Freedom, Heritage players recovering

Saturday morning film sessions aren’t normally popular among high school football players.

But Freedom-Oakley senior tackle Colby Hunter called coach Andrew Cotter and pleaded for the coach to let him attend. Cotter told him to skip it, but appreciated the call. Boy, did Cotter appreciate it. That’s because Hunter was airlifted to a hospital during Friday’s 14-7 home win over fourth-ranked Antioch after landing awkwardly in the fourth quarter and injuring his back and neck areas. He lay motionless and then suffered from extreme pain. He had feeling in all extremities, but the staff took no chances. The game was delayed more than 30 minutes and Hunter took a seven-minute helicopter ride to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek. Cotter said Saturday that scans revealed a bulging disc and a couple of pinched nerves.

“He should make a full recovery,” Cotter said. “He’s back home in great spirits. But he needs to rest and limit mobility for the time being. It was a scary moment last night, but we’re feeling a lot better today.”

They also are feeling better at nearby Heritage-Brentwood, where junior linebacker Adrian Mendez left his team’s game with Pittsburg with a head injury. His condition worsened and he, too, was airlifted to John Muir Medical Center. Heritage athletic director Nate Smith said Mendez was kept overnight for observation.

“He was alert late last night and talking this morning,” Smith said Saturday. “He’s continuing to show improvement.”

Cotter said it was odd but encouraging to arrive at the hospital late Friday night and see parents and opposing coaches from Heritage, one of Freedom’s rivals.

“We hadn’t heard about (Mendez), so we wondered why Heritage folks were also there,” Cotter said. “Obviously, there’s more important things than the results of a high school football game. I’m glad we could support one another.”

Galileo 54, San Lorenzo 0: The host Lions (3-1) rebounded from a loss to Rio Vista by overwhelming the Grizzlies (0-5) as Ronald Fox returned a kickoff 80 yards for a score, threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Michael Duran and scored on a 26-yard run. Jimmie Edwards had two rushing touchdowns and scored on a 40-yard scoop-and-score as Galileo recorded its first shutout. Duran finished the scoring with a 15-yard TD run, and Matthew Tu completed an 18-yard scoring pass to Reese Bickart.

Lincoln 42, El Camino-South San Francisco 19: DeSean Crawford rushed 10 times for 95 yards and two scores and Jovon Baker ran for two touchdowns and added an interception as the visiting Mustangs (4-0) closed their nonleague season with a victor over the Colts (1-3). Baker completed 5 of 7 passes for 77 yards — all to 6-foot-4, 195-pound receiver Ajani Adewusi — and he rushed four times for 68 yards. Rocky Marinia led the defense with seven tackles.

Late Friday: Riordan (1-3) dropped its West Catholic Athletic League opener, falling 34-20 to Bellarmine (3-1) at San Jose City College. The Bells’ Tyson Garcia rushed for his third TD to clinch it late in the fourth quarter. Riordan’s Adham Abdeighani threw an 80-yard TD pass to Marcus Williams and a 65-yard TD strike to Joshua Dejesus. … Nick Robinson had two short touchdowns runs and Andre Bishop added a late 58-yard TD run, lifting third-ranked St. Francis (3-1) to a 31-6 win over visiting St. Ignatius (0-4) in a WCAL opener. … Isaiah McElvane rushed 14 times for 131 yards and two touchdowns and Justin DeWitt and D’Von Lang scored defensive touchdowns as No. 12 Valley Christian (3-1) won 45-7 over Sacred Heart Cathedral (2-2) in a WCAL opener at Kezar Stadium. Peyton Monaco’s 12-yard TD pass to LeVar Watkins opened the scoring for Sacred Heart Cathedral.