Top matchups

No. 1 Serra (5-0, 3-0) at No. 12 Valley Christian (4-2, 2-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: Before Serra gets to its Nov. 6 showdown against St. Francis, it must clear this hurdle on the road in San Jose against an opponent that features the dynamic duo of WR Jurrion Dickey and QB Jakson Berman. Serra has won five of its past six games against Valley but has lost two of the past three road games in the series — the one win being a 33-26 victory to open the abbreviated season last spring. Serra has been dominant through five games this fall, outscoring Palo Alto, Half Moon Bay, Mitty, Bellarmine and Riordan 205-34. Dual-threat QB Dominique Lampkin has completed nearly 80% of his passes and RB Petelo Gi seems to always be running downhill. The defense has been physical and stingy. Valley’s two losses were both on the road, 42-20 against No. 4 Pittsburg and 41-27 last week against No. 2 St. Francis. — Darren Sabedra

No. 6 California (6-0, 1-0) at No. 3 De La Salle (4-2, 0-0), Friday, 7 p.m.: De La Salle will be without coach Justin Alumbaugh and a number of players because of county COVID-19 protocols, the coach said Wednesday. Alumbaugh, who is fully vaccinated, tested positive after learning of a coronavirus case on the team Monday. The Spartans are coming off a 31-10 victory at Folsom. They have beaten California 18 consecutive times dating to 2007 and most have been blowouts. California has been one of the surprise teams in the Bay Area this season, going undefeated through its non-league schedule and then edging Clayton Valley Charter last week when Teddy Booras connected with Jake Calcagno in the back of the end zone with 15.5 seconds left. When these teams met in the spring, De La Salle won 48-10. In 2019, the Spartans beat California 70-7. Defensive coordinator Nate Kenion will be De La Salle’s acting head coach, but Alumbaugh said he will be in contact with the team from his home office. — Darren Sabedra

No. 7 San Ramon Valley (5-1, 1-0) at No. 10 Clayton Valley Charter (4-2, 0-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: Regardless of what happens in this East Bay Athletic League Mountain Division contest Friday night, Clayton Valley remains in good shape to make the North Coast Section playoffs. But six games into the season, the Ugly Eagles are a bit of a mystery. In their past two games, CVC outgained Monterey Trail-Elk Grove and California by a combined 398 yards (949-551), yet the Eagles split those two contests. They edged Monterey Trail 35-28 and lost to California 19-18. Both games were on the road against good teams, but the yardage difference suggests the Eagles might have wasted some scoring opportunities. Being 3-for-8 on extra points didn’t help. At the same time, San Ramon Valley appears to be playing its best football of the season. The Wolves throttled Foothill 42-0 and Amador Valley 41-13 in their past two games. SRV quarterback Jack Quigley has completed 25 of 28 passes for 337 yards and seven TDs in his last two games. Tanner Salisbury and Tyler Hoffman have caught five of Quigley’s touchdown throws. For Clayton Valley Charter, Rahsaan Woodland has 945 rushing yards and dual-threat QB Brenden Bush has passed for 738 yards and run for 407. Two years ago, when the teams played on the Eagles’ turf, San Ramon Valley won 23-16. — Mike Lefkow

No. 9 Monte Vista (5-0) at No. 25 Amador Valley (4-2, 0-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: Amador Valley is coming off back-to-back losses and the schedule only gets harder. After Friday night’s meeting with Monte Vista, the Dons next three games are against EBAL Mountain rivals Clayton Valley, De La Salle and California. Both Amador Valley and Monte Vista come in with strong defenses. Monte Vista, which will be playing its league opener, has yielded just 42 points during its 5-0 start. Amador Valley had played great defense until San Ramon Valley scored 28 in the second half last week during a 41-13 win. Expect a low-scoring contest. The Mustangs have an excellent quarterback in Dyllan Devitt, who has passed for 1,200 yards and 16 touchdowns. His favorite targets are 6-foot-4, 227-pound tight end Jack Endries and 6-3, 208-pound wideout Cole Boscia. Amador Valley counters with a deep and talented defense led by 6-5, 240-pound Brady Nassar. Though just a junior, he is already receiving offers and attention from the Pac-12. Calpreps.com favors Monte Vista by 11 points, but the Dons could make it a lot closer if their offense is operating on all cylinders. — Mike Lefkow

No. 19 Burlingame (6-0, 2-0) at Terra Nova (4-2, 0-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: Unbeaten Burlingame plays three of its last four games on the road, beginning Friday night at Terra Nova. The Panthers should be favored against all but Menlo-Atherton, but none of their Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division opponents are gimmes. After starting the season with two easy wins, Burlingame has had some close calls, especially the last two weeks, squeezing past Sacred Heart Prep 22-21 and The King’s Academy 10-7. Senior quarterback Ryan Kall has passed for 905 yards and seven touchdowns, and he hasn’t thrown an interception. The Panthers have lost five fumbles. Kall’s favorite receiver is Will Uhrich, who has 24 catches for 417 yards and three TDs. On defense, Uhrich has three interceptions from his strong safety position. He’ll certainly be plenty busy against Terra Nova, which gains about two-third of its yards through the air. Quarterback Dominic Gordon has thrown for 1,139 yards and six scores. But he’s also been picked off five times. Leading receiver Nathaniel Bendo has 34 receptions for 552 yards. Don’t expect a lot of scoring. Burlingame has given up 54 points, Terra Nova has yielded 68. — Mike Lefkow

Campolindo (3-3, 0-1) at No. 18 Acalanes (4-2, 0-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: Campolindo had won eight in a row in this rivalry series before the teams split the past four meetings. But the Cougars will be the underdog Friday after opening Diablo Athletic League Foothill Division play last week with a 35-0 loss at home to Benicia, the second time Campo has been shut out on its home field this season. Aptos beat the Cougars 49-0. Acalanes, meanwhile, is just a few points from being undefeated. The Dons lost their league opener last week at Las Lomas 35-34. Two games earlier, Damonte Ranch beat Acalanes 31-30. QB Luke Souza is having a strong season for the Dons. He has thrown for 1,749 yards and 21 TDs with five interceptions. Evan Malmquist has rushed for 591 yards and 10 TDs, and Dante Montgomery and Will Berrien have each gained more than 600 yards receiving and combined for 15 TDs. When these teams met in the spring, Campo won 28-13. — Darren Sabedra 

Schedule

Thursday, Oct. 14

SOUTH BAY/PENINSULA

BVAL West Valley

Lick at Del Mar, 7 p.m. 

San Jose at Yerba Buena, 7 p.m.

SCVAL El Camino

Los Altos at Saratoga, 7 p.m. 

Friday, Oct. 15

EAST BAY

Bay Valley

Freedom at Heritage, 7 p.m. 

Pittsburg at Liberty, 7 p.m. 

DAL Foothill

Alhambra at Las Lomas, 7 p.m.

Campolindo at Acalanes, 7 p.m. 

Miramonte at Benicia, 7 p.m. 

DAL Valley

Berean Christian at College Park, 7 p.m. 

Concord at Ygnacio Valley, 7 p.m. 

Mt. Diablo at Northgate, 7 p.m.

EBAL Mountain

California at De La Salle, 7 p.m. 

Monte Vista at Amador Valley, 7 p.m.

San Ramon Valley at Clayton Valley, 7 p.m. 

EBAL Valley

Granada at Dougherty Valley, 7 p.m.

Livermore at Foothill, 7 p.m.

MVAL/WACC Foothill

Bishop O’Dowd at Moreau Catholic, 7 p.m.

Hayward vs. San Leandro at Burrell Field in San Leandro, 7 p.m.

MVAL/WACC Mission

Berkeley at Mt. Eden, 7 p.m.

Piedmont at Encinal, 7 p.m.

Washington-Fremont at Castro Valley, 7 p.m. 

MVAL/WACC Shoreline

Alameda vs. American at Washington-Fremont, 7 p.m.

Newark Memorial at Tennyson, 7 p.m.

Oakland

Fremont-Oakland at Skyline, 7 p.m.

McClymonds at Oakland, 7 p.m. 

Oakland Tech at Castlemont, 7 p.m.

TCAL Rock

Salesian at El Cerrito, 7 p.m.

St. Patrick-St. Vincent at De Anza, 7 p.m.

TCAL Stone

Richmond at Hercules, 7 p.m. 

St. Mary’s-Albany at Vallejo, 7 p.m. 

Non-league

Kennedy-Fremont at James Logan, 7 p.m.

SOUTH BAY/PENINSULA

SCVAL De Anza

Los Gatos at Palo Alto, 7:30 p.m. 

Milpitas at Santa Clara, 7 p.m. 

Mountain View at Homestead, 7 p.m.

SCVAL El Camino

Lynbrook at Gunn, 7 p.m.

BVAL Mt. Hamilton

Leland at Santa Teresa, 7 p.m. 

Live Oak at Overfelt, 7 p.m. 

Piedmont Hills at Oak Grove, 7 p.m. 

Silver Creek at Lincoln-San Jose, 7 p.m.

BVAL Santa Teresa

Independence at Branham, 7 p.m. 

Prospect at Leigh, 7 p.m. 

Sobrato at Pioneer, 7 p.m. 

Willow Glen at Westmont, 7 p.m.

BVAL West Valley

Evergreen Valley at Gunderson, 7 p.m. 

Hill at Mt. Pleasant, 7 p.m. 

PAL Bay

Burlingame at Terra Nova, 7 p.m.

The King’s Academy at Half Moon Bay, 7 p.m. 

Sacred Heart Prep at Menlo-Atherton, 7 p.m.

PAL Ocean

Carlmont at Jefferson, 7 p.m.

Hillsdale at Capuchino, 7 p.m.

Menlo at Aragon, 7 p.m.

PAL Lake

El Camino at Mills, 7 p.m. 

San Mateo at Sequoia, 7 p.m.

West Catholic

Riordan at St. Francis, 7 p.m.

Sacred Heart Cathedral vs. Bellarmine at San Jose City College, 7 p.m.

Serra at Valley Christian, 7 p.m. 

Saturday, Oct. 16

EAST BAY

Bay Valley

Deer Valley at Antioch, 7 p.m. 

MVAL/WACC Shoreline

Irvington vs. San Lorenzo at Washington-Fremont, 7 p.m.

SOUTH BAY/PENINSULA

SCVAL El Camino

Cupertino at Monta Vista, 6:30 p.m.

West Catholic

Mitty at St. Ignatius, 1 p.m.

Schedule changes

For schedule updates, please let us know at highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com.

How to report results/game details

We encourage Bay Area coaches or team statisticians to email the final score and key scoring plays (a few stats, if you have them) to highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com right after each game. Please include the school names in the subject line.

Predictions

Look here as the Bay Area News Group’s Darren Sabedra and Evan Webeck and correspondent Mike Lefkow make their Week 8 predictions.