ChewpaMiverga said:

The teams which would give the south (MD, Bosco or Centennial; don’t sleep on the Huskies) just based on the way their offenses are structured as De La Salle and MAYBE St. Francis. Why do I say this? Well, talent aside both utilize offenses that go right at you and rarely lose yards.

When you stop De La Salle, it’s usually for a 1 yard gain and a loss of about 30 seconds. Same can kind of be said for St. Francis.

Serra, Folsom, SRV, Pitt and SI (doesn’t even sound right mentioning them in this conversation to be honest) do not have the patience to consistently try to go right at you and wear you down. They all eventually try to get cute and those 1 yard gains by DLS and SF turn into sacks, interceptions, or 5+ yard losses.

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I would mention Folsom over St Francis. I'm not really sold on them. I think to beat some of those teams down south you need to be able to run and pass AND be able to stop the run and pass given they tend to be strong in both. I think that will be the downfall of DLS in that game (could be wrong). I think Pitt actually would match up the best in NorCal, then DLS and Folsom at a further 3rd. Not sure anyone else in NorCal could be mentioned when talking about competing with the top SS teams.

larry legend33 said:

REMC,
Yes I think demographics have changed that much and the risk/fear of concussions has hurt football at the youth/hs age group over the past decade. I think long term you will see super leagues and more teams dropping football. Or the rules will drastically be different and its less "physical" which is already happening. Quite frankly there are a number of schools that should drop football as it stands. Sad indeed but that's the reality.

The east bay "whites" and "blacks" have moved up to Folsom, Elk Grove, Sacramento, El Dorado hills over the past 10-15 years. The new east bay is Indian and Chinese. They don't play football.

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In tri valley and surround areas the demographics are changing racially and from a middle and upper middle class to upper class area socioeconomically.

As for BVAL not long ago every single team has been good. I’m not sure what’s happened. The schools are as large as ever enrollment wise, people are still flocking from the inner Bay Area to that area too. On paper pretty much every school should be able to put out a competitive football program, CalPreps ranking 0 or higher, but it’s not happening right now. It’s Pitt, big drop off, Liberty is still good, another drop off Heritage and Antioch are ok but up and down, Freedom is baffling and Deer Valley has been bad for awhile now.

Not super close to private schools either, DLS takes kids but is a commute, Berean Christian same, and all there is, is tiny Cornerstone Christian in Antioch.

larry legend33 said:

Congrats to Folsom 6'6 wing Chase Rawlings for his recent commitment to Davis. Good local pickup for a kid who has a great feel for the game and is still growing.

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Committed as pwo btw.

7-1 capuchino 6-2 Menlo Atherton 7-2 Jefferson 6-2 mount diablo 7-3 bishop monague

Are the record of the five qb

Idk if that would translate at serra there all at different schools and leagues, playing different level of competition

remc said:

I think that’s the elephant in the room; the huge drop off in football quality amongst D1 schools in the BVAL and the EBAL. The Monte Vista’s, the Foothills, The Freedom’s, the occasional Libery’s and Antioch’s. The Clayton Valley’s which should have played in D1 most years. When those schools were relevant, and they were fairly recently, there was zero talk of MC and CN being considered for The Open /D1 playoffs. Those of us who love HS football need to take a closer look at why so many decent football schools have fallen by the wayside. Monte Vista was a prominent football school for decades. Cal High has been very relevant before. Have demographics changed that much?

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REMC,
Yes I think demographics have changed that much and the risk/fear of concussions has hurt football at the youth/hs age group over the past decade. I think long term you will see super leagues and more teams dropping football. Or the rules will drastically be different and its less "physical" which is already happening. Quite frankly there are a number of schools that should drop football as it stands. Sad indeed but that's the reality.

The east bay "whites" and "blacks" have moved up to Folsom, Elk Grove, Sacramento, El Dorado hills over the past 10-15 years. The new east bay is Indian and Chinese. They don't play football.

FBAddict said:

And don't forget Mike Machado at Valley Christian, currently with 232 wins - 26 years including covid year.

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He's two-three seasons away from #2 or 3 on the list. I can't believe I forgot him. I had a great experience watching a game with my son sitting next to Mike Singletary who was watching his son play. Very nice man. My son who was 5 or 6 at the time was writing stories on his note pad and Mike got a kick out of disinterest in the game. My son not a football fan (yes that kills me) ended up playing Lacrosse and basketball but the writing and books helped him later with his academics as he is currently in his last year of med school. Have attended quite a few games at the hill top stadium. Great view of the lights of San Jose at night.

I see a 12-12 tie in the GOTW poll. Who gets the nod?

FBIQ said:

High School football in the USA is really struggling if Bosco was ranked #2 in the country!

Are fewer kids playing football these days?

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they all play for MD

I don't follow the club circuit really, so I don't know where Stan Delus coaches. I know that he's gotten transfers and move-ins at Etiwanda, and that's pretty much the way you have to go to be a nationally ranked team. That said, I know little or nothing about the exact situation at Etiwanda.

But the bottom line is local talent. For any school to be at the national level, there must be a pool of P4 talent that can be tapped, plus at least one elite player. Transfers from distant areas and move-ins can fill out a couple missing pieces, like free agents in the NBA or NFL, but the bulk of the talent must be (somewhat) local.

The Bay Area has been in a down cycle, talent-wise, in recent years, compared to other areas of the country, but that's the nature of the beast. After doing the national rankings for so long, I saw how the powers shifted from area to area, state to state, irrespective of coaching or tradition, and regional dominance was almost completely dependent on the random appearance of a lot of girls who were very, very good players.

High School football in the USA is really struggling if Bosco was ranked #2 in the country!

Are fewer kids playing football these days?

colhenrylives said:

This might be some sort of record. Five former Serra quarterbacks are starting for other schools in 2024. Those schools are: Capuchino, Menlo-Atherton, Jefferson, Mount Diablo and Bishop Manogue (Reno). All five left the San Mateo school for different reasons. All five are directing teams with winning records as playoffs loom. The end result on West 20th Avenue: A distinct lack of experienced QBs throughout the program which currently embraces about 230 boys.

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What were the different reasons?

Cal 14 said:

I agree. The NCS is not particularly deep this year. Yes, quality at the top, but amongst large schools, there's a big drop after DLS and Pitt (yes, I include SRV in that drop off). But that said, seeds 7 and 8 have pretty much always been fodder for the higher seeds in the NCS D-1 bracket. I don't see how both CN and MC are not among the top 8 in the section.

Right now, San Marin is rated #8 in the section by Calpreps. I would not like to see them in D-1/Open. The "for the good of the bracket" rule should be used there and move them to D-2 (sorry Liberty).

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I think that’s the elephant in the room; the huge drop off in football quality amongst D1 schools in the BVAL and the EBAL. The Monte Vista’s, the Foothills, The Freedom’s, the occasional Libery’s and Antioch’s. The Clayton Valley’s which should have played in D1 most years. When those schools were relevant, and they were fairly recently, there was zero talk of MC and CN being considered for The Open /D1 playoffs. Those of us who love HS football need to take a closer look at why so many decent football schools have fallen by the wayside. Monte Vista was a prominent football school for decades. Cal High has been very relevant before. Have demographics changed that much?

ClayK said:

I hesitate to get drawn into this conversation, but I will say this: To compete in the EYBL, any club must draw talent from a wide area, much wider than Carondelet's potential attendance area, or the East Bay, or the Bay Area, or Northern California. So the connection between club success at the national EYBL level and high school success in a limited area aren't necessarily correlated.

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Those points are valid. I, personally thought that when he took over (and think you alluded to it as well) it was going to be the second coming of Tom G, winning multiple state and national championships. He seemed to have "more success" at Miramonte than he's had (although he's done a good job) at Carondelet. I agree, club success and HS success are not exclusive...unless you are in a BIG, densely populated area.

The one I'm thinking of is Etiwanda...isn't he a HS and club coach at a more popular travel ball club? Much appreciate your dialogue...

The Heat Miser said:

Should be a good one! OR no doubt will be fired up for this one. OR seems to be clicking these past weeks on both sides of the ball. I’m curious to see how Rocklin will respond to a team that is pretty evenly matched with them. Rocklin can get sloppy at times and in a game like this that can be the difference.

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This will be a great one and both teams are playing well. I believe OR has won 5 out of 6 and played Folsom fairly well for 1/2.
I'm going to go with Rocklin again in a grind out game 21-14. Here is why.... Rain and wind forecasted friday/night and Rocklin's line is good and will be able to drive on OR. If it was dry out and better weather I would give a little edge to OR but I think weather impacts this game and OR will have a hard time throwing.

The 2 biggest games in Norcal are Marin Catholic Vs Newman and Rocklin vs OR. Both games I think will be decided by 7 points or less.

Should be a good one! OR no doubt will be fired up for this one. OR seems to be clicking these past weeks on both sides of the ball. I’m curious to see how Rocklin will respond to a team that is pretty evenly matched with them. Rocklin can get sloppy at times and in a game like this that can be the difference.

Streak One said:

We have a realy good schedule for this week. Picks are due at 7:00 PM on Friday.

Soquel at Salinas
St. Francis at Valley Christian
Serra at Riordan
Corning at Orland
Monterey Trail at Elk Grove
Sutter at Casa Roble
Oakmont at Wheatland
Oak Ridge at Rocklin
Cardinal Newman at Marin Catholic
Casa Grande at American Canyon

Game of the Week Poll - https://norcalpreps.forums.rivals.com/threads/week-11-game-of-the-week-poll.30887/

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10. Monterey Trail
9. Sutter
8. St. Francis
7. Rocklin
6. Salinas (28-21)
5. Orland
4. Cardinal Newman
3. Serra
2. Casa Grande
1. Wheatland

Rocknrolus 95361 said:

It was a viral hit awhile back. I was impressed with Downey passing game. East Union and Patterson Qb both impressed me too. All different. EU cannon arm. Patterson QB elusive being on the run still completed 72% of his passes. All different style of play. I love high school football!

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Of course the level of play is lower, but as a sports fan it is why I find HS sports so interesting. There are so many different ways to have success.

Madison Eadie, '25 F, Sacred Heart Cathedral/Team Norcal, committed to Cal Poly Pomona.

Twins Nani & Kiana Tuigamala '25 C/F, Priory/Team Norcal, both offered by Dominican University

I hesitate to get drawn into this conversation, but I will say this: To compete in the EYBL, any club must draw talent from a wide area, much wider than Carondelet's potential attendance area, or the East Bay, or the Bay Area, or Northern California. So the connection between club success at the national EYBL level and high school success in a limited area aren't necessarily correlated.

carlmerritt said:

I loved it!

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It was a viral hit awhile back. I was impressed with Downey passing game. East Union and Patterson Qb both impressed me too. All different. EU cannon arm. Patterson QB elusive being on the run still completed 72% of his passes. All different style of play. I love high school football!

10. Sutter 28, Casa Roble 17.
9. Rocklin 35, Oak Ridge 24.
8. Cardinal Newman 28, Marin Catholic 14.
7. Serra 28, Riordan 17.
6. Monterey Trail 35, Elk Grove 27.
5. St. Francis 24, Valley Christian 14.
4. American Canyon 30, Casa Grande 28.
3. Orland 22, Corning 21.
2. Soquel 28, Salinas 24.
1. Oakmont 20, Wheatland 17.

Extra credit 🤣: Downey-Modesto 49, Gregori-Modesto 7.

I loved it!

The teams which would give the south (MD, Bosco or Centennial; don’t sleep on the Huskies) just based on the way their offenses are structured as De La Salle and MAYBE St. Francis. Why do I say this? Well, talent aside both utilize offenses that go right at you and rarely lose yards.

When you stop De La Salle, it’s usually for a 1 yard gain and a loss of about 30 seconds. Same can kind of be said for St. Francis.

Serra, Folsom, SRV, Pitt and SI (doesn’t even sound right mentioning them in this conversation to be honest) do not have the patience to consistently try to go right at you and wear you down. They all eventually try to get cute and those 1 yard gains by DLS and SF turn into sacks, interceptions, or 5+ yard losses.