The first three weeks of the high school football season have come and gone, and local teams are now well into their groove of non-league action.
Bishop Diego and Carpinteria High are the lone local squads at home this week, with the Cardinals hosting St. Francis at La Playa Stadium and the Warriors welcoming Webb to Carpinteria Valley Memorial Stadium.
Meanwhile, Santa Barbara High will head north to take on Righetti, Dos Pueblos will be in Los Angeles to clash with Village Christian and San Marcos will cruise down the 101 to take on former league foe Buena.
Here is a quick preview and prediction for each of this week’s matchups. Through three weeks of action, my game picks are 11-2.
St. Francis (0-2) @ Bishop Diego (2-1)
The Cardinals are coming off their first loss of the season to Lancaster as they continue to deal with a plethora of injuries affecting them on both sides of the ball.
Missing two-way standouts such as Samuel Boeddeker and Remi Boykin without timetables for return, according to head coach Tom Crawford, Bishop Diego will have to lean on its strong offensive and defensive lines. The team has rushed for 705 yards in three games.
St. Francis, a traditionally strong program that has struggled in recent years, is off to a winless start with losses to Alta Loma and Crespi, other solid programs in the Los Angeles area.
Despite the slow start, the Golden Knights boast plenty of talent on their roster, including five senior pass catchers listed over 6-feet-tall, including 6-foot-3 leading receiver Mason Maddox.
The Cardinals will look to make this a physical battle, while I expect St. Francis to attack Bishop Diego’s weakness in the secondary given the injury struggles. I’ll take the Golden Knights in a tight matchup.
The Pick: St. Francis
Santa Barbara High (1-2) @ Righetti (2-1)
The Dons fought off Dos Pueblos for a 21-10 win last week, their first of the young season following back-to-back losses to Camarillo and Corona Del Mar.
Running back Everett Rabb-Preston had his breakout game last week with over 100 rushing yards, and it was a welcome sight for a Santa Barbara High offense that hadn’t broken 20 points before the victory.Â
Meanwhile, Righetti is coming off a 28-6 rivalry win over Pioneer Valley to improve to 2-1 on the season. The Warriors defeated Hoover in their opener, 32-12, before falling to Golden West, 56-28.
Sophomore running back Michael Uriah Mendez has been the centerpiece of the Righetti offense, taking 58 carries for 406 yards and four touchdowns in the team’s first three games played.
While the Dons have struggled a bit to put up points early in the season, they should be able to earn the win this week as long as they key in on Uriah Mendez on the defensive end.
The Pick: Santa Barbara High
Dos Pueblos (1-2) @ Village Christian (2-1)
The Chargers turned in a valiant effort last week, keeping the game close throughout in a 21-10 loss to crosstown rival Santa Barbara High.
After missing several key offensive linemen in its opener, Dos Pueblos has seen an uptick in production in the run game in recent weeks with Chase Johnson (300 rush yards, 3 rush TD) pacing the attack as the lead ball carrier.
On the other sideline, the Crusaders are fresh off their first loss of the season to La Cañada (28-7) after handling Huntington Park (34-0) and North Hollywood (34-8) convincingly.
Senior quarterback Hudson Gerhardt has been a dual-threat standout so far for Village Christian, throwing for 399 yards and four touchdowns and adding 255 yards and four scores on the ground. Bailen Gerhardt has been a big play target for him, taking eight catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns.
I was impressed with what I saw in the Chargers last week, and Village Christian’s lopsided wins came against two teams that are a combined 0-5 this season. Give me Dos Pueblos to pick up this road win.
The Pick: Dos Pueblos
San Marcos (1-2) @ Buena (0-3)
The Royals earned their first win of the season last week in a 35-0 rout of Channel Islands following a loss to a strong Dana Hills team and a heartbreaking 22-21 defeat at the hands of Del Sol.
San Marcos has leaned heavily on the senior trio of Hayden Feleay (386 pass yards, 6 pass TD), Tommy Diaz (207 rush yards, 2 rush TD) and Isaac Murillo (277 receiving yards, 2 receiving TD), while sophomore Caden LaPlante has hauled in four touchdown catches.
The Bulldogs have dropped three straight games to begin their year, falling to Castaic, Dos Pueblos and Fillmore despite scoring at least 24 points in each of the three contests.
Quarterback Ryder Bucy (426 pass yards) and running back Christopher Slate (163 rush yards) have been the leading producers for the Buena offense, but the defense has shown its faults by allowing 34 or more points in all three games.
I’ll give the edge to the Bulldogs, who have found enough offensive success throughout their first three games to give me confidence over a San Marcos team that has been inconsistent.
The Pick: Buena
Webb (2-0) @ Carpinteria High (0-2)
The Warriors have stumbled a bit coming out of the gate this season, falling to Heritage Christian and Royal while being outscored 51-9 along the way.
Carpinteria has really struggled with its ground game in the early portion of the year, accumulating 56 rushing yards and averaging less than 2 yards per carry through two games.
The Gauls have cruised through their opening matchups, taking down Duarte and Temecula Prep by scores of 35-0 and 27-9, respectively.
Quarterback Kaj Grayson has done it all for Webb, throwing for 630 yards and eight touchdowns to go along with 226 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground.
This year’s Warrior team is a young one, and I think they continue to show that youth in a loss to Webb this week.
The Pick: Webb
