Week 2 NorCal Football Preview
The Week 2 NorCal Football Preview is filled with intriguing matchups. Soquel-Los Gatos and Wilcox-Valley Christian will tell us a lot in the CCS, De La Salle takes on an out of state program and Serra and Riordan host big games on Saturday afternoon.
FRIDAY
Soquel (0-0) at Los Gatos (0-0) 7:00 PM
Los Gatos and Soquel enter 2025 as the top public schools in the Central Coast Section and after Los Gatos won the 2024 meeting 14-7. These programs should also possess two of the better passing attacks in the section. Los Gatos returns quarterback Callum Schweitzer after he split reps last season. On the opposite sideline is Soquel quarterback Sam Whelan, who threw 17 touchdowns against three interceptions as a junior. The wide receiver talent is also there with Soquel’s Hunter Summerrill and the Los Gatos duo of Beau Musser and Max Thomas.
Wilcox (0-0) at Valley Christian-San Jose (0-0) 7:00 PM Watch Here
In the traditional season opening matchup, Valley Christian has won three of the last four with the latest coming 24-7 last year. Both teams will look to set the tone on the ground with the combination of quarterback and running back runs. Wilcox goes with junior signal caller Kai Imahara and junior running back Elijah Vallejo. Valley Christian brings back sophomore quarterback Rome Leota-Pritchard, who is more of a natural thrower, and senior running back Ekiah McLemore. This is also an early matchup in sizing up the competition between two of the top leagues in the Bay Area.
Manteca (1-0) at Cardinal Newman (0-0) 7:00 PM Watch Here
This Pick’em matchup features two teams that are among the best in their section, but also looking to move up into the upper echelon. Manteca was somewhat sloppy in its opener but still managed to post a shutout in the 29-0 win over Elk Grove. Manteca senior Quinn Martinez had a pair of touchdown catches to start what should be a big final season. Cardinal Newman is opening up the Frank McManus era and also boasts a talented receiver of their own with junior Zion Cargill. Will we see the debut of sophomore defensive lineman King Pitts?
Rocklin (1-0) at Bishop Manogue (1-1) 7:00 PM
Rocklin held serve at home last year in this matchup, but the scene shifts to Reno. It also serves as a meeting of two Nevada 2026 quarterback commits in Rocklin’s Reeve Slone and Bishop Manogue’s Brandon Mann. Last week, Rocklin had no trouble in beating Turlock 35-7 but the defense will be more tested this week against the Miners. That’s because Bishop Manogue took its first loss of the season at St. Mary’s-Stockton, but it still put up points in a 51-38 loss. Mann, who has played in Northern California earlier in this career, threw for five touchdowns and ran for 174 yards in the loss.
Lakeland-Florida (1-0) at De La Salle (0-0) 7:30 PM Watch Here
De La Salle starts the season off with a quality out of state opponent coming to Concord. The Spartans expect to be one of the fastest teams in the region including North Carolina bound Jaden Jefferson and Montana commit Jayden Nicholas in the secondary. Duece Jones-Drew is also poised to take over the lead back role. Lakeland won its opener over Auburndale 31-21 and has an Arkansas bound quarterback in Joaquin Kavouklis. The defense should be very good as well led by Florida commit Malik Morris, who missed last week’s game. Others to watch include Santana Harvey and Jordan Young. Lakeland also had a local connection with running back Jadarius Dobie, who is committed to Sacramento State.
Granite Bay (1-0) at Pittsburg (1-0) 7:00 PM
This Pick’em matchup features a SFL program going up against one of the best from the Bay Area. Pittsburg has more questions entering this season than 2024, but the talent remains strong for the Pirates. They boast a good wide receiver duo in Arizona bound RJ Mosley and sophomore Kenneth Ward. Granite Bay has the advantage of already having a game under its belt. Darnell Turner had two interceptions and a touchdown catch and Isaiah Ene ran for two scores against Rio Americano.
San Marin (0-0) at St. Ignatius (0-0) 7:00 PM
St. Ignatius will have a revamped look this year with new head coach JaJuan Lawson and plenty of roster turnover, but two players to watch are senior wide receiver Zui Shelton and senior WR/DB Tyran Hicks. San Marin is looking to build on its NCS Open Division appearance behind San Jose State quarterback commit Daniel Rolovich. Linebacker Luke Saysette is back after leading the Mustangs in tackles as a junior.
Amador Valley (0-0) at Vanden (1-0) 7:30 PM
Both teams will feature new quarterbacks after graduating stars at the position. The Vanden run game helped ease the transition from graduating a 4,000 yard passer and a pair of 1,000 yard receivers. The Vikings pulled away from Cosumnes Oaks in the second half to win 27-6 last week as Josiah Chavez accounted for 100 total yards and three touchdown runs. For Amador Valley, it does return its top receiver (Anthony Harrington), top rusher (Ismael Duenas) and top defender (Cole Goldsworthy), who is headed to UNLV.
SATURDAY
McClymonds (0-0) at Riordan (0-0) 1:30 PM
Riordan has all of the pieces in place to capture the WCAL title that they have been building toward for the past three years. The Crusaders have Vanderbilt bound quarterback Michael Mitchell Jr. and a plethora of receiving options led by Cynai Thomas (Oregon State). They showed well in their scrimmage matchup with De La Salle this past weekend. For McClymonds, they too boast a college bound quarterback in Berell Staples (Cal Poly) and WR/DB Rahsjon Duncan (Washington. Last year, Riordan won 35-34 in Oakland to begin the season.
Folsom (1-0) at Serra (0-0) 2:00 PM
Is this the year Folsom solves the Padre Puzzle? The Bulldogs, fresh off a resounding 51-13 win at Grant, will look to end a three game skid against Serra. Folsom’s offense looked tremendous in the opener with BYU bound Ryder Lyons showing his mastery of the Folsom attack and a trio of top receivers to throw to with Ole Miss bound Jameson Powell, Nevada commit Isaiaah Williams and fast rising junior Rob Larson. Serra is coming off a disappointing 5-6 season, but has a strong group of juniors led by defensive back Malakai Taufoou, two-way lineman Lemani Fehoko and RB/DB Jeovanni Henley.