By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
A battle of unbeatens in the Northern Section, along with a showdown between small school powers Patterson and Central Catholic in the Sac-Joaquin Section, highlight this week's Top 10 Games to Watch.
Pleasant Valley vs. Foothill
A battle between the top two teams in the Northern Section will likely determine the Eastern Athletic League championship as well as the No. 1 seed for the Division 1 playoffs. The Cougars (8-0) were the preseason Division 1 favorite after going 11-1 last year and losing in the championship game. Pleasant Valley (8-0) has steadily improved throughout the season under first-year coach Bill Haley with young players like juniors Erik Hoffman (quarterback) and Brandon Nickas (running back) leading the way. The Johnston twins, Cole and Kyle, lead the Cougars on offense with Cole throwing for 318 yards and rushing for of 500. Kyle has run for 648 yards and scored 90 points.
Patterson vs. Central Catholic
This game will give a good indication of which team might qualify for the NorCal Division 3 bowl berth. Patterson is a Division 2 team at the state level, but it is a Division 5 team at the Sac-Joaquin Section level. Meanwhile Central Catholic is ranked No. 2 in the Division 3 bowl rankings by CalPreps, but it must win a section title in order to qualify for a bowl berth. The Raiders, who are the defending Division 5 champions, will find out difficult the road to another section title will be with tonight's game against Patterson. The Raiders will have to stop junior quarterback Daniel Reza, who has 929 yards on the season, but has thrown for over 200 yards on three occasions this year. Central Catholic counters with standout running back Louis Bland, who has run for 1,009 yards and scored 17 touchdowns this year. Patterson will try to stop Bland with league MVP linebacker Keith Yamamoto, who leads the team with 75 tackles on the season. Both teams can put points on the board as they both scored over 60 points in wins last week.
El Diamante vs. Hanford
Since losing in the second week of the season, El Diamante has been on a roll. The Miners have scored 41 points or more in six straight games, all wins, and have scored at least that many points in seven games. The only blemish is a 30-17 loss to Clovis West. Meanwhile Hanford has come on strong the past month, winning four games in a row after starting the season 1-3. Bullpup quarterback Tyson Perez has been the key, throwing for over 200 yards in six games this year while ranking among the leaders in the state with 1,846 yards on the season. He had his best game last week, throwing for 278 yards and four touchdowns on just 12 completions. The Miners have an explosive running attack, led by Earl Rhodes and David Palacios.
Taft vs. Bakersfield Christian
The Eagles head into the final two weeks of the season with the two biggest threats capable of ending their perfect regular season. At 8-0, Bakersfield Christian's losest game this year was 30-20 win over Arvin. Last week, BC ripped Wasco 45-7. Taft enters tonight's game with a 7-1 mark, with the only blemish a loss to Tehachapi, 17-3, two weeks ago. The Wildcats have a solid rushing attack, led by Kyle Taylor's 741 yards on the season along with 432 yards by Dalton Botts and 422 yards by Ricky Romo. The Eagles have Jake Peterson, who has thrown for 1,534 yards on the season. The Eagles also have one of the state's leading kickers in Josh Gallington, who has 37 extra points and seven field goals.
College Park vs. Las Lomas
The Knights, 7-0, are making believes out of the rest of the Diablo Foothill League. With seven straight wins to start the season, Las Lomas is poised to win the league title, but must beat the second, third and fourth place teams in the league over the following three games in order to capture the crown. Up first is College Park, which is in second place in the standings and has a 6-1 overall mark. The Falcons lost a 46-41 shootout to Acalanes, but has won its last two games, including 42-14 over Northgate last week. Las Lomas has scored at least 48 points in five games this year before playing a close game against Miramonte last week, winning 21-14.
Vacaville vs. Napa
In a showdown for supremacy in the Monticello Empire League, the Vacaville Bulldogs (7-0) face one of their toughest tests of the season tonight against Napa. The Indians have just one loss on the season, a 37-26 loss to Granite Bay in week two. The Bulldogs defeated Granite Bay the following week and are the No. 1-ranked team in the Sac-Joaquin Section by MaxPreps. Napa has some superior athletes in John Boyett and Jake Croxdale. Boyett moved from receiver to quarterback this year and has thrown for 880 yards. Croxdale, meanwhile, has 943 yards and 20 touchdowns. Vacaville has, perhaps, the best running back in the section in Terrance Dailey, who has run for 1,310 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Rocklin vs. Del Oro
The last two unbeaten teams in the Sierra Foothill meet tonight in a game that could effect the NorCal Division 2 bowl rankings. The Golden Eagles of Del Oro are the No. 6 teams in the CalPreps rankings and could move up with a win over 7-0 Rocklin. After winning comfortably the first five games of the season Del Oro has won a pair of close ones lately, including a 16-13 win over previously unbeaten Roseville and a 14-7 win over 2-5 Woodcreek. The Thunder made some noise two weeks ago when they shut out a strong Granite Bay team 33-0. Del Oro quarterback Cole Sanders leads the league in passing with 1,115 yards while running back Hunter Pahl is tied for the scoring lead with 90 points.
Citrus Hill vs. Notre Dame Riverside
It won't be hard for Citrus Hill (7-0) to figure out Notre Dame's game plan - give the ball to Kenjon Barner. No running back in the state has carried the ball than Barner, who has 233 attempts in seven games. He had a phenomenal two-game stretch against Twentynine Palms and Big Bear when he carried 49 times in one game and 51 in another, both among the all-time best performances in state history according to the Cal-Hi Sports Record Book, while running for 596 yards. His best single game came two weeks ago when he ran a mere 29 times for 369 yards and five touchdowns. Barner added six more touchdowns last week and has 25 on the season. Barner ranks second in the state in rushing yardage with 1,660 and second in scoring with 156 points. Citrus Hill is ranked No. 1 in the East Valley Division with Notre Dame (5-2) holding down the No. 3 spot.
St. Margaret's vs. Sage Hill
The holder of the longest winning streak in California at 21 straight games, St. Margaret's enters Academy League play with its toughest test so far, 6-1 Sage Hill. The Tartans are coming off a 70-20 win over Western Christian, and have had just one close game all year, a 14-0 win over Calvary Murietta. Sage Hill's only loss is to Bakersfield Christian, but the Lightning have won two straight since, including a thrilling 36-35 win over Linfield Christian. Sage Hill has one of the top passers in the state in Jamie McGee, who has thrown for 1,951 yards and 24 touchdowns with just two interceptions.
Bellarmine vs. Riordan
This matchup was a lot more appealing two weeks ago when Riordan was looking like it might be in the running for a bowl berth. However the Crusaders lost to St. Francis last week while the Bells (7-0) continue to roll. The Crusaders will have to stop Usua Amanam, who is averaging close to 130 yards rushing per game. Riordan counters with the pass-catch combination of Darius Bell and Danny Cannon. Bell has thrown for 1,168 yards on the season while Cannon has caught 36 passes for 763 yards and seven touchdowns.