WALNUT CREEK – The Campolindo High School football team had just put the finishing touches on a fairly convincing victory over Northgate on Friday night. But judging by the faces of the Cougars players after the game, it was perhaps tough to tell who won.
No. 15 Campolindo built a 21-point lead at halftime but might have given up too many yards and committed too many penalties for its liking in the second half, ultimately resulting in a 42-21 win over the less experienced Broncos.
Senior running back Micah Parker led an effective Cougars ground game with 159 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. But Campolindo wasn’t as crisp as it wanted to be Friday, even as it improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2022, when it went 12-1.
“We have seniors. I said, ‘Well, can you at least let them know that we have seniors and (the Broncos) have sophomores.’ I don’t know if we did that,” Campolindo coach Kevin Macy said. “Their kids play hard, and luckily, we’ve got Micah, who can bail you out at times.”
Campolindo raced out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter as Parker, senior Everett Zellmer, and junior Ryan Erickson all scored touchdowns, with Erickson’s score coming on a 52-yard run with 9:29 to go before halftime.
Northgate got that touchdown back on its next possession, as junior running back Tristan Tolerton capped a short drive with a 14-yard touchdown run with 7:31 left in the second quarter.
Northgate quarterback Maximus Cantrell (10) scrambles out of the pocket against Campolindo during the second quarter of a high school football game, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025 in Walnut Creek, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Area News Group)
But Parker responded on Campolindo’s next offensive play, taking a handoff from quarterback Reid Habas and scampering 61 yards for his second touchdown, restoring the Cougars’ three-score lead.
In all, Campolindo, behind an experienced offensive line, ran for 296 yards on 30 carries to help improve to 10-0 against Northgate since 2004. Parker also had 84 yards rushing in the Cougars’ 42-7 win over Granada last week.
Macy said Parker sprained his ankle in the summer, and the team didn’t know until last week whether he would be available to play in the season-opener.
“So he’s still running on a sore ankle,” Macy said of Parker.
Northgate was coming off a 14-7 win over Tamalpais in Mill Valley last week, but is battling several key injuries, including one to standout running back Deangelo Smith, who is out for the season. Smith led Northgate in rushing last season as a sophomore with 753 yards and seven touchdowns.
Still, the Broncos, who started five sophomores, including quarterback Maximus Cantrell, began the second half with an 11-play, 80-yard drive capped by Tolerton’s 18-yard touchdown run. Then, after a stop, Northgate drove into Campolindo territory, but was stopped on 4th and 2.
The Cougars then helped put the game out of reach with Robert Roy Terry’s three-yard touchdown with 11:23 to go.
Cantrell went 11 for 25 for 149 yards, and Tolerton has 108 yards on 22 carries.
Campolindo defensive end Crosby Kelly (8) trips up Northgate sophomore quarterback Maximus Cantrell (10) as he scrambles out of the pocket during the first quarter of a high school football game, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025 in Walnut Creek, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Area News Group)
“We’re a young team. We’ve got a lot of injuries we’re battling right now,” Broncos coach Ben Ballard said. “So, we’re making young mistakes. Still, I was really proud of how they competed.”
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Macy said his team will have to make some improvements if it wants to compete next week with Vanden-Fairfield, which improved to 3-0 with a 14-10 nonleague win over Dublin on Friday. The Vikings, which also has wins over Cosumnes Oaks and Amador Valley this season, beat Campolindo 23-7 last year on their way to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 3 championship and a Division 3A state title.
“After this performance, when we were struggling, next week will be tough,” Macy said.
Northgate hosts Archie Williams-San Anselmo next week.
Campolindo running back Zach Tabibian (6) has one man to beat — Northgate defensive back Thomas Borbely (18) — on his way to a touchdown during the fourth quarter of a high school football game, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025 in Walnut Creek, Calif. Borbely forced him out of bounds at the one-yard line. Campolindo defeated Northgate 42-21. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Area News Group)