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Diaz-Infante (Bellarmine)

T
Addict...you are an original OG. You have seen it all too. Football is different. If a hoops team is winning by 40, coaches empty benches and everyone gets some minutes and nobody gets hurt. Same in most other sports. Plus in most other sports 1 or 2 kids can dominate and the rest of the team can actually not be great. FB needs 11 guys doing their job every play or it can get ugly. Only as strong as your weakest link. Plus garbage time is when you cringe every play about your kid getting hurt when the. game is not in doubt. The size difference is highly visible and it is simple physics. To go through a 7 game WCAL schedule is a big task unless you have the big bodies. Big bodies are the business decision and everyone has to find the way that works for them. But not getting on board is a serious mistake IMO. These schools need healthy FB programs. Creates a great atmosphere if the size balances out. Then coaches can coach and scheme and condition and try and get to the top. No size. No chance. No fun. And the size just does not walk in the front door with their checkbooks.
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Week 11 Scores

MTsince2004
larry legend33 said:
Pretty disappointed by Rocklin last night. They were a mess in that rain and didn't come to play. OR basically battled the elements better and defensively made the right adj. OR is playing very well and I think they will end up playing Folsom in D1 section champ again....
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What's your guess on where Granite Bay ends up in the playoffs? Will they be on the Folsom side or on the Oak Ridge side of the brackets?
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Diaz-Infante (Bellarmine)

N
tired of this said:
Long time board reader/poster from back in the day when it all started. Many fun nights following scores and playoff predictions and opinions of many famous posters. I do have a take on the Bellarmine/WCAL situation that clarifies the uncertainty that is out there among readers. I am still deeply involved in WCAL sports and musings. The football situation is an evolution that is worthy of a 30 for 30 on ESPN or a book for that matter. For sure a YouTube podcast type video going into more depth could be warranted. It is fascinating to me. I will save the lengthy preamble for another time and cut to the chase.

Football was dying just a few years ago. Safety issues. Numbers dropping. Moms not happy at all about their boys playing. It might have been a smart bet to not try and build a program up when this barbaric sport might not even be around after one more CTE lawsuit. But the sport has rebounded. Equipment safer. Coaches adopting new practice and teaching styles. It seems to be thriving now. So as it turns out, making the traditional investment in football success to drive school success was a pretty good bet.

Patrick Walsh was building a program at Serra. Doing amazing things. He brilliantly courted the Polynesian community. Played the long game. Obviously it was an amazing success. Patrick deserves all the credit...but part of his vision was having a school buy in and support him via admissions and financial aid. Again...smashing success. 25% of Serra's student body plays FB. Do the math. That is 6 or 7 FB guys in every class taught on campus. Staggering.

Tuition high...close to $30,000 at these schools. Bodies are needed to fill schools. Not the chummy, friendly, united WCAL anymore. Schools fighting for survival. Business decisions in the upper echelons are made....get in or not.

Si builds a junior high school and students matriculate to SI. Affordable options exist due to commitment from admin wing. They break the long standing teacher/coach model and bring in a guy with Mater Dei and USC experience. They are in it for the long run.

Riordan hires a well known coach and takes close to 20 transfers and does the same in basketball. Need to find a way to stay solvent. They go coed. Boarding options. Can they keep it up? I hear of rumblings

SH dips into East Bay. They are young and talented. 20 soph on varsity and 20 more on JV. Decisions are being made. That has often been the SH secret sauce. But they are not willing to be left behind in the City

SF has two perfect coaches in the wings on campus while others struggle with the transition from long time coaches. They dip into Pop Warner world and hire parents who coach those teams. Players follow. Admin on board. Millions invested in facilities. To me the Pop Warner decision and the perfect, traditional, Lancer alums coaching is their secret sauce

VC has a unique and successful financial aid program. After losing kids fleeing Covid for a couple years, they pull lots of south county talent. All these teams are huge upfront. Simple physics. 300lb will handle 180lb

Mitty has some unfortunate luck with coaching transitions and seems to be on solid ground now, except small on the lines. Skill guys are good and actually pretty young. Will they jump in the game? Clock is ticking.

Bells so far refusing to take that step. I am sure coaches are urging them to. Coach should have some clout in situation being a successful, HOF alum. Who knows?

These are business decisions made above FB coaches. Stay in the game or not. I do think it is limited to WCAL world though. Rest of CCS still succeeds with the same equation that we all grew up with. It is the size of the WCAL teams that is off the charts. You either get those guys or you don't. Admissions involved. Financial aid involved. Support by community involved. Sort of an arms race with lots of intrigue
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Great analysis! 💪
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Diaz-Infante (Bellarmine)

FBAddict
tired of this said:
Long time board reader/poster from back in the day when it all started. Many fun nights following scores and playoff predictions and opinions of many famous posters. I do have a take on the Bellarmine/WCAL situation that clarifies the uncertainty that is out there among readers. I am still deeply involved in WCAL sports and musings. The football situation is an evolution that is worthy of a 30 for 30 on ESPN or a book for that matter. For sure a YouTube podcast type video going into more depth could be warranted. It is fascinating to me. I will save the lengthy preamble for another time and cut to the chase.

Football was dying just a few years ago. Safety issues. Numbers dropping. Moms not happy at all about their boys playing. It might have been a smart bet to not try and build a program up when this barbaric sport might not even be around after one more CTE lawsuit. But the sport has rebounded. Equipment safer. Coaches adopting new practice and teaching styles. It seems to be thriving now. So as it turns out, making the traditional investment in football success to drive school success was a pretty good bet.

Patrick Walsh was building a program at Serra. Doing amazing things. He brilliantly courted the Polynesian community. Played the long game. Obviously it was an amazing success. Patrick deserves all the credit...but part of his vision was having a school buy in and support him via admissions and financial aid. Again...smashing success. 25% of Serra's student body plays FB. Do the math. That is 6 or 7 FB guys in every class taught on campus. Staggering.

Tuition high...close to $30,000 at these schools. Bodies are needed to fill schools. Not the chummy, friendly, united WCAL anymore. Schools fighting for survival. Business decisions in the upper echelons are made....get in or not.

Si builds a junior high school and students matriculate to SI. Affordable options exist due to commitment from admin wing. They break the long standing teacher/coach model and bring in a guy with Mater Dei and USC experience. They are in it for the long run.

Riordan hires a well known coach and takes close to 20 transfers and does the same in basketball. Need to find a way to stay solvent. They go coed. Boarding options. Can they keep it up? I hear of rumblings

SH dips into East Bay. They are young and talented. 20 soph on varsity and 20 more on JV. Decisions are being made. That has often been the SH secret sauce. But they are not willing to be left behind in the City

SF has two perfect coaches in the wings on campus while others struggle with the transition from long time coaches. They dip into Pop Warner world and hire parents who coach those teams. Players follow. Admin on board. Millions invested in facilities. To me the Pop Warner decision and the perfect, traditional, Lancer alums coaching is their secret sauce

VC has a unique and successful financial aid program. After losing kids fleeing Covid for a couple years, they pull lots of south county talent. All these teams are huge upfront. Simple physics. 300lb will handle 180lb

Mitty has some unfortunate luck with coaching transitions and seems to be on solid ground now, except small on the lines. Skill guys are good and actually pretty young. Will they jump in the game? Clock is ticking.

Bells so far refusing to take that step. I am sure coaches are urging them to. Coach should have some clout in situation being a successful, HOF alum. Who knows?

These are business decisions made above FB coaches. Stay in the game or not. I do think it is limited to WCAL world though. Rest of CCS still succeeds with the same equation that we all grew up with. It is the size of the WCAL teams that is off the charts. You either get those guys or you don't. Admissions involved. Financial aid involved. Support by community involved. Sort of an arms race with lots of intrigue
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That's a really nice run down - thanks for the excellent take!
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Diaz-Infante (Bellarmine)

T
Long time board reader/poster from back in the day when it all started. Many fun nights following scores and playoff predictions and opinions of many famous posters. I do have a take on the Bellarmine/WCAL situation that clarifies the uncertainty that is out there among readers. I am still deeply involved in WCAL sports and musings. The football situation is an evolution that is worthy of a 30 for 30 on ESPN or a book for that matter. For sure a YouTube podcast type video going into more depth could be warranted. It is fascinating to me. I will save the lengthy preamble for another time and cut to the chase.

Football was dying just a few years ago. Safety issues. Numbers dropping. Moms not happy at all about their boys playing. It might have been a smart bet to not try and build a program up when this barbaric sport might not even be around after one more CTE lawsuit. But the sport has rebounded. Equipment safer. Coaches adopting new practice and teaching styles. It seems to be thriving now. So as it turns out, making the traditional investment in football success to drive school success was a pretty good bet.

Patrick Walsh was building a program at Serra. Doing amazing things. He brilliantly courted the Polynesian community. Played the long game. Obviously it was an amazing success. Patrick deserves all the credit...but part of his vision was having a school buy in and support him via admissions and financial aid. Again...smashing success. 25% of Serra's student body plays FB. Do the math. That is 6 or 7 FB guys in every class taught on campus. Staggering.

Tuition high...close to $30,000 at these schools. Bodies are needed to fill schools. Not the chummy, friendly, united WCAL anymore. Schools fighting for survival. Business decisions in the upper echelons are made....get in or not.

Si builds a junior high school and students matriculate to SI. Affordable options exist due to commitment from admin wing. They break the long standing teacher/coach model and bring in a guy with Mater Dei and USC experience. They are in it for the long run.

Riordan hires a well known coach and takes close to 20 transfers and does the same in basketball. Need to find a way to stay solvent. They go coed. Boarding options. Can they keep it up? I hear of rumblings

SH dips into East Bay. They are young and talented. 20 soph on varsity and 20 more on JV. Decisions are being made. That has often been the SH secret sauce. But they are not willing to be left behind in the City

SF has two perfect coaches in the wings on campus while others struggle with the transition from long time coaches. They dip into Pop Warner world and hire parents who coach those teams. Players follow. Admin on board. Millions invested in facilities. To me the Pop Warner decision and the perfect, traditional, Lancer alums coaching is their secret sauce

VC has a unique and successful financial aid program. After losing kids fleeing Covid for a couple years, they pull lots of south county talent. All these teams are huge upfront. Simple physics. 300lb will handle 180lb

Mitty has some unfortunate luck with coaching transitions and seems to be on solid ground now, except small on the lines. Skill guys are good and actually pretty young. Will they jump in the game? Clock is ticking.

Bells so far refusing to take that step. I am sure coaches are urging them to. Coach should have some clout in situation being a successful, HOF alum. Who knows?

These are business decisions made above FB coaches. Stay in the game or not. I do think it is limited to WCAL world though. Rest of CCS still succeeds with the same equation that we all grew up with. It is the size of the WCAL teams that is off the charts. You either get those guys or you don't. Admissions involved. Financial aid involved. Support by community involved. Sort of an arms race with lots of intrigue
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Week 11 Scores

L
Sacchiefs said:
Oak Ridge open the 2nd half by adding 7 points, extending their lead to 17-0. Rocklin responds with a long pass, followed by a short pass for 6. Extra point no good. 17-6 Oak Ridge start of the 4th coming

Elk Grove and MT tied at 14 in the 4th
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Pretty disappointed by Rocklin last night. They were a mess in that rain and didn't come to play. OR basically battled the elements better and defensively made the right adj. OR is playing very well and I think they will end up playing Folsom in D1 section champ again....
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Diaz-Infante (Bellarmine)

kiddman32
LWinslow1973 said:
Interesting take on the topic. Do coaches not have the responsibility of being part of the process by which talent comes to the school. I do not know enough about Diaz-Infante's coaching ability to judge his X's and O's but the talent drain is at least a small part his responsibility.
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Maybe... But if a coach was replaced because "he doesn't get enough talent", it would raise a BIG red flag, even at a private school.
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WCAL Week Six

A
One hallmark trait for St. Francis is their ability to get better thru the season. It's been happening for decades, I remember when they started 0-6 and ended up winning CCS over Oak Grove, who at the time was ranked in the top 25 USA HS Football National Polls.

This team continues to fine tune their run-game week after week. Now their QB Knapp has developed some chemistry with his receivers, opponents can't sleep on their passing game either. I feel confident about winning out thru the rest of WCAL. Riordan likes to pay "too finesse" and is going to get thwarted by SF's direct physical game.
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Salinas vs Soquel at "The Pit"

N
Cal 14 said:
Well, that is one thing...

If the winner gets the 5 seed and the loser gets the 7, you can then look at the potential playoff opponents. St. Ignatius at #2 for the #7 seed and probably Serra at #4 for the #5 seed. Frankly, I think I might want to take my chances against St. Iggy more than Serra. 😬

Sometimes you can win by losing and lose
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Neither St IG or St Francis are as good as Serra or St Francis last season but both will be really tough matchups. Soquel or Salinas will have a shot unlike last season.
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Salinas vs Soquel at "The Pit"

N
I thought Soquel would be able to score. Salinas defensive line is its weakness and to stop the run they have to stack the box. Salinas played straight up and Soquel ran and when the adjusted Soquel would throw it. Soquel stuck to ball control. There were times Salinas defense looked good but broke down on big plays and they never could get their offense on track consistently until second half and penalties disrupted drives. Soquel defense came up huge. Limited Salinas passing game. Salinas looked like they had a good shot to get back into the game with blocked punt to start second half and next series but Soquel defense shut them down. The Soquel defensive stand with the interception in the end zone and scoring drive and it was over. Seems it could have been a closer game but snowballed and Salinas couldn’t get into the end zone. Defensive masterpiece by Soquel. Whalen has been on the radar since the bowls last season. He was little undersized but looks like he grew and does make all the throws and good decisions. He’s a junior so has lots of more upside. Really good player as are a few others on their team. They pretty much shut down turner and covered everyone.
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Salinas vs Soquel at "The Pit"

Cal 14
thehookup55 said:
If Salinas plays like they did last night in the Open/DI, it won't matter who their opponent is. They were flat and outmatched.

Props to Soquel. Salinas only scored on a drive extended by multiple penalties and at the end of the game against the backups. 2 huge goal line stands. They held Turner in check all night. Salinas needed to go to him way more to keep that game close. They disrupted the quick bubble screens. It was a great gameplan by Soquel. As I said earlier, it was chess vs checkers all game. Whelan is a stud. He can make all the throws, extends plays, throws on the run, etc. This kid should start to get some looks this offseason.
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Soquel's offensive line did a great job, gave Whelan a ton of time. They're playing really disciplined ball and should scare the WCAL elite in the playoffs.
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Diaz-Infante (Bellarmine)

C
Yes. It's a question of trustee/administrative priority. If football is seen as an important part of a school's big picture, then hiring a high-quality head coach is a given. If not, well, you can see the results right out there in the public domain. One key note about Bellarmine, however: Enrollment there does not appear to be affected by the drastic decline in the football program's fortunes. As for Bellarmine's endowment portfolio (alumni and others donating to the school), that is unclear.
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WCAL Week Six

C
FBAddict said:
I was going to do another round of WCAL rankings according to my view but I decided to wait until after the Serra @ Riordan game this afternoon. This game has more intrigue than I first gave thought to. At face value, these teams look pretty evenly matched. Both are 3/2 in league and 4/4 for the season thus far.

Riordan appears to have more D1 horsepower than Serra. However, the Crusaders have not been able to maximize on that benefit. Serra does have a better pre-league schedule with a now puzzling win over SJS frontrunner Folsom. Additionally they took on other state top ranked DLS and SJB teams. On their schedule, they have these state ranked teams according to CalHiSports; 3) SJB, 5) DLS, 10) Folsom, 18) SF, and 27) SI. Serra, themselves are ranked #28 by CalHiSports. They have a 1-4 record with these teams.

In comparison, Riordan fell out the CalHiSports top 50 state rankings mid-October after their loss to VC. They obviously do have the same league mates. Overall their play to date include 11) Pittsburg, and 27) SI. They are 0-2 with those ranked teams. AR still have 18) SF and today's game with 28) Serra. So far, they do not have a quality win in their pocket. Today might change that factor.

Overall, Serra should win this game handedly. As being a part of NorCalPreps Pick'em game this week, 28 contestants gave their confidence ranking for this game. 25 contestants picked Serra to win with an average confidence rating of 5.28 out of 10. 3 contestants choose Riordan to win with an average confidence rating of 3.33 out of 10. By this game factor, most contestants believe Serra will win but not with high level of confidence.

I chose Serra to win but I also observed that Serra is statistically lagging recently while Riordan appears to plateaued and possibly ready to rise again. Riordan has the firepower but Serra has that better coaching staff. Should be a good game.
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Should be a good one. Serra looking to continue their dominance over Riordan, while the Crusaders want to get some validation with a quality win over the Padres. It's Alumni Day @ Riordan so they're expecting a big crowd. The game is also being live streamed on BAOSN.tv. - no paywall, and archived & available for later viewing.
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WCAL Week Six

FBAddict
I was going to do another round of WCAL rankings according to my view but I decided to wait until after the Serra @ Riordan game this afternoon. This game has more intrigue than I first gave thought to. At face value, these teams look pretty evenly matched. Both are 3/2 in league and 4/4 for the season thus far.

Riordan appears to have more D1 horsepower than Serra. However, the Crusaders have not been able to maximize on that benefit. Serra does have a better pre-league schedule with a now puzzling win over SJS frontrunner Folsom. Additionally they took on other state top ranked DLS and SJB teams. On their schedule, they have these state ranked teams according to CalHiSports; 3) SJB, 5) DLS, 10) Folsom, 18) SF, and 27) SI. Serra, themselves are ranked #28 by CalHiSports. They have a 1-4 record with these teams.

In comparison, Riordan fell out the CalHiSports top 50 state rankings mid-October after their loss to VC. They obviously do have the same league mates. Overall their play to date include 11) Pittsburg, and 27) SI. They are 0-2 with those ranked teams. AR still have 18) SF and today's game with 28) Serra. So far, they do not have a quality win in their pocket. Today might change that factor.

Overall, Serra should win this game handedly. As being a part of NorCalPreps Pick'em game this week, 28 contestants gave their confidence ranking for this game. 25 contestants picked Serra to win with an average confidence rating of 5.28 out of 10. 3 contestants choose Riordan to win with an average confidence rating of 3.33 out of 10. By this game factor, most contestants believe Serra will win but not with high level of confidence.

I chose Serra to win but I also observed that Serra is statistically lagging recently while Riordan appears to plateaued and possibly ready to rise again. Riordan has the firepower but Serra has that better coaching staff. Should be a good game.
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Diaz-Infante (Bellarmine)

N
JustAFan00 said:
Bellarmine has tremendous facilties, resources, and on the train line. No they dont need to leave the WCAL! School has probably top 3 richest endowments in HS for all of NorCal. They can field a powerhouse! Maybe they need to recruit a coach outside of the Bells frat house. I am sure Serra or De La Salle top assistant or pluck a coordinator from one of the SoCal powers (Trinity League) could fix the program quickly.
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SI went out of their alumni frat house and hired a complete outsider. Look at how thats worked out.
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Salinas vs Soquel at "The Pit"

T
Cal 14 said:
Well, that is one thing...

If the winner gets the 5 seed and the loser gets the 7, you can then look at the potential playoff opponents. St. Ignatius at #2 for the #7 seed and probably Serra at #4 for the #5 seed. Frankly, I think I might want to take my chances against St. Iggy more than Serra. 😬

Sometimes you can win by losing and lose by winning.
Click to expand...
If Salinas plays like they did last night in the Open/DI, it won't matter who their opponent is. They were flat and outmatched.

Props to Soquel. Salinas only scored on a drive extended by multiple penalties and at the end of the game against the backups. 2 huge goal line stands. They held Turner in check all night. Salinas needed to go to him way more to keep that game close. They disrupted the quick bubble screens. It was a great gameplan by Soquel. As I said earlier, it was chess vs checkers all game. Whelan is a stud. He can make all the throws, extends plays, throws on the run, etc. This kid should start to get some looks this offseason.
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Week 11 Scores

MTsince2004
Yes, people debate the #1 vs #2 spot way too much. Of course, there is some prestige to being #1, but the only advantage is getting to choose the jersey color for the championship game.

There is a difference in #3 vs #4. To my mind, the #4 spot might be the 2nd worst on the board. It gets a bye week to get cold (I don't like the bye), then gets a game against a closely-rated team who has probably just gotten in a really good workout against a competent but not truly dangerous team. If the #4 seed wins that match-up, it's straight to the Lion's Den to meet #1, followed by a likely match-up with either #2 or #3.

The worst spot is #8. The first round is against a similar opponent, then it is straight to the meat grinder.

#5, #6, and #7 probably have better match-ups and get to keep that playoff focus throughout the run.

#9-#12 get to play the underdog where winning just the opening round game is an acknowledged accomplishment.

Just my opinion. All of that is predicated on the assumption that the playoff committee has seeded the tournament competently and the teams are ordered accurately. Sometimes, there are advantageous match-ups to be had in terms of playing style or familiarity that make the actual seeding number irrelevant. No matter where a team sits, they have to play their best game and beat the opponent in front of them, so good luck to all!.
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