Top matchups
No. 1 De La Salle (5-0) at No. 9 Clayton Valley Charter (4-1), Saturday, 7 p.m.: De La Salle is a heavy favorite to win Saturday and finish this unprecedented spring season undefeated. The Spartans have beaten every team on their schedule by multiple scores except the first one, Stockton power St. Mary’s. Nico Torrez and Mekhi Norfleet have led the DLS ground attack and the Spartans have gotten plenty from two of their college-bound seniors, QB Dorian Hale and DB/athlete Lu-Magia Hearns. Clayton Valley celebrated what it considers a league championship last week after beating San Ramon Valley. The Uglies have also defeated California and Monte Vista. Their only loss was to Sac-Joaquin Section power Monterey Trail-Elk Grove. CVC senior RB Omari Taylor, who helped the Uglies win a state title in 2019, has rushed for 620 yards and six TDs this spring. — Darren Sabedra
No. 2 Pittsburg (4-0) at Antioch (1-3), Saturday, 2:30 p.m.: The Big Little Game looks like quite a mismatch, but so did the 2019 matchup when Antioch brought a 2-7 record to the field and Pittsburg was 8-1. Pittsburg won 42-41. Antioch has lost four in a row to its archrival, the Panthers’ last victory coming in 2015 when then-junior RB Najee Harris, a soon-to-be NFL rookie, ran for 268 yards and four TDs to beat Pittsburg 44-42. Pittsburg has won all of its games this spring in blowout fashion, outscoring its four opponents 216-45. — Darren Sabedra
No. 3 Serra (4-0) at No. 19 St. Ignatius (3-0), Saturday, 1:30 p.m.: The last time these two WCAL rivals met, St. Ignatius snapped a 13-game losing streak to the Padres and claimed a share of the 2019 league title. More than 500 days later, the two teams meet again undefeated in this COVID-shortened season. Serra coach Patrick Walsh said his team’s romp over rival St. Francis two weeks ago felt like a banner-worthy win, but Saturday’s matchup will determine who can claim at least a share of this year’s WCAL title. Although both teams are undefeated, Serra is ranked No. 3 in the Bay Area News Group Top 25 and favored to win by two touchdowns, according to CalPreps projections. — Evan Webeck
No. 4 Valley Christian (2-1) at No. 14 St. Francis (2-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: The only loss all season for each of these teams came at the hands of undefeated Serra. Friday night, the WCAL foes face off in Mountain View. The fourth-ranked Warriors of Valley Christian, favored by 11 points according to CalPreps projections, are coming off a shutout performance against Bellarmine, while the No. 14 Lancers allowed only a single touchdown in a blowout win over Archbishop Mitty. Although the Warriors primarily feature a four-pronged rushing attack that has combined for 645 yards and seven touchdowns on 118 carries, sophomore receiver Jurrion Dickey is the player to watch on Valley Christian’s offense. The four-star recruit has offers from seven Division I programs, according to 247Sports, and has hauled in nine passes for 178 yards this season, including all three of dual-threat quarterback Jakson Berman’s passing touchdowns. For St. Francis, senior Adonis Hernandez and juniors Camilo Arquette and Viliami Teu have combined for 456 yards and four touchdowns on 54 carries to lead the Lancers’ offense. — Evan Webeck
No. 10 San Ramon Valley (3-2) at Monte Vista (0-5), Saturday, 7 p.m.: It started rough for Monte Vista, with half of its team missing for the season opener against Acalanes because of COVID-19 contact tracing. Then came a game at De La Salle, followed by close calls against California (OT defeat) and Clayton Valley Charter (seven-point loss) and a thumping last week by Jesuit-Carmichael. The Mustangs are still searching for their first victory and their last chance will come Saturday at home against archrival San Ramon Valley, which beat California by a touchdown and lost to Clayton Valley by three. Gavin Cribb has rushed for 536 and five TDs for Monte Vista. Jack Quigley has passed for 914 yards and five TDs for SRV. — Darren Sabedra
California (2-3) at No. 15 Acalanes (4-1), Saturday, 7 p.m.: California has lost two straight after taking then-No. 5 San Ramon Valley to the wire but coming up short and receiving a thumping from top-ranked De La Salle the following week. Acalanes’ only loss all season came three weeks ago at undefeated Campolindo in a game that may ultimately decide the Diablo Athletic League’s Foothill Division. Both teams feature quarterbacks averaging more than 200 yards per game through the air and rushing attacks with 120 yards per game on the ground. This non-league game should be close. CalPreps’ projections favor Acalanes by a point, and our Darren Sabedra and Mike Lefkow were split in their predictions. — Evan Webeck
Menlo (4-0) at No. 16 Sacred Heart Prep (4-1), Saturday, 2 p.m.: Next-door neighbors on Valparaiso Ave. in Atherton, both teams are in a position to go into the offseason with a lot of momentum. Menlo’s Sergio Beltran has thrown 13 touchdown passes, including four last week against San Mateo. Teddy Purcell has passed for 958 yards and 10 TDs for Sacred Heart Prep, with Paul Barton and Beck Anderson on the receiving end of many of those throws. SHP has won nine of the past 10 in the series, including three in a row. Calpreps.com favors SHP by three touchdowns. — Darren Sabedra
No. 18 Heritage (4-1) at No. 21 Liberty (3-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: Calpreps.com projects Heritage to win the battle of Brentwood by five points, a telling indicator of how far Heritage has risen under first-year coach Dave Fogelstrom. Liberty has won four in a row in the series, including a 50-6 thumping in 2019 and a 49-0 wipeout in 2018. This season, the teams are on a more level playing field. The only loss for both was to undefeated Pittsburg, which beat Heritage by 19 and Liberty by 48. Liberty bounced back from the Pittsburg loss last week to edge Freedom. Nate Bell has thrown for 661 yards and five TDs for Liberty. Devon Rivers has rushed for 736 yards and 10 TDs for Heritage. — Darren Sabedra
No. 23 El Cerrito (4-0) at No. 22 De Anza (3-0), Friday, 6 p.m.: The Tri-County Athletic League Rock Division championship will be at stake when these teams meet. Both are coming off one-sided victories over Pinole Valley. De Anza beat Pinole 21-3 on April 3. El Cerrito blasted Pinole 48-7 last week. — Darren Sabedra
Schedule
Bay Valley
Friday
Heritage at Liberty, 7 p.m.
Freedom at Deer Valley, 4 p.m.
Saturday
Pittsburg at Antioch, 2:30 p.m.
BVAL Mt. Hamilton
Friday
Leland at Oak Grove, 7 p.m.
Silver Creek at Piedmont Hills, 7 p.m.
Live Oak at Lincoln-San Jose, 7 p.m.
Overfelt at Santa Teresa, 7 p.m.
BVAL Santa Teresa
Saturday
Sobrato at Pioneer, 7 p.m.
Leigh at Branham, 7 p.m.
Independence at Willow Glen, 7 p.m.
BVAL West Valley
Thursday
Yerba Buena at James Lick, 7 p.m.
Prospect at Del Mar, 7 p.m.
San Jose at Andrew Hill, 7 p.m.
Gunderson at Evergreen Valley, 7 p.m.
DAL Foothill
Friday
Campolindo at Miramonte, 7 p.m.
Benicia at Las Lomas, 7 p.m.
DAL Valley
Friday
Concord at Mt. Diablo, 7 p.m.
EBAL Mountain
Saturday
De La Salle at Clayton Valley Charter, 7 p.m.
San Ramon Valley at Monte Vista, 7 p.m
EBAL Valley
Saturday
Foothill at Amador Valley, canceled
Dublin at Dougherty Valley, 7 p.m
Livermore at Granada, 7 p.m
PAL
Friday
The King’s Academy at Menlo-Atherton, 7 p.m.
Terra Nova at Half Moon Bay, 7 p.m.
Hillsdale at Aragon, 7 p.m.
Carlmont at Sequoia, 7 p.m.
Saturday
San Mateo at Burlingame, 11 a.m.
Jefferson at Woodside, 2 p.m.
Menlo at Sacred Heart Prep, 2 p.m.
El Camino at South S.F., 2 p.m.
SCVAL De Anza
Friday
Mountain View at Wilcox, 7 p.m.
Palo Alto at Los Gatos, 7 p.m.
Saturday
Santa Clara at Milpitas, 7 p.m.
SCVAL El Camino
Thursday
Fremont at Los Altos 7 p.m.
Saturday
Gunn at Cupertino, 7 p.m.
TCAL
Friday
Richmond at Hercules, 6 p.m.
Pinole Valley at Kennedy-Richmond, 6 p.m.
El Cerrito at De Anza, 6 p.m.
Saturday
St. Mary’s-Berkeley at Salesian, 1 p.m.
WACC/MVAL Foothill
Friday
Moreau Catholic at Encinal, 7 p.m.
San Leandro at James Logan, 7 p.m.
Bishop O’Dowd at Hayward, 7 p.m.
WACC/MVAL Mission
Friday
Kennedy-Fremont at Piedmont, 7 p.m.
Washington at Castro Valley, 7 p.m.
Mt. Eden at Berkeley, 7 p.m.
WACC/MVAL Shoreline
Friday
Alameda at Newark Memorial, 7 p.m.
Irvington vs. American at Tak, 4 p.m.
WCAL North
Saturday
Serra at St. Ignatius, 1:30 p.m.
Archbishop Riordan vs. Sacred Heart Cathedral at Kezar Stadium, 7 p.m.
WCAL South
Friday
Valley Christian at St. Francis, 7 p.m.
Saturday
Bellarmine at Archbishop Mitty, 1 p.m.
Non-league
Friday
Stellar Prep at Tennyson, 6 p.m.
Capuchino at Rancho Cotate, 7 p.m.
Skyline at Homestead, 7 p.m.
Saturday
Westmont at Saratoga, canceled
California at Acalanes, 7 p.m.
