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San Francisco high school football roundup: Week 7

St. Ignatius quarterback Soren Hummel (18) readies himself to pass during the Wildcats' 24-0 win over Valley Christian in San Francisco on Oct. 7, 2022. | Courtesy Paul Ghiglieri/St. Ignatius Athletics

The second week of Academic Athletic Association (AAA) football and the third week of West Catholic Athletic League (WCAL) football played out over the weekend.

Balboa, Lincoln and Washington all posted lopsided wins to improve to 2-0 in league play, while St. Ignatius made history with a shutout win over Valley Christian.

Penalties proved to be Sacred Heart Cathedral’s undoing in a loss to St. Francis, while a slow start doomed Riordan to a loss at Mitty.

To synthesize the past weekend, The Standard has comprehensive coverage of high school football, as well as other prep sports around the city and the Bay Area as a whole.

Balboa Buccaneers 35, Galileo Lions 6

Balboa’s passing offense finally started clicking on Saturday afternoon as Edwin Maiava threw for 199 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 35-6 win over Galileo (0-6, 0-2 AAA). Burton transfer Donntae Masina ran for 124 yards and two scores on just seven carries, including a 77-yard run, for the host Buccaneers. Balboa (2-4, 1-1) also got a rushing touchdown from Lincoln transfer Omar Blanco, while the Lions scored in the second quarter on Nate Chynoweth’s 48-yard pass to Chase Recio.

Lincoln Mustangs 42, Mission Bears 8

The Lincoln Mustangs raise their helmets at the conclusion of the national anthem before hosting Balboa in San Francisco on Oct. 1, 2022. | Chris Victorio for The Standard

The Mustangs won their 20th consecutive regular season league game, opening up a 35-0 halftime lead before the final two quarters were played with a running clock. Lincoln (3-3, 2-0 AAA) got rushing touchdowns from Diego Cristerna, Latu Manumua, Jamelle Newman, Michael Simmons and Renay Taylor, and the defense got in on the action on Cristerna’s 74-yard scoop-and-score. Mission (0-5, 0-2) avoided a shutout thanks to Taevon Mitchell’s 68-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Mitty Monarchs 34, Riordan Crusaders 13

For the first five games, the Riordan Crusaders excelled at preventing opponents from ripping off big plays. That ability was nowhere to be found on Friday night as Mitty (5-1, 2-1 WCAL) sprung for three touchdowns in excess of 40 yards within the first five minutes en route to a 34-13 win at Foothill College. Riordan (3-3, 1-2) scored on a pair of big plays as well, with Isiah Chala going 54 yards after receiving a Michael Mitchell Jr. screen pass and Javius Redding running for a 54-yard score, but there was no answer for Mitty’s Sacramento State-bound star, Danny Scudero. Scudero, who excelled two weeks earlier to defeat Sacred Heart Cathedral at Kezar Stadium, had a 41-yard pick-six and caught passes of 41 and 67 yards from Wills Towers. The Monarchs never led by less than three scores after the opening five minutes.

Serra Padres 28, Bellarmine Bells 7

The WCAL-leading Padres have made a habit of pulling away from opponents in the second half, and that continued on Friday night at San Jose City College. Serra (6-0, 3-0 WCAL) fell into an early 7-0 hole and led the Bells just 14-7 at halftime, but got two long touchdowns in the closing minutes of the third on a Danny Niu run and a Maealiuaki Smith pass to Joey Villaroman. Bellarmine (3-3, 2-1) scored on Riley Paran’s 1-yard dive on fourth-and-goal.

St. Francis Lancers 24, Sacred Heart Cathedral Fightin’ Irish 17

Sacred Heart Cathedral running back Jerry Mixon Jr. (6) looks to avoid a tackle from Declan Quinn (22) during the Fightin' Irish's 24-17 loss to the Lancers in Mountain View, Calif., on Oct. 7, 2022. | Courtesy Mona Fowler

Penalties kept Sacred Heart Cathedral (3-3, 1-2 WCAL) from ever mounting a real charge in the second half on Friday night as the Fightin’ Irish lost to St. Francis (3-3, 2-1) for a 13th consecutive time. No sequence better represented SHC’s futility than a series in the fourth quarter that saw the Irish incur 50 yards of penalties in a single set of downs. Wide receiver Isaiah Keishk returned from a broken leg to see his first action of the year for the visiting Irish, and he caught five passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.

St. Ignatius Wildcats 24, Valley Christian Warriors 0

The Wildcats were in desperate need of a win on Friday night, and they got one behind an inspired effort from a defense that had allowed over 40 points per game in its prior three outings. St. Ignatius (2-4, 1-2 WCAL) held Valley Christian (1-5, 0-2) to 73 yards of total offense, marking the Wildcats’ first home win over the Warriors in program history. SI had last beaten Valley Christian in 2012. Sophomore quarterback Soren Hummel, starting for the second consecutive week, through touchdowns to Pierce St. Geme and Moe Barnum. Fellow sophomore Jarious Hogan ran for a 4-yard score in his varsity debut.

Washington Eagles 64, Burton Pumas 0

Dhiraj Gurung ran for four first-half touchdowns as the Eagles raced out to a 51-0 halftime lead, even with a running clock in play as early as the second quarter. Washington (5-1, 2-0 AAA) scored in every possible fashion, with Myles Crawford and Ayan Razzak each returning punts for scores and Tommy Mayfield-Commer registering a scoop-and-score, both forcing and recovering the fumble before taking it to the end zone. Burton (0-2, 0-1) has been outscored 122-0 so far this season.

Other Bay Area Football Scores

De La Salle suffered an unprecedented third loss on Friday night, falling 45-35 at St. Mary’s-Stockton. The Rams, who beat St. Ignatius 49-20 on Sept. 9, dug themselves into an early 14-0 hole but outscored the Spartans 45-14 from the start of the second quarter until late in the fourth. St. Mary’s (7-0) would be the most likely candidate to earn the Northern California Open Division invite should Serra falter at some point this season.

Stanford may have lost in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday night, but earlier in the day, head coach David Shaw’s son helped lead Sacred Heart Prep (5-1, 1-0 Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division) to a mammoth 17-7 victory over Half Moon Bay (5-1, 1-1). Shaw’s 21-yard touchdown reception with 4:06 left gave the Gators the lead for good on a day where SHP lost running back Andrew Latu and fly back Luke Maxwell to injuries. The Gators held a 7-0 lead on Andrew Rocha’s 64-yard pick-six before the Cougars fired back on a 5-yard Owen Miller touchdown run. The Gators and rival Menlo (4-2, 1-0) are the only teams without a loss in San Mateo County’s top division.

Thomas Nunes’ 4-yard touchdown pass to 3-star wide receiver Logan Saldate with 17 seconds gave Palma (6-1, 3-0 Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division) the edge in a 17-13 victory over Hollister (3-4, 1-2). The Haybalers, who have now lost two games on touchdowns in the final 30 seconds, lost running back Michael Reyes to a knee sprain in the second quarter.

Quarterback Tayden Phillips led Lincoln-San Jose (6-0, 1-0 Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division) to a 27-17 win in a battle of unbeatens at Christopher (5-1, 0-1) to open league play in the top division of San Jose’s largest league.

Pittsburg (5-1, 1-0 Bay Valley Athletic League) squandered a 28-6 lead at home, allowing Liberty (3-3, 0-1) to take the lead with 23 straight points, but avoided disaster as Octavio Lopez made a 24-yard field goal with 58 seconds left, giving the Pirates a 31-29 win in their league opener.

Clayton Valley (3-3, 1-0 East Bay Athletic League Mountain Division) has finally embraced the spread offense, and it worked wonders in a 47-14 win at Amador Valley (4-2, 0-1). Pittsburg transfer Christian Aguilar threw for 317 yards to lead the Ugly Eagles to victory.

Jaivian Thomas ran 25 times for 280 yards and four touchdowns, and McClymonds (4-1) needed every last one of those yards to hold off a furious comeback and defeat San Ramon Valley 45-42. The Wolves trailed 42-21 early in the fourth quarter before quarterback Luke Baker led an incredible rally. In all, Baker completed 39 of his 57 passes for 513 yards to help San Ramon Valley (5-1) overcome a three-score deficit to tie the game, but Isaac Espinosa’s 33-yard field goal with 2:22 left helped the Warriors avoid disaster.

Other San Francisco Sports News

The USF Dons added a high-profile local recruit with Ryan Beasley verbally committing last week. A point guard out of Dougherty Valley-San Ramon, Beasley averaged 30.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.0 steals per game during his junior year. An exceptional free throw shooter, Beasley made 89% of his attempts at the line during the 2021-22 season. During his freshman season, he was a perfect 16-for-16 on free throws in a league championship game.

Coming off a memorable rally to beat rival Sacred Heart Cathedral in five sets, the St. Ignatius volleyball team went 1-3 at the Stockton Classic on Saturday, with the one victory coming over Clovis North. St. Francis, the top-ranked team in the Bay Area, defeated Mitty in two sets in the championship to win the tournament and improve to 24-0. The Lancers host SHC on Wednesday night. Riordan (10-14) went 1-3 at the same tournament, beating Bear Creek-Stockton before falling to Central Catholic, Moreau Catholic and Oakdale.

University (19-5, 9-0 Bay Counties League West Division) is on the verge of wrapping up a league title. The Red Devils can clinch the outright crown should they defeat Marin Academy (20-10, 7-1) on the road on Tuesday night.