It looks as though PAL-SCVAL merger is working out nicely

So far, it’s working out great for the four PAL teams in the Lake. PAL teams occupy the top three spots of the Lake Division standings, as Woodside, South City and El Camino are a combined 4-0 in Lake play.

The four PAL teams — the three previously mentioned teams, along with Mills — are a combined 5-1. The four teams from the SCVAL? A combined 1-5 record.

Woodside is off to a 2-0 start, has won two in a row and eclipsed the 40-point mark for the second straight week in a 47-14 win over Monta Vista. South City now has a winning streak, winning for the second week in a row with a 34-20 decision over Lynbrook. El Camino also opened Lake play with its second straight win, a 34-20 victory over Lynbrook.

Mills, which fell to Woodside in the Lake Division opener last week, evened its division record with a 30-28 win over Saratoga.

The South San Francisco schools may be the most impressive so far. El Camino has scored 30 or more points in each of its last two games. Through four weeks, the Colts have scored 90 points. They scored a total of 40 in nine games last season.

South City, meanwhile, has won two in a row for the first time since the 2017 season. The 30 points scored was also the most since a 36-6 win over El Camino in that same 2017 season.

Woodside, which had shown a propensity for starting strong before fading in division play, has so far reversed that trend. The Wildcats hadn’t scored 40 points or more since a 40-0 win over South City in the first week of the pandemic 2021 spring season. The last time Woodside had two games of 40 or more points scored was in 2018.

Mills, meanwhile, won its first game since beating El Camino 28-7 in 2019 on its way to the Lake Division title. The Vikings did not field a team during the pandemic spring season and were 0-8 last year.

While none of these teams will be confused with Serra, Menlo-Atherton or Half Moon Bay, these four PAL schools are reinvigorating long dormant programs. And while a school is more than its football team, it’s the football team that provides most of a school’s athletic identity. All four of the PAL teams in the Lake Division are proving that they will be in the mix for a division title and an automatic Central Coast Section bid that goes along with it.

That should make for an exciting championship race in the coming weeks.

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While Lake Division play has already started, Ocean and Bay play kicks off this week. The Bay Division looks wide open but at this point Half Moon Bay appears the team to beat, coming into a showdown with Menlo-Atherton this week with a perfect 4-0 record.

Aragon and Sacred Heart Prep each have only one loss.

After that, it’s pretty much a roll of the dice. M-A, which has played the toughest non-league schedule for a team not named Serra, has lost two in a row. Menlo School’s high-flying offense has come back to earth the last couple of weeks. Burlingame has now lost two in a row and have not looked good doing so.

For the first time in a while, M-A is not a lock to win the title.

In the Ocean Division, Terra Nova and Carlmont are off to 3-1 starts, while Capuchino, Hillsdale and San Mateo are all 2-2. All had byes last week.

The best team in the Ocean might actually be playing in the El Camino Division. Sequoia, which would have been slotted into the Ocean Division prior to the merger, was moved to the SCVAL’s El Camino Division to balance the divisions.

All the Ravens have done is go 4-0 in the non-league portion of their schedule and already have notched a couple wins over Ocean teams, Capuchino (26-13) and Jefferson (28-8).

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The dearth of football officials will be magnified in the PAL as this week features four teams playing Thursday night: Burlingame at Aragon, Los Altos at Sequoia and Lynbrook at Mills.

All game are slated for 7 p.m. starts.

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.