-6 win over previous No. 16 Deer Valley. Pittsburg won it without its top offensive player, RB Monte Davis as well. Friday hosts James Logan.
25. Deer Valley (2-1, No. 16) - The Wolverines will be a little snippy when it hosts first-year varsity program Heritage on Friday.
Disagree with the rankings? E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com.