Week 3 NorCal Football Preview
The Week 3 NorCal Football Preview features Folsom in its biggest test of the regular season, Serra’s gauntlet continues with De La Salle coming to town and St. Vincent takes on American Canyon in a meeting of 2024 state champions.
Friday
Folsom (2-0) at Mission Viejo (2-0) 7:00 PM
Folsom outlasted Serra 56-42 for its second Top 20 win in as many weeks. BYU bound quarterback Ryder Lyons threw for four touchdowns and ran for three more scores. Ole Miss commit Jameson Powell had more than 200 receiving yards and three touchdowns and senior EJ Coleman had 14 tackles and an interception returned for a score. The Bulldogs will play possibly their toughest opponent of the regular season this week. Ohio State quarterback commit Luke Fahey is averaging more than 300 passing yards per game for the Diablos, which beat Santa Margarita 7-3 to begin the season.
Valley Christian-San Jose (1-0) at Salinas (0-1) 7:00 PM
The Warriors put together a third quarter onslaught in beating Wilcox 41-10 in the first of two key CCS non-league games. The offense showed balance with 180 yards passing and 163 yards rushing. Salians was dealt a tough opening loss to Clovis (49-14). Quarterback Michael Andrade threw for more than 200 yards and Hovan Lusk had more than 100 yards receiving in the loss. Last year, Salinas won in San Jose 24-7.
St. Francis-Mountain View (0-1) at McClymonds (0-1) 7:00 PM
Both teams are coming off opening losses to higher ranked opponents and are now looking to avoid 0-2 starts. The Lancers fell to Cathedral Catholic 35-7 while being outgained 440-161. Stanford commit Chase Cahoon had 16 total tackles. McClymonds quarterback Berell Staples (Cal Poly) threw three touchdowns, but fell behind 27-0 to Riordan in the first half en route to a 41-18 loss. After this game, McClymonds plays three straight road games going into league play.
Los Gatos (0-1) at Liberty (1-0) 7:00 PM
Liberty won a defensive battle this past week against Frontier-Bakersfield (14-7). The Lions were able to hit some big pass plays and Eastern Washington bound Jaxon Bell ran for 75 yards and a touchdown. On the other end of the spectrum, Los Gatos lost an offensive shootout to Soquel (42-40) as the Wildcats amassed more than 200 yards on the ground and through the air. Grayson Doslak rushed for 161 yards on 15 carries.
Windsor (1-0) at Hayward (1-0) 7:00 PM
Windsor can be the forgotten program in the greater North Bay area, but the Jaguars got a quality game from junior Carter Vose III, who threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns against Analy last week. Hayward is coming off a 35-14 win over crosstown foe Moreau Catholic. Tywan Melrose ran for 84 yards and three touchdowns and the defense forced three turnovers. The Farmers are looking for a breakout season with no more than seven wins since 2019 (10-2).
Escalon (1-1) at Oakdale (1-1) 7:00 PM
This series matches up two of the best programs in the southern half of the Sac-Joaquin Section. After dropping the opener to Sonora, Oakdale ran for nearly 600 yards in a 70-30 win over Lincoln-Stockton. Wes Burford, Chase Lopez and Richard Flores combined for more than 500 yards. Escalon is looking to bounce back after losing to Chavez 37-30. The Cougars are averaging 240 rushing yards per game and sophomore running back Dylan Ball has 270 total yards with four touchdowns.
Pleasant Valley (1-0) at Inderkum (1-1) 7:15 PM
Inderkum bounced back from a loss to Monterey Trail with a 21-20 win over Marin Catholic. Junior quarterback Brody Cole threw for 118 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers have played two quarterbacks in both of their games. Pleasant Valley was off last week after beating Central Catholic 41-21. Senior running back Titus Andrus will look to build on his big opener of 273 yards and four touchdowns. The rest of the Vikings’ non-league games are at home against Spanish Springs, Tracy and Cardinal Newman.
Del Oro (1-0) at Placer (1-1) 7:30 PM
A fun rivalry continues in Auburn as these programs have split the past two games with each one winning on the road. In the opening win over Downey, Del Oro quarterback rNolen Sauve threw four touchdown passes with Washington State bound Luke Galer (2), Landen Perry and Brennen Gibbs finding the end zone. Placer has scored at least 30 points and given up at least 34 points in each of the first two games. Senior running back Shaun Jones has rushed for 431 yards and five touchdowns.
Saturday
De La Salle (1-0) at Serra (0-1) 2:00 PM
Despite losing to Folsom 56-42, Serra showed its ability to make big plays on defense via turnovers and offensive versatility. Senior Iziah Singleton ran for 117 yards and had a receiving touchdown. The Spartans come to San Mateo off a 10-6 win over Lakeland-Florida. The defense didn’t allow a score (came off a fumble recovery) and the offense will look to lean on junior Duece Jones-Drew as the lead back.
St. Vincent (1-0) at American Canyon (1-0) 7:00 PM
St. Vincent senior quarterback Gabe Casanovas threw for 206 yards and three touchdowns and senior Mason Caturegli ran for two touchdowns and caught two touchdowns against Woodland Christian. Marcellus Holmes is the new head coach at American Canyon and Andre Lopez needed just nine carries to total 173 yards and three touchdowns in a 58-14 win over Wood. Both of these programs are coming off state title winning seasons.