Bay Area high school football roundup: Best of Week 9 action

There were blowouts — lots of blowouts — in Week 9.

There were also surprises as a last-second field goal lifted St. Ignatius past Archbishop Mitty and Burlingame edged Half Moon Bay.

De La Salle rolled, as did Clayton Valley Charter.

In one of the big games of the weekend, Los Gatos pulled away from Wilcox in the second half to win by three touchdowns. 

Our roundup has details and/or links to all those games.

Check back every Saturday for scores, highlights and top performers, updated throughout the day.

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On to the roundup …

Ranked teams

No. 2 Pittsburg 62, Freedom 0   

After a dominating win at home over Freedom in a Bay Valley Athletic League game, Pittsburg is one win from clinching its fourth consecutive league title. The Pirates had seven rushing touchdowns, with Elijah Bowe leading the way with four. Cameron Clanton, Jaden Rashada and Marley Alcantara (twice) also ran for scores. Rashada also threw a touchdown to Rashid Williams. Pittsburg (7-1, 3-0) will travel to play Heritage next Friday. Freedom (2-5, 0-3) will play host to Antioch on Friday. – Jesús Cano  

No. 3 De La Salle 41, Monte Vista 3

De La Salle intercepted five passes, returning two for touchdowns, as the Spartans breezed to a victory at home to improve to 5-3. Johnathan Guerrero intercepted a pass to set up De La Salle’s second touchdown and then returned an interception 67 yards for a TD that made it 28-0 in the second quarter. After the third touchdown, De La Salle’s Kaleo Augustin was injured on the ensuing kickoff and taken by ambulance to a hospital after receiving medical attention on the field for several minutes. Augustin walked to the stretcher on his own before being put in the ambulance, De La Salle’s broadcasters told viewers on the internet stream. Cooper Flanagan’s interception early in the first quarter led to a short TD run by Dylan Greeson for a 7-0 lead. Charles Greer’s 25-yard run widened the advantage to 14-0 and Toa Faavae’s 9-yard quarterback keeper stretched the lead to 21-0 with two minutes left in the first quarter. Robert Santiago completed the scoring when he took back an interception 86 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. The game ended with a running clock. Friday, De La Salle travels to Amador Valley and Monte Vista (2-6) will play host to Clayton Valley. — Darren Sabedra

St. Ignatius 24, No. 10 Archbishop Mitty 21

One week after a dramatic fourth-quarter surge propelled Mitty to a victory over Bellarmine, the Monarchs were unable to do the same against St. Ignatius. After Mitty pulled even 21-21 at Foothill College when Ty Yoshida, filling in for injured Wills Towers, connected with Danny Scudero in the corner of the end zone from 3 yards out with 4:38 left, St. Ignatius answered. The Wildcats got into scoring range and won when Cooper Lucey kicked an 18-yard field goal with a second left. St. Ignatius was coming off a 10-0 loss last week to rival Sacred Heart Cathedral in the Bruce-Mahoney game. The victory improved SI’s record to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the WCAL. Mitty fell to 6-2, 3-2. Next Friday, SI will play host to top-ranked Serra and Mitty will visit Valley Christian. — Darren Sabedra

No. 11 Clayton Valley 49, No. 16 California 14

Clayton Valley’s Christian Aguilar threw for 331 yards passing on 18-of-21 passing and two touchdowns and the Ugly Eagles ran for five TDs as they cruised at home past California in East Bay Athletic League Mountain Division play. Clayton Valley is 5-3, 3-0. California fell to 5-3, 1-1. Check out Joseph Dycus’ game story here.

No. 12 San Ramon Valley 24, Amador Valley 14

The Wolves (6-2, 1-1 EBAL Mountain) charged to a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter but were unable to put away their stubborn visitors from Amador Valley (4-4, 0-3). John Pau Mendoza sandwiched touchdown runs of 7 and 2 yards around a 13-yard scoring pass from QB Luke Baker to Trevor Scott as San Ramon Valley threatened to turn the game into a rout six minutes before halftime. But Amador Valley made it 21-7 with less than a minute left until intermission, then it scored again with four minutes to go in the third quarter, cutting SRV’s lead to seven points. It remained 21-14 until the final minute of play, when Austin Shelton kicked a 40-yard field goal to give the Wolves some breathing room. Baker’s TD toss was his 25th of the season. Eight have gone to Scott. Amador Valley has fallen on hard times after starting the season 4-1. The Dons have lost all three of their EBAL Mountain games, and next Friday they host De La Salle. Amador Valley might need to win one of two remaining games to be assured of a bid to the North Coast Section playoffs. The Dons host California in their regular-season final on Nov. 5. — Mike Lefkow

Burlingame 29, No. 13 Half Moon Bay 27

Daniel Hilt’s 17-yard touchdown run with just under six minutes left broke a 21-21 tie and Dylan Kall’s interception completed the upset as Burlingame, playing on the road, defeated Half Moon Bay in a PAL/SCVAL Bay Division game. The score was even 14-14 at halftime and Half Moon Bay led 21-14 heading to the fourth quarter. Burlingame improved to 4-4, 2-2. Half Moon Bay fell to 6-2, 2-2. Next Friday, Burlingame will play host to Menlo School and Half Moon Bay travels to Aragon. — Darren Sabedra

No. 24 Live Oak 42, No. 19 Lincoln-San Jose 14

Jordan Fuentes ran for 258 yards and accounted for four touchdowns as Live Oak, playing on the road, rolled past previously undefeated Lincoln-San Jose on Thursday to take sole possession of first place in the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s Mt. Hamilton Division. Live Oak is 7-1, 3-0. Lincoln fell to 7-1, 2-1. Joseph Dycus has the details here.

No. 20 Sacred Heart Cathedral 30, No. 23 Bellarmine 17

Three-star linebacker RL Miller was the difference in this West Catholic Athletic League game, returning two interceptions for touchdowns as the Irish improved to 3-2 in league play and 5-3 overall. Miller is rated the 129th-best player in California’s senior class by 247sports. He remains committed to Arizona State despite what will be a coaching change next season. Bellarmine (3-5, 2-3) lost for the third time in a row. The Bells led 10-2 five minutes into the second quarter, but SHC closed to 10-8 on a 64-yard touchdown run by Kendric Sanders, then Miller’s first pick-6 put the home team ahead 15-10 at the half. Bellarmine struck first early in the third period to go back in front 17-15, but the Irish scored the game’s final 15 points, including another interception return for six by Miller. — Mike Lefkow 

East Bay

Concord 14, Alhambra 7   

Holding on to a one-touchdown lead, Fabian Lopez and Jose Ortiz combined for a sack to cause a turnover on downs and help Concord escape with a Diablo Athletic League Valley road win over Alhambra. Sean Murphy scored a 14-yard touchdown run and Monte Beam, who eclipsed 1,000 yards last week, rushed for a 50-yard touchdown to put Concord up 14-0 at halftime. Daniel Delgado connected with Jacob Alderman for a touchdown pass in the third quarter for Alhambra. Concord (7-1, 2-1) will play host to Berean Christian next Friday. Alhambra (3-5,1-2) will head to Concord to play Ygnacio Valley. – Jesús Cano

De Anza 26, Pinole Valley 20

Julien Oupaxay had a big night on both sides of the ball in visiting De Anza’s win over Pinole Valley in a TCAL Rock game. Oupaxay ran for 96 yards and a touchdown while also recording eight tackles. Gino Casias had 167 passing yards and connected with Julius Harrison, who also had five tackles and an interception. Jabril Akbar led with 12 tackles, Terrell Powell had eight tackles and Isaac Williams had six tackles and three sacks. Next Friday, De Anza (5-3, 3-0) will play host to El Cerrito. Saturday, Pinole Valley (3-4, 1-2) will play Bethel in Vallejo. – Jesús Cano

Heritage 49, Deer Valley 18

Heritage scored 42 unanswered points by the midway point of the second quarter in Thursday night’s Bay Valley Athletic League win over visiting Deer Valley. Fresno State-bound Devon Rivers scored five touchdowns. This was the fifth team this season Rivers, who had 154 yards on 13 carries, has scored at least four touchdowns in a game. Austin Peters completed 6 of 9 passes for 119 yards and one touchdown to Jeremiah Ruffin. Deer Valley’s Coby Fosselman ran in for a score and threw touchdown passes to Carlos Perez and Ivan Padilla. Heritage (6-2, 2-1) will play host to Pittsburg next Friday. Deer Valley (0-8, 0-3) will head to Brentwood to play Liberty. – Jesús Cano

Mt. Eden 27, Washington-Fremont 24

Jacob Gastrock provided huge plays in two different phases of the game as Mt. Eden (5-3, 2-1) edged visiting Washington (4-4, 0-3). Gastrock made things difficult for Washington’s spread offense from his free-safety spot, and also scored the game-winning touchdown on an 85-yard kickoff return. Mt. Eden halfback Marcus Jones had two rushing touchdowns, and quarterback Kyree Fudge found the end zone on a scramble. Mt. Eden coach Paul Perenon said linebacker Andres Viernes racked up at least 10 tackles. Mt. Eden travels to Berkeley next Friday, and Washington will visit Moreau Catholic. – Joseph Dycus 

Oakland Tech 38, Castlemont 20

The Bulldogs (6-1, 2-0) are one step closer to what seems to be an inevitable showdown against McClymonds for the Oakland Athletic League crown. Castlemont (3-4, 1-1) put up a fight, but the Knights simply had no answer for Omar Staples, who had five sacks as a pass-rusher and a receiving touchdown as a tight end. Offensive linemen Zachary Mohamed, Kai Ikeda and Aaron Walker cleared the way for Anthony Alonzo, who ran for two touchdowns and caught another from strong-armed quarterback Makai Waqia. Samuel Towns also had a rushing touchdown. Next Friday, Oakland Tech hosts Oakland and Castlemont travels to Skyline. – Joseph Dycus

South Bay/Peninsula/SF

Branham 42, Independence 22

William Augenstein had another huge game as Branham improved to 7-1 overall and 3-0 in BVAL Santa Teresa-Foothill Division play with a victory on Thursday at Independence (1-7, 0-3). The quarterback threw for 180 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 172 yards and a TD. Jack Lewis also scored a touchdown and Elias Antillion ran for 99 yards in 11 carries for Branham, which travels to Piedmont Hills on Friday before closing out the regular season at home on Nov. 3 against Pioneer. Independence will also be on the road Friday to face Silver Creek. — Darren Sabedra

Carlmont 38, Jefferson 8 

The Scots (4-4, 1-3) kept things simple in their first league win of the season, having quarterback Jack Wiessinger throw all of three passes against Jefferson (1-7, 0-4). His one completion went for a one-yard touchdown to Juan Olivera. Senior running back John Hanna ran for 173 of the team’s 248 rushing yards and had three touchdowns. Halfback Rich Smith ran for another touchdown. Linebacker Matt Abiezzi had a couple of sacks and two tackles for loss as well. Next Friday, Carlmont plays host to Hillsdale and Jefferson will be at home to meet Terra Nova. — Joseph Dycus 

Piedmont Hills 20, Gilroy 7

Piedmont Hills snapped a six-game losing streak, winning the BVAL Santa Teresa Foothill Division game in a mild upset. The Pirates improved to 2-6, 1-2. Gilroy is 4-4, 1-2. Piedmont Hills led 13-0 at the half, scoring in the first quarter on a 4-yard run by quarterback Raymond Heredia, then adding to the lead when Heredia threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Angel Maciel. The visitors cut the lead to 13-7 in the third quarter, but the Pirates made it a two-score game with 10 minutes left in the contest when Heredia found Maciel again, this time from 8 yards out. Madison Viray-Jones booted her second extra point of the evening to conclude the scoring. The 5-foot-3 junior has eight extra points this season. “We haven’t scored a lot of points,” said Pirates coach Matt Kiesle, whose team is averaging 16.5 points per game. It has been a frustrating season for Piedmont Hills, with three of its defeats by eight points or less. — Mike Lefkow

Sequoia 54, Santa Clara 22  

Sequoia continued its undefeated season with a PAL/SCVAL El Camino home win over Santa Clara. Quarterback John Larios rushed for two touchdowns and connected with Robert Oda, Luke Hitch and Jack Elgaaen for TD passes. Santa Clara’s Jordan Crockett had a rushing touchdown and Luke Rowell had a pick-six. Jacob Jensen caught a touchdown pass from Matthew Conklin, who also ran in for a score. Orlando Lewis also scored for the Bruins. Friday, Sequoia (8-0, 4-0) will play host to The King’s Academy and Santa Clara (2-6, 1-3) will be at home to face Gunn. – Jesús Cano

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