1. Live Oak running back Jordan Fuentes has showed steady improvement in now being a three year varsity player. After running for 1,100 yards in 13 total games as a sophomore and junior, he has rushed for 704 yards and eight touchdowns. He went for 173 yards and four scores this past week against Oak Grove.

2. Santa Teresa is giving up 12 points per game and just six points per game in its four wins. Jeffrey Kerr has 25 tackles and a team high five sacks.

3. Live Oak's loss came against Los Gatos while Santa Teresa fell to Mitty and Pioneer-San Jose, which took its first loss last week. Steve Papin is in charge at Santa Teresa, which had their first winning season last year since 2016. However, Live Oak beat them 35-7 in 2021.

Current picture points to Serra out of San Mateo, as it strongly appears there may be not much challenge the rest of the way including playoffs for them to stumble. Or does an undefeated Salinas or Wilcox have a chance in the CCS playoffs?

Any thoughts of an undefeated Clovis West?

Or an undefeated Del Oro team upsetting Folsom in league and again in SJS-D1 section playoffs?

We will find out this Friday if undefeated St. Mary’s-Stockton is indeed over-rated when they face off against DLS at home. Win or lose they will more than likely land a top 4 seed in the SJS-D1 playoffs. But, an anticipated loss vs DLS will certainly eliminate them from consideration. In addition, the SJS-D1 section gauntlet will be a huge challenge should they enter the playoffs undefeated. I do not see much challenge remaining in league but a rivalry game vs Lincoln-Stockton, even if Lincoln is not that strong this year, could result in an unpredictable result … NOT! The streak will continue vs the Trojans of Stockton! In any case, should St. Mary’s-Stockton hypothetically go undefeated and win SJS-D1 section, I can still envision Serra representing NorCal due to true size of their respective programs and overall SOS. Yes, St. Mary’s will face a couple of strong teams in the playoffs, but outside of these teams, the Rams league is much much weaker than WCAL and the teams faced during pre-league are lesser strength (outside common opponents DLS and CC).

Any undefeated NCS teams remaining that can pose a challenge for the Open spot? Wouldn’t they need to go thru DLS during section playoffs?

Undefeated Manteca will not get a chance to be considered, unless they could be miraculously launched from D3 to D1 in the SJS playoffs. That’s not going to happen. Despite having a talented team this year, their SOS will do them in.

Any other NorCal teams in the picture? Thoughts?

There is still a lot of football left, especially with the playoffs. The picture will get clearer and clearer. But, my money is on Serra being the chosen one this year unless they shoot themselves in the foot. And if that happens, it could get quite interesting, and more chatter from Pasty will get louder and louder! 😂

In case you missed HoopFamilia's Tweet
@iluvjamari was put into a unique situation at @usabjnt camp. Due to his age, he qualified to be grouped with the 2025/2026 class (16 and under).

We're at 90 teams right now for the Dec. 28-30 event. Apply here:

A ton of size on this list.

As always much appreciated.

Surprised not to see Kaella Peters, the Palo Alto point guard, on this list. They're going to have another strong year, and she will be the catalyst.

Also Ava Uhrich is listed as a 2* player at #29. I would have her up a least a tier, probably top 10. She is ferocious.

1. The game doesn't have the same intrigue as previous years, but this is a fun rivalry constest. Chico has lost to undefeated teams Sutter and West Park in addition to Whitney and Yuba City, Pleasant Valley has lost to Oak Ridge, Rancho Cotate and Enterprise for three straight losses. The Vikings did beat Yuba City 31-15.

2. According to Scorebook Live, Chico RB Dion Coleman missed almost all of last season due to injury and is working towrad being fully available this week.

3. Pleasant Valley boasts its own back to watch in Matthew Kinoshita. Two weeks ago in a loss to Rancho Cotate, he had 20 carries for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Can he lead the Vikings to a fifth straight win over Chico?

1. Hughson sophomore QB Robert McDaniel is completing 63 percent of his passes with 18 touchdowns against two interceptions. Junior WR Larkin Meyer leads the team with 488 yards and 10 touchdowns.

2. Himar, which has won three in a row, is averaging 250 rushing yards per game, is led by Luis Vargas. The senior has 874 yards and eight touchdowns

3. Both teams own league wins over Escalon and Livingston. Hughson's loss came to undefeated Summerville. Hilmar has lost one possession games to one loss teams Patterson, Sonora and Palma.

Here are the games for this week. Game of the week is Vacaville-Vanden. Picks are due by 7:00 PM

De La Salle at St. Mary's-Stockton
San Ramon Valley at McClymonds
Bishop O'Dowd at Tennyson
Downey at Turlock
Elk Grove at Sheldon
Vavaville at Vanden
Oak Ridge at Granite Bay
Aragon at Menlo
Gilroy at Branham
Sacred Heart Cathedral at St. Francis

Looking for 1 more team for our Fr/JV tournament. Very good group of schools.


Carondelet Freshman
Alhambra
American
Freedom
Las Lomas
San Ramon
Berean Christian

Coach Guy
206-853-3873 or daguy50@yahoo.com

If you are hosting a Dec. 8-10 JV tournament Maria Carrillo High School in Santa Rosa would be interested in attending. We are also in need of additional JV games as well and can host or travel.

Contact: Jeff Paul
Email: mcladypumasbasketball@gmail.com
Phone: 707-483-4005

Great matchups last night to kick off the WCAL season!

Serra 29 @ St. Francis 7
Serra gets the W going away. Padres top team in NorCal and controls its destiny. St. Francis still a contender although it is reloading.

St. Ignatius 14 @ Bellarmine 34
Bells throttle its Jesuit rival from the City. A good contender this season.

Mitty 32 @ Sacred Heart Cathedral 21
A nice road win to start off the WCAL. Monarchs 1 of 2 teams that did not qualify for postseason last year looking to make amends

Riordan 16 @ Valley Christian 10
Crusaders capture its first win ever on the hill @ VC! Coach Adhir’s first WCAL win for Riordan that also missed the playoffs last year.

After two slower weeks of actions with byes, we have a jam packed lineup!

With week 1 of league play in the books the SFL is back with another awesome set of games! Thoughts? Predictions?

Folsom @ Whitney
Rocklin @ Del Oro
Oak Ridge @ Granite Bay

Will the Serra vs. Bell game be livestreamed?

Would like to watch #1 and #2 play this weekend. Anyone know if there is a stream available?

1. San Ramon Valley quarterback Luke Baker is completing 73 percent of his passes and has three receivers with more than 300 yards (Gavin Jones, Trevor Scott and Zack Dodson). The junior Baker has 16 touchdowns to five interceptions.

2. McClymonds senior Jaivian Thomas is one of the top backs in the region and has rushed for 167 yards apiece against Bellarmine and Pittsburg. Overall, he is averaging 10 yards per carry. He has offers from Sacramento State, Northern Colorado, Idaho, Army and San Jose State.

3. McClymonds' last home loss came to Liberty in 2018. Overall, the Warriors are 44-5 since the 2018 season. San Ramon Valley has had just one losing season under head coach Aaron Becker with a high win total of nine in 2017 and 2018.

The 2022-2023 Roster & Home Games Schedule has been announced for Prolific Prep. Come check out one of the top 10 teams in the Country. First local event is the first weekend in November. Coach Ryan Bernardi has the guys ready for another deep run at GEICO.

1. Keala Keanaaina had a breakout game last week on the ground for the Lancers. After rushing for 165 yards in his first three games, he went for 232 yards and two scores in a win over St. Ignatius.

2. Arizona State commit RL Miller has given Sacred Heart Cathedral a top receiving threat with 502 yards and five touchdowns. He had a season high 152 yards and two touchdowns last week against Valley Christian.

3. During last year's undefeated regular season for St. Francis, Sacred Heart Cathedral played them tougher than most in trailing 16-13 after three quarters en route to a 37-13 win for the Lancers.

PCAL Week 7

Last week was odd to say the least. When you have a league of 28 Teams across 4 divisions based on equity, you think you would be guaranteed at least 5-6 competitive games per weekend. Well, the PCAL “schedule makers” said hold my beer. Only 1 of the 12 games was decided by a single possession, a majority were over at halftime. The good news is, going forward we should have a lot of competitive games every week, I think,

The top 4 in the Gabilan continued to roll (Aptos had a bye), I still see Salinas winning the division easily. Their offense is really, really good. Palma and Hollister renew their rivalry. At one time this was the biggest game in the area as these 2 teams would meet in league (the old MTAL) and then latter in the CCS II Division south Championships, with no team winning twice. Very similar to the Mater Dei v SJB rivalry down south today. Except with real high school kids and not recruited 19 year old’s.

In the Mission, Soquel continued its quest for a title in easily dispatching Carmel. I am not 100% sure what’s happening at Carmel, but its not good. Monterey put up another 50 point game, the QB switch is working out well for them, and Seaside crushed an improving MVC team.

The Cypress had the best game of the weekend as Rancho remained undefeated by coming back in the 2nd half and giving King City another heart-breaking loss. 2 undefeated teams are left in this division as St. Francis continued it roll. The Santa Lucia had the biggest “upset” as Marina’s QB/DB scored 5 TDs 3 different ways to knock off Gonzales. Meanwhile Greenfield and RLS look like the teams to beat. Circle 10/22 for the potential 1st place showdown. I fully expect @Streakone to include that game in the weekly pick’em.

Last week 11-1 (Marina got me) Overall 67-31

Gabilan

Fri 10/07 Santa Cruz (CA) at Alisal (Salinas, CA), 7:30pm – Might be better to lose this game as the winner will probably stay in the Gabilan next year. Alisal 24-20

Fri 10/07 Aptos (CA) at Alvarez (Salinas, CA), 7:30pm – I cant confirm, but my guess is Aptos spent more of its bye week preparing for Salinas next week than Alverez on Friday. Aptos 45-7

Fri 10/07 Palma (Salinas, CA) vs Hollister (CA) at Salinas Sports Complex (Salinas, CA), 7:00pm – There was a time, not that long ago, that Salinas was only an average program and all league titles were decided between these 2 schools. There was great rivalry not of just players but of the fan bases as well. Palam defense is good and the offense seems to have found it’s groove. Palma 20-14

Mission

Fri 10/07 North Salinas (Salinas, CA) at Monte Vista Christian (Watsonville, CA), 7:30pm- North Salinas is averaging 5.8 points per game this season. That is not good. This is probably their last best chance to win a game this year. MVC 21-6

Fri 10/07 Scotts Valley (CA) at Monterey (CA), 7:30pm- Scott’s Valley D vs Monterey O. This game should be good. I am liking what the new HC at Monterey has done. He was not afraid to make some big changes after a slow offensive start to the season. Scott’s valley D will slow them down, but not enough. Monterey 22-14

Sat 10/08 Soquel (CA) at Seaside (CA), 2:00pm – Seaside came out last week and completely overwhelmed MVC. While Soquel let Carmel take an early lead then hung 38 on unanswered on them. I am picking Soquel, they have just been so consistent this year, but would not be surprised by an upset. Soquel 35-30

Cypress

Fri 10/07 Watsonville (CA) at King City (CA), 7:30pm -I feel bad for King City, over the past 3 years no program around here has had worst “heartbreaking” losses then them. They should bounce back this weekend. KC 35-14

Fri 10/07 North Monterey County (Castroville, CA) at Pacific Grove (CA), 7:30pm – PG will probably win this game, they seem to be better than NMC, But I don’t like picking them, so I won’t; Upset special. NMC 24-20

Fri 10/07 Soledad (CA) at Rancho San Juan (Salinas, CA), 7:30pm – Rancho came back on KC despite losing their #1 back. Credit to the coaches and the kids. Not sure if RB1 is back for this game, but Soledad defense is the best Ranch has seen so far this year. Soledad 21-7

Santa Lucia

Sat 10/08 Gonzales (CA) at Pajaro Valley (Watsonville, CA), 12:30pm – Gonzales should be able to rebound vs a scrappy PV squad. Gonzales 21-15

Sat 10/08 Greenfield (CA) at San Lorenzo Valley (Felton, CA), 12:30pm -Greenfield believes they have legitimate shot at a league title. This year’s SLV team will not slow them down. Greenfield 35-14

Sat 10/08 Marina (CA) vs Harbor (Santa Cruz, CA) at Seaside (CA), 6:00pm -Great win last week by Marina over Gonzales, the momentum should continue vs harbor. Marina 24-14

1. Vanden is the team on the upswing right now, but Vacaville has won at least a share of the MEL title every year since 2016. The Bulldogs have won 26 league games.

2. Vanden has won 13 games dating back to last season and have had nine different players score touchdowns. They have a defensive score and speical teams score to go with a team high five rushing touchdowns from Elijah Fisherman.

3. Vacaville junior running back Cristian Diosdado has rushed for more than 100 yards in each of the last two games including 163 yards and two touchdowns agianst Rodriguez last week.

The recruitment trail is HOT in Norcal now!

with 5 D1 Commits .. Here are other players with offers & commitments

BJ Davis & Courtney Anderson will be committing this Friday 9/23

Full List: https://simplybasketballhq.com/2023-commitment-offer-tracker/

I just heard from Redwood Christian that Joe Hendren, a long-time coach there who had some great teams -- and was planning on coaching this -- has passed.

Sad news indeed. He was not only a good coach, but a great guy.