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After the pandemic-related disruptions of the past year, it’s been a welcome sight to see an almost normal prep football season unfolding this fall.
Almost normal.
A handful of games have been postponed or canceled due to the coronavirus, or in the first week of the fall season, on account of poor air quality. And then there’s the anxiety many programs wrestle with during the week, waiting for COVID tests to come back, hopefully negative, so that week’s game can go on as scheduled.
When a program gets hit with postponements on more than one occasion it must feel unfairly singled out. Such is the case with Los Altos, which had its game with Fremont canceled last Friday due to positive COVID tests at Fremont.
“I got a call Friday at 3, positive tests at Fremont, the game was off,” Los Altos coach Dave DeGeronimo said.
That was the second scheduled game Los Altos had called off. Plus the team’s season opener at Independence was halted in the second quarter due to poor air quality.
“Most teams have played 20 quarters of football,” DeGeronimo said. “We’ve played 9 ½. I feel bad for the kids. They’ve been working hard every day.'”
The Eagles are officially 1-2, receiving credit for the win against Independence, a game they were leading 10-0 in the second quarter. The Fremont game has been rescheduled for Monday, Oct. 18 and the Week Two San Lorenzo Valley game for Saturday, Oct. 23.
Here’s a look at this week’s games:
Mountain View at Wilcox, Friday 7 p.m.
The Spartans (4-1, 1-0) have passed several tests already this season. But this will be by far their biggest challenge.
Wilcox has been at the top of the SCVAL De Anza Division standings and one of the best teams in the Central Coast Section for a number of years. The Chargers might only be off to a 1-4 start this season, but a look at the murderer’s row of teams they’ve lost to — Valley Christian, San Benito, Pittsburg and Los Gatos — gives an indication of the extremely high competitive level they are accustomed to engaging.
“They’re not afraid of anyone, they’re the best 1-4 team around,” Mountain View coach Shelley Smith said. “Just wait until CCS comes around. They’ll be in contention to win a CCS title.
“We need to force them into mistakes, force them into throwing. And we’ve got to control the ball on offense. We can’t go three and out. This will be a huge challenge for us. I like our team, we’ve got some confidence and we’ll do our best.”
Wilcox lost its De Anza Division opener last week to Los Gatos.
“Los Gatos looks like the cream of the crop with Wilcox right behind,” Smith said. “Paly has a lot of firepower. Are we in that category? I don’t know.”
Some answers should be forthcoming Friday.
Palo Alto at Homestead, Friday 7 p.m.
The Vikings (3-2, 1-0) are coming off a 63-point explosion against Santa Clara. Homestead (2-2) had its bye last week. Head coach Milo Lewis spent his Friday night in the stands at Paly scouting his next opponent.
“He gets his kids to play hard, they never give up,” Palo Alto coach Nelson Gifford said. “They’re a Wing-T team with two big tight ends. We need to start fast and continue to do what we did against Santa Clara, take the ball away and score offensively.”
Baseball is the main sport and probable future pursuit for Palo Alto quarterback Danny Peters. But he’s coming along in football. He threw five touchdown passes against Santa Clara and has eight the last two weeks, in addition to running for two more.
“He’s starting to feel it,” Gifford said. “He’s starting to get it.”
Menlo-Atherton at Oak Ridge, Friday 7 p.m.
The Bears added Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills to their schedule after a game with Placer of Auburn was canceled.
M-A is coming off a not soon to be forgotten 30-27 win in overtime over McClymonds. Oak Ridge is 2-3 with losses to Sacramento-area powers Folsom and Granite Bay, and is coached by Casey Taylor, who built a NorCal power at Del Oro of Loomis.
“We’ll be going into a hostile environment,” M-A coach Chris Saunders said. “It will be a difficult challenge, but this year is all about new challenges for our team.”
Like against McClymonds, a game Saunders, the team’s offensive coordinator as well as head coach, missed due to emergency oral surgery.
“(Quarterback Matt MacLeod) ended up calling a lot of the plays,” Saunders said. “The most impressive thing I’ve ever seen from a high school kid.”
Scouting report on Oak Ridge:
“They’re 50-50 run-pass, multi-formations,” Saunders said “They move and motion and shift and change receiver splits and run a big variety of plays out of different formations. Everybody on offense touches the ball.
“Our focus will be on how we start the game. McClymonds came out and punched us right in the face. And we’ve got to clean up our penalties.”
Saratoga at Gunn, Friday 7 p.m.
Gunn (3-1) is coming off a bye to play its El Camino Division opener. Saratoga went 0-4 in non-league play before winning its El Camino opener 31-14 over Monta Vista.
“They changed from the spread to the Wing-T,” Gunn coach Jason Miller said. “They play at a slow pace and a 3-5 defense, all the things we’re known for. Saratoga has a lot of pride. They’re trending upward and we’re trending upward. It should be interesting.
“We can’t let Saratoga control the line of scrimmage. They’re probably telling the same thing to their team that we’re telling ours.”
Los Altos at Monta Vista, Friday 7 p.m.
The Matadors have non-league wins over Mills and Burton of San Francisco. Quarterback/tailback Greyson Mobley has rushed for 872 yards and nine touchdowns in five games.
“They’ve played five games,” DeGeronimo said. “For us it’s just about execution, eliminating mistakes. We need to get our offense going. Our defense is playing well.”
Mills at Sequoia, Friday 7 p.m.
This is the PAL Lake Division opener for both teams. Sequoia goes in 1-3, Mills 0-3.
“I want to see us playing solid football for four quarters,” Sequoia coach Rob Poulos said. “We haven’t done that yet. And Mills beat us the last time we played them.”
That was a 33-27 loss in 2019, a season in which Mills went 8-3. Last spring Mills was unable to field a varsity team.
Woodside at San Mateo, Friday 7 p.m.
San Mateo dropped down from the PAL Ocean to the Lake after going 0-5 last spring. Now the Bearcats are 4-0 and looking like a team that should have moved up, rather than down.
“They do a good job with their triple option, getting guys out in space with room to run,” Woodside coach Justin Andrews said. “If you get a bad read they will make you pay. I still expect us to compete well and make it tough for them to run.”
Woodside (1-3) has a win over Rancho San Juan and losses to Silver Creek, Aragon and Cupertino heading into its Lake opener.
“Now we can’t be inexperienced any more,” Andrews said. “It’s a whole new season. Shut up, go out and play.”
Sacred Heart Prep at Burlingame, Friday 7 p.m.
Every game the Gators have played has had a one-touchdown or less final margin. They’ve lost three in a row, St. Ignatius (13-7), Mountain View (24-21) and Hillsdale (20-13), by a combined margin of 16 points.
Andrew Latu leads SHP in rushing with 233 yards, 6.7 yards per carry and three touchdowns. Luis Mendoza has rushed for 185 yards and Zach Freire 183. Jack Herrell has thrown for 568 yards with three TDs and one interception.
Burlingame (4-0) is off to its best start in years and has outscored its opponents by a combined 109-26. Normally a run-oriented offense, the Panthers are making liberal use of the forward pass this season. They are averaging 116 yards per game rushing and 151 passing.
Sacred Heart Cathedral is a common opponent. The Gators beat SHC 28-21 in the season opener. Burlingame won 17-7 in its third game of the season.
St. Francis vs Sacred Heart Cathedral at Kezar Stadium, Friday 7 p.m.
The Lancers (3-0, 1-0) had their first game of the season canceled due to poor air quality and then proceeded to score 109 points in three games while allowing 28.
All 28 points allowed were scored by De La Salle in the historic 31-28 St. Francis victory.
St. Francis opened WCAL play with a 33-0 win over St. Ignatius. Sacred Heart Cathedral is 0-4, but has played competitively in all four games. Last week the Irish gave Valley Christian a scare before losing 27-21.
Jefferson at Menlo School, Saturday 2 p.m.
Menlo opens PAL Ocean Division play following a bye last week and four very impressive non-league outings.
Menlo is averaging 45.8 points per game and allowing 7.5. Sergio Beltran completed 81 percent of his passes over Menlo’s first three games with 17 touchdowns as opposed to one interception. He also rushed for 179 yards and 13 yards per carry.
Jefferson is 2-1 with wins over Lincoln of San Francisco and Castlemont. Terra Nova is a common opponent, a team Menlo beat 15-6 and Jefferson lost to 40-0.
“We’re really banged up, so the bye week came at a good time,” Menlo coach Todd Smith said. “Jefferson will put number 7 (Dylan Camp) in the Wildcat and try to hit you on the edges. They’ve got some home run hitters on offense and will give us their best shot.”
