By Craig Wentz
Town Crier Correspondent
Prep Football Digest
With respective league play starting soon, it’s difficult to figure how high school football teams from the area will fare heading into the most critical portion of the season.
Only one of the five local programs were victorious over the weekend and all of them know they must pickup their games a notch to secure a league crown and a playoff berth.
Palo Alto 27, Mtn, View 0
Mountain View High averaged nearly 35 points per game in non-league wins over Willow Glen and Saratoga. But the Spartans couldn’t find the end zone last Friday in a non-league loss at Palo Alto.
The Spartans (2-1), whose confidence was sky-high after two early victories, made critical mistakes and botched scoring opportunities against Paly, which plays in the upper SCVAL De Anza Division.
Mountain View drove inside the Vikings’ 25-yard line on five occasions, yet couldn’t get on the scoreboard.
“We just played terrible,” Mountain View coach Dan Navarro said.
Paly led 13-0 at halftime and increased the margin to 20-0 after three quarters. The Vikings scored on a pair of long touchdown passes and returned two interceptions (44, 99 yards) for scores.
Trevor Hooper led the Spartans with 114 yards on 17 carries, while quarterback Sean Manson completed 14 of 38 passes for 144 yards.
Mountain View plays Gunn at 7:30 p.m., Friday, at Foothill College.
Milpitas 38, Los Altos 0
Playing its first game in two weeks, Los Altos High (0-2) had the tough task of playing talented Milpitas and the rust showed in a non-league loss on Saturday at Los Altos.
Milpitas (2-1), ranked No. 9 in the Central Coast Section, scored on the ground, in the air and on special teams for a commanding 30-0 halftime lead.
The Eagles commence SCVAL El Camino Division play on Friday at 7:30 p.m. against Monta Vista at Cupertino High.
Skyline 30, St. Francis 23
St. Francis High (1-3) continued its difficult non-league schedule by dropping its third straight game in a 30-23 setback to an athletic Skyline team last Friday night in Mountain View.
The Lancers, ranked No. 11 in the CCS, took a 7-3 lead after one quarter of play, thanks to a 2-yard touchdown run from running back William Taufoou.
After that, it was all Skyline (3-0), which rattled off 20 unanswered points for a 23-7 advantage after three quarters en route to the victory.
St. Francis quarterback Mark Hoff tossed touchdown passes of 17 and 67 yards to wide receiver Joey Fernandez in the second half as the Lancers’ comeback fell short.
St. Francis hopes to pull the national upset of the year when it plays at powerhouse De La Salle (Concord) on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
De La Salle (3-0), ranked No. 1 in several national polls, has won a national record 115 consecutive games.
De La Salle routed the Lancers 42-7 last season.
Wilcox 21, Homestead 7
Homestead High dropped to 1-2 on the season following a defeat at the hands of Wilcox last Saturday night in a non-league contest at Fremont High in Sunnyvale.
The visiting Chargers (1-2) avoided their first 0-3 start in 20 years by leaping out to a 21-0 advantage on the Mustangs after three quarters.
Homestead tallied its only score in the fourth quarter when wide receiver Garren Strong hauled in a 33-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brandon Dougherty.
The Mustangs begin SCVAL El Camino Division competition at 1:30 p.m., Saturday, against Cupertino (1-2) at Fremont High.
This marks Homestead’s first season in the El Camino Division; the Mustangs previously played in the upper De Anza Division.
Gunn 21, Lynbrook 0
Gunn High (2-1) shook off a difficult loss to Cupertino two weeks ago to whip outmanned Lynbrook Friday in a non-league contest in Palo Alto.
Tailback Joe Lawrence, who hadn’t played since his freshman year, turned in his third impressive performance of the season by riddling the Vikings’ defense with 124 yards rushing on 18 carries and two touchdowns.
After Gunn grabbed a 7-0 first quarter lead on a Lawrence 29-yard scoring run, receiver Phil Ghilarducci increased the margin to 14-0 in the second quarter via a scoring pass from quarterback Richie Pulliam.
The Titans ended the scoring when Lawrence rambled for a 20-yard touchdown run right before halftime.
Gunn visits Mountain View in a non-league game at 3:15 p.m., Friday.
