TODAY

Christopher (3-1) at Branham (3-1), 7:15 p.m.: A battle of Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division contenders kicks off the league slate in style. Branham enters riding a wave of three straight wins, including a Hail Mary victory over Soledad and a convincing win over Aragon. Christopher lost narrowly against Carmel to start the year but has won three straight since then as well, each by at least 10 points. The Cougars most recently traveled to Gilroy and took the Mustangs down 47-0.

— Christian Babcock

FRIDAY

No. 1 De La Salle (4-0) at No. 7 El Cerrito (4-0), 7:30 p.m.: As the saying goes, something’s gotta give. Following three dominant wins at home to open its season, De La Salle squeaked by St. Mary’s-Stockton, 38-35, in its first road game of the season. Quarterback Toa Faavae and running back Derrick Blanche each had two touchdowns in the win. El Cerrito, meanwhile, cruised to a dominant 49-0 victory against Campolindo. Lavern Malikii ran for three touchdowns, while Joezon Broussard accounted for two of his own. Everything will have to go right for El Cerrito to hang around with De La Salle, which has already dominated then-No. 2 Serra and then-No. 4 St. Francis.

– Justice delos Santos

No. 3 Serra (1-2) at No. 9 St. Ignatius (2-1), 7 p.m.: A matchup of West Catholic Athletic League contenders comes after intriguing non-league results from both squads. Both teams were off last week in anticipation of WCAL play. Before that, Serra endured a gauntlet of nonleague opponents, including a 56-16 home loss to nationally ranked St. John Bosco-Bellflower. The Padres split their other nonleague games against Folsom and De La Salle, two of the best (if not the two best) high school football teams in Northern California. St. Ignatius faced a slightly easier nonleague slate but still experienced a high degree of rigor. The Wildcats’ nonleague campaign saw them first travel to Bay Area News Group No. 6 San Ramon Valley and fall 28-10. They rebounded with a 35-6 win over Tamalpais before earning their signature win of the early season – a 16-14 victory at Cathedral-San Diego. We’ll see if the good vibes from that win two weeks ago make a difference on Friday night in San Francisco.

– Christian Babcock

No. 15 Clayton Valley (2-2) at No. 14 Liberty (3-1), 7p.m.: This matchup will be a battle between two of the most physical teams in the East Bay. Liberty won its last game against Amador Valley in comeback fashion, beating the Pleasanton school 34-28 behind a 214-yard, three-touchdown game from running back Jaxon Bell. The junior is averaging 146 yards per game and has five touchdowns through Liberty’s first four games. Liberty’s defense will be tasked with stopping a Clayton Valley offense that was firing on all cylinders in its 34-17 win over Northgate. Running back Hayezon Jackson totaled 203 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns while quarterback Tyson Lovett threw for 190 yards and two scores. CalPreps computers project a 28-14 Liberty win.

– Nathan Canilao

No. 23 Half Moon Bay (4-0) at Foothill (3-1), 7 p.m.: The game features two teams that have had quite a turnaround from last season. Half Moon Bay was 3-7 a year ago, while Foothill stumbled to a 1-8 record in the brutal EBAL Mountain Division. Foothill has thrived under new coach Greg Chandler. The offense is led by senior wideout Michael O’Donoghue Jr. and the defense is paced by linebacker Brayden Brown. Running back Dylan Souza rushed for two touchdowns in the Falcons’ overtime victory over San Leandro last week. Half Moon Bay is led by another first-year coach in Ronnie Ekis. After winning its first three games by a total of 11 points, the Cougars defeated Woodside 43-29. Connor Heath is a gifted athlete who rushed for a touchdown and returned a kick for a TD in the victory. Adler Halterman and quarterback Dusty Dimas rushed for touchdowns too as Half Moon Bay’s run-heavy attack hummed along. CalPreps predicts Half Moon Bay will win 28-20.

— Joseph Dycus

SATURDAY

No. 17 Archbishop Mitty (3-0) at No. 11 Valley Christian (1-2), 6 p.m.: Will another week of grit be enough to keep Archbishop Mitty undefeated? The “Gritty Mitty” Monarchs have been an early surprise, earning hard-fought non-league wins over James Logan, Aptos and Menlo-Atherton, all by a minimum of 21 points. Valley Christian, though, provides a stiff test to open WCAL play. The Warriors, perennially an excellent program, are likely a better team than their record indicates. Valley took down No. 16 Wilcox 24-7 week one, then struggled against strong Salinas and Soquel programs in non-league action. But the opportunity is there for the Warriors to right the ship in WCAL play, starting this Saturday night at home up on the hill.

– Christian Babcock