TODAY
Balboa at Lowell, 3 p.m.
The two teams are in entirely different stages than last season, when Lowell was winless at this point and Balboa was in the thick of a playoff race.
This season, the Cardinals (3-2, 2-1) are tied for third place and the Bucs (1-5, 0-3) are struggling mightily and coming off a loss to Marshall.Galileo vs. Mission at Kezar Stadium, 3 p.m.
Read More
Senior night for the St. Ignatius girls’ volleyball team was supposed to highlight the solid core of seniors that led the school to its first Central Coast Section title in school history last season.
Instead, it was a pair of underclassmen from visiting rival Sacred Heart Cathedral that spoiled senior night for the Wildcats, handing them a 25-12, 20-25, 25-21, 25-23 loss on Tuesday night.
Read More
The biggest rivalry in Academic Athletic Association girls’ golf isn’t between two teams.
It’s between two players, and they share the same last name.
Sisters Shannon and Kristi Wong of Lincoln High School have been the best two individual AAA players for the past two seasons, and led the Mustangs to an undefeated league season this year, capped by a 192-244 win over Wallenberg on Monday at Golden Gate Park Golf Course.
The sisters each shot a match-low 6-over 33 in the nine-hole match, leading the Mustangs (6-0) to their first sub-200 team score of the season.
Read More
Valley Christian of San Jose did everything it could to give the St. Ignatius football team a win Saturday afternoon, but the Wildcats simply could not capitalize.
The visiting Warriors made crucial mistakes in the fourth quarter to give St. Ignatius several opportunities to erase a 24-14 lead, but held on for a 24-21 win.
The first mistake came on a St. Ignatius punt early in the final quarter, when standout Valley Christian running back Byron Marshall muffed a punt that was recovered by the Wildcats at the Warriors’ 19-yard line.
Read More
No one is shocked to see defending champion Washington High School entering the annual Bell Game rivalry undefeated in Academic Athletic Association play.
Lincoln, however, is a different story.
The Mustangs (2-3, 2-0) have been the biggest surprise of the early AAA season, upsetting 2010 finalist Balboa and 2009 champion Galileo after a winless season last year.
Now the winner of the 66th meeting of the Bell Game on Friday afternoon at Washington will have a playoff spot all but locked up and a regular-season title within reach.
Read More
THURSDAY
Galileo vs. Lowell at SOTA, 3 p.m.
It’s hard to say the third game of any league season is crucial, but with each at 1-1, this matchup could have significant playoff implications. Both teams have tough games ahead and a win for either here would provide a big advantage.FRIDAY
Read More
Washington High School’s boys’ soccer team may have lost some ground in the Academic Athletic Association X Division playoff race Tuesday, but it showed it can play with the league’s best.
The Eagles worked a 1-1 tie on the road against Lincoln, the Y Division’s top team, but due to Balboa’s 13-1 drubbing of Wallenberg, Washington fell out of the X Division’s final playoff spot with six games to play.
Read More
After a disappointing week that featured its first two Bay Counties League West losses, University High School’s boys’ soccer team proved again on Monday that it can compete with the North Coast Section’s best.
Capitalizing on their only scoring opportunity of the second half, University’s Jesse Beller scored in the 65th minute to give the Red Devils a 2-1 victory over Branson School in Ross in nonleague play at the College of Marin.
The goal came on a University counter attack, started by forward Mani Ghiasi.
Read More
The Sacred Heart Cathedral offense was certainly effective in it’s win on the road against Riordan on Saturday, but it was the Irish defense that was dominant — and they seem to be getting better every week.
The Irish defense held the Crusaders to just 48 yards through three quarters and 134 overall in a 35-7 rout, to clinch the Stanfel Cup for the fourth consecutive year.
Read More
With a logjam of teams vying for the Academic Athletic Association X Division’s final playoff spot, every match and every point is crucial with only one month remaining in the regular season.
Washington High School did its part to hang onto its slim one-point lead over Balboa with a dominating 6-0 win over visiting O’Connell on Thursday.
Balboa kept pace with a 3-0 win over Galileo, but International Studies Academy and San Francisco International are also within striking distance of the second-place Eagles (8-3-1), which has not won a AAA title since 1996.
Read More
After a crushing loss to Bellarmine to open up West Catholic Athletic League play, it’s almost a blessing that Sacred Heart Cathedral will be playing rival Riordan on Saturday.
The Irish won’t have a letdown week when the Stanfel Cup is at stake.
“We’re fortunate because our next game is Riordan,” Sacred Heart coach John Lee said. “It’s a city school. It’s a rival school. Our guys know what we’re playing for.”
Read More
Friday
Lowell at Burton, 3 p.m.
The Cardinals (1-2, 0-1) dropped their Academic Athletic Association opener to rival Washington last week, and will look to avenge last season’s loss to Burton (0-2, 0-1), which also lost its opener, to Galileo, last week.
Lincoln at Galileo, 3 p.m.
The Mustangs (1-3, 1-0) shook up the early AAA slate with a 14-6 win over Balboa last week, but Galileo (3-1, 1-0) has been impressive in nonleague play and easily dispatched Burton last week.
Read More
It was a balanced attack that led Lowell High School’s girls’ volleyball team to its first two-game wins against Lincoln on Tuesday, but it was the Cardinals’ defense that slammed the door on the defending Academic Athletic Association champions.
The Cardinals limited the Mustangs to just five kills and had 24 digs in a thrilling fourth game to seal their 18-25, 25-21, 25-16, 26-24 AAA win at Lincoln High School.
Read More
After a full rotation through Bay Counties League Central play, International High School has established itself as the team to beat.
The Jaguars extended a six-game league unbeaten streak to remain undefeated in the BCL Central with a win over visiting Gateway on Monday, but they did so in one of the strangest ways possible.
After controlling the first two games, International allowed Gateway to claim the third, before crushing the Gators in the fourth game of the 25-16, 25-7, 24-26, 25-2 win.
Read More
The feeling is familiar for Sacred Heart Cathedral’s football team, but that doesn’t make the Fightin’ Irish’s loss to Bellarmine on Saturday at Kezar Stadium any less painful.
In 2010, the Irish proved they could hang with the West Catholic Athletic League’s elite, but could not put games away. They started 2011 in the same fashion, with a 14-7 loss to the Bells.
Read More
URL: http://www.sfexaminer.com/people/jeremy-balan?page=13&quicktabs_6=0&quicktabs_1=0
