The Pioneer’s high school football scores update, Oct. 30, 2022
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (Oct. 31, 2022) — The final games of the regular season this weekend for high school football will be highlighted by the Battle of Concord with De La Salle (6-3) traveling the short trip to Clayton Valley Charter (6-3) where the perennial powers will meet in Gonsalves Stadium Friday evening at 7 p.m. with seedings in the North Coast Section playoffs at stake.
It would appear that the Ugly Eagles are the hotter team heading into Friday, having scored 42 or more points in their last four games while wrapping up the East Bay Athletic League Mountain Division championship. They posted a season high 55 points on Friday against Monte Vista in Danville. De La Salle’s EBAL game results do not count in league standings. CVCHS has tied for first or won the league title outright three years in a row. Ironically, their first EBAL season in 2019 found the Ugly Eagles lose every league game but rebounded with five straight playoff victories to claim the CIF Division 2-AA State championship.
De La Salle is also on a small roll with three straight wins after losing three of five intersectional games earlier in the season. Sophomore running back Dominic Kelley had scored one touchdown and gained 67 yards from scrimmage before last Friday’s game at Amador Valley. The Spartans shockingly trailed the Dons of Pleasanton 7-0 after one quarter and were tied 7-7 at halftime. In the second half, Kelley broke off three touchdown runs including scoring plays of 70 and 75 yards that each exceeded his season total.
Besides all important local bragging rights, the winner of Friday’s game will be a top two seed in the NCS Open/Division playoffs and the loser will likely be seeded third. It’s conceivable that the Concord rivals will meet each other again in the Section playoffs as they did in 2016 and 2017.
College Park football ended a tumultuous week with a resounding 54-6 win over Mt. Diablo, moving the Falcons within one game of taking the Diablo Athletic League Valley Division championship outright for the first time in 11 years. The previous week, CP rolled over outmanned Ygnacio Valley 84-0.
In the aftermath of that result, Mt. Diablo Unified School District Superintendent Adam Clark met with the principals of College Park and Ygnacio and reviewed a tape of the game. He then suspended second-year head coach Travis Raciti and athletic director Jim Keck for the final two Falcon games of the regular season.
Among the reasons for the suspensions, Clark mentioned that the Falcons went for a two-point conversion leading 47-0 in the first half, left the starters in the game too long and got multiple penalties for excessive celebrating. He added that College Park did not adhere to the “operating principles of pursuing victory with honor” against another school in the district.
Northgate snapped a three-game DAL Foothill Division losing streak in an unusual and dramatic fashion. Lucas Lesieur kicked a 28-yard field goal with six seconds left for the Broncos to edge Benicia 9-7. The junior kicker accounted for all nine Northgate points with his three field goals.
Concord High continued its successful season with a 34-12 homecoming win over Berean Christian. The Minutemen visit Mt. Diablo on Friday. Concord has lost three straight times to their Concord rivals and will not only be looking to end that sked but also varnish their record for the NCS Division 4 seeding committee next weekend. Mt. Diablo coach Donald James says his Red Devils must “win or go home to have a shot” at a second straight trip to the Division 4 playoffs.
Week 10 – Oct. 28
Concord (7-1) 34, Berean Christian (4-3) 12
Clayton Valley Charter (5-3) 55, Monte Vista-Danville (2-6) 6
De La Salle (5-3) 27, Amador Valley-Pleasanton (4-4) 7
Northgate (5-3) 9, Benicia (2-6) 7
Alhambra (3-5) 31, Ygnacio Valley (0-8) 12
College Park (5-3) 54, Mt. Diablo (3-5) 6
Week 11 – Nov. 4-5
Concord (8-1) at Mt. Diablo (3-6)
De La Salle (6-3) at Clayton Valley Charter (6-3)
Northgate (6-3) at Benicia (2-7)
College Park (6-3) at Alhambra (4-5)
Nov. 5 – Ygnacio Valley (0-9) at Berean Christian (5-4)
2022 Season Schedules
Clayton Valley Charter (Open Div./Div. 1) – 8/26 Salinas L 14-21, 9/2 Del Oro-Loomis L 27-31, 9/9 at Canyon Springs-North Las Vegas W 42-6, 9/16 Turlock L 35-37, 10/1 at Jesuit-Carmichael W 35-21, 10/7 at Amador Valley-Pleasanton W 47-14, 10/14 at San Ramon Valley-Danville W 42-28, 10/21 California-San Ramon W 49-14, 10/28 at Monte Vista-Danville W 55-6, 11/4 De La Salle.
College Park (Div. 3) – 9/2 at Foothill-Pleasanton L 12-28, 9/9 Oakmont-Roseville W 21-13, 9/16 Hercules W 44-6, 9/23 at Northgate L 14-28, 9/30 at Livermore L 8-35, 10/7 Concord W 34-28, 10/15 at Berean Christian W 42-25, 10/21 Ygnacio Valley W 84-0, 10/28 Mt. Diablo W 54-6, 11/4 at Alhambra.
Concord (Div. 4) – 8/26 Newark Memorial-Newark W 14-7, 9/2 Alameda W 30-8, 9/9 at San Lorenzo W 37-0, 9/16 at Richmond W 2-0, 9/23 Arroyo-San Lorenzo W 28-6, 10/7 at College Park L 28-34, 10/14 Ygnacio Valley W 54-8, 10/21 at Alhambra W 14-7, 10/28 Berean Christian W 34-12, 11/4 at Mt. Diablo.
De La Salle (Open Div./Div. 1) – 8/26 at Monterey Trail-Elk Grove W 36-20, 9/2 Serra-San Mateo L 21-24, 9/9 Saint Francis-Mountain View W 35-3, 9/16 at Cathedral Catholic-San Diego W 28-20, 9/23 Folsom L 20-24, 10/7 at St. Mary’s-Stockton L 35-45, 10/14 at California-San Ramon W 41-7, 10/21 Monte Vista–Danville W 41-3, 10/28 at Amador Valley-Pleasanton W 27-7, 11/4 at Clayton Valley Charter.
Mt. Diablo (Div. 4) – 8/26 Lathrop L 0-56, 9/9 at American-Fremont L 0-48, 9/17 at Arroyo-San Lorenzo L 0-28, 9/24 at San Lorenzo W 27-6, 9/30 at Richmond W 35-14, 10/7 at Ygnacio Valley W 35-28, 10/14 Alhambra L 0-35, 10/21 Berean Christian L 20-49, 10/28 at College Park L 6-54, 11/4 Concord.
Northgate (Div. 3) – 8/26 Deer Valley W 29-8, 9/2 at Ukiah W 28-6, 9/9 Fremont-Oakland W 9-0, 9/16 at Bethel-Vallejo W 38-0, 9/23 College Park W 28-14, 10/7 Miramonte-Orinda L 35-43, 10/14 Las Lomas L 7-34, 10/21 at Campolindo-Moraga L 7-50, 10/28 at Benicia W 9-7, 11/4 Acalanes-Lafayette.
Ygnacio Valley (Div. 6) – 8/27 at Washington-San Francisco L 14-49, 9/9 Justin-Siena – Napa L 0-42, 9/16 at Kennedy-Fremont L 12-50, 9/23 Bradshaw Christian-Sacramento L 0-48, 9/30 Stone Ridge Christian-Merced L 6-38, 10/7 Mt. Diablo L 28-35, 10/14 at Concord L 8-54, 10/21 at College Park L 0-84, 10/28 Alhambra L 12-31, 11/5 at Berean Christian.
Jay Bedecarré
Jay Bedecarré is a long-time resident and writer in Concord and Clayton. He began his newspaper writing career while still a senior at Mt. Diablo High School and he has been part of The Pioneer since its inception in 2003. Jay also operates Bay Area Festivals, presenting events around the San Francisco Bay Area including Bay Area KidFest annually in Downtown Concord.