Football Recap: Branham Comes Up Short

Branham lost against Santa Teresa back in October of 2024 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The Bruins took a 59-49 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Saints. While losing is never fun, the Bruins can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 287th, while the Saints are ranked 115th).

Michael Murphy

Rushing Yards

10/31/25 @ Santa Teresa	260
10/23/25 vs Live Oak	230
10/16/25 @ Christopher	160
10/09/25 vs Lincoln	109
09/26/25 @ Piedmont Hills	122
+ 2 more games

When it comes to explaining why Branham lost, don't look at Michael Murphy. Despite the final result, he rushed for 260 yards and three scores while picking up 8.4 yards per carry. Murphy's rushing production has been exceptional as that marked his seventh straight game with at least 109 rushing yards. Another player making a difference was Andrew Ho, who threw for 220 yards and three touchdowns.

Leading Santa Teresa to victory were Salvador Guerrero and Jaylen Malcom. Guerrero rushed for 163 yards on only 15 carries, while Malcom gained 185 total yards. Those 163 rushing yards gave Guerrero a new career-high. Santa Teresa also got a significant boost from Brian Caldwell, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 85 yards.

Branham has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost three of their last four games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 5-4 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 36.5 points over those games. As for Santa Teresa, their victory bumped their record up to 9-0.

Branham has already played their next contest, a 31-27 loss against Leigh on the 7th. As for Santa Teresa, they also didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next matchup, a 35-28 win against Lincoln on the 7th.