WCAL Football 2018 - San Jose Merc All Bay Area Team
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WCAL Football 2018-19 [above SF's Darrell Page the WCAL's leading rusher in 2017]
It's almost time to kick off the new season of the 8-team West Catholic Athletic League football for 2018-19. Last season was highly successful with 2 of the 8 teams capturing first ever state division titles: Serra defeating Cajon 38-14 in state 2-AA and St. Francis winning over Grace Brethren 22-13 in state 2-A. In the last several years' we've seen the league evolve into a 3-tier league with not much change in the order of ranking. That fact did not change much if at all last season except possibly the disparity growing among the 3 top teams and the lower 5 teams struggling to compete at the next level. Due to the varsity teams being comprised of mostly juniors and senior's with a few soph's the league runs in 2-3 year cycles depending on each schools pool of talent. Last season Serra & St. Francis emerged as the dominant teams of the league and seemed to get better as the season progressed. Similar to the 2017 season Serra lost 2 of its first 3 games before going on a school record 12 game winning streak. St. Francis overcame early season losses to DLS & VC to lose by 1 point to Serra 31-30 in the CCS Open II Championship in a game that could have gone either way. The Lancer's then bounced back to take down Manteca 28-23 in the NorCal regional playoff before winning in the state bowl game over Grace Brethren.
So will this season be any different or can we expect more of the same domination by 2-3 teams
and then everyone else below them? Let's start with last season's win-loss records:
Serra 14-2 undefeated in league
SF 11-4
VC 9-3
SHC 6-5
Mitty 5-6
Bellarmine 4-7
S.I. 3-7
ARHS 2-8
Each year the WCAL is loaded with talent and success depends upon returning varsity players & how each team can reload from both their JV & Frosh teams. In terms of sheer size of team rosters
here is the order of largest to smallest number of players on each team ending last season"
1& 2 = Serra & SF both over 60 players
3 = VC over 50 players
4,5,6,7 = S.I., Bells, SHC, Mitty at approx. 45+ players
8 = Riordan at approx. 40 players
In terms of "reloading" from JV & Frosh teams the pool of talent to draw from last season's teams favors VC, SF & Serra in that order followed by Bells, S.I.,Mitty, Riodan & SHC.
Here are the players of note who graduated from each team who will need to be replaced this season:
Serra
Antonio Mafi 6'3-360 - WCAL Player of the Year OL/DL
Patrick Nunn - 6'3-210 - 1rst Team All League WR [also played DB in state title game]
Chris Park - 5'11-175 - 1rst Team All League Utility - WR/DB/KR
Isiah Kendrick 5'11-175 - 1rst Team All League - RB/KR
Shane Villaroma 5'11-190 - Serra's All Time Pass Reception leader at 107 catches
Nick Brown 6'0-190 1rst Team All League DE/LB one of Serra's mainstays on Defense
Moses Tameilau 6'0-289 1rst Team All League OL/DL
St. Francis:
Tyler Manoa 6'5-285 Named to HS Army All American Bowl DT/G
Reed Vettel 6'5-185 QB played in 2 state title games in 2 years with win his senior year
Junior Fehoko 6'4 -240 First Team All League LB
Lucas Andrighetto 5'11-185 important 2-way player RB/DB
Valley Christian
RJ Stone 6'3-210 One of the top defensive players in the league, MVP-DL
D'Angelo McKenzie 5'11-175 One of the top DB's in WCAL
Alton Julian 6'1-190 1rst Team All League speedy WR was one of league's best
Conner Edgar 5'11-225 1rst Team All League 2 way player RB/LB crucial to VC's run game
Charlie Bostic 6'1 170 1rst Team All League & one of WCAL's top RB's
Daniel Machado 6'3-275 1rst Team All League VC's best 2 way OL/DL
SHC
Will Irons 6'5-190 Veteran starting QB was mainstay of Irish offense
Are'on Mitchell 6'0-185 Important 2 way utility player for Irish at WR/DB/KR
Zack Lealeo 5'11-210 solid LB for Irish D
Uriah Uila 6'0-200 2-way player at LB/TE
Ronan Orford 6'0-155 contributed on both sides of ball
Mitty
Nick Alftin 6'6-245 Top 2-way player at DE/TE got scouts attention
Lemuel Marucot 6'1-190 large size CB important to Monarch D
Tyler Laton 6'2-210 DE/OL mainstay on Mitty line
Jake Serpa 5'11-165 Mitty's jack of all trades utility player WR/DB/KR
Ethan Matus 6’6-250 Important 2-way lineman
St. Ignatius
Charlie Katz 5’11-160 The Wildcats starting QB who doubled at DB
David Woodruff 6’3-190 One of the top WR’s in the WCAL & also DE for the ‘Cats
John Hanley – important 2-way lineman OL/DL
Bellarmine
Cade Hall 6’3-235 Center & DL was valuable on both sides of ball
Austin Ajiake 6’2-215 important cog in in Bell’s offense and solid on D as well
Claude Cole 6’4-260 2-way OL/DL player
Riordan
Lasa Tofi 5’10-225 RB/MLB a mainstay on Crusader D
Jordan Fox 5’11-150 Doubled at WR/DB
Here are the approximate numbers on returning varsity players for each team:
Serra - 36
SF - 40
VC – 35
SHC – 32
Mitty – 26
S.I. – 30
Bells – 26
ARHS – 24
Returning Players of Impact for each team:
Serra
Luke Botari 5’11-175 – 3 year varsity QB who led Padres to state title & WCAL’s leading passer
Ed Lahlouh 6’0-200 one of Padres best on D who contributed as RB as well
Keelan O’Riordan 6’1-260 Center
Vince Campana 6’1-210, 2-way OL/DL player
Malakai Rango 5’7-150 KR/DB had a number of big returns incl in state title game
Damon Lewis 5’10-140 Soph kicker was one of best in WCAL
Michael Churich 6’6-225 Back-up QB switched to TE this season [can’t have this guy on bench]
David Coker 5’9-165 Speedy RB emerged during playoffs as explosive breakaway runner
St. Francis
Darrell Page 5’10-185 WCAL’s top RB & leading rusher
Opeti Fangupo 5’10-230 Junior POY in WCAL plays FB/MLB
Evan Williams 5’11-180 WR/SS dynamic clutch player on either side of ball among best in WCAL
Maurice Wilmar 6’2-195 WR/CB will contribute on both sides this season
Tyler McCabe 6’0-200 MLB important piece of Lancer D
Mose Vavao 6’3-290 important 2-way OL/DL player
Joshua Pakola 6’4-240 TE/LB played well on both sides last season
Justin Sinnclair 5’10-160 Will ad experience to Lancer cornerback position
Valley Christian
Skylar Loving-Black 6’3-215 TE/DE adds large target to VC passing game
Judea Moon 5’11-240 adds some size in middle as LB
Zack Gieg 6’0-275 2 way OL/DL player
D’von Lang 5’11-145 RB/DB will be counted on both sides
SHC
Anthony Heard 5’8-175 Irish top RB returns from last season
Spencer Goldfein 5’11-180 2 way lineman
Levar Watkins 5’11-180 WR/CB adds experience on both sides
Mitty
Shamir Bey 6’3-190 talented athlete/QB who played well as a soph starter
Joseph Vaughn 6’3-190 WR/SS will contribute on both sides
James Thomas 6’0-175 RB/CB/K utility player
St. Ignatius
Mark Biggins 5’10-190 RB/CB will be counted on heavily this season
Jack Dyke – OL/Center/DL can play both ways
Bellarmine
Tyson Garcia 5’9-145 RB/DB
Riordan
Louie Mezie 5’11-185 RB/DB
Ian Tupulua 6’0-240 OL/DL
Michael Estrada 6’0- 225 OL/DL
Conclusion: The 2 top teams Serra & St. Francis lose a lot of starters, but both return a solid core of experienced varsity players including at the skill positions. SF having the leagues top RB will reload with one of 2 capable QB's and should give Serra a run for the money again this season. Both teams along with VC will have plenty of size on both the OL & DL. The teams able to pull up talent from last season's JV & Frosh squads would appear to be Serra, SF, VC & Bell's [VC also had an undefeated Frosh squad which may provide some soph varsity players]. Mitty, S.I. & Riordan appear to be on the fringe as far as how much help they will get from last year's, while SHC cannot expect too much from JV & Frosh squads who were a combined 2-15.
Next Up: Review of last season & what to expect in 2018.
Last edited:
Interesting for me. Don't know much about WCAL. Oakdale plays Mitty this year. With more schools going to spread offense not as many QB under center. From what I see they seem to have trouble defending. This is just my observations. That's why Inderkum and Oakdale have those old school smash mouth football games. They practice against it every day. I believe Bellarmine still runs the Cox box double wing or what ever they call it now. So Mitty sees it every year so should be interesting. With only two returning Varsity players Oakdale will be young. As with all Oakdale teams it all starts with the O- line. All new O- line this year after three years with Nico Sarale bulling over people. Hard to replace.
WCAL Football 2018-19 [above SF's Darrell Page the WCAL's leading rusher in 2017]
It's almost time to kick off the new season of the 8-team West Catholic Athletic League football for 2018-19. Last season was highly successful with 2 of the 8 teams capturing first ever state division titles: Serra defeating Cajon 38-14 in state 2-AA and St. Francis winning over Grace Brethren 22-13 in state 2-A. In the last several years' we've seen the league evolve into a 3-tier league with not much change in the order of ranking. That fact did not change much if at all last season except possibly the disparity growing among the 3 top teams and the lower 5 teams struggling to compete at the next level. Due to the varsity teams being comprised of mostly juniors and senior's with a few soph's the league runs in 2-3 year cycles depending on each schools pool of talent. Last season Serra & St. Francis emerged as the dominant teams of the league and seemed to get better as the season progressed. Similar to the 2017 season Serra lost 2 of its first 3 games before going on a school record 12 game winning streak. St. Francis overcame early season losses to DLS & VC to lose by 1 point to Serra 31-30 in the CCS Open II Championship in a game that could have gone either way. The Lancer's then bounced back to take down Manteca 28-23 in the NorCal regional playoff before winning in the state bowl game over Grace Brethren.
So will this season be any different or can we expect more of the same domination by 2-3 teams
and then everyone else below them? Let's start with last season's win-loss records:
Serra 14-2 undefeated in league
SF 11-4
VC 9-3
SHC 6-5
Mitty 5-6
Bellarmine 4-7
S.I. 3-7
ARHS 2-8
Each year the WCAL is loaded with talent and success depends upon returning varsity players & how each team can reload from both their JV & Frosh teams. In terms of sheer size of team rosters
here is the order of largest to smallest number of players on each team ending last season"
1& 2 = Serra & SF both over 60 players
3 = VC over 50 players
4,5,6,7 = S.I., Bells, SHC, Mitty at approx. 45+ players
8 = Riordan at approx. 40 players
In terms of "reloading" from JV & Frosh teams the pool of talent to draw from last season's teams favors VC, SF & Serra in that order followed by Bells, S.I.,Mitty, Riodan & SHC.
Here are the players of note who graduated from each team who will need to be replaced this season:
Serra
Antonio Mafi 6'3-360 - WCAL Player of the Year OL/DL
Patrick Nunn - 6'3-210 - 1rst Team All League WR [also played DB in state title game]
Chris Park - 5'11-175 - 1rst Team All League Utility - WR/DB/KR
Isiah Kendrick 5'11-175 - 1rst Team All League - RB/KR
Shane Villaroma 5'11-190 - Serra's All Time Pass Reception leader at 107 catches
Nick Brown 6'0-190 1rst Team All League DE/LB one of Serra's mainstays on Defense
Moses Tameilau 6'0-289 1rst Team All League OL/DL
St. Francis:
Tyler Manoa 6'5-285 Named to HS Army All American Bowl DT/G
Reed Vettel 6'5-185 QB played in 2 state title games in 2 years with win his senior year
Junior Fehoko 6'4 -240 First Team All League LB
Lucas Andrighetto 5'11-185 important 2-way player RB/DB
Valley Christian
RJ Stone 6'3-210 One of the top defensive players in the league, MVP-DL
D'Angelo McKenzie 5'11-175 One of the top DB's in WCAL
Alton Julian 6'1-190 1rst Team All League speedy WR was one of league's best
Conner Edgar 5'11-225 1rst Team All League 2 way player RB/LB crucial to VC's run game
Charlie Bostic 6'1 170 1rst Team All League & one of WCAL's top RB's
Daniel Machado 6'3-275 1rst Team All League VC's best 2 way OL/DL
SHC
Will Irons 6'5-190 Veteran starting QB was mainstay of Irish offense
Are'on Mitchell 6'0-185 Important 2 way utility player for Irish at WR/DB/KR
Zack Lealeo 5'11-210 solid LB for Irish D
Uriah Uila 6'0-200 2-way player at LB/TE
Ronan Orford 6'0-155 contributed on both sides of ball
Mitty
Nick Alftin 6'6-245 Top 2-way player at DE/TE got scouts attention
Lemuel Marucot 6'1-190 large size CB important to Monarch D
Tyler Laton 6'2-210 DE/OL mainstay on Mitty line
Jake Serpa 5'11-165 Mitty's jack of all trades utility player WR/DB/KR
Ethan Matus 6’6-250 Important 2-way lineman
St. Ignatius
Charlie Katz 5’11-160 The Wildcats starting QB who doubled at DB
David Woodruff 6’3-190 One of the top WR’s in the WCAL & also DE for the ‘Cats
John Hanley – important 2-way lineman OL/DL
Bellarmine
Cade Hall 6’3-235 Center & DL was valuable on both sides of ball
Austin Ajiake 6’2-215 important cog in in Bell’s offense and solid on D as well
Claude Cole 6’4-260 2-way OL/DL player
Riordan
Lasa Tofi 5’10-225 RB/MLB a mainstay on Crusader D
Jordan Fox 5’11-150 Doubled at WR/DB
Here are the approximate numbers on returning varsity players for each team:
Serra - 36
SF - 40
VC – 35
SHC – 32
Mitty – 26
S.I. – 30
Bells – 26
ARHS – 24
Returning Players of Impact for each team:
Serra
Luke Botari 5’11-175 – 3 year varsity QB who led Padres to state title & WCAL’s leading passer
Ed Lahlouh 6’0-200 one of Padres best on D who contributed as RB as well
Ray Redmond 5’11-200 can play either side of ball at LB/TE
Keelan O’Riordan 6’1-260 Center
Vince Campana 6’1-210, 2-way OL/DL player
Malakai Rango 5’7-150 KR/DB had a number of big returns incl in state title game
Damon Lewis 5’10-140 Soph kicker was one of best in WCAL
Michael Churich 6’6-225 Back-up QB switched to TE this season [can’t have this guy on bench]
David Coker 5’9-165 Speedy RB emerged during playoffs as explosive breakaway runner
St. Francis
Darrell Page 5’10-185 WCAL’s top RB & leading rusher
Opeti Fangupo 5’10-230 Junior POY in WCAL plays FB/MLB
Evan Williams 5’11-180 WR/SS dynamic clutch player on either side of ball among best in WCAL
Maurice Wilmar 6’2-195 WR/CB will contribute on both sides this season
Tyler McCabe 6’0-200 MLB important piece of Lancer D
Mose Vavao 6’3-290 important 2-way OL/DL player
Joshua Pakola 6’4-240 TE/LB played well on both sides last season
Justin Sinnclair 5’10-160 Will ad experience to Lancer cornerback position
Valley Christian
Skylar Loving-Black 6’3-215 TE/DE adds large target to VC passing game
Judea Moon 5’11-240 adds some size in middle as LB
Zack Gieg 6’0-275 2 way OL/DL player
D’von Lang 5’11-145 RB/DB will be counted on both sides
SHC
Anthony Heard 5’8-175 Irish top RB returns from last season
Spencer Goldfein 5’11-180 2 way lineman
Levar Watkins 5’11-180 WR/CB adds experience on both sides
Mitty
Shamir Bey 6’3-190 talented athlete/QB who played well as a soph starter
Joseph Vaughn 6’3-190 WR/SS will contribute on both sides
James Thomas 6’0-175 RB/CB/K utility player
St. Ignatius
Mark Biggins 5’10-190 RB/CB will be counted on heavily this season
Jack Dyke – OL/Center/DL can play both ways
Bellarmine
Tyson Garcia 5’9-145 RB/DB
Riordan
Louie Mezie 5’11-185 RB/DB
Ian Tupulua 6’0-240 OL/DL
Michael Estrada 6’0- 225 OL/DL
Conclusion: The 2 top teams Serra & St. Francis lose a lot of starters, but both return a solid core of experienced varsity players including at the skill positions. SF having the leagues top RB will reload with one of 2 capable QB's and should give Serra a run for the money again this season. Both teams along with VC will have plenty of size on both the OL & DL. The teams able to pull up talent from last season's JV & Frosh squads would appear to be Serra, SF, VC & Bell's [VC also had an undefeated Frosh squad which may provide some soph varsity players]. Mitty, S.I. & Riordan appear to be on the fringe as far as how much help they will get from last year's, while SHC cannot expect too much from JV & Frosh squads who were a combined 2-15.
Next Up: Review of last season & what to expect in 2018.
WCAL Football 2018-19 [above SF's Darrell Page the WCAL's leading rusher in 2017]
It's almost time to kick off the new season of the 8-team West Catholic Athletic League football for 2018-19. Last season was highly successful with 2 of the 8 teams capturing first ever state division titles: Serra defeating Cajon 38-14 in state 2-AA and St. Francis winning over Grace Brethren 22-13 in state 2-A. In the last several years' we've seen the league evolve into a 3-tier league with not much change in the order of ranking. That fact did not change much if at all last season except possibly the disparity growing among the 3 top teams and the lower 5 teams struggling to compete at the next level. Due to the varsity teams being comprised of mostly juniors and senior's with a few soph's the league runs in 2-3 year cycles depending on each schools pool of talent. Last season Serra & St. Francis emerged as the dominant teams of the league and seemed to get better as the season progressed. Similar to the 2017 season Serra lost 2 of its first 3 games before going on a school record 12 game winning streak. St. Francis overcame early season losses to DLS & VC to lose by 1 point to Serra 31-30 in the CCS Open II Championship in a game that could have gone either way. The Lancer's then bounced back to take down Manteca 28-23 in the NorCal regional playoff before winning in the state bowl game over Grace Brethren.
So will this season be any different or can we expect more of the same domination by 2-3 teams
and then everyone else below them? Let's start with last season's win-loss records:
Serra 14-2 undefeated in league
SF 11-4
VC 9-3
SHC 6-5
Mitty 5-6
Bellarmine 4-7
S.I. 3-7
ARHS 2-8
Each year the WCAL is loaded with talent and success depends upon returning varsity players & how each team can reload from both their JV & Frosh teams. In terms of sheer size of team rosters
here is the order of largest to smallest number of players on each team ending last season"
1& 2 = Serra & SF both over 60 players
3 = VC over 50 players
4,5,6,7 = S.I., Bells, SHC, Mitty at approx. 45+ players
8 = Riordan at approx. 40 players
In terms of "reloading" from JV & Frosh teams the pool of talent to draw from last season's teams favors VC, SF & Serra in that order followed by Bells, S.I.,Mitty, Riodan & SHC.
Here are the players of note who graduated from each team who will need to be replaced this season:
Serra
Antonio Mafi 6'3-360 - WCAL Player of the Year OL/DL
Patrick Nunn - 6'3-210 - 1rst Team All League WR [also played DB in state title game]
Chris Park - 5'11-175 - 1rst Team All League Utility - WR/DB/KR
Isiah Kendrick 5'11-175 - 1rst Team All League - RB/KR
Shane Villaroma 5'11-190 - Serra's All Time Pass Reception leader at 107 catches
Nick Brown 6'0-190 1rst Team All League DE/LB one of Serra's mainstays on Defense
Moses Tameilau 6'0-289 1rst Team All League OL/DL
St. Francis:
Tyler Manoa 6'5-285 Named to HS Army All American Bowl DT/G
Reed Vettel 6'5-185 QB played in 2 state title games in 2 years with win his senior year
Junior Fehoko 6'4 -240 First Team All League LB
Lucas Andrighetto 5'11-185 important 2-way player RB/DB
Valley Christian
RJ Stone 6'3-210 One of the top defensive players in the league, MVP-DL
D'Angelo McKenzie 5'11-175 One of the top DB's in WCAL
Alton Julian 6'1-190 1rst Team All League speedy WR was one of league's best
Conner Edgar 5'11-225 1rst Team All League 2 way player RB/LB crucial to VC's run game
Charlie Bostic 6'1 170 1rst Team All League & one of WCAL's top RB's
Daniel Machado 6'3-275 1rst Team All League VC's best 2 way OL/DL
SHC
Will Irons 6'5-190 Veteran starting QB was mainstay of Irish offense
Are'on Mitchell 6'0-185 Important 2 way utility player for Irish at WR/DB/KR
Zack Lealeo 5'11-210 solid LB for Irish D
Uriah Uila 6'0-200 2-way player at LB/TE
Ronan Orford 6'0-155 contributed on both sides of ball
Mitty
Nick Alftin 6'6-245 Top 2-way player at DE/TE got scouts attention
Lemuel Marucot 6'1-190 large size CB important to Monarch D
Tyler Laton 6'2-210 DE/OL mainstay on Mitty line
Jake Serpa 5'11-165 Mitty's jack of all trades utility player WR/DB/KR
Ethan Matus 6’6-250 Important 2-way lineman
St. Ignatius
Charlie Katz 5’11-160 The Wildcats starting QB who doubled at DB
David Woodruff 6’3-190 One of the top WR’s in the WCAL & also DE for the ‘Cats
John Hanley – important 2-way lineman OL/DL
Bellarmine
Cade Hall 6’3-235 Center & DL was valuable on both sides of ball
Austin Ajiake 6’2-215 important cog in in Bell’s offense and solid on D as well
Claude Cole 6’4-260 2-way OL/DL player
Riordan
Lasa Tofi 5’10-225 RB/MLB a mainstay on Crusader D
Jordan Fox 5’11-150 Doubled at WR/DB
Here are the approximate numbers on returning varsity players for each team:
Serra - 36
SF - 40
VC – 35
SHC – 32
Mitty – 26
S.I. – 30
Bells – 26
ARHS – 24
Returning Players of Impact for each team:
Serra
Luke Botari 5’11-175 – 3 year varsity QB who led Padres to state title & WCAL’s leading passer
Ed Lahlouh 6’0-200 one of Padres best on D who contributed as RB as well
Ray Redmond 5’11-200 can play either side of ball at LB/TE
Keelan O’Riordan 6’1-260 Center
Vince Campana 6’1-210, 2-way OL/DL player
Malakai Rango 5’7-150 KR/DB had a number of big returns incl in state title game
Damon Lewis 5’10-140 Soph kicker was one of best in WCAL
Michael Churich 6’6-225 Back-up QB switched to TE this season [can’t have this guy on bench]
David Coker 5’9-165 Speedy RB emerged during playoffs as explosive breakaway runner
St. Francis
Darrell Page 5’10-185 WCAL’s top RB & leading rusher
Opeti Fangupo 5’10-230 Junior POY in WCAL plays FB/MLB
Evan Williams 5’11-180 WR/SS dynamic clutch player on either side of ball among best in WCAL
Maurice Wilmar 6’2-195 WR/CB will contribute on both sides this season
Tyler McCabe 6’0-200 MLB important piece of Lancer D
Mose Vavao 6’3-290 important 2-way OL/DL player
Joshua Pakola 6’4-240 TE/LB played well on both sides last season
Justin Sinnclair 5’10-160 Will ad experience to Lancer cornerback position
Valley Christian
Skylar Loving-Black 6’3-215 TE/DE adds large target to VC passing game
Judea Moon 5’11-240 adds some size in middle as LB
Zack Gieg 6’0-275 2 way OL/DL player
D’von Lang 5’11-145 RB/DB will be counted on both sides
SHC
Anthony Heard 5’8-175 Irish top RB returns from last season
Spencer Goldfein 5’11-180 2 way lineman
Levar Watkins 5’11-180 WR/CB adds experience on both sides
Mitty
Shamir Bey 6’3-190 talented athlete/QB who played well as a soph starter
Joseph Vaughn 6’3-190 WR/SS will contribute on both sides
James Thomas 6’0-175 RB/CB/K utility player
St. Ignatius
Mark Biggins 5’10-190 RB/CB will be counted on heavily this season
Jack Dyke – OL/Center/DL can play both ways
Bellarmine
Tyson Garcia 5’9-145 RB/DB
Riordan
Louie Mezie 5’11-185 RB/DB
Ian Tupulua 6’0-240 OL/DL
Michael Estrada 6’0- 225 OL/DL
Conclusion: The 2 top teams Serra & St. Francis lose a lot of starters, but both return a solid core of experienced varsity players including at the skill positions. SF having the leagues top RB will reload with one of 2 capable QB's and should give Serra a run for the money again this season. Both teams along with VC will have plenty of size on both the OL & DL. The teams able to pull up talent from last season's JV & Frosh squads would appear to be Serra, SF, VC & Bell's [VC also had an undefeated Frosh squad which may provide some soph varsity players]. Mitty, S.I. & Riordan appear to be on the fringe as far as how much help they will get from last year's, while SHC cannot expect too much from JV & Frosh squads who were a combined 2-15.
Next Up: Review of last season & what to expect in 2018.
WCAL Football 2018-19 [above SF's Darrell Page the WCAL's leading rusher in 2017]
It's almost time to kick off the new season of the 8-team West Catholic Athletic League football for 2018-19. Last season was highly successful with 2 of the 8 teams capturing first ever state division titles: Serra defeating Cajon 38-14 in state 2-AA and St. Francis winning over Grace Brethren 22-13 in state 2-A. In the last several years' we've seen the league evolve into a 3-tier league with not much change in the order of ranking. That fact did not change much if at all last season except possibly the disparity growing among the 3 top teams and the lower 5 teams struggling to compete at the next level. Due to the varsity teams being comprised of mostly juniors and senior's with a few soph's the league runs in 2-3 year cycles depending on each schools pool of talent. Last season Serra & St. Francis emerged as the dominant teams of the league and seemed to get better as the season progressed. Similar to the 2017 season Serra lost 2 of its first 3 games before going on a school record 12 game winning streak. St. Francis overcame early season losses to DLS & VC to lose by 1 point to Serra 31-30 in the CCS Open II Championship in a game that could have gone either way. The Lancer's then bounced back to take down Manteca 28-23 in the NorCal regional playoff before winning in the state bowl game over Grace Brethren.
So will this season be any different or can we expect more of the same domination by 2-3 teams
and then everyone else below them? Let's start with last season's win-loss records:
Serra 14-2 undefeated in league
SF 11-4
VC 9-3
SHC 6-5
Mitty 5-6
Bellarmine 4-7
S.I. 3-7
ARHS 2-8
Each year the WCAL is loaded with talent and success depends upon returning varsity players & how each team can reload from both their JV & Frosh teams. In terms of sheer size of team rosters
here is the order of largest to smallest number of players on each team ending last season"
1& 2 = Serra & SF both over 60 players
3 = VC over 50 players
4,5,6,7 = S.I., Bells, SHC, Mitty at approx. 45+ players
8 = Riordan at approx. 40 players
In terms of "reloading" from JV & Frosh teams the pool of talent to draw from last season's teams favors VC, SF & Serra in that order followed by Bells, S.I.,Mitty, Riodan & SHC.
Here are the players of note who graduated from each team who will need to be replaced this season:
Serra
Antonio Mafi 6'3-360 - WCAL Player of the Year OL/DL
Patrick Nunn - 6'3-210 - 1rst Team All League WR [also played DB in state title game]
Chris Park - 5'11-175 - 1rst Team All League Utility - WR/DB/KR
Isiah Kendrick 5'11-175 - 1rst Team All League - RB/KR
Shane Villaroma 5'11-190 - Serra's All Time Pass Reception leader at 107 catches
Nick Brown 6'0-190 1rst Team All League DE/LB one of Serra's mainstays on Defense
Moses Tameilau 6'0-289 1rst Team All League OL/DL
St. Francis:
Tyler Manoa 6'5-285 Named to HS Army All American Bowl DT/G
Reed Vettel 6'5-185 QB played in 2 state title games in 2 years with win his senior year
Junior Fehoko 6'4 -240 First Team All League LB
Lucas Andrighetto 5'11-185 important 2-way player RB/DB
Valley Christian
RJ Stone 6'3-210 One of the top defensive players in the league, MVP-DL
D'Angelo McKenzie 5'11-175 One of the top DB's in WCAL
Alton Julian 6'1-190 1rst Team All League speedy WR was one of league's best
Conner Edgar 5'11-225 1rst Team All League 2 way player RB/LB crucial to VC's run game
Charlie Bostic 6'1 170 1rst Team All League & one of WCAL's top RB's
Daniel Machado 6'3-275 1rst Team All League VC's best 2 way OL/DL
SHC
Will Irons 6'5-190 Veteran starting QB was mainstay of Irish offense
Are'on Mitchell 6'0-185 Important 2 way utility player for Irish at WR/DB/KR
Zack Lealeo 5'11-210 solid LB for Irish D
Uriah Uila 6'0-200 2-way player at LB/TE
Ronan Orford 6'0-155 contributed on both sides of ball
Mitty
Nick Alftin 6'6-245 Top 2-way player at DE/TE got scouts attention
Lemuel Marucot 6'1-190 large size CB important to Monarch D
Tyler Laton 6'2-210 DE/OL mainstay on Mitty line
Jake Serpa 5'11-165 Mitty's jack of all trades utility player WR/DB/KR
Ethan Matus 6’6-250 Important 2-way lineman
St. Ignatius
Charlie Katz 5’11-160 The Wildcats starting QB who doubled at DB
David Woodruff 6’3-190 One of the top WR’s in the WCAL & also DE for the ‘Cats
John Hanley – important 2-way lineman OL/DL
Bellarmine
Cade Hall 6’3-235 Center & DL was valuable on both sides of ball
Austin Ajiake 6’2-215 important cog in in Bell’s offense and solid on D as well
Claude Cole 6’4-260 2-way OL/DL player
Riordan
Lasa Tofi 5’10-225 RB/MLB a mainstay on Crusader D
Jordan Fox 5’11-150 Doubled at WR/DB
Here are the approximate numbers on returning varsity players for each team:
Serra - 36
SF - 40
VC – 35
SHC – 32
Mitty – 26
S.I. – 30
Bells – 26
ARHS – 24
Returning Players of Impact for each team:
Serra
Luke Botari 5’11-175 – 3 year varsity QB who led Padres to state title & WCAL’s leading passer
Ed Lahlouh 6’0-200 one of Padres best on D who contributed as RB as well
Ray Redmond 5’11-200 can play either side of ball at LB/TE
Keelan O’Riordan 6’1-260 Center
Vince Campana 6’1-210, 2-way OL/DL player
Malakai Rango 5’7-150 KR/DB had a number of big returns incl in state title game
Damon Lewis 5’10-140 Soph kicker was one of best in WCAL
Michael Churich 6’6-225 Back-up QB switched to TE this season [can’t have this guy on bench]
David Coker 5’9-165 Speedy RB emerged during playoffs as explosive breakaway runner
St. Francis
Darrell Page 5’10-185 WCAL’s top RB & leading rusher
Opeti Fangupo 5’10-230 Junior POY in WCAL plays FB/MLB
Evan Williams 5’11-180 WR/SS dynamic clutch player on either side of ball among best in WCAL
Maurice Wilmar 6’2-195 WR/CB will contribute on both sides this season
Tyler McCabe 6’0-200 MLB important piece of Lancer D
Mose Vavao 6’3-290 important 2-way OL/DL player
Joshua Pakola 6’4-240 TE/LB played well on both sides last season
Justin Sinnclair 5’10-160 Will ad experience to Lancer cornerback position
Valley Christian
Skylar Loving-Black 6’3-215 TE/DE adds large target to VC passing game
Judea Moon 5’11-240 adds some size in middle as LB
Zack Gieg 6’0-275 2 way OL/DL player
D’von Lang 5’11-145 RB/DB will be counted on both sides
SHC
Anthony Heard 5’8-175 Irish top RB returns from last season
Spencer Goldfein 5’11-180 2 way lineman
Levar Watkins 5’11-180 WR/CB adds experience on both sides
Mitty
Shamir Bey 6’3-190 talented athlete/QB who played well as a soph starter
Joseph Vaughn 6’3-190 WR/SS will contribute on both sides
James Thomas 6’0-175 RB/CB/K utility player
St. Ignatius
Mark Biggins 5’10-190 RB/CB will be counted on heavily this season
Jack Dyke – OL/Center/DL can play both ways
Bellarmine
Tyson Garcia 5’9-145 RB/DB
Riordan
Louie Mezie 5’11-185 RB/DB
Ian Tupulua 6’0-240 OL/DL
Michael Estrada 6’0- 225 OL/DL
Conclusion: The 2 top teams Serra & St. Francis lose a lot of starters, but both return a solid core of experienced varsity players including at the skill positions. SF having the leagues top RB will reload with one of 2 capable QB's and should give Serra a run for the money again this season. Both teams along with VC will have plenty of size on both the OL & DL. The teams able to pull up talent from last season's JV & Frosh squads would appear to be Serra, SF, VC & Bell's [VC also had an undefeated Frosh squad which may provide some soph varsity players]. Mitty, S.I. & Riordan appear to be on the fringe as far as how much help they will get from last year's, while SHC cannot expect too much from JV & Frosh squads who were a combined 2-15.
Next Up: Review of last season & what to expect in 2018.
Awesome write up. I can’t wait for WCAL action. Some big games! Wish DLS played in this league.
Valley Christian's Charlie Bostic on 79-Yd TD run against St. Francis last season [now at SJSU - photo courtesy BANG]
WCAL Football Review of 2017 Season by Team
Serra 13-2
Serra experienced the best season in the school’s history in 2017 setting multiple records in the process. Losing 2 of 3 games to start the season the Padres then went on a record 12 game win streak to finish the season. The Padres offense was superlative in averaging a record 45.8 points in league play while allowing just 12 points per game. What makes this more impressive is a number of games were decided by half-time and starters pulled early in the 2nd half. Undefeated in league, capturing the CCS Open Division II, winning their NorCal sectional game big over Tulare Union & then shocking the state’s highest scoring team Cajon in winning a state bowl game [also winning the last 4 games without the WCAL’s MVP Antonio Mafi].
2017 was quite a year for the Serra Padres.
Worst Game
Serra started the season with high hopes & hoping for a bit of pay-back in playing St. Mary’s of Stockton for a 63-35 loss on Serra’s home field the previous season. Instead Serra got a rude wake-up call via 41-13 thumping at the hands of the Rams. Not much went right for Serra in this game, but perhaps it was the best thing for their worst game to happen at the start of the season.
Best Game
Easily the big win over SoCal power Cajon, a record setting scoring machine which stumbled badly against an aggressive Padre defense including turn-overs. This was a complete game by Serra on both sides of the ball and included many impressive individual efforts. Luke Bottari played another outstanding game, Isiah Kendricks proved to be the best RB on the field while David Coker/RB provided additional firepower on the ground. Ed Lahlouh was solid on both sides of the ball while Patrick Nunn played both ways & covered Cajon’s best WR on D. There was a possible come-back turning point in the 2nd ½ by Cajon which was quickly diminished with a remarkable kick-off return by Malakai Rango. An impressive effort by the entire team & coaches.
St. Francis 11-4
The lancer’s started the season as one of the favorites to capture the league crown. SF won big their 1rst 2 games before falling to DLS by 31-7 on the Spartan’s home field. Possibly looking ahead to Serra the Lancer’s then stumbled the following week losing to a solid Valley Christian team by 1 score. After that things fell into place for SF with remaining 2 losses to Serra. The 2nd loss for the CCS Open II Championship was by a single point 31-30. The game came down to a single play near end of the game & could have just as easily been the Lancer’s as the Open II Champs. Like they say “Good teams also seem to be “lucky” teams” when the breaks go their way.
Worst Game
St. Francis really did not have any “bad” games to speak of. If I had to choose one it would be the DLS game. The Lancer’s fell behind early and just never seemed to get into sync so to speak. I think towards the end of the season a game between these 2 teams would be more competitive.
Best Game
This was a toss-up for me as SF played great vs Serra in the Div II Championship & nearly defeated Serra. I can’t pick a loss though as their best game & that has to go to the state bowl win over Grace Brethren by 22-13. At the start of the game Grace Brethren’s star RB Seven McGee ran 43 yards for a TD. After that however the Lancer D stiffened and shut down the RB allowing him just 17 more yards the rest of the game [69 yards total]. The Lancer’s were the more physical team on defense and their offense along with help of a few turnovers by the defense was just enough to get SF the win over a very good Grace Brethren team. Evan Williams played a superb game going both ways with 2 TD catches to help secure the win.
Valley Christian 9-3
Valley Christian as in the last few years was a bit of a question mark coming into the season. Would the Warrior’s vie for at least a share of the league crown or regress from their 13-2 prior season which ended in a trip to a state bowl game [lost to Madison, San Diego 21-17]. VC lost the season opener by 22-20 to a good Manteca team [who would later lose to St. Francis in NorCal regional by 28-23]. IN the game VC could not quite get its offense untracked at times. VC then won big the next 2 games and in a minor upset took down SF by 28-21 winning the next 3 games to put together a 6 game win streak. That streak ended the following week against Serra in a blow-out 35-7 loss at Serra. VC would later lose to Serra in the D-II playoffs in a slightly closer game [31-14].
Best Game
The win of 28-21 over the favored SF lancer’s to set up the showdown with Serra.
Worst Game
35-7 loss to Serra at Serra. VC simply could not muster any offense against Serra as the Padres shut down the Warrior’s vaunted run game. VC lives by the run and without any consistent passing game Serra easily outscored VC blowing the game open. In the rematch between the 2 teams VC replaced their season starting QB with their more accurate passing back-up QB. The change made little difference as VC lost again to the Padres by 3 scores.
SHC 6-5
The Irish looked to have high hopes coming into the 2017 with their capable QB Will Irons returning for his senior season with a host of returning varsity players. The Irish won their first 3 pre-season games against somewhat weak competition, but then surprised most fans in a somewhat upset win over St. Ignatius by 21-14. The following week a dose of reality as a lopsided loss followed at the hands of SF followed by more of the same with VC, Serra & Bell’s in subsequent weeks. SHC won as expected vs Riordan & then another “mild” upset defeating Mitty by 35-25. The season ended somewhat prematurely as the Irish stumbled against Live Oak losing 28-21 in the first round of the Div III playoffs.
Worst Game
While the Irish suffered some lopsided losses in WCAL they were at the hands of 2 state champs, VC & the Bell’s. SHC’s worst loss had to be the unexpected defeat to Live Oak and an early exit from the playoffs. SHC was expected to possibly play HMB for the Div III title and was favored over Live Oak at the time. It was unfortunate that SHC played well below their capabilities in their playoff appearance losing to a team they should have been able to beat. Live Oak was crushed the following week by HMB 52-17.
Best Game
Easily the win of 35-25 over a decent Mitty team which had already beaten Menlo-Atherton in pre-season and also the Bell’s. The win over Mitty was the week prior to the loss to a much weaker Live Oak team, which was a disappointing way to end the season.
Next Up: Remaining 4 Teams Reviews
WCAL Football Review of 2017 Season by Team
* Note - these posts will now have to be entered in part due to NCP's limitations on post size.
Mitty 5-6
The last couple of season’s some fans like myself have been waiting to see if there is a resurgence so to speak of the Monarch’s once proud football program. In recent season’s Mitty has just managed to play above 500 and slipped a spot or 2 among the 8 team WCAL league. I’ve noticed their roster is not as deep and they have not had quite the talent as in past. Looking back at their previous 3 season’s the 2017 was MItty’s first losing season in the last 4 year’s. Perhaps with their talented soph QB Shamir Bey returning as a junior the Monarch’s wil have hopes of a turn-around season with at least a winning record. Losing to SHC in the last league game of their season prevented them from a winning record [Monarch’s lost their last 6 games of season after starting out 5-0].
Worst Game
Loss to SHC 35-25.
Best Game
Biggest win of the season in week #4 beating the Bell’s by 14-7 at SJCC.
St. Ignatius 3-7
The Wildcats once proud gridiron program has been in a tailspin in recent years ever since winning an unlikely CCS Open Championship over Bellarmine in 2012. S.I. has simply not had the numbers or more importantly the talent to compete at the upper level of the league. In defense of S.I.’s record they’ve continued to schedule quality teams in the pre-season such as Campolindo & Marin Catholic last season and otherwise would have a slightly better win/loss record such as SHC [whose pre-season started with Fernley of Nevada who was 4-6 in 2016].
S.I. Ended the season with a quality win over the Bell’s which hopefully will carry over some momentum into the new season.
Best Game
Beating the Bell’s 28-21 on their own home turf.
Worst Game
Losing to Riordan 26-20 at Kezar in O/T in which S.I. was favored.
Bellarmine 4-7
The Bell’s coming off their worst season in recent memory in 2017 [if not their worst]. In 2016 the Bell’s were 7-5 yet still had some quality wins/games with a narrow 2-point loss to Del Oro, solid wins over M-A & Mitty and a lopsided win over S.I. Unfortunately this all reversed for the Bell’s in 2017 with a highly unusual losing record and numerous blow-out losses. The Bell’s for year’s seemingly had an endless supply of top quality QB’s and with one leaving another appeared. This has not been the case though the last 2 season’s & the shift has been dramatic.
With no passing game or athletic option QB the Bell’s have not had much offense to speak up. With their running game also faltering & lack of passing game that has left the Bell’s defense on the field for far too long. The result in ’17 was a Bell’s team averaging 2 scores per game while allowing twice that or more. The Bell’s had a respectable JV & frosh team last season so hopefully they will be able to reload to some extent and reverse their fortunes for 2018. It all starts at the QB position for the Bell’s.
Worst Game
48-0 loss at Serra in which the Bell’s were never in the game. Has to be one of the most lopsided losses in their programs history [at least recent].
Best Game
34-14 win over SHC which had the edge in terms of the QB position and an actual passing game. A sign of the Bell’s up & down season in which they took down the Irish in dominant fashion only to lose to S.I. 2 weeks later during a dismal outing.
Riordan 2-8
Not sure why but Riordan didn’t feel like it was an 2-8 team last season, at least to me. It just seems as though Riordan promotes its football program more so than S.I. or SHC or maybe again that’s simply my imagination. Is it possible for Riordan to suddenly turn things around and be competitive with the top WCAL teams or at very least dominate the SF teams? Riordan had JV & Frosh teams that both won some games and like most teams if the numbers are there and some upcoming players at the skill positions maybe we’ll see a change in the Crusader’s this season.
Worst Game
Season opener loss of 68-7 to a solid Central Catholic team that poured in on the outmanned Crusader’s. Adding injury to insult the Crusader’s ended up losing one of their best players’ for the season after a blatant cheap shot by a Central Catholic player. Not sure if the player was ejected or suspended the following game, but whichever it was not enough based upon the “targeting” of the Riordan player. I could be wrong, but never heard of an apology by any of the Central Catholic coaches.
Best Game
26-20 over-time win at Kezar over cross town rival St. Ignatius which will be remembered for some time by Riordan players.
Next Up: Season opener's
* Note - these posts will now have to be entered in part due to NCP's limitations on post size.
Mitty 5-6
The last couple of season’s some fans like myself have been waiting to see if there is a resurgence so to speak of the Monarch’s once proud football program. In recent season’s Mitty has just managed to play above 500 and slipped a spot or 2 among the 8 team WCAL league. I’ve noticed their roster is not as deep and they have not had quite the talent as in past. Looking back at their previous 3 season’s the 2017 was MItty’s first losing season in the last 4 year’s. Perhaps with their talented soph QB Shamir Bey returning as a junior the Monarch’s wil have hopes of a turn-around season with at least a winning record. Losing to SHC in the last league game of their season prevented them from a winning record [Monarch’s lost their last 6 games of season after starting out 5-0].
Worst Game
Loss to SHC 35-25.
Best Game
Biggest win of the season in week #4 beating the Bell’s by 14-7 at SJCC.
St. Ignatius 3-7
The Wildcats once proud gridiron program has been in a tailspin in recent years ever since winning an unlikely CCS Open Championship over Bellarmine in 2012. S.I. has simply not had the numbers or more importantly the talent to compete at the upper level of the league. In defense of S.I.’s record they’ve continued to schedule quality teams in the pre-season such as Campolindo & Marin Catholic last season and otherwise would have a slightly better win/loss record such as SHC [whose pre-season started with Fernley of Nevada who was 4-6 in 2016].
S.I. Ended the season with a quality win over the Bell’s which hopefully will carry over some momentum into the new season.
Best Game
Beating the Bell’s 28-21 on their own home turf.
Worst Game
Losing to Riordan 26-20 at Kezar in O/T in which S.I. was favored.
Bellarmine 4-7
The Bell’s coming off their worst season in recent memory in 2017 [if not their worst]. In 2016 the Bell’s were 7-5 yet still had some quality wins/games with a narrow 2-point loss to Del Oro, solid wins over M-A & Mitty and a lopsided win over S.I. Unfortunately this all reversed for the Bell’s in 2017 with a highly unusual losing record and numerous blow-out losses. The Bell’s for year’s seemingly had an endless supply of top quality QB’s and with one leaving another appeared. This has not been the case though the last 2 season’s & the shift has been dramatic.
With no passing game or athletic option QB the Bell’s have not had much offense to speak up. With their running game also faltering & lack of passing game that has left the Bell’s defense on the field for far too long. The result in ’17 was a Bell’s team averaging 2 scores per game while allowing twice that or more. The Bell’s had a respectable JV & frosh team last season so hopefully they will be able to reload to some extent and reverse their fortunes for 2018. It all starts at the QB position for the Bell’s.
Worst Game
48-0 loss at Serra in which the Bell’s were never in the game. Has to be one of the most lopsided losses in their programs history [at least recent].
Best Game
34-14 win over SHC which had the edge in terms of the QB position and an actual passing game. A sign of the Bell’s up & down season in which they took down the Irish in dominant fashion only to lose to S.I. 2 weeks later during a dismal outing.
Riordan 2-8
Not sure why but Riordan didn’t feel like it was an 2-8 team last season, at least to me. It just seems as though Riordan promotes its football program more so than S.I. or SHC or maybe again that’s simply my imagination. Is it possible for Riordan to suddenly turn things around and be competitive with the top WCAL teams or at very least dominate the SF teams? Riordan had JV & Frosh teams that both won some games and like most teams if the numbers are there and some upcoming players at the skill positions maybe we’ll see a change in the Crusader’s this season.
Worst Game
Season opener loss of 68-7 to a solid Central Catholic team that poured in on the outmanned Crusader’s. Adding injury to insult the Crusader’s ended up losing one of their best players’ for the season after a blatant cheap shot by a Central Catholic player. Not sure if the player was ejected or suspended the following game, but whichever it was not enough based upon the “targeting” of the Riordan player. I could be wrong, but never heard of an apology by any of the Central Catholic coaches.
Best Game
26-20 over-time win at Kezar over cross town rival St. Ignatius which will be remembered for some time by Riordan players.
Next Up: Season opener's
Looks like SF may have lost one of their key players, Darrel Page.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/08/10/is-st-francis-football-star-darrell-page-still-on-team/
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/08/10/is-st-francis-football-star-darrell-page-still-on-team/
If correct news which looks like it is...otherwise it would have been rebutted, St Francis which runs a conservative offense as it is is probably going to still be good (because of the defense), but probably drops them as 2 or 3 or 4 in WCAL and maybe not a bowl prospect. They may have to go more smashmouth with returner Nicholas Robinson, FB/LB, 6-0, 220 lbs and another big back like Opeti Fangupo and throw more. Maybe they move one of their athletic WRs to RB as well. I didn't think that last years frosh team was super athletic but they did pretty will in league and might have a player to step up as a soph. I guess any player can be lost, but Page definitely gives them a threat that impacts all other parts of the offense.
Darrel Page of St. Francis was the #1 leading rusher for 2017 in the entire CCS.
2017 Season stats: 282 carries - 2206 yards - 157.6 YPG - 7.8 APC - 23 TD's - 4 Fumbles
Next 2 best WCAL RB's in 2017 = Isiah Kendricks/Serra - 1614 yards, Charlie Bostic/VC - 1207 yards
Without Darrel Page the Top 3 returning rushers for the WCAL are Shamir Bey - Mitty QB, David Coker - Serra RB,
James Thomas - Mitty RB
2017 Season stats: 282 carries - 2206 yards - 157.6 YPG - 7.8 APC - 23 TD's - 4 Fumbles
Next 2 best WCAL RB's in 2017 = Isiah Kendricks/Serra - 1614 yards, Charlie Bostic/VC - 1207 yards
Without Darrel Page the Top 3 returning rushers for the WCAL are Shamir Bey - Mitty QB, David Coker - Serra RB,
James Thomas - Mitty RB
Page is now at Riordan.....JK! Lol! With all the transfer activity going on in the City I couldn’t resist. Definitely a huge hit for the Lancers. VC now moves up as a challenger to the Padres.
You had me for 5 seconds while trying to figure out what JK meant. LOL
Hey NorCal, how is the outlook for Palma this season? I believe SHC will be making the trek to Rabobank. Awesome football venue!! All the best this season!
Yes. SHC will be travelling to Rabobank stadium on Aug 31st. Not sure why Calpreps rating for Palma is so low. Palma should actually be better than last season. The offense should be able to score some points.
Offense returns junior RB Anthony Villegas who was one of the leading rushers in the CCS last season as a soph. Often compared to Emilio Martinez from a couple years ago that made a huge impact at San Diego as a freshman RB and Anthony is bigger and faster at this stage. QB Grant Surgent who is a very good and accurate passer and mobile. At Slot they return junior Jon Jon Bering who is also fast and very quick and deceptively strong for his size. Started in the playoffs on varsity two years ago at safety against Valley Christian in the CCS playoffs and a returning starter at Slot. They also have a JV WR coming up that is also a speedster and return two other WRs from last season that started or rotated in and the starting TE. Line has 2-3 players that started at different times including a 1st team all league lineman. Overall offensive line will be quicker than big and physical. I think the offense will be better than last season. These guys should be able to score some points since they will be balanced and have lots of threats. They have a very good FG kicker as well....I think palma has 3 out of last 6 FG kickers made it to play college football and one punter trying out in the NFL this year.
Defense they return a couple linemen with lots of experience and should be very strong at DBs /safeties. I think they will be more quick on the line and may lck a little size and question mark will be at LBs - although they will have pretty good OLB/DEs and one MLB an underclassman soph that is probably going to b special. They have some holes to fill on d-line and LB. As underclass - the juniors and sophs were really strong on defense. Juniors were a really strong class overall in CCS as underclass on both sides (6 were up on varsity as sophs and 3 came up as frosh to varsity for playoffs and two played). Most of the line size coming up are the soph class coming up. Palma has about 43 players on varsity. Thy haven't been getting the numbers as in the past (enrollment has shrank a little), but they have depth at skill positions and DBs and not a lot of depth on the line or LBs if they get any injuries. This team will have some speed though...even a couple on the line. I think if their defense steps up, they can challenge for a league title (Salinas, Aptos, and San Benito will be in the mix) but uncertain about the defense at the LBs and physicality of the line. Thy are young but I think the offense is going to be very good and if defense is an average Palma defense, they could be very good. They may need one more year to hit a peak because they will still be young, but they will be competitive and more so than lat season - a down year.
It looks like it will be a good game. Looks like SHC will have talent on offense and defense. Palma scrimmages SI on 8/17 and I may see them this weekend iat their internal scrimmage and will know more.
Good luck this season as well!
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colhenry - no one has said that Page has left the school, the admin & coach merely indicate they are unable to comment on the issue. It appears from the outside looking in it is possibly a disciplinary or eligibility issue, but since everyone is tight-lipped we won't know just yet - until a "leaker" spills the story [and as we all know by now - there is always a "leaker" to report what others will not state publicly..
I like others was sure looking forward to seeing Page again this season - heck of a talent at the HS level...
By the way, in any analysis of SF going forward, it might be helpful to point out that the Lancers are a regional, not a local, football program. As you know, their 2017 roster included players hailing from 25 different cities on both sides of the bay. From all of the available information, no other WCAL team has such a wide geographic reach.
ColHenry, I did not know that about the Lancers’ far reach...I know the Crusaders have a soph from the Czech Republic.
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I know a lot of schools I have seen or got programs from. They will post the city and or middle school they attended.
SF produces a slick, college-quality football media guide that lists every player's hometown/middle school. It's quite enlightening.
Here is the composite schedule for this season's WCAL games for varsity, JV & Frosh.
http://www.wcalsports.org/docs/schedules/FB Composit.pdf
http://www.wcalsports.org/docs/schedules/FB Composit.pdf
Always good to hear from a familiar poster rabbit5. If this post was directed to me then no mystery about my yearly blogs on WCAL. I follow the season's closely year to year along with the rest of the CCS teams and use all the resources available to compile information on each team & players. I also refer to my "cloud file" from previous season to look up articles on games, players, coaches as well. My yearly subscription to NFHSnetwork doesn;t hurt either as I often watch clips or games from the previous season [esp when football season is over with..]. More addiction than rocket science sorry to say..
Tough news for Darrell Page and St. Francis. Tough deal when you have geared your attack one way and a key component is lost. Now its wait and see if he is back at a later date
Mentioned previously with a linked story from the Mercury News. He isn't on the team as of now with no word on the reason why from the school.
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