RECAP OF DFAL 2014 SEASON

[Bluedog2]

Campolindo had no trouble running thru the 2014 campaign in the DFAL, there biggest challenge was against Las Lomas but the Knights went down 38-28

Final league standing
Campolindo 16-0
Las Lomas 9-3
Acalanes 8-4
Alhambra 8-4
Dublin 4-7
Miramonte 3-8
Dougherty Valley 2-8

Total scoring and points given up plus final league stand
Points scored points against
Campolindo 277 114 6-0
Las Lomas 228 100 5-1
Acalanes 154 164 4-2
Alhambra 134 208 3-3
Miramonte 157 237 2-4
Dublin 121 184 1-5
Dougherty Valley 137 236 0-6

Note, Las Lomas defense gave up only 100 points while Campolindo gave up 114.
Alhambra scored 134 in league play but managed to go 3-3 and each win was hard fought.....

What does the DFAL look like for the 2015 season too early to tell, but it looks like this

Campolindo
Acalanes
Alhambra
Dublin or Miramonte
Las lomas
Dougherty Valley

 

[TMJA]

Alhambra did not have their starting QB for league play. I think he may have returned for part of the last league game and the playoffs.

 

[Bluedog2]

I believe Josh Evans went down in the College Park game and Mark Azevedo took over and Evans came back for spot duty in the final league game and played against Petaluma and half the game against Marin Catholic...Evans was a hell bent for ever guy who wanted to win and took a beating in the process...Even Azevedo took nasty hits due to the bulldog line not being able to protect the QB's....In the Marin Catholic game, Mc's aggressive line play was too much for the bulldogs and Evans took the brunt of it...If Evans could have stayed healthy,Alhambra might have done better in league play, But Azevedo came in and kept the Bulldog machine running...Without Azevedo, there is no telling what would have happened in league play...

 

[Trivalley]

I had dublin doing much better than 4-7 but they lost six starting seniors early.

NG - senior
RB - senior
DE - Senior
CB - senior
OG - Senior
C - Senior

Dublin will return most of their defense and 3 OL and return both of their RB's ( power and speed).

They lose 3 good OL, 2 good receivers and an ok QB.

IMO Wade relied to much on his QB when he should should have went to his strength, the running game.
Next year Dublin's strength will be the run game. If he adjusts his playbook and makes things simple and runs the option, Dublin could be dangerous.

 

[Bluedog2]

Trivalley....Last years Gales' gave Las Lomas a lot of trouble before going down 21-17 and the game with Alhambra was a real wild game that wasn't decided until the last two minutes....It sure looks like Dublin will cause some trouble in the DFAL this coming 2015 season...And there is always a good chance that someone will move into the area that will boost the team....

 

[Streak One]

Any players people should watch for to show as a college prospect besides the ones already known? It seemed like a good year for the league last fall in that regard.

 

[Bluedog2]

Since Mike Ivankovich took over at Acalanes after leaving Ygnacio Valley, he has built the Don's into a football machine..In 2013 and 2014, Acalanes has gone 8-4 in both years and was led by Casey Harrington who gave Acalanes a double threat with his passing as well as a run threat. Filling Harrington's shoes will be a big job, but the 2014 JV team shows real promise and could be a real threat to Campolindo.
Last Season, Alhambra was running rough shoud over all the preseason games and looked on paper like Acalanes was in trouble, but The Don's took control of the game early and while the offense was on the move, the defense shut the Bulldogs down and Acalanes gave Alhambra a wakeup call to the tune of 28-6.
The 2015 season looks even better, its early, but things are looking up....

 

[mshNASTY]

Streak One - No doubt the DFAL had as much talent has they've ever had last year but they won't have the top end D1 talent like Petite, Aiello, Myers and Longson. Last years 2nd tier guys like Fiedelli, Louks, Stehr, Elor were all excellent football players and their will be a drop off in talent in 2015 but the league still has some players. The league was also loaded withe very good senior QB's last year in Stephens, Harrington, Wood, Evans, Nobita and it will be interesting to see how all the new guys do. According to Rivals here are the players already on your database.

- Acalanes = 0
- Alhambra = 0
- Campolindo = 2: Sterling Strother (3 stars, 13 offers), Max Flower (Cal baseball)
- Dublin = 2: Matthew Gutwald OL (3 offers), Josip Lukin DE
- Dougherty Valley = 3: Dunavin Sheard-Collins OL, Sam Tarasow WR, Trey Hoskins CB
- Las Lomas = 0
- Miramonte = 0

Two Miramonte players should be added as college prospects, Ryan Anderson ATH, McClain Marks LB, at worst they are FCS or Ivy League guys. Strother is obviously getting the most attention with 13 offers but has a slight frame, maybe he can develop in the off-season as Aiello did last year. The most intriguing prospect is Trey Hoskins the 6'3 corner from DV. I went to a 7 on 7 league a few weeks back and he plays on the team with the area's top talent in Asiasi, Parker, Thompson, Davidson. One of his coaches told me it was his first time playing football last year as a junior and his best game was against Campo and did a great job defending Flower. 6'3 corners don't grow on trees! Bluedog or tri-valley am I missing anybody?

 

[Bluedog2]

MSHNASTY.....No doubt there are others, but we will have to dig through our notes, I watched as many Alhambra and Area games as possible and i'm sure Tri-valley paid close attention as well as a few other guys that have been posting did the same thing.....The 2014 season produced a lot of good football players, and the 2015 season I'm sure we will see new guys come out of the wood work...You generated a lot of good information.....

 

[Trivalley]

Ty Williams was a beast for Dublin. He runs track and he was one of the hardest hitting downhill runners in the DFAL. Should have been all league but due to DHS politics he wasn't even mentioned.

Dublin also has 6'7 Millard who has a lot of potential if he can put on some muscle this summer. At only a sophomore this year he could give OT's all they can handle.

Dublin will be better off without last years QB. Elias and Achziger (@ Marist now) were much better decision makers and runners.

This post was edited on 4/14 11:48 PM by Trivalley

 

[Bearlurker]

Bluedog, Coach I has done a real nice job at Acalanes and has built a good program, but Campo is a great program, on another level. The Campo JV and frosh teams handled the rest of the DFAL pretty easily.
Acalanes loses a lot of guys including Aiello. Berry will do well at QB but I don't see them competing with Campo. Miramonte will be vastly improved, as they don't lose much, returning most of their starters.

 

[Trivalley]

Miramonte will be good. Dublin will be good as many of the replacements for the guys who got hurt early actually got substantial play time. This will be Dublin's best chance getting to the post season as they go EBAL next year.

 

[Bluedog2]

Bearlurer......I think you have a very good JV team moving up, how they fill the open spaces, time will tell and Campolindo also has a good JV team moving up...Campolindo is the team to beat, but I think the Don's can challenge them and maybe Miramonte???.....The DFAL is going to be a black and blue league in the 2015 season as most of the teams will be in good shape..And no body may be safe and most will be gunning for Campolindo, but I don't think that the Cougar Coach will have a let down...Last year, when the chips were down, Campolindo made adjustments and turn the game around, good examples of that were against Las Lomas, Sutter and Marin catholic, plus who would have thought that a fumble in the state playoff's in the closing minutes when it looked like Campo was about to go down would fall into the hands of an alert Cougar and off to the races he went, what a way to end the season...

 

[GoBears89]

Dublin was the only team Las Lomas was not able to push all over the field last year. Even though LL lost to Campo (a game LL led 28-7 at one point), the LL players were absolutely drained after the Dublin game.

LL loses a lot but they do have a 6-6, 290 lbs freshman (will be a sophomore next year) to take over for Myers at the left tackle position. Reminds me of Longson at DV which is VERY high praise as Longson was and remains a special talent.

 

[beatenpath2]

Did i read that correctly? 6-6 290lb freshmen? Thats impressive within itself. Be interesting to see if he can become another name to be known around the DFAL.

 

[Trivalley]

Freshman that size!!!!! wow. That Dublin LL game was a doozy. I still think they were short on the 4th and 10 play that kept their drive alive and eventually won.

The DFAL should be a war zone again. My predictions:

CAMPO
Miramonte
Dublin
Alhambra
LL
DV

 

[beatenpath2]

War zone for sure, @trivalley is there no Acalanes on your list?

Its a little too early for me to make any predictions but I do like Acalanes and its hard to go against 4 TIME CHAMP, (that sounds ridiculous), Campolindo is no slump with a great JV team. Who knows I like most of the teams in the DFAL to put up a shot for the title aside from DV and LL.

 

[mshNASTY]

It's never to early to speculate but I'd say it's Campo's title to lose and a 5 way dog fight for 2nd place.

 

[GoBears89]

Yes, 6-6, 290 lbs freshmen at LL...as would be expected, he has a ways to go as he is just learning the game and the finer points of being an offensive lineman. Unfortunately for Las Lomas, this could be a lean year as they lost a lot of firepower to graduation. They do have solid WR's returning and a promising young QB but the defense looks to be thin.

 

[Trivalley]

The loss of their huge line, Wood and Fulchs is just too much to overcome.

Dublin is huge again and have the same RB's. As I said before DHS lost their pass game but no worries because the strength was always in the run and now Wade has no choice.

 

[Bluedog2]

Las Lomas' Frosh and Jv's did not do well in the 2014 campaign, but the JV team had some speed, how it develops into the varsity is a good question, lots of work to be done in Knight land And this 6-6 fellow may or may not do LL any good...

 

[GoBears89]

Las Lomas almost never has good Frosh or JV teams. The LL program "loads" the Varsity team with underclassmen each year, even if it means they sit. This has been the LL approach for many years now.

The 6-6 kid will do just fine. He's working with a former pro lineman and seems to be developing quite nicely. Again, he has a lot to learn but should be able to hold down the left tackle position in 2015. It is the other 4 positions on the line that is cause for concern...

BTW, Alhambra has a stud lineman returning. He's a mauler and special talent. I wouldn't be surprised to see him on a PAC-12 roster in 2016!

 

[yomama151]

Alhambra lost a good coach in Silveria and line coach Bob Salini. They are going to have a tough time with the LaMorinda teams.
The bulldogs cant pass and the DHBackfield has always been slow. They need clock control ground game and need to make defense stops against these teams, cuz if you let them throw on u you're going to lose. I think LaMorinda players are more all-around sports players and are in good shape all year. Better coached and more disclipline. They also seem to have more team speed than the bulldogs, however their defenses are subject to not stopping the run at times.

 

[yomama151]

silverra's influence was still around 4 years ago. i have seen alhambra 3 times in the last 4 years. they might have had a decent year last season but my observations on lamorinda teams still stands. better coaching and all around players. i hope they have a good season but pass happy teams are going to give them fits.

 

[yomama151]

according to yur stats bluedog, alhambra scored 134 pts last season ??? lowest in the dfal and a averafe of 11.1 pts per game. On defense, gave up 208 pts, 2nd highest in dfal. are these correct? That would make a good case they are going to have an average year unless they are playing a weak non league schedule. 3-3 in dfal last year?

 

[yomama151]

thats a excellent jv record, so i assume moast of them will move up? do they reload or retool from their jv program?

 

[beatenpath2]

@gobears89 who is the mauler you speak of? As far as I know Alhambra has 4 or 5 really solid lineman but no one i would think of being on a pac-12 roster. And @yomama i do believe Lamorinda kids are better coached and typically are in better shape, who knows if this is practices or just how they make them out there in that area but that has been the case. Silveira's influence has long been gone since Alhambra had gone to the spread two years ago. Alhambra had a rough go around in league as they had their backup QB for the entire league season who was subpar compared to there graduating QB Josh Evans. With nothing but a run game, Alhambra was stuffed by teams that stacked the box and were one dimensional when they got no push on the line. Expect bigger and better things next year as 3-3 was a stepping stone for a team that had been placed on the backburner for a few years

 

[Bluedog2]

YOMAMA151.......The 134 points is in league play only and the 208 scored against is in league play only, if you brought in all the points they scored in the preseason, it would be way up there...The shutout against Las Lomas and the 28-6 loose to Acalanes makes the point production look so bad.
Now what Alhambra needs is a coach that can teach pass defense as this is the weak spot, another weak spot is all the penalties the Bulldogs committed last season...A number of the league games may have looked different as many drives that were making real good progress fell apart do to holding.

 

[Bluedog2]

BEATENPATH2......You commented that Alhambra was staying in the DFAL, so I've been nosing around and no body seems to know what the 2016 DFAL looks like...Can you give us an idea of what the new league will look like????

 

[Bluedog2]

I sure wasn't hopping for a super league unless it is going to be broken down into a A and B league so each team can have preseason games...Apparently Heritage got every ones attention, because they were not happy with the way things were coming together. And as for DLS, I still think they should be independent and then the EBAL teams can schedule them if they want...As for Clayton Valley, I think they will be a challenge for either league.. Several years ago, there was a similar league with the DVAL and the DFAL teams and that went pretty well...Now the DFAL has grown in strength and the DVAL teams such as Mt.Diablo, Ygnacio Valley and maybe North Gate could face rough times, Concord should hold their own and there was talk about College Park going to the EBAL, but maybe that's changed also...

 

[mshNASTY]

EBAL AD's and principals are voting soon on league alignment. There's 3 different options. 1. 10 team league 2. A/B competive equity split. 580/680 split. To try and get DLS out there's talk that EBAL teams will make DLS play everyone in a 10 team league giving them 1 non-league game, 9 league games. I've heard they called EBAL's bluff. New DFAL has 11 teams, could be 12 with CVC soon. They'll do a competitive equity split. Without CVC in who would be the last team in DFAL A?
1. Campo
2. Miramonte
3. Acalanes
4. Las Lomas
5. Concord
6. Northgate/Alhambra/College Park?

 

[yomama151]

If the EBAL votes to make DLS play everyone in the new 10 team league then they are going to have some real blowouts. DLS already blowing out the top teams SRV, Cal, MV, Amador. DeLa isnt going to fall for that crap, get out of the leafue altogether and beat their ass in the playoffs. I like DeLa playing mabey 2 EBAL teams and still stay in league. First they all want DeLa out, then play all or none. What a joke. When the little Johnies come home and tell mom and dad the Spartans beat our ass with the 2,3 and 4th teams then the parents will scream unfair recruiting advanatge. LOL

 

[mshNASTY]

Nobody in EBAL wants them there, but they always make they argument about all the other sports and Gil at NCS bends the knee for them. The top teams in EBAL want them out at all cost, the bottom tier need them for numbers to make the league split... Catch 22