Friday Out West came down to final drives. Santa Margarita protected a seven-point lead for most of a half. Skyridge won on the last snap of the game. Palo Verde lost its unbeaten season on a juggled touchdown catch, and Los Gatos came from 14 down to win at Pittsburg in the final half minute. Mountain Ridge, meanwhile, did what it has done all year.
This week's column is built from our scoreboard, the sideline feeds on X and the local beats that cover these teams every Friday, from the OC Register and the Mercury News to the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Deseret News.
Santa Margarita stays No. 1 Out West
No. 2 Santa Margarita beat No. 19 Mater Dei 14-7 to open Trinity League play. Mater Dei's only points came on Asir Nembhard's 6-yard run, and Jayden Jack's late interception sealed it. The Eagles are 6-0. Max Fielder's full recap is up on the site.
Mater Dei falls to 4-2 and has scored 15 points across its last two games, its lowest two-game total in 15 years, according to USA TODAY.
Mountain Ridge rolls, Skyridge survives
Mountain Ridge, No. 1 on our Utah board, scored 28 points in the second quarter and beat Herriman 45-7 on Senior Night. Jaxon Hunt threw four touchdown passes, and Tyson Dunn and Tytan DeJong each scored twice. The Sentinels are 8-0 and alone in first in Region 2.
Skyridge, No. 2 in Utah, needed every second at Lone Peak. Lone Peak came back from 24-9 to tie it, and Evan Kopp kicked a 19-yard field goal with no time left to win it 27-24. Beckham Bennett ran for 128 yards and three touchdowns. It is Skyridge's seventh straight win.
Lehi beat American Fork, No. 6 in Utah, 20-19 when Briggs Jensen hit Zeke Clements for a 20-yard touchdown with 1:01 left. Ridgeline won its 22nd straight, 42-39 over Stansbury, and Snow Canyon ended Hurricane's unbeaten season 28-27. Every Utah 10 result is in SPIN Cycle Utah.
Basic ends Palo Verde's unbeaten run
Palo Verde, No. 3 in Nevada, came in 6-0 and left with its first loss, 37-34 to Basic. Louden Cahill was the reason, with 16 catches for more than 260 yards, two touchdowns, an interception, four extra points and a field goal. Palo Verde went up 34-31 in the fourth on Cooper Roberts' 79-yard touchdown to Joshua McLeod. Andrew Rodriguez answered with a touchdown pass to Keoni Webb, who juggled it and held on, with under five minutes left. Basic and Palo Verde are now tied atop Division II East going into the final week.
Los Gatos steals one at Pittsburg
Pittsburg, No. 5 on our NorCal board, led 14-0 in the second quarter. Los Gatos won it 28-27 with 24.7 seconds left, when Jack Siri found Shane Harmer for the go-ahead touchdown. It is Pittsburg's second straight loss.
The losses on our boards
| Our rank | Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Nevada No. 3 | Palo Verde | Lost to Basic 37-34 |
| NorCal No. 5 | Pittsburg | Lost to Los Gatos 28-27 |
| NorCal No. 9 | Clovis | Lost at Buchanan 49-42 |
| Utah No. 6 | American Fork | Lost to Lehi 20-19 |
| Utah No. 7 | Lone Peak | Lost to Skyridge 27-24 |
| Out West No. 6 | Mater Dei | Lost at Santa Margarita 14-7 |
Buchanan 49, Clovis 42. Carvell Wafer Jr. ran for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns, including the go-ahead score in the fourth, and Gannon Sever finished the comeback with a rushing touchdown. Clovis quarterback Mo Becerra threw four touchdown passes in the loss, which ended a four-game Clovis win streak.
SoCal
No. 7 Sierra Canyon shut out Loyola 41-0 to move to 6-0. No. 13 St. John Bosco led JSerra 34-0 at halftime and won 40-14. Maliq Allen had 239 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns, and Bosco's defense picked off three passes.
No. 35 Orange Lutheran beat Servite 56-21. No. 37 Mission Viejo beat Edison 42-14 and finished on a 28-point run, with Jack Junker scoring on a 40-yard run and a 95-yard kickoff return.
On Thursday, No. 25 Centennial scored 28 in the first quarter at Vista Murrieta and won 65-14. San Clemente shut out Yorba Linda 28-0 behind three Preston Beck touchdown passes and is 6-0. Carlsbad, No. 10 on our SoCal board, beat Torrey Pines 30-7 to stay unbeaten.
Next Friday: Orange Lutheran at St. John Bosco, Mater Dei at JSerra, Servite at Santa Margarita.
NorCal
No. 11 De La Salle went to San Diego and shut out Cathedral Catholic 42-0, six days after beating Centennial 35-32. Jaxon Loftin threw a touchdown pass and ran for two more, and Damari Dean opened the scoring on a 63-yard catch.
No. 24 Folsom beat Granite Bay 43-7 and is 6-0. No. 81 Central East beat Clovis North 42-13 on Thursday, with Jelani Dippel going 9 of 11 for 286 yards and three touchdowns.
Oak Ridge, No. 6 on our NorCal board, beat Rocklin 28-14. Nick Johnson threw touchdown passes to Jack Granrud and Nate Anzelc and ran one in, and Granrud's interception return set up the clinching score. Folsom visits Oak Ridge on Oct. 16.
Central Catholic beat East Union 41-7. Coach Roger Canepa came into the night one win from 300, according to the Modesto Bee.
Del Oro and Cardinal Newman were idle.
On Saturday, No. 82 Serra beat Valley Christian 50-19 in WCAL play. The Padres led 47-6 at halftime and are 4-1.
Nevada
No. 10 Bishop Gorman had a bye. It hosts Pinecrest Sloan Canyon on Oct. 9.
Coronado, No. 4 in Nevada, beat Las Vegas 48-0 as Matthias Rantissi ran for 200 yards and five touchdowns. Liberty, No. 6 in Nevada, shut out Shadow Ridge 42-0 with two defensive touchdowns, a 45-yard fumble return and an 82-yard interception return, despite 14 penalties. Coronado hosts Liberty next.
Churchill County, No. 2 in Nevada, beat Dayton 48-8 and is 7-0. Damonte Ranch won 13-10 at Spanish Springs when Christian Diehl threw the winning touchdown to Donovan Tolotti with 38 seconds left. Legacy beat Sierra Vista 26-8 and Foothill beat Desert Oasis 27-13. Mater East beat Cadence 63-0, and Pinecrest Sloan Canyon beat SLAM 42-6 before its trip to Gorman.
Arizona
No. 20 Hamilton and Basha were idle. No. 29 Liberty led Arizona's Mountain Ridge 50-0 at halftime and won 64-0. No. 88 Centennial beat O'Connor 36-12 and is 6-0. No. 72 Pinnacle beat Valley Vista 58-0 in its first game on the field since Sept. 18, after its Sept. 25 game was canceled.
Brophy beat Shadow Ridge 45-6 after leading 38-6 at halftime. Desert Mountain beat Cactus Shadows 42-16, and ALA Gilbert North beat Skyline 57-0 to move to 6-0. Desert Edge, No. 10 in Arizona, beat Canyon View 21-17, handing Canyon View its first loss.
No. 46 Chandler did not play. Cactus Canyon canceled the game, and Chandler gets a forfeit win.
Everywhere else Out West
No. 30 Cherry Creek beat Arapahoe 42-0. No. 87 Puyallup led Rogers 63-0 at halftime on Thursday and won 70-0.
In Oregon, Lake Oswego, No. 25 in our Out West rankings, beat Oregon City 48-12 to stay unbeaten. West Linn, which fell out of our Out West 25 last week, beat unbeaten Tualatin 42-14 with Sloan Baker throwing for 305 yards. That sets up Lake Oswego at West Linn on Oct. 9.
No. 43 Mililani won 46-7 at Kailua to move to 8-0.
The new SPIN Power 100 and every regional board come out Monday.
