High school football roundup: Live Oak, Menlo School among Saturday’s winners
Menlo School defeats M-A for the first time since 2014, Live Oak rallies vs. Sobrato and more
No. 22 Menlo School 28, Menlo-Atherton 13
The Knights won the battle of Atherton thanks to a big day from quarterback Mikey McGrath and a number of timely defensive plays.
It was Menlo School’s first victory against Menlo-Atherton since 2014.
McGrath threw three touchdown passes, the first one a 26-yard toss to Nicky Scacco in the first quarter.
Scacco scored his second TD of the day in the second quarter, high-pointing a ball in the corner of the end zone to give Menlo School a 14-0 lead.
Brady Jung turned a McGrath pass into a 79-yard touchdown reception with 3:47 left in the first half, handing the Knights a 21-0 lead.
Then came a flurry of action at the very end of the first half. Menlo School’s Palmer Riley intercepted a M-A pass, but the offense couldln’t do anything with it.
With 10 seconds to go in the half, the Bears got on the board with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Xander Eschelman to James Grey.
Menlo-Atherton got the ball back after the touchdown, but Menlo School’s Jack Enright picked off the Hail Mary attempt.
Eschelman threw his second touchdown early in the third quarter, a pass to Owen van Loben Sels to make it 21-13.
Menlo School answered when Jack Freehill threw a touchdown pass to Jung, and the defense held onto the lead from there.
Menlo School (4-0) plays host to Homestead on Sept. 30 after a bye week, and Menlo-Atherton plays host to Palo Alto next Friday.
Live Oak 35, Sobrato 27
Live Oak went on the road and won the duel between two outstanding running backs. Live Oak’s senior running back Josh Gagni ran for three touchdowns, including two in the second half to come back from a 21-7 halftime deficit. Mekhi David, Live Oak’s other senior running back, also ran for a touchdown. Quarterback Luke Newell also threw a touchdown to Keaton Dietz. Sobrato’s senior running back Noah Taylor ran for touchdowns of 60, 73 and and 43 yards. Wide receiver Ryan Hankins caught a 41-yard touchdown. Live Oak (3-0) plays host to Branham next Friday, and Sobrato (2-2) plays host to Gilroy next Saturday.
St. Patrick-St. Vincent 56, Berean Christian 17
SPSV poured it on against Berean Christian. Aderion Prater started the scoring with the first of his two touchdown runs, and Josiah Jones followed it up by a touchdown catch in the first quarter. Jones finished with three touchdowns, including a kick return for a touchdown. Senior Brenden Swin also scored on a catch-and-run. Senior runner Jalil Christoff also ran for a 12-yard touchdown as SPSV cruised to an easy victory that had a running clock for the fourth quarter. Berean Christian’s Jake Silva and Hunter Inkster each scored touchdowns. St. Patrick-St. Vincent (4-0) will play host to Salesian on Sept. 29 after a bye week. Berean Christian plays at Hercules next week.
St. Mary’s-Berkeley 42, Arroyo 8
A week after its 12-game regular season winning streak was snapped against Salesian, the Panthers rebounded with a dominant showing against Arroyo. Sophomore quarterback Sutton Rails had a big day in St. Mary’s traditionally run-heavy attack, throwing for three touchdowns. It didn’t hurt that Samahdi Scott scored on two screen passes. Defensive back Marley Filson returned an interception for a touchdown, and running back Wyatt Swanson pounded in two touchdowns on the ground. St. Mary’s (3-1) plays host to Cardinal Newman next Saturday, and Arroyo (1-3) plays host to Piedmont on Saturday.
Dougherty Valley 21, Lowell-San Francisco 16
Dougherty Valley snapped a seven-game losing streak dating back to last season. Senior quarterback Ritwik Chitgokar threw an 86-yard pass to junior receiver Vincent Banzon with under a minute left in the game to give the Wildcats the lead and the win. Senior running back Devin Garcia also ran for a touchdown earlier in the game. Dougherty Valley will play host to Deer Valley next Friday.