PAL De Anza Division football preview: New QBs abound

But all six teams are giving their new signal callers some help with the return of several key offensive linemen and have players ready to step into the skill position roles.

So if you have to be young and inexperienced in the backfield, it certainly helps to have some veteran experience returning on the line.

“[The offense and defensive lines] are the best place to have returners,” said Capuchino head coach Jay Oca. (In my offense), I only need a few yards every down.”

The Mustangs are one of three teams in the division, along with San Mateo and Burlingame, that rely heavily on the power running game. Carlmont and Mountain View would be the teams that most resemble balanced offenses, while King’s Academy is on the complete other end of the offensive spectrum and the one team in the division that relies on the passing game.

The Knights, who tied for the De Anza Division title with Capuchino and were the No. 1 seed out of the division because of their 42-6 win over the Mustangs, graduated more than 2,200 yards passing last season and then saw their top receiver transfer.

And yet King’s Academy has three other returning receivers who had 115 catches and more than 1,300 yards receiving last year as head coach Dante Perez would go four-wide.

“When you have the horses. ...,” Perez said.

The Bearcats would be the complete antithesis to King’s offensively as head coach Jeff Scheller’s triple-option offense ground out more than 3,600 yards rushing last season. But Scheller said the main benefit of his offense is that it doesn’t require stud athletes at multiple positions to make it work. At its heart, the offense is about deception and Scheller hopes that the scheme is greater than the talent this season.

“When we transitioned to this offense in 2018, this what we were trying to build for,” Scheller said. “What is going to work for us is (using our offense as) a nuetralizer.”

Between the extremes of King’s Academy and San Mateo, you have Capuchino and Burlingame who lean more toward the style of San Mateo. Carlmont and Mountain View had a relatively even split between passing and running last season and lean more toward King’s with a propensity to throw the ball a little more.

Overall, the competition in the De Anza is about as strong as you’ll find outside the PAL’s Bay Division and the West Catholic Athletic League.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see (the division) end up with a tri-championship,” said Burlingame head coach John Philipopoulos. “It’ll be a week-to-week thing.”

Burlingame Panthers

2024: 3-2 tied 2nd De Anza Division, 8-5 overall

2024 playoffs: CCS DIV championship game

The names and faces change, but the results don’t. Despite whatever perceived shortcoming the Panthers have, they always seem to be in the game in and in the mix for a playoff spot.

This year should be no exception. While the Panthers do have some pieces to replace, head coach John Philipopoulos has what he believes are the players to plug into those spots. The Panthers don’t have a lot of returning starters, but they do have talent.

Starting with senior fullback Hayden Haba, who is not only the Panthers’ leading returning running back, but also leading returning receiver as he amassed almost 500 yards of total offense in 2024. Haba will also play safety on defense, where he started last season.

“The fullback, in our offense, is the primary ball carrier,” Philipopoulos said. “He’s a great, all-around football player.”

Joining Haba in the backfield is junior Qasim Abutair. He had limited touches last year, rushing for just 95 yards on just 20 carries, but Philipopoulos is expecting big things from him.

“We identified him right away when he was a freshman,” Philipopoulos said. “We expect him to be a big part of our team.”

Philipopoulos said he has several players in the mix on the offensive line, including a trio of returners in junior Lucas Cunningham, Daniel Stack and Nate Lierman.

All of which should help the transition for starting quarterback Nick Armstrong. The senior served as the backup last year and will move into the starting position this season. He’ll have a nice security blanket in younger brother Will Armstrong, a junior wide receiver.

“Nick has come in and done a nice job,” Philipopoulos said. “He has a strong arm. … He has some play-making abilities.”

The defense will be anchored by senior defensive end Quincy Yu, who enters his second season as a starter after getting the varsity call up midway through his sophomore year. Senior Ravi Krishnan, who started at linebacker last year, returns as well.

“We’re most definitely a work in progress,” Philipopoulos said. “But I like where we’re at.”

Capuchino Mustangs

2024: 4-1 tied 1st De Anza Division, 8-3 overall

2024 playoffs: lost in first round

The Mustangs graduated their top running back, recently graduated and Daily Journal Athlete of the Year Lucas Zayac, and saw its 2024 starting quarterback transfer. But the cupboard is not bare in San Bruno. The Mustangs do return a number of players on the offensive and defensive lines and if a team is only going to have experience at one position, it’s the line. 

“We’re ground and pound,” Oca said. 

Leading the way on the offensive line are Lofi Tofaeono and Sam Folau, who enters his third year of varsity play. Oca is also high on Rome Iosia, another three-year varsity player who will anchor the defensive line, but can be moved to other spots, as well.

“He’s an athletic guy,” Oca said of Iosia. “We’ll put him where we need him.”

Senior quarterback Kevin Hernandez, who was the backup last year, is in a battle for the starting spot with sophomore Logan Arceo, who is the younger brother of 2023 Capuchino starter Brandon Arceo.

But don’t put it past Oca to use both.

Victor Villarreal, another three-year varsity player will see a lot more carries in 2025 after backing up Zayac last season.

“He knows the system,” Oca said of Villarreal. “It’s hard to get shine when you have a Lucas Zayac out there.”

Carlmont Scots

2024: 3-2 Ocean Division, 6-4 overall

2024 playoffs: none

The personnel might change, but Carlmont’s ethos of bigger, faster, stronger does not. Since Eric Rado took over the Scots varsity program ahead of the 2020 season, his teams have developed a reputation of being tough, physical and strong thanks in large part to the buy in to the team’s strength and conditioning program.

So while the Scots will be replacing a number of key players who graduated, Rado confident his team will be competitive as they move up from the Ocean Division to the De Anza Division for 2025.

“The kids said they wanted to (be in the De Anza Division),” Rado said. “OK, then you have to give more.”

Carlmont lost its starting quarterback, leading rushers and top receivers to graduation, but the Scots do have some returners on the offensive line. That includes senior Dante Navarra, who Rado said he can move around to several different line spots, and senior tight end Derek Anderson, who are two of the team’s four captains.

The offensive and defensive line group, which Rado said goes eight to nine deep, will be aided by a pair of sophomores — Valita Ma’ake and Luis Lainez — who Rado expects to make contributions right away.

“They have a chance to start,” Rado said.

The quarterback spot is still a battle between last year’s backup, senior Adam Hyman, and junior Brody Zirelli, who led the junior varsity team to an 8-2 record last year.

Andy Dent, a senior tight end/safety, who was a member of the Scots’ 4x100 relay team this past spring, will try to replace the offense of Sean Chopoff, while senior Dylan Sorensen and junior Max Senechal will serve as the Scots’ main receiving weapons and double as defensive backs. Senechal was a mid-season call up from the junior varsity squad last year and he started the rest of the season.

Senioer Kaisei Trotter, who was third on the team in rushing last season with 276 yards, is slated to be the Scots’ featured back this year. Senior fullback Zander Navarette will also carry some of the rushing load this season.

“[Trotter] looks to be the guy this year,” Rado said. “He runs hard, can catch the ball (and) is smart.”

King’s Academy Knights

2024: 4-1 tied 1st De Anza Division, 5-6 overall

2024 playoffs: Lost first round

It was a busy offseason for the Knights. They graduated four-year starting quarterback Reid Black and then saw their top receiver and top running back both transfer.

But in no way does that stop fourth-year head coach Dante Perez from thinking his team will compete for a De Anza title.

Perez said his team was fairly young last year and will be again this season, but a lot of that youth got a lot of experience last season. Despite losing its top receiver to transfer, King’s still returns three players who accounted for 115 catches for 1,337 yards and 13 touchdowns as the Knights threw for more than 2,100 yards last season.

And 6-3, 180-pound Adrian Barnett, 6-3, 190-pound Jaiden Flores and Aaron Duncan are all only juniors and all hold multiple college offers already.

“And they all started last year,” Perez said.

Despite being a throwing team, the Knights still rushed for more than 1,200 yards as a team last season, enough to keep defenses honest. Drew Martinez is the leading returning rusher with 280 yards on 60 carries last season. He’ll be part of a rotation that will include Justin Turner, who made his mark at linebacker last season with 186 tackles.

The Knights return one starter on the offensive line, with Nathaniel Vargas entering his third-season as a starting center. The Fakatou cousins, juniors Langifisi and Solomone, were both late-season offensive line call ups last season who will move into starting roles this season.

All of which should help ease the transition of sophomore quarterback Ricky Gutierrez, who will make his varsity debut this season. Perez, who starred at quarterback at Valley Christian in San Jose before moving on and playing at North Dakota State, believes Gutierrez is ready for the job.

“Kids have to be prepared (to play varsity). A kid has to be mature enough to handle it,” Perez said. “This kid (Gutierrez) is good. I’m excited for him to take the helm.”

Mountain View Spartans

2024: 1-4 5th De Anza Division, 2-8 overall

2024 playoffs: None

The Spartans are only two seasons removed from a spot in the Central Coast Section Division IV championship game, falling to rival Palo Alto by a point.

But Mountain View is trying to right a ship that is just 1-9 against Bay and De Anza division teams over the last two seasons.

Of the six teams in the De Anza Division, Mountain View is the only one that returns its starting quarterback in junior Ishan Devarapalli. As a sophomore last season, he threw for a little more than 1,400 yards, with eight touchdowns against five interceptions as he was running for his life behind an offensive line that that was overwhelmed at times in 2024.

That unit should be better in 2025 with the return of a trio of seniors: Evan Luedke, Christopher Hernandez-Barriga and Brigham Robinson.

Robinson is a 6-2, 200-pound tight end who had 145 receiving yards last year and will also see time at defensive end.

Look for Brandon Binn to make an impact on both line this year, as well. The 6-3, 215-pound junior appeared in five games last season.

Braden Greene is slated to return as the Spartans main offensive weapon. The senior accounted for nearly 500 yards of offense last season, which was second-most on the team.

San Mateo Bearcats

2024: 4-1 T1st Ocean Division, 8-3 overall

2024 playoffs: Lost in first round

The Bearcats graduated one of the top rushers in the Peninsula Athletic League the last two seasons in Emmanuel Fitzgerald.

But the Fitzgerald name is alive and well in the Bearcats’ backfield as junior quarterback Lukas Fitzgerald and senior fullback Yianni Fitzgerald will try to keep head coach Jeff Scheller’s triple-option offense humming along — one that saw the Bearcats rush for more than 3,600 yards last season.

While most people think the key to the triple option is the fullback, the truth of the matter is the most important position in the quarterback’s ability to read the defense and make the right decision in distributing the ball — or keeping it himself.

Lukas Fitzgerald will be tasked with replacing graduated three-year starter Cam Palma under center this season. Fitzgerald spent his sophomore season as Palma’s understudy, getting plenty of reps in practice.

“He’s a real good student. He wants to do really well,” Scheller said. “It’s important for him to make good decisions.”

One of those decisions will be handing the ball off to Yianni Fitzgerald, among others. Yianni Fitzgerald made his presence felt on defense last season, as he was the Bearcats’ leading tackler last year with 97. Now he hopes to have that kind of impact on the other side of the ball.

“Yianni could be better than Emmanuel (as a fullback),” Scheller said. “He’s big, he’s strong and he has something to prove.”

Jovanni Hernandez Cruz also returns after running for more than 500 yards last year. Tyce Copus will serve as the slot back in the Bearcats’ offense, in addition to serving as a backup quarterback and lockdown corner, where he was a first-team All-Ocean Division selection last year.

Scheller will have to replace three-fifths of his offensive line and all three were three-year players. What the Bearcats may lack experience up front, they’ll make up with size. Kai Le Grille will anchor the offensive line. Logan Jandu, a junior who started on defense last year, will assume a role on the offensive line this year, while Lucas Hyndman, a sophomore, will be the starting center.