High school football roundup: Sacred Heart Prep, Menlo School among Saturday’s winners
Saturday
Sacred Heart Prep made the short trip to Palo Alto on Saturday night and returned home with a 28-14 victory and a 2-1 record.
The visitors never trailed after scoring 14 points in the first quarter. The Gators led 14-7 at halftime and stretched the advantage to 21-7 in the third quarter.
Anthony Noto ran for two second-half touchdowns to help lead the way. Ravu Savali and Greg Gamitian also rushed for TDs for Sacred Heart Prep, ranked No. 19 by the Bay Area News Group.
Declan Packer threw a short TD pass to bring No. 25 Palo Alto to within seven points in the second quarter and a 49-yard TD pass to Jason Auzenne late in the third quarter to cut the deficit to seven points again.
Next Friday, Palo Alto (2-1) travels to Los Gatos and SHP visits undefeated Hillsdale.
— Darren Sabedra
Menlo School 51, Watsonville 6
Mikey McGrath ran for two touchdowns and passed for two as Menlo School, playing at home in Atherton on Saturday, cruised to a non-league victory over Watsonville. The Knights led 8-0 after the first quarter and 21-0 at halftime. The second of McGrath’s two rushing touchdowns widened the margin to 38-0 and Andre Gonzalez Lombera’s 27-yard field goal extended the lead to 31-0. Tyler Fernandez’s pick-six near the end of the third quarter made it 45-6. Willis Johnson scored Menlo’s first touchdown on a run and its last on a pass reception from Benjamin Salama. Menlo (2-0) will play host to Menlo-Atherton next Saturday afternoon. Watsonville fell to 1-1. – Darren Sabedra
Patterson 24, No. 23 Menlo-Atherton 21
The visiting Tigers (4-0) scored on a 48-yard run by Jeremiah Lugo midway through the fourth quarter in a game that see-sawed back-and-forth. The teams exchanged leads three times in the second half before the Bears (1-2) drove inside Patterson territory late in the fourth quarter but eventually turned the ball over on downs. Quarterback Xander Eschelman hooked up with 6-foot-6 TE Alek Marshall for touchdowns. The first was a 31-yard pass that made it 7-0 in the opening quarter. The second was a 19-yard connection between Eschelman and Marshall that gave the Bears a 21-17 lead early in the fourth period. Eschelman also scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter that snapped a 7-7 deadlock at the half. This is the second week in a row Patterson has come down from Stanislaus County to play a Central Coast Section opponent. Last week the Tigers beat Sequoia 42-0. M-A will try to even its record at 2-2 next Saturday when it visits Menlo School. – Mike Lefkow
Salesian 18, St. Mary’s-Berkeley 14
After trailing almost the entire game, Ethan Alfonzo plowed into the end zone from the 2-yard line with 25 seconds remaining, lifting Salesian to its third straight victory to start the season. The final score proved to be Salesian’s only lead of the contest. Down 14-12, the Pride got the ball back at its 20-yard line with about four minutes to play. The visitors marched 80 yards, with the big play a 45-yard pass from QB Marcus Burke to wideout Joe Tarin. Burke and Tarin also hooked up for a 10-yard touchdown in the first half. A 1-yard run by Burke accounted for Salesian’s other score. The Pride struck out on all three 2-point conversion attempts. Alfonzo’s run in the final seconds was the only scoring after intermission. St. Mary’s lost for the first time after beating Moreau Catholic and Hercules to start the season. The Panthers also lost their fifth straight to Salesian, their old Catholic Athletic League rival. – Mike Lefkow
Kennedy-Richmond 48, Ygnacio Valley 26
The Eagles outscored host Ygnacio Valley 30-6 in the second half to wipe out a 20-18 deficit at intermission. Senior running back Jerry Graham led the charge for Kennedy (2-1), scoring four touchdowns. Deondre Prim had a pick-6 and caught a touchdown pass, and quarterback threw for a touchdown and ran for one. For Ygnacio Valley, the defeat was its 27th in a row. The Wolves’ last victory came on Oct. 25, 2019, when they beat Berean Christian 40-6. – Mike Lefkow
Friday
Concord 26, San Lorenzo 21
Star running back Monte Beam scored all 26 points for the Minutemen (1-2) with four touchdowns and a 2-point conversion. Beam’s final six-pointer came on fourth down with 11 seconds to go and the Minutemen behind 21-18. He then scrambled in with the 2-point conversion for the final margin. Isaac Schwartz set up the winning score with a long punt return. San Lorenzo (1-1) didn’t go quietly. The Grizzlies connected on a long pass inside the Concord 10, but Minutemen defenders prevented a touchdown from scoring. San Lorenzo freshman Nathaniel Bynum caught some eyes, scoring on a kickoff return and a touchdown reception. – Mike Lefkow