Before the Peninsula Athletic League football slate got underway, I was asked by KCEA Radio Sports Director John Mylod (Inside the PAL, 89.1 FM) to submit my predictions for the three divisional races. It was the first time Mylod, who also asked other writers to chime in, had done such a thing. This wasn’t easy, but I thought I would share with you my picks, along with dark horse picks and players who were good, but not as well known as others. Mylod also wanted us to list teams most likely to win a CCS title.

We were also asked what was the toughest place in the PAL to play. The consensus to that was South San Francisco. I have been there once, maybe twice, over the years. From what I remember, I had to walk a half-mile to the field, cutting across a quad in the dark, then going down into a sunken pitch. Fog is a given there. I do recall a fine barbecue concession, however, with friendly folks manning it. Counting Mylod, four of five writers (me included) stated South San Francisco as the toughest place to play. One had Terra Nova-Pacifica, another foggy place, but I have yet to cover a football game there.

I, along with three other writers, picked Terra Nova to win the Bay with Sacred Heart Prep-Atherton second. Those two teams met last week with the Tigers winning by two TDs after building a 37-9 lead. I picked the Tigers because of their quarterback, Chris Forbes, one of the best in the Central Coast Section. After T-Nova and SHP, I had Menlo-Atherton, Burlingame, The King’s Academy-Sunnyvale and Jefferson-Daly City. M-A and TKA vie Friday in what should be an entertaining matchup.

The Ocean Division was much harder to pick, which explains why four different schools — Sequoia, South San Francisco, Aragon-San Mateo and Woodside — received votes to win the division. I had, in order, the Cherokees, Woodside, Aragon, South City, Half Moon Bay and Menlo School. I do feel anyone can beat anyone in this division and I predict some wild, crazy games when Ocean teams meet. Sequoia, as it found last week against Aragon, won’t be blowing too many teams out and will be challenged week in and week out.

The Lake was even harder, but I went with Carlmont-Belmont because I like their backs — Joe Lasala and Marquisse Harris. I picked the latter as a player who is under the radar. Second was Hillsdale-San Mateo, which has a load of a back in Damien Carter. Then it was San Mateo, El Camino-South San Francisco, Capuchino-San Bruno and Mills-Millbrae.

My “most likely to win a CCS title from PAL teams” is Sacred Heart Prep, which will play in Div. IV, should it qualify. My dark horses were — for the Bay (Burlingame), the Ocean (South City) and Lake (San Mateo). Players I felt might not get the ink they deserve are wide receiver Chris Reed from Menlo School, TKA lineman Ben Justice and TKA kicker Brian Bostrom, Harris and Menlo-Atherton kicker Sam Falkenhagen.

I’m off to a good start in Bay and Lake divisions, not so much in the Ocean, unless Sequoia beats South City in a title showdown in Redwood City on Nov. 4. In any of these divisions, anything can happen.

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