We’re on to Week 7 of the high school football season.

The East Bay Athletic League Mountain Division gets underway as San Ramon Valley travels to Clayton Valley and Foothill plays host to Monte Vista.

In the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division, Los Gatos will be at home to face Sacred Heart Prep and Wilcox will visit Menlo-Atherton.

In the West Catholic Athletic League, the most intriguing matchup is St. Ignatius at St. Francis.

The Bay Area News Group will have complete coverage this weekend and all season. If you have not already, please sign up for a digital subscription. Your contributions keep us going.

Here are this week’s top matchups and schedule:

Friday

No. 3 San Ramon Valley (5-0) at No. 19 Clayton Valley (2-3), 7 p.m.: Clayton Valley has won three in a row over SRV since 2021 but will be hard-pressed to extend the winning streak to four. SRV is one of Northern California’s top teams, having averaged 46.4 points per game behind the likes of QB Luke Baker, RB John Pau Mendoza and WR Owen Scott. The SRV defense, led by LB Marco Jones, has allowed just 12.2 points per game. Clayton Valley, meanwhile, has been shut out twice this season, including 26-0 against Jesuit-Carmichael last week. The Ugly Eagles also were blanked by Oak Ridge 28-0. For Clayton Valley to have a shot Friday, it’ll have to keep SRV’s high-powered offense on the sideline by controlling time of possession. Obviously, that won’t be easy. Baker, last season’s Bay Area News Group player of the year, has passed for 1,506 yards and 18 touchdowns with just two interceptions. The senior is completing 64.5% of his attempts. Pau Mendoza has rushed for five TDs and Scott has caught 31 passes for 557 yards and five TDs. Ladawn Dortch is Clayton Valley’s top rusher. QB Tyson Lovett threw two TD passes in the Ugly Eagles’ 21-14 win over Turlock. Given that SRV hasn’t beaten Clayton Valley since 2019, it’s doubtful the visitors will be looking ahead to next week’s showdown against De La Salle. Calpreps.com’s computer picks SRV to win on Friday, 42-6. — Darren Sabedra

No. 9 St. Ignatius (3-2) at No. 13 St. Francis (2-3), 7 p.m.:  St. Francis has won eight of the past nine in this long-running series and will be looking to bounce back after a 45-17 loss last week at top-ranked Serra. St. Ignatius will enter the game riding an emotional high after a thrilling 31-30 victory at home over Bellarmine last Friday. Sean Hummel threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns and Cameron Jones ran for two TDs, including the game-winner in the final minute, against the Bells. Pierce St. Geme is SI’s big-play receiver. He caught 10 passes for 117 yards and two TDs in the win over Bellarmine. St. Francis didn’t have many highlights in its loss to Serra but can be difficult to stop if RB Kingston Keanaaina gets going behind the Lancers’ physical offensive line. In a win over Mitty two weeks ago, the junior ran for 167 yards and four touchdowns in 15 carries. SI has had only one decisive loss, falling to San Ramon Valley 42-14 to open the season. The Wildcats’ other loss was to Archbishop Riordan 41-34 two weeks ago. St. Francis has lost three games by at least 18 points, all to strong teams — Helix-La Mesa 45-21, De La Salle 35-17 and Serra. Calpreps.com’s computer picks St. Francis to win a nail-biter on Friday, 34-33. — Darren Sabedra

No. 23 Sacred Heart Prep (3-2) at No. 11 Los Gatos (3-2), 7 p.m.: This game appears to be more about seeding in the Central Coast Section playoffs than anything else, although winning a league championship isn’t bad, either. Both teams are virtual locks to make the playoffs. Five of the six schools in the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division will be automatic qualifiers. Sacred Heart Prep opened league play last week by trouncing Burlingame 41-7. For Los Gatos, Friday night’s contest is its league opener. Calpreps.com is picking the home team by 24 points. The spread seems a bit excessive, but Los Gatos has played a nasty non-league slate. It has wins over Soquel and Liberty and losses to Grant-Sacramento and Pittsburg. The loss to Grant was by one point. The teams have one common opponent: Palo Alto. Los Gatos beat the Vikings 42-0 in a contest that was over by halftime, with the Wildcats leading 35-0. Sacred Heart Prep beat Palo Alto 28-14, but it was a one-score game until Anthony Noto scored on a 9-yard run with five minutes left to play. SHP will try to keep the ball on the ground with Noto and Ravu Savali. Together they have rushed for 776 yards and 13 TDs. Noto also has a touchdown catch, just one of two thrown by the Gators. SHP can pressure the quarterback, with eight sacks. Teo Casares leads the way with three. The Wildcats are more balanced offensively. They are averaging 350.8 yards and 34 points per game. A.J. Minyard is an experienced QB with excellent targets in Jaylen Thomas and Scott Garwood. Both teams have potential college recruits up front in Ryan Vernale of Los Gatos and Alesi Fangupo from SHP. – Mike Lefkow 

No. 12 Wilcox (3-2, 1-0) at Menlo-Atherton (2-3, 0-0), 7 p.m.: After hanging on for a 21-20 victory at home when these teams met last season, Wilcox will travel to M-A for the rematch. Last season, M-A coach Chris Saunders went two with four minutes left but the Bears were stopped. Wilcox ran out the clock to ice the victory. The past three matchups between the programs have been decided by one score, with Wilcox winning the last two. Last week, Wilcox was unstoppable in a Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division opener against Mountain View. In the 45-14 victory, Wilcox QB Tyson Bonilla ran for 208 yards and four touchdowns. Running backs Elijah Walker and Jamontay Amataga each average over five yards per carry for the Chargers, and defensive standout Jeramiah Lewis recently picked up an offer from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. The versatile linebacker averages 11 tackles per game. He will face a tough matchup against M-A tight end Alek Marshall. The 6-foot-7 standout has hauled in 421 yards and five touchdowns. M-A QB Xander Eschelman has thrown for eight touchdowns and run for three more. Devin Hyde, a 230-pound edge-rusher who has an offer from Washington, has seven of M-A’s 10 sacks, and senior safety Oskar Flodh has three interceptions. M-A blanked Palo Alto 21-0 before a bye last week. CalPreps’ computer has Wilcox winning 21-7. — Joseph Dycus 

No. 17 Monte Vista (3-2) at Foothill (1-4), 7 p.m.: This is Monte Vista coach Johnny Millard’s first game against the school he once starred for (class of 2009). Millard was also an assistant coach at Foothill before taking the Monte Vista job in 2022. Monte Vista won its first three games this season before losing a thriller to Amador Valley and then suffering a lopsided loss to Campolindo going into last week’s bye. Monte Vista RB Julian McMahan has rushed for 601 yards and 10 TDs. He has offers from Cal, Arizona State and Oregon State. Brayden Turner has thrown for 1,239 yards and 14 touchdowns, with his favorite targets being Jacob Shehata, Luke Claussen and Kellan Ford. Ford, a tight end, stands at 6-foot-5 and has offers from Washington and Cal. Foothill might not have the recruiting star power that Monte Vista has after four-star WR Chris Lawson (Riordan) and running back Samear Lattier (Tracy) transferred this offseason. But the Pleasanton school has remained competitive. Three of its losses are by a combined seven points, the latest a 30-28 heartbreaker to Livermore. Foothill’s only victory was a 12-7 shocker against rival Amador Valley in the battle of Pleasanton. Michael O’Donoghue has 557 receiving yards and a great connection with quarterback Erik Olsen. The duo has combined for nine touchdowns. RB/LB Jake Patterson leads the team with 204 rushing yards and 50 tackles. The series between Monte Vista and Football in the MaxPreps ere (2004-present) is tied 8-8, with MV winning the most recent matchup 35-29 in 2019. CalPreps’ computer predicts a 41-24 Monte Vista victory on Friday. — Joseph Dycus

Dublin (4-2) at Granada (4-2), 7 p.m.: Because the North Coast Section insists on setting up playoff divisions before any of its 105 11-man football schools have taken a snap, you get situations like the one facing Dublin on Friday. The Gaels need this game more than Granada. Both teams have identical records as they begin EBAL Valley Division play. But there are only eight playoff berths available for the 18 teams in Division II. The Matadors already have non-league victories against four D-II opponents. Dublin is 0-1, a 38-14 loss to Windsor three weeks ago. Windsor is better than any of the four D-II teams – Berkeley, Castro Valley, Heritage, San Leandro – that Granada beat. Still, a Mats victory Friday means they could be headed for a Valley Division title showdown against Amador Valley, and the possibility of a 7-3 overall record. Or even 8-2. The Gaels, meanwhile, might have to win out to be a serious contender for the postseason if they lose to Granada. After Friday, they get two more cracks at D-II opponents in EBAL Valley rivals Livermore and Dougherty Valley. Dublin probably is in decent shape if it goes 3-1 down the stretch, which would mean a win over Granada or Amador Valley. But a 2-2 finish could make it very tough with El Cerrito, Berkeley and North Bay powers Windsor, Redwood and Rancho Cotate clamoring for an invite. Exciting? The D-!! teams that are left out might not think so. Dublin will have Amador Valley transfer Jack Duncan at quarterback. He’s also a running threat. Kemauri Stinson is the lead running back. Receivers Elijah McDaniel and Garrett Esomonu both average 22 yards per catch. Granada is explosive, averaging 36 points per game. QB Quinn Boyd passed for 1,563 yards and 17 TDs. His primary targets are 6-foot-3 junior Peyton Richards, Christian Clouser and Mikey Boyd, Quinn’s younger brother. Estevan Duarte is a solid running back and capable receiver. Dublin opened the season with three easy wins against inferior opposition. The Gaels are 1-2 since then. Last week, Dublin beat Hayward 20-13, scoring 13 points in the final quarter to pull it out. – Mike Lefkow 

Schedule

Thursday, Oct. 5

EAST BAY

TCAL Rock

Hercules at De Anza, 7 p.m.

Salesian at Pinole Valley, 7 p.m.

SOUTH BAY/PENINSULA

BVAL Santa Teresa-Foothill

Branham at Gilroy, 7:15 p.m.

BVAL Santa Teresa-Valley

Mt. Pleasant at Leigh, 7:15 p.m.

BVAL West Valley

San Jose at Yerba Buena, 7:15 p.m.

PAL De Anza

Hillsdale at Homestead, 7 p.m.

PAL Ocean

Sequoia at Aragon, 7 p.m.

PAL El Camino

Fremont-Sunnyvale at Los Altos, 7 p.m.

PAL Lake

Monta Vista at Saratoga, 7 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 6

EAST BAY

Bay Valley

Deer Valley at Pittsburg, 7 p.m.

DAL Foothill

College Park at Campolindo, 7 p.m.

Miramonte at Benicia, 7 p.m.

Northgate at Acalanes, 7 p.m.

DAL Valley

Berean Christian at Alhambra, 7 p.m.

Ygnacio Valley at Mt. Diablo, 7 p.m.

EBAL Mountain

Monte Vista at Foothill, 7 p.m.

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

EBAL Valley

Dougherty Valley at Amador Valley, 7 p.m.

Dublin at Granada, 7 p.m.

MVAL/WACC Foothill

Castro Valley at Moreau Catholic, 7 p.m.

San Leandro at Logan, 7 p.m.

Tennyson at Bishop O’Dowd, 7 p.m.

MVAL/WACC Mission

Encinal at Berkeley, 7 p.m.

Hayward at Mt. Eden, 7 p.m.

Irvington at Washington-Fremont, 7 p.m.

MVAL/WACC Shoreline

San Lorenzo at Newark Memorial, 7 p.m.

TCAL Stone

St. Mary’s-Berkeley at Kennedy-Richmond, 7 p.m.

St. Patrick-St. Vincent at Richmond, 7 p.m.

Nonleague

Las Lomas at Concord, 7 p.m.

SOUTH BAY/PENINSULA

BVAL Mt. Hamilton

Christopher at Oak Grove, 7:15 p.m.

Lincoln at Live Oak, 7:15 p.m.

BVAL Santa Teresa-Foothill

Pioneer at Independence, 7:15 p.m.

BVAL West Valley

Del Mar at Evergreen Valley, 7:15 p.m.

Hill at Lick, 7:15 p.m.

Prospect at Gunderson, 7:15 p.m.

PAL Bay

Burlingame at Mountain View, 7 p.m.

Sacred Heart Prep at Los Gatos, 7 p.m.

Wilcox at Menlo-Atherton, 7 p.m.

PAL De Anza

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

Menlo School at Palo Alto, 7 p.m.

PAL Ocean

Capuchino at Milpitas, 7 p.m.

Terra Nova at San Mateo, 7 p.m.

PAL El Camino

Santa Clara at Carlmont, 7 p.m.

Woodside at El Camino, 7 p.m.

PAL Lake

Cupertino at Gunn, 7 p.m.

Mills at Lynbrook, 7 p.m.

South San Francisco at Jefferson, 7 p.m.

West Catholic

Riordan vs. Bellarmine at San Jose City College, 7 p.m.

St. Ignatius at St. Francis, 7 p.m.

Serra vs. Mitty at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, 7 p.m.

Valley Christian vs. Sacred Heart Cathedral at Kezar Stadium, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 7

EAST BAY

MVAL/WACC Shoreline

American at Arroyo, 2:30 p.m.

Piedmont vs. Alameda at Thompson Field in Alameda, 7 p.m.

TCAL Rock

El Cerrito at Bethel, 7:30 p.m.

SOUTH BAY/PENINSULA

BVAL Santa Teresa-Valley

Westmont at Sobrato, 2:30 p.m.