With the 2026 high school football season starting this week - my 43rd consecutive covering the Bay Area and 26th for the Chronicle - here are 10 storylines to follow.
After going 284-0-1 against North Coast Section opponents over the past 35 years - and 33 straight section crowns - the obvious question is, can anyone possibly beat the Spartans? It's truly an age-old quandary with a profound and direct response: no. However, the team to last beat them, the Pirates of Pittsburg (35-27 in the 1991 NCS 3-A finals), has most certainly gained ground, losing by single scores the last three meetings (30-23, 10-7 and 24-17).
With former longtime defensive coordinator Charlie Ramirez in his fourth season as head coach, a Division I college prospect quarterback in junior JaVale Jones and a boatload of future college players led by speedy junior receiver Kenneth Ward, edge rusher Terrance Murphy (Fresno State) and two-way playmaker Isaiah Harrison, the Pirates appear equipped to pull off the seemingly impossible. More importantly, playing the Spartans to the final horn in the playoffs recently, there is an internal belief they can slay the dragon.
That said, the 2026 Spartans are as stacked as ever, minus one question mark at quarterback.
With an influx of transfers, playmakers, gigantic linemen - the offensive front averages well over 300 pounds - a top-end quarterback in LT Retamoza, and a coaching infusion from Southern California (first-year head coach Kenny McMillan and **** istants Sean Embree and Ryan Crowe all coached at defending state Open Division champion Santa Margarita-Rancho Santa Margarita) - Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa might be primed to end De La Salle's streak in a Week 2 (Sept. 4) game in Concord.
#section
After going 284-0-1 against North Coast Section opponents over the past 35 years - and 33 straight section crowns - the obvious question is, can anyone possibly beat the Spartans? It's truly an age-old quandary with a profound and direct response: no. However, the team to last beat them, the Pirates of Pittsburg (35-27 in the 1991 NCS 3-A finals), has most certainly gained ground, losing by single scores the last three meetings (30-23, 10-7 and 24-17).
With former longtime defensive coordinator Charlie Ramirez in his fourth season as head coach, a Division I college prospect quarterback in junior JaVale Jones and a boatload of future college players led by speedy junior receiver Kenneth Ward, edge rusher Terrance Murphy (Fresno State) and two-way playmaker Isaiah Harrison, the Pirates appear equipped to pull off the seemingly impossible. More importantly, playing the Spartans to the final horn in the playoffs recently, there is an internal belief they can slay the dragon.
That said, the 2026 Spartans are as stacked as ever, minus one question mark at quarterback.
With an influx of transfers, playmakers, gigantic linemen - the offensive front averages well over 300 pounds - a top-end quarterback in LT Retamoza, and a coaching infusion from Southern California (first-year head coach Kenny McMillan and **** istants Sean Embree and Ryan Crowe all coached at defending state Open Division champion Santa Margarita-Rancho Santa Margarita) - Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa might be primed to end De La Salle's streak in a Week 2 (Sept. 4) game in Concord.
#section
2 months ago
