Padres barbecue

[colhenrylives]

The sight was rather surreal. After just four offensive plays to begin the second half Saturday, Serra led Bellarmine, 43-0. After that, there was a running clock and Serra, which did not return punts at that point via the fair catch option, began substituting liberally. It was the third consecutive year that the Bells were run over by the San Mateo freight train. Historic stuff. It was about as one-sided as you can imagine. The fleet-footed Padres did whatever they wanted. A far cry from the days when the powerhouse Bells showed up, strolled off their bus and dominated Serra year in and year out, happily pounding the Padres into papal jelly. The WCAL worm has turned. Dan Pastorini has used up his eligibility. John Hanna is no longer with us. But it was worse than that. At most, there were 150 Bellarmine fans at the contest. Maybe two dozen (at most) students were there. No mascot. No cheerleaders. No band. No annoying victory bell. So little support for the Jesuit program it left some observers wondering if the school has decided to downsize football somehow. Fortunately, the Serra PA system didn't work on the Bellarmine side of the field. More than a few customers left this debacle at halftime. You couldn't really blame them. It was that bad. If those folks had exited via Stratford Way they would have noticed a fresh Halloween display in front of a neighbor's house. It featured a variety of ghastly figures and a faux barbecue with a fake child being roasted on a spit. The comparison with the ballgame was irresistible. For grizzled Serra alumni, the entire spectacle was balm for the soul indeed.

 

[smashmouthrick]

Sad to see, always respected the powerhouse Bells. Hope this is just a temporary power outage.

 

[colhenrylives]

In fairness to Bellarmine, the Bells have 23 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists in the 2019 competition for those coveted awards. Serra, on the other hand, has zero. One can surely speculate on what those numbers mean in the big picture. One thing seems pretty clear, though: The National Merit authorities are not testing students on their ability to rush the passer on third and long.

 

[CityGame]

In fairness to Bellarmine, the Bells have 23 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists in the 2019 competition for those coveted awards. Serra, on the other hand, has zero. One can surely speculate on what those numbers mean in the big picture. One thing seems pretty clear, though: The National Merit authorities are not testing students on their ability to rush the passer on third and long.

Sad to see the Bells fall this far. Not a good sign that the their frosh also got boat raced by the Padres 37-8.

 

[jordan24]

In fairness to Bellarmine, the Bells have 23 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists in the 2019 competition for those coveted awards. Serra, on the other hand, has zero. One can surely speculate on what those numbers mean in the big picture. One thing seems pretty clear, though: The National Merit authorities are not testing students on their ability to rush the passer on third and long.

What’s that Jesuit school mocking chant? “That’s alright, that’s ok, you’ll be working for me some day!” lol!

 

[Rmbr26]

Though memories of those precious days and games in HS stay with us forever. The Padre players will have delightful memories of running up & down the field in a 43-0 shut-out of their oldest rival. The Bells players on the other hand...

That had to be a grim bus ride back to San Jose ....without the running clock for the 2nd 1/2 this would have been the worst Bells defeat ever..

 

[colhenrylives]

Though memories of those precious days and games in HS stay with us forever. The Padre players will have delightful memories of running up & down the field in a 43-0 shut-out of their oldest rival. The Bells players on the other hand...

That had to be a grim bus ride back to San Jose ....without the running clock for the 2nd 1/2 this would have been the worst Bells defeat ever..

There is no truth to the vicious rumor that God created the running clock specifically for this situation.

 

[dcpanda]

In fairness to Bellarmine, the Bells have 23 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists in the 2019 competition for those coveted awards. Serra, on the other hand, has zero. One can surely speculate on what those numbers mean in the big picture. One thing seems pretty clear, though: The National Merit authorities are not testing students on their ability to rush the passer on third and long.

And in fairness to Serra, I read in their magazine that their valedictorians last year headed off to Stanford, Georgetown, and Berkeley, so I think they are doing fine academically as well.

 

[Hatchball]

They'll never be able to take away the "Serra is a girl's name" chant.

 

[MJ2014]

In fairness to Bellarmine, the Bells have 23 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists in the 2019 competition for those coveted awards. Serra, on the other hand, has zero. One can surely speculate on what those numbers mean in the big picture. One thing seems pretty clear, though: The National Merit authorities are not testing students on their ability to rush the passer on third and long.

In the world of scholastics, that is solid and then some. In the world of football, if they can’t play football, they are not much help.

 

[jordan24]

My favorite has always been “Who’s your Padre?!?” Lol.
Love the WCAL rivalries!

 

[colhenrylives]

Though memories of those precious days and games in HS stay with us forever. The Padre players will have delightful memories of running up & down the field in a 43-0 shut-out of their oldest rival. The Bells players on the other hand...

That had to be a grim bus ride back to San Jose ....without the running clock for the 2nd 1/2 this would have been the worst Bells defeat ever..

Serra's backup junior QB (a strong prospect, by the way) had a nifty TD run called back. A 50-total would have been an all-time number vs. Bells for Serra. Kudos to the Padres for Christian charity above all.

 

[remc]

What’s that Jesuit school mocking chant? “That’s alright, that’s ok, you’ll be working for me some day!” lol!

When the mighty take a fall.....

 

[MaoliFighter]

Why isn't Bellarmine getting any more athletes?

 

[colhenrylives]

It may well be due to Bellarmine's tough admission requirements; the school's academic rigor is well-known. With more than 1,600 boys, though, the Jesuit school should only rarely be mediocre or poor in football or any other sport for that matter.

 

[Hatchball]

They don't give athletes a free pass or preference, they need to go through the same admissions process that everyone else does. If an athlete makes it in, they make it in.

 

[Rmbr26]

"Hatchball,[/B] post: 210385, member: 1076"]They don't give athletes a free pass or preference, they need to go through the same admissions process that everyone else does. If an athlete makes it in, they make it in.

Correct as a family member involved in admissions at one of the schools and athletic ability plays no part in meeting the admissions requirements. They either meet the requirements/guidelines or they do not get accepted. I saved a few article links on the subject from past discussions. This one is a bit long, but good as is about CCS schools.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/02/26/from-the-archives-public-vs-private-schools-same-old-story/

 

[Hatchball]

Correct as a family member involved in admissions at one of the schools and athletic ability plays no part in meeting the admissions requirements. They either meet the requirements/guidelines or they do not get accepted. I saved a few article links on the subject from past discussions. This one is a bit long, but good as is about CCS schools.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/02/26/from-the-archives-public-vs-private-schools-same-old-story/

Thanks for the link! I don't have a Mercury News membership but if anyone else is interested in reading the story, here's a link to the Google cached page -

https://webcache.googleusercontent....ols-same-old-story/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

 

[1315]

A 1996 article is outdated with the changing landscape of:

A) Charter school advent
B) Catholic priest scandals
C) Increasing popularity of non-secular privates

In the East Bay even a few dLS supporters acknowledge the changes.

 

[colhenrylives]

A possible bottom line: It is very likely that Bellarmine's unbending academic admission requirements are tougher than most of the other WCAL schools. Demand for entrance there is usually quite high.

 

[scvalfan]

Bellarmine had a great run, with a ton of talented athletes. They won titles in 07, 08, 09, 11, 12, and 15; however, before they broke through in 07, they had not been on top in the WCAL for 10 years. I am assuming that their current "struggles" stem from the difficulty of sustaining high levels of success in the WCAL.

Serra's ability to attract students with elite size (their lineman are ludicrously large) and speed into their program and Saint Francis widening the scope of their athletes beyond their historic base (Los Altos, Mountain View, Redwood City, Menlo Park) come into play as well.

Either way, the WCAL is a beast, and playing a different game than everyone else.

 

[remc]

They don't give athletes a free pass or preference, they need to go through the same admissions process that everyone else does. If an athlete makes it in, they make it in.

Respect for that

 

[feedback1]

They'll never be able to take away the "Serra is a girl's name" chant.

Weak. Serra is a last name. Reminds me of the song 'A boy named Sue'.
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's the name that helped to make you strong

My favorite has always been “Who’s your Padre?!?” Lol.

Much better. That is funny.

Why isn't Bellarmine getting any more athletes?

Academics and tough admissions might the answer. And it might be the Double Wing that they run (assuming they still run it). What 'athlete' wants to play in that offense? Veer is bad enough. Double Wing is awful. Its not like Bellarmine is DLS where you know that your team will be the most talented team on the field in every game they play (usually) and will be the top team in their section every year. And they can run the 1950's veer and still attract the top talent for a 60 mile radius. The WCAL can be a meat grinder.

 

[colhenrylives]

Weak. Serra is a last name. Reminds me of the song 'A boy named Sue'.
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's the name that helped to make you strong



Much better. That is funny.



Academics and tough admissions might the answer. And it might be the Double Wing that they run (assuming they still run it). What 'athlete' wants to play in that offense? Veer is bad enough. Double Wing is awful. Its not like Bellarmine is DLS where you know that your team will be the most talented team on the field in every game they play (usually) and will be the top team in their section every year. And they can run the 1950's veer and still attract the top talent for a 60 mile radius. The WCAL can be a meat grinder.

Bells used the double-wing a lot Saturday in San Mateo. It was ineffective. Then again, they can't pass anyway so why try to open up the offense?

 

[dcpanda]

Hasn’t Bellarmine always had high admission standards? In any case, Serra and Saint Francis also have smart kids who are good football players as well. There was an article written this month about EJ Lahlouh’s exploits on the SAT. Serra also had an Ivy League corner/wr last year, and Nio Mafi, the league MVP, was also a great student. The key for any team in the wcal is attracting great students who can also do well in extracurriculars.

 

[jordan24]

Hasn’t Bellarmine always had high admission standards? In any case, Serra and Saint Francis also have smart kids who are good football players as well. There was an article written this month about EJ Lahlouh’s exploits on the SAT. Serra also had an Ivy League corner/wr last year, and Nio Mafi, the league MVP, was also a great student. The key for any team in the wcal is attracting great students who can also do well in extracurriculars.

You can say that about all the teams - in which academics should always be the focus for any student athlete.

 

[jordan24]

Correct as a family member involved in admissions at one of the schools and athletic ability plays no part in meeting the admissions requirements. They either meet the requirements/guidelines or they do not get accepted. I saved a few article links on the subject from past discussions. This one is a bit long, but good as is about CCS schools.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/02/26/from-the-archives-public-vs-private-schools-same-old-story/

The difference is schools like Bellarmine, St. Ignatius and St. Francis have larger endowments, thus being able to offer far more attractive financial assistance than some of the other schools.

 

[Rmbr26]

The difference is schools like Bellarmine, St. Ignatius and St. Francis have larger endowments, thus being able to offer far more attractive financial assistance than some of the other schools.

Jordan - its doesn't appear quite that simple unless I'm wrong. Different size student bodies such as Bells at I think around 1600 and then at Serra at maybe 1100 and then smaller WCAL's such as ARHS & SHC. The endowments are different of course in size and there are also strict limitations on how those are used. For financial assistance & to what degree is based upon each case of a student/family requesting & applying for and their circumstances. Since athletics is not even a consideration of the financial assistance programs I don't see how one school benefits over another in term of any athletic team.

 

[colhenrylives]

Jordan - its doesn't appear quite that simple unless I'm wrong. Different size student bodies such as Bells at I think around 1600 and then at Serra at maybe 1100 and then smaller WCAL's such as ARHS & SHC. The endowments are different of course in size and there are also strict limitations on how those are used. For financial assistance & to what degree is based upon each case of a student/family requesting & applying for and their circumstances. Since athletics is not even a consideration of the financial assistance programs I don't see how one school benefits over another in term of any athletic team.

Serra's enrollment is just below 850. All boys. CCS website has all enrollments listed.

 

[TheGoldenShower]

In fairness to Bellarmine, the Bells have 23 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists in the 2019 competition for those coveted awards. Serra, on the other hand, has zero. One can surely speculate on what those numbers mean in the big picture. One thing seems pretty clear, though: The National Merit authorities are not testing students on their ability to rush the passer on third and long.

The Padres MLB scored 790 on his Math portion of the SAT, find me a Bell player who did.

Also I’ve heard the the kneeling during the anthem chaos has angered boosters and Parents didn’t find it amusing.

 

[1315]

790 is awesome. But not listed as a National Merit Semi-finalist. That means his verbal was pretty low OR he didn’t take the PSAT. It’s rare in academic trajectory families for bright students to skip the psat for if their SAT score is equal or higher, it means $$ from colleges that recruit NMS. Fact.

 

[colhenrylives]

Bellarmine had a great run, with a ton of talented athletes. They won titles in 07, 08, 09, 11, 12, and 15; however, before they broke through in 07, they had not been on top in the WCAL for 10 years. I am assuming that their current "struggles" stem from the difficulty of sustaining high levels of success in the WCAL.

Serra's ability to attract students with elite size (their lineman are ludicrously large) and speed into their program and Saint Francis widening the scope of their athletes beyond their historic base (Los Altos, Mountain View, Redwood City, Menlo Park) come into play as well.

Either way, the WCAL is a beast, and playing a different game than everyone else.

Not so sure that the WCAL is playing a different game in 2018. The pre-season was illuminating. The league went just 10-8 vs. public schools. Versus private/parochials, the record was much worse, 1-5. The total: 11-13. That should tell you something.

 

[TheGoldenShower]

The Padres MLB scored 790 on his Math portion of the SAT, find me a Bell player who did.

Also I’ve heard the the kneeling during the anthem chaos has angered boosters and Parents didn’t find it amusing.

I can guarantee you Serra MLB could get into Ivy League School over any Bell player on a priority checklist.

 

[colhenrylives]

Good to know you have all restricted grade-point/test data on every football player at Bellarmine.

 

[1315]

“Priority checklist.” I’m not sure what that is but one must have an understanding of how “the bands” work at Ivies (and not the musical ones) if your kid wants to play sports and get a likely letter.

Otherwise, just flappin’ a jib.

 

[Spartanwhoknows]

“Priority checklist.” I’m not sure what that is but one must have an understanding of how “the bands” work at Ivies (and not the musical ones) if your kid wants to play sports and get a likely letter.

Otherwise, just flappin’ a jib.

This is ridiculous chatter, The kid gets a 790 in Math and there is criticism. He is a great kid and a great HS MLB

 

[1315]

This is ridiculous chatter, The kid gets a 790 in Math and there is criticism. He is a great kid and a great HS MLB

Whoah Spartan. I wrote “790 is awesome.” And there’s no doubt that’s Ivy-worthy. But I can assure you as the parent of a NMS, that alone means nothing when it comes to high academic institutions.

I’m all for kids doing two things:
A) Get your bachelors
B) IF you play, go to where you CAN play. Being a backup at an Ivy I suppose would be okay since the degree trade off MAY be worth it. But holding a clipboard for 4-5 years isn’t competing.

 

[colhenrylives]

To change the focus for a moment, is there any doubt that, if the Bellarmine administration decides to upgrade its football program, it can't happen? Right. It would happen, and fairly rapidly. Bellarmine's long history of gridiron excellence, combined with 400 available freshman seats each year, is almost a guarantee of a talent surge, assuming the administration is up for that.

 

[1315]

I was a little surprised about the Bells current state as they took dLS to the brink not long ago. But Student-athlete is the moniker...not so sure it’s true for other parochials.

 

[Hatchball]

To change the focus for a moment, is there any doubt that, if the Bellarmine administration decides to upgrade its football program, it can't happen? Right. It would happen, and fairly rapidly. Bellarmine's long history of gridiron excellence, combined with 400 available freshman seats each year, is almost a guarantee of a talent surge, assuming the administration is up for that.

Any private can adjust their enrollment numbers or admissions criteria. That wouldn't be Bellarmine's MO though, they had a rough stretch in the late 90's early 00's before their run. Talent comes in cycles for all schools unless they play the transfer game.