Serra or De La Salle? St. Francis or McClymonds? Liberty or Los Gatos?
The Bay Area News Group’s high school team is back for another week of football predictions.
Christian Babcock, Nathan Canilao and Joseph Dycus join veterans Mike Lefkow and Darren Sabedra to see who can pick the most plays correctly each week.
All for fun, of course.
In our video roundtable, the team discussed Serra’s chances of beating De La Salle.
After a stunning 22-21 victory over powerhouse Folsom, Serra has the opportunity to reclaim his place atop the Bay Area hierarchy if he beats the Spartans in Concord.
If Serra is looking for skeptics to motivate him, he only needs to watch Pick ’em. For the second week in a row, all five panelists picked against the Padres.
“You know, Patrick Walsh said, ‘Never doubt those Serra Padres,’ but that’s exactly what I’m going to do,” said Canilao, who covered the upset at Folsom.
“If Serra wins this game, they’ll have to give every member of the team a subscription to the Mercury News (and the East Bay Times), because we’re providing them with an endless supply of scoreboard material at this point,” Babcock added.
De La Salle’s experience could be a factor. Concord has lost each of its last two games against the Padres, but Serra had to replace 18 of 22 starters from last year’s 28-0 victory.
“I think if De La Salle wants to be the top dog in NorCal again — they have a veteran team with a veteran quarterback, fast backs and are good on the line — if they don’t get Serra this time, I don’t know when they’re going to get them,” Sabedra said.
But the show was not all predictions and bluster.
Bay Area high school football historian Mike Lefkow remembered the late Steve Alameda, the longtime Kennedy-Richmond and Pinole Valley coach who died last weekend.
“He was one of the best coaches in West Contra Costa County,” Lefkow said. “He had really good players and really good teams, and you know, he was just a nice person.”
Don’t forget to watch the video.
If you just want the choices, keep scrolling.
And if you haven’t already, sign up for a digital subscriptionYour contributions keep us going.
Let’s move on to the choices…
WEEK 2 SELECTIONS
THURSDAY
Santa Teresa (1-0) at Milpitas (1-0), 7 p.m.
Saber: Milpitas
Dycus: Saint Therese
Canilao: Milpitas
Babcock: Santa Teresa
Lefkow: Milpitas
Friday
Bishop O’Dowd (1-0) at Monte Vista (1-0), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Monte Vista
Dycus: Monte Vista
Kennel: Monte Vista
Babcock: Monte Vista
Lefkow: Monte Vista
Salesians (1-0) at Moreau Catholic (1-0), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Salesian
Dycus: Salesian
Canilao: Catholic Moreau
Babcock: Salesian
Lefkow: Catholic Moreau
Hillsdale (1-0) at Half Moon Bay (1-0), 7 p.m.
Saber: Half Moon Bay
Dycus: Hillsdale
Canilao: Hillsdale
Babcock: Hillsdale
Lefkow: Hillsdale
Lincoln-San Jose (0-1) at San Jose (1-0), 7:15 p.m.
Sabre: Lincoln-San Jose
Dycus: Lincoln-San Jose
Canilao: Lincoln-San Jose
Babcock: Lincoln-San Jose
Lefkow: Lincoln-San Jose
Sacred Heart Prep (1-0) vs. Sacred Heart Cathedra (1-0) at Kezar Stadium, 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Preparation for the Sacred Heart
Dycus: Preparation for the Sacred Heart
Canilao: Preparation for the Sacred Heart
Babcock: Preparation for the Sacred Heart
Lefkow: Preparation for the Sacred Heart
Salinas (0-0) at Valley Christian (1-0), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Christian Valley
Dycus: Christian of the Valley
Canilao: Christian Valley
Babcock: Christian Valley
Lefkow: Christian Valley
San Mateo (1-0) at Aragon (0-1), 7 p.m.
Saber: Aragon
Dycus: Saint Matthew
Canilao: San Mateo
Babcock: San Mateo
Lefkow: Aragon
Bishop Manogue-Reno (2-1) at Pittsburg (1-0), 7 p.m.
Sabre: Pittsburgh
Dycus: Pittsburgh
Canilao: Pittsburgh
Babcock: Pittsburgh
Lefkow: Pittsburgh
Liberty (1-0) at Los Gatos (1-0), 7 p.m.
Namely: cats
Dycus: Freedom
Canilao: Freedom
Babcock: Cats
Lefkow: Cats
McClymonds (0-1) at St. Francis (1-0), 7:30 p.m.
Sabedra: Saint Francis
Dycus: Saint Francis
Canilao: Saint Francis
Babcock: Saint Francis
Lefkow: Saint Francis
Archbishop Riordan (1-0) vs. St. Bonaventure-Ventura (2-0) at Ventura College, 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Archbishop Riordan
Dycus: St. Bonaventure-Ventura
Canilao: St. Bonaventure-Ventura
Babcock: Archbishop Riordan
Lefkow: St. Bonaventure-Ventura
Serra (1-0) at De La Salle (1-0), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: From the Hall
Dycus: From La Salle
Canilao: From the Hall
Babcock: From La Salle
Lefkow: From the Hall
Soquel (0-1) at San Ramon Valley (1-0), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: San Ramon Valley
Dycus: San Ramon Valley
Canilao: San Ramon Valley
Babcock: San Ramon Valley
Lefkow: San Ramon Valley
Saturday September 7th
Dorsey (0-1) at Castlemont (0-0), 12:30 p.m.
Sabre: Castlemont
Dycus: Chateaumont
Canilao: Chateaumont
Babcock: Chateaumont
Lefkow: Chateaumont
WEEK 1 RESULTS
THURSDAY
Willow Glen 31, Lincoln-San Jose 7
Sabedra: Lincoln-San José (G)
Dycus: Willow Glen (F)
Canilao: Willow Glen (F)
Babcock: Lincoln-San Jose (G)
Lefkow: Lincoln-San Jose (G)
Santa Teresa 48, Fremont-Sunnyvale 7
Sabedra: Santa Teresa (F)
Dycus: Santa Teresa (F)
Canilao: Santa Teresa (F)
Babcock: Santa Teresa (F)
Lefkow: Santa Teresa (F)
Friday
El Cerrito 38, Amador Valley 16
Sabedra: El Cerrito (F)
Dycus: Amador Valley (L)
Canilao: El Cerrito (F)
Babcock: El Cerrito (F)
Lefkow: Amador Valley (G)
Moreau Catholic 37, St. Mary’s-Berkeley 0
Sabedra: Moreau Catholic (F)
Dycus: Catholic Moreau (F)
Canilao: Moreau Catholic (F)
Babcock: Moreau Catholic (F)
Lefkow: Moreau Catholic (F)
Leigh 27, Leland 9
Sabre: Leigh (F)
Dycus: Leigh (F)
Canilao: Leigh (F)
Babcock: Leigh (F)
Lefkow: Leigh (F)
Los Chatos 14, Soquel 7
Sabedra: Cats (W)
Dycus: The Cats (W)
Canilao: Los Gatos (F)
Babcock: Los Gatos (F)
Lefkow: Los Gatos (F)
Palo Alto 25, Mountain View 13
Saber: Palo Alto (F)
Dycus: Palo Alto (F)
Kennel: Palo Alto (W)
Babcock: Palo Alto (F)
Lefkow: Palo Alto (F)
Christian Valley 24, Wilcox 7
Sabedra: Christian Valley (F)
Dycus: Christian Valley (F)
Canilao: Christian Valley (F)
Babcock: Wilcox (left)
Lefkow: Christian Valley (F)
From Room 42, Grant-Sacramento 14
Sabedra: From the Hall (W)
Dycus: From La Salle (W)
Canilao: From La Salle (W)
Babcock: De La Salle (W)
Lefkow: From La Salle (F)
Pittsburg 43, Monterey-Elk Grove Trail 13
Sabre: Pittsburg (F)
Dycus: Pittsburgh (F)
Canilao: Pittsburgh (F)
Babcock: Pittsburgh (F)
Lefkow: Pittsburgh (F)
Riordan 35, McClymonds 34
Sabre: Riordan (F)
Dycus: McClymonds (left)
Canilao: Riordan (F)
Babcock: Riordan (F)
Lefkow: McClymonds (left)
San Ramon Valley 28, Saint Ignace 10
Sabedra: San Ramon Valley (W)
Dycus: Saint Ignatius (G)
Canilao: San Ramon Valley (West)
Babcock: San Ramon Valley (west)
Lefkow: San Ramon Valley (west)
Vanden-Fairfield 23, Campolindo 7
Sabedra: Campolindo (G)
Dycus: Camolindo (G)
Canilao: Vanden-Fairfield (F)
Babcock: Campolindo (left)
Lefkow: Vanden-Fairfield (left)
Serra 22, Folsom 21
Sabedra: Folsom (L)
Dycus: Folsom (G)
Kennel: Folsom (L)
Babcock: Folsom (left)
Lefkow: Folsom (left)
SATURDAY
Menlo-Atherton 40, Bellarmine 10
Sabre: Menlo-Atherton (F)
Dycus: Bellarmine (G)
Canilao: Menlo-Atherton (F)
Babcock: Menlo-Atherton (F)
Lefkow: Menlo-Atherton (F)
WEEK 1 RANKING
Canilao: 14-1
Sabre: 12-3
Babcock: 11-4
Lefkow: 10-5
Dycus: 9-6
SEASON RANKING
Canilao: 14-1
Sabre: 12-3
Babcock: 11-4
Lefkow: 10-5
Dycus: 9-6
