Lopsided contests, upsets in league play and a landmark achievement highlighted last weekend’s Catholic high school football action amidst a lighter mid-season schedule.
The second week of Mission League play saw Kevin Rooney of Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) record his 300th career coaching win, 38-19 over Alemany, making him only the third coach in California high school football history to post that many victories at one school. Rooney, in his 38th season at Notre Dame, has been named CIF Coach of the Year 4 times, and has also been inducted into the California Coaches Association and National High School Athletic Coaches Association Halls of Fame.
Also in the Mission League, previously winless Bishop Amat knocked off Loyola, 7-3, a week after the Cubs had surprised previously unbeaten Notre Dame. Bishop Amat hosts Notre Dame Oct. 6 at La Puente.
Chaminade outscored Serra, 37-32, paced by Andrew Van Buren’s 332 yards rushing and five touchdowns, to put the Eagles (5-1 overall and idle this week) alone atop the league standings at 2-0, followed by Bishop Amat (1-0), with Loyola, Notre Dame and Serra each 1-1, Crespi 0-1 and Alemany 0-2. Alemany hosts Crespi Oct. 6 in Mission Hills, and Serra is at Loyola.
South Catholic League play got underway with Don Bosco Tech’s 16-7 upset win over Verbum Dei, the Tigers’ first win of 2017 after five losses, while the Eagles fell to 3-2. In another surprise, St. Bernard (2-4 overall) posted a 27-13 win over Cantwell-Sacred Heart (3-2).
Paraclete (5-1) and Bishop Diego (6-0), the top-ranked teams in CIF-Southern Section Divisions 5 and 6 respectively, rolled to resounding victories. The Spirits downed St. Bonaventure 55-21 in Ventura, while the Cardinals clobbered nearby rival Carpinteria, 56-0.
Elsewhere, St. Francis (5-0) remained unbeaten, 39-14 over Buena Park, as did Villanova (6-0), 65-6 over Price. St. Francis begins Angelus League play this week against St. Paul (idle last week), while Villanova (among the state’s top-rated eight-man teams) is idle prior to opening Condor League play Oct. 14.
In other action: Cathedral 48, Newport Harbor 10; St. Joseph (Santa Maria) 70, San Luis Obispo 7; Valley Christian (Cerritos) 35, St. Anthony 28; St. Genevieve 44, Bishop Montgomery 0; Santa Clara 39, Fairmont Prep 0; St. Margaret’s Episcopal 54, St. Pius-St. Matthias 0 (Academy League); Malibu 34, St. Monica 14; Crossroads Christian 54, Bellarmine-Jefferson 20.
This week’s games
The six teams of the Trinity League (all ranked in the Division 1 top 10) were idle last week, but will commence what should be a bruising league season this week, with St. John Bosco (4-1 overall) at Orange Lutheran (5-0), Mater Dei (5-0) at Santa Margarita (4-1), and J.Serra (5-0) at Servite (5-0). Other league action (all Oct. 6 unless noted):
Angelus: St. Paul at St. Francis, Salesian at La Salle, Cathedral at Harvard-Westlake (Oct. 7).
Baseline: Chino Hills at Damien.
South Catholic: Bishop Montgomery at Verbum Dei (Oct. 7), Don Bosco Tech at St. Bernard.
Los Padres: St. Joseph (Santa Maria) at Cabrillo.
Omega: Bellarmine-Jefferson at Westmark.
Non-League: Cantwell-Sacred Heart at St. Anthony, Thousand Oaks at St. Bonaventure, Bishop Diego at Fillmore, Paraclete at Vasquez, St. Pius X-St. Matthias at Fierbaugh, Trinity Classical at Santa Clara, Maranatha Christian (San Diego) vs. Mary Star, St. Monica at Crean Lutheran.
