PCAL Week 11

I was excited for a moment when I heard that St. Francis Vs the Padres was a pick ‘em game for the week. Then I looked at the schedule and the Sharks were playing Pajaro Valley and Carmel was playing Monterey. After a little investigating, I realized 2 small private schools up in the Bay Area are playing each other this weekend. Apparently, it has some playoff/state ramifications. I would rather watch Carmel play St. Francis CC. 😊

Last week of the regular season and some playoff spots are still up in the air. The Gabilan top 5 are in, the big question is if Palma can upset Salinas and force a 3 way tie for 1st with Aptos and Hollister. Does the winner of Alverez v Alisal get in the playoffs? With a losing record? In the Mission; Santa Cruz plays Soquel for the title, but both those teams are in the playoffs. North Salinas plays Gilroy winner advances loser turns in their gear. Carmel plays Monterey in the “best team on the Monterey Peninsula” bowl. Very down year for the peninsula teams. In the Cypress; Scott’s Valley is the league champ, while King City should make the playoffs with a win over long time rival PG. St. Francis CC won the Santa Lucia division some time back in August I believe.

Last Week- 9-3 Overall 103-33

Gabilan

Thu 11/04 Seaside (CA) at San Benito (Hollister, CA), 7:30pm- Seaside has been playing inspired football the 2nd half of the season, not good enough to beat Hollister but closer than most think. Hollister 35-20

Fri 11/05 Alvarez (Salinas, CA) at Alisal (Salinas, CA), 7:30pm- Winner of this game may get in to the playoffs depending what else happen around the CCS. Alisal has really faded due to injuries the past few weeks. Alvarez 21-7

Fri 11/05 Aptos (CA) at Monte Vista Christian (Watsonville, CA), 7:30pm- Aptos is really good, MVC is not. MVC has been one of the bigger disappointments this year. Aptos 49-7

Fri 11/05 Salinas (CA) vs Palma (Salinas, CA) at Salinas Sports Complex (Salinas, CA), 7:30pm -Took me a few weeks to jump on that Salinas Bandwagon, but I am all in. This is a complete football team, and they will compete well and maybe turn some heads in the DI playoffs. A win gives them a chance at a home game. Palma will be a tough out, their offense is really good. Their Defense is not quite as fgood as the Cowboys. Salinas 35-24

Mission

Thu 11/04 North Salinas (Salinas, CA) vs Gilroy (CA) at Salinas Sports Complex (Salinas, CA), 7:00pm- Winner goes to CCS loser turns in their gear. These 2 teams are pretty evenly matched. Neither one is going to blow you out, both need to limit mistakes. Gilroy QB is very dynamic and gives them some really good RPO opportunities. NS has a great ground game with 2 backs that can really wear down a defense. Taking Gilroy in a squeaker. Gilroy 28-27

Fri 11/05 Soquel (CA) at Santa Cruz (CA), 7:30pm -Santa Cruz has just dominated everyone on the schedule. Soquel just wins, not by a lot, but they just win. If Soquel can limit Santa Cruz big plays and control the tempo, they have a real shot here. But Controlling Santa Cruz will be to tough this year. Santa Cruz 35-7

Fri 11/05 Gonzales (CA) at Soledad (CA), 7:30pm- Two teams struggling with new coaching staffs and not playing last spring. Soledad is not really disciplined, they had an outstanding amount of pnalrties v Carmel last week, and a coach get kicked out of the game. Gonzales has had a lot of trouble scoring points this year. Soledad is probably the better team, but I ma taking the upset. Gonzales 24-22

Sat 11/06 Carmel (CA) at Monterey (CA), 2:00pm -This game is tough to predict because not sure who will be available for Monterey. After 2weeks of Covid I would think a lot of their Varsity players will be back. Carmel’s offense looked much better last week but they still need a better ground game, and their defense looked awful at times. Carmel is a bit mor disciplined than Monterey. Carmel 35-28



Cypress

Thu 11/04 King City (CA) at Pacific Grove (CA), 7:00pm – Two long time rivals face off with a playoff spot on the line for KC. PG has had some injuries and is down. KC is looking for a trip to the playoff for the first time in 15(?) years. King City 35-14

Fri 11/05 Rancho San Juan (Salinas, CA) at Greenfield (CA), 7:30pm- Rancho San Juan has been a nice story this year getting it’s first 2 victories in its history. Look for this school to get better as it starts to build a foundation in N east Salinas. Rancho 24-20

Fri 11/05 Watsonville (CA) at North Monterey County (Castroville, CA), 7:30pm- Watsonville has been playing better of late, NMC is still trying to unify under new coach. Watsonville 28-14

Sat 11/06 San Lorenzo Valley (Felton, CA) at Scotts Valley (CA), 2:00pm – Scott’s Valley will probably be moving up to the Mission next year. SLV will probably be trying out new headsets. Scott’s Valley 35-0



Santa Lucia

at 11/06 St. Francis (Watsonville, CA) vs Pajaro Valley (Watsonville, CA) at Cabrillo College (Aptos, CA), 7:30pm – In what will be a tune up for their run in the D5 playoffs, St. Francis should have no problem stopping Pajaro’s win streak at 1. St.Francis 28-7

Sat 11/06 Stevenson (Pebble Beach, CA) at Harbor (Santa Cruz, CA), 6:00pm -Well RLS can at least finish with a winning record by beating harbor again. What I though was going to be a great season and a trip to the playoffs, has turned sour. I am hoping WR1 recovers well for basketball and Track. You all just wait till next year. Pirateball will be back!

What a ride it's been, I must say things have played out accordingly with the exceptions here and there, Some teams surprised and others flopped. Let take a look at the final week ahead before we hit the CCS Playoff Projections!

Mount Hamilton:

Santa Teresa @ Oak Grove: ST Secures it’s playoff spot 35-7.

Leland @ Lincoln: Lincoln continues to roll, Leland sacrifices this one for a lower playoff seed and to avoid a first round exit. Lincoln, 21-14.

Live Oak @ Piedmont Hills: PH Put up some big number last week, but consistency is key; LO 24-7

Silver Creek @ Overfelt: New Look Silver Creek Offense send Overfelt into the offseason; 21-7

Santa Teresa:

Willow Glen @ Pioneer: Pioneer finishes the Santa Teresa Sweep and Championship and is left with some convincing to do to avoid the A league promotion. Pio 35-7

Prospect @ Westmont: After two tough losses Westmont finishes the season on a high note. 24-10.

Branham @ Leigh: Branham if fighting for a miracle to make it to the postseason, and they must win this rivalry game to have a chance. Everything to fight for, but Leigh has been too consistent. Leigh wins 42-28.

Sobrato @ Independance: Bulldogs finish above .500 and just miss out at an at large due to lack of points. Steps in the right direction for the rebuilding program. Almost 100 points in the last two games comes to a halt here for Indy. 35-28 bulldogs.

West Valley:

Yerba Buena @ Del Mar: This wil be a closer on but I have YB over Del Mar for the first time in recent history.

San Jose @ Gunderson: Grizzlies miss the playoffs and end their season with a big W.

Evergreen Valley @ Mt. Pleasant: Evergreen gets the W here

Andrew Hill @ James Lick: Andrew Hill Finishes with a West Valley Sweep and is in the post season. AH: as many as they want to 0.

Due to poor advance planning by the coach, which would be me, the Carondelet JVs need a scrimmage Nov. 13. We will travel or host.

claykallam@gmail.com

Division I - https://cifsjs.org/sports/fball/FB_Brackets_D1

Division II - https://cifsjs.org/sports/fball/FB_Brackets_D2

Division III - https://cifsjs.org/sports/fball/FB_Brackets_D3

Division IV - https://cifsjs.org/sports/fball/FB_Brackets_D4

Division V - https://cifsjs.org/sports/fball/FB_Brackets_D5

Division VI - https://cifsjs.org/sports/fball/FB_Brackets_D6

Division VII - https://cifsjs.org/sports/fball/FB_Brackets_D7 (Bracket will be announced later)

2 teams dropped out, looking to replace those 2 teams in the Damian Lillard Classic tournament silver division. 3 games, 12/27 - 12/29. Please contact damianlillardclassic@gmail.com if interested.

5 division 1 offers for the freshman. 3 from the PAC-12 and 2 from the Big 12. She also was recently named to the ESPN HoopGurlz top 25 watchlist! Going to be fun to watch her for the next few years.

Team Notes

San Ramon Valley (6-3) will finish the regular season against rival Monte Vista (7-1). The Wolves are led by a pair of seniors in the backfield with quarterback Jack Quigley (1,571 yards and 22 touchdowns) and running back Za’Darion Nardi (960 yards and 10 touchdowns). Both teams own wins over California and losses to Clayton Valley Charter.

Player Notes

Union Mine 2022 offensive tackle Jaxon King (6-foot-8, 290 pounds) has remained under the radar, but that is a mistake. He has very good size, finishes blocks through the play and gets off the ball well. He has spearheaded Union Mine’s running game that has helped the Diamondbacks to an 8-1 mark.

JUCO Watch

In a matchup of undefeated teams this past week, Feather River beat Contra Costa 28-27. Contra Costa outgained Feather River 418-256. For Feather River, Tanner Hall rushed for two touchdowns.

Alumni Watch

California linebacker Trey Paster (Buhach Colony) had five tackles (his second most tackles on the season) and his first sack of the year in a 39-25 win over Oregon State. Paster was recruited as a safety before moving to linebacker prior to this season.

Video to Watch

Logan has won five in a row since a 0-4 start after beating Bishop O’Dowd 42-7. The Colts were led by senior Khalid Robinson.

Story to Read

West Park won a league title in its first varsity season after it beat Cordova 36-28. West Park has won six straight games.

Oakland High is currently looking for both a varsity and junior varsity head coach, if interested please email jonas.perez@ousd.org.

The Lady Wildcats are currently looking for games for the upcoming season. If you have an opening in your schedule please email me at orlandogray21@yahoo.com.

Thanks

UPDATED tiers for all. Since not all of us are super familiar with other sections and the smaller schools, feedback is welcome. Some teams came up on the top 100 today and made the tiers!

Same as last week, the qualifier will be the top 100 in CA, per CalPreps. We can open it up to more if we want!

Tier 1- St. Francis, Rocklin

Tier 2- Serra, DLS, Folsom,

Tier 3- Central Catholic, Central, Pitt, Buchanan

Tier 4- Manteca, Los Gatos, Edison, St. Mary's, Oak Ride, Del Oro, Granite Bay,

Tier 5- Clovis, Windsor, McClymonds, Oakdale, Antelope, Bellarmine, Oakdale

Looking forward to the feedback and suggestions!

With this year's regular season almost in the books, it's time that we take a look at the possible realignment for BVAL with the addition of Gilroy and Christopher. For reference here are the current league breakdowns. The opinions of who moves up and down are based on keeping a 3 Division 9 9 8 format when The 2 Gilroy schools join.
Mt Hamilton (A)
Leland
Oak Grove
Lincoln
Live Oak
Silver Creek
Overfelt
Santa Teresa
Piedmont Hills
Its no secret that the quality of this league has not been A quality for the past few years. With the shocking decline of Oak Grove it seems that this years automatic qualifiers will be Leland Live Oak Lincoln and ST. Would have really liked to see Lincoln and Live Oak face off to get a better gage of any gaps among the top 4, unfortunately that game was cancelled. But what we can determine is that for the most part this league has been a 3 team race with Leland Live Oak and Lincoln including a shocking upset of ST over Leland. Overfelt and Silver Creek are the bottom 2 and the winner of the week 10 matchup should remain in the Mt Hamilton sending the loser to the Santa Teresa. Oak Grove remains up due to the quality of athletes at the school. Piedmont Hills has had a difficult past couple of years but have the coaching and talent to stay in games. ST has been playing competitive football under a new coach and is still within the top 4. Christopher will be joining this league and easily fit in as one of the top 4 as that program has been battle tested through the gauntlet of the Gabilan.

Santa Teresa (B)
Pioneer
Leigh
Sobrato
Branham
Westmont
Prospect
Independence
Willow Glen
A majority of this division believes that Leigh belongs in the Mt Hamilton division to help close the talent gaps among the top 4. However Pioneer showed the division a flash of it's previous Mt Hamilton experience by taking down the longhorns. It looks like the to AQ's are going to Pioneer and Leigh, but the talent gap had more than a few teams in the race up until recently. Sobrato has shown promise under a new head coach and has been very competitive following a statement win against Branham to open up league play. Branham didn't seem to have the bodies to make a title run this year but were in the mix for a playoff spot until week 7. They can get program momentum going into next year with a statement win over Leigh. Willow Glen has not been playing good football the last 3 years and have made multiple attempts to go to the C league. Independence has experienced a coaching carousel the last 4 years, although their record suggests that they should move down, that school has athletes and would wreck the West Valley based on pure athleticism. Let their current HC build and remain in the Santa Teresa. Gilroy High will be joining this league and be extremely competitive, after 3 years of chaos it appears that the Mustangs are back.

West Valley (C)
Andrew Hill
Gunderson
Mt Pleasant
James Lick
Evergreen Valley
Del Mar
San Jose
Yerba Buena
Much shorter write up on this division. Hill took the league title with Gunderson remaining on their coat tails throughout the year. Hill could move up or stay depending on a motion from a Santa Teresa team to move down.

Restructure
Multiple formats have been suggested with the addition of the two teams. No one likes the idea of adding them straight in and creating an 9 9 8 format without adding additional AQ's. Some have also suggested the realignment to include to B leagues such as a B+ and B-. Creating a 7 6 6 7. Recently CCS indicated that the addition of another B caliber league will grant 2 additional AQ's. (And all the sudden everyone has fallen in love with the idea) So with that how would the league eliminate subjectivity and appropriately differentiate between a B- and B+. Some have suggested dividing them by region to eliminate headaches and calling the two leagues equal without a + or - indication. The problem with that is there will be a clear superior region and schedule strength can rob teams of playoffs spots and prevent C league teams from moving up if they are in a more difficult region. The pros: Mt Hamilton becomes more competitive, More B league teams receive AQ's and less B league fluctuation Cons: Difficulty dividing teams into appropriate leagues.

Proposal
Here's my two cents, feel free to tear it apart. But we need a 7 6 6 7 format with a B+ and B- divided by team performance and not region. the B+ will get 3 AQ's while the B- will get 1. Mt Hamilton will retain their 4 AQ's. Now as far as points awarded I'll leave up to Palbooster. Here is how I believe they should be realigned.

Mt Hamilton A (4AQ'S)
Leland
Live Oak
Lincoln
Santa Teresa
Christopher
Piedmont Hills
Oak Grove
Everyone has been ripping the Mt Hamilton on not being true A league caliber and also the presence of a huge talent gap between schools outside of the top 3. I think this realignment will make it extremely competitive and anybody's game.
Santa Teresa B+ (3AQ'S)
Pioneer
Leigh
Sobrato
Branham
Overfelt
Silver Creek
With the addition of Creek and Overfelt this becomes as tough league in terms of athleticism and coaching style. Which is why I believe they deserve the 3 AQ's

Cambrian B- (1AQ)
Westmont
Independence
Willow Glen
Andrew Hill
Prospect
Gilroy
These schools have struggled but the equitable talent pool allows for closer games sending the lone league champ to the post season with an opportunity for 2nd to receive an at large.

West Valley C (1AQ)
Gunderson
Del Mar
James Lick
Mt Pleasant
Yerba Buena
San Jose
Evergreen Valley
Not much changes with the WV. League champ goes to the dance.

I can already hear the moans and groans but I believe this allows for competitive and equitable league play. Also multiple crossover games can allow a team from the Cambrian to possibly get into post season play with an at large bid. Curious to see what ya'll think.

Edison Classic is now an 8-Team Elite Bracket vs the Original 16 Team Bracket.
Dec 9-11th in Stockton, CA.

Edison- Stockton
Grant
Oakland Tech
Vanden
Folsom
Central-Fresno
Inderkum
Gregori.

Brackets Will be Released Soon!!!

Team Notes

Roseville has won four of five games since a 2-3 start, including a 15-13 win over Inderkum this past week. The Tigers have a two-headed running attack with Brandon Graydon (926 yards and 15 touchdowns) and Ricky Bastianelli (753 yards and nine touchdowns). Graydon is also the team’s leading receiver. As the No. 9 seed, they will face No. 8 seed Davis-Modesto (10-0) at Modesto Junior College on Friday.

Player Notes

Granite Bay 2023 offensive guard Zaire Collier (6-foot-3, 335 pounds) is an imposing force for the Grizzlies. Previously at Antelope, Collier is a strong run blocker who moves well for his size in picking up blocks in space and is solid in pass protection.

JUCO Watch

On Saturday, College of the Sequoias (3-3) shutout Sacramento (2-6) 16-0 with Sequoias holding them to -5 rushing yards. Jimmy Pouba had an interception return for a score and the team had four sacks.

Alumni Watch

It was alumni week in the Mountain West Conference. Fresno State running back Jordan Mims (Menlo-Atherton) was the Offensive Player of the Week. Fresno State safety Evan Williams (St. Francis-Mountain View) was the Defensive Player of the Week. Nevada kicker Brandon Talton (Vacaville) was the Special Teams Player of the Week.

Video to Watch

Clayton Valley Charter had a number of explosive runs against Monte Vista in a 34-14 win. The Ugly Eagles finish the regular season this week against De La Salle.

Story to Read

The Sacramento Bee provided a good recap of what transpired on Monday that left Capital Christian out of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs.

Dublin, Sacramento, Sheldon and Salesian will play in the top bracket at The Classic

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Excited to announce the Fr. Barry Christmas Classic at Jesuit High School is returning on December 9-11, 2021. All games are played in the newly renovated gym at Jesuit. Should be another great tournament.

Archbishop Mitty
Bishop Manogue
Brophy Prep
Cathedral Catholic
Christian Brothers
Jesuit
St. Mary's
St. Patrick -St. Vincent

Brackets coming soon.

Menlo-Atherton 2022 WR Jalen Moss and Lincoln-Stockton 2022 DB Jomarion Briggs committed to Fresno State over the weekend.

Briggs was an early commit to Fresno State, but backed off the pledge prior to the season

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2 weeks left in the contest! Picks are due by 7:00 PM on Friday.

San Ramon Valley at California
Monte Vista at Clayton Valley Charter
Cardinal Newman at Rancho Cotate
Bishop O'Dowd at Logan
Manteca at Oakdale
Granite Bay at Folsom
Bellarmine at Valley Christian
Half Moon Bay at Sacred Heart Prep
Placer at Ponderosa
St. Mary's-Stockton at Lincoln-Stockton