For what it's worth, Bellarmine leads all WCAL schools in the number of 2025 National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists with 28. Mitty is close behind with 24. Valley Christian has 19. Those three are followed, in order, by St. Francis, 11; St. Ignatius, 5; Serra and SHC, 2 each; and Riordan, 1. These teen scholarships are among the most coveted and prestigious in the U.S. The competition for them is fierce. They are one measure of a school's academic rigor. For middle school parents seeking a top-notch high school for their offspring, the number of these scholarships on a campus is important, probably more important than a football program. Still, no one here is saying a school can't have both. Clearly, Mitty and SF are doing so. VC may be a bit behind on the football field but it's not chopped liver.