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The high school football season had reached the midway point.
So at the Bay Area News Group, we’re recognizing what we’ve seen.
Here are our midseason honors:
PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Favorite
Michael Mitchell Jr., Archbishop Riordan: Orchestrator of the Bay Area’s most talented offense, the Vanderbilt commit has passed for 1,479 yards and 21 TDs with just one interception. Has also rushed for 105 yards. — Christian Babcock
In the running
RJ Mosley, Pittsburg: The Arizona-bound wide receiver is on pace to finish the regular season with 1,200 yards and nearly 80 catches. He had a monster game against No. 2 Riordan on the road, catching 10 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns. – Nathan Canilao
The field: Of course, someone can have a breakout second half and emerge when honors are handed out at the end of the season.
COACHES OF THE YEAR
Justin Andrews, Woodside: The Wildcats are unbeaten and have had little trouble with every opponent, including a 41-0 rout of Peninsula Athletic League De Anza Division’s Mountain View on the road. The former Oregon player’s team has averaged nearly 50 points per game while conceding just over nine per contest. — Christian Babcock
Tolo Faumuina, Redwood Christian: Under Faumuina, the Eagles have started 6-0 after finishing 1-6 last season, their first in program history. Redwood Christian has wins this year over Berean Christian, Mills and Kennedy-Richmond. – Nathan Canilao
Burt Codera, MacDonald: In its first season with seniors, MacDonald is 5-0 and has dominated nearly every opponent. The Condors avenged a 40-0 loss to Santa Clara last season with a 28-6 opening-week win and haven’t looked back, outscoring opponents by a combined margin of 179-34.. – Christian Babcock
SURPRISE TEAMS
California: Despite losing star running back Jhadis Luckey to Clayton Valley, Cal is 6-0. The Grizzlies have picked up signature wins over McClymonds and Monterey Trail-Elk Grove, positioning itself as a contender in the East Bay Athletic League’s Mountain Division. — Christian Babcock
Acalanes: There were questions whether the Dons would continue to be a contender after former coach Floyd Burnsed was let go in the off-season. But Acalanes hasn’t missed a beat under new coach Joel Isaac. The Dons have been one of the Bay Area’s best teams thus far. – Nathan Canilao
Archbishop Mitty: The Monarchs have won four of their first five games with their only loss coming at Acalanes to open the season. The San Jose school has started WCAL play with blowout wins over St. Ignatius and Valley Christian. If the Monarchs continue to impress, coach Danny Sullivan will certainly be in the running for coach of the year. – Nathan Canilao
TOP NEWCOMERS
Cole Dawes, San Ramon Valley: In his first season as a starter, the junior has tossed 16 touchdown passes. Against Granada on Friday, Dawes threw for five touchdowns to five receivers. – Nathan Canilao
Brady Smith, De La Salle: Smith, a senior who was named De La Salle’s junior varsity MVP as a sophomore, came back to football in 2025 after opting out while playing travel lacrosse in 2024. Since he returned, he’s worked himself into the Spartans’ vaunted running back rotation. He has 282 yards on 16 carries, averaging 17.6 yards per attempt, and three touchdowns. — Christian Babcock
IMPACTFUL TRANSFERS
Jhadis Luckey, Clayton Valley: The senior, who led the NCS with 2,053 rushing yards for California last season, has already eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark at his new school and has 13 touchdowns. Luckey had a 301-yard, five-touchdown performance against College Park. – Nathan Canilao
Kyle Welch, Archbishop Riordan: Even amid a stacked group of receivers, Welch has distinguished himself at his new school. The transfer from The King’s Academy has 25 catches for 354 yards and three TDs, plus seven tackles, two interceptions and a pass deflection defensively. — Christian Babcock
GAMES OF THE YEAR
Acalanes 42, St. Ignatius 35: St. Ignatius had a 14-point halftime lead on its home field, but Acalanes made a stunning second-half comeback to prevail. Quarterback Tyler Winkles accounted for four touchdowns, and the Dons’ defense forced four turnovers. – Nathan Canilao
Folsom 56, Serra 42: Points were not at a premium on a sun-drenched Saturday in San Mateo, as Folsom and Serra raced to see which team could reach 50 first. Both defenses were primarily spectators until Folsom’s late pick-six put the game out of reach. — Christian Babcock
Soquel 42, Los Gatos 40: In what could be a playoff rematch down the line, Soquel threw the ball all over Helm Field in Los Gatos as the Wildcats did their best to keep up. The Knights took the lead for good with a touchdown in the final minute. — Christian Babcock
UPSETS OF THE YEAR
Benicia 43, Miramonte 7: HSRatings.com gave the Panthers a 4% chance to win this game, with a final score prediction of 35-7. Benicia flipped the script and dominated visiting Miramonte to add a nice win to its resume. – Nathan Canilao
Willow Glen 22, Christopher 21: An upset rooted primarily in perceived strength of league – Christopher was the Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division champion last season, Willow Glen won the Santa Teresa-Valley Division, the third tier. That didn’t matter as the Rams willed themselves back into the game with a masterful onside kick and hung on late to seal an emotional win. — Christian Babcock
McClymonds 14, St. Francis 10: After beating McClymonds by 20 points last season, most predicted another victory for St. Francis over the Oakland powerhouse. But the Warriors outlasted the Mountain View school when San Diego State commit Koi Taiese wrapped up quarterback Andrew Franzino for a crucial third-down sack that put the game out of reach. – Nathan Canilao
PITTSBURG: MOSLEY’S DOUBLE PASS
RJ Mosley is a freakishly talented wide receiver. In a 30-27 win at Los Gatos on Friday, he showed off a skill set that had to have Arizona coach Brent Brennan salivating.
The Arizona commit caught a lateral from Carlos Torres and flicked a quick pass downfield that traveled 30-40 air yards right into the arms of King Wade, who ran the rest of the way for a 71-yard TD.
Mosley has a background as a baseball center fielder, which came in handy.
“Truth be told, RJ was at one point one hell of a baseball product,” Pittsburg coach Charlie Ramirez said. “I know the baseball team, coach (Marco) Cartagena has been trying to get him to play baseball for a long time. He could sling it. That’s why we had him out there. That’s why we had that play for him. We put that in last year. So no, RJ can definitely throw the ball.”
But it was a little sketchy in practice.
“We worked on that for the last two weeks,” Ramirez said. “The timing of it was a little off until probably like Wednesday, as far as making sure that the receiver wasn’t too far (down the field).”
Added Mosley, “I was really practicing that all week. I’m surprised myself that I even made that throw to him. It was great. That felt great.”
— Christian Babcock
DE LA SALLE: QB KNIGHT FINDING GROOVE
After scoring just 10 points in their season opener against Lakeland-Florida, the Spartans have not scored fewer than 26 and a big part of that is quarterback Brayden Knight’s leadership.
He had perhaps his best game of the season in a win Friday over San Diego powerhouse Cathedral Catholic, rushing for 102 yards and two touchdowns.
“Running the ball, throwing the ball and he’s making good decisions,” De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said. “He’s getting better and better with each week.”
Knight mostly played behind quarterback Toa Faavae last season, coming in during crucial passing downs. But the 6-foot-3 Knight has added a running dimension to his game that has given opposing defenses fits this year.
“Being a dual threat is the main goal in our veer offense,” Knight said after the win Friday. “The veer is reading that defensive end and either handing it off or keeping it, and I tried to showcase that a little bit today. But it’s an offense that you definitely have to be a dual threat.”
– Nathan Canilao
YGNACIO VALLEY: WHAT HAPPENED TO FEEL-GOOD STORY?
Ygnacio Valley was one of the pleasant surprises of last season, snapping a 35-game losing streak en route to a 4-6 season that no one outside of the Concord public school saw coming.
So what has changed in 2025, with the team starting 0-6?
Coach Rae Jackson told the Bay Area News Group that he had to replace players at key positions after stars such as quarterback Jalen Fayad and running back Jacari Gibson transferred.
“It’s almost like starting over,” said Jackson, whose has 28 on the roster. “The majority of the guys are freshmen and sophomores, and only a few juniors and seniors.”
But the coach has stayed optimistic. Jackson said that the school administration remains supportive, and coaches have come up with creative ways to drum up interest in the team.
“We’ve put together 7-on-7 tournaments during PE time, and coaches can come and see the kids who can play some ball,” Jackson said, noting that last season proved that the school is capable of winning. “The culture of success is already here.”
Jackson acknowledged that getting talented football players on campus can be a struggle. Aside from next-door neighbor De La Salle, the Wolves also compete with Mt. Diablo, Concord and Clayton Valley Charter for players.
After being part of the team that snapped a four-year losing streak, Romel Mariano, now a senior, remained optimistic his Wolves can earn a win or two to end his final year on campus.
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“It’s going to take heart and a lot of hard work, and it’s not going to be easy,” Mariano said following a 51-8 loss to Salesian on Friday. “But we will persevere. It would be great to end off with a win.”
– Joseph Dycus
PEEK AHEAD TO WEEK 7
Thursday
Christopher (3-2, 0-0) at Leigh (4-1, 0-0), 7:15 p.m.: Christopher begins defense of its BVAL Mt. Hamilton title.
Lincoln-San Jose (5-0, 0-0) at Branham (4-1, 0-0), 7:15 p.m.: Kyan Phillips leads Lincoln in rushing, receiving.
Washington-Fremont (3-1, 0-0) vs. Irvington (4-1, 0-0) at Tak Fudenna Stadium, 7 p.m., 7 p.m.: WACC Mission Division opener for both teams.
Friday
Acalanes (6-0, 0-0) at Miramonte (4-2, 0-0), 7 p.m.: Acalanes’ Tyler Winkles has thrown for 1,459 yards, 16 TDs.
Archbishop Mitty (4-1, 2-0) at St. Francis (1-4, 1-1), 7 p.m.: St. Francis has won 11 of the past 13 games between these WCAL rivals.
Campolindo (5-0) at Monte Vista (4-1), 7 p.m.: Monte Vista has reeled off three consecutive wins since losing to Riordan.
Sacred Heart Prep (4-1) at Los Gatos (2-3), 7 p.m.: Los Gatos’ losses have been by a combined six points.
Saturday
McClymonds (3-2, 0-0) at Oakland Tech (2-3, 0-0), 7 p.m.: Tech has lost 22 in a row to Mack. This one could be close.
Santa Teresa (5-0, 0-0) at Live Oak (5-0, 0-0), 7:15 p.m.: BVAL Mt. Hamilton contenders meet in league opener.
