regional games..did they get it right?
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Carmel is replacing Palma game with a bigger name team from NorCal. Will confirm when contract is signed. Carmel has some serious studs coming in with a few wrinkles that again I will mention when confirmed. Aptos got snubbed plain and simple. That team was so good and what I do not like is it just shows other schools why even bother to schedule up if in the end somebody with a much weaker schedule goes undefeated and gets the nod. Not even an Aptos fan but after watching them play for a couple games this year and then seeing them beat SI and Salinas it just ends up being a head scratcher.
I strongly believe the best teams from each section should schedule top teams from other sections in Nor Cal. There is no reason Grant and DLS still hasnt played each other. They need to put the politics away and split the gate 50/50 I dont give a damn if you have a movie or not. The top teams needs to play each other. That way we get a better picture of whos who. I think this game between Grant and Folsom will be a blast, I just dont understand why Grant is being thrown all over the place? People need to understand Grant is no push over. I think Grant will win 35-28.
@cal14. Not directly associated just very close. I hope Salinas game is still on. Great series and have some friends and family playing for them. Yes Div III team tho.Already looking forward to 2015 season. Your Salinas Cowboys tho killed me in the Finals. I was pulling for you guys but what a great season plus almost taking down the Open champs too.
Nut- Grant loses by 2-3 touchdowns. They can't play with teams who are close to them size-wise and athlete-wise. They have a lack of discipline and run an offense that has zero imagination.
Re DLS, trust me, that would be even worse, especially next year.
Re DLS, trust me, that would be even worse, especially next year.
Folsom never faced a team like Grant all year. Folsom is a well oiled machine but I doubt them defeating this Pacer team. I think the ground and pound will prove to be too much for that Folsom Defence. Browning will be forced to get rid of the ball early and will throw a few INT's to give the Pacers thw win. Thats my prediction on the game. Never count the Pacers out. Grant prefer to be the under dogs.
This simply is not true. Did you not see the 2008 Open game? That game surely showed otherwise. You'll be hard pressed to back up your claim with many examples.
Grant is consistently a very good team, typically among the best in the section, and when they have a special group of players as they did in 1996, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010, they can play with and beat anyone in the State. When they don't have a special group like that, they are vulnerable just like anyone else.
The discipline comment is hyperbole.
As for their offensive system, many could and have argued that the veer fits into that same category. Not every program runs an imaginative, wide open system. It really doesn't matter what you run as long as you execute.
During the Coach Al era, Grant has fielded pass-heavy offenses, rush-heavy offenses and teams that could do both quite well. That doesn't demonstrate lack of imagination, but rather great coaching to adapt to the strengths of your players. I would agree that situational play calling has been suspect at times over the years, but that's an entirely different thing.
ThunderRam...great assessment of Grant, I think you nailed it on the head.
Still believe Folsom will win by 20, but Grant will play them tough.
This post was edited on 12/8 7:41 PM by BayReporter
Still believe Folsom will win by 20, but Grant will play them tough.
This post was edited on 12/8 7:41 PM by BayReporter
As for this current Grant team matching up with Folsom, I would never say the Pacers don't have a chance but acknowledge that Folsom seems to have a very special, elite type team while the Pacers seem to merely have a very good one. There's a difference.
I've seen Grant play a ton over the years and I don't think this current squad has an elite level defense. They are quite good, obviously good enough to win a section crown, but they aren't dominating good as they have been many times in the past. The defenses they fielded in 08, 09 and 10 would have completely suffocated the St. Mary's team they played last week. I realize the Rams only scored 7 points against the defense, but they moved the ball well at times and the QB had far too much time to throw.
Offensively, I think this current team has the ability to throw the ball better than the 09 and 10 teams could, but not quite as good as 08. Their ability to run it and mix in the deep pass gives them a chance to score points if they play well. However, if they can't manage to put consistent pressure on Browning, I don't think they have a chance to outscore them.
If they get out to an early lead and can then use their speed and athleticism to make Browning rush some throws, they will give themselves a chance.
I've seen Grant play a ton over the years and I don't think this current squad has an elite level defense. They are quite good, obviously good enough to win a section crown, but they aren't dominating good as they have been many times in the past. The defenses they fielded in 08, 09 and 10 would have completely suffocated the St. Mary's team they played last week. I realize the Rams only scored 7 points against the defense, but they moved the ball well at times and the QB had far too much time to throw.
Offensively, I think this current team has the ability to throw the ball better than the 09 and 10 teams could, but not quite as good as 08. Their ability to run it and mix in the deep pass gives them a chance to score points if they play well. However, if they can't manage to put consistent pressure on Browning, I don't think they have a chance to outscore them.
If they get out to an early lead and can then use their speed and athleticism to make Browning rush some throws, they will give themselves a chance.
In my experience Grants thrives when playing other athletically gifted teams. In an open, Mano v Mano atmosphere the pacers can thrive, But they can struggle mightily against ball control, well-discplined teams. most forget Grant was fortunate to escape a home playoff game against Grantie Bay the year they beat Poly for States. Most in the crowd will tell you Grant was VERY fortunate to win that game. I remember St Mary's giving Grant fits a few years back, Rocklin, did the same. I've got Folsom by 3 TDs....
My apology for misinterpreting. I still don't agree, but you see what you see. Fair enough.
I just hope the Pacers coaches throw the kitchen sink at Browning to see how he handles it. They've got the personnel to take risks defensively. Among the mix of different looks I'd like to see are crowding the line of scrimmage and playing press bump and run coverage, along with the occasional zero blitz. Just don't play the same passive 'keep everything in front of you' defense everyone else has played all season. As the heavy underdog, they've got nothing to lose. Let it all hang out!
Mr big- I really like the Grant program and I love the community support. You can tell its close-knit and it's impressive. It has a Friday night lights feel to it. I just think there is more there and it's frustrating to a certain extent. I would love to see them put one full game together.
I'd say they struggle more against well-balanced offenses. I'm not speaking specifically about this current team, but just in general. One dimensional offenses typically haven't fared well against the Pacers. They've historically defended run-oriented schemes, such as the wing-t, better than most. For example, in 2009 they shut out Wa. State Champ Bellevue in their own backyard and historically they always gave Nevada Union the toughest challenge they saw all season.
I remember that game. Most also forget how good that GB team was. Many considered them right up there with Grant as the best team in the section. The Grizzlies suffered an upset loss to an upstart Roseville team for the SFL title. At 9-1 and without a league title, the Grizzlies got matched up with the Pacers in the first round. Going into that game, the talk was that the winner would be the section champ. And that's exactly what happened. I think GB might have been able to beat Poly that season too.
in response to fairmar - on the sutter vs aptos issue. I know aptos has a open date next year - is sutter interested in playing aptos?
Aptos defense and overall team speed would have overwhelmed Sutter. Its to bad that a 12-1 back to back CCS championship team that has not lost a CCS game in over two years did not get selected. I am sure the Sutter kids worked hard. However their schedule and especially their playoff competition does not even come close to the schedule Aptos played.
Aptos motto is to play anybody, anywhere, anytime. Their preseason 2015 games prove this - Salinas, Mitty, Bellarmine and Palma. You will not find a tougher schedule then this anywhere.
Aptos defense and overall team speed would have overwhelmed Sutter. Its to bad that a 12-1 back to back CCS championship team that has not lost a CCS game in over two years did not get selected. I am sure the Sutter kids worked hard. However their schedule and especially their playoff competition does not even come close to the schedule Aptos played.
Aptos motto is to play anybody, anywhere, anytime. Their preseason 2015 games prove this - Salinas, Mitty, Bellarmine and Palma. You will not find a tougher schedule then this anywhere.
Have you not been paying attention to Del Oro and De La Salle's preseason schedules in recent years?
Oakdale did not make the trip to play Enterprise because they had to replace Enterprise with Sonora. Sonora and Oakdale have had the longest football rivalry that goes back almost 100 years...longer then any other rivalry in California. Sonora was taken out of our league this year and put in the the MLL. Both teams wanted to keep the rivalry and tradition going. I have heard a lot of people say Oakdale was afraid they would lose to Enterprise again and that is not the case....last years Oakdale team was not good, one of the worst teams I have witnessed since 2008 and still they only lost to ENT by 1. Everyone knew that this years Oakdale team had what it took to make it to sections. Oakdale was definatly not afraid to play ENT this year. Oak has a team this year that would beat ENT by FAR more points than 1.
Why is everyone saying Enterprise got snubbed. As if Oakdale didn't deserve to be picked over ENT for regionals. Oakdale played some tough opponents in preseason, beat 2 time state champ Central Catholic by 20 and won handily by 25 points and more during playoffs and then came back
after being 20 points down going into locker room at the half against a great Inderkum team...Oakdale earned this bid
after being 20 points down going into locker room at the half against a great Inderkum team...Oakdale earned this bid
I wanna clarify that I wasn't inferring Oakdale was afraid to come north just that the game didn't happen and it would have been huge for us had it happened. Secondly, last year enterprise was playing its first game and Oakdale its second game. EHS really did not know what they had yet and were just getting going. At that point they were playing a 1-0 defending norcal d2 champ at their place, from what I hear possibly the hardest place to get a win in all of the SJS. Also I think its fair to consider people thinking enterprise got snubbed considering it was the defending champ, and as far as all of the different rankings and media outlets enterprise held a decisive advantage. Now not saying Oakdale isnt deserving because they are, they earned it by winning a title. As far as thinking Oakdale would put it on Enterprise well thats certainly up for debate. I can tell you one thing for sure and that is Enterprise has a better defense than Oakdale has seen all year, and probly will see. Its just a shame to me because in my honest opinion, Enterprise, Oakdale, and CVC are all very good football teams at what they do and in my opinion all play the same level of football, Oakdale obviously has the advantage of being in the SJS, and benefits from a deeper playoff field, CVC has a pretty easy playoff as does Enterprise. CVC played some good non league games and took care of business. Enterprise stepped up to a challenge of playing a school about twice its size and came up a little short. I can Certainly understand why Enterprise was left out but there was definitely a strong case for them to go as well.
Definitely a very tough decision. Oakdale and Enterprise were both worthy teams, and at the end of the day it simply came down to strength of schedule, and Oakdale clearly gets the nod. I definitely feel for Enterprise, as I do for Aptos and Sacred Heart.
This post was edited on 12/11 2:30 PM by BayReporter
This post was edited on 12/11 2:30 PM by BayReporter
