Serra or De La Salle? St. Francis or McClymonds? Liberty or Los Gatos?
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 Serra’s chances of beating De La Salle.
Coming off a stunning 22-21 victory at powerhouse Folsom, Serra has an opportunity to reclaim its spot atop the Bay Area pecking order if it takes down the Spartans in Concord.
If Serra is looking for doubters to provide motivation, all they’ll need to do is watch the pick ‘em show. For the second week in a row, all five panelists picked against the Padres.
“You know, Patrick Walsh said ‘Never doubt those Serra Padres,’ but that’s exactly what I’m gonna do,” said Canilao, who covered the upset at Folsom.
“If Serra wins this game, they need to get everyone on the team a subscription to the Mercury News (and East Bay Times), because we’re giving them an endless supply of bulletin board material at this point,” Babcock added.
De La Salle’s experience could be a determining factor. The Concord school has lost each of the past two meetings to the Padres, but Serra had to replace 18 of the 22 starters from last year’s 28-0 decision.
“I think that if De La Salle is going to get back to being the top dog in NorCal – they’ve got a veteran team with a veteran quarterback, quick running backs and are good on the line — if they don’t get Serra this time, I’m not sure when they’re going to get them,” Sabedra said.
The show wasn’t all predictions and bluster, though.
Bay Area high school football historian Mike Lefkow remembered the late Steve Alameda, the longtime Kennedy-Richmond and Pinole Valley coach who died this past weekend.
“He was one of the great coaches in West Contra Costa County,” Lefkow said. “He had some really good players and some really good teams, and you know, he was just a nice person.”
Be sure to check out the video.
If you just want the picks, keep scrolling.
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On to the picks …
WEEK 2 PICKS
Thursday
Santa Teresa (1-0) at Milpitas (1-0), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Milpitas
Dycus: Santa Teresa
Canilao: Milpitas
Babcock: Santa Teresa
Lefkow: Milpitas
Friday
Bishop O’Dowd (1-0) at Monte Vista (1-0), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Monte Vista
Dycus: Monte Vista
Canilao: Monte Vista
Babcock: Monte Vista
Lefkow: Monte Vista
Salesian (1-0) at Moreau Catholic (1-0), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Salesian
Dycus: Salesian
Canilao: Moreau Catholic
Babcock: Salesian
Lefkow: Moreau Catholic
Hillsdale (1-0) at Half Moon Bay (1-0), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Half Moon Bay
Dycus: Hillsdale
Canilao: Hillsdale
Babcock: Hillsdale
Lefkow: Hillsdale
Lincoln-San Jose (0-1) at San Jose (1-0), 7:15 p.m.
Sabedra: Lincoln-San Jose
Dycus: Lincoln-San Jose
Canilao: Lincoln-San Jose
Babcock: Lincoln-San Jose
Lefkow: Lincoln-San Jose
Sacred Heart Prep (1-0) vs. Sacred Heart Cathedra (1-0)l at Kezar Stadium, 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Sacred Heart Prep
Dycus: Sacred Heart Prep
Canilao: Sacred Heart Prep
Babcock: Sacred Heart Prep
Lefkow: Sacred Heart Prep
Salinas (0-0) at Valley Christian (1-0), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Valley Christian
Dycus: Valley Christian
Canilao: Valley Christian
Babcock: Valley Christian
Lefkow: Valley Christian
San Mateo (1-0) at Aragon (0-1), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Aragon
Dycus: San Mateo
Canilao: San Mateo
Babcock: San Mateo
Lefkow: Aragon
Bishop Manogue-Reno (2-1) at Pittsburg (1-0), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Pittsburg
Dycus: Pittsburg
Canilao: Pittsburg
Babcock: Pittsburg
Lefkow: Pittsburg
Liberty (1-0) at Los Gatos (1-0), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Los Gatos
Dycus: Liberty
Canilao: Liberty
Babcock: Los Gatos
Lefkow: Los Gatos
McClymonds (0-1) at St. Francis (1-0), 7:30 p.m.
Sabedra: St. Francis
Dycus: St. Francis
Canilao: St. Francis
Babcock: St. Francis
Lefkow: St. Francis
Archbishop Riordan (1-0) vs. St. Bonaventure-Ventura (2-0) at Ventura College, 7 p.m.
Sabedra: Archbishop Riordan
Dycus: St. Bonaventure-Ventura
Canilao: St. Bonaventure-Ventura
Babcock: Archbishop Riordan
Lefkow: St. Bonaventure-Ventura
Serra (1-0) at De La Salle (1-0), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: De La Salle
Dycus: De La Salle
Canilao: De La Salle
Babcock: De La Salle
Lefkow: De La Salle
Soquel (0-1) at San Ramon Valley (1-0), 7 p.m.
Sabedra: San Ramon Valley
Dycus: San Ramon Valley
Canilao: San Ramon Valley
Babcock: San Ramon Valley
Lefkow: San Ramon Valley
Saturday, Sept. 7
Dorsey (0-1) at Castlemont (0-0), 12:30 p.m.
Sabedra: Castlemont
Dycus: Castlemont
Canilao: Castlemont
Babcock: Castlemont
Lefkow: Castlemont
WEEK 1 RESULTS
Thursday
Willow Glen 31, Lincoln-San Jose 7
Sabedra: Lincoln-San Jose (L)
Dycus: Willow Glen (W)
Canilao: Willow Glen (W)
Babcock: Lincoln-San Jose (L)
Lefkow: Lincoln-San Jose (L)
Santa Teresa 48, Fremont-Sunnyvale 7
Sabedra: Santa Teresa (W)
Dycus: Santa Teresa (W)
Canilao: Santa Teresa (W)
Babcock: Santa Teresa (W)
Lefkow: Santa Teresa (W)
Friday
El Cerrito 38, Amador Valley 16
Sabedra: El Cerrito (W)
Dycus: Amador Valley (L)
Canilao: El Cerrito (W)
Babcock: El Cerrito (W)
Lefkow: Amador Valley (L)
Moreau Catholic 37, St. Mary’s-Berkeley 0
Sabedra: Moreau Catholic (W)
Dycus: Moreau Catholic (W)
Canilao: Moreau Catholic (W)
Babcock: Moreau Catholic (W)
Lefkow: Moreau Catholic (W)
Leigh 27, Leland 9
Sabedra: Leigh (W)
Dycus: Leigh (W)
Canilao: Leigh (W)
Babcock: Leigh (W)
Lefkow: Leigh (W)
Los Gatos 14, Soquel 7
Sabedra: Los Gatos (W)
Dycus: Los Gatos (W)
Canilao: Los Gatos (W)
Babcock: Los Gatos (W)
Lefkow: Los Gatos (W)
Palo Alto 25, Mountain View 13
Sabedra: Palo Alto (W)
Dycus: Palo Alto (W)
Canilao: Palo Alto (W)
Babcock: Palo Alto (W)
Lefkow: Palo Alto (W)
Valley Christian 24, Wilcox 7
Sabedra: Valley Christian (W)
Dycus: Valley Christian (W)
Canilao: Valley Christian (W)
Babcock: Wilcox (L)
Lefkow: Valley Christian (W)
De La Salle 42, Grant-Sacramento 14
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)
Pittsburg 43, Monterey Trail-Elk Grove 13
Sabedra: Pittsburg (W)
Dycus: Pittsburg (W)
Canilao: Pittsburg (W)
Babcock: Pittsburg (W)
Lefkow: Pittsburg (W)
Riordan 35, McClymonds 34
Sabedra: Riordan (W)
Dycus: McClymonds (L)
Canilao: Riordan (W)
Babcock: Riordan (W)
Lefkow: McClymonds (L)
San Ramon Valley 28, St. Ignatius 10
Sabedra: San Ramon Valley (W)
Dycus: St. Ignatius (L)
Canilao: San Ramon Valley (W)
Babcock: San Ramon Valley (W)
Lefkow: San Ramon Valley (W)
Vanden-Fairfield 23, Campolindo 7
Sabedra: Campolindo (L)
Dycus: Campolindo (L)
Canilao: Vanden-Fairfield (W)
Babcock: Campolindo (L)
Lefkow: Vanden-Fairfield (L)
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Serra 22, Folsom 21
Sabedra: Folsom (L)
Dycus: Folsom (L)
Canilao: Folsom (L)
Babcock: Folsom (L)
Lefkow: Folsom (L)
Saturday
Menlo-Atherton 40, Bellarmine 10
Sabedra: Menlo-Atherton (W)
Dycus: Bellarmine (L)
Canilao: Menlo-Atherton (W)
Babcock: Menlo-Atherton (W)
Lefkow: Menlo-Atherton (W)
WEEK 1 STANDINGS
Canilao: 14-1
Sabedra: 12-3
Babcock: 11-4
Lefkow: 10-5
Dycus: 9-6
SEASON STANDINGS
Canilao: 14-1
Sabedra: 12-3
Babcock: 11-4
Lefkow: 10-5
Dycus: 9-6
