NorCal HS Sees Challengers Put Hands Up
NorCal HS Sees Challengers Put Hands Up
Northern California's single-school competition is now in full swing and things are already feeling a little shaken up.
NorCal Single-School League
New team St. Ignatius logged a 66-14 win over San Joaquin Memorial to improve to 1-1. Outside center Zeke Tolentino scored three tries for St. Ignatius SF while wings Tor Fillibrandt and Marco De Benedetti added two each. Flyhalf Cornelius McKeon kicked eight conversions.
Despite being new to the league St. Ignatius has produced a close loss to a very good St. Francis team and an impressive win over San Joaquin. Next up is Bishop O'Dowd.
For their part, Bishop O'Dowd won its second-straight game with a 50-19 defeat of Bellarmine Prep. Junior center Elliott Lewis scored three tries and converted five tries to log 25 points on his own. Hendrik Van Niekerk, Michael Bruin, Anthony Hassell, and Felix Davis also touched down, while OC Lehner added one additional conversion.
For the second week in a row the opposition selected freshman Prop Masi Latu and Lewis at center as the players of the game.
"We did not start very well with lots of handling errors and just loose with the ball in general," said O'Dowd Head Coach Ray Lehner. "We will need to tidy that up for St. Ignatius, who look to be pretty organized."
St. Francis pulled off an excellent result in beating Jesuit of Sacramento 31-27.
Head Coach Mark Scharrenberg had plenty of positive things to say about Jesuit but added that his team has taken steps forward since their inaugural season in 2023.
"It’s a big achievement for our program to beat a team like Jesuit," said Scharrenberg. "I think they're a really good team with a strong pack and great defense, so we're happy with the result."
Scharrenberg said he even felt his Lancers left a couple of try-scoring opportunities unclaimed.
"We’re trying to play a more open game," added Scharrenberg. "We're trying to push our kids to play at a high skill level and attack all parts of the field. We felt we were a little bit one-dimensional last year, but we created something we could build off and this season we're not starting from scratch."
Showing well for the Lancers were No. 8 Mone Pifeleti, center Kingston Keanaaina, and flyhalf and captain Andrew Scharrenberg. All three have become strong leaders for St. Francis. Fifita is a hard runner and pressures defenses; Scharrenberg organizes the attack smartly; Kianaaina scored three tries on the day.
De La Salle won over a shorthanded Serra, and are now 2-0 with some tough games to come.
Elsewhere in NorCal
Marin and Danville played in a HS Club matchup that was a non-league game because the club league starts a little later. Marin won the game 21-7. Danville started the game controlling possession but couldn't get points out of it. One the Oaks gave up a penalty Marin took the lineout and on a long throw lock Will Pharis took the ball at the back and stormed to the tryline. He was stopped but flanker Oscar Jordan-Shamis picked up and took it over to score.
Despite being on the short end of time-of-possession and set piece, Marin still managed to win. Danville's set piece was very good and their continuity was solid, too. But Marin's defense was impressive. Prop Jackson Feinberg and wing Ben Jacobs scored tries and Ian Ross converted all three tries. Van Hapton and Ross defended the kick well all day and helped Marin win the field-position game.
Flanker Jojo Keve Elsie Allen's effort as they beat Gridley 54-10. Keve scored a try, set up two more, and was a massive problem for Gridley in the lineouts. He also stole plenty of ball in the breakdown.
It was a good rebound for Elsie Allen after a preseason loss to SFGG the week before.
