Bay Area blast: San Ramon Valley rebounds from ultimate loss

The resounding victory - 67-30 at Buhach Colony on Friday - only begins to tell the story of the football team at San Ramon Valley (Danville, Calif.).

The Wolves, who lost 28-24 at home to the same Sac-Joaquin Section power last season, first had to endure a laborious Labor Day weekend bus ride to Atwater.

"It seemed particularly long," San Ramon Valley coach Mark Kessler said.

Buhach Colony opened the game with a double-reverse pass for 50 yards, setting up a quick touchdown. "Good play call," Kessler said. "They definitely tricked us."

San Ramon Valley then lost a fumble on its first possession, and the 2013 season was off to a rocky start.

"But we overcame and settled down," Kessler said. "We got back to what we do best: power football."

Marcus de la Pena, a bullish 6-foot-2, 205-pound junior tailback, rushed 28 times for 210 yards and four touchdowns. The quarterback duo of Zach Baker and Matt Winaker performed well, particularly Winaker, who completed 13 of 16 passes for 171 yards while accounting for three scores.

"Getting a win in hostile territory after a long bus ride was great," Kessler said. "We overcame a lot."

Most of all, the players rebounded from an emotional setback following the death of their classmate, 17-year-old senior golfer Robert Orlando, who was killed in a car accident Aug. 26.

"We played with heavy hearts all week," Kessler said. "The kids really leaned on each other. It's a great testament to what being on a football team really means."

The Wolves have a bye this week. Orlando's funeral is Tuesday. "We're going to spend the week reflecting and enjoying (Orlando's) life," Kessler said.

Opening-week highlights from around the Bay:

* Jack Stephens, the younger brother of three-year Campolindo (Moraga) starter Brett Stephens, completed 18 of 27 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns in a 40-26 win over Heritage-Brentwood. Campolindo trailed 19-3 early.

* Moreau Catholic (Hayward) running back Jason Hinton (5-11, 195) showed why he's considered one of the top junior recruits in the state by rushing for 305 yards and three TDs in a 42-11 win over Mount Diablo-Concord.

* Alex Hull returned back-to-back punts 33 and 68 yards for touchdowns, leading surprising Liberty (Brentwood) to a 50-30 win over Concord in Jeff Walters' coaching debut.

* Alhambra (Martinez) junior Ciozanne Foster not only rushed for 143 yards and two scores, but he blocked a potential game-winning extra point in the waning moments of his team's 41-41 tie with College Park-Pleasant Hill.

* Dougherty Valley (San Ramon, Calif.) broke a 16-game losing streak in a big way with a 38-6 win over MVAL favorite Newark Memorial behind quarterback Umar Farooqas.

* Namane Modise and Demeryah Lane combined to rush for 395 yards in Castro Valley's 57-56 overtime upset at Monte Vista-Danville. Castro Valley coach Nic McMaster not only decided to go for a two-point conversion to win it, but also called on quarterback Kevin Galvan to complete a pass - something he hadn't done in regulation. He did so to Nicholas Alfaro, completing the victory.

"I've made mistake of being too conservative in the past and not trusting my team," McMaster said. "They rose to the occasion."

* Analy (Sebastopol, Calif.) coach Daniel Bourdon called his team's 37-21 upset of visiting Pittsburg as the biggest win in school history.

* Oakland Athletic League power McClymonds (Oakland) started the new Michael Peters coaching era with a 62-6 win over Highlands.

Saturday bliss: Hard to imagine a better full opening week of football than Saturday, when six of Bay Area's top seven teams will be involved in three games.

No. 1 De La Salle (Concord) visits No. 7 Serra (San Mateo) and No. 5 St. Ignatius (San Francisco) hosts No. 2 Marin Catholic (Kentfield) at 1 p.m. and No. 3 El Cerrito hosts No. 4 Bellarmine (San Jose) at De Anza-Richmond at 7 p.m.