St. Francis vs. Oak Grove

[Adam007]

This weekend's matchup between St. Francis and Oak Grove is highly intriguing. St. Francis defeated Oak Grove earlier this year and has been steadily improving its running and passing game as the season has progressed. The Lancer defense has remained stout and it's first-team defense continues to be stingy on the opponents running game.

Oak Grove has had some recent statement wins over Mitty and Valley Christian and looks poised and capable of making it three wins over WCAL opponents in a row. I myself will be rooting for the Lancers, but I can see Oak Grove getting very hyped and able to win this CCS D-2 Open matchup. How do other folks see it? This is a clash between two foes who know each other well and I am just so excite about this matchup.

 

[Hatchball]

This is the most interesting CCS matchup for me this weekend because of how much Oak Grove has improved and how well they are playing right now. I expected them to lose to either Mitty or VC but was surpised at not only the wins but at how many points (94) they put up. I don't see St. Francis holding Oak Grove to 13 points this time around, I think Oak Grove pulls out the win, 31-28 or something close like that.

 

[2wcats]

Didn't OG pick up a few starters after the SF and VC games took place? I believe there were some academically ineligible guys for the first couple games.

 

[slick58]

I saw the first half of the first game and Oak Grove looked better than SF. I turned, turned back, and SF had pulled away. Interested to see how this plays out the second time around.

 

[Adam007]

I think if the Lancers focus on corraling Fontenette, then they should be able to win. I'm not too familiar with Oak Grove's other playmakers, but I know that Fontenette has been putting up video game numbers, so I think if they spy him with someone then they will be okay. The Lancer secondary is very good and matches up well with OG receiving core.

One thing to be weary of about OG is how their Football IQ carries them all 4-quarters. OG is fed by a perennially strong Pop Warner Football system who are full of pride, Football "know-how" and they're athletic. I can already predict they are going to be meaner than the Lancers on Saturday and will test the poise of the Lancers all night long.

However, Greg Calcagno has restored the Lancers to be a fundementally proficient team that plays good assignment-Football and limits their mistakes. In summary, I'll throw out my prediction:

SF 20
OG 17

 

[ncscalfootball]

A SJS Homer is going for Oak Grove! Wud not mind seeing either team face Vacaville or Wood -Vacaville!

 

[Streak One]

I think St. Francis is the better team, but Oak Grove has some good mojo going for them. I agree that this is the most interesting CCS game of the weekend.

 

[Cal 14]

Oak Grove could absolutely win this game. Going from a 24-0 defeat to a 19-point win against VC is a major statement. Also, St. Francis has been winning a lot of games ugly. If they get into a contest like that with the Eagles, they may not make it out. Just like many here, I think this game is a toss-up. Can't wait to see what happens.

 

[RodneyPete45]

Saw some good highlights of Oak Grove on Cal-Hi Sports Bay Area. Nice looking team. This should be a great game.

God bless.

 

[2wcats]

With all the talk above and the article in the Merc I was curious to see how much OG has improved over its first two matchups with SF and VC. Thought Maxpreps would be a good place to take a look at the stats from the first two games and the rematch with VC.
VC outgained OG in the first game 370 to 135. In the second game OG outgained VC 331 to 284 and a 43 point swing as Cal mentioned above.
OG out gained SF 329 to 294 in their first game but had 2 picks and 15 penalties for 113yds.

When the brackets came out I agreed that SF was the favorite but mentioned that a couple other teams could get hot and win this thing. After looking at the stats and the fact that OG picked up a few starters after the first VC game I have changed my mind and going with OG in this one.

As a side note if you have seen any of OG's games in person anyone can plainly see that Fontenette is a great HS football player. I didn't realize how good his stats were until I looked them up. Since OG rolled through league this year I thought they might be bloated but even against SF, VC, Mitty, and VC his stats are very impressive: 250 against SF, 114 against VC, 145 against Mitty, 132 against VC
Not sure any of these teams have allowed that many to any other player.
Oh and the kid has a 34yd avg. punting this year as well
If he can carry OG to a win and a CCS championship he will have to be in the mix for the Merc's player of the year or offensive player of the year

On the SF side Ahoia and Habibi-Likio are an impressive set of backs as well with just shy of 2000 yds between them. Habibi-Likio is listed at 6-0 and 158lb but plays much bigger. He is a very talented junior and I expect he will be a force in the CCS next year.

Looking forward to this game. Going to be a bit cold but at least no rain this year for the finals!

 

[Streak One]

Rashaan Fontenette is pretty darn good for Oak Grove. One of those guys that never gets a lot of pub, but puts together a huge senior year

 

[Adam007]

Cool hype video about this years Oak Grove Eagles:

I'm very excited that they're relevant again and will be really rooting for them in Regionals later

 

[farmair3]

Awesome video!!!!