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Los Gatos and Pittsburg have faced off in each of the past two seasons.
Pittsburg won both games, 37-20 and 37-27.
It’s possible the rematch Friday night at Los Gatos is lining up to be the one in which home team breaks the short losing streak. Though 2-2, the Wildcats have been dominant or extremely competitive in every game this season, routing a strong Liberty squad and losing 42-40 to Soquel and 41-40 at Clovis.
Pittsburg, meanwhile, is in a state of transition under coach Charlie Ramirez after losing Marley Alcantara, one of the best quarterbacks in school history, to graduation.
Are the ‘Cats primed to pounce?
“It’s a taste of what we’re looking at in the playoffs, most likely,” Los Gatos coach Mark Krail said. “Scheduling a Pittsburg, or even Clovis for that matter, the whole intention there was to hopefully acclimate us to teams that play that athletic, that fast, that physical.
“Pittsburg is a great, great program. We just have the most respect for their coaching and their players. And the outcomes speak for themselves. So it’s going to be a great test.”
Krail is acutely aware that while Los Gatos has faced stellar players to this point, they haven’t faced the challenge that Pittsburg’s trio of Kenneth Ward, RJ Mosley and Truly Bell present.
“They have athletes all over the place,” Krail said. “So we have to line up right, and we have to be super disciplined. Maybe get a turnover here or there, and take care of the ball. No self-inflicted wounds via penalty or special-teams turnover or whatever it’s been. The couple games that we lost, we’ve had a couple plays we would love to have back. It’s little things like that when you’re playing with such a small margin of victory.”
Though the Pirates have won both games against Los Gatos, they know this one will be no easy task.
“We’re going to be in a tough environment with a very well-coached team that executes at a high rate,” Pittsburg coach Charlie Ramirez said.
The Pirates (3-1) will lean on experience to help.
Ramirez said he has multiple returning starters who have played in the two matchups against Los Gatos. The East Bay school is averaging just over 37 points per game thus far.
“That’s the benefit of having 70 guys on the rosters. We got 70 good football players,” Ramirez said of Pittsburg’s depth.
Los Gatos seemingly has an advantage in that the Wildcats are playing at home coming off a bye, while Pittsburg faced North Bay power Marin Catholic on Friday, a game the Pirates won 42-20.
— Christian Babcock, Nathan Canilao
CALIFORNIA: CALCAGNO REMEMBERS BASEBALL DAYS
Before Danny Calcagno was a football coach, he was a baseball player.
California’s coach was a two-sport athlete at Sonoma State and was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 46th round of the 1991 MLB draft. He spent four years in the minors, including three separate stints with the San Jose Giants.
He was happy to hear that his former team won the California League championship this past week, even though he never won a title during his tenure in the South Bay.
“Good for them,” said Calcagno, whose football team is 5-0 after beating McClymonds on Friday. “That’s great. We won one in Clinton, Iowa, Midwest League.”
The year Calcagno was drafted, the Clinton Giants, San Francisco’s low-single-A affiliate, won a title after he joined late in the season. But despite having had a four-year career in the minors where he was promoted all the way to Triple-A Phoenix, Calcagno said he doesn’t pay much attention to pro sports these days.
He didn’t even know the San Jose Giants had won this year’s title.
“A little bit,” Calcagno said when asked about if he keeps up with San Jose. “I’ve kind of soured a little bit with professional sports. I don’t even watch. They told me the catcher for the Mariners hit 60 home runs, I’d never even heard of him.
“The NFL, my coaches, they want to do fantasy league, so I did it just to donate some money. But we’re doing the draft, and I don’t know any of these players. It’s like, can I draft John Elway? Troy Aikman? I’m so immersed with this, and then when I do have time off, I’m gonna go play golf and work on my short game.”
— Christian Babcock
GRANADA: JV QB SHINES IN CALL-UP
Ben Warner was put in a tough spot on Friday night.
The sophomore was on the JV team just a week earlier, but was called up to varsity after injuries to both of Granada’s quarterbacks.
Against undefeated Las Lomas – at the time the 25th-ranked team in the Bay Area News Group’s rankings – Warner did not disappoint.
He completed 16 of 22 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns to lead Granada to a 38-21 win at home.
“Ben’s mature beyond his age. He’s a natural leader,” Granada coach Brandon Black said. “We were excited about his future. We just didn’t know it’d be this early. And he showed what we knew was going to come.”
Warner is the younger brother of current Stanford pitcher and former Bay Area News Group baseball player of the year Parker Warner.
– Nathan Canilao
DE LA SALLE: TOUGH TEST AHEAD
De La Salle has been rolling through the first half of the season.
But on Friday, the Concord school will face its toughest challenge yet as it welcomes San Diego powerhouse Cathedral Catholic, which like De La Salle is 5-0.
“Cathedral is a really big test,” De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh after his team’s rout of St. Mary’s-Stockton on Friday. “There’s a good chance this will be our toughest challenge of the year, and now we’re looking forward to it.”
Cathedral Catholic will be making its second trip to the Bay Area. In late August, the San Diego school rolled over St. Francis 35-7. The Dons are led by Cal-bound quarterback Brady Palmer and four-star safety Honor Fa’alave-Johnson.
The Spartans know the challenge that awaits.
“They’re SoCal guys,” linebacker Bubba Vargas said. “They got powerful people. We ultimately have to prepare, want to get better and take a step in the right direction.”
– Nathan Canilao
IRVINGTON: SKATEBOARDER SHREDS DEFENSES INSTEAD OF PAVEMENT
Gabriel Aruwah grew up shredding the pavement, zipping around on his skateboard at breakneck speeds. Now, as a junior wide receiver at Irvington in Fremont, the playmaker spends his days shredding defenses on the outside.
The 6-foot-2 wide receiver has been on a tear for the red-hot Vikings. He put up 131 receiving yards and four total touchdowns against Concord in a thrilling 43-42 victory on Sept. 20.
He then followed that up with 97 receiving yards and two more scores in a wild 56-42 victory over Skyline on Saturday.
Irvington coach Anthony Jackson believes Aruwah’s experience as a tricky skateboarder has helped him develop into a bewildering problem for defenses, able to cut on a dime and leave tacklers grasping for air.
“He worked on his body and balance over the off-season,” Jackson told the Bay Area News Group. “He grew up riding skateboards, so I figured we would just expand on what he did naturally. We worked on balance and changing direction with speed, and it’s paying off.”
— Joseph Dycus
MCCLYMONDS: KEY PLAYER INJURED
Oakland powerhouse McClymonds typically doesn’t have a lot of depth on its roster, which makes losing a standout player even more difficult.
Such was the case Friday at California.
Rahsjon Duncan, a three-star wide receiver/cornerback committed to Washington, wasn’t in pads. He had a cast on his left hand and was unable to participate.
“It’s been hurt,” McClymonds coach Michael Peters. “He started the season with a cast. He’s played with a cast the whole season, all the games. He hurt it in the summer, literally right before Week One. And that hurt our game plan, because we got him in a lot of stuff.”
Peters is hopeful that McClymonds will advance far enough in the playoffs to get Duncan back.
— Christian Babcock
STILL UNDEFEATED
Midway through the regular season, 14 teams in the Bay Area News Group’s coverage area have yet to lose.
Eleven are 5-0, three are 4-0.
The list includes heavyweight De La Salle, which will put its 5-0 record on the line at home Friday against San Diego blueblood Cathedral Catholic, which is also 5-0.
The list also includes projected contender Archbishop Riordan (4-0), along with Acalanes (5-0), California (5-0), Campolindo (4-0), Menlo School (5-0), Santa Teresa (5-0), Lincoln-San Jose (5-0) and Live Oak (5-0).
Livermore (5-0), Salesian (4-0), Woodside (5-0), Alameda (5-0) and Redwood Christian (5-0) are unbeaten, too.
The biggest surprise among the group?
How about Redwood Christian, which went 1-6 last year in its first season of varsity football? The San Lorenzo school will try to make it 6-0 on Friday against Kennedy-Richmond.
— Darren Sabedra
PEEK AHEAD TO WEEK 6
Friday
Pittsburg (3-1) at Los Gatos (2-2), 7 p.m.: Pittsburg is coming off a 41-20 win over Marin Catholic; Los Gatos had week off.
Archbishop Riordan (4-0) vs. Sacred Heart Cathedral (3-1) at Kezar Stadium, 6 p.m.: This one should tell a lot about SHC, which scored 71 against Bellarmine on Friday.
Valley Christian (2-2) vs. Archbishop Mitty (3-1) at Foothill College, 7 p.m.: Mitty has been red-hot since losing season opener at Acalanes.
Cathedral Catholic-San Diego (5-0) at De La Salle (5-0), 7 p.m.: Spartans beat Cathedral Catholic 28-20 in 2022 and 49-21 in 2021.
Livermore (5-0) at California (5-0), 7:15 p.m.: Biggest test by far for Livermore; Cal has wins over Monterey Trail, McClymonds.
Saturday
St. Ignatius (1-3) at Serra (1-3), 1:30 p.m.: Serra looked like itself Saturday, routing Valley Christian 41-6 for first win of season.