CONCORD – The San Ramon Valley High School football team was challenged by its coaching staff earlier this week to establish more of an identity on offense after splitting its first two regular-season games.
Friday night against Clayton Valley Charter, things began to click for the Wolves in the second half, as they scored three touchdowns in the third quarter and another in the fourth to help earn a 41-27 nonleague win.
No. 4 San Ramon Valley had an impressive night running the ball, with six running backs combining for 225 yards rushing. That success on the ground opened opportunities in the passing game, as receiver Colton Fitzgibbon caught three second-half touchdowns to help the Wolves beat the Ugly Eagles, ranked 12th by Bay Area News Group, for the third straight year.
San Ramon Valley had rushed for only 110 yards in its first two games, a 20-14 win over El Cerrito on Aug. 29 and a 21-14 loss to Soquel last week.
“We needed to establish an offensive identity,” San Ramon Valley coach Aaron Becker said, “and we needed to run the football a little bit better than we have been.”
Senior running back Cole Eichten had 17 carries for 113 yards and a touchdown for San Ramon Valley, which made a big stop on defense in the second quarter and recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half to take the lead for good.
With the game tied 7-7. Clayton Valley Charter went for it on 4th and two on its own 31-yard line with under five minutes left in the second quarter. But Ugly Eagles running back Jhadis Luckey was held to a one-yard gain on fourth down, and two plays later, Wolves sophomore Owen Power scored on a nine-yard run.
Then Wolves junior Reed McRae recovered a loose ball on the opening kickoff of the second half, leading to Eichten’s three-yard touchdown run and giving San Ramon Valley a 21-7 lead after the extra point.
Cole Eichten of Clayton Valley rushes against the visiting San Ramon Valley Wolves in the second half in Concord, CA on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. San Ramon defeated Clayton Valley 41-27. (Don Feria for Bay Area News Group)
“I would say our goal for this game was to send a message that we can run the ball, and we proved that,” Eichten said. “We ran the ball, and that’s why we won, because then we can do those big plays, but we have those little ones to save us.”
Clayton Valley coach Nick Tisa said he didn’t regret his decision to go for it on fourth down in the second quarter.
“It was 4th and 2 and my coaches (said) there’s a crease. If he hits it, it’s there,” Tisa said of the gamble. “They plugged it up, and we kind of missed the block. So, I don’t regret anything. I asked my kids, ‘Can you get it?’ They said, ‘Yeah.’ So it’s kind of like the Dan Campbell approach. We live by it. We die by it. We didn’t dwell.”
The Ugly Eagles still scored 20 third-quarter points, and the electric Luckey finished with 150 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns, including one on a 91-yard kickoff return. But Clayton Valley could not get the stops necessary on defense.
“It was back and forth. We’re young, they’re young.” Tisa said. “I think it was just their younger guys kind of made more plays.”
Starting in 2019, San Ramon Valley and Clayton Valley Charter have played each other every year, with the two teams splitting the six meetings. The Wolves, though, had won the last two games in the series, including a 31-15 victory last year in Danville, where they piled up 340 yards of offense.
Xavier O’Guinn of the visiting San Ramon Valley Wolves looks for an opening against hosting Clayton Valley in the second half in Concord, CA on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. San Ramon defeated Clayton Valley 41-27. (Don Feria for Bay Area News Group)
With most of those skill players now graduated, San Ramon Valley has had to rely on a slightly younger cast this season. Quarterback Cole Dawes, a junior, was making his third varsity start on Friday, and junior receiver Xavier O’Guinn had nine catches for 197 yards and two touchdowns in the games against El Cerrito and Soquel.
Related Articles
Barnburner! Acalanes’ defense sparks stunning comeback win over St. Ignatius
High school football 2025: Friday’s Week 3 scores, Saturday’s schedule
De La Salle overpowers St. Francis, improves to 3-0
Maxime Morelle does it all as Sacred Heart Prep beats Half Moon Bay
California school district to pay $25 million to settle 2 final sex abuse lawsuits against former coaches
While the Wolves featured some balance, there was little question about who was leading the Ugly Eagles.
Through the first two weeks of the season, Luckey had averaged 227 yards per game, including a staggering 301 yards on 22 carries last week, when he rushed for five touchdowns in a 35-16 win over College Park. His 464 all-purpose yards represented more than half of Clayton Valley’s total offensive output this season.
Playing for California High School last season, Luckey had 165 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries in a 38-26 loss to San Ramon Valley, which clearly knew stopping him on Friday was job No. 1.
“The more he touches the ball, the more chance he’s gonna get to hit a home run,” Becker said. “You try your best to hold up all night, and he just needs a little crease, and there he goes.”
Senior Jhadis Luckey of Clayton Valley breaks through the defense against the visiting San Ramon Valley Wolves in the second half in Concord, CA on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. San Ramon defeated Clayton Valley 41-27. (Don Feria for Bay Area News Group)
