We’re back for another season of high school football picks.

All in fun, of course.

Our lineup this year features longtimers Mike Lefkow and myself, along with Nathan Canilao and Christian Babcock, who are in their second season on the Bay Area News Group’s prep football beat.

Joseph Dycus has moved on to cover the Warriors for us, so he won’t make picks this fall but could drop in on occasion to join our weekly show that we post on YouTube and add the link in this space below.

In this week’s show, the guys discuss the fire that was set on Mt. Diablo’s new field, our two-part Bellarmine football series and the transfer era of high school football.

As we know, nothing creates chatter like transfers.

“I hated it at first,” said Lefkow, who has closely followed high school football for decades. “I think now I’ve come to accept it. This is the way high school football is. it’s not just one or two schools that are doing it. It’s more and more schools doing it.”

My thoughts: “I’m old school. I don’t like it. I’m a loyalty guy. If you start some place, you should try to finish there. But a lot of kids see what’s happening in college football, happening at other schools around the state, around the country, and one way to build a program quick is to bring in a lot of transfers.”

A couple of surprises arose in the picks’ portion of the show.

Canilao went against the field and took Granada to beat Berkeley and Hayward to topple Moreau Catholic.

Lefkow was the only one to pick Serra over Folsom. Canilao and the HSratings.com (formerly Calpreps) went the other way and don’t think it’s going to be close.

They say Folsom by a lot.

“I think it’s going to be Folsom by running clock midway through the third quarter,” Canilao said.

The computer projects Folsom to win 40-0.

Canilao, Lefkow, Babcock and the computer pick Sobrato to extend Bellarmine’s losing streak, which stands at 11 dating to the final game of the 2023 season.

I am going with Bellarmine.

Be sure to check out the video.

On to the picks …

WEEK 1 PICKS

Friday

Archbishop Mitty at Acalanes, 7 p.m.

Babcock: Acalanes

Canilao: Acalanes

Lefkow: Mitty

Sabedra: Mitty

Berkeley at Dublin, 7 p.m.

Babcock: Dublin

Canilao: Berkeley

Lefkow: Berkeley

Sabedra: Berkeley

Campolindo at Granada, 7:15 p.m.

Babcock: Campolindo

Canilao: Granada

Lefkow: Campolindo

Sabedra: Campolindo

Cathedral Catholic at St. Francis, 7 p.m.

Babcock: Cathedral Catholic

Canilao: Cathedral Catholic

Lefkow: St. Francis

Sabedra: Cathedral Catholic

El Cerrito at San Ramon Valley, 7 p.m.

Babcock: SRV

Canilao: SRV

Lefkow: SRV

Sabedra: SRV

Lakeland, Florida (1-0) at De La Salle, 7 p.m.

Babcock: DLS

Canilao: DLS

Lefkow: DLS

Sabedra: DLS

Moreau Catholic at Hayward, 7 p.m.

Babcock: Moreau Catholic

Canilao: Hayward

Lefkow: Moreau Catholic

Sabedra: Moreau Catholic

Mountain View at Palo Alto, 7 p.m.

Babcock: Palo Alto

Canilao: Palo Alto

Lefkow: Palo Alto

Sabedra: Palo Alto

San Marin at St. Ignatius, 7 p.m.

Babcock: St. Ignatius

Canilao: San Marin

Lefkow: San Marin

Sabedra: St. Ignatius

Sobrato at Bellarmine, 7 p.m.

Babcock: Sobrato

Canilao: Sobrato

Lefkow: Sobrato

Sabedra: Bellarmine

Soquel at Los Gatos, 7 p.m.

Babcock: Los Gatos

Canilao: Los Gatos

Lefkow: Los Gatos

Sabedra: Los Gatos

Related Articles

Mt. Diablo finds temporary home football field after fire damages its on-campus facility

High school football 2025 preseason rankings: Bay Area News Group Top 25

Bellarmine football: What’s next after storied program’s first 0-10 season?

Mt. Diablo’s field set on fire, displacing football team days before first game

Monday Morning Lights: What to know as Bay Area teams kick off season

Wilcox at Valley Christian, 7 p.m.

Babcock: Valley Christian

Canilao: Valley Christian

Lefkow: Valley Christian

Sabedra: Valley Christian

Willow Glen at Lincoln-San Jose, 7:15 p.m.

Babcock: Willow Glen

Canilao: Willow Glen

Lefkow: Willow Glen

Sabedra: Willow Glen

Granite Bay at Pittsburg, 7 p.m.

Babcock: Pittsburg

Canilao: Pittsburg

Lefkow: Pittsburg

Sabedra: Pittsburg

Saturday

Folsom at Serra, 2:30 p.m.

Babcock: Folsom

Canilao: Folsom

Lefkow: Serra

Sabedra: Folsom

McClymonds at Archbishop Riordan, 1:30 p.m.

Babcock: Riordan

Canilao: Riordan

Lefkow: Riordan

Sabedra: Riordan