Early-season assessment

Serra, Los Gatos

These two schools might be 1-2 in the Central Coast Section power rankings. No doubt the Padres are not only the No. 1 team in the section, but the best team in the Bay Area and the top team in Northern California. Great teams don’t do to De La Salle what Serra did last week, posting a 28-0 shutout. Special teams do to the Spartans what the Padres did last Saturday.

The Padres will be tested again this weekend, however, when they travel to the Central Valley and face off with Modesto’s Central Catholic.

I don’t think there is any real argument that Los Gatos is the top-ranked public school in the CCS. The Wildcats have burst out of the gate to start 2023. After waltzing to a 45-14 win over Soquel in their season opener, and now, they’ve checked off the adversity box as well.

Last week, Los Gatos found itself trailing Liberty-Brentwood 34-21 going into the fourth quarter, before outscoring the Lions 14-0 in the fourth to pull out a 35-34 victory.

Los Gatos had a last-minute schedule change this week as Live Oak pulled out of their game Friday for unspecified reasons. The Wildcats have since secured a home matchup with Sacramento power Grant. The Wildcats will get another stern test in the Pacers.

The rest of the PAL Bay is going to have their hands full with Los Gatos.

TRENDING UP

Capuchino, Hillsdale, Menlo School, San Mateo, Terra Nova, Woodside

All four of these teams are 2-0 — along with Palo Alto and Milpitas — and have looked varying degrees of impressive.

Hillsdale, Menlo and Palo Alto appear to be the top contenders in the De Anza Division early in the season. Hillsdale is averaging 36 points per game. Its defense will be tested this week, however, when the Knights will be tasked with slowing Woodside running back Evan Usher.

Menlo, on the other hand, has gotten off to a strong defensive start, having allowed just 21 points through two games.

San Mateo, Terra Nova and Capuchino all looked poised to duke it out for the Ocean Division title this year. All rely on the ground-and-pound and I could easily envision a tri-championship. The Tigers, behind Mateo Corona, may have the most impressive resume, but the way the Bearcats handled Half Moon Bay, they certainly won’t be a pushover for anyone.

The Mustangs are probably the dark horse in the division, but they’ve already posted a win over Burlingame and have also shown an ability to get off the ball.

Woodside seems to have the inside track in the El Camino Division and as long as Usher does not miss any time, I would think the division title is the Wildcats’ to lose. He already has games rushing for 271 and 190. A win over Hillsdale Friday would be a big feather in the cap for Woodside.

JURY STILL OUT

Aragon, Menlo-Atherton, Sacred Heart Prep, Sequoia, South City

All are 1-1 to start and in various stages of self reflection. Wilcox and Mountain View are also in this group.

M-A, SHP and South City are the ones most likely to trend up. The Bears and Gators evened their records with tough wins last week, while the Warriors were respectable in a 21-0 loss to Capuchino. Playing in the Bay Division, M-A and SHP will be in battles week in and week out and, given their recent track records, they should more than hold their own. A .500 record would be nothing to sneeze at.

Unlike M-A and SHP, South City should benefit from playing in the Lake Division. The Warriors have some of the best pure football athletes in the division who should have big years playing against the lowest level of PAL competition.

Aragon and Sequoia, however, are still major question marks. Ravens head coach Rob Poulos said in a text message after last week’s 42-0 loss to Patterson that his team has been all or nothing so far this season. They won by shutout in their season opener.

The same could be said for Aragon. As encouraging as the Dons’ season-opening 41-13 win over Homestead was, their 41-14 loss to Monterey last week was a bit discouraging. Both the Ravens and Dons will have their hands full with Ocean Division play this season.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Gunn

The Titans went winless in 2022, but are off to a quick 2-0 start and looks like will be in the mix for the Lake Division crown. They’ve beaten a pair of “C” league teams so far, though, and will get a test against a usually strong Lowell program. It is the Cardinals’ season opener.

UH-OH

Burlingame, Carlmont, Half Moon Bay, Jefferson

All four are still searching for their first win of the year and so far, the one that seems most capable is Carlmont. The Scots were beaten 26-23 by a Castro Valley fourth-quarter rally before Menlo posted a 21-7 win last week.

But at least they’ve been competitive, which is not something you can really say about the other three. Burlingame, Half Moon Bay and Jefferson have looked bad in going a combined 0-6 to start the season. The Panthers can’t score and can’t stop other teams from scoring, the Cougars can’t take care of the ball and the Grizzlies, well...

Burlingame should have a gimmee win against visiting Arroyo-San Lorenzo, which has been one of the worst programs in the East Bay for a while. A Panthers’ loss would be troubling and given the brutal schedule of the Bay Division, wins may be hard to come by for Burlingame.

Half Moon Bay has a bit of reprieve, playing in the De Anza Division, but the Cougars have gotten blown out early and just aren’t built for double-digit comebacks.

Nathan Mollat can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: 344-5200 ext. 117. To report scores or tips, email sports@smdailyjournal.com.