The San Mateo Bearcats will head out on the road to challenge the King's Academy Knights at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
As a matter of fact, San Mateo put up the most points they have all season on Thursday. They enjoyed a cozy 35-21 victory over Mountain View.
Jovani Hernandez Cruz
| 10/09/25 @ Mountain View | 124 |
| 09/19/25 @ Palo Alto | 39 |
| 09/12/25 vs Aragon | 58 |
| 09/06/25 @ Menlo School | 83 |
| 08/29/25 vs Los Altos | 51 |
| + 7 more games |
San Mateo's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jovani Hernandez Cruz, who rushed for 124 yards and two TDs. That's the most rushing yards Hernandez Cruz has posted since back in September of 2024. Lukas Fitzgerald helped out on the ground, rushing for 126 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter and that's exactly how it played out for King's Academy on Thursday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew Burlingame out of the water with a 45-7 final score. The result was nothing new for the Knights, who have now won five contests by 28 points or more so far this season.
King's Academy's win came from a few key players San Mateo will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Ricky Gutierrez, who threw for 261 yards and three touchdowns on only 19 passes. He has been hot recently, having posted three or more passing touchdowns the last three times he's played. Drew Martinez helped Gutierrez out on the ground, rushing for 97 yards and one score on only 12 carries.
King's Academy's run defense was locked in: Burlingame could only muster 1.9 yards per carry. The team can thank Justin Turner for the heroic effort on defense: he. That's the most yards per carry they've managed all season.
King's Academy didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Jaiden Flores, Adrian Barnett, and Turner picked up one apiece. Turner got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
San Mateo is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 4-2 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 31.3 points over those games. As for King's Academy, their record is now 5-1.
San Mateo was dealt a bruising 42-14 loss at the hands of King's Academy when the teams last played back in November of 2019. Can the Bearcats avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
