PAL Lake Division football preview: Neighbors could spark new rivalry

“I think it will be either us or El Camino,” Stewart said. “They have a good coach over there. They’ve got a great staff. They’ve got size.”

Stewart is somewhat partial to El Camino. A former physical education teacher at Alta Loma Middle School in South San Francisco, a feeder school for El Camino, he’s either taught or coached many of the Colts’ players. But if his prediction is accurate, the Grizzlies could become embroiled in one of the PAL’s most enduring rivalries.

El Camino, of course, is the longstanding archrival of South City. With South City’s meteoric rise from the oblivion of not fielding a varsity team in 2021, to winning back-to-back PAL championships in the PAL Lake Division in 2023 followed by the PAL El Camino Division in the 2024, the Week 10 intra-South San Francisco rivalry game has been dominated by South City for the past two years.

This only serves to shine a rivalry spotlight on the Sept. 26 PAL Lake Division opener between Jefferson and El Camino. Not only are the two schools located nearly as close as El Camino and South City, the stakes riding on the outcome of the game could make for a more spirited matchup than any on the Colts’ 2025 calendar.

“I definitely think that there’s opportunity for us,” Mayorga said. “I’m never going to sit here and say we’re the lock to win anything ... but I was telling the guys if we are process driven, we are going to be where we want at the end of the year.”

Jefferson is the PAL Lake’s top returning team. Stewart’s Grizzlies settled for second place last season, falling to Gunn-Palo Alto on the final day of the regular season in a battle for the league title. By virtue of the win, Gunn earned a trip to the Central Coast Section playoffs — going one-and-done with a 33-6 loss to Sequoia in the Division V tournament opener — while Jefferson settled for second place in the winner-take-all “C” league and received no playoff bid.

Stewart is confident the Grizzlies’ success will carry over into this season, thanks in part to experienced returners like linebackers Dimas Garcia and Aaron Gonzales. Even more reason for optimism is Jefferson is steadily growing its program. Stewart said there are 63 players currently on the field, with a surprising majority turning out for the growing junior-varsity team.

“Yeah, it should carry over,” Stewart said. “We have like 40 kids signed up for JV this year. So, that’s pretty impressive.”

The PAL Lake is by no means a two-team race, however. After all, El Camino settled for sixth place in the eight-team division last season, with Saratoga in third, Monta Vista-Cupertino in fourth, and upstart MacDonald-San Jose in fifth.

Then there’s the x-factor in Mills. The Vikings settled for seventh place in the Lake in 2024, but with a new year brings new chances — and an entirely new coaching staff. Head coach Nick Lobao is in his first year running a varsity program, but the 2003 Terra Nova graduate is bringing plenty of Pacifica reinforcements, including veteran varsity assistant coach Chris Chaika to work with the offensive and defensive lines, and Marcel Thomas to serve as defensive coordinator.

“If we can stay healthy, we’re talented enough to win a lot of football games,” Lobao said. “Numbers are always a battle. We’re not the only one going through that right now. But if we can stay healthy we can win some football games.”

El Camino and Mills could both use some uplift for their respective programs. Mills hasn’t qualified for the CCS postseason 2015. El Camino made its last playoff appearance in 2011. Neither has won a CCS playoff game in their respective programs’ histories.

“The way the league was aligned before, it could be pretty difficult just getting competitive games,” Mayorga said. “It’s exciting that if you’re in the Lake and you have a smaller team ... with maybe a different level of athletes, at least you know if you have the right culture, you’re going to be competing in a good number of games.”

Cupertino Pioneers

2024: 1-7, 8th in Lake Division, 1-9 overall

2024 playoffs: none

The Pioneers have endured a seesaw history in recent years. By that math, this year, Cupertino is due to see an upswing after last season’s 1-9 mark, the program’s worst overall record since 2010.

That’s a big drop-off since 2023, when the Pioneers made their PAL debut in the Lake Division with a 7-3 overall record, including a 6-1 league mark, good for second place in the Lake. Unfortunately, for Cupertino, that 2023 season was the year of the South City Warriors, and their emergence as Lake Division and CCS Division V champions. The Pioneers’ only Lake loss that season came to the Warriors, and cost them not only the league title, but left them stranded in the “C” league, where the program will stay for the third straight season.

First-year head coach Matt Barr returns to Cupertino to take the reins to run his first program since serving as varsity head coach at Harriton in Rosemont, Pennsylvania from 2006-12. Since relocating to the Bay Area, he has compiled a short and sweet resume as an assistant, coaching at Cupertino during an SCVAL El Camino title run in 2021, and as a running backs coach at Menlo School for the 2022 CCS Division III championship season.

Barr is set to return senior wide receiver Brandon Cheng, who lists at 6-foot, 180 pounds as a junior when he earned All-Lake Division first-team honors. Cheng totaled 33 catches for 395 yards and two touchdowns last season, and will be paired with 6-1, 165-pound junior wide out Ali Negzedekov. Senior quarterback Aaron Stammerjohn, as the 6-2, 225-pound senior returns after throwing for 791 yards in 2024.

On the line, 5-6, 170-pound senior Axel Garcia will play two ways, anchoring the offense as starting center and moving around the defensive line. Jacob Sho, 5-10, 170 pounds, will double at tight end and outside linebacker.

El Camino Colts

2024: 4-4, tied 5th in Lake Division, 4-6 overall

2024 playoffs: none

Last year marked the 12th straight season El Camino hasn’t qualified for the CCS playoffs. This year, there’s genuine excitement in head coach Rustin Mayorga’s voice his Colts are on the verge of changing that.

A postseason run stands to be a tall order in the winner-take-all PAL Lake Division, especially with neighboring Jefferson seeming to be the heir apparent to league champion Gunn-Palo Alto, with Gunn promoting to the PAL El Camino Division and Jefferson coming off a solid second-place finish.

With three returning offensive linemen, including 6-5, 270-pound senior right tackle Sebastian Munoz, the Colts are positioned as well as any of the Lake’s other seven teams to give Jefferson a run for its money.

“We have a pretty solid squad,” Mayorga said. “So, we’re hoping if we stay healthy this year we can make a little bit of noise.”

El Camino returns both of its first-team All-Lake Division players, with senior running back Noah David coming off a 1,469-yard rushing season, and two-time all-league junior offensive guard Davian Martinez joining Munoz and senior right tackle Ethan Langi up front.

“It’s no surprise what we’re trying to do,” Mayorga said of the presence of all-leaguers David and Martinez. “We’re trying to play physical football and pound the rock. ... It’s kind of infectious because all the other offensive linemen are feeding off it, and it just kind of sets the tone for us.”

Experience at quarterback is also a varsity football luxury, and El Camino has that with the return of “Q,” as in senior Quentin Bromaghim.

“Q’s back and he’s actually looking damn good,” Mayorga said. “He’s looking like the quarterback I know he could have been last season. ... He’s starting to put things together for us. So, I’m excited. Obviously, we’re going to be a downhill running team ... but we don’t need to be one-dimensional. We can pass the ball if we want to.”

Adding to the lineman mix is incoming junior tight end Ethan Damasen, but the two-way player’s best utility looks to be on defense, as the edge rusher turned heads during 5v5 lineman play in the offseason.

“He’s an amazing pass rusher and just an overall athlete,” Mayorga said.

Homestead Mustangs

2024: 0-5, 6th in El Camino Division, 2-8 overall

2024 playoffs: none

Prior to the PAL realignment in 2023, the Mustangs had a foothold in the “A” league De Anza Division (then part of the Santa Clara Valley Athlete League), including one of the program’s best campaigns in recent years in 2021. Since realignment, however, Homestead hasn’t earned a league win, going 0-5 in the PAL DeAnza in 2023, and 0-5 in the PAL El Camino in 2024.

The Mustangs’ current 13-game losing streak in league games has seen them dropped to the PAL Lake Division this year, where second-year head coach Shawn Hook will look to rebuild the program, one that made the Central Coast Section postseason three straight years from 2021-23.

Homestead earned just one All-El Camino Division nod last season, but that went to underclassman tight end Davis Robu. The 6-1, 179-pound two-way standout, who also plays linebacker, returns as a junior this season. Senior quarterback Carson Chang also returns as a second-year starter to bring experience to a backfield that graduated its top running back in Ido Saban, who led the Mustangs in rushing and receiving yards in 2024.

Defensively, the Mustangs had some better outcomes than their 338 points against might suggest. They took their lumps in three games — a 61-20 non-league loss to Capuchino and a 77-12 league-opener loss to Woodside in back-to-back games, followed by a 47-21 loss to Santa Clara. In their other seven contests, however, the Mustangs were outscored by a respectable 153-118 cumulative margin.

Jefferson Grizzlies

2024: 7-1, second in Lake Division, 7-3 overall

2024 playoffs: none

Jefferson nearly got back to the postseason last year for the first time since 2017.

Nearly.

The Grizzlies went into Week 10 of the 2024 campaign right where they wanted to be, riding a seven-game winning streak, tied for first place in the PAL Lake, and going head to head with Gunn-Palo Alto for the division title. Then Jeff’s hopes were dashed with a lopsided 28-7 loss, leaving Gunn as the playoff-bound champs in the winner-take-all format of the “C” league Lake.

Third-year head coach Imani Stewart has the program trending in the right direction, however, for the first time since the pandemic, when closures were tougher on schools in the Jefferson Union High School District than any others throughout the PAL.

“This year we’re trying to make a splash,” Stewart said.

Stewart is banking on Jeff’s defense, with 6-2, 275-pound second-year varsity junior Bryant Dexter Martin anchoring the line at defensive tackle. Last season, Martin was flanked by now-graduated All-Lake Division defensive lineman Xavier Alfarez and incoming senior Dimas Garcia. Martin, however, figures to be surrounded by a new cast this year with the 5-10, 220-pound Garcia moving back to his natural position at middle linebacker.

Garcia was the team’s third-leading tackler last season — behind returning junior linebacker Aaron Gonzales and Martin — while rotating between defensive tackle, defensive end and linebacker.

“He gets the guys going,” Stewart said. “He’s the captain. As he goes, they go.”

On offense, the Grizzlies alternate between the spread and the double wing, and expect two quarterbacks to share the load. Robert Saulny-Green is set to return, but the 6-2, 205-pound senior will miss the first month of the season while recovering from a broken arm. Senior quarterback Harrison Garcia Orta will play full-time until Saulny-Green’s return.

A backfield by committee will feature a 6-foot, 165-foot freshman in Deondre Chisholm, along with seniors Lazarus Velez, Dominic Howard and Gonzales.

MacDonald Condors

2024: 4-4, tied 5th in Lake Division, 4-6 overall

2024 playoffs: none

With San Jose’s recently opened Kathleen MacDonald High School entering its fourth year academically, the Condors will roster seniors for the first time in school history this season.

MacDonald finished its inaugural 2024 season with 30 players on the varsity roster, including nine underclassmen and 21 juniors. That translates second-year head coach Burt Cordera’s team beginning 2025 with 18 seniors on roster this season. That includes 6-3, 205-pound quarterback Moussa Fall, who as a junior was named PAL Lake Division Offensive Player of the Year.

Fall is one of three first-team All-Lake Division players, along with senior wide receiver Ethan Bugarin and junior wide receiver Dominic Hynt. The aerial complement helped the Condors turn around their 2024 campaign, one in which the program lost their first four games before closing out the season at a 4-2 clip, closing with back-to-back wins of 17-7 over El Camino, and a program-record for single-game scoring 47-6 over Lynbrook.

Cordera and the Condors are looking to accelerate the learning curve with a challenging non-league schedule. It only gets tougher after Week 1 opponent Santa Clara, from the PAL El Camino Division, as MacDonald follows with Mt. Pleasant, coming off second place in the West Valley League, and reigning PAL Lake champion Gunn.

Mills Vikings

2024: 2-6, 7th in Lake Division, 2-8 overall

2024 playoffs: none

After a disappointing 2024 season, the Vikings made some big changes this year, starting with the hire of head coach Nick Lobao.

With an extensive resume of coaching high school football, Lobao takes his first turn as a varsity head coach. A graduate of Terra Nova in 2003, Lobao brings Pacifica with him to fill out his coaching staff, including a long tenured offensive and defensive line coach in Chris Chaika.

Chaika, who coached at Capuchino last season, has a long history with Lobao. It was Chaika who gave Lobao his first head coaching job in running Cap’s junior-varsity program in 2006. Prior to that, Lobao played for Chaika during his Pop Warner days with the Pacifica Tigersharks.

“We have a group of guys that are really committed,” Lobao said. “It’s been a breath of fresh air. I’m not ignorant to Mills’ past, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the same time.”

Lobao is high on his skill players both sides of the ball, starting with returning All-Lake Division selection Valentino Maza. At 5-11, 195 pounds, Maza played tight end last season, but will move to the backfield with the graduation of all-league rusher Matthew Juul.

Under center, the Vikings turn to sophomore Brian Lourenco.

“He put in a lot of work and has a big arm,” Lobao said, “and really has that confidence you need in the offense we run to let the ball loose.”

Lourenco will look to targets like senior wide receiver Shamal Kumar, a returning two-way starter who doubles at defensive back. One of Mills’ best offensive weapons, though, will be Lourenco’s snapper, 6-2, 280-pound center Aryan Sen, who served as the Vikings’ first-string center last year before missing a chunk of the year due to injury.

“Big, strong,” Lobao said. “He’s not going to get pushed back. And a smart kid.”

On defense, returning All-Lake Division linebacker Justin Tran is back on the job after ranking second on the team with 6.1 tackles per game and first with two sacks in 2024.

“The kind of linebacker that was built in a lab,” Lobao said. “Just everything you would want in that position.”

Monta Vista Matadors

2024: 4-3-1, 4th in Lake Division, 6-3-1 overall

2024 playoffs: none

While the Matadors struggled through the middle of the year in 2024, they finished with as dazzling a season as any fourth-place team could hope for.

Monta Vista-Cupertino marched to blowouts in each of its six overall wins, including four shutouts. Of the team’s four losses, only a 28-0 at the hands of eventual PAL Lake Division champion Gunn-Palo Alto was a lopsided score. Otherwise, the Matadors endured losses of 17-13 to El Camino and 15-14 to Jefferson, and recorded a 27-27 tie against Saratoga.

“It’s funny because every coach always looks at me like: ‘Dude, how did you do that?’” Monta Vista head coach Ceazar Agront said. “That’s one thing we’ve always done is to get the kids to believe in themselves ... and being gritty. ... So, it was a good showing.”

All told, the Matadors outscored opponents 309-101 in 2024. Two-way senior lineman Sean Malone, a returning All-Lake Division first-team selection as a defensive lineman, will look to do more of the same. Agront, returning for his ninth year at the helm with a 27-35-1 career record, is coming off his best season, and the program’s best since 2015.

Monta Vista runs the triple option, and is returning experience to go with it. Fourth-year varsity senior running back Graham Ischo averaged 8.4 yards per carry last season, while totaling 73 carries for 610 yards and a team-high 12 touchdowns. Senior quarterback Justin Chaahoub also returns as a key piece despite completing just 17 passes for 206 yards in the run-intensive offense in 2024.

“Without [Chaahoub], it doesn’t really go,” Agront said.

The Matadors will cut their teeth in non-league action against a pair of West Valley League opponents — Hill-San Jose, a middle-of-the-pack team in 2024; and James Lick-San Jose, currently mired in a 14-game losing streak — followed by reigning Lake Division champ Gunn.

Saratoga Falcons

2024: 5-2-1, 3rd in Lake Division, 6-3-1 overall

2024 playoffs: none

The Falcons showcased some serious backfield depth in 2024 to finish above .500 for the first time since 2019. Continuing their winning ways this year will depend on exactly how deep that backfield was.

Saratoga rushed for 2,347 yards last season, fronted by now-graduated All-Lake Division offensive tackle Ben Haug and a trio of senior running backs led by Keion Ashjaee-Marshall. Not far behind the graduated Ashjaee-Marshall, Charlie Arman and Doug Bettinger were three juniors, all of whom return as seniors, in Ian Johnson (52 carries, 352 yards, six TDs); Jaydon Kwong (37, 318, three); and Brennan Pak (30, 234, four). Adding to the mix is 6-3, 190-pound junior quarterback Anson Hulme, who started all 10 games under center as a sophomore, while completing nearly 61% of his passes for 798 yards.

Head coach Archie Ljepava returns for his second season after getting off to quite a start in his first. Ljepava went unbeaten through his first seven games as the Falcons opened 2024 with a 6-0-1 mark, outscoring opponents 244-102. Then came the fall, closing the year with three straight losses — 24-0 to Jefferson, 17-3 to Gunn-Palo Alto and a 23-13 heartbreaker to rival Santa Clara.

Rejuvenating the defense is Pak, also a linebacker who led the Falcons with 11.6 tackles per game last season, while senior Daniel Rodriguez and junior Motekiai Pahulu also return to the middle tier as well after recording three sacks apiece.