Top 10 California high school football playoff games this week; Analysis, breakdowns, predictions

Pittsburg primed to break De La Salle's 33-year NCS streak in Open final; Mater Dei, St. John Bosco big tests in Southern Section semis; San Diego, Central sections play for top-division titles

De La Salle's Dominic Kelley in the 2022 North Coast Section Open Division final, a 30-23 win over Pittsburg. The two teams tussle again for the 2024 crown Friday at Diablo Valley College. / Photo: Dennis Lee

It's a big state this Cali-four-ni-yay, better known as California, the Golden State.

The high school playoff season is in full force, with a few sections already determining champions and automatic bids in the CIF State Championships.

Many of those get pushed up to the forefront in this week's playoff version of California Games of the Week

CALIFORNIA GAMES OF THE WEEK

1. De La Salle (11-0) vs. Pittsburg (10-1)

Pittsburg will need to bottle up De La Salle's fast and high-powered rushing offense as it did here in the 2022 title game, a 30-23 De La Salle victory / Photo: Dennis Lee

WHAT: North Coast Section Open Division championship
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Diablo Valley College

The NCS adopted an interesting format a couple years ago where the top half of the Open Division/D1 bracket is meant for the Open and bottom half is D1.

So, the loser of this game is still alive and simply plays the Division 1 semifinal winner in next week's elimination game to decide the D1 champion. That guarantees the two best teams out of the NCS moves on to state, a great concetpt that right now the Central Coast has adopted.

As for the game, tremendous amount of game-breakers led by Pittsburg's RB Jamar Searcy and QB Marley Alcantara, along with De La Salle's three-year starters, QB Toa Faavae and RBs Derrick Blanche Jr. and Dom Kelley.

Besides the many more D1 athletes — more than a dozen including UCLA commits, safety Jadyn Hudson and DE JuJu Walls, both of Pittsburg — the game's biggest intrigue is can Pittsburg possibly end De La Salle's 33-year, 277-game unbeaten streak stranglehold on the NCS.

The last De La Salle defeat of any kind — forget the 32 consecutive years of winning a section championship — was 1991 when, yes, Pittsburg handed the Spartans a 35-27 defeat in the 3A NCS championship at the Oakland Coliseum.

A starting sophomore LB on that team was current Pittsburg head coach Charlie Ramirez, who was on the field for Percy McGee's famous 79-yard pick 6 that sealed the win with just over two minutes remaining.

While many have played up possible upsets by NCS teams in championship games only to be severely disappointed, there is merit in picking the Pirates, whose only defeat was 35-14 to then national No. 2 St. John Bosco.

"They're a great team by even Pittsburg standards," De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said. "They've had some really incredible teams over the years. The attention they are getting is well deserved."

Said Ramirez: "Year in and year out their staff gets their players to do the little things great. We have to match that energy and let the football gods take care of the rest."

CALPREPS PREDICTION: De La Salle 41, Pittsburg 26
MITCH STEPHENS: De La Salle 28, Pittsburg 20
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2. Orange Lutheran (8-3) at St. John Bosco (10-1)

Orange Lutheran 4-star QB TJ Lateef (9), a Nebraska commit, with one of the country's most sought-after sophomores, Richard Wesley (99) supplying pressure from Sierra Canyon. Orange Luther won the game 33-26 on 9/21/2024 / Photo: Rene Morales

WHAT: Southern Section Division 1 semifinal
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: St. John Bosco's Panish Family Stadium

A rematch of one of the best games of the season, a 28-24 St. John Bosco win when freshman QB Koa Malau'ulu came off the bench to throw four second-half touchdowns. The host Braves, ranked 10th nationally by SBLive, will try to slow down the one-two punch of QB T.J. Lateef (Nebraska commit) to tight end A.J. la (Arizona commit). Orange Lutheran's only defeats are to Bishop Gorman, St. John Bosco and Mater Dei, all three top 10 teams.

CALPREPS PREDICTIONS: St. John Bosco 31, Orange Lutheran 26
MS: Orange Lutheran 21, St. John Bosco 20
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3. Mater Dei (10-0) vs. Corona Centennial (9-2)

Corona Centennial QB Husan Longstreet has flipped his college commitment from Texas A&M to USC. / Michael Cazares

WHAT: Southern Section Division 1 semifinal
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Corona Centennial High School

A rematch of the season opener, a 42-25 Mater Dei win also at Centennial, the sixth straight win for the Monarchs in the series. California's No. 1 recruit, recent USC commit quarterback Husan Longstreet didn't play in that one, which could make a big difference. In nine games, he's thrown for 1,641 yards and 19 touchdowns and rushed for nearly 500 yards and six more scores. Mater Dei, the naton's No. 1 team, has looked largely unbeatable all season with a 375-143 point differential behind super steady Washington-bound QB Dash Beierly (1,687 yards, 21 TDs, 1 interception), Oregon-bound RB Jordon Davison (875 yards, 13 TDs) a largely invincible defense, led by DL Nasir Wyatt (Oregon) and Tomuhini Topui (Utah).

CALPREPS PREDICTIONS: Mater Dei 41, Centennial 17
MS: Mater Dei 31, Centennial 14
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4. Clovis East (12-0) vs. Central (10-2)

Clovis East junior RB Lindsey Graves vs. Grant Union 9/14/2024 / Photo: Bobby Medellin

WHAT: Central Section D1-AA championship
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Lamonica Stadium, Fresno

Clovis East continued a remarkable season last week with a 47-13 romp over a very good Clovis team last week by four touchdown passes from Tyus Miller, two going to Harold Duvall. Central surprised some with a 27-10 semifinal win over defending champion Clovis North behind sophomore QB Jelani Dippel 297 total yards and two TDs and top junior Brandon Smith (19 carries, 110 yards, two TDs, 7 tackles). Clovis East beat Central 26-21 on Oct. 4, only the Timberwolves seventh win over the last 20 against the Grizzlies.

CALPREPS PREDICTIONS: Clovis East 35, Central 34
MS: Central 35, Clovis East 34
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5. Cathedral Catholic (9-2) vs. Lincoln (9-0)

Lincoln senior WR Ty Olsen has 24 catches for 462 yards and six touchdowns in 2024, giving him 210 catches for 3,678 yards and 45 TDs for his four-year prep career. / Photo: Rudy Schmoke

WHAT: San Diego Section Open Division championship
WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Snapdragon Stadium

The top-seeded Hornets have been the section's overwhelming favorite all season and with a 27-7 win over Cathedral Catholic on Oct. 18 comes in the clear favorite. The Hornets, who lost a season opener at Las Vegas power Arbor View, 45-44, and 28-19 to Trinty League power JSerra Catholic, are led by senior QB, Oregon bound Akili Smith (1,957 passing yards, 17 TDs, 312 yards passing), senior TB Aden Jackson (1,259 rushing yards, 18 TDs) and WR Ty Olsen (46 catches, 797 yards, 11 TDs). Cathedral Catholic beat La Costa Canyon 27-6 in last week's semifinals and have given up just 18 points during a three-game win streak.

CALPREPS PREDICTIONS: Lincoln 28, Cathedral Catholic 20
MS: Lincoln 35, Cathedral Catholic 17
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6. Saint Francis (9-2) vs. St. Ignatius (9-2)

BYU-bound RB Kingston Keanaaina breaks free momentarily while leading Saint Francis to a 27-13 win at St. Ignatius in San Francisco on Oct. 18, 2024 / Photo: Eric Taylor

WHAT: Central Coast Section Open Championship
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: San Jose City College

Like the NCS, this is not an elimination game, but St. Ignatius, the top seed, could win its first Open title since 2012, a game also at San Jose City College, a 13-10 win over Bellarmine. St. Francis already has a win over St. Ignatius, 27-13, in San Francisco on Oct. 18. The Lancers scored 27 unanswered points in the second half behind the running of CCS leading rusher Kingston Keanaaina, who rushed 33 times for 212 yards and two touchdowns. The BYU commit has 1,947 yards and 17 touchdowns on 238 carries. St. Ignatius has its own star RB in Jarious Hogan who had 23 carries, 192 yards, three touchdowns in a 45-7 win over Salinas last week.

CALPREPS PREDICTION: St. Ignatius 26, Saint Francis 24
MS: St. Ignatius 13, Saint Francis 10
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7. Oaks Christian (9-3) at Murrieta Valley (10-2)

Oaks Christian's Davon Benjamin is primed for a big junior season in 2024. / Andy Holzman

WHAT: Southern Section Division 2 semifinal
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Murrieta Valley High School

These perennial section powers haven't played since 2019, a 39-38 humdinger of win for Murrieta Valley which have won three of four in the series. The teams also piled up 1,506 yards and 132 points in the wildest of games, a 70-62 Murrieta Valley game at Oaks Christian in 2016. The nonleague game in September featured 503 passing yards, on just 23 completions and two touchdowns, by Matt Corral, both to then sophomore Mycah Pittman (13 catches, 380 yards). Teammate Zach Charbonnet, now a Seattle Seahawk, rushed for 146 yards and six touchdowns, all in a loss. Murrieta Valley's Hank Bachmeier, then a sophomore completed 18 of 24 for 418 yards and seven touchdowns that night, four to Marquis Spiker (7 catches, 237 yards). Teammate Olita Palmer rushed 32 times for 269 yards and two touchdowns. Bachmeier, a senior QB at Wake Forest, ammassed 15,340 all-purpose yards and 188 touchdowns in high school.

Back to this game, Oaks Christian has won 7 of 8, including a 35-21 game last week over San Juan Hills as top junior RB Deshonne Redeaux rushed 181 yards and two TDs and freshman QB Trey Towns threw for 250 yards and two scores. Murrieta Valley has won 9 of 10 (only loss to Centennial) and scored at least 42 in six straight games behind Bachmeier's brother Bear, who last week accounted for four touchdowns and 320 yards in a 49-28 win over Los Alamitos.

CALPREPS PREDICTION: Murrieta Valley 31, Oaks Christian 30
MS: Oaks Christian 31, Murrieta Valley 30
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8. Granite Hills (9-2) at Carlsbad (8-3)

Granite Hills running back Max Turner carries the ball past defenders in the 2023 Open Division championship game / Justin Fine

WHAT: San Diego Section D1 semifinal
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Carlsbad High School

Carlsbad would love nothing more than to eliminate the Eagles who did the same to the Lancers last season, winning the SDS game of the year, 46-45. Max Turner has rushed 200 times for 1,679 yards and 24 TDs for Granite Bay and Carlsbad may have found a gem in Kai Brown, who rushed for 177 yards and three TDs last week while replacing starter Jack Morrison. The teams have played just three times with Carlsbad winning the previous two before last year, 63-14 in 2021 and 49-7 in 2011.

CALPREPS PREDICTIONS: Granite Hills 31, Carlsbad 28
MS: Carlsbad 27, Granite Hills 21
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9. Frontier (8-4) at No. 1 Bakersfield (11-1)

Bakersfield game-breaking RB Brison Abbott, who has 1,572 rushing yards in 12 games of 2024 with 19 touchdowns. Abbott and the Drillers host Frontier in the Central Section Division 1-A championship game Friday. / Photo: David Dennis

WHAT: Cental Section D1-A championship
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Bakersfield High School

Last week, Bakersfield got a combined 156 rushing yards from Brison Abbott and Brenton Brown and quarterbacks Elijah Cavazos and freshman Markis Gomez combined to go 10 of 15 for 213 yards and a score in a tough 24-21 win over Arroyo Grande. Frontier is led by junior QB Brady Campbell (1,600 yards passing, 15 TDs). Bakersfield has won 10 of 14 meetings with Frontier since 2010, but the Titans have won the last two, 27-24 in 2022 and 41-0 last season. The Drillers have a point to prove.

CALPREPS PREDICTION: Frontier 22, Bakersfield 21
MS: Bakersfield 22, Frontier 21
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10. Grant (8-3) at St. Mary's-Stockton (9-2)

Grant quarterback Luke Alexander looks downfield for a receiver. / Photo by Dennis Lee

WHAT: Sac-Joaquin Section Division 2 semifinal
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: St. Mary's High School

Don't let the combined five losses fool you. These teams have played rugged schedules and are playing at their peak. Game is loaded with Division I talent, including the St. Mary's receiving duo of junior Kenneth Moore III and sophomore. Osani Gayles, Grant's offense has been clicking between the versatile trio of QB Luke Alexander, RB and Brandon Lambert and receiver Koby Shabazz.

CALPREPS PREDICTIONS: Grant 41, St. Mary's 22
MS: St. Mary's 31, Grant 30
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