No, eight isn't enough

[colhenrylives]

The PAL has a problem: Too many struggling football teams. The league's officials thought they had a reasonable answer. They combined the PAL with the SCVAL (football only). The aim was to isolate the worst programs in both circuits into one large C division, the Lake. Eight teams. All ranging from awful to horrendous. For the most part, it worked but the number of forfeits, at both the varsity and JV levels, grew as the season wore on. Eight may not be enough. What to do about rapidly fading entities like Gunn and Jefferson, both currently in B divisions, El Camino and Ocean respectively? Woodside won the Lake this year. It will be moved to a B division in 2023. So which team (s) will be relegated to the Lake? Gunn or Jefferson? Or both? Then what? The coaches will have to decide. And, of course, there are other possible movements up and down the PAL pecking order as well. The overall state of public school football along the Peninsula and in CCS generally is not great. Too many programs in varying stages of life support. The expanded PAL Lake Division was supposed to be the solution. In some ways, it is. But there is a glut of failing programs. Good luck addressing this reality.

 

[Rmbr26]

The PAL [Peninsula Athletic League] with its 3 divisions Bay, Ocean & Lake is a particularly difficult situation to resolve in any way, shape or form. The leagues 2 lower divisions Ocean & Lake have been on a skid or downward spiral for approx. 12-15 years depending on which teams you review. The decline seems to have started in the early 2000's and gradually gotten worse over time with just a handful of teams dominating the league in the upper tier Bay League with the same few having any reasonable consistency season to season.
The weakest "Lake Division" has 8 teams as ColHenry pointed out while the Ocean Division has 6 teams along with the top Division Bay [or 20 teams total]. To give you an idea Calpreps team ratings for this season to date are as follows:
PAL Lake Division:
Woodside minus -18.1
El Camino minus -21.8
SSF minus -31.5
Fremont [Svl] minus -33.1
Monte Vista minus -44.1
Mills minus -45.2
Saratoga minus -50.6
Lynnbrook minus -60.1
PAL Ocean Division Top Team:
Terra Nova minus -1.1
PAL Bay Division Top Team:
SHP - +36.1
The decline of the league as a whole has been slow yet steady over the past 20 years. It's a shame as in a couple decades past the PAL had many good, respectible teams/programs and produced its share of some of the best players in the CCS. Having watched the PAL for many years teams like Terra Nova, Burlingame, San Mateo & Aragon were the powerhouse teams for some time, with SHP, HMB and M-A emerging later on.
To give you an idea here is the top PAL teams for the last 16-years [omitting 2020 pandemic season]:

The last year I went back was 2004 when I saw Aragon defeat Serra by 27-21 O/T in the CCS Open Semi-Final.
The game was 21-21 going into O/T with Aragon scoring a TD but missing the PAT to go up 27-21.. Serra then on first & goal from the 10 got 6 yards on first down to make it 2nd & goal for the Padres - needing just 4 yards & a PAT to advance to the Open Championship. On 2nd down the Padre RB had gained maybe 2-yards and was stripped of the ball with Aragon recovering and getting the win 27-21. Guessing that was the biggest win in Aragon football history.

2022 SHP 8-1 record & +36.1 rating
2021 Menlo-Atherton 9-3 record & 41.6 rating
2019 Menlo-Atherton 7-4 & 32.2 rating
2018 Menlo-Atherton 13-2 & 47.1 rating
2017 HMB 14-1 & 42.2 rating
2016 Menlo-Atherton 12-3 & 42.4 rating
2015 Burlingame 9-2 & 24.3 rating
2014 SHP 13-0 & 47.2 rating
2013 SHP 13-2 & 40.6 rating
2012 SHP 12-1 & 31.0 rating
2011 Terra Nova 8-3 & 30.9 rating
2010 Terra Nova 9-4 & 26.2
2009 Terra Nova 9-4 & 19.6
2008 Menlo-Atherton 11-2 & 31.8
2007 Menlo-Atherton 11-2 & 30.4
2006 Aragon 8-3 & 26.3
2005 Aragon 9-2 & 25.4
2004 Aragon 10-2 & 35.1

 

[LecheDeMiPalo]

Attribute the decline to the WCAL. You used to have to pay to go to a private school. In many cases they’ll not only let you attend for free now a days but they’ll go pick you up from wherever you stay to play football.

 

[sslg]

Rmbr26 - good stuff....one slight correction: Aragon beat Serra in 2004 in an opening round game. Aragon then lost to Los Gatos in the semis (21-7 ??)...LG then lost to Valley Christian in the finals.

 

[dcpanda]

Attribute the decline to the WCAL. You used to have to pay to go to a private school. In many cases they’ll not only let you attend for free now a days but they’ll go pick you up from wherever you stay to play football.

Simply untrue. Very few students can qualify for full financial aid at any WCAL school. A family would have to be in the midst of extreme financial hardship for that to happen. Average aid awards are in the 40 percent range. If families do use school transportation, they have to pay for it.

Even if a family gets a 50 percent award and only has to pay 12 or 13k, that’s still going to be a 50k commitment over four years, compared to free public school. There are a lot of families making significant sacrifices.

 

[Rmbr26]

Rmbr26 - good stuff....one slight correction: Aragon beat Serra in 2004 in an opening round game. Aragon then lost to Los Gatos in the semis (21-7 ??)...LG then lost to Valley Christian in the finals.

Thanks ssig as looked up to refresh my memory. So Serra lost in the first round of Open to Aragon, then Aragon lost to Los Gatos who had won over St. Ignatius first round & Los Gatos got clobbered in the Open Championship by VC 35-14.
Guessing you saw some of those games?
(Doesn’t seem like 18 yrs ago - those players now in mid-30’’s -Yikes!…