RECAP OF 2014 EBAL SEASON

[Bluedog2]

season play
Foothill 9-3
California 9-4
San Ramon Valley 7-5
Amador Valley 6-5
Monte Vista 4-7
Granada 3-9
Livermore 2-8

League play
Foothill 5-1
California 5-1
San Ramon Valley 4-2
Monte Vista 3-3
Amador Valley 3-3
Granada 1-5
Livermore 0-6
Foothill became champ with a win over California 21-14

League pLay Scored Gave Up

Foothill 204 95
California 162 92
San Ramon Valley 158 109
Monte Vista 118 146
Amador Valley 121 91
Granada 125 179
Livermore 53 239

Foothill Big loss to Amador Valley 25-23
California lost to foothill 21-14 and a close win over San Ramon 21-14
San Ramon Valley A close loss to California 21-14
Monte Vista A close win over Granada 3-27 and a close win over Amador Valley 17-14
Amador Valley a Big win over foothill 25-23...No body is save in the EBAL
Livermore has a rough league season

What does the 2015 season look like???.....San Ramon valley, California,(Monte Vista,Amador Valley, Granada)all three will battle for third and Livermore in last....

 

[Bluedog2]

season play
Foothill 9-3
California 9-4
San Ramon Valley 7-5
Amador Valley 6-5
Monte Vista 4-7
Granada 3-9
Livermore 2-8

League play
Foothill 5-1
California 5-1
San Ramon Valley 4-2
Monte Vista 3-3
Amador Valley 3-3
Granada 1-5
Livermore 0-6
Foothill became champ with a win over California 21-14

League pLay Scored Gave Up

Foothill 204 95
California 162 92
San Ramon Valley 158 109
Monte Vista 118 146
Amador Valley 121 91
Granada 125 179
Livermore 53 239

Foothill Big loss to Amador Valley 25-23
California lost to foothill 21-14 and a close win over San Ramon 21-14
San Ramon Valley A close loss to California 21-14
Monte Vista A close win over Granada 3-27 and a close win over Amador Valley 17-14
Amador Valley a Big win over foothill 25-23...No body is save in the EBAL
Livermore has a rough league season

What does the 2015 season look like???.....San Ramon valley, California,(Monte Vista,Amador Valley, Granada)all three will battle for third and Livermore in last....

 

[Bluedog2]

Correction...We for got Foothill for the 2015 season, it looks like they will fifth in the league standings at this time....

 

[Bubba3000]

season play
Foothill 9-3
California 9-4
San Ramon Valley 7-5
Amador Valley 6-5
Monte Vista 4-7
Granada 3-9
Livermore 2-8

League play
Foothill 5-1
California 5-1
San Ramon Valley 4-2
Monte Vista 3-3
Amador Valley 3-3
Granada 1-5
Livermore 0-6
Foothill became champ with a win over California 21-14

League pLay Scored Gave Up

Foothill 204 95
California 162 92
San Ramon Valley 158 109
Monte Vista 118 146
Amador Valley 121 91
Granada 125 179
Livermore 53 239

Foothill Big loss to Amador Valley 25-23
California lost to foothill 21-14 and a close win over San Ramon 21-14
San Ramon Valley A close loss to California 21-14
Monte Vista A close win over Granada 3-27 and a close win over Amador Valley 17-14
Amador Valley a Big win over foothill 25-23...No body is save in the EBAL
Livermore has a rough league season

What does the 2015 season look like???.....San Ramon valley, California,(Monte Vista,Amador Valley, Granada)all three will battle for third and Livermore in last....

Where do you predict Foothill in 2015?

 

[mshNASTY]

EBAL should be competitive as always I wouldn't expect the league champ to get through undefeated in 2015. Foothill has the best SR. class despite losing Langley and Kearns. Monte Vista has the best JR. class and perhaps the leagues best QB in Haener they could be poised to start a good 2-3 year run. Amador Valley will have the most experienced QB returning in Jones and the fastest player in the league in RB McCollugh. Cal should be solid as always behind Bellici and another big OL and 3 year RB Locklear. SRV is always the deepest team around and the JV champion team moving up, is Davidson coming back? Granada should have it's best team since the Atkinsons brothers left, Andrews could be the leagues best all around player. Livermore should continue to struggle, Haubner is a good coach and could sneak up on somebody. My predictions... way to close to call... 3 way tie for 1st (SRV, Foothill, Cal)

 

[Bubba3000]

EBAL should be competitive as always I wouldn't expect the league champ to get through undefeated in 2015. Foothill has the best SR. class despite losing Langley and Kearns. Monte Vista has the best JR. class and perhaps the leagues best QB in Haener they could be poised to start a good 2-3 year run. Amador Valley will have the most experienced QB returning in Jones and the fastest player in the league in RB McCollugh. Cal should be solid as always behind Bellici and another big OL and 3 year RB Locklear. SRV is always the deepest team around and the JV champion team moving up, is Davidson coming back? Granada should have it's best team since the Atkinsons brothers left, Andrews could be the leagues best all around player. Livermore should continue to struggle, Haubner is a good coach and could sneak up on somebody. My predictions... way to close to call... 3 way tie for 1st (SRV, Foothill, Cal)

Totally agree with mshNASTY that the top three will be SRV, Cal and Foothill. Cal High is losing lots of starters and good depth players, but so are the other teams in the league. Top returners for the Grizzlies are Locklear, Shell, Friedel, Lark, Nonato, Gerlach and Norfleet. Word on the street is that a 2018 QB from Cal will be transferring to Foothill. Seems there's lots of that going on these days. Foothill will miss the loss of Langley and Kearns dearly. However, they also have some really good returning talent in the form of Floyd, Mercado, Connolly and Gates. Same story for SRV losing key starters. Top returner for SRV appears to be Nick Kane, with D1 offers. It appears to me that SRV may be getting hit by the graduation bug hardest of all. Can someone who's more familiar with SRV point out some key returners?

 

[Bluedog2]

Totally agree with mshNASTY that the top three will be SRV, Cal and Foothill. Cal High is losing lots of starters and good depth players, but so are the other teams in the league. Top returners for the Grizzlies are Locklear, Shell, Friedel, Lark, Nonato, Gerlach and Norfleet. Word on the street is that a 2018 QB from Cal will be transferring to Foothill. Seems there's lots of that going on these days. Foothill will miss the loss of Langley and Kearns dearly. However, they also have some really good returning talent in the form of Floyd, Mercado, Connolly and Gates. Same story for SRV losing key starters. Top returner for SRV appears to be Nick Kane, with D1 offers. It appears to me that SRV may be getting hit by the graduation bug hardest of all. Can someone who's more familiar with SRV point out some key returners?

BUBBA3000....The QB you mention for Cal...was that the kid that didn't play in the SRV JV game??? If so, he was highly regarded and both Cal and SRV had very good JV teams and in the EBAL, these kids take the next step up to varsity, not like a lot of other leagues....

 

[Bubba3000]

BUBBA3000....The QB you mention for Cal...was that the kid that didn't play in the SRV JV game??? If so, he was highly regarded and both Cal and SRV had very good JV teams and in the EBAL, these kids take the next step up to varsity, not like a lot of other leagues....

Not positive but I think the kid in question was the Cal High frosh qb. He was brought up to varsity for the playoffs. No guarantee he would have beaten out 2016 qb Jack Gerlach who was backup last season.

 

[mshNASTY]

If the frosh kid was brought up to varsity for the playoffs last season he'll have to sit at least 5 games i'm sure. Foothill is sneaky about pulling kids from other schools, Kearns was a Cal kid, Langley a San Leandro or American Canyon, Floyd is a Dougherty guy and there have been others.

 

[Bubba3000]

If the frosh kid was brought up to varsity for the playoffs last season he'll have to sit at least 5 games i'm sure. Foothill is sneaky about pulling kids from other schools, Kearns was a Cal kid, Langley a San Leandro or American Canyon, Floyd is a Dougherty guy and there have been others.

I'm not sure about Floyd but Kearns and Langley enrolled at Foothill their freshman year, so transferring was never an issue for them.

 

[HAS]

Woolridge has Pleasanton address so I don't think he has to sit out if transfer true. He won't beat out Merriman who I felt was better than Kearns.

 

[Bubba3000]

Woolridge has Pleasanton address so I don't think he has to sit out if transfer true. He won't beat out Merriman who I felt was better than Kearns.

HAS what year is Merriman?

 

[HAS]

HAS what year is Merriman?

SR

 

[1315]

Cal High always brings up the frosh QB for playoffs. Typically as the third string placeholder and group 4 QB. Catastrophe insurance. The backup gets into some games depending on the coaches mindset, but if that frosh doesn't play in a game that should not count as varsity participation. Kearns would've been an 8th grader when a Martinez DLS reject moved to San Ramon for 9th grade to get in line for a two year varsity stint. Kearns went to Foothill for 9th to line up for a three varsity run as opposed to a one year at Cal. Families shopping for spots out of their boundary are becoming more commonplace as the pressure mounts to secure that NLI.

 

[Bubba3000]

Cal High always brings up the frosh QB for playoffs. Typically as the third string placeholder and group 4 QB. Catastrophe insurance. The backup gets into some games depending on the coaches mindset, but if that frosh doesn't play in a game that should not count as varsity participation.


I know age also plays into the equation. My son was not allowed to come up to varsity for the playoffs when he was a freshman because rules state you have to be at least 15 to play varsity.

 

[mshNASTY]

Yes Kearns and Langley enrolled their freshman years but lived together in San Ramon, basically treated Foothill like a free private school. The frosh QB's Pleasanton address seem's fishy, mom's boy friends address...

 

[1315]

Nasty- that's par for the course it seems these days. Move to an area frosh year, whereby So/Jr you're the penciled in starter to get your HUDL highlights out there for the coveted D1 NLI. The more college coaches I talk to the more they mention that dual sport athletes eventually project better. The subjectivity at the soph and junior years is palpable. Kline is an example. Elite 11 (will Dilfer cry again this year?) camp beast and 7 on 7 star. Once he had 4.7 Pac12 LBs headhunting him and college CBs covering his corps, not quite so stellar.

 

[observer22]

Totally agree with mshNASTY that the top three will be SRV, Cal and Foothill. Cal High is losing lots of starters and good depth players, but so are the other teams in the league. Top returners for the Grizzlies are Locklear, Shell, Friedel, Lark, Nonato, Gerlach and Norfleet. Word on the street is that a 2018 QB from Cal will be transferring to Foothill. Seems there's lots of that going on these days. Foothill will miss the loss of Langley and Kearns dearly. However, they also have some really good returning talent in the form of Floyd, Mercado, Connolly and Gates. Same story for SRV losing key starters. Top returner for SRV appears to be Nick Kane, with D1 offers. It appears to me that SRV may be getting hit by the graduation bug hardest of all. Can someone who's more familiar with SRV point out some key returners?

For those looking at the 2015 EBAL season, don't forget that Cal has now beaten SRV 8 out of the last 9 times they have played and they have beaten Foothill 6 out of the last 7 times. Their only losses in those streaks were close games that could have gone either way, to SRV by 4 in a shootout in 2011 (42-38) and by 7 to Foothill last season (21-14) with a hotly contested TD catch in the corner of the end zone by Langley. With Cal's JV team having a very solid year last EBAL season, losing only to SRV in a close game without their starting QB, there is every indication they will continue to play strongly against these teams.

 

[Bubba3000]

For those looking at the 2015 EBAL season, don't forget that Cal has now beaten SRV 8 out of the last 9 times they have played and they have beaten Foothill 6 out of the last 7 times. Their only losses in those streaks were close games that could have gone either way, to SRV by 4 in a shootout in 2011 (42-38) and by 7 to Foothill last season (21-14) with a hotly contested TD catch in the corner of the end zone by Langley. With Cal's JV team having a very solid year last EBAL season, losing only to SRV in a close game without their starting QB, there is every indication they will continue to play strongly against these teams.

One thing that may hurt Cal is the class of 2016 is poorly represented. Several 2016 players quit football last year. Billeci and his system has shown the ability to beat Foothill and SRV with regularity.

 

[mshNASTY]

The kids that by into Cal's system make that program what they are. There's a reason why they have less than 40 players for a successful D1 program. It's the same reason why the frosh QB is transferring, his older brother was treated like sh!t for 2 years so why stick around for more of that. Don't get me wrong Billeci is a phenomenal coach but I'm going to make the assumption that you could make the D1 playoffs with the players he runs off the team or are on Cal high's campus year in and year out. Either way he's still the most successful coach in school history.

 

[Bubba3000]

The kids that by into Cal's system make that program what they are. There's a reason why they have less than 40 players for a successful D1 program. It's the same reason why the frosh QB is transferring, his older brother was treated like sh!t for 2 years so why stick around for more of that. Don't get me wrong Billeci is a phenomenal coach but I'm going to make the assumption that you could make the D1 playoffs with the players he runs off the team or are on Cal high's campus year in and year out. Either way he's still the most successful coach in school history.

The kids that buy into billeci's system tend to be more old school kids that have played youth football for years and have thick skin

 

[mshNASTY]

Bubba 100% agree, they don't make them like they used to!

 

[HAS]

The kids that buy into billeci's system tend to be more old school kids that have played youth football for years and have thick skin

Out of the original 54 freshman, 16 are still playing. Some moved, some just wanted to play if starters and others weren't really football players. I can only think of two kids not playing who would battle for starting positions. That's a 30% retention rate from the Frosh to Seniors. I wonder what it is for other schools?

 

[Bubba3000]

The kids that by into Cal's system make that program what they are. There's a reason why they have less than 40 players for a successful D1 program. It's the same reason why the frosh QB is transferring, his older brother was treated like sh!t for 2 years so why stick around for more of that. Don't get me wrong Billeci is a phenomenal coach but I'm going to make the assumption that you could make the D1 playoffs with the players he runs off the team or are on Cal high's campus year in and year out. Either way he's still the most successful coach in school history.

I'm not sure I agree with Billeci being the most successful coach in school history. I would tend to lean toward Tony Sanchez being most successful due to the caliber of team he inherited and the caliber of team he left for Billeci to run. To Billeci credit, he has kept the program on track and has maintained the "healing" that Sanchez accomplished.

 

[HAS]

I'm not sure I agree with Billeci being the most successful coach in school history. I would tend to lean toward Tony Sanchez being most successful due to the caliber of team he inherited and the caliber of team he left for Billeci to run. To Billeci credit, he has kept the program on track and has maintained the "healing" that Sanchez accomplished.

Sanchez's 12-2 team was probably #2 in the state, haven't been close to that since.

 

[mshNASTY]

Bubba & HAS - Before Sanchez Cal had always underachied with their talent. Bellici is the most successful coach in school history as far as win-loss record, overall wins, NCS championship appearances, and EBAL titles.

 

[observer22]

Sanchez's 12-2 team was probably #2 in the state, haven't been close to that since.

The 12-2 team that lost only to DLS (in the onside kick game and then again in the NCS finals) was in 2010, which was Bellici's 2nd year and Cal's best ever team. A couple of the players had played with Tony as sophomores but most had played JV or frosh prior to Tony leaving, although they were all in the program and Tony was working with them. All had played for the highly successful frosh coach Hoefs though. That team was heavily influenced by all 3 of them, but was technically Bellici's team.

 

[Bubba3000]

Bubba & HAS - Before Sanchez Cal had always underachied with their talent. Bellici is the most successful coach in school history as far as win-loss record, overall wins, NCS championship appearances, and EBAL titles.

What was Sanchez record his first two years at Cal High? The first year or two turning things around probably skewed his win percentage.

 

[HAS]

The 12-2 team that lost only to DLS (in the onside kick game and then again in the NCS finals) was in 2010, which was Bellici's 2nd year and Cal's best ever team. A couple of the players had played with Tony as sophomores but most had played JV or frosh prior to Tony leaving, although they were all in the program and Tony was working with them. All had played for the highly successful frosh coach Hoefs though. That team was heavily influenced by all 3 of them, but was technically Bellici's team.

thanks for the info, this is Bellici's 7th year, he's won or shared last three EBAL titles, without DLS, besides the 12-2 team, how many others came in second to DLS?

 

[Bubba3000]

Folks I sit corrected, Billeci has a better win percentage than Sanchez and it isn't that close. Sanchez started in 2004 and coached five seasons. His first year they were 4-6 followed by 8-3, 5-5, 11-2 and 7-5 for a total of 35-21.

Billeci has completed six seasons as the Grizzlies head coach and here are his numbers. In 2009, his first year they were 5-6 followed by 12-2, 7-4, 10-3, 11-3 and 9-4 for a total of 54-22. The biggest reason for this appears to be that Cal High has been more active and successful in NCS playoffs under Billeci.

 

[1315]

Cal High football started Varsity in '75 (school opened in 72) First 7 years their win total was 2-2-2-1-1-1-1. '82 @ 7-3 first winning season. 3 winning seasons first 28 years. Five years before Sanchez (99-03) they were 17-31. 01-03 having wins of 2-2-2. Sanchez changed the FB culture at Cal High, impacting the feeder program SR Bears, but the frosh kids now really don't know much of him. Certainly EB has maintained some of that and has more Ws. Sanchez gravitated good coaches who stuck around. Besides Hoefs, Garrett Johnson, the JV head was highly respected.
But to describe one HC 'better' than the other based on record? Different circumstances for sure. Sanchez was hired to build a winning program. He did. The DLS/Grad was hired to take the next step. Some think that's EBAL banners. Many would be prefer to make West Coast history having a public beat DeLa.

 

[observer22]

thanks for the info, this is Bellici's 7th year, he's won or shared last three EBAL titles, without DLS, besides the 12-2 team, how many others came in second to DLS?

The answer is none, at least for the 4 years DLS was in the league, but they did tie for the title in 2007.

In 2007, the last year before DLS arrived, Cal tied SRV at 5-1 for 1st place in the EBAL and ended up losing to DLS in the NCS championship game.

DLS was part of the EBAL for football for 4 years, 2008-2011.

2008 - Tony's last year Cal finished at 4-3 in league and 7-5 overall, losing to Pitt in the 2nd round of NCS 17-9.
2009 - EB's 1st year, Cal was 4-3 in league and finished at 5-6 losing to Washington in the 1st round at NCS.
2010, Cal was 12-2 losing only to DLS twice, the onside kick game and the NCS championship. Cal's best season ever - see scores: http://www.calpreps.com/2010/2_East_Bay.htm
2011 - Cal finished 7-4, a game behind NCS runner up SRV & lost a heartbreaker to them 42-38. Lost 29-28 to Freedom at NCS on rushed missed gimme FG from 10 as they failed to stop the clock.

So Cal has won or shared 4 EBAL titles, 2007, 2012, 2013 & 2014. The 2010 team would have easily been the outright league champ without DLS.

 

[Bubba3000]

The answer is none, at least for the 4 years DLS was in the league, but they did tie for the title in 2007.

In 2007, the last year before DLS arrived, Cal tied SRV at 5-1 for 1st place in the EBAL and ended up losing to DLS in the NCS championship game.

DLS was part of the EBAL for football for 4 years, 2008-2011.

2008 - Tony's last year Cal finished at 4-3 in league and 7-5 overall, losing to Pitt in the 2nd round of NCS 17-9.
2009 - EB's 1st year, Cal was 4-3 in league and finished at 5-6 losing to Washington in the 1st round at NCS.
2010, Cal was 12-2 losing only to DLS twice, the onside kick game and the NCS championship. Cal's best season ever - see scores: http://www.calpreps.com/2010/2_East_Bay.htm
2011 - Cal finished 7-4, a game behind NCS runner up SRV & lost a heartbreaker to them 42-38. Lost 29-28 to Freedom at NCS on rushed missed gimme FG from 10 as they failed to stop the clock.

So Cal has won or shared 4 EBAL titles, 2007, 2012, 2013 & 2014. The 2010 team would have easily been the outright league champ without DLS.

In 2009 Cal lost twice to Washington in the same season. How weird is that?

 

[observer22]

In 2009 Cal lost twice to Washington in the same season. How weird is that?

Very weird, especially since Cal had just beaten them 41-0 in the playoffs the prior year in 2008. The first game was a close one 30-28 at Washington and was thought by just about everyone to be a fluke until Washington came back to beat them again at Cal 19-7 in the playoffs. Washington had a pretty good group of skill players that year. They beat College Park in the quarters and then lost to Pitt in the NCS semis 39-24.

 

[mshNASTY]

In 2009 Cal lost twice to Washington in the same season. How weird is that?

Washington had a good team that season with Oregon WR Rashan Vaughn (former Raiders practice squad), Sac State WR DeAndre Carter (just signed with Ravens) and OL/DL Lousi who was a starter at SJSU as a frosh before his mission. The QB was also an athletic above average HS QB.

 

[1315]

Washington's QB that year was David Ross. He was a mirror of Cal's lefty QB of '07, one of the Spalliero twins. All three were studs. Couple that with the Grizz operating a new O, with a new coach in his first season as a Head, those were certainly factors in week one. Wittmer at Washington was an experienced coach and knew enough about Logan's DC, now Cal's HC, it was fortuitous for him. Cal's QB was no slouch either as he ended being a big arm for DVC and then went way up at SDSU where the scheme matched his skills. He was underutilized at Cal. 15 and 18 throws in those two games. About 8 of those throws in week 11 came with time running down and the Grizz down by two scores.

'09 Cal had to face two of the best QBs in the East Bay in MVs Nottingham (Stanford) and AVs Stancil- one the best dual threats in Nor Cal. He had AV up by 11 at the half against Sparta. They also battled Del Oro losing by 7 and DO was one of the best teams in Sacto that year. Perhaps by week 11 the players were frustrated with the 5-5, the new commitment to running no matter what, and their charismatic Sanchez and most of his assistants now gone. Happens. Cal learned a lot from that season and in '10, with a renewed energy and the polished resume addition of Kravitz to help the passing game and QBs, Cal was very good.