Bay Area Blitz: 10 top games, 10 picks, 10 takes

A year ago, Anthony Smock kept pleading to Serra (San Mateo) High School football coach Patrick Walsh: "I want to play quarterback, I want to play quarterback."

So each week, almost cruelly so, Walsh obliged. Smock, all 5-foot-8, 160-pounds of him, was the scout team QB/tackling dummy.

"He's just get decimated by the first-string defense," Walsh said. "Annihilated. But the kid just kept picking himself up. Never complained. Unflappable. Tough, great kid."

Last week against Buhach Colony-Atwater, when starting senior quarterback Matthew Fa'aita was knocked from the game with a shoulder injury, Smock was thrown into the fray again, but only this time it counted.

He completed 10 of 18 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns in a 48-15 win. "Anthony is always ready and willing and definitely in this case able," Walsh said.

With Fa'aita still out, Smock will need to be able again Friday in one of the biggest games of the Bay Area regular season when the fourth-ranked Padres (2-1) play No. 3 Bellarmine (San Jose) (3-0) in a West Catholic Athletic League opener at San Jose City College.

Walsh isn't expecting another nearly 200-yard passing night against the Bells, who have won two straight WCAL titles and defeated Serra seven straight times.

Bellarmine has owned the WCAL the last two seasons by playing sound, mistake-free, ball-control football while getting big plays down the stretch from big-play quarterbacks.

In 2011, it was Travis McHugh and last season K.J. Carta-Samuels, who returns as Bellarmine's undisputed leader and playmaker. The 6-foot-4, 205-pounder who has committed to Vanderbilt accounted for all four touchdowns in a 28-25 win over El Cerrito to start the season.

"He might put up bigger numbers in another offense but he's all about his team," Walsh said of Carta-Samuels. "In their double wing offense it's about getting everyone involved. But he'll step up and make all the big plays in crunch time."

That's something Smock needs to worry about, Walsh said. Handing the ball to guys like Kava Cassidy (296 rushing yards), Kelepi Lataimua (153) and Kevin McGee (132) will largely be his job. Or get the ball in the flat to probably the team's best all-around athlete Hamilton Anoa'i.

And letting a fast and physical defense, led by linebacker Daniel Lavulo and safety Kavapele Maka, do the rest.

"(Smock) can't get caught up in trying to do too much," Walsh said. "Last week, me managed the game, made the proper reads and made some really good throws. That's what we're looking for again."

The Padres are hoping to avoid a repeat from last year, when two losses to Bellarmine each came down to one play. They lost 35-34 in overtime on a failed two-point conversion during the regular season.

Then in the Central Coast Section Open Division semifinals, Cassidy was stopped at the 1 on a 4th-and-3 play in the final seconds of a 17-12 defeat to end the season.

"But that was last year," Walsh said.

When Smock was the scout team quarterback.

MORE WCAL: It is widely recognized as the best high school football league in Northern California and one of the top three in the state.

Sacred Heart Cathedral coach Ken Peralta calls it "the SEC" of prep football leagues.

The other WCAL openers are Riordan (2-1) vs. No. 5 Mitty (3-0) at Foothill College on Friday, and No. 10 St. Francis (3-0) at St. Ignatius (0-3) and Sacred Heart Cathedral (2-1) at No. 14 Valley Christian (2-1) on Saturday.

The WCAL ended its nonleague schedule on a high note last week with two blowout wins against highly touted opponents. Serra defeated Buhach Colony, and visiting Valley Christian (San Jose) ran past then-No. 11 Milpitas 48-24.

With five of the region's top 14 teams, the league appears particularly top heavy. But Valley Christian coach Mike Machado coach says you can't ignore the unranked San Francisco schools.

Defending Central Coast Section Open champion St. Ignatius lost three competitive games to teams with a combined 12-1 record. SHC is on the rankings cusp. Riordan, with two decisive wins over AAA teams but a 49-7 loss to St. Mary's-Berkeley, is looking to break a 19-game WCAL losing streak.

"You let up for a second preparation-wise in this league and it will come back and bite you," Machado said. "Every week is a dogfight."

10 top games, 10 picks

#9 California (San Ramon) (3-1) at #19 Amador Valley (Pleasanton) (4-0), 7 p.m. Friday – This series has tilted heavily toward California the past three seasons but should even out thanks to Amador Valley's opportunistic defense and the rushing of Michael White. Predicted score: California 35, Amador Valley 28.

Menlo (Atherton) (3-1) at #23 McClymonds (Oakland) (3-1), 7 p.m. Friday — An intriguing small-school cross-bay game features the high-scoring offense of Menlo and highly-touted quarterback Jack Heneghan against the much faster Warriors, which boasts one of region's top junior running backs Lavance Warren. Predicted score: McClymonds 35, Menlo 28.

Miramonte (Orinda, Calif.) (4-1) at #12 Campolindo (Moraga) (5-0), 7 p.m. Friday — Pass-heavy Miramonte, led by QB Drew Anderson (1,359 passing yards, 11 touchdowns), went to the ground last week and Ray Clark delivered with 252 yards in a 35-0 win over Dublin. Campolindo's secondary is always stout. Predicted score: Miramonte 21, Campolindo 20.

Montgomery (Santa Rosa) (3-1) at #20 Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) (3-1), 7 p.m. Friday — The quarterback position is vital in any game, but in this one particular. Cardinal Newman signal-caller Keaton Dunsford is one of the Bay's best and playing at the top of his game. Montgomery is without injured starter Elijah Higgs. Predicted score: Cardinal Newman 35, Montgomery 14.

#4 Serra (2-1) vs. #3 Bellarmine (3-0) at San Jose City College, 7 p.m. Friday — Serra's advantage is size and speed. Bellarmine has reigning WCAL Player of the Year in quarterback K.J. Carta-Samuels and history on its side. Predicted score: Serra 21, Bellarmine 20

#7 Deer Valley (Antioch) (4-0) at Vacaville (2-2), 7:30 p.m. Friday — Deer Valley will need roughly 400 total yards from dual-threat QB Nsimba Webster to defeat a tough Vacaville team that already has a win over No. 14 Valley Christian. Predicted score: Vacaville 35, Deer Valley 28

#16 Milpitas (2-1) at #22 Wilcox (Santa Clara) (3-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday — Both teams have potent running games led by college-bound backs in Wilcox's Delshawn Mitchell and Milpitas' Squally Canada. But Wilcox doesn't have a game-breaking receiver like Tre Hartley, who has five touchdowns in the past two games. Predicted score: Milpitas 22, Wilcox 21

#10 St. Francis (Mountain View) (3-0) at St. Ignatius (San Francisco) (0-3), 2 p.m. Saturday — Records indicate a blowout, but nothing could be further from truth. This one should be tight throughout though St. Francis' vaunted defense should carry the Lancers through. Predicted score: St. Francis 21, St. Ignatius 10.

#1 De La Salle (Concord) (5-0) vs. Servite (Anaheim) at Santa Ana Bowl, 7:30 p.m. Saturday — Arizona State-bound running back Dasmond Tautalatasi returns after a three-week absence with a dislocated elbow for De La Salle, which embarrassed Servite 48-8 in the 2010 Open Division CIF State Bowl game. Predicted score: De La Salle 42, Servite 21.

Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) (2-1) at #14 Valley Christian (San Jose) (2-1), 7 p.m. Saturday — SHC's defense must contain the potent rushing tandem of Kirk Johnson and Mark Quinby. Predicted score: Valley Christian 35, Sacred Heart Cathedral 28.

10 takes

1. Not all big games come from big schools.

Calistoga running back Dylan Alvarado rushed 31 times for 404 yards and seven touchdowns in a 55-28 win over visiting Emery on Friday, giving him 1,095 yards and 14 touchdowns on the season for the 5-0 Wildcats. "He's quick and he's strong," Calistoga head coach Paul Harrell told the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat. "He just never quits."

2. In fact, some of best, come in small candy-like packages.

Analy (Sebastopol, Calif.) junior running back Ja'Narrick James, all 5-foot-4, 145 pounds of him, rushed for four touchdowns in the first half of his team's 44-14 win over Sonoma Valley. He scored on runs of 55, 3, 4 and 3 yards and now has eight rushing scores on the season, despite being slowed by an ankle injury. His nickname is "Skittles."

3. I don't think Joe Mixon is (permanently) headed to Washington.

Mixon, the state's top uncommitted recruit from Freedom (Oakley,), visited Washington over the weekend after he scored five touchdowns in the first 18 minutes of a 48-21 win over Castro Valley. He finished with 298 yards rushing and six touchdowns. His other college finalists are Cal, Oregon, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. We can't imagine the weekend wind-and-rain storm in Seattle helped Washington's cause

4. Antoine Custer needs to gain carries, not lose them.

I think De La Salle's Tautalatasi is tremendous. I thought, at times, he was a more impressive running back last year than record-breaking running back Pepe Vitale. But however many more touches he gets, I hope they don't take away from Custer, one of the more exciting sophomore running backs around. Between those two and leading rusher John Velasco, the Spartans are stacked. And they have a couple behind those two, including Hernandez, who are impressive as well.

5. Foothill (Pleasanton) will score 50 for a fourth time this season tonight.

Not going out on a huge limb here, but the Bay Area's No. 6 team has scored 50 or more in three of four games and plays a Monte Vista-Danville squad that has given up 140 in four games.

6. El Cerrito quarterback Keilan Benjamin should be entertaining Division I offers.

Yes, he's small. About 6-foot, 175 pounds. But he is a game-changer. Out of all the Division I athletes on the Gauchos, Campolindo coach Kyle Macy said they spent almost their entire week of preparation trying to figure out ways to contain the dual-threat quarterback. Benjamin threw four touchdown passes to four different receivers last week.

7. Clayton Valley Charter (Concord) put all of its competitive marbles in one basket.

Opening at De La Salle showed a huge amount of gumption, but since the 18th-ranked Eagles (3-1) played teams with a current combined 1-9 record and Friday they play 0-4 Hayward. Since De La Salle: Clayton Valley 170, opponents 13.

8. I think I've vastly under-rated Logan (Union City) this season.

With so many skill players gone, and another killer schedule, I thought the No. 15 Colts would struggle here especially in the early going. Very nice coaching job by George Zuber and staff.

9. JaJuan Lawson is worth traveling to Petaluma to watch.

The Casa Grande (Petaluma) quarterback — much like I gushed about Webster last week — is an explosive threat much in the mold of Webster and Benjamin, but a better passer. He was just undefense-able in big win over Montgomery last week, rushing for 185 yards and two scores.

10. Having seniors means everything in high school sports.

Especially third-year seniors. Doesn't Galileo (San Francisco) coach Mark Huynh know it. He has eight of them, including star quarterback Kyle Nelson, running back Ronzel Fox and receiver/cornerback Dontell Jackson. That's why the Lions (3-1) are the only team with a winning record in the AAA and appear the favorite heading into league play.