Some are. It’s real hypocritical. DLS and Serra beat up on the NorCal competition but can’t handle getting a dosage of their own medicine against privates that take full advantage of their private school status.
Jason Negro, Patrick Walsh talk about current Open Division structure
- Thread starter Streak One
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That’s because he couldn’t get into Serra or SI academically. Serra is where he wanted to go. Mater Dei was willing to budge so he went.
I believe it was Last night’s game announcers saying Jaden Green is from Sacramento and lives with Smith’s family. That surprised me.
So we got Serra's head coach recruiting players (QB/Inderkum - WR/Bishop O'Dowd - OLB/DLS to name a few) and blowing out every NorCal high school he played this year on a hot mic talking about how unfair it is to get blown out on the national stage by a team that recruits better than he does? One of his former coaches is the SJB O/C and Walsh wants everyone to believe that this same coach wasn't doing the same thing for him when he coached for Serra?
Is there any evidence they’re recruiting? Good players tend to want to play for good teams. Also Serra didn’t blow out every team in Norcal. DLS and Folsom both played them extremely tight. Game could have gone either way both times.
When you saying “blowing out”, did you mean to write “barely escaped“ against Folsom and DLS? (Folsom fumbled winning TD at goal line at end of the game)
Serra use to list on their rosters the grammar school the player attended. That stopped a few years ago. If all this is true, I see why.
Lazy assumption, but yes, there are more athletes in the LA area. That's a given
I just gave you the evidence and if good players want to play for good teams why is that bad for SJB & MD but good for Serra?
I lost a lot of respect for the Serra head coach.
Keep in mind where kids live does not matter for Serra. It's private, there is no boundary. They are not doing anything wrong here. It's more of a cover-up to suggest they are playing the game the old fashioned way and a neighborhood school when they in fact have a regional all-star team. Again, there is no rule breaking here. It's sour grapes by Walsh because others are playing the game better.
Don't hear DLS complaining. They've been taking the losses from SJB and MD longer than Serra has
I don't think it's a matter of "playing the game better". It's a matter of how far a school and its administration want to take it. That statement assumes all the privates mentioned are playing the same way to the same extent. I don't think that's true at all.
Jaden is from San Francisco. His father is Omari Green, Defensive Backs coach and Defensive Pass Game Coordinator at College of San Mateo.
Don’t let his father coaching at CSM fool you though, his brother who is at CSM now attended Washington-San Francisco just two years ago because they live within the SFUSD boundaries.
If anything it is backwards. Smith is from Sac and is living with the Greens.
If im not mistaken the Serra qb was an Oakridge Jr Trojan then recruited to Folsom Jr, then recruited to Indy prior to frosh year and then left Indy to Serra after his recruiters left. Another Indy qb is now back at Oakridge after leaving his frosh year. Granite Bay's QB was at Rocklin prior to his transfer. Rashada QB at Pitt had a brother that played at Indy and got an address or legit moved to the Pittsburgh area. The Oakridge qb last season was at Pondo originally. Grant's qb started at Rio Linda and then was at indy (not sure if enrolled). Sooooo many schools are getting transfers, recruiting or not. Coach up the kids, don't complain when you lose.
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Thought those two quotes would provide some discussion and I was right LOL. I think both have points (MD and SJB are playing at another level than anyone in the state and maybe the country). Some combination of players they get, coaching, admin support, etc.
That said, Serra/DLS/Folsom have similar advantages over most teams they play up here. And those coaches would say similar things about those three programs. There are levels to this.
Patrick Walsh was quoted in BANG about having his seasons finish in the NCS finals as a player and how he sees merit to going back to that. That is a healthy way of looking at it. Each team has control over their 10 game schedule (don't get to pick your league I get it). After that, it is just an exercise of playing and getting as many games as you can.
We will never have a system that suits everyone so a change here or there will irk somebody on the food chain.
That said, Serra/DLS/Folsom have similar advantages over most teams they play up here. And those coaches would say similar things about those three programs. There are levels to this.
Patrick Walsh was quoted in BANG about having his seasons finish in the NCS finals as a player and how he sees merit to going back to that. That is a healthy way of looking at it. Each team has control over their 10 game schedule (don't get to pick your league I get it). After that, it is just an exercise of playing and getting as many games as you can.
We will never have a system that suits everyone so a change here or there will irk somebody on the food chain.
Granite Bay’s freshmen class had a handful of Jr pacers. Two of them were arguably the best players on grants youth teams too. Do I think GB is recruiting? No. All these kids/parents talk and they want the best for their kids. The whole “recruiting” thing is a bunch of bs imo. The good teams don’t need go recruit, they attract.
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Good post here, Streak. My final thoughts: Any one of the NorCal powers is going to get their doors blown off by SJB and MD. The NorCal schools can try to get better, but is there a ton of value in that? Serra is already the top team in CCS and annually a top NorCal school. They run a good program (I’ve known quite a few kids who went through it and had great experiences, even if they weren’t good players), and get kids into college programs. I’m not convinced that building a national football powerhouse is all that helpful to the school overall.
I also think CIF has to figure out if they want an actual state championship game or if they want NorCal vs. SoCal.
Let's not be naive here. CIF wants $. That's how we have arrived at the current system.
Give it a few years and I think Serra will be able to have competitive teams. Their reach and brand is growing. Beating the S Cal powers is not crazy talk either. Servite did it last year. Heck, a public school in Corona Centennial had what many thought was an all-time great Mater Dei team who was #1 in the nation all season, on the ropes and only lost 21 to 16 in the Semis. Cent10 was going in to win the game late too. This is the same Mater Dei team who boat raced Serra three weeks later.
Nobody is saying it, but MD and SJB have upset the SoCal balance of power as well. When was the last time anyone really talked about Bishop Amat, Pius X, St Paul's, St Bonaventure, Encino Crespi to name a few? These were all one time SoCal private powers, who have seemingly fallen by the wayside. Anyone think the emergence of SJB has anything to do with that? I excluded Mater Dei because they've been a power for decades in SoCal. Just not to the extent that they are now
@LecheDeMiPalo thanks for the correction. that's what the announcers had said, could have got it switched around...
Yes and No. I would argue Mission Viejo, Los Alamitos (when healthy), Cent10 and Long Beach Poly were very good this season and would all beat Serra by double digits. All 4 are definitely hands down better than that Lincoln team which beat DLS.
Crespi hasn't been relevant in 2 decades.
What about the others I mentioned, the privates? Poly had a good season it they aren't what they used to be consistently. Centennial has been good for years .
Walsh wasn't really complaining. He was asked a question after the game and he answered it.
I don't agree with this at all. I saw Los Al play twice. They were hyper-dependent on one receiver to make that offense really work. It's not like LB Poly didn't have any close games (don't be fooled by that weak Moore League). Even Centennial fans will tell you that this was not a strong year for them. None of those teams would be guaranteed to beat Serra at all, much less by double-digits.
All of these teams, along with Serra, belong in the next tier of teams after MD and SJB.
I agree. I just saw this afternoon that he also said this in the same interview.
“Our best guy would make a great block on their best guy and he would extend and shed for a TFL (tackle for loss). That's OK. They're just a better football team."
“I have to tip my hat to coach (Jason Negro), they’re not doing anything wrong but just being excellent. Thats probably an adjective that falls short of what they really are which is superb."
St. Francis' football program has provided the middle school of each varsity player. Hence the ability of the reader to deduce how many different Bay Area cities they hail from. Last time we checked, that figure was 26 towns throughout the region.
SH does this as well on their athletics site. There's a real old school value to attaching the middle school especially if you brand yourself as having kids from the city making up your student body. Love seeing the St Gabriels, St Cecilias, St Brendans, St Peter and Pauls, Kipps, Aptos, etc being represented. St Francis always has a good number of kids from St Simons, St Josephs, St. Nicholas.
SI, Im not sure if their Wildcat program they sold at games before has the schools anymore, but historically their athletes are from well-off schools such as Town, name your well-off Marin Country school, and a sprinkle of St Brendans and St. Cecilias kids.
There shouldnt be any excuses to not provide this info unless they are too lazy to provide it or they dont like being transparent.
Here is a thought a bit outside the box:
Maybe Walsh and his cronies simply are not that great of coaches.
I’m sure someone, if not more, will jump out of their seats and tell me about how wrong I am, citing Patrick’s win / loss record. Here is the reality though: Walsh is a shameless recruiter with a yearly athletic budget that likely rivals that of some Division 2, possibly some FCS Universities. He coaches in the WCAL where the Catholic Church will allow him to run as wild as he wants with his football program so long and he doesn’t do anything morally / legally wrong. When you are able and permitted to recruit the top talent in your area (and by area I mean the 100 mile radius they are bring players in from) you will generally run a winning program. The true barometer of a good coach / coaching staff is when they are able to keep their team in games when they are the less talented bunch on the field. Walsh and his clan have proven for two years and beyond a reasonable doubt that they are incapable of doing so. They are over their heads and “We need more talent!” is not a sufficient excuse for the crap they are pulling.
Trust me, there are some damn good coaches throughout the section who would have kept this group of kids closer than this staff did. Where Walsh beats those guys is with his checkbook, not his coaching.
Maybe Walsh and his cronies simply are not that great of coaches.
I’m sure someone, if not more, will jump out of their seats and tell me about how wrong I am, citing Patrick’s win / loss record. Here is the reality though: Walsh is a shameless recruiter with a yearly athletic budget that likely rivals that of some Division 2, possibly some FCS Universities. He coaches in the WCAL where the Catholic Church will allow him to run as wild as he wants with his football program so long and he doesn’t do anything morally / legally wrong. When you are able and permitted to recruit the top talent in your area (and by area I mean the 100 mile radius they are bring players in from) you will generally run a winning program. The true barometer of a good coach / coaching staff is when they are able to keep their team in games when they are the less talented bunch on the field. Walsh and his clan have proven for two years and beyond a reasonable doubt that they are incapable of doing so. They are over their heads and “We need more talent!” is not a sufficient excuse for the crap they are pulling.
Trust me, there are some damn good coaches throughout the section who would have kept this group of kids closer than this staff did. Where Walsh beats those guys is with his checkbook, not his coaching.
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checkbook? how much does a high school football coach make??? did tom brady give an endowment to the football program? Did UnderArmor give him a big stipend?
Not talking about Walsh’s personal wealth though I'm sure he does well for himself.
But Serra’s yearly football budget is eight figures.
You really should do your research. Clearly you don’t know much about their coaching, if you have watched several games. D2 budget is an over reach. Nobody would keep this game close.
I'm trying to understand if you know what the term "eight figures" means, or if you honestly think Serra's fb annual football budget is $10M (or more)??
Eirher way, can I please get some of the stuff you are smoking? Because it must be good.
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While I think Coach Walsh and his staff are above average, there is some merit to keeping it closer. I mean, 35 to 0 at the half? Several teams they played this year have done better at the half. And several of these teams are not as talented as Serra.
Let's also keep in mind Servite beat SJB last season. And Corona Cent10 lost by 5 points to a Mater Dei team who blasted Serra last year. Heck, JSerra only lost to MD 21 to 13 this season. So yes, absolutely, there is something to Coach Walsh and his staff doing a better job.
DLS has kept this game closer in prior years too.
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No one other the. Mater Dei kept anything close at half or any other time with SJB…. They completely Dominated every team they played….
And Who Cares is you lose 45-0 or 56-14 it’s the same thing, you got crushed by 40+ points…. Serra had Zero Chance of doing anything in that game because SJB was trying to impress the Polls and was going to shut out Serra with their great defense…. I give Serra credit for keeping it under 60….
I think the issue with Walsh is he doesn’t believe his team can beat SJB or MD and it shows because they play like they are trying to “Just Get Through The Game” and not playing to win….
DLS on the other hand, actually has this Myopic belief that if they play “The Perfect Game” they can take down SJB/MD….. I don’t see that same kind of belief with Serra Yet…..
Don't want to split hairs, however, I actually watched the Jserra Bosco game, my nephew attends that school. While it was 17 to 0 at the half, it was a fairly competitive game. Again, 35 to 0 at the half is game over. SJB completely took their foot off the gas in that 2nd half out of respect. 60 would have been easy if they wanted.
Fair points on DLS.
Can you be more specific about Serra coaching deficiencies? Where would you say they are lacking the most?
ST/Punting, QB, O-line, etc. I think Serra is just content with being the kings of the north.
The Serra O/C is on twitter making the coaching staff look really bad. He is basically putting the loss on his players saying they aren't talented enough. A few of the Serra Alum and parents hopped on twitter to challenge him about his belief in their kids talent.
It's a mess and it starts at the top.
