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No matter what happens, Serra and Folsom know that most seasons, they will be in position to compete for section championships at the end of the year.
Which is why both teams go out of their way to schedule exceptionally tough nonleague opponents in September.
This year, Sacramento area power Folsom visited another top team from its area (Grant), bussed to San Mateo to play Serra on Saturday and will fly to Southern California this week to face Mission Viejo.
Week 1: Where to find our complete coverage
Serra opened with Folsom and will also take on De La Salle in San Mateo this Saturday. The Padres will finish their nonleague schedule with a trip to face Southern Section powerhouse St. John Bosco.
After beating Serra 56-42, Folsom coach Paul Doherty admitted that earning Northern California’s berth in the CIF Open Division state championship game is the Bulldogs’ goal this season.
Testing themselves – and winning – against the best teams in the state is an important part of making that a reality.
“Every time you go through it, you’re like, ‘This is a bad idea,’” Doherty said. “Tough schedule, that’s the only way to do it. We’ve won four section (championships) in a row. We were in four NorCals in a row. We’ve won two of them, and we lost two by a total of four points. If we’re going to get better, we have to schedule and we have to plan. That’s the DNA or the blueprint of what we’re trying to do.”
Doherty noted that the programs in SoCal especially are “better than ours,” and playing them gives Folsom something to aspire to moving forward.
Serra, meanwhile, is trying to recapture the form that powered the Padres to a 25-0 record against NorCal foes in 2022 and 2023. That stretch came during a run in which the San Mateo school represented Northern California in the Open state title game three consecutive seasons.
Serra’s strong showing against Folsom on Saturday could be the first sign that the Padres are on their way back to being a top NorCal contender.
“There’s a Nelson Mandela quote that says, ‘I either win or I learn,’” Walsh said. “I want to know what we got and what we don’t have. I’m not trying to stack up wins around here. What we’re trying to do is be WCAL champions and CCS champions. And my philosophy has always been to schedule the best, be a part of the best. Challenge yourself against the best coaches and players, and then you know exactly where you are.”
— Christian Babcock
RIORDAN: FAMILY BUSINESS
Early in the first quarter, Riordan quarterback Mike Mitchell Jr. scanned the field for openings in McClymonds’ defense. After going through his reads, Mitchell locked in on a target he is very familiar with.
Younger brother Maxwell, a sophomore receiver, found the soft spot in the defense on a crossing route, pulled in the pass, and ran in for a 27-yard touchdown.
It was a play that the two had informally rehearsed in the backyard for years, and drilled on the practice field all summer.
“It was unreal,” Max Mitchell told the Bay Area News Group. “We did that every day in the summer, so the work definitely paid off.”
– Joseph Dycus
ACALANES: NEW POSITION … SORT OF
After Grant Ricker grabbed three interceptions in Acalanes’ emotional 33-12 victory, he noted that it was his first start ever at defensive back. He had started at receiver last season for Acalanes’ North Coast Section Division III championship team.
“I have to thank my coaches for teaching me on the fly,” Ricker said.
According to teammate Deonte Littlejohn, that isn’t quite true.
“Actually, Ricker played DB freshman year … and he wasn’t the best,” Littlejohn said. “He had a complete turnaround, and now he’s a dog out there. Playing receiver just helps him track that ball down.”
– Joseph Dycus
DE LA SALLE: JEFFERSON CAN SCOOT
Jaden Jefferson is a fast runner.
De La Salle’s two-way speedster reset the state record in the 100-meter dash last spring, clocking a time of 10.01 seconds at the CIF state meet in Clovis.
But his time caused some controversy.
It was widely speculated by those including Arcadia Invitational meet director Rich Gonzalez that the record-breaking time resulted in part because, he suspected, the starter fired the gun too far from the electronic timing sensor, causing a clock delay.
But CIF stood by its time, and so is Jefferson.
“CIF, they confirmed it, they said they had two clocks running,” Jefferson said. “So I’m not really arguing with the people who don’t believe it. I know what I ran, and I came back a second day to run another time. They said they had two clocks running, and they approved it. So I’m not sure what the other people are talking about.”
De La Salle football coach Justin Alumbaugh isn’t too concerned, either. He knows what Jefferson’s wheels do for his team.
“I think he could have broken 10,” Alumbaugh said. “He slowed up at the end. What I know is he was moving. And football-wise, he passes the eye test for speed. You’ll see him out there. He can scoot. No matter what the exact time is, that dude can run. You get under a 10.3, you’re scooting pretty well.”
— Christian Babcock
NORCAL COMMIT FROM FLORIDA ENJOYS TIME IN GOLDEN STATE
Lakeland-Florida running back and Sacramento State commit Ja’darious Dobie got a little taste of the Cali life when the Dreadnaughts played De La Salle on Friday.
Though Lakeland didn’t get the results it wanted, Dobie said he enjoyed his time in NorCal.
“It was beautiful weather out here and it’s just beautiful scenery,” Dobie said. “I wish we could have come out here and dominated better, but at least we lost in Cali. So it feels good to be home.”
Dobie picked Sacramento State over FBS schools Wake Forest, UNLV, Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech. New Sacramento State coach Brennan Marion is a former Bay Area resident, coaching at St. Patrick-St. Vincent in Vallejo, and playing at Foothill and De Anza colleges in the South Bay.
– Nathan Canilao
MENLO SCHOOL: OPENER SHARED CULTURAL EXPERIENCE
It’s not every year you see a California high school team play a season opener against a squad from New Mexico.
Menlo School welcomed Hózhó Academy, a charter school from Gallup, N.M., on Saturday in Atherton. The unusual matchup brought together two small schools with a number of differences but similar values.
Hózhó Academy is located on the edge of the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, a Native American reservation home to the Diné people. Most of the Hózhó Academy players had not traveled off the reservation before coming to the Bay Area this weekend.
“Coach (Todd) Smith and I really clicked when we talked about our coaching philosophies and the bigger picture of helping shape good, young men,” Hózhó Academy coach Cyle Balok said in a release. “We thought this game could be a special opportunity for both of our teams to meet and use the game as a bridge between two vastly different parts of the country.”
Hózhó Academy traveled to Atherton by bus and made the trip thanks to fundraising from local businesses near Gallup. The two teams shared a pregame dinner Friday, and Menlo hopes the connections they make through the game last beyond Week 1.
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“We come from very different parts of the country,” said Smith, Menlo’s head coach. “But we started this friendship and knew this could be much more than a regular game.”
— Christian Babcock
PEEK AHEAD TO WEEK 2
Friday
Campolindo (1-0) at Northgate (1-0), 7 p.m.: Campo was in midseason form last week at Granada.
Los Gatos (0-1) at Liberty (1-0), 7 p.m.: Los Gatos will try to tighten its defense before the long trip to Brentwood.
Menlo-Atherton (0-1) at Acalanes (1-0), 7 p.m.: Acalanes aiming to beat CCS school for second week in a row.
St. Francis (0-1) at McClymonds (0-1), 7 p.m.: Tough trip for St. Francis as Lancers try to bounce back from loss to Cathedral Catholic.
San Jose (1-0) vs. Lincoln-San Jose (1-0) at San Jose City College, 7 p.m.: Will Lincoln’s dominance continue in Big Bone game?
Windsor (1-0) at Hayward (1-0), 7 p.m.: Both teams had impressive season-opening wins.
Saturday
De La Salle (1-0) at Serra (0-1), 2 p.m.: DLS remembers its last visit to Serra, a 28-0 loss two seasons ago.