Video: Top 5 California Games of the Week WCAL showdown between Serra and Valley Christian among Golden State's best.
For once, De La Salle did not win — but then again, the Spartans had a bye. Teams have 11 weeks to play 10 regular-season games, and De La Salle had a breather as it readies for another march to the North Coast Section finals.
The West Catholic Athletic League will crown its champion on Saturday in San Mateo when No. 3 Serra hosts No. 4 Valley Christian, and No. 24 Paradise looks to go to 10-0 a year after wildfires devastated its town and region.
And just like the deadly Camp Fire did last year, the Kincaid Fire in Sonoma County is destroying homes and causing scheduling issues as the battle to save lives and property takes precedent over sports. The North Coast Section came out Wednesday and gave teams the option of playing their final regular season games next week should the fire plaguing Northern California make it impossible to play this week.
MaxPreps NorCal Top 25 high school football rankings
Anthony Hartnett, Serra (San Mateo)
Photo by Dennis Putian
North Coast
League: East Bay
Coach: Justin Alumbaugh
Update: The Spartans had a bye. De La Salle's unbeaten streak against NorCal teams north of Fresno is 306 (with two ties). De La Salle also this season has a 42-27 win over No. 2 Folsom. The Spartans are 391-5-2 against NorCal opponents since 1984. They have won 27 consecutive North Coast Section crowns and have been to a record 12 successive CIF State finals (those games started in 2006) and 10 in succession in the elite Open Division.
Next: vs. Clayton Valley Charter, Friday
2. (2) Folsom, (8-1)Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Coach: Paul Doherty
Update: The two-time defending CIF State Division I-AA champion Bulldogs, the top-ranked team in this section by The Sacramento Bee, beat Grant 62-17 as
CJ Hutton scored on a 90-yard reception and a 95-yard kickoff return and
Malik Rose had a 78-yard interception return for a score. The loss this season was 42-27 to De La Salle and Folsom's lone loss last season was to De La Salle. Folsom is 134-11 this decade with four CIF State banners, seven section titles, nine league titles and two 14-0 teams that lost to De La Salle in the since-dropped NorCal Open Division finals in 2012 and 2013.
Next: vs. Del Oro, Friday
3. (3) Serra (San Mateo), 8-0Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Coach: Patrick Walsh
Update: Two time CIF Northern California winners in recent years, Serra beat Sacred Heart Cathedral 35-7, but the Padres suffered a major blow with the season-ending loss to injury to quarterback
Daylin Mclemore (broken collarbone). The Padres posted early big wins over St. Mary's, (56-28), Pittsburg (58-21) and Menlo-Atherton (38-13). Serra and Valley Christian are this section's top teams.
Next: vs. Valley Christian, Saturday
4. (4) Valley Christian (San Jose), 8-0Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Coach: Mike Machado
Update: The defending CCS Open Division II champions beat Bellarmine 28-0 as four players scored to set up the WCAL showdown with Serra. A big early win was 23-13 over Wilcox.
Next: vs. Serra, Saturday
5. (5) Inderkum (Sacramento), 9-0Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Capital Valley
Coach: Terry Stark
Update: The Tigers beat Yuba City 35-20 as
Dino Watson had three rushing touchdowns and
Aaron Espero had three interceptions on defense to extend the regular-season winning streak to 37 and league winning streak to 40. Earlier big wins included Elk Grove and Del Oro.
Next: vs. Roseville, Friday
6. (6) Pittsburg, 8-1Section: North Coast
League: Bay Valley
Coach: Vic Galli
Update: The Pirates beat Heritage 29-8 to clinch the league championship over Liberty, which Pittsburg defeated. An early big win was over Wilcox 35-31. The loss was to Serra. Pittsburg is the last NorCal program to defeat De La Salle, doing so in the 1991 North Coast Section finals.
Next: vs. Antioch, Saturday
7. (7) Liberty (Brentwood), 8-1Section: North Coast
League: Bay Valley
Coach: Ryan Partridge
Update: The defending CIF State 1-A champion Lions beat Deer Valley 63-22 after leading 42-0 at the half as
Jay Butterfield and
Jaden Rashada led the way. The loss was to Pittsburg 24-21. Earlier wins were over Cardinal Newman, Clayton Valley Charter, Vacaville and Oakdale.
Next: vs. Heritage, Friday
8. (8) Wilcox (Santa Clara), 6-2Section: Central Coast
League: De Anza
Coach: Paul Rosa
Update: The defending CIF State 3-A champion Chargers were idle. One loss was 35-31 to Pittsburg and the other was to Valley Christian 23-13.
Next: vs. Santa Clara, Friday
9. (10) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills), 7-2Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Coach: Eric Cavaliere
Update: The Trojans beat Granite Bay 34-7 as
Justin Lamson passed for 242 yards and two touchdowns and
Dylan Warfield ran for 127 and two scores. The losses were by three to Folsom and six to Rocklin with wins over Lincoln (41-6) and Vacaville (45-20). Oak Ridge moves ahead of Rocklin based on the much closer loss to Folsom and for soundly beating a Del Oro team (38-15) that just beat Rocklin.
Next: vs. Elk Grove, Friday
10. (11) Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa), 7-1Section: North Coast
League: North Bay
Coach: Paul Cronin
Update: The Cardinals were idle. The loss was 17-13 to Liberty. The lone loss a year ago was to Liberty. This program in the 1970s had the state record for consecutive wins at 47.
Next: vs. Analy, Friday
11. (19) Capital Christian (Sacramento), 6-2Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Capital Athletic
Coach: Casey Taylor
Update: Ranked fourth by The Sacramento Bee behind Folsom, Inderkum and Oak Ridge, the Cougars rolled Rio Americano 61-7 in a game Rio coaches halted before halftime.
Isaiah Bass ran for 154 yards and two scores,
Max Rodarte had 121 all-purpose yards and
Brevin Treadwell scored twice. Coming off a 13-1 section Division III championship season, the big early win was 32-7 over Cosumnes Oaks, which later upset ranked Monterey Trail, 36-35. The losses are to state and national powers Vista Murrieta and Chandler (Ariz).
Next: vs. Vista del Lago, Friday
12. (32) Cosumnes Oaks (Elk Grove), 7-2Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Coach: Andrew Bettencourt
Update: A newer school within the Elk Grove Unified School District, Cosumnes Oaks has come of age with an athletic team headed by quarterback
Anthony Grigsby Jr. that will play Davis for the league championship after beating Jesuit and Elk Grove. An early big win was over Monterey Trail, that school's lone loss.
Next: vs. Davis, Friday
13. (12) Monterey Trail (Elk Grove), 8-1Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Metro
Coach: TJ Ewing
Update: The Mustangs beat Laguna Creek 41-7 to clinch a Metro League repeat as
Otha Williams ran for 160 yards and had three total scores, and
Caleb Ramseur ran for 182 yards. The loss was a 36-35 setback to upstart Cosumnes Oaks. The Mustangs lost to Folsom in the section Division I finals in 2018.
Next: vs. McClatchy, Friday
14. (21) Davis, 8-1Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Coach: Steve Smyte
Update: The Blue Devils beat Franklin 47-21 to put themselves into position to win the program's first Delta title since the mid 1990s.
Brennen Garvin,
Aaron Turner and
Payne Barksdale each scored.
The loss was to Elk Grove 42-35 in a Delta opener.
Next: vs. Cosumnes Oaks, Friday
15. (15) Monte Vista (Danville), 7-2Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Coach: Matt Russi
Update: The Mustangs beat Clayton Valley Charter 31-21 after stopping the Ugly Eagles eight times on fourth down.
Jack Stewardson had three touchdown passes for Monte Vista. Another big win was 15-14 over California. The losses were to De La Salle 49-14 and to Liberty 24-21, undone by a tying field-goal attempt that hit the upright.
Next: vs. San Ramon Valley, Friday
16. (13) McClymonds (Oakland), 7-0Section: Oakland
League: OAL
Coach: Michael Peters
Update: The Warriors of the East Bay beat Fremont 70-0 and have outscored their first three league opponents 168-0. An early big win was 19-7 over Marin Catholic. McClymonds has won two CIF State titles since 2016 with a 12-0 team in 2010, a 12-1 team in 2015 and going 12-2 a year ago.
Next: vs. Oakland, Friday
17. (14) Marin Catholic (Kentfield), 8-1Section: North Coast
League: Marin County
Coach: Mazi Moayed
Update: The Wildcats were idle. The loss was 19-7 to McClymonds. Marin Catholic teams have had teams go 12-1, 14-1, 14-2, 13-1, 12-2 and 12-1 this decade.
Next: vs. Tamalpais, Saturday
18. (24) St. Mary's (Stockton), 5-4Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Tri-City
Coach: Tony Franks
Update: The Rams beat Tokay 59-0 as
Noah May tossed three touchdown passes and
Tyrei Washington ran for 128 yards and two scores to set up a league-championship showdown against Lincoln.
St. Mary's has endured one of the toughest schedules of any program on the West Coast with losses to Pittsburg, Serra, Mission Viejo and De La Salle. The program has had teams win 12, 12, 11, 11, 12, 10, 14 and 11 games since 2007.
Next: vs. Lincoln, Friday
19. (17) Buhach Colony (Atwater), 9-0Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Central California
Coach: Kevin Navarra
Update: The Thunder beat Golden Valley 34-13 as 11 players rushed 40 times for 376 yards and five scores, including two touchdowns from
Youlas Dickson. Buhach Colony's best teams were the 12-1 outfits in 2010 and 2011, though this one is getting into that best-yet argument.
Next: vs. Atwater, Friday
20. (22) Menlo-Atherton (Atherton), 5-3Section: Central Coast
League: Peninsula Bay
Coach: Steve Papin
Update: The defending CIF 3-AA state champions beat Burlingame 42-0 as
Thomas Taufui rushed for 96 yards and two scores. The losses were to No. 2 Folsom 47-0, to Utah power East 49-20 after being up 20-7 and to No. 3 Serra 38-13 at Levi's Stadium.
Next: vs. Aragon, Friday
21. (23) Los Gatos, 8-1Section: Central Coast
League: De Anza
Coach: Mark Krail
Update:The Wildcats beat Palo Alto 29-22 as
Yost Girvan tossed two touchdown passes and ran for one. The loss was to Wilcox.
Next: vs. Mountain View, Friday
22. (29) Del Oro (Loomis), 6-3Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Coach: Jeff Walters
Update: The Golden Egles beat rival Rocklin 21-14 as
Ryan Lewis hit
T.J. Willson for a touchdown pass, and Willson sealed it with a last-second interception.
Sheldon Conde and
Kal Lunders each ran for touchdowns for Del Oro.
Next: vs. Folsom, Friday
23. (9) Rocklin, 6-3Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Coach: Jason Adams
Update: The Thunder lost to rival Del Oro 21-14. The other local loss was to Folsom 42-20 after it was 17-14 in the second half. One SFL win was by six over Oak Ridge.
Next: vs. Granite Bay, Friday
24. (25) Paradise, 9-0Section: Northern
League: Freelance
Coach: Rick Prinz
Update: The Bobcats beat Red Bluff 59-7 as the machine rolls on. This is the feel-good story in all of Northern California as wildfires devastated the town of Paradise but not its spirit. Paradise has five shutouts and has allowed 6 points in two other games. Coach Prinz has another powerhouse brewing and has since 2004 produced six 11-1 teams and two 10-2 teams.
Next: vs. Enterprise, Friday
25. (26) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose), 6-2Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Coach: Sione Taufoou
Update: The Monarchs lost earlier to CCS No. 1 Serra 35-29 and just beat Saint Francis 32-21 as
Shamir Bey passed for 313 yards and a touchdown.
Next: vs. St. Ignatius, Friday
The next 1026. Turlock — 7-2
27. Elk Grove — 6-3
28. Vacaville — 7-2
29. St. Ignatius (San Francisco) — 6-2
30. Half Moon Bay — 8-0
31. Campolindo (Moraga) — 7-2
32. Sutter — 7-1
33. Salinas — 6-1
34. Las Lomas (Walnut Creek) — 8-1
Joe Davidson has covered high school sports for The Sacramento Bee
since 1988. Follow him on Twitter: SacBee_JoeD and on Instagram:
JoeDavidsonMedia
