Can Sacred Heart Prep best Summerville this Saturday? Will Wilcox be able to balance a long road trip and hang with Twelve Bridges in Lincoln?
Will Leland or Moreau Catholic reign supreme in an all-Bay Area battle? Can St. Ignatius continue its fairytale season with a road win over Central-Fresno?
Christian Babcock, Nathan Canilao and Joseph Dycus join long-timers Mike Lefkow and Darren Sabedra to pick the champions of this week’s CIF NorCal regional championship games.
All in good fun, of course.
In our weekly video show, the guys broke down several key games, including St. Francis’ matchup with Grant-Sacramento, Acalanes’ battle with Carmel and Amador Valley’s matchup with McClymonds.
Pittsburg quarterback Marley Alcantara (12) is hit out of bounds by Folsom’s Elijah Gulewich (8) while attempting to get a first down in the fourth quarter of their NorCal Division I-A regional championship game at Folsom School in Folsom, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. Officials measure the ball and said Alcantara was about a foot short of the first down giving Folsom possession of the ball. Folsom defeated Pittsburg 28-25. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
The undisputed game of the week is in Pittsburg, where the Pirates welcome in Folsom in a rematch of their classic 2023 NorCal matchup. Folsom won 28-25 on its infamous blue turf.
“What impressed me most about Pittsburg in the last couple years, especially this year seeing them against De La Salle, is the composure that Pittsburg showed,” Sabedra said. “I don’t know what it was like against San Ramon Valley, but against De La Salle, there were not penalties that left you scratching your head. There was a lot of discipline on that team, and they need to bring that discipline on Friday night. Because if they play out of control, Folsom will eat them up.”
Canilao, who saw Serra beat Folsom in Week 1, was bullish on Pittsburg’s prospects. He was one of three panelists who picked the Pirates to emerge victorious.
“If Pittsburg could put together four quarters of good football, that will really help them,” Canilao said. “Especially at home, where their place is going to be rocking. I know Folsom travels well. In some of these games, (Pittsburg) hasn’t completed — even against San Ramon Valley last week where I was there, they played about three quarters of football. The second quarter was really a struggle for them. But if they could put it together for all four quarters, I give them a really good shot at beating Folsom.”
Pittsburg’s Elijah Bow (25) consoles quarterback Marley Alcantara (12) after being defeated by Folsom during their NorCal Division I-A regional championship game at Folsom School in Folsom, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. Folsom defeated Pittsburg 28-25. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Dycus, who also picked the Pirates, wondered if Pittsburg coach Charlie Ramirez would eventually prioritize keeping five-star Folsom quarterback Ryder Lyons in the pocket, much as Serra did during its Week 1 win.
“I’ll be interested in seeing how long if (they do) in fact go with the strategy of, ‘Hey, let’s just let Ryder Lyons get out of the pocket, let him break contain,’” Dycus said. “I grew up a Vikings fan. Watching Aaron Rodgers, there are a bunch of Vikings coaches that said, ‘We’re going to let Aaron Rodgers run out of the pocket, and he can make throws, and that’s on him.’ I’ll be interested in seeing how long Charlie Ramirez sticks with that strategy if Lyons is breaking the pocket and is making big plays down the field. But also, Pittsburg has an offense unlike really any other in the Bay Area.”
Babcock, who passed Sabedra this week for the overall picks lead, joined the veteran in picking Folsom to win.
“Everything has been building toward this (for Pittsburg),” Babcock said. “You could argue the game against De La Salle, the game against SRV. But if they really want to form a legacy, obviously beating De La Salle would have done that for them. But that aside, they have another opportunity now to beat Folsom that would definitely cement especially Marley Alcantara, that great senior group, that would cement that this was a special group.”
Be sure to check out the video for all of our guys’ prep football talk.
If you just want the picks, keep scrolling.
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On to the picks …
WEEK 15 PICKS
DIVISION 7-AA
North: Leland (10-3) at Moreau Catholic (9-4), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Sabedra: Moreau Catholic
Dycus: Moreau Catholic
Canilao: Moreau Catholic
Babcock: Moreau Catholic
Lefkow: Moreau Catholic
DIVISION 6-A
North: Summerville (12-1) at Sacred Heart Prep (7-6), Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
Sabedra: Sacred Heart Prep
Dycus: Sacred Heart Prep
Canilao: Sacred Heart Prep
Babcock: Sacred Heart Prep
Lefkow: Sacred Heart Prep
DIVISION 5-AA
North: Acalanes (10-3) vs. Carmel (13-0) at Monterey Peninsula College, Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Sabedra: Acalanes
Dycus: Acalanes
Canilao: Acalanes
Babcock: Acalanes
Lefkow: Carmel
DIVISION 3-AA
North: Amador Valley (9-4) at McClymonds (9-4), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Sabedra: Amador Valley
Dycus: McClymonds
Canilao: Amador Valley
Babcock: Amador Valley
Lefkow: Amador Valley
DIVISION 2-A
North: Wilcox (11-2) at Twelve Bridges (13-0), Saturday, 6 p.m.
Sabedra: Twelve Bridges
Dycus: Wilcox
Canilao: Twelve Bridges
Babcock: Twelve Bridges
Lefkow: Twelve Bridges
DIVISION 2-AA
North: Grant-Sacramento (10-3) at St. Francis (10-3), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Sabedra: Grant-Sacramento
Dycus: Grant-Sacramento
Canilao: Grant-Sacramento
Babcock: Grant-Sacramento
Lefkow: St. Francis
DIVISION 1-A
North: St. Ignatius (10-2) at Central-Fresno (11-2), Saturday, 6 p.m.
Sabedra: Central-Fresno
Dycus: Central-Fresno
Canilao: Central-Fresno
Babcock: Central-Fresno
Lefkow: St. Ignatius
DIVISION 1-AA
North: Folsom (12-1) at Pittsburg (11-2), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Sabedra: Folsom
Dycus: Pittsburg
Canilao: Pittsburg
Babcock: Folsom
Lefkow: Pittsburg
WEEK 14 RESULTS
Central Coast Section
Division I final: No. 2 St. Francis 27, No. 5 Los Gatos 7
Sabedra: Los Gatos (L)
Dycus: Los Gatos (L)
Canilao: Los Gatos (L)
Babcock: Los Gatos (L)
Lefkow: St. Francis (W)
Division II final: No. 1 Wilcox 35, No. 7 Palma 26
Sabedra: Wilcox (W)
Dycus: Wilcox (W)
Canilao: Wilcox (W)
Babcock: Wilcox (W)
Lefkow: Wilcox (W)
Division IV final: No. 3 Sacred Heart Prep 21, No. 4 Burlingame 10
Sabedra: Sacred Heart Prep (W)
Dycus: Sacred Heart Prep (W)
Canilao: Sacred Heart Prep (W)
Babcock: Sacred Heart Prep (W)
Lefkow: Sacred Heart Prep (W)
Division V final: No. 3 Leland 27, No. 4 Sequoia 21
Sabedra: Sequoia (L)
Dycus: Leland (W)
Canilao: Sequoia (L)
Babcock: Sequoia (L)
Lefkow: Leland (W)
North Coast Section
Division I final: No. 2 Pittsburg 35, No. 3 San Ramon Valley 28
Sabedra: Pittsburg (W)
Dycus: Pittsburg (W)
Canilao: Pittsburg (W)
Babcock: Pittsburg (W)
Lefkow: Pittsburg (W)
Division II final: No. 2 Amador Valley 42, No. 4 Bishop O’Dowd 18
Sabedra: Bishop O’Dowd (L)
Dycus: Bishop O’Dowd (L)
Canilao: Bishop O’Dowd (L)
Babcock: Amador Valley (W)
Lefkow: Amador Valley (W)
Division III final: No. 1 Acalanes 20, No. 2 Campolindo 17
Sabedra: Campolindo (L)
Dycus: Acalanes (W)
Canilao: Campolindo (L)
Babcock: Acalanes (W)
Lefkow: Acalanes (W)
Division VI final: No. 1 Arcata 28, No. 2 Miramonte 21
Sabedra: Arcata (W)
Dycus: Miramonte (L)
Canilao: Arcata (W)
Babcock: Arcata (W)
Lefkow: Arcata (W)
Division VII final: No. 1 Moreau Catholic 21, No. 2 Ferndale 19
Sabedra: Ferndale (L)
Dycus: Moreau Catholic (W)
Canilao: Moreau Catholic (W)
Babcock: Ferndale (L)
Lefkow: Moreau Catholic (W)
WEEK 14 STANDINGS
Lefkow: 9-0
Babcock: 6-3
Dycus: 6-3
Canilao: 5-4
Sabedra: 4-5
SEASON STANDINGS
Babcock: 140-67
Sabedra: 139-68
Lefkow: 136-71
Canilao: 134-73
Dycus: 117-90
SECTION WINNER RESULTS
Editor’s note: Our staff picked champions for each division before the playoffs kicked off. Here is how they did:
SECTION CHAMPION STANDINGS
Lefkow: 11-4
Babcock: 8-7
Sabedra: 8-7
Dycus: 6-9
Canilao: 5-10
