On a night when the league got a huge W from Serra in Concord, overall, it was a very tough night for the WCAL. League units lost five of seven contests. Would it be a mistake to state that the WCAL might not be quite up to snuff this season? So far, the WCAL has two impressive non-league wins over highly-rated opponents. Serra has both of them: at Folsom and at DLS. The rest of the league, zippo, nada..
A WCAL irony
- Thread starter colhenrylives
- Start date
In fairness, WCAL/Serra has the most important wins. At least for the time being.
History suggests Serra will lose to someone in league, but for now they surely are in the drivers seat for NorCal with those 2 wins.
The Folsom/DLS winner in a few weeks might have the inside track toward a rematch. We shall see.
If Serra continues undefeated, including playoffs, there won’t be any rematch … straight to the Open vs MD or SJB. However, I could see a Folsom vs DLS rematch despite who wins the initial match. We shall see. Still lots of games to be played.
After watching both DLS games this year, who would WANT to see them play!? Awful!!!
For CCS followers, the most interesting playoff matchup for Serra may well be Menlo-Atherton.
I understand that.
But as I said, history suggests that Serra won’t go through league and playoffs unscathed. Ask St. Francis about last season.
On a side note, when it comes to enrollment-focused marketing, Serra's officials should give Coach Walsh a hefty bonus. Last night's national TV coverage of the Padres' win over DLS provided a ton of free advertising for the San Mateo school. You can't put a dollar value on that sort of public relations.
The advantage Serra has at this point is the overall team speed and athleticism that DLS and Folsom did not appear to match. They may not all be 3-5 star players, but give me a kid that is athletic and fast along with great coaching, you have the makings of a successful run. The only teams that I know of in NorCal that possesses as much speed, athleticism and good coaching are Pitt, Monterey Trail, Menlo-Atherton, Mack and quite possibly St. Marys-Stockton.
I do find it surprising, though, that Serra does use a lot of two-way players even though they have a roster size of 80+ players per MaxPreps. All the more impressive when you see teams like MT and Mack who have significantly smaller roster sizes still able to hang with the big boys.
I do find it surprising, though, that Serra does use a lot of two-way players even though they have a roster size of 80+ players per MaxPreps. All the more impressive when you see teams like MT and Mack who have significantly smaller roster sizes still able to hang with the big boys.
How is Folsom or DLS going to get a rematch if one of these teams is handed the Open berth? Is there something I'm not understanding about the process?
Have thought for a long time that, if DLS had somehow been a member of the WCAL, at least for football, the Spartans's incredible winning streak vs. Bay Area schools would have been cut short some time ago. A steady annual diet of the Bells, Lancers, Warriors and Padres would have resulted in at least a few defeats for DLS over the prior 30 or so years. Not a lot. But a few.
They won’t. I just hinted at the possibility if/when Serra loses. The assumption was they then wouldn’t get the Open birth.
You know, there are other teams among NorCal’s top sections capable of going undefeated and earning that bid, right?
Not only that, say Folsom beats DLS in a few weeks and St. Francis beats Serra. That possibility gets a lot more possible.
I said this for years. Would they have gone undefeated quite a few seasons absolutely. Win the league every year, great chance. However the grind would have been rough at times and a loss here and there would have definitely happened.
The WCAL is always a top league in the state. I did some digging and the top teams in the league have produced a lot of NFL talent over the years. Serra's Tom Brady needs no mention but here are some others...
Bellarmine
Copeland Bryan DE 2001
Craig Bragg WR 2000
St Francis
Rhett Ellison TE 2008
Will Ta'ufo'ou FB 2004
Troy Bienemann TE 2002
Chase Lyman, WR 2000
Grant Mattos WR 2001
Serra
Easop Winston Jr. WR 2014
Matt Dickerson DE 2014
David Bakhtiari T 2009
Valley Christian
Collin Johnson, WR 2014
Byron Marshall RB 2010
Kevin Jurovich WR 2004
Bellarmine
Copeland Bryan DE 2001
Craig Bragg WR 2000
St Francis
Rhett Ellison TE 2008
Will Ta'ufo'ou FB 2004
Troy Bienemann TE 2002
Chase Lyman, WR 2000
Grant Mattos WR 2001
Serra
Easop Winston Jr. WR 2014
Matt Dickerson DE 2014
David Bakhtiari T 2009
Valley Christian
Collin Johnson, WR 2014
Byron Marshall RB 2010
Kevin Jurovich WR 2004
Yep. Agreed.
I’ve made similar claims over the years. While I’ve acknowledged that I don’t believe any other program could have accomplished the same given the same circumstance, 151 and the NorCal streak were mostly made possible due to odd circumstances.
One of which was the lack of Regional and State playoffs all those years. If the current system was in place back in the 90’s, neither streak happens IMO. Add in the factor you guys are talking about (DLS in the WCAL) on top of Regional and State playoffs and I think most can acknowledge it never would have happened.
It was still against a lot of odds that it did happen under the given circumstances. However piling on even more difficult circumstances would have made it much more unlikely. Forget the grind of the WCAL, just facing one or two of top NorCal teams, guaranteed, every single season changes things dramatically.
Sparty tried scheduling top teams during preseason but often didn’t get that team during an UP season and rarely faced what ended up being a top 2 or 3 NorCal or SoCal team in the given season (besides themselves). Regional and State playoffs would have guaranteed that.
Top to bottom when it comes to football and baseball yes. I am not claiming it is #1 (that is obviously the Trinity league right now) but it is up near the top year in and year out without a doubt.
Got to give some love for the city....From the 2000s-present
SH
Jason Hill WR
Keith Ismael OL
SI
Igor Olshansky DT
Riordan
Donald Strickland DB
Eric Wright DB
He said "A top league", not "THE top league". Don't get all butthurt, QPR...
The expectation a few weeks ago for WCAL was Serra & St. Francis would again battle for league supremacy. That was until after Friday nite when Serra defeated DLS on the road 24-21 and St. Francis was surprisingly manhandled 28-7 by Monterey Trail - whom BTW same Monterey Trail lost week 1 to Folsom 47-18 and lost week 2 to DLS 36-20 indicating perhaps a wider gap between the Padres & Lancers than expected.
Last season the Lancers upended DLS scoring a TD with 15-secs left to win 31-28 to become the first NorCal team to beat the Spartans in 30 seasons, perhaps the biggest upset of the season in NorCal. Serra then defeated the heavily favored Lancers for the CCS Div I championship 16-12 as the biggest season upset in the CCS of the season [St. Francis had handily defeated Serra 44-21 at Serra in regular league play to win the WCAL championship].
If anyone missed it the St. Francis QB who threw the winning TD against DLS last season was Matt Dougherty who completed 3 passes in a row to secure the historic win. Dougherty SF's #1 QB injured his back in that game and was lost for the rest of the season. That same QB Matt Dougherty returns to action this Friday vs DLS in a game that should answer many questions about both teams. Which team will rebound after their first loss last week and will Lancer QB Dougherty have an impact in his first game back? Meanwhile Serra hosts Central Catholic cooming off a bad loss of 47-7 to St. Mary's - Stockton [St. Francis defeated Central Catholic 35-28 in a nail-biter 2 weeks ago].
Question: is there any chance Central Catholic could blind-side the Padres coming off their euphoric win over Spartacus?
Last season the Lancers upended DLS scoring a TD with 15-secs left to win 31-28 to become the first NorCal team to beat the Spartans in 30 seasons, perhaps the biggest upset of the season in NorCal. Serra then defeated the heavily favored Lancers for the CCS Div I championship 16-12 as the biggest season upset in the CCS of the season [St. Francis had handily defeated Serra 44-21 at Serra in regular league play to win the WCAL championship].
If anyone missed it the St. Francis QB who threw the winning TD against DLS last season was Matt Dougherty who completed 3 passes in a row to secure the historic win. Dougherty SF's #1 QB injured his back in that game and was lost for the rest of the season. That same QB Matt Dougherty returns to action this Friday vs DLS in a game that should answer many questions about both teams. Which team will rebound after their first loss last week and will Lancer QB Dougherty have an impact in his first game back? Meanwhile Serra hosts Central Catholic cooming off a bad loss of 47-7 to St. Mary's - Stockton [St. Francis defeated Central Catholic 35-28 in a nail-biter 2 weeks ago].
Question: is there any chance Central Catholic could blind-side the Padres coming off their euphoric win over Spartacus?
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I’ve watched some film on St Francis this season. They are a very different team from previous seasons. On offense, they are way more potent in the past game than on the ground. They were blessed with a bevy of running backs who were either bruising, shifty, or both. This year their backs are smaller and not as capable of running through contact and previous.
Defense is the biggest shocker for me. The majority of the last fees seasons they had some dawgs on the D-line who were stout against the run and could really get after the QB. They’re defensive ends this season are not setting the edge like prior seasons and their LB’s are getting sucked into play action and their traditional defensive discipline is in tatters. At this rate, I could see them not only losing to Serra in league play, but also dropping a game against one of the City schools.
Defense is the biggest shocker for me. The majority of the last fees seasons they had some dawgs on the D-line who were stout against the run and could really get after the QB. They’re defensive ends this season are not setting the edge like prior seasons and their LB’s are getting sucked into play action and their traditional defensive discipline is in tatters. At this rate, I could see them not only losing to Serra in league play, but also dropping a game against one of the City schools.
One thing I am pretty certain of is that no one on the Monterey Trail coaching staff is thinking about hypothetical match-ups with Serra. They might be the most "literal" coaching staff in Nor Cal, if not the state. All they are thinking about is this Friday vs Merced. Except for the coach responsible for cataloging the play-calling of future opponents. That guy is looking at Laguna Creek.
Monterey Trail doesn't play Serra. Are you thinking of Central Catholic?
Yes Parkdale looking at the various past & upcoming matchups mistakingly entered Serra's next opponent as Monterey Trail before correcting to Central Catholic - while all along think how Monterey Trail would be a much tougher oppoent for Serra. Thanks for mentioning -
The gap between Serra and St. Francis last year does not appears to be anywhere near the gap that exists this year.
Even as a CCS guy, I think we're going to have to wait a few weeks to make this claim.
Pittsburg's win this weekend really impressed me and the Pirates have an opportunity to match the Padres' two big wins. This could be Pitt's best chance against what appears to be a struggling DLS team.
Similarly, St. Mary's win over Central Catholic was also impressive and YES, they also have a chance to possibly duplicate Serra's key wins.
This ride has a chance to get pretty wild this year.
The Serra frosh QB (Mann) who was on the varsity to start the season has left the school due to a lack of playing time and the prospect of limited duty in 2023. His sudden transfer location is unknown at this point. Apparently, the transfer portal is wide open.
I watched some highlights... wasnt he being used as LB or SS? He has good size to excel at any position but I guess if he/family was dead set on being a QB then what can do you (shoulder shrug).
how do you know all this? Your son play for the team or something. Atkins is the starting QB right. Good that Walsh finally has some competition on his team. Reminds me of the culture we have down here.
The Serra frosh QB who was on varsity transferred to Leland. The QB who was playing safety may have been Brooks Trimmer. Or maybe you're thinking of Alex Atkins who gets PT at quarterback when Serra runs the Double-Wing but otherwise plays cornerback.
This will be interesting to follow in the coming years. There are no guarantees that Smith completes the next two seasons (injury or leaves). Mann has left a team that in it's last three games has played in the open bowl, beaten the #1 & #2 ranked NorCal teams and played on national TV to enter the witness protection program at Leland. Kids have to do what best for their future but a little patience might have gone a long way in this case
If he's good enough scouts will find him. That's a pretty long haul to San Mateo from Almaden every day.
NO! I was at Holy Bowl CC. has no speed. Their only score was the one big play they had all game. CC is s member of VOL. We support our other teams. But CC is just not as strong this year.
Lampkin took over for McLemore as a sophomore after McLemore suffered a mid-season shoulder injury. He played well in relief including leading two impressive shutout wins against Valley Christian. Both QBs played in the state title game and Lampkin almost rallied Serra to a win.
With one last non-league game remaining (Riordan at SHP Saturday in Atherton), the WCAL's overall record is 14-9, certainly not terribly impressive. Signature wins are few, just two, both by Serra on the road (vs. Folsom and DLS). VC, 1-2, is really struggling. So is St. Francis, 1-2. SI, 1-2, has not been able to deal with strong units (Jesuit and St. Mary's-Stockton). Riordan's schedule has been less than challenging, although SHP should provide some stiffer opposition for the 2-0 Crusaders. Bellarmine's defense (at 1-2) has been stressed throughout. SHC, 2-1, lost to a Palma team beaten by Mitty. The Irish one-point win over well-coached SHP is a nice plus. Mitty, at 3-0 (like Serra) is a wildcard at this point. How good are the Monarchs? It's unclear. Its schedule has not included a strong, ranked outfit. The bottom line: The WCAL, overall, is not at last year's level.
