Bay Area high school football roundup 2023: Best of Week 10 action
De La Salle tops Monte Vista, San Ramon Valley routs Foothill, St. Francis edges Riordan, Live Oak stays unbeaten with a victory over Oak Grove.
Welcome back to the Bay Area News Group’s high school football roundup.
Here, you’ll find all the details from the weekend’s action in this news organization’s coverage area, which encompasses teams that play in leagues based primarily in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
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On to the roundup …
Ranked teams
No. 1 Serra 24, No. 4 Valley Christian 13
In a season filled with blowouts, Serra held just a 14-13 lead on the road against Valley Christian late in the third quarter in this West Catholic Athletic League game. Then quarterback Maealiuaki Smith threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Kyon Loud, making it 21-13 with 1:27 left in the third period. That was followed by a 31-yard field goal by Thomas Gooch with 8:18 left. Serra improved 9-0 overall and 6-0 in the WCAL with one game remaining next Friday at home against St. Ignatius. Valley Christian fell to 5-4, 2-4. Mike Lefkow has more details here.
No. 2 De La Salle 31, Monte Vista 7
Dominic Kelley rushed for a touchdown from near the goal line and Jaden Jefferson followed later in the first half with a 62-yard scoring run to put visiting De La Salle on top 14-0. The Spartans went on to a comfortable victory on the road in Danville to improve to 7-2. Monte Vista fell to 4-5. Finn Sepic’s 23-yard field goal stretched DLS’s advantage to 17-0 and Derrick Blanche’s short run made it 24-7 in the third quarter. Next Friday, De La Salle closes out the regular season at home against Clayton Valley and Monte Vista will visit San Ramon Valley. – Darren Sabedra
No. 3 San Ramon Valley 45, Foothill 14
Luke Baker threw for five touchdowns and 350-plus yards to lead SRV to a one-sided victory at home in EBAL Mountain play. Owen Scott scored on two TD receptions and Marco Jones plowed into the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 1. Dominick Camera intercepted a pass as SRV’s defense held Foothill in check for much of the game. SRV (8-1, 3-0) finishes the regular season at home on Friday against Monte Vista. Foothill (1-7, 0-3) closes its season on Friday at California. – Darren Sabedra
No. 11 St. Francis 27, No. 5 Archbishop Riordan 20
Kingston Keanaaina rushed for 133 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries and a defense led by the Cahoon brothers, Jackson and Chase, at linebacker, Afoa Tuua on the line and Mack Mrowka in the secondary kept visiting Riordan off the scoreboard down the stretch to win in WCAL play. Joseph Dycus has more details here.
No. 9 Los Gatos 24, No. 10 Wilcox 21
Boxer Kopcsak-Yeung scored on a 7-yard run with 23.5 seconds left to cap a 79-yard, two-minute drill drive as Los Gatos edged host Wilcox to claim at least a share of the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division title. The Wildcats can win the championship outright with a victory next week against Menlo-Atherton. Kopcsak-Yeung also returned a blocked punt for a TD. Darren Sabedra has the complete recap here.
No. 18 Acalanes 34, No. 19 Las Lomas 14
Jack Giorgianni rushed for all 83 of his yards in the fourth quarter to key a punishing Acalanes ground game as the Dons handed Las Lomas its first loss of the season. Trevor Rogers, Jake Boselli and Gavin Bender each had one interception as Acalanes stayed unbeaten in DAL Foothill play in a game that was closer than the final score indicated. Joseph Dycus was in Walnut Creek and has the full story.
No. 24 Live Oak 28, Oak Grove 10
Luke Newell threw two touchdown passes and Zach Rocha had a big game as Live Oak remained undefeated Thursday with the win over Oak Grove. Newell completed 8 of 11 passes for 144 yards. He had scoring passes of 6 yards to Austin Jennings and 66 yards to Tanner Holeman. Rocha blocked a field goal that was returned for a touchdown by Christian Hauge and also had 12 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble. Josh Gagni scored on a short run for Live Oak’s other touchdown. With the win, Live Oak (8-0, 4-0 BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division) stays on track for a showdown with the Mt. Hamilton Division title at stake next Friday at Christopher, which has also yet to experience a defeat this season. “A great matchup,” Live Oak coach Mike Gemo said. “It’s always been a good, hard-fought rivalry game.” Oak Grove (3-6, 1-3) concludes its regular-season schedule on Friday at home against Santa Teresa. – Glenn Reeves
East Bay
Livermore 17, Dougherty Valley 7
Kamarri Robinson followed up last week’s 534-yard rushing performance with 115 yards and two TDs on the ground against Dougherty Valley in an EBAL Valley victory. Robinson has 1,917 rushing yards this season. Livermore coach John Wade said the stars Friday were on defense, led by lineman Xavier Thorpe and defensive back Nate Moniz, who was exceptional at both cornerback and safety. Next Friday, Livermore (5-4, 2-1) closes out the regular season by playing host to Granada and Dougherty Valley (2-7, 0-3) will travel to Dublin. — Joseph Dycus
Berkeley 76, Mt. Eden 6
Berkeley scored 42 points in the first quarter in an MVAL/WACC Mission Division game that its coach, David Perry, said had a running clock for the entire second half. Deontae Faison threw for five touchdowns and rushed for another and Cahlil Snead caught two TD passes to help lead the way. Jalen Harris hauled in one touchdown and Kamren Bell ran for a TD and was on the receiving end of another. Adonis Cunningham-Wheeler, Nate Garland and Drew Henderson rushed for one TD each, and PJ Jataafa returned a punt for a score. Jin Jones had three sacks and defensive backs Robbie Jones and Leon McDaniels anchored a secondary that did not allow a completed pass. Berkeley (6-3, 4-0) plays host to Irvington on Friday, and Mt. Eden (0-9, 0-4) will visit Encinal on Saturday. — Joseph Dycus
South Bay/Peninsula
Branham 35, Silver Creek 28
Jack Lewis completed 20 of 28 passes for 235 yards as Branham clinched a CCS playoff spot and no worse than a tie for the BVAL Santa Teresa-Valley Division title with a victory on the road over Silver Creek. Lewis threw for two touchdowns and ran for another. Glenn Reeves has the game story here.
Del Mar 39, Gunderson 25
Del Mar rallied from a 17-0 halftime deficit on Thursday to stay perfect in BVAL West Valley play. The outcome sets up a win-or-go-home matchup against Prospect next week for the division’s one automatic CCS playoff spot. Andrew Fernandez’s 85-yard TD pass to Terreon Hunt and Marquise Hall’s 11-yard rushing touchdown helped build Gunderson’s lead. But in the second half, Del Mar’s senior quarterback Andre Latimore rushed for five touchdowns and the majority of his 267 yards to author a comeback. Bradley Tavish ran for 157 yards and a TD and Maarcus Hogans ran for 84 yards for Del Mar (6-3, 6-0). After allowing 25 unanswered points, Gunderson briefly tied the score with another Fernandez touchdown pass to Hunt late in the third quarter. Latimore put Gunderson away in the fourth with two rushing TDs. Gunderson (4-5, 4-2), which is eliminated from playoff contention, visits Yerba Buena on Friday. — Joseph Dycus
Overfelt 68, Mt. Pleasant 0
It was all Overfelt in this BVAL Santa Teresa-Valley Division matchup on Thursday as the host Royals got a huge game from QB Gabe Martinez, who completed 14 of 19 passes for 465 yards and six touchdowns. Walter Smith reeled in eight receptions for 263 yards and five TDs. He also intercepted a pass and returned a fumble 90 yards for a TD. John Stowers carried 10 times for 111 yards and a touchdown and Taylor Gordon had two receptions for 110 yards and a TD. Jeremiah Lara led the defense with four sacks. Overfelt improved to 5-4, 2-2. The Royals finish their regular-season schedule at home Friday against Sobrato. Mt. Pleasant (3-6, 0-4) wraps up its season at home Thursday against Willow Glen. – Darren Sabedra