Welcome to the Bay Area News Group (Mercury News & East Bay Times) roundup of the best action in high school football from the first weekend of the CCS and NCS playoffs. Check back every Saturday for scores, highlights and top performers from the weekend’s games, updated throughout the day.
Central Coast Section
Division I
No. 1 St. Francis 56, No. 8 Aptos 28: If ever the final score didn’t tell the full story, it was Friday night at St. Francis. The top-seeded Lancers were deadlocked in the fourth quarter with upset-minded Aptos in the opening round of the CCS Division I playoffs. But over the final nine minutes, St. Francis pulled away. Vytas Mazeika was in Mountain View and has the complete story here.
No. 3 Bellarmine 34, No. 6 Los Gatos 27: With the score tied in the final minute and Los Gatos on the verge of scoring the decisive points, defensive back Thomas Di Vittorio intercepted a tipped pass by linebacker Brandon Broch and returned it 94 yards for a touchdown that lifted Bellarmine into the CCS semifinals next weekend. Darren Sabedra was in Los Gatos and has all the details here.
No. 5 Menlo-Atherton 35, No. 4 Salinas 31: Menlo-Atherton rallied from a 14-0 first-quarter deficit behind the arm of senior quarterback Matt MacLeod, who threw four touchdown passes and for nearly 400 yards. He went over 3,000 passing yards for the season. “We played a really good game,” M-A coach Chris Saunders said. “We played situations really well. We did the small things. There was good decision-making by our quarterback.” The Bears, who have won nine in a row after opening the season with two losses, scored four touchdowns in the second quarter and were on top 28-21 at halftime. Cal-bound receiver Jeremiah Earby had two TD catches in the period and had over 100 yards in receptions for the game. M-A stretched the lead to 35-21 in the third period, then withstood a Salinas rally over the final 12 minutes. Salinas lost for the first time this season. Jalen Moss had 100 yards in receptions, and Dane Fifita contributed 100 yards receiving and another 100 rushing yards. Menlo-Atherton will play at top-ranked St. Francis next Friday night. — Mike Lefkow
Division II
No. 1 San Benito 31, No. 8 Burlingame 28, OT: Burlingame led 14-0 at halftime, but San Benito rallied and the game went back and forth until the Haybalers prevailed. Ryan Kall, Lukas Habelt and Elijah La Guardia all had rushing touchdowns for Burlingame (8-3), and the Panthers’ other touchdown occurred on a 75-yard pass from Charlie Koch to Kall. Burlingame, which is 23rd in the Bay Area News Group rankings, had two touchdowns called back. Next Friday, San Benito (9-1) will host the winner of Saturday’s first-round game between No. 5 Half Moon Bay (5-4) and host No. 4 Menlo (10-0). — Phil Jensen
Division III
No. 1 Leland 27, No. 8 Scotts Valley 9: The host Chargers led 18-9 at halftime and didn’t look back as they advance to next Friday’s semifinals. Noor Haroon had a TD reception from Nate Wright and also scored on a two-point conversion on Leland’s first series for an 8-0 lead. Then teammate Mark Eby scored on a 70-yard screen pass from Wright. Scotts Valley (9-2) cut Leland’s lead to 15-9 before a 26-yard field goal by Cade Whitson with no time left on the clock gave the Chargers a nine-point advantage entering halftime. Eby reached the end zone on a 6-yard touchdown run in the second half, and Leland’s final two points came via a safety. The Chargers (9-2) will host No. 4 Christopher (6-5) next Friday. It is a rematch of the 2017 Division IV championship game, which Christopher won 24-7. — Phil Jensen
Division IV
No. 4 Santa Teresa 45, No. 5 Pioneer 42, 3 OT: A short field goal by Miguel Herrera lifted Santa Teresa to a thrilling triple-overtime victory at home over Pioneer in the CCS Division IV playoffs. Phil Jensen has the story here.
North Coast Section
Open/Division I
No. 1 De La Salle 49, No. 8 James Logan 13: In one of several mismatches in the opening round of the NCS playoffs, De La Salle built a 49-3 halftime lead on its way to advancing to next week’s Open Division championship game at home against No. 2 seed Pittsburg. The DLS-Pittsburg loser will play for the Division I championship a week later against Clayton Valley Charter or California. AJ Bianchina, Luke Dermon and Zeke Barber each ran for a touchdown for DLS. Dermon completed 6 of 10 passes for 123 yards and two TDs, one to Cooper Flanagan and one to Michael Freeman. For Logan, Marcus Sanders was 21 of 34 passing for 202 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. De La Salle improved to 9-2. Logan finished 6-5. — Darren Sabedra
No. 2 Pittsburg 69, No. 7 Amador Valley 7: It was 7-7 in the second quarter after Amador Valley’s Brian Walrath returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown. The rest of the game was all Pittsburg. As expected, the Pirates rolled on their home field to set up next week’s Open Division championship game at De La Salle. Charles Brown ran for two touchdowns and Jaden Rashada threw two touchdown passes to lead the Pittsburg offense. Middle linebacker Jakobe Harmon made his presence felt on defense. “He should have been the defensive MVP (in the league) and he showed tonight,” Pittsburg coach Victor Galli said. “He had a big sack and like 14 tackles.” The Pirates improved to 8-1. Amador Valley ended its season 4-7. — Darren Sabedra
No. 5 California 48, No. 4 Monte Vista 21: Macray Madruga intercepted a pair of passes, one in which he returned 58 yards for a touchdown and a second that set up a 36-yard scoring strike from Teddy Booras to Josh Shavies, as California advanced to the NCS Open/Division I semifinals. Jerry McDonald has the details here.
Division II
No. 4 Campolindo 38, No. 5 Dublin 28: Campolindo held the ball for nearly the entire fourth quarter to keep Dublin at bay and secure a 38-28 victory in the opening round of the NCS Division II playoffs on a chilly Friday night on Campolindo’s home turf. Shayna Rubin was in Moraga and has the recap here.
Division III
No. 4 El Cerrito 40, No. 5 Acalanes 32: El Cerrito raced back from a 26-6 first-half deficit to stun Acalanes. The Gauchos (9-2) scored near the end of the first half to make it 26-13, then dominated after intermission. Quarterback Aaron Miles hit Donovan Lewis with a deep pass to set up the Gauchos late first-half score, then Robert Freeman went in on a short pass from Miles. El Cerrito’s comeback continued in the third quarter. Miles scored from 45 yards out on a sweep, then Antonio Hines scored on a 40-yard run to make it 27-26 EL Cerrito. Acalanes, which finished the season 6-5, got the lead back one more time before the Gauchos added two touchdowns, one right at the end of the game. Hines scored the go-ahead touchdown, then Freeman picked off an Acalanes pass in the final seconds and took it to the house for the final touchdown. Up next for El Cerrito is a visit to D-III top seed Windsor. Acalanes finishes the season at 6-5. — Mike Lefkow
No. 3 Benicia 43, No. 6 Casa Grande 20: The visiting Panthers led 16-12 at halftime but scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to pull away in this first-round NCS game. Benicia (8-3), which is No. 20 in the Bay Area News Group rankings, had two players score two touchdowns apiece in the win. Janari Boone scored both of the Panthers’ first-half touchdowns on runs of 9 and 21 yards. He finished with 63 yards rushing. Tyson Wallace reached the end zone on a four-yard run in the third quarter as Benicia took a 23-12 lead. Khalani Sandoval sprinted for touchdown runs of 41 and 68 yards in the fourth quarter, finishing with 125 on only seven carries. Guardian Harper added a 76-yard scoring run for Benicia’s final touchdown. Casa Grande finished 8-3. The Panthers will travel to face league rival Las Lomas in a semifinal next Friday. Last week, Las Lomas beat Benicia 35-21. — Phil Jensen
