Here's my WCAL Week 3 Rankings

1. SI
2. Serra
3. Riordan
4. St. Francis
5. Valley Christian
6. Mitty
7. SHC
8. Bellarmine

Bellarmine not being a better team at this junction after hiring a HC with an NFL background is alarming. I'm wondering if he's able to relate to his team.

cityfan said:

The possible rematches in the CCS playoffs with SI vs Serra and/or Riordan will be interesting...

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I want to see a rematch of SI against SRV.

The tough thing is for whoever comes out of the Redwood league, the top NCS teams appear to be stacked:

DLS, while “not having one of their better seasons”, is currently 5-0 and the top rated team in NorCal, with wins over Serra, SF, SMS, Grant & EC. And they are DLS.

Pitt is 4-1, and had a very impressive showing at Bosco, and double digit wins against upper tier CCS teams Riordan & Los Gatos.

SRV is 6-0 once again this season, with impressive wins over the top WCAL team SI 27-10, a solid Soquel squad, and big wins over perennially tough programs Mack & CVC. They came within a missed FG of beating DLS last year, and are primed to give them a tough matchup again this season.

colhenrylives said:

The SHC football program has its hands tied for a variety of very tough reasons. By all rights, it should not compete in the WCAL. For many years, it didn't. Now, it's stuck. With both San Francisco rivals, Riordan and SI, (and Serra to the south already a WCAL big boy program), upgrading their football programs, SHC is caught in a vise as the odd man out. Frankly, it's not at all clear The Irish can ever break free and become an annual factor in the WCAL. They are really up against it. They have chronically low numbers, a lack of overall talent, too many coaching changes over time, minimal facilities, no frosh team and no history of WCAL success, having never won a league varsity football title. You might say SHC, with its inner city campus not all that far from the Tenderloin, is simply not a football school. Normally, that would be fine. Nothing wrong with that. But SHC, which hesitated to join SI in the new WCAL back in the late 1970s and then had to relent, is stuck in the WCAL, one of the top leagues in NorCal. The football competition is unrelenting. In a perfect world, The Irish would compete in the expanded PAL. But such an option, considered years ago and discarded, seems to be DOA. SHC's football future appears to be grim. That's not news. But it is depressing, for SHC and, frankly, for the WCAL. It's not good, no matter how you look at it. Saturday, Serra barely showed up, committing mistake after mistake and performing as badly as any Walsh-coached team ever has in his 24 seasons at the school. SHC, credit to them, hung in there but simply got overwhelmed in the end by Serra's depth, speed, overall size in both lines and an occasional big play. The final score was 29-12, pretty respectable really. But the difference in the two programs was so stark it was painful to watch, even as Serra (which did showcase its impressive transfer kicker from Stuart Hall) continued to self-destruct for most of the day. Oh, the JV score was Serra (with 60 sophs on the roster) 33, SHC 6. More bad news. It was a long, hot day on West 20th Avenue.

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Very precise write up. Couldnt have written it any better. SH is not a football school. An awesome "successful" football year would be .500 and a trip to CCS D3. But most years 2-8 or 3-7 sounds about right.

There has been however more consistency in their coaching staffs than your suggestion of alot of coaching turnover. Since McLaughlin, its been pretty much the same staff and there are talented kids that come and play for them. Its not enough of course compared to the big dogs of the league. There is no stink there that causes players to leave or not want to go there. Thats when you know its bad.

Still proud and support SH no matter what. Fun little school that sometimes wins a trophy here and there.

By the same token, should Windsor beat CN, and run the table in the rough Redwood Empire Adobe league, they’d have to be an Open lock as well.

Right now, both are 5-0, as is San Marin. Vintage & Rancho are 4-1, with the always tough MC Wildcats at 3-2.

Relly900 said:

They put themselves in a better spot

But there not the favorites they came from behind late in both games

They could be had by a mitty or vchs

There not serra where they were dominant the previous 3 years, they just outlast teams.

That a recipe to get beat possibly if u get down to far of a rabbit hole by a team


But so far they did what they needed to do

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The possible rematches in the CCS playoffs with SI vs Serra and/or Riordan will be interesting...

Niklas227 said:

The entire WCAL story the pundits and reporters tried to spin prior to the season all thru the pre-season was a nice story.

St. Ignatius is winning the WCAL this year.

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They put themselves in a better spot

But there not the favorites they came from behind late in both games

They could be had by a mitty or vchs

There not serra where they were dominant the previous 3 years, they just outlast teams.

That a recipe to get beat possibly if u get down to far of a rabbit hole by a team


But so far they did what they needed to do

Probably the Biggest game in Norcal this week is Windsor Vs Newman. Both are 5-0 and have built a big rivarly over the years.
Windsor comes into this season having lost a few really good players but still has Anderson a couple other studs so I never count them out. Haven't played a very good preseason so this will be there first test. Newman looks to have one of their better teams since the Cronin era ended. On film they are the favorites right now but its been a few years since Newman has beaten Windsor so expect a very good matchup. If newman can establish some variation to the run game and get the young QB some completions, I think they control the game and the outcome. Their line can compete at the D1 level. Newman wins and they are almost a lock for Open NCS.

larry legend33 said:

Like I said.... The OR Transfer from Folsom played in the game against Granite Bay and frankly was the difference. (Phoenix Hester)
So all you experts really don't know your arse from a hole in the ground. The standards are there but exceptions are the norm. Look at Washawn Parker last year.

The games...
OR 30 and GB 17. This was a good game and a must win for OR. Hester was key for OR. The senior is elusive and able to run. I thought GB would win a tight one but OR got out to 13-0 lead early which was difference.

Whitney over DO 21-20. Pretty much how I thought it would play out. 2 bad teams.

Rocklin comes back from Folsom loss and spanks Jesuit 52-14.


This week (10-4)

Folsom Travels to Oak Ridge. Folsom is fully loaded now with all transfers. This game will be close for about 1.5 QTRs and then I think Folsom blows it open. I could see a 52-17 type game. Look for OR to be much improved next year with a very good frosh/soph/jr class. Rumor has it a QB will be coming over from Folsom also.

Jesuit vs Davis. Jesuit gets first win in SFL with an easy victory over Davis. 42-7

DO vs GB - Golden eagles lose another game in a blowout too GB. 35-7

Rocklin vs Whitney- All thunder in this one. 49-14.

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Another week in the books for the SFL and no surprises.

I was out at OR vs Folsom and OR hung around for a little over 1/2. It was 14-7 at Halftime and things looked interesting. But I got the feeling Folsom was sort of going thru the motions and was never really going to be challenged. Final score was 35-7.
#71 Sharma for Folsom is probably the most dominant DL I've seen around here. He's certainly in the top 3. He was throwing kids around like ragdolls and its no wonder Texas wanted him. At his size 6"5 330 I could see him playing at UT as a Fresh. He's that good.

I also understand why Davis wanted no part of Folsom. They lost to Jesuit 53-0 and buddy of mind said it could have been 80-0 if they wanted too. Davis needs get out of this league and in all honesty think of playing flag football because they aren't competitive period.

Rocklin crushed Whitney 42-0. No surprise.

Granite Bay won a close game 24-17 against DO. This was tighter than I thought.

This week the best game will be Jesuit vs OR at Oak Ridge. Its a must win for OR who is at 2-4 and needs a couple more W's to be playoff eligible. I think OR has a little too much in terms of overall skill and they win 21-10.

Last game of seaon in SFL is Rocklin Vs OR which will likely be for 2nd place.

Truthhertz said:

Oh so my opinion hurt your feelwings? I don’t care.

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There's absolutely NOTHING anyone can do to hurt my feelings big fella. Especially on nor cal preps

Irish_Cheers said:

I don't know their status. Even the announcers on the live stream mentioned him. They also said there was only one Senior starting on the offensive and defensive lines. They really need more depth.

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How many are on the Irish ☘️ roster? Way to keep the game competitive for the most part yesterday.

ThunderRam said:

Great point, as I didn’t give SDST enough credit as a basketball program. Gonzaga and SDST would be the cream of the crop most seasons, and have had the most success. But no other program is really all that scary, especially if the Hornets basketball program is able to draw better talent in that conference and playing in a worthwhile facility. I believe they can compete with all the other schools.

Football wise, they’ll also be able to compete with the added scholarships and better talent, but Boise would likely be the program to beat most years. Especially early on.

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Yup.

There’s no real reason Sac St couldn’t compete and be set up for success quickly if they moved up to a larger conference (with increased spending). While there’s money in place/arranged for new and upgraded facilities (as well as Sac-12 and their collective for players), an issue remaining and that doesn’t have an immediate answer, is athletic dept budget and funding. Sac St has ALOT of teams, more than a lot of other DI schools, and all of these sports dealt with tightened budgets this past year. So adding facilities and increasing recruiting abilities are great - but with new NCCA increases in scholarship limits; they’ll need to solve some of these issues to truly compete. I’m not clear if any of the Sac12 money can be used directly towards scholarships and AD budgets, or if it’s merely tied NIL

mrbig864 said:

“World Beaters”? No. But San Diego St has built a pretty decent hoops program.

I’d love to see Sac St join this conference!

Don’t forget, Hornets beat CSU by 4 TDS a few years back. StingersUp

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Great point, as I didn’t give SDST enough credit as a basketball program. Gonzaga and SDST would be the cream of the crop most seasons, and have had the most success. But no other program is really all that scary, especially if the Hornets basketball program is able to draw better talent in that conference and playing in a worthwhile facility. I believe they can compete with all the other schools.

Football wise, they’ll also be able to compete with the added scholarships and better talent, but Boise would likely be the program to beat most years. Especially early on.

ankleassassin said:

you are tired. ok. we all must not have feelings cuz you are tired. aye dios mijo

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Oh so my opinion hurt your feelwings? I don’t care.

Scott2138 said:

I agree...SI looks magical this year....

Does anyone know what is the status of Flanigan at SHC, he has been out for three games???
Also where has #99 been? They have a small roster this year on Varsity.

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Flanigan has been injured the past 3 games which has led to some offensive inefficiencies. Irish played with a whole lot better effort today with 2 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries and a recovered onside kick. Bad news is they lost key lineman Tristan Forks to a nasty leg injury (he got rolled up from behind). They were already thin on the line so losing him doesnt help. Idk about Bellamy. I didnt see him out there today so assume hes injured as well.

Irish_Cheers said:

I never thought I'd root for SI two games in a row.

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I agree...SI looks magical this year....

Does anyone know what is the status of Flanigan at SHC, he has been out for three games???
Also where has #99 been? They have a small roster this year on Varsity.

iamgearyblvd said:

Remarkably impressive. Down 14 in the 4th to Serra and down 18 at half to Riordan and pull off both? These Wildcats are something. Heck these guys are so good, some college team is seeing this and may offer Vandemeade a lucrative deal. I hope he gets it. Im looking at you UCLA!

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That's a thought I don't want to think about. His son IS set to graduate in 2027.

Hopefully, St. Ignatius opens up the wallet to keep Vandermade from wanting to stray.

The hudl stream worked and the fanvu did not, at least not for me. I got a black screen. I would like to see Serra go back to the NFHS network and provide proper links on Twitter.

ArmchairGOAT said:

Couldn't agree with you more. Lots of football to be played, but SI is looking pretty good at this point.

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Remarkably impressive. Down 14 in the 4th to Serra and down 18 at half to Riordan and pull off both? These Wildcats are something. Heck these guys are so good, some college team is seeing this and may offer Vandemeade a lucrative deal. I hope he gets it. Im looking at you UCLA!

M.C. fan said:

He is from North Carolina. Small Forward 2028. Where did you see he was from San Francisco?

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I don't think this kid is from the area. But, in addition to Jack Loevner, 2028 Dre Carter will also be a Riordan.

I don't think this kid is from the area. In addition to Jack Loevner, 2028 Dre Carter will also be a Riordan.