NCP Pick'em Week 8 Games

[H.E.A.T.]

10. SRV
9. Grant
8. Bradshaw Cristian
7. Cardinal Newman
6. Oakdale
5. Willow Glen
4. Wilcox
3. Hughson
2. SF (21-20)
1. Foothill

Another tough week!….

not so tough🤪🤪

 

[Streak One]

Here are the scores for this week. We have a runaway race for the top two spots. Scores will go final at 12:00 PM on Tuesday since I'm late getting them up.

Congrats to THEOC89 on a perfect week.

Foothill beat Shasta 21-14
Hughson beat Sonora 52-51
Oakdale beat Patterson 56-40
Grant beat West Park 48-7
Willow Glen beat Sobrato 20-3
Wilcox beat Menlo 28-14
St. Francis beat Serra 27-21
Cardinal Newman beat Windsor 24-23
San Ramon Valley beat California 38-26
Bradshaw Christian beat Union Mine 35-0

THEOC89 55
Relly900 54
NorCalSportsFan 50
H.E.A.T. 50
Irish_Cheers 49
dlew66 49
209Tides 49
thehookup55 48
carlmerritt 48
WCAL88 48
bella123 47
FBAddict 47
ArmchairGOAT 46
kiddman32 46
SearsPoints 45
RLS13 44
sweetjfromthebay 44
EN_FB_Alum 44
bulldogmgc 44
Cal 14 44
Norcalguy111 43
Streak One 42
Sacchiefs 42
ARHS92 42
The Heat Miser 42
MC415 42
M.C. Fan 41
Folsom77 40
Macallan 34

Yearly Top 10:

1. THEOC89 374
2. kiddman32 365
3. FBAddict 355
4. NorCalSportsFan 353
5. bulldogmgc 345
5. 209Tides 345
7. EN_FB_Alum 344
8. Irish_Cheers 342
9. Cal 14 341
10. SearsPoints 340

 

[FBAddict]

Congrats @THEOC89 - you are almost out of reach...

 

[THEOC89]

Congrats @THEOC89 - you are almost out of reach...

Thanks!!..,, I don’t know how because the last 3 weeks at least half of my picks were just going with my gut which tends to be wrong!!….. 🤣

There is a reason I don’t Gamble!!… 🤣🤣

Still plenty of time to mess this up though!!….

 

[H.E.A.T.]

Damn 9-1 and i had St francis but changed my mine . Boy that Serra win vs Folsom has doomed any chance for a folsom open bid

 

[ArmchairGOAT]

Nice job @THEOC89 !

 

[Cal 14]

Damn 9-1 and i had St francis but changed my mine . Boy that Serra win vs Folsom has doomed any chance for a folsom open bid

It may even force the Bulldogs down to D-1A if Clovis East is undefeated in the CS.

Will be really interesting to see how it will be decided. Pitt, DLS, and SRV contenders in the NCS (although I think the Wolfpack may be a little bit smoke and mirrors, relatively speaking). The NCS D-Open will likely be the CIF D-Open rep with the NCS D-1 winner going to D-1AA. Could be CCS D-Open winner versus Folsom in D-1A.

 

[THEOC89]

It may even force the Bulldogs down to D-1A if Clovis East is undefeated in the CS.

Will be really interesting to see how it will be decided. Pitt, DLS, and SRV contenders in the NCS (although I think the Wolfpack may be a little bit smoke and mirrors, relatively speaking). The NCS D-Open will likely be the CIF D-Open rep with the NCS D-1 winner going to D-1AA. Could be CCS D-Open winner versus Folsom in D-1A.

I agree with you on SRV..,,, I think their Big Missing Piece from the last 2 years is Luke Baker who is playing Both FB and Baseball at Sac State this year….. that kid is an incredible athlete and leader..,,,,

After watching Cal vs SRV I think DLS will neutralize Marco Jones and dictate the game to SRV and win like 31-17…..

PITT is the big problem I see for DLS with their offense…. If that game happens I see it like when DLS played Cen10 in the Open and won 60 something to 40 something….. not sure that PITT will be able to stop this version of the DLS veer….

Folsom will Destroy whoever they pay in any Regional play in game…. I still can’t figure out how Serra beat them…, 🤣

 

[NorCalSportsFan]

I agree with you on SRV..,,, I think their Big Missing Piece from the last 2 years is Luke Baker who is playing Both FB and Baseball at Sac State this year….. that kid is an incredible athlete and leader..,,,,

After watching Cal vs SRV I think DLS will neutralize Marco Jones and dictate the game to SRV and win like 31-17…..

PITT is the big problem I see for DLS with their offense…. If that game happens I see it like when DLS played Cen10 in the Open and won 60 something to 40 something….. not sure that PITT will be able to stop this version of the DLS veer….

Folsom will Destroy whoever they pay in any Regional play in game…. I still can’t figure out how Serra beat them…, 🤣

Folsom lines weren't very good against Serra. WCAL at the top is stronger than SFL this season. Folsom would have tough games against St Francis and SI. WCAL team plays defense and Folsom has trouble against ball control teams that play really good defense. Folsom would have tough time competing in WCAL this season.

 

[bulldogmgc]

DLS will be challenged by Pittsburg, and I might pick Pittsburg to beat DLS in the NCS Open. I agree the winner of the NCS Open should be the NorCal Open rep.

The NCS D1 champion and Clovis East (if can finish undefeated) should face off in the NorCal D1AA regional.

I envision SJS D1 champion (Folsom) facing CCS Open champion for NorCal D1A. I consider the Folsom loss to Serra a fluke and Folsom representing NorCal for D1A.

I envision SJS D2 champion facing CCS D1 or SJS D3, whichever is ranked higher, for NorCal D2AA. My guess it will be CCS D1 champion selected and not SJS D3, because Grant will be battling with Rocklin, St. Mary’s, and Manteca in SJS D2. Rocklin should be the favorite to represent NorCal D2AA. But, St Mary’s offense may have something to say in a potential SJS D2 section title game. The Rams offense is quite a notch better this year with both Moore and Gayles a year older (still just a junior and sophomore). Just ask DLS. But, early common opponent Bishop Manogue was easily defeated by Rocklin (17-48) vs a well-earned close victory against St Mary’s (21-14). But, note BM also lost to Central Catholic (2-41), yet St Mary’s had their way with Central Catholic (27-14) just the week after losing to BM. So, throw the common opponent analysis out the window (like always). lol

In any case the SJS D2 section championship should be a good one and IMO the winner will be a solid NorCal D2AA rep.

Just my take, which is NOT always right and probably more unpredictable than prior years considering how it’s going for me in the NorCal pick’ems so far (not bad, just not as good compared to last 2 years) lol.

 

[dlew66]

Folsom lines weren't very good against Serra. WCAL at the top is stronger than SFL this season. Folsom would have tough games against St Francis and SI. WCAL team plays defense and Folsom has trouble against ball control teams that play really good defense. Folsom would have tough time competing in WCAL this season.

Any good team would struggle any year in the WCAL. This is actually a slightly down year for them and it’s still, like most seasons, one of the best (if not the best) Nor Cal leagues.

EBAL’s top three may be the best trio in Nor Cal this year.

 

[NorCalSportsFan]

I wou

Any good team would struggle any year in the WCAL. This is actually a slightly down year for them and it’s still, like most seasons, one of the best (if not the best) Nor Cal leagues.

EBAL’s top three may be the best trio in Nor Cal this year.

l wouldn't call WCAL down. Been following the league since late 1970s. Serra is young and down from last season but still good enough to defeat the best team in the SJS in Folsom. Bells have been down for years and SHC is in a tough spot, but rest are quality teams with top 4 as tough as any league in Norcal (maybe only Tri-river in Central Section is stronger but debatable and in East Bay Mountain DLS skews the league but top 3-4 teams are very good and would rank as better).

 

[observer22]

I wou

l wouldn't call WCAL down. Been following the league since late 1970s. Serra is young and down from last season but still good enough to defeat the best team in the SJS in Folsom. Bells have been down for years and SHC is in a tough spot, but rest are quality teams with top 4 as tough as any league in Norcal (maybe only Tri-river in Central Section is stronger but debatable and in East Bay Mountain DLS skews the league but top 3-4 teams are very good and would rank as better).

Sure DLS skews the East Bay Mountain some. But the fact that SRV beat the top WCAL team SI head to head 28-10, and the 3rd ranked EBAL team Cal just played SRV closer than SI shows the EBAL Mountain could arguably be the stronger league this year even without DLS. The EBAL Mountain is 4-0 vs the WCAL this season.

 

[Macallan]

I wou

l wouldn't call WCAL down. Been following the league since late 1970s. Serra is young and down from last season but still good enough to defeat the best team in the SJS in Folsom. Bells have been down for years and SHC is in a tough spot, but rest are quality teams with top 4 as tough as any league in Norcal (maybe only Tri-river in Central Section is stronger but debatable and in East Bay Mountain DLS skews the league but top 3-4 teams are very good and would rank as better).

Outside of Serra, WCAL doesn't impress.

 

[dlew66]

I wou

l wouldn't call WCAL down. Been following the league since late 1970s. Serra is young and down from last season but still good enough to defeat the best team in the SJS in Folsom. Bells have been down for years and SHC is in a tough spot, but rest are quality teams with top 4 as tough as any league in Norcal (maybe only Tri-river in Central Section is stronger but debatable and in East Bay Mountain DLS skews the league but top 3-4 teams are very good and would rank as better).

I hear you. My son is a proud Bell grad and was on their last hoop co-championship team (w/Mitty and Riodan) in '20. I have a few cousins on the football team now. Unreal regarding where football program is today. We'll figure it out.

The only reason I said it's a slightly down year is due to Serra going to the state in the Open division a few years in a row, St. Francis beating DLS a few years back, Bellarmine was making a comeback and their young coach left, and so on.

I agree with you regarding the Tri-River and EBAL. I do believe the top three in the EBAL are better than the top 3 WCAL squads as a group this season.

EBAL is 27-4 in non-league (3 of those losses are by Amador Valley and other loss is the Bishop O'Dowd upset win over Monte Vista). WCAL was 12-12. And as Observer pointed out, EBAL is 4-0 vs. the WCAL this year.

 

[dlew66]

Outside of Serra, WCAL doesn't impress.

Serra is young, a bit down, and still beat Folsom this year. But they just took it on the chin vs. Valley Christian and lost to SI. Sacred Heart played them tough for most of the game as well. SI, St. Francis, Valley Christian, and even Riodan, would be a problem in any top Cali league outside of the Trinity.

Serra may come in fourth in the WCAL this season and they beat the best Sac has to offer.

I'm impressed, and I'm sure others are too.

 

[Macallan]

Serra is young, a bit down, and still beat Folsom this year. But they just took it on the chin vs. Valley Christian and lost to SI. Sacred Heart played them tough for most of the game as well. SI, St. Francis, Valley Christian, and even Riodan, would be a problem in any top Cali league outside of the Trinity.

Serra may come in fourth in the WCAL this season and they beat the best Sac has to offer.

I'm impressed, and I'm sure others are too.

The central coast section is WCAL. There are no other teams or leagues. Serra is the only team that schedules anyone of note outside of the CCS. Until this changes, IMO, the CCS/WCAL doesn't mean much to me, outside of Serra.

 

[NorCalSportsFan]

The central coast section is WCAL. There are no other teams or leagues. Serra is the only team that schedules anyone of note outside of the CCS. Until this changes, IMO, the CCS/WCAL doesn't mean much to me, outside of Serra.

Your point is similar to saying the Southern Section is nothing outside of the Trinity league and MD and SJB. LOL Two CCS teams Soquel and Palma won smaller school division state championships

 

[dlew66]

The central coast section is WCAL. There are no other teams or leagues. Serra is the only team that schedules anyone of note outside of the CCS. Until this changes, IMO, the CCS/WCAL doesn't mean much to me, outside of Serra.

 

[dlew66]

SI beat San Diego's #2 ranked team this season. St. Francis has had a ton of success the past few years (state champ in '17) too including the first local team since Pitt in '91 to beat DLS a few years back. The CCS/WCAL has sent over a dozen squads to the Nor Cal championship games not named Serra over the past ten years. Serra is the most impressive, but there are others. Milpitas has a few state 'ships and other champs are Wilcox, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Sacred Heart Prep, Menlo Atherton, etc. Heck, Bellarmine was a runner up as recent as '22. As was Santa Teresa that year. Several more runner ups the past ten years too.

Their pre-season scheduling hasn't been an issue IMO. Plenty of competition in their own CCS backyard and other local Bay Area squads. It's where you finish that counts:

List of California state high school football champions - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Macallan]

Homers will be homers. I get it.

 

[dlew66]

Homers will be homers. I get it.

 

[dlew66]

That’s Mr. Simpson to you.

I’m a Salesian grad (old CAL league w/DLS, St. Mary’s, St. Pat’s, BOD, Moreau, St. Liz, and St. Joe’s), Only time I played a CCS team growing up was when Greg Jeffries (Mets) was at Serra. They beat us on a grand slam in the 7th. We were both ranked in the state at that time.

I’m just a fan of facts. No emotions here.

So which league/conference is better in your expert opinion?!?

 

[Norcalguy111]

Sure DLS skews the East Bay Mountain some. But the fact that SRV beat the top WCAL team SI head to head 28-10, and the 3rd ranked EBAL team Cal just played SRV closer than SI shows the EBAL Mountain could arguably be the stronger league this year even without DLS. The EBAL Mountain is 4-0 vs the WCAL this season.

Everyone knows the East bay has the best football in the Bay Area. Only a handful of people know that EBAL is the best league in Nor cal at least for this season.