De La Salle or St. Francis? Bishop O’Dowd or McClymonds? Pittsburg or Archbishop Riordan?
The Bay Area News Group’s high school crew is back for another week of football predictions.
Christian Babcock, Nathan Canilao and Joseph Dycus join long-timers Mike Lefkow and Darren Sabedra to see who can pick the most games correctly each week.
All in good fun, of course.
In our video roundtable, the crew discussed St. Francis’ odds of defeating De La Salle for the second time in four years.
The Lancers routed McClymonds 34-14 last week, with Kingston Keanaaina rushing for 336 yards and three touchdowns behind a mammoth offensive line. They looked like vintage St. Francis.
Now the Lancers will take on the Bay Area News Group’s No. 1 team – a DLS unit fresh off a 39-10 victory over Serra – in Concord. The Lancers famously snapped the Spartans’ 318-game unbeaten streak against NorCal opponents in 2021.
Four of the panelists went with DLS.
You already know who decided to go against the grain and predict that St. Francis would beat De La Salle.
“Kingston Keanaaina is on another level,” Joseph Dycus proclaimed. “I think they execute the strategy that Serra was trying to do in that first half, and they do it a little bit better. And they’ve got the offensive line to play with De La Salle.”
That wasn’t the only surprising prediction of the show. Nathan Canilao is firmly on the Bishop O’Dowd bandwagon. After watching the Dragons defeat Monte Vista 24-20, he thinks O’Dowd has what it takes to be the first Oakland team to defeat McClymonds since 2012.
“I went back and forth on this, but I’m going with O’Dowd,” Canilao said. “I’m buying all the Hardy Nickerson stock right now. I think they’re on a roll and they believe in themselves, and they believe in themselves when no one else does.”
Pittsburg and Archbishop Riordan’s Week 3 showdown is expected to go down to the wire as the Bay Area’s other matchup of Top 5 teams.
“Pittsburg’s been rolling right along as expected, and you know, there’s going to be a lot of college talent on that field,” Sabedra said.
The Pirates and Riordan have some college talent, but Serra’s opponent on Saturday is essentially a high-level juco team.
On Saturday, Serra will play host to St. John Bosco-Bellflower in a rematch of the 2022 Open Division state championship game.
The Trinity League giant won that game 45-0, and the encore probably won’t be any closer.
But even if winning isn’t even a remote possibility, Christian Babcock sees value in the Padres playing the SoCal juggernaut.
“As much as football coaches hate to talk about moral victories, if you’re trying to grow a young team, you might as well throw them out there against the best,” Babcock said.
Be sure to check out the video.
If you just want the picks, keep scrolling.
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On to the picks …
WEEK 3 PICKS
Friday
Clayton Valley (1-1) at San Ramon Valley (2-0), 7 p.m
Sabedra: San Ramon Valley
Dycus: San Ramon Valley
Canilao: San Ramon Valley
Babcock: San Ramon Valley
Lefkow: San Ramon Valley
Hayward (1-1) at Tennyson (1-1), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Hayward
Dycus: Hayward
Canilao: Hayward
Babcock: Hayward
Lefkow: Hayward
Heritage (1-1) at Dublin (0-2), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Heritage
Dycus: Heritage
Canilao: Heritage
Babcock: Heritage
Lefkow: Heritage
Windsor (2-0) at Campolindo (1-1), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Windsor
Dycus: Campolindo
Canilao: Windsor
Babcock: Campolindo
Lefkow: Campolindo
Christopher (1-1) at Palo Alto (2-0), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Palo Alto
Dycus: Palo Alto
Canilao: Palo Alto
Babcock: Palo Alto
Lefkow: Palo Alto
Leigh (2-0) at South San Francisco (1-1), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Leigh
Dycus: South San Francisco
Canilao: Leigh
Babcock: Leigh
Lefkow: Leigh
Menlo-Atherton (2-0) vs. Archbishop Mitty (2-0) at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Archbishop Mitty
Dycus: Menlo-Atherton
Canilao: Menlo-Atherton
Babcock: Menlo-Atherton
Lefkow: Menlo-Atherton
Pioneer (1-1) at Santa Teresa (2-0), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Santa Teresa
Dycus: Santa Teresa
Canilao: Santa Teresa
Babcock: Santa Teresa
Lefkow: Santa Teresa
Wilcox (1-1) vs. Sacred Heart Cathedral (2-0) at Kezar Stadium, 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Wilcox
Dycus: Sacred Heart Cathedral
Canilao: Wilcox
Babcock: Sacred Heart Cathedral
Lefkow: Sacred Heart Cathedral
McClymonds (0-2) at Bishop O’Dowd (2-0), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: McClymonds
Dycus: McClymonds
Canilao: Bishop O’Dowd
Babcock: Bishop O’Dowd
Lefkow: McClymonds
Archbishop Riordan (1-1) at Pittsburg (2-0), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Pittsburg
Dycus: Pittsburg
Canilao: Pittsburg
Babcock: Pittsburg
Lefkow: Pittsburg
St. Francis (2-0) at De La Salle (2-0), 7:30 p.m.
Sabedra: De La Salle
Dycus: St. Francis
Canilao: De La Salle
Babcock: De La Salle
Lefkow: De La Salle
St. Ignatius (1-1) at Cathedral-San Diego (3-0), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Cathedral-San Diego
Dycus: Cathedral-San Diego
Canilao: Cathedral-San Diego
Babcock: Cathedral-San Diego
Lefkow: Cathedral-San Diego
Saturday
Half Moon Bay (2-0) at Sacred Heart Prep (1-1), 2 p.m.
Sabedra: Half Moon Bay
Dycus: Half Moon Bay
Canilao: Sacred Heart Prep
Babcock: Sacred Heart Prep
Lefkow: Sacred Heart Prep
St. John Bosco-Bellflower (3-0) at Serra (1-1), 1:30 p.m.
Sabedra: St. John Bosco-Bellflower
Dycus: St. John Bosco-Bellflower
Canilao: St. John Bosco-Bellflower
Babcock: St. John Bosco-Bellflower
Lefkow: St. John Bosco-Bellflower
WEEK 2 RESULTS
Santa Teresa 25, Milpitas 7
Sabedra: Milpitas (L)
Dycus: Santa Teresa (W)
Canilao: Milpitas (L)
Babcock: Santa Teresa (W)
Lefkow: Milpitas (L)
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Bishop O’Dowd 24, Monte Vista 20
Sabedra: Monte Vista (L)
Dycus: Monte Vista (L)
Canilao: Monte Vista (L)
Babcock: Monte Vista (L)
Lefkow: Monte Vista (L)
Salesian 41, Moreau Catholic 27
Sabedra: Salesian (W)
Dycus: Salesian (W)
Canilao: Moreau Catholic (L)
Babcock: Salesian (W)
Lefkow: Moreau Catholic (L)
Half Moon Bay 21, Hillsdale 14
Sabedra: Half Moon Bay (W)
Dycus: Hillsdale (L)
Canilao: Hillsdale (L)
Babcock: Hillsdale (L)
Lefkow: Hillsdale (L)
Lincoln-San Jose 42, San Jose 0
Sabedra: Lincoln-San Jose (W)
Dycus: Lincoln-San Jose (W)
Canilao: Lincoln-San Jose (W)
Babcock: Lincoln-San Jose (W)
Lefkow: Lincoln-San Jose (W)
Sacred Heart Cathedral 33, Sacred Heart Prep 6
Sabedra: Sacred Heart Prep (L)
Dycus: Sacred Heart Prep (L)
Canilao: Sacred Heart Prep (L)
Babcock: Sacred Heart Prep (L)
Lefkow: Sacred Heart Prep (L)
Salinas 24, Valley Christian 7
Sabedra: Valley Christian (L)
Dycus: Valley Christian (L)
Canilao: Valley Christian (L)
Babcock: Valley Christian (L)
Lefkow: Valley Christian (L)
Aragon 31, San Mateo 21
Sabedra: Aragon (W)
Dycus: San Mateo (L)
Canilao: San Mateo (L)
Babcock: San Mateo (L)
Lefkow: Aragon (W)
Pittsburg 41, Bishop Manogue-Reno 14
Sabedra: Pittsburg (W)
Dycus: Pittsburg (W)
Canilao: Pittsburg (W)
Babcock: Pittsburg (W)
Lefkow: Pittsburg (W)
Los Gatos 38, Liberty 21
Sabedra: Los Gatos (W)
Dycus: Liberty (L)
Canilao: Liberty (L)
Babcock: Los Gatos (W)
Lefkow: Los Gatos (W)
St. Francis 34, McClymonds 14
Sabedra: St. Francis (W)
Dycus: St. Francis (W)
Canilao: St. Francis (W)
Babcock: St. Francis (W)
Lefkow: St. Francis (W)
St. Bonaventure-Ventura 42, Archbishop Riordan 34
Sabedra: Archbishop Riordan (L)
Dycus: St. Bonaventure-Ventura (W)
Canilao: St. Bonaventure-Ventura (W)
Babcock: Archbishop Riordan (L)
Lefkow: St. Bonaventure-Ventura (W)
De La Salle 39, Serra 10
Sabedra: De La Salle (W)
Dycus: De La Salle (W)
Canilao: De La Salle (W)
Babcock: De La Salle (W)
Lefkow: De La Salle (W)
San Ramon Valley 14, Soquel 7
Sabedra: San Ramon Valley (W)
Dycus: San Ramon Valley (W)
Canilao: San Ramon Valley (W)
Babcock: San Ramon Valley (W)
Lefkow: San Ramon Valley (W)
Dorsey-Los Angeles 20, Castlemont 0
Sabedra: Castlemont (L)
Dycus: Castlemont (L)
Canilao: Castlemont (L)
Babcock: Castlemont (L)
Lefkow: Castlemont (L)
WEEK 2 STANDINGS
Sabedra: 9-6
Babcock: 8-7
Lefkow: 8-7
Dycus: 8-7
Canilao: 6-9
SEASON STANDINGS
Sabedra: 21-9
Canilao: 20-10
Babcock: 19-11
Lefkow: 18-12
Dycus: 17-13