Archbishop Riordan or St. Ignatius? Pittsburg or Los Gatos? San Mateo or Milpitas? Saratoga or Monta Vista?
The Bay Area News Group’s high school crew is back for another week of football predictions.
Christian Babcock, Nathan Canilao and Joseph Dycus join long-timers Mike Lefkow and Darren Sabedra to see who can pick the most games correctly each week.
All in good fun, of course.
Babcock was in San Francisco for St. Ignatius’ thrilling 21-20 victory over Serra last week. Though impressed by the atmosphere at SI, he believes the Wildcats could struggle against the firepower visiting Archbishop Riordan will bring to a battle of San Francisco powerhouses.
“I think that with what Riordan does through the air, there are plays to be made that Serra didn’t always hit,” Babcock said. “So I think it’s going to be a different challenge this week for SI, but that team is building momentum week after week.”
In East Contra Costa County, Los Gatos will visit Pittsburg in a showdown between Central Coast Section and North Coast Section powers. One of our panelists believes that while the game should be competitive, Pittsburg might not even need its A-game to defeat the Wildcats.
“I think that Pittsburg just has talent all over the field,” Canilao said. “You can see that, even when they weren’t on their game like when they played Riordan, they just had so much talent that they were able to get a win.”
The guys also discussed El Cerrito’s coaching situation (Jacob Rincon is on administrative league, according to sources), Ygnacio Valley’s amazing resurgence and Mitty’s chances of upsetting St. Francis in the San Jose school’s only night game on its campus.
“I would not be shocked if this game was done in under two hours,” Babcock said. “Both of these teams like to run the ball.”
While discussing De La Salle’s upcoming trip to London and its Oct. 8 game against NFL Academy, Dycus pointed out the irony of the Spartans playing at the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
“I do think it is funny that De La Salle, a team known for winning trophies, winning titles, winning everything, is playing in the stadium of a club that is infamous for not winning any sort of trophy or championship for the last 100 years,” Dycus quipped.
He was slightly off. While Spurs have not won a major trophy since capturing the FA Cup in 1991, they did win the EFL League Cup in 2008.
De La Salle has captured 31 consecutive North Coast Section titles and two straight NorCal championships.
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On to the picks …
Friday
Berkeley (3-2) vs. San Leandro (2-2) at Burrell Field in San Leandro, 7 p.m.
Sabedra: San Leandro
Dycus: Berkeley
Canilao: San Leandro
Babcock: San Leandro
Lefkow: San Leandro
Saratoga (4-0) at Monta Vista (3-2), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Saratoga
Dycus: Saratoga
Canilao: Saratoga
Babcock: Saratoga
Lefkow: Saratoga
Moreau Catholic (2-3) at James Logan (1-4), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Moreau Catholic
Dycus: Moreau Catholic
Canilao: Moreau Catholic
Babcock: Moreau Catholic
Lefkow: Moreau Catholic
Dougherty Valley (2-3) at Piedmont (3-1), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Piedmont
Dycus: Piedmont
Canilao: Piedmont
Babcock: Piedmont
Lefkow: Piedmont
San Mateo (3-1) at Milpitas (3-1), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Milpitas
Dycus: San Mateo
Canilao: Milpitas
Babcock: Milpitas
Lefkow: Milpitas
Del Norte-Crescent City (3-2) at Oakland Tech (1-3), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Del Norte
Dycus: Del Norte
Canilao: Del Norte
Babcock: Del Norte
Lefkow: Oakland Tech
Branham (3-2) at Lincoln-San Jose (3-2), 7:15 p.m.
Sabedra: Lincoln-San Jose
Dycus: Lincoln-San Jose
Canilao: Branham
Babcock: Branham
Lefkow: Branham
Acalanes (3-2) at Benicia (2-3), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Acalanes
Dycus: Acalanes
Canilao: Acalanes
Babcock: Acalanes
Lefkow: Acalanes
Christopher (4-1) at Santa Teresa (4-0), 7:15 p.m.
Sabedra: Santa Teresa
Dycus: Santa Teresa
Canilao: Christopher
Babcock: Christopher
Lefkow: Christopher
Live Oak (1-4) at Leigh (3-2), 7:15 p.m.
Sabedra: Leigh
Dycus: Leigh
Canilao: Live Oak
Babcock: Live Oak
Lefkow: Leigh
San Lorenzo (2-2) at Ygnacio Valley (3-2), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Ygnacio Valley
Dycus: Ygnacio Valley
Canilao: Ygnacio Valley
Babcock: Ygnacio Valley
Lefkow: Ygnacio Valley
Amador Valley (2-3) at Foothill (3-2), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Amador Valley
Dycus: Amador Valley
Canilao: Amador Valley
Babcock: Amador Valley
Lefkow: Amador Valley
St. Francis (3-1) at Archbishop Mitty (3-1), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: St. Francis
Dycus: St. Francis
Canilao: St. Francis
Babcock: St. Francis
Lefkow: St. Francis
Archbishop Riordan (2-2) at St. Ignatius (3-1), 5 p.m.
Sabedra: Archbishop Riordan
Dycus: Archbishop Riordan
Canilao: Archbishop Riordan
Babcock: Archbishop Riordan
Lefkow: Archbishop Riordan
Los Gatos (4-0) at Pittsburg (3-1), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Pittsburg
Dycus: Los Gatos
Canilao: Pittsburg
Babcock: Pittsburg
Lefkow: Pittsburg
Christopher 45, Branham 28
Sabedra: Christopher (W)
Dycus: Branham (L)
Canilao: Branham (L)
Babcock: Christopher (W)
Lefkow: Christopher (W)
Amador Valley 24, Acalanes 23
Sabedra: Acalanes (L)
Dycus: Acalanes (L)
Canilao: Acalanes (L)
Babcock: Amador Valley (W)
Lefkow: Amador Valley (W)
Moreau Catholic 26, Berkeley 14
Sabedra: Moreau Catholic (W)
Dycus: Berkeley (L)
Canilao: Berkeley (L)
Babcock: Moreau Catholic (W)
Lefkow: Moreau Catholic (W)
Heritage 42, Livermore 28
Sabedra: Heritage (W)
Dycus: Heritage (W)
Canilao: Heritage (W)
Babcock: Heritage (W)
Lefkow: Heritage (W)
Sacred Heart Prep 21, Hillsdale 14
Sabedra: SHP (W)
Dycus: SHP (W)
Canilao: SHP (W)
Babcock: Hillsdale (L)
Lefkow: Hillsdale (L)
Newark Memorial 34, Alameda 14
Sabedra: Alameda (L)
Dycus: Alameda (L)
Canilao: Alameda (L)
Babcock: Alameda (L)
Lefkow: Alameda (L)
Leland 31, Silver Creek 6
Sabedra: Silver Creek (L)
Dycus: Silver Creek (L)
Canilao: Silver Creek (L)
Babcock: Silver Creek (L)
Lefkow: Leland (W)
Willow Glen 21, Pioneer 0
Sabedra: Willow Glen (W)
Dycus: Willow Glen (W)
Canilao: Willow Glen (W)
Babcock: Willow Glen (W)
Lefkow: Pioneer (L)
California 35, Granada 10
Sabedra: California (W)
Dycus: California (W)
Canilao: California (W)
Babcock: California (W)
Lefkow: California (W)
St. Ignatius 21, Serra 20
Sabedra: Serra (L)
Dycus: St. Ignatius (W)
Canilao: Serra (L)
Babcock: Serra (L)
Lefkow: Serra (L)
De La Salle 35, El Cerrito 14
Sabedra: De La Salle (W)
Dycus: De La Salle (W)
Canilao: De La Salle (W)
Babcock: De La Salle (W)
Lefkow: De La Salle (W)
Menlo School 31, Miramonte 7
Sabedra: Menlo School (W)
Dycus: Miramonte (L)
Canilao: Miramonte (L)
Babcock: Menlo School (W)
Lefkow: Menlo School (W)
Archbishop Riordan 63, Sacred Heart Cathedral 34
Sabedra: Riordan (W)
Dycus: Riordan (W)
Canilao: Riordan (W)
Babcock: Riordan (W)
Lefkow: Riordan (W)
Valley Christian 47, Archbishop Mitty 7
Sabedra: Mitty (L)
Dycus: Mitty (L)
Canilao: Mitty (L)
Babcock: Mitty (L)
Lefkow: Mitty (L)
Babcock: 9-5
Lefkow: 9-5
Sabedra: 9-5
Dycus: 7-7
Canilao: 6-8
Sabedra: 56-19
Lefkow: 49-26
Canilao: 48-27
Babcock: 46-29
Dycus: 43-32
