Football's best bets

The Santa Clara Bruins beat up Mission-SF last week, 26-12. … The Menlo Knights were mauled by Piedmont, 31-6. … Menlo topped Santa Clara 35-26 last season. … The Bruins finished a tri-champ of the SCVAL’s El Camino Division to earn a promotion to the De Anza. … It’s been feast or famine for the Knights this season. They opened with a 65-point barrage in a win over Fremont-Oakland, but managed only 6 points in a blowout loss to the Highlanders. … Menlo started and finished well against Piedmont, holding it scoreless in those two quarters. It was the middle quarters the Knights struggled, giving up 17 points in the second and 14 more in the third.

Sacred Heart Prep (2-0) at Half Moon Bay (2-0), 7 p.m.

The SHP Gators grabbed a 28-21 win over St. Ignatius last week. … The HMB Cougars crushed Burlingame, 45-26. … SHP slapped HMB with a 35-6 loss in 2018. … SHP RB, Tevita Moimoi, is off to a strong start to his senior season. After opening with a 117-yard rushing performance in a win over Carlmont to open the season, he rumbled for 164 yards and two scores in the win over the Wildcats. … The HMB offense is already in midseason form, having scored 38 and 45 points in their first two games, respectively. … Cougars RB Connor Quosig had a big game against the Panthers, rushing for 142 yards rushing and two TDs on just 17 carries.

Alisal (1-1) at Terra Nova (1-1), 7 p.m.

The Alisal Trojans were doubled up last week in a 28-14 loss to Alvarez. … The Terra Nova Tigers tripped up Fremont-Sunnyvale, 28-7. … Through two games, Alisal is scoring an average of 24.5 points, while allowing 20. … Terra Nova is averaging 26 points per game, while giving up less than 17.

Hillsdale (2-0) at Mills (2-0), 7 p.m.

The Mills Vikings are off to a 2-0 start for new head coach Kevin Thorson, taking down Monta Vista-Cupertino last week 32-6. ... The Hillsdale Fighting Knights rolled past Independence-San Jose last week 33-0. ... The Vikings are off to their best start since 2016, when they opened the year 4-0. ... The Knights have enjoyed quite a turnaround since last season when they lost their first seven games; since then they have won five in a row dating back to Oct. 19, 2018. ... Mills has outscored opponents 72-6 this season and its defense has yet to yield a point; Monta Vista’s 6 points last week were scored on a TD as a result of a blocked punt. ... Hillsdale has gained 730 total offensive yards in two games, over half of which are credited to senior running back Nathan Iskander (26 carries, 372 yards and six TDs; two receptions for 21 yards).

Independence (0-2) at Carlmont (1-1), 7 p.m.

The Independence 76ers were shutout by Hillsdale last week, 33-0. … The Carlmont Scots skewered Woodside, 61-16. … Carlmont held off Independence 28-21 in the CCS Division IV semifinals last season. … What a difference a year makes. Last year, under now-M-A head coach Steve Papin, the 76ers went 7-0 in BVAL Mt. Hamilton play and were undefeated before losing to the Scots in the playoffs. This year, the 76ers have scored a total of 8 points and have doubled their losses. … Carlmont erupted for 35 points in the second quarter last week. … Scots’ RB Jonaven Kuhn rushed for 164 yards and two TDs on just nine carries.

Serra (2-0) at St. Mary's-Stockton (1-1), 7 p.m.

The Serra Padres pulverized M-A at Levi’s Stadium last week, 38-13. … The St. Mary’s Rams ran away from Central Catholic, 42-7. … The Rams topped the Padres 41-13 in the 2017 season opener. … St. Mary’s, which started the 2019 season a week before Serra, opened the season with a 42-35 loss to Pittsburg — a team Serra beat 58-21 in its season opener. … St. Mary’s QB Noah May is averaging 306 yards passing through his first two games. … Through two games, the Serra defense has allowed a total of 34 points.