Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 30

49ers’ defense can feast on Sunday buffet of mediocre quarterbacks

SANTA CLARA – Brock Purdy owns four playoff wins since assuming the 49ers’ quarterback throne in 2022.

That dwarfs the opposing quarterbacks lined up on this season’s schedule.

Of those 14 quarterbacks slated to start Week 1, they’ve combined for just six playoff wins since 2022, and none with more than C.J. Stroud’s two wild-card victories for Houston.

So much for a Murderers’ Row of touchdown-throwing assassins.

Instead, the 49ers get an all-you-can-eat Sunday brunch for their young, hungry, and unproven defense.

They’ll avoid the NFL’s most recent MVPs: Buffalo’s Josh Allen, Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, and (*checks notes*) Pittsburgh’s Aaron Rodgers.

Allen, Jackson, and Mahomes may be the NFL’s best under-30 throwers, along with Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow, Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts, and Washington’s Jayden Daniels, none of whom are on the schedule, barring a playoff encounter or Super Bowl LX showdown at Levi’s Stadium on Feb. 8.

Overlooked amid the NFL’s myriad roster moves this past week was the fact all 32 teams have their starting quarterback named. Some may change by the time the 49ers get to them, but a Super Bowl threat is not coming off anyone’s bench.

The New Orleans Saints were last to name their QB1, giving Spencer Rattler another shot in Year 2 after going 0-6 as a rookie starter. That’s who the 49ers will visit in Week 2, after they open Sept. 7 at Seattle against 2023 49ers backup QB Sam Darnold.

Darnold. Rattler. Neither has a playoff win, nor do most quarterbacks on the 49ers’ schedule.

Of the Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks on the agenda, there areJoe Flacco (Cleveland Browns, age 40), Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams, age 37) and Russell Wilson (New York Giants, age 36).

Each of that trio defeated the 49ers en route to their lone Lombardi Trophy. Flacco hasn’t won a playoff game in a decade. Wilson’s lost five of his last six playoff appearances, the lone win coming five years ago. And Stafford’s 5-5 career playoff record includes a 4-0 mark from his 2021 Rams onboarding.

The only other Week 1 starters with a playoff win to their name: Houston’s Stroud (2-2), Indianapolis’ Daniel Jones (1-1), Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence (1-1) and Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield (2-3). Darnold and Arizona’s Kyler Murray are 0-1, for NFC West’s sake.

Where have all the Tom Bradys, Peyton Mannings, Drew Breeses, Ben Roethlisbergers and Matt Ryans gone? Retirement. Or the broadcast booth and/or ownership suite.

One more thing, and it’s no small matter: The 49ers must get past all these quarterbacks through the next 18 weeks if Purdy is to make his third postseason trip in four years. There is that, and the fact the 49ers have the easiest regular-season schedule (opponents had a .415 winning percentage in 2024).Related Articles Santa Clara says Super Bowl LX will cost $6.3 million Why Marques Sigle could be the 49ers’ biggest early-impact rookie 49ers bring back defensive tackle Evan Anderson to practice squad Best division in football? Breaking down how the 49ers stack up against their NFC West rivals San Jose focusing on resident, fan experiences with Super Bowl, March Madness and World Cup approaching

Here is a week-by-week breakdown of the 49ers opponents’ starting quarterback (and QB2):

WEEK 1 at Seattle

Sam Darnold

(Drew Lock)

WEEK 2 at New Orleans

Spencer Rattler

(Tyler Shough)

WEEK 3 vs. Arizona

Kyler Murray

(Jacoby Brissett)

WEEK 4 vs. Jacksonville

Trevor Lawrence

(Nick Mullens)

WEEK 5 at L.A. Rams

Matthew Stafford

(Jimmy Garoppolo)

WEEK 6 at Tampa Bay

Baker Mayfield

(Teddy Bridgewater)

WEEK 7 vs. Atlanta

Michael Penix Jr.

(Kirk Cousins)

WEEK 8 at Houston

C.J. Stroud

(Davis Mills)

WEEK 9 at N.Y. Giants

Russell Wilson

(Jaxson Dart)

WEEK 10 vs. L.A. Rams

Stafford

(Garoppolo)

WEEK 11 at Arizona

Murray

(Brissett)

WEEK 12 vs. Carolina

Bryce Young

(Andy Dalton)

WEEK 13 at Cleveland

Joe Flacco

(Dillon Gabriel)

WEEK 14 bye

WEEK 15 vs. Tennessee

Cam Ward

(Brandon Allen)

WEEK 16 at Indianapolis

Daniel Jones

(Anthony Richardson)

WEEK 17 vs. Chicago

Caleb Williams

(Tyson Bagent)

WEEK 18 vs. Seattle

Darnold

(Lock)

 

Horoscopes Aug. 31, 2025: Chris Tucker, take the time to review every facet of every situation

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Sara Ramirez, 50; Chris Tucker, 54; Zack Ward, 55; Richard Gere, 76.

Happy Birthday: Take the time to review every facet of every situation, and exhaust your options. Refuse to let anyone dictate what you do next when only you can make that choice. You have more going for you than you realize, and with the right mindset, you’ll discover the path that leads you out of the rain and into the sunshine. Trust and believe in yourself, and you will thrive. Your numbers are 8, 15, 23, 28, 32, 34, 47.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Form partnerships, share information and learn from those experiences, and you’ll gain insight into how to get what you want. A change to your schedule will position you for an adventure. Short trips, getting together with old friends and revisiting dreams will change your perspective and your direction. Personal gain and romance are on the rise. 5 stars

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Be precise regarding what matters to you, but also be willing to compromise. Balance, integrity and feeling good about an agreement you reach will make a difference in how you feel about yourself and those you are dealing with today. Keep moving toward a place you feel comfortable, a place you can call home. 3 stars

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Stick to the script. If you keep waffling or changing your story, you’ll lose the confidence of those you count on for support. Giving back, sharing and caring go hand in hand with achieving success. Be the bigger person and make those around you feel good about themselves, and something spectacular will come your way. 3 stars

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Don’t get caught in someone else’s crossfire. Avoid volatile situations or those who exhibit excessive behavior. A lifestyle change that encourages peace of mind, simplicity and dignity will help guide you to a better place. Let go of what no longer works for you, and start dancing to the beat of your drum. 3 stars

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Engage in what and with who excites you. You have plenty to gain by positioning yourself for a day filled with people, places and pastimes that make you happy. Social events, travel and reconnecting with old friends you miss will brighten your day. Choose simplicity over complexity, and you’ll win every time. Romance is favored. 5 stars

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Consider the outcome before you start the process. Where there is a will, there is a way, but using the best resources is the trick to making the right move. Take the initiative to shape your surroundings to suit your needs, and it will make reaching your goals much easier. 2 stars

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A passionate plea will lead to outstanding results. Speak up, and your persuasive outcry will be heard. An energetic approach to your responsibilities and using your space efficiently will make life easier, leaving you more time to spend with friends, loved ones and family. A change of plans will lead to an interesting and unexpected encounter. 4 stars

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Take better care of your mental and physical well-being. Refuse to let stress filter into aspects of your life that require common sense and immediate attention. Step back, look at the big picture and make changes only when necessary and practical. An innovative approach to learning, growing and positive lifestyle changes will pay off. 3 stars

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Savor the moments that matter. Share your experiences, thoughts and feelings. Focus on doing your best and helping those around you meet their expectations. Discipline and creativity will help you make a powerful statement that will shape where and how you live. Embrace change and turn it into something that benefits you. 3 stars

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Keep life simple. Don’t allow situations to lead to a standoff with someone who makes a positive difference to your lifestyle. Surround yourself with helpful people who offer sound advice and support. Romantic opportunities are present. Anger is a waste of time. Consider healthy choices and fine-tune your lifestyle to suit your needs. 3 stars

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Reach out to those in a position to help you, and you’ll get a sense of what and how you can invest efficiently in your future. Adapting with the times will keep you a step ahead of any competition you encounter. Be bold and brave, and you’ll benefit from doing your best to stand out. 4 stars

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Be careful what you sign up for or whom you make promises to, and you’ll avoid letting others take advantage of you. Kindness is a blessing, but also a vulnerability if you are too eager to please. Know your worth and set boundaries and limitations with those who are anxious to take advantage of you. 2 stars

Birthday Baby: You are fetching, accommodating and reliable. You are reflective and discreet.

1 star: Avoid conflicts; work behind the scenes.2 stars: You can accomplish, but don’t rely on others.3 stars: Focus and you’ll reach your goals.4 stars: Aim high; start new projects.5 stars: Nothing can stop you; go for gold.

Visit Eugenialast.com, or join Eugenia on Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn.

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Pro Soccer: Union’s winless streak stretches to six in loss to Oakland

OAKLAND — Time is running out on Monterey Bay FC’s shot at the postseason.

The Union have fallen to the 11th spot in the United Soccer League Championships Western Conference after Saturday’s 1-0 loss to the Oakland Roots at the Oakland Coliseum.

With just seven matches left in the regular season, the Union are limping to the finish line, stretching their winless streak to six games — going winless during the month of August.

Despite its struggles, Monterey Bay FC is just three points out of the eighth and final playoff position in the Western Conference with 24 points — and four points from climbing into the top six.

Yet, with as many ties as wins this year, the Union have fallen to 6-11-6 in USL Championship play. Four of their final seven matches on the pitch are against teams that would be in the postseason today.

Five of Monterey Bay FC’s final seven matches are at Cardinale Stadium, where the team is a respectable 5-3-2, as opposed to a 1-8-4 road record.

Since winning three of their first four USL matches this year and having a stretch of six matches without a loss, the Union have gone just 3-10-4, falling from first place to 11th.

Despite bolstering its offense with two acquisitions in the last month, Monterey Bay FC has failed to score in its last two matches and 11 times on the season.

Having produced a season high three goals in beating the Roots in the team’s first meeting, the Union have dropped their last two to their East Bay rivals, falling in the USL Jägermeister Cup.

Prior to that Jagermeister Cup match, the Union had won the last three matches against Oakland. Goalie Nico Campuzano, who came into the match leading the USL in saves, put together another impressive effort between the pipes.

Campuzano, who had 62 saves coming into the contest, has allowed one or fewer goals in 15 matches this season for Monterey Bay FC, whose goalie tandem last year led the USL in saves.

 

High School football: Herro’s three touchdown passes leads Carmel past Soledad

CARMEL — The target on their back appears the size of the sun that heated up the football field to  92 degrees Saturday.

Carmel High did not need to win a state high school title last fall to achieve that attention. Not when you’ve been to the playoffs in 15 of the past 17 years, and came into the game riding a 22-game regular season winning streak.

“We’re breaking in a lot of new faces,” Carmel coach Golden Anderson said. “We asked kids to raise their hands if this was their first varsity game. A lot of hands went up.”

Bumped to the more competitive Gabilan Division in the Pacific Coast Athletic League this year after a school record 15-0 season, the Padres used their one preseason game as a tuneup with a 34-21 win over visiting Soledad.

“Those little things you have to learn from a lack of experience creep up,” Anderson said. “The only way to get that is to play. Our (roster) numbers aren’t as large as the teams in our division. It could be a factor down the road. We knew that coming into the season.”

Champions of the Mission Division South over the past two years, Carmel averaged 45.2 points a game last season, including 49.5 in five postseason games.

“We had a lot of mistakes, which is typical for the first game,” Anderson said. “There were some heat-related conditions. There is no shade at Carmel. I think each team was better off for having a scrimmage the previous week.”

At times, the Padres looked like the machine that is accustomed to producing mass amounts of points, using three scoring tosses from quarterback Kaleb Herro, two of which went into the hands of Carter Lloyd.

Carmel's Carter Lloyd. (John Devine -- Monterey Herald)

Yet, it was Carmel’s defense that pitched a first-half shutout, producing five turnovers in the game, with Ethan Haas intercepting a pair of passes.

“Defensively, we forced four interceptions and recovered a fumble,” said Anderson, whose team has a bye next week before visiting Gabilan Division champion Soquel in its league opener. “We made some plays down the field.”

Herro also connected with Dean Briant for a touchdown, while Skyler Madsen and Stanford-bound pitcher Matt Maxon both rushed for touchdowns.

Maxon, who caught eight passes for Carmel, had two carries, one of which resulted in a touchdown, the other coming on a fourth down conversion to keep a drive alive.

“We’ll use him (Maxon) for specific plays,” Anderson said. “Our starting running back went down on the first drive with an injury and was in a walking boot. That’s when you start to worry about your depth. We have to fill the spot.”

Jumping out to a 26-0 lead in the third quarter, Anderson began floating players in and out of the game to get some of his reserves reps.

Carmel's Matt Maxon. (John Devine -- Monterey Herald)

A pick six from the Aztecs Nathaniel Flores came after quarterback DJ Valenzuela hit Ayden Rose for a touchdown pass, resulting in 14 unanswered points to cut the Carmel deficit to 12 late in the third quarter.

Teddy Rieser and Kanan Seeklander each had interceptions for Carmel, while Indy Gabrielson was disruptive on the defensive front.

St. Francis 43, Greenfield 2

For the first time in 37 games, the Bruins were held without an offensive point in falling to St. Francis of Watsonville in both teams’ season opener.

Ironically, the last team to hold Greenfield without a touchdown was the Sharks on Oct. 1, 2021, when both were in the Santa Lucia Division.

The Bruins moved to the Mission Division South last season after winning the Santa Lucia Division in 2023, while St. Francis is in the Mission Division North, having jumped two levels since winning the Santa Lucia in 2022.

Greenfield’s only points came on a safety in the first quarter, cutting the Sharks advantage to 7-2.

St. Francis has won four of the last five meetings with the Bruins, who will visit Pacific Grove next Saturday.

Seymour’s starting debut spoiled in SF Giants’ blowout loss to Orioles

SAN FRANCISCO — Beneath blue skies and the beating sun, the temperature gauge at Oracle Park read 80 degrees at first pitch Saturday afternoon, the balmiest conditions for a baseball game on the shores of McCovey Cove in more than four years.

Carson Seymour, awarded the opportunity to make his first major league start, found himself in hot water for entirely different reasons.

The burly 26-year-old right-hander pitched around a leadoff walk and an error in the first inning, and a double to begin his second frame, but things boiled over after he walked the first batter of the third. The Orioles punished him for a pair of home runs and continued to pile on, sending the Giants to an 11-1 loss.

“I felt like my stuff was pretty good today,” Seymour said. “Just a couple of pitches I want back.”

Seymour allowed four runs in three innings and was handed the loss, which snapped the Giants’ win streak at six games and prevented them from evening their record at .500. He gave way to Tristan Beck, who surrendered a home run on his first pitch and allowed the Orioles to pad their lead by another four runs.

“We get behind, and it’s seven runs after four,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We’re trying to put something together offensively and can’t do it. Now you’re just trying to get through the game without using too much pitching.”

After scoring a season-high 15 runs in their win Friday night, the Giants couldn’t find an answer for Baltimore starter Trevor Rogers, who turned in his 10th straight start of six or more innings and two or fewer runs, lowering his ERA to 1.39, the best mark in the majors since his season debut May 24.

“He doesn’t walk anybody, throws the ball over the plate, gets ahead and his fastball plays a lot better than what the velocity and even the (vertical rise) would suggest,” Melvin said. “It’s a low slot and it just gets on you. The talk amongst the guys is, ‘Be ready for it.’ Because it’s playing up.”

The Giants fell to 15-24 when facing a left-handed starting pitcher, the fifth-worst record in the majors. Against southpaws of all stripes, no team has a lower batting average than the Giants’ .212 mark.

Their lone offense came from an increasingly familiar source: a home run off the bat of Willy Adames, which opened a 1-0 lead in the first inning. The homer was Adames’ sixth in his past nine games, and if he continues apace, he could become the first Giants batter to reach 30 in one season since Barry Bonds.

With 26 games to play, Adames has 25 homers — though, like this one, all but five have come without runners on base.

“We’ve got a month left,” Melvin said. “I wouldn’t bet against him.”

As a team, the Giants have gone deep in 13 straight games, matching their most powerful stretch since 2002. Their opponents, however, were the bigger beneficiary of the long ball, with two-run shots from Jeremiah Jackson and Ryan Mountcastle and a solo shot from rookie catcher Samuel Basallo, the first of his career.

Beck served up the home run to Basallo and allowed Jackson Holliday to triple off the brick wall in right field that led to two more runs. But he settled in to toss 3⅔ innings of relief, striking out the side in a 1-2-3 fifth inning and finishing with six punchouts — a career-high.

Jackson got Baltimore on the board after Seymour issued his second leadoff walk, depositing a letter-high first-pitch fastball into the left-field bleachers to put the Orioles up 2-1. Mountcastle made it 4-1 two batters later, sending a 1-0 sinker out to straightaway center field.

“Carson, at times, looks really good with his sinker, then he leaves a few up and he’s been bitten by some home runs since he’s been here,” Melvin said. “So he’s got to get a handle on that a little bit. … It’s the sinker that’s not sinking. It seems like since he’s been here, he’s given up some home runs on that pitch.”

Seymour, acquired from the Mets in the Darin Ruf trade, had allowed six home runs in 10 appearances out of the bullpen with a 3.74 ERA after spending the bulk of his minor-league career as a starter. His first start in the big leagues raised his ERA a full point, to 4.74.

“I prefer starting because you know when you’re going to pitch,” Seymour said. “I wouldn’t say (I had) nerves, but the adrenaline rush is different. It kind of builds and builds and builds the whole day. … It’s more of a slow burn when you’re starting, but I prefer the slow burn, I guess.”

Did you know?

Since Oracle Park opened in 2000, it has hosted 42 games before Saturday with the first-pitch temperature at 80 degrees or above. The Giants were an even 21-21 in those contests, with the last one coming June 17, 2021, against the Diamondbacks — 4 years, 2 months and 10 days ago. The longest the Giants had previously gone between 80-degree home dates was 3 years, 8 months, 5 days from August 25, 2010, to April 30, 2014.

Notable

— After Tommy John surgery was recommended for Randy Rodríguez, Melvin confirmed before the game that the Giants’ All-Star closer decided to go forward with the elbow reconstruction operation. Rodríguez was still determining which doctor will perform the procedure, which typically comes with a 12-18 month recovery.

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— Without naming names, Melvin suggested catcher/infielder Jesus Rodriguez will join the club at some point once rosters expand to 28 players on Monday. Rodriguez, 23, was acquired from the Yankees in the Camilo Doval trade and has batted at least .300 at every level of the minor leagues. He could serve as a third catcher behind Patrick Bailey and Andrew Knizner, while also being an option at third base.

— The Giants are leaving the door open to the possibility that Jerar Encarnacion (hamstring) returns before the season is over. The 27-year-old outfielder has been limited to 10 games amid three stints on the injured list for separate ailments, but Melvin said he will begin a rehab assignment during the club’s upcoming road trip.

Up next

RHP Justin Verlander (2-10, 4.47) gets the ball against RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (10-6, 4.06) in the rubber match against the Orioles as the Giants wrap up their homestand. San Francisco will head out on its penultimate road trip of the season through Colorado and St. Louis.

College football: Fernandez’s field goal in OT propels MPC past Foothill

MONTEREY — Pandemonium was on tap. Joey Fernandez embraced the moment, creating a celebration with his powerful right leg. It resembled a playoff setting — in Week 1.

“I’ve trained for this my whole life,” the Monterey Peninsula College sophomore kicker said. “It’s one of the greatest moments in my life.”

Fernandez erased years of frustration for the Lobos when he kicked a 38-yard field goal in overtime Saturday, propelling them to a 20-17 win over Foothill at MPC.

MPC defenders Malachi Brown and Ethan Wiley force a fumble by Foothill’s John Larios in the first half of Saturday’s game in Monterey. (Donald Fukui -- Herald correspondent)Monterey Peninsula College linebacker Damien Neveaux brings down Foothill running back Nate Williams in the third quarter of Saturday’s game. The Lobos defeated No. 14 ranked Foothill of Los Altos Hills 20-17 in overtime on a field goal by Joey Fernandez.(Donald Fukui -- Herald correspondent)MPC quarterback Manuel Simon Lopez skirts right end for a 50-yard gain early in the first quarter of Saturday’s game in Monterey. The Lobos defeated Foothill 20-17 in overtime. (Donald Fukui -- Herald correspondent)Monterey Peninsula College head football coach Adrian Gallegos consults his call sheet during Saturday’s game with Foothill College. MPC defeated Foothill 20-17 in overtime to give Gallegos his first win as the Lobos’ head coach. (Donald Fukui -- Herald correspondent)MPC wide receiver Julius Robinson breaks into the secondary for 32-yard gain in the first half of Saturday’s 20-17 overtime win over Foothill in the season opener for both teams. (Donald Fukui -- Herald correspondent)Show Caption1 of 5MPC defenders Malachi Brown and Ethan Wiley force a fumble by Foothill’s John Larios in the first half of Saturday’s game in Monterey. (Donald Fukui -- Herald correspondent)Expand

“I was focused on keeping the right mindset,” said Fernandez, who also had a field goal in the second half. “Don’t get too emotional. I stayed calm. It’s just like practice. I visualized making the kick.”

As Fernandez’s kick sailed through the uprights into a deep blue sky, more than 70 players ran toward the Hollister High graduate in an emotional celebration for the Lobos.

“Man I’m not going to lie,” first-year MPC head football coach Adrian Gallegos said. “It was such an incredible win. I’m still soaking it up. We won with class. We got the monkey off our backs. I’ve been thinking about this game since the schedule came out.”

That’s because the No. 14-ranked Owls of Los Altos Hills have had MPC’s number for a number of years, having won the previous four meetings between the two rivals, including a 35-21 decision in the 2023 American Bowl.

“I remember some of their coaches doing backflips after that win,” said Gallegos, who had been the Lobos’ offensive coordinator for two years before becoming the head coach.

That loss is also the last time MPC has dropped a game. On the heels of a record-breaking 11-0 season last fall, the program has won a school record 12 straight games.

Owners of four consecutive American Golden Coast Conference titles, in which they went 21-1 in conference play, the Lobos have moved into the National Valley Conference this fall.

“It’s next play, next game mentality for us,” Gallegos said. “I’m already over this game. But I will enjoy it tonight while watching film of Shasta.”

The Lobos, who were unranked in the preseason Community College Coaches Football Poll last week, will be on the road in Week 2 when they make the more than five hour bus ride next Saturday to Shasta, a member of the National NorCal conference.

“Honestly, we were the underdogs,” Gallegos said. “We took that to the heart. We wanted to show everyone who we are and what we want to do. I think we shocked the doubters. The only objective was to go 1-0.”

Special teams have been a strength of MPC’s in the past. Throughout the game, Fernandez, who split the kicking duties last year, was pinning Foothill back on its heels with his towering punts, several of which sailed beyond 40 yards.

While a pair of early turnovers grounded the offense, the Lobos defense rose to the occasion in holding Foothill to seven points in the second half.

“Those guys (Foothill) got after us early,” Gallegos said. “Our defense played lights out. We found a way to get our offense going in the second half.”

The Lobos erased a 10-point deficit when David Roberts got into the end zone just before halftime, triggering a run of 17 straight points against a defense that was one of the best in the state last year.

“Two years ago, Foothill gave up an average of eight points a game,” Gallegos said. “To put up 20 points against one of the top-ranked defenses in the state. I’ll take that.”

Eight of those points came off the leg of Fernandez, who kicked a field goal in the second half to put the Lobos up by seven before Foothill rallied to tie the game late in the fourth quarter.

“At that point, we wanted overtime,” said Gallegos, in reference to MPC choosing to run out the clock late in the fourth quarter. “We felt like our kicker was better.”

So much so that Gallegos — a former Hartnell College quarterback — elected to have Fernandez kick the field goal on third down after Foothill missed its field goal attempt.

“That’s how much confidence I had in Joey,” Gallegos said.

The 19-year-old answered the moment with his kick and waited for his teammates to run toward him, giving Gallegos his first win as a head coach for MPC.

“I was waiting for my teammates,” a humble Fernandez said after the game. “I was shouting. I was ready.”

The Lobos relied on big plays to produce a pair of touchdowns as quarterback Simon Manuel Lopez found Mark Harris on a 70-yard touchdown in the third quarter to erase a three-point deficit. Lopez also hit Julius Robinson for 32 yards to set up the first score.

Hartnell 20, Chabot 14

Art Berlanga never looked at the Panthers as a reclamation project when he accepted the job as the head coach in June.

Convincing 40-plus newcomers over the summer to get on board with those who endured a 1-9 season, and to buy into his beliefs, just got a little easier.

“With the buy-in and the group of men we have in this locker room, no I wasn’t surprised,” Berlanga said. “The boys earned it and deserve to experience what they experienced today.”

The Panthers, who dropped their final five games last year, giving up 186 points in their last three games, opened the season with their first home win at Rabobank in two years after knocking off Chabot of Hayward.

“The belief gets a little stronger,” said Berlanga, who took Forge Christian High in Colorado to a state title game last year. “We had a lot of growth today.”

Berlanga, who guided Gonzales to its first league title in 18 years in 2018 with a school record 11-game winning streak, is Hartnell’s third coach in three years.

“I wasn’t sure how to gauge today because we hadn’t scrimmaged anyone but ourselves,” Berlanga said. “We had a lot of question marks. I just wanted to see how we’d respond against someone else.”

Hartnell, which scored 20 or more points in just one game last season, relied on a heavy run game that witnessed North Salinas grad Justin Pascone rush for 145 yards on 23 carries and a touchdown. Quarterback Adam Shaffer added a touchdown in his return.

Yet, it was the Panthers’ defense that stole the spotlight with former North Salinas standout Sean Nimuan returning an interception for a pick six in the second half for what turned out to be the game-winning points.

Hartnell's Adam Shaffer. (John Devine -- Monterey Herald)

“I was especially pleased with our defense,” said Berlanga, just the third head coach in the program’s 90-year history to have played for Hartnell. “Those men won this game for us today.”

Palma product Caden Scherer collected 10 tackles for the Panthers, including five for losses. Jacob Peinado added six tackles, while Ray Blanco recorded four tackles and a pick. Dominic Chaidez added five tackles and five pass breakups.

Hartnell will travel to face San Joaquin Delta — which fell 21-2 to De Anza in its opener — next Saturday.

Looking back: Clint and the General

Tech entrepreneur remembers lessons from Pacific Grove

PACIFIC GROVE – Tech entrepreneur Xiao Xiao is on the brink of expanding his startup company, Friendly Robots, and with his products, the 44-year-old Pacific Grove High grad seeks to spread a sense of community.

“What I really felt from PG,” Xiao said, reflecting on how the community affected his outlook,  “was that they really did the absolute best they could that they knew how by putting their best foot forward and never (sparing) the effort.”

Friendly Robots’ flagship product is the FR06, a vacuum cleaner robot. The company started in April 2018, beginning by collaborating with interns out of Xiao’s alma mater – the University of California, Berkeley. Since then, they have worked closely with college student interns – some having graduated to shareholders.

Last year, the company won a $10,000 startup prize from Cal State Monterey Bay. Friendly Robots is currently working out of an office space in Oakland. With a handful of customers in Oakland and Monterey in the hospitality industry, Xiao is eager to sell outside of California.

Xiao was an engineer at Apple for five years before leaving to fulfill his lifelong dream of starting a company, thinking, “Now’s the time to do something.”

From sailing to racing, Xiao says his hobbies inspired the start of Friendly Robots – especially flying model airplanes at Fort Ord. Today, he values locals teaching him how to build model airplanes as an impactful experience.

Affectionately known as the Friendly Frog, the robot operates as a hands-free vacuum cleaner engineered for schools, office spaces. (Layna Hughes -- Herald correspondent)

“You know there’s a technology side, but there is that community side,” Xiao said. “That made this place seem like this kind of endeavor, doing something new, is achievable.”

Having lived in China until the age of 10, Xiao was fascinated by the technological advancement and opportunities America had to offer.

As a child, Xiao would create model prototypes that he couldn’t afford to build until moving to America.

He and his mother moved to the U.S. following his father, who was getting his graduate degree in Ohio. His mother and father had both been university professors in China at the time. They separated soon after arriving, and Xiao and his mother moved to the San Francisco Bay Area due to its large Chinese population.

“That was another incredible opportunity that was just totally unthinkable,” Xiao said. “Imagine three quarters of your parents’ monthly salary (would) be the price for a model airplane when here it’s like nothing – go to Toys R Us you can get one.

Moving to the U.S. gave Xiao the opportunity to develop those models and hone his skills, eventually leading to the creation of Friendly Robots and the FR06.

Affectionately known as the Friendly Frog, the robot operates as a hands-free vacuum cleaner engineered for schools, office spaces and other commercial facilities. Each FR06 is built to order using pieces made in the U.S., most of which are 3D printed. This makes the robot relatively inexpensive to build and accessible for new tech engineers.

Xiao says a majority of their competitors are overseas, giving Friendly Robots an advantage over other cleaning robots on the market. He says that the element of customization, having programmers map out a cleaning route for each FR06 ordered, is what sets them apart.

Xiao Xiao, a Pacific Grove High grad, has high hopes for his product, the Friendly Frog, a hands-free vacuum cleaner. (Layna Hughes -- Herald correspondent)

“It’s hard to write one piece of software somewhere overseas and expect it to work in every single place. It’s just about impossible,” Xiao said.

Xiao intends to sell across the country sooner rather than later. His goal is to ship disassembled versions of the FR06 to be assembled by Friendly Robots teams across the nation. With every location that could adopt their product, local labor will be used to assemble, program and map it.

“Everybody can have just a little bit of contribution – that emotional contribution. That’s really what helps me to keep going,” Xiao said.

Having the opportunity to create accessible experiences in the tech industry is a source of motivation for Xiao.

“What I’ve discovered is that the company I’m putting together is actually an interface for other people to come and get a job,” said Xiao. “That’s where the human element comes in.”

Layna Hughes is a student journalist at Cal State Monterey Bay.

Santa Clara says Super Bowl LX will cost $6.3 million as it negotiates agreements to shift the financial risk

As Santa Clara prepares for its second Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium next year, city officials project the big game will cost $6.3 million to host, with the expense and financial risk expected to fall on the Bay Area Host Committee and the San Francisco 49ers.

Santa Clara city officials this week unveiled the preliminary event agreement for the Super Bowl, which mirrors a similar deal the city struck earlier this year over the FIFA World Cup. In 2026, Santa Clara will become the first city to host the two major sporting events in the same calendar year, with the Super Bowl on Feb. 8 and six World Cup matches between June 13 and July 1. The city last hosted the Super Bowl in 2016 when the Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers.

The proposed agreement, which is expected to be finalized next month, would require the Bay Area Host Committee — a nonprofit that has been working to bring major sporting events to the region — to reimburse the city for event expenses. If the organization can’t cover all the costs, the San Francisco 49ers, who manage the publicly owned stadium, have agreed to cover the rest.

City Manager Jovan Grogan said that the city has “learned some lessons from the Super Bowl 50 agreement.”

“The opportunity to host Super Bowl LX 10 years later represents not just a return of the NFL’s biggest event to Santa Clara, but a chance to once again collaborate with regional partners, support local businesses and create lasting economic and community benefits,” Grogan said at Tuesday’s Santa Clara City Council meeting. “Ensuring that we obtain reimbursement for event costs is of the utmost importance.”

While hosting large sporting events can economically benefit the region in the form of sales taxes, hotel taxes and new jobs, they’re often money losers for the organizers. When Santa Clara voters approved Levi’s Stadium back in 2010, the ballot initiative — known as Measure J — instituted taxpayer protections that prevented the city from dipping into the general fund for stadium-related expenses.

The Bay Area Host Committee already has reimbursed or is in the process of reimbursing the city nearly $348,000 — a commitment made in previous funding contracts over various planning costs. Under the proposed agreement, the organization would be required to make an advanced payment of 50% of the projected event costs on or before Dec. 25.

Aside from the reimbursement process, the agreement also lays out framework for cost disputes, the use of the nearby Convention Center and special modifications to the stadium lease around public safety costs.

Santa Clara will serve as the lead agency for providing security at and around Levi’s Stadium. The cost of cops at NFL games had been a point of contention between the city and the 49ers for years. The original stadium lease required the team to pay $170,000 per game for police; costs exceeding that threshold would be returned to the team via a rent credit. But a dispute ensued when costs ballooned.

The city and the team reached a settlement agreement last year over the issue and raised the threshold to $360,000 per game. But according to the terms being negotiated for the Super Bowl, that threshold won’t apply and the Bay Area Host Committee will pay the full cost for security.

“If that were the case, that would reduce the performance rent that would otherwise go to the city for that particular year,” City Attorney Glen Googins said of the provision.

The city also is in separate negotiations with the NFL over the potential use of the Youth Soccer Park, which is adjacent to the stadium. Ahead of Super Bowl 50, a youth sports league filed lawsuit against the NFL to try to block them from turning the park into a media camp, which the group feared would wreck the fields. A judge ultimately ruled in the NFL’s favor.

“Our intent is to get both a rental fee and a commitment to restore or replace the fields as needed to the extent, for example of the youth sports park, would result in damages of the field,” Googins said.

Mayor Lisa Gillmor, who was on the City Council during the last Super Bowl, pushed back on the reimbursement process outlined in the agreement and questioned whether it complied with Measure J.

“The city is going to have to front a lot of payments in terms of millions of dollars for both Super Bowl and World Cup and they’re very close together,” she said.

The mayor wants the Bay Area Host Committee to make the advanced payment for 100% of the projected costs instead of just half. She also raised concerns about the nonprofit’s fundraising efforts, which the organization said are confidential, and over the 49ers’ guarantee to be a financial backstop.

Grogan, however, said that city officials believe they are in compliance with Measure J.

“Certainly no contract is fully risk proof,” he said. “But we do believe that the negotiated terms sufficiently insulate both the Stadium Authority and the general fund because of the direct commitment.”

As football season begins, UCSF announces study aiming to diagnose CTE in living people

SAN FRANCISCO — Dr. Gil Rabinovici, a leading neurologist at UC San Francisco, has examined “thousands, if not tens of thousands” human brains.

On a recent day in his ground-floor Mission Bay office, decorated with regalia of his alma mater, Stanford, and his hometown team, the Chicago Cubs, Rabinovici pulled up an image of one mind on his computer screen in the form of an MRI scan.

“Do you see all these white dots?” he asks, gesturing toward a small collection of specks sprinkled around the prefrontal cortex. “Yeah, that’s not normal.”

Brains are on the minds of more than just neuroscientists as football kicks off around California and across the country. From PeeWee to the pros, the sport is safer than ever, according to those who play it and coach it. Its brutal nature and long-term effects, however, are inescapable.

The sample belongs to one of 225 subjects in an ongoing trial at UCSF and four other sites around the country involving 150 former college and professional football players.

The dots on the scan could appear for a variety of reasons, Rabinovici says, but this brain has “a lot more of these than you would expect for their age” — the likely result of repeated blows to the head.

The question researchers are trying to answer: Is it also a sign of chronic traumatic encephalopathy?

Currently, the only way to diagnose CTE is posthumously, by taking a slice of brain tissue and dying it to identify the tau protein associated with the neurodegenerative disease.

The trial, the second phase of the NIH-funded DIAGNOSE-CTE project, only began in April, but researchers are hopeful that by the time it is complete, in June 2029, they could have a clinical diagnostic test for living people.

Dr. Gil Rabinovici at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in San Francisco, Calif. Researchers are working to devlop a diagnostic test for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in people living with the degenerative brain disease. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)

Paul Rosa, the head football coach at Santa Clara’s Wilcox High School, witnessed the deterioration of his uncle, a former boxer and football player, and knew before he got confirmation.

Luis Rosa died in 2020 and was posthumously diagnosed with CTE. According to Paul, his uncle built a comfortable life and a six-figure bank account in Southern California as a restaurant operator, “and then all of a sudden, about his early 50s, you could see his personality change.”

He suffered from constant headaches, battled depression and turned to alcohol. He died homeless, bouncing between family members’ houses.

“It was just like a switch flipped,” Rosa said. “To me, it was pretty obvious (it was CTE).”

The link between high-level football and CTE is well-documented, with the disease found in 345 of 376 deceased players who had their brains studied by Boston University in 2023.

The risk for those who didn’t play in college or the pros, though, came under the spotlight this summer, when a gunman targeted the NFL’s Manhattan office building, killing four people, including himself. He played football growing up in Southern California, but stopped after high school, and claimed to be suffering from CTE.

Another Boston University study sampled 152 contact sports participants who died before age 30 and found signs of CTE in 63 of them (41.4%), leading Dr. Ann McKee, the director of the Boston CTE Center, to warn: “We’re seeing the beginnings of this disease in young people who were primarily playing amateur sports.”

In the first phase of the DIAGNOSE-CTE trial, researchers attempted to identify risk factors and found a closer correlation between CTE and total years played than the number of concussions, indicating subconcussive blows can also be harmful.

“There is some data that suggests that starting football at a younger age puts people at higher risk,” Rabinovici said. “Most of the people that I know who are doing this research don’t let their kids play football at all.”

Rosa, entering his 11th season at Wilcox, encounters plenty of parents who won’t let their children play for his team. He raised two multi-sport athletes who went on to play football in college, and he said wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Especially nowadays, kids don’t do stuff that’s hard anymore,” he said. “Football is one of the throwback things where you work together as a team, it’s tough, you’ve got to work hard. As a parent, I wanted my boys to go through something that’s hard.”

Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News GroupWilcox head coach Paul Rosa, shown here in a file photo, did not agree with a controversial delay-of-game penalty call that proved costly in Saturday’s CIF NorCal Division 2-A championship game at Twelve Bridges High School in Lincoln. Wilcox lost 28-27 after missing a last-second field goal. (Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group)

He’s not alone.

While participation hasn’t returned to levels seen in the early 2010s, the number of boys playing high school football went up in the most recent national and statewide surveys after almost a decade of steady decline.

Many other sports, such as soccer, ice hockey, rugby and wrestling, present their own risk for head injuries, while new equipment and regulations make football a safer option than it once was.

In California, for example, high school teams are limited in the amount they can practice with contact, and helmets are required to be no more than 10 years old. This year, that eliminates any helmet made before 2015, when the state implemented a strict concussion protocol that requires student-athletes to receive clearance from a physician and sit out for a period of time.

Stanford University linebacker Tevarua Tafiti (11) takes part in football practice on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Palo Alto, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)

At the college level, “We’ve gotten much better at identifying the symptoms and educating our students, educating our coaches – anybody that could be around our student-athletes – what the symptoms of a concussion look like so that we can act as quickly as possible,” said Sarah Lyons, the director of athletic training at Stanford.

“In the last 15 years or so … I think the education has really changed. We’re taking things much more seriously now.”

During a recent practice, about half the Stanford players wore a Guardian Cap, a soft-padded shell for helmets that has been increasingly prevalent at NFL and college practices since it was introduced in 2015.

At Wilcox, the school recently invested in new helmets and ensures it has a trainer on the sideline at every practice, both upgrades since Rosa’s oldest son, Paul Jr., graduated in 2020.

“I’m interested to see, with these protocols put in place, what CTE looks like 10 years from now, 20 or 30 years from now,” the older Rosa said.

By then, Rabinovici and his team of about a dozen researchers at UCSF are hopeful they could have a way to detect the disease in living people. The next step would involve developing treatment and possible drug interventions through more trials, similar to breakthroughs surrounding Alzheimer’s, another degenerative disease caused by the build-up of tau proteins.

Dr. Gil Rabinovici at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in San Francisco, Calif. Researchers are working to devlop a diagnostic test for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in people living with the degenerative brain disease. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)

The most promising method at the moment mimics one diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s, in which “tracer” molecules are injected into the brain and bind to the tau proteins, illuminating them during a PET scan. However, Rabinovici said the molecules used for Alzheimer’s “work a little in CTE, but they don’t work super great.” That’s the cold reality of the research.

Of the 225 participants, 150 are holdovers from the first trial, which means they have been making near-annual visits for blood draws, brain scans and a battery of neurological tests since 2015. By nature of their profession, Rabinovici said, the group includes “some people who would be publicly recognized figures.”

It’s possible that the trials won’t produce a conclusive answer until the participants are dead, when current technology can confirm if they did have CTE and whether or not the diagnostic tests under study were accurate. Each participant agreed to donate their brain.

“That’s actually what was done to validate this technology in Alzheimer’s,” Rabinovici said. “The biggest problem that we have is that we don’t know who actually has the proteins in the brain. Because we don’t yet have a way of, even with all the symptoms and so on, of saying this person has CTE. So if we see a signal or don’t see a signal, is it because they don’t have CTE, or is it because the tracer isn’t working?”

In the meantime, the team sits down with the former players and their families and tries to repay them with feedback and resources. They set them up with neurologists, keep them up to date on their findings and keep their samples ready in case new tests become available.

While the participants tend to be “very curious” and “grateful for the feedback about what’s going on with them,” Rabinovici said, many have interests that go beyond their own brains.

“A lot of these players, their sons play football,” Rabinovici said. “They’re doing it for the next generation.”

Wilcox’s Brayden Rosa (2) tackles Sacred Heart Prep’s Maxime Morelle (46) in the 2nd half at Wilcox High School in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group)