Clarifying De La Salle's Playoff Schedule
- Thread starter mtnjohn
- Start date
Once DLS wins NCS they will automatically be put in the Open state game against So-Cals best. No play in game, everyone in Nor-Cal avoids the machine.
Yeah, just put them in now. One blemish and it was really sloppiness on their part and besides that they've been unstoppable.
Not everyone in NorCal avoids the machine. Cal High plays them this week for the 2nd time in 3 weeks, and all the NCS D1 teams have to go through Sparty. The SJS and CCS teams don't get to/have to play them unless they scheduled them.
Playing twice in 3 weeks is avoiding? Hardly. Only the SJS and CCS avoid DLS, not everyone in NorCal.
I'm anxious to see how Najee does against a DLS defense if Antoich makes it to the finals.
I think it's pitiful and in poor taste when you start labeling a team like Bay Area All Star team. I have no connection with them but as an admirer of greatness, truly appreciate them. The team you follow is obviously mediocre but so was DLS before Ladoucer took over. They have single-handedly brought the level of expectations up in Northern California prep football in the last couple decades with programs like Folsom aspiring to be the best they can be and raising their levels.
You can stay in your bubble like the rest of the league you play in, talking about the good old days in the 70's when they were relevant, or aspire to something better. This constant juvenile attacks get old though. If my program sucked like yours does, I would just shut up and try and get better.
That's not true. Too many teams in the EBAL. Shame on them including my old school.
I think the dynamic of who DLS plays for regular season has changed a bit. I am a relaxed observer of this program and what I am sensing which I hadn't in DLS teams under Coach Ladoucer, is that National Notoriety is now more important. I may be off base a little but I think that has a bit to do on who they are scheduling. They have a great program their coaches obviously know what they are doing. Football is KING, if you bring more money to the school no one is going to object. They are not going to be Nationally recognized year in and year out by waxing public schools in EBAL year in and year out. As notoriety grows more interest, better recruits, more money....etc.
Go to a public school and rarely get a scholarship or go to the best football program and most likely get a scholarship
Coolio last I counted there were 3 out of a 75 man roster that will be playing in college on a D1 football scholarship from De La Salle this year. Perhaps two more that will be playing on a baseball scholarship. EBAL Schools will have plenty of Scholarship kids in alot of sports. All based on the individual and level of commitment. Private or Public schools isn't the key factor, rather the kid who is pursuing his/her dreams.
CCS avoids them? A lot of teams in CCS may avoid DLS but not all. I don't think there is a year in recent memory that DLS failed to play a CCS team. The most common opponent is Serra. But also Bellarmine, Mitty, St. Francis and Palma have played DLS in the past. If memory serves correctly, St. Francis was the last CCS team to beat DLS. More recently, both Bellarmine and Palma tied DSL in regulation time.
If Najee Harris doesn't get hurt he will be playing on Sunday. Fact… He's the biggest freak athlete I've seen since DJ Williams at DLS. He isn't bigger than the green machine but I would be hard pressed to think he won't break 1 or 2 for big gains.
DLS is hardly an all star team. That is a slap in the face. Great program.
DLS is hardly an all star team. That is a slap in the face. Great program.
Ok, I started this whole "avoid" thing and what I meant was that after NCS, DLS would be placed in the Open Bowl game and every section champ would "avoid" having to play them. I was answering mtnjohn's question of a play in game.
Cal, SRV, CCS and SJS have all challenged DLS and I give them credit for doing so.
Cal, SRV, CCS and SJS have all challenged DLS and I give them credit for doing so.
EBALISBEAST.....you frequently have interesting posts but (oh yeah , the big "but"...) I think you are in the nosebleeds in the endzone on this one.
I do not feel DLS is pursuing nor prioritizing "National Notoriety" when they schedule teams for the upcoming year(s). Scheduling 1) a more competitive season with comparable teams and 2) teams in various State Sections for exposure to different schemes/teams is the aim which definitely had its beginning under Coach Lad.
There is no honor in being on either side of a pounding. I believe the Spartan schedulers want to find teams that challenge their players within the constraints of the agreements of being in the EBAL. Playing the same local schedule does not generate competition or interest for either side of the football. I can attest to the low fan, attendance on either side of the stands for many of the EBAL games. I've seen larger crowds on the 5:15 am BART on weekday mornings
Football is KING for some, judging on the number of posts some individuals have in a short time period. But as far as HS sports goes I don't see where it is generating huge sums of income at the Prep level in comparison to the College level. Sure it's King to the parents of players suited up on the field on any Friday night or a handful of old goat fans who regularly in attendance on Friday nights. But If you were to talk to many members of the school faculty or administration think you would hear a different tune.
If DLS football has been generating ..."more money" it should be more obvious in the athletic facilities. Don't know how many times I have worked at the games and visiting teams, not from NorCal have asked "Where is the Varsity Football Field as they enter Owen Owens Field.In fact when Don Bosco came to Concord several of the Ironmen's parents asked if O-O Field was the practice field.?!?!
Maybe, Primo, it's just semantics. Substitute the word 'success' in place of the word 'notoriety' and your last point: "As notoriety grows more interest, better recruits, more money....etc."
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How far back do you have to go for that info
. Serra plays them because Patrick played there. Honestly, the other teams want no part of DLS.Good points. Coolio is a proud DLS backer who probably doesn't need to brag as much as he does as the success stands alone. What makes DLS different is the single-mindedness they have to be the best they can be. Can't really be explained unless you are truly on the inside, but it's special. No question they have great players but hardly an all-star team- especially as freshmen. They do evolve.
The fact is that DLS has had a "Private school Div 1 football 40 mile radius monopoly" w/ zero Private school Div 1 competition since they've been in existence. IT finally took a coach w/ half a brain and a good work ethic (Lad) to figure that out and get the ball rolling. They have half of Alameda County // Contra Cost County - all to themselves for football studs who want to go play HS football at a competitive D 1 H.S. Very Recently they now finally have Clayton Valley Charter - which I believe is similiar to a private school. Although technically they are considered a DII high school for football.
No other Private school playing high level H.S. football has even close to the advantage DLS has had since their existence.
In San Jose - you have he following private HS competing for football players all w/in 15 to 20 miles of each other - Bellermine // Arch Bishop Mitty // St. Frances // Valley Christian (SJ) // Serra H.S, 5 Private Schools all competing for good HS football players - who's parents want their sons to go to a private school.
In Oakland / Berekely / Hayward - all within 15 miles - you have Bishop O'Odowd, St. Mary's, Moreau, etc.
In San Francisco - you have St. Ignacio, Sacred Heart, Riordan, etc.
So if you are a parent that lives in Tracy, Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, San Ramon, Danville, Walnut Creek, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Pittsburg, Martinez, Antioch, etc. Basically a 40 mile radius - And you have a stud 8th grader who wants to play HS football and you want him to go to a private HS who happens to play Div 1 high School football - the closest and only Private HS who can provide that is DLS - THEY HAVE HAD ZERO COMPETITION For their PRIVATE HS Football players for a pretty dam large radius.
Put at a minimum of two other Private HS who also play competitive HS football within 15 miles of DLS and the talent pool for DLS is greatly dimished amongst the other private schools and guess what - they aren't winning 23 straight NCS titles. (Valley Christian HS in Dublin does not count - they play at the lowest level Div 4 or Div 5 for HS football - A stud 8th grader who wants to go to a private school and play Div 1 HS football is not considering Valley Christian except if its a freak situation where the coach is very good friends w/ a dad - and Dublin's Valley Christian is at least 25 miles away from DLS anyways ).
DLS has been a Alameda / Contra Costa County All Star team for the last 25 years plain and simple.
They actually are even easier to coach than an All Star team - because the DLS coaches get them for a full season and not just a couple of weeks like a regular All Star team.
They have a Private School High Level Football Geographic 40 mile Radius MONOPOLY on Private school football players - No other private school in all of the Bay Area who also plays high level football has an advantage even close to that.
Now there is some original, new insights.......
Here's a few more to add:
Please Streak One, set up an archive for old threads under the category of "Reinventing the Wheel"
The all-star argument makes no sense. If it was an all star team, then all of the top players would be there.
When comparing DLS to other national teams, their scholarship numbers are toward the bottom of that group. They win because they get incredible buy in and excel at owning the little details of each game. Those two factors are rarely seen in prep sports.
When comparing DLS to other national teams, their scholarship numbers are toward the bottom of that group. They win because they get incredible buy in and excel at owning the little details of each game. Those two factors are rarely seen in prep sports.
And when they play on the local level, they usually have far more scholarship players than other NCS D1 teams like say Cal high. Not even close.
concrete17 love your point of view. Keep up the good work!
I respectfully agree to disagree with you on this post as it stopped being about the kids success once ESPN started collecting advertising dollars for broadcasting high school games. The audience these games get is all of us crazy high school fans and their family and friends across the nation. More eyes on the TV equates to big dollars! Now I am not saying that those dollars are going to the right benefactor...but one thing I do know is that somebody is getting paid for these kids hard work.
Ethically I have no problem with it, but what I do have a problem with is misappropriated gains. Ha Ha! Make sure the right people are getting paid.
Also every team they have faced in the Open Division state finals is a national level team and they have done well there.
A
All-star... Hardly. I played at DLS. I never played organized football until my freshman year there and played my junior and senior years at Varsity. I think only a handful of players in each class played organized tackle ball before high school. We were a collection of average kids who were led to excel beyond our abilities by committing to the team and showing a hard work ethic. This may have changed in the past decade but I am well within that 25 year mark.
All-star... Hardly. I played at DLS. I never played organized football until my freshman year there and played my junior and senior years at Varsity. I think only a handful of players in each class played organized tackle ball before high school. We were a collection of average kids who were led to excel beyond our abilities by committing to the team and showing a hard work ethic. This may have changed in the past decade but I am well within that 25 year mark.
You make some points but not totally accurate. I think we are back to private vs public. Public is bound by territory private is not. DLS does have a huge market to pull from but so does schools like Bishop O'Dowd and Marin Catholic who are only private school team within a 20-25 mile radius. DLS does have advantage of no schools east of Concord so they do get Pitt, Oakley, Antioch, Brentwood area plus Trivalley corridor San Ramon, Danville, Alamo, Pleasanton Dublin, Walnut Creek. But Marin Catholic gets all of Marin county probably up to Santa Rosa until Newman. Odowd controls west side of tunnel Oakland, Piedmont San Leandro Castro Valley and they also get Dblin and Pleasanton kids. They will overlap with StMarys for Berkeley and Oakland but SMB gets area up to Richmond Salasian, then Salesian gets up Vallejo to St Pats/St Vincent. They all cover a great amount of area, DLS just does more with what they get. I am NOT a DLS fan but respect what they do and have accomplished
I don't disagree what DLS has accomplished has been great. It has. But, they have a unique advantage over every other private and public school in the Bay Area. You are incorrect about Bishop O'Dowd and Marin Catholic. Bishop O'Dowd has too compete w/ Moreau HS in Hayward (less than 15 miles from BOD) and they also have too compete w/ St. Marys of Berkley and Salesian also of Berkeley (Both less than 10 miles away). That is 4 Private high schools all w/ in 15 miles who also happen to play HS Football competing for HS football players. And Marin Catholic is less than 20 miles from San Francisco and Marin County residents send a lot of their kids to the SF Private schools - Sacred Heart, St. Ignacios, Riordan, Lowell. Again Marin Catholic has 4 very good private schools just 20 miles away who compete w/ them for private school football kids.
Coach Lad was smart and talented - he built a dynasty and had ZERO competition from other Private Schools who play HS Football for a good 40 mile radius. Any parent who has a son who they want to go to a private school and that boy wants to play HS football - AND they live in the already mentioned cities of Tracy, Pleasanton, Dublin, San Ramon, Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Concord, Antioch, Pittsburg - THEY have ONE Choice to make that is closest to them - DLS. Every other Area in the Bay Area has at least 4 or 5 private H.S's who play HS Football competing for football players. And when you add up all the DIV 1 football players DLS has had over the years compared to other public or even other private schools - this Monopoly of an extremely large geographic region is magnified and proven even more.
They routinely have 2 to 4 D 1 players and in some years it is as high as 4 to 7 D 1 players. All their D 1 players play both ways - when they have 4 or more - that is almost half their high school team starters who will go onto play college football. Truly an amazing advantage.
But, Coach Lad has and did win against the teams from other areas who had similar talent. And I am not saying Coach Lad was not a great coach. He absolutely was a great coach. For him to accomplish what he did is truly amazing. Quite Frankly.
2015 Serra 37-21How far back do you have to go for that info
2014 Serra 43-13
2013 Serra 21-14
2012 Bellarmine 41-7
2011 Bellarmine 26-23 2OT
2010 Serra 45-7
2009 Serra 14-7
2008 Serra 29-28
2007 Serra 40-22, Palma 55-0
2006 Serra 40-28, Palma 28-3
2005 Serra 61-13, Mitty 35-21, Palma 28-21
2004 Mitty 49-0, Palma 7-7 tie (no CCS tie breakers in those days)
2003 Mitty 47-0, Palma 35-0, St. Francis 39-8
2002 Mitty 24-0, St. Francis 14-0
2001 St. Francis 42-0
2000 St. Francis 42-7
1999 St. Francis 35-7
1998 St. Francis 21-0
1997- 1994 none
1993 Riordan 46-6
1992 Riordan 54-0
1991 St. Francis 29-14
1990 St. Francis 35-12
1989 St. Francis 16-18 LOSS
1988 Bellarmine 35-14, St. Francis 38-7
1987 Bellarmine 32-7, St. Francis 29-23
1986 Bellarmine 32-28
1985 Bellarmine 37-14
1984 Serra 31-0
1983-1982 none
1981 Riordan 36-13
1980 Sacred Heart Cathedral 49-7, Riordan 14-24 LOSS
1979 Sacred Heart Cathedral 26-13
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Choosing a private school is like applying to college (which I've supervised three times.) Cast your net far and wide and someone ends up wanting you. Publics have a net that is oh so small, and every minnow, turtle, carp, piranha and bald Goodyear comes up with it. dLS is like every other private with a selective admissions policy, and that "admissions test" is not to admit the "best" (as one alum claimed.) It's to weed out those who are the bottom feeders academically as the resources to bring those kids up to speed are not in private school budgets, especially the parochial based which are experiencing dwindling parish numbers e.g. applicants. Not hating on privates as at the next level, they've served two of mine rather well. Some very powerful FBS schools give out full rides to National Merit Scholars to ramp up the USNWR rankings.
As far as dLS FB, great respect to the coaches, hard working players et al.
Admissions? Not so much.
Take it easy 'crete. Just my two cents.
As far as dLS FB, great respect to the coaches, hard working players et al.
Admissions? Not so much.
Take it easy 'crete. Just my two cents.
People don't give Lad the credit he deserves for building that program up. Before Lad showed up DLS was nothing special. You have to wonder if another coach would have had the same success, and, how Lad would have done had he coached at another private high school in the Bay Area.
Incorrect Paul. Berean Christain did not come to Walnut Creek until 1985 and they are now and have always been Div 5 or the lowest level of HS football. I am sorry that has not and has never been a Private HS that plays competitive HS football at a high level.
By 1985 DLS had won the 1984 and 1985 NCS Championships. Again, if you were the parent of an 8th grade boy who wanted to go to a private high school and play competitive HS school football from the towns / cities I have mentioned twice now - your nearest and only option was and is DLS. A unique advantage that DLS has had for a long time. A great credit to Lad for building a great program that boys have wanted to go to - to play HS football for a lot of years.
Now currently Clayton Valley Charter can get boys from other areas similiar to a private school - it will be interesting to see if Murphy can build a power to compete w/ DLS.
Uhhhh.... What exactly was DLS before Lad arrived? Let me help you- they were the equivalent of ..... Berean Christian.
Back to the drawing board Irish.
Back to the drawing board Irish.
Paul, - the point and the facts are that every area in the Bay Area has multiple private schools playing high level HS football ALL AT THE SAME TIME - Competitive choices for parents in those areas to send their sons who want to play HS football at a high level. I.E. Silicon Valley - Bellermine / Mitty / Serra / St. Frances / 4 schools -
DLS has stood ALL BY THEMSELLVES W/ NO OTHER High Level HS Football. It has been the only OPTION for COMPETITVE HS Football in an extremely large area up until just recently w/ Clayton Valley Charter.
I am sorry of you do not understand and get that you want to defend DLS - their is nothing to defend - I agree that what they have accomplished has been awesome.
Do you actually think DJ Williams, M. Drew and others even remotely thought about Berean Christain ? NO they did not.
Not sure what high level HS football means- very subjective term and one that I am sure you will contort.
DLS is surrounded by outstanding HS and some great football programs too if you looked around a bit. Just last year two schools within 5 miles of DLS went to Bowl games.
The "advantages" you claim don't come anywhere near explaining the Spartans unparalleled success.
DLS is surrounded by outstanding HS and some great football programs too if you looked around a bit. Just last year two schools within 5 miles of DLS went to Bowl games.
The "advantages" you claim don't come anywhere near explaining the Spartans unparalleled success.
