This Week in High School Football

Today’s game:

• Richmond (3-5 overall, 2-2 Alameda Contra Costa Athletic League) vs. Alameda (3-3-1, 2-1 ACCAL)
  WHEN: 7 p.m.
  WHERE: Alameda
  BRIEFLY: The Oilers won their first homecoming game in nine years last week by defeating Kennedy, 22-17 … The Oilers could move into a tie with Alameda, Pinole Valley and El Cerrito with a win, behind first-place Berkeley (4-0 ACCAL) … This is the Oilers’ final home game of the season. Next week, they travel to Pinole Valley (5-1, 2-1 ACCAL) for a 7 p.m. game with the Spartans.

Saturday’s game:

• Salesian (6-1 overall, 3-0 Bay Football League) vs. Valley Christian (4-3, 2-1 BFL)
  WHEN: 1:30 p.m.
  WHERE: Salesian
  BRIEFLY: The Pride, the BFL standings leader, is looking for its fifth win in a row … Salesian is led by running back Aaron Prier, a junior who rushed for 270 yards in a win over Cesar Chavez on Oct. 2. Prier runs behind a powerful line led by three new starters this season, seniors Anthony Olivero and Stephen Frias, and sophomore Freddy Tagaloa. “More than anything else, they’re not afraid to mix it up,” Salesian coach Chad Nightingale said … Valley Christian, the BFL third-place team, is trying to bounce back from a 42-13 loss to Berean Christian, which sits in second.

Off this week:

• De Anza (0-6 overall, 0-4 BFL)
  Coach Mike Williams said he’s got a lot of inexperienced players on his team. Neither of his two playmakers on offense, sophomore quarterback Steve Evans and sophomore running back Donta Ward, played football before high school.
  Williams said he would prefer if both underclassman were on the JV team, especially Ward, who absorbs a lot of pounding and doesn’t have the speed of the older players he’s up against. “He’d be having a hell of a year (if he was on JV),” Williams said.
• Kennedy (0-6 overall, 0-4 Bay Shore Athletic League)
  The Kennedy varsity football team is forfeiting the remainder of its schedule due to a lack of eligible and healthy players. For more stories on the Kennedy team, check out these reports from the Richmond Confidential staff:

  Karen McIntyre takes a look at a dedicated family up in the stands at the JV games:

  http://richmondconfidential.org/2009/10/27/one-player’s-family-keeps-kennedy-jv-alive/

  Robert Rogers covers how the Eagles’ JV team just won’t quit.

  http://richmondconfidential.org/2009/10/29/kennedys-junior-varsity-shows-no-signs-of-quitting/

  Ryan Phillips details why the team won’t be playing any more games this season:

  http://richmondconfidential.org/2009/10/22/kennedy-high-cancels-remainder-of-football-season/