General 11/10/2025 9:26:00 AM Archbishop Riordan Athletics

Riordan Athletics Update

Weekly wrap up of the events and action from Riordan Athletics

The Riordan Athletics Update is your weekly wrap up of the events and action from Riordan Athletics from the past week.

Crusaders Beat Padres in Classic, Clinch WCAL Title for First Time Since 2000

SAN MATEO - It was an instant classic and the Crusaders made history and claimed the West Catholic League crown.

Adonyae Brown '27 rushed for 193 yards on 21 carries, scoring 4 touchdowns (three rushing and one receiving), while quarterback Michael Mitchell Jr. '26 passed for 222 yards and 3 touchdown and rushed for 100 yards as the Archbishop Riordan defeated Serra 42-35 in front of a capacity crowd in San Mateo under the lights on Friday night, claiming the program's first WCAL title since 2000.

The Crusaders finished the regular season with a 10-0 overall record for the first time in program history.

The Crusaders trailed 14-0 early, but stormed back into the contest and took two separate leads in the second half, before the Padres tied the game at 28-28 midway through the fourth quarter.

Three plays later, Mitchell connected with Cynai Thomas '26 for a long catch-and-run touchdown to put the Crusaders ahead and then after Archbishop Riordan got the ball back Brown gave the Crusaders a two-score advantage with a 53-yard scoring run. Thomas caught 2 touchdowns and kicker Conor Wallace '28 made all six of his extra point tries to set the school record for PATs made in a season.

Archbishop Riordan is the No. 1 seed in the Central Coast Section Open/Division I playoffs and will open the postseason at home against Salinas on Saturday at 1 pm.

Girls Volleyball Makes History, Wins CCS Crown

PALO ALTO - A great week for Archbishop Riordan Athletics culminated with a historic victory for the girls volleyball team.

The Crusaders put together a remarkable run through the CCS Division III playoffs, sweeping Aptos and Capuchino in home matches on Tuesday and Thursday and then carried that momentum into the section championship game, closing out Santa Cruz in three straight sets at Palo Alto High School to claim the school's first-ever section title in a female sport.

Archbishop Riordan has gotten hot at the right time and has now won 12 consecutive sets and on Sunday found out that it earned the program's first-ever berth in the state tournament.

The Crusaders will host Sonora in the 1st round of the NorCal Division III playoffs at the Crusader Forum this Tuesday at 6 pm.

Boys and Girls Cross Country Qualifies for CCS

BELMONT - The Archbishop Riordan boys and girls varsity cross country teams are headed to the CCS Championships.

Head Coach Benny Willers '08 once again has strong varsity squads on both the boys and girls sides and each punched their ticket to the CCS Championships with their showing at the WCAL Championships last Wednesday at Crystal Spring Cross Country Course, the same location for the upcoming section championships, which are scheduled for this coming Saturday, November 15.

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