Every Walnut Creek high school football fan had their calendars marked for Friday, Oct. 4, the “Battle of the Creek” rivalry game between the Northgate Broncos and the Las Lomas Knights. This annual match simply does not disappoint, typically bringing in the most fans and most entertaining game of the season.
And it didn’t disappoint – especially with a 35-21 win for Northgate, which now gets to take home a plaque that designates each year’s victor and is then held by the winning school for the next year.
At 3-0 in league play and 6-3 overall, the Broncos are ranked 24 out of 103 North Coast teams, their best ranking since 2013 – and this legendary run is far from over. The final regular game of the season is Nov. 8 against Mt. Diablo at home, which is also Senior Night for Northgate, and then the team is expected to enter post season play.
Players, coaches, and fans agree that the Battle of the Creek is about more than just football – it also brings the most spirit among fans and creative cheering tactics and antics.
“It always has a different feel than the other games… no matter the records or the projections, it’s always going to be a battle,” senior captain lineman Brandon Johnson said, after the game.
Northgate football has gone through all sorts of adversity over the last couple years, with tough losses in the NCS playoffs for two consecutive seasons after records of 6-4 and 8-2 in 2021 and 2022, and a 3-7 finish last season.
This year, seeing major changes in the roster and coaching staff, there was a more inspired and special feel from the Broncos coming into the year, say players and coaches.
Their season started with some fierce competition, as following a 15-7 win against Dougherty Valley, the team faced tough games against Campolindo (22-31), Bishop Diego (16-36), and Clayton Valley Charter (17-34) that sank the Broncos to a 1-3 record.
Players say this adversity pushed the team towards determination and recent success on the field that includes winning five games straight.
“The losses kind of flicked a switch for everybody,” said senior cornerback Trevor Stapf. “We knew that we were better than our 1-3 record, and it pushed everybody to be the best version of themselves.”
Las Lomas had an undoubtedly impressive season coming into the week, being undefeated and ranked in the top 10 of the NorCal area. Many projections had Las Lomas coming out with the win, but Northgate did not let them get to their heads.
The Northgate “12th Man” student section was absolutely electric, as the game pulled in the biggest crowd of the year. Around 600 students showed up and created an atmosphere unlike most high school games. Many students had participated in the “Creek Week” spirit days for the week leading up to the game, building suspense for the event on Friday.
“In my four years at Northgate, there had never been that level of energy, even for Battle of the Creek games,” senior 12th man leader Andrew Dinh said.
Head Coach Ben Ballard agreed. “The energy was there, the “12th Man”, cheer and fans – from there the team just got confidence in themselves that they could compete at a high level,” he said.
“The Battle of the Creek is a big game and a big rivalry and a lot of bragging rights,” Ballard said, adding that players from both teams know each other as they grow up playing on youth teams together.
The Oct. 4 game against the cross-town rivals became a go-ahead win for the team, which has also won all three games since. The Broncos came out fighting, jumping out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Leading receiver Blayne Ballard showed his dominance through the air with two receiving touchdowns in the first 15 minutes. Linebacker Liam Fruchtenict also helped carry the Broncos’ momentum, forcing two massive turnovers in the first quarter as well.
Las Lomas started the second quarter strong, scoring two touchdowns with multiple impressive drives, but Northgate continued its dominance and tallied two touchdowns of their own from running back Ethan Chang and receiver Dax Gordon. Northgate went into the half up 27-14, and Las Lomas was in need of a huge step up.
As expected, Las Lomas did not go down easily, starting the second half with an interception and a touchdown. Just as the momentum seemed to shift, Northgate came up with several crucial stops.
As the pace of the game slowed down in the fourth quarter, quarterback Brady Willis came through with a rushing touchdown to put the Broncos up 35-21. The defense came up big in the final 15 minutes, as cornerback James Mayse made several big plays including a crucial deflection on 4th down.
The Bronco student section was not held off of the field as the clock winded down, as hundreds of students stormed the field. “People could say that this was an upset, but there was never a doubt with us,” senior Maxim Povalayev said.
The win against Las Lomas picked up the motivation for the rest of the season, as captain linebacker Owen Fruchtenict said: “Las Lomas is definitely a talented team, and beating them showed us how much we were capable of.”
Coming off of wins Oct. 18 at the school’s Homecoming night against Benicia (42-0), College Park (38-12) on Oct. 25, and at Alhambra (37-14) on Nov. 1, the team will face Mt. Diablo Nov. 8.
“Our goal is to come out and sweep the teams, beat Mt. Diablo on Senior Night and win DAL and make it into playoffs whether it be in Division 3 or Division 2,” said defensive end Hayden August. “100 percent we are making it to the playoffs.”
