WCAL 2014 - Returning Impact Players for 2015

[PAL95]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 6 of League Play

In the Serra-Mitty game Mitty finally spread it out and made use of their playmakers. They started the game in a 5 wr set and ran some no huddle. With the weapons on offense to throw too this allowed Foley to use his legs and make easy throws downfield. If they keep this offense the way it is Mitty will be very tough to beat. Defense was solid as usual and could very well shut VC;s running game down. Serra fumbled four times recovering all 4 so this game could have actually been uglier than it was. I would say the score would be similar to Serra score in favor of Mitty if they use the spread offense again, but if they go back to the "regular offense" VC wins by a touchdown.

 

[Rmbr26]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 6 of League Play


PAL - agree with you re: the new look offense by Mitty - but why do I feel they'll go right back to the "regular offense" which some WCAL teams are addicted to. Serra's fumbles did hurt them even though they recovered the 4 in affecting their field position and loss of yards/downs. Twice in the 2nd 1/2 with ineffective offense and a very poor game punting Serra gave the ball right back to Mitty in Padres territory, once punting out of the end zone & giving it to the Monarchs on the Serra 37 yard line - which really put pressure on Serra's D. I will say that if Serra continues and fumbles another 3-4 times & SHC recovers along with an INT or 2 that the Irish could actually upset the Padres this week. The Irish have played well at times such as against Mitty & SF last week and with the right breaks, well....

 

[Rmbr26]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 6 of League Play


Question - does anyone know if Kirk Johnson returns to action this week against Mitty?

 

[PAL95]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 6 of League Play

That's a good question because if you look back Johnson has not played a varsity game against Mitty since his sophomore year, including last year in the blowout CCS open loss. That one two punch of Johnson and McCloud is tough and it would really help VC if they get him back. The younger Johnson should have a good matchup against CB Monroe which could be the difference. Balls are rarely thrown Monroe's way so it will be interesting to see.

 

[HSS75]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 6 of League Play

"SHC's worst loss this season was by 21 points to the Bells, however this last week SF barely got by the Irish of SHC by 27-21."

The score seems to show a competitive game, and it was to a point. SHC came out with a great passing game plan and I think SF was caught off guard. But SF was never really in danger. SHC's defense had a terrible showing in stopping the run. SF just kept on getting big chunks of yardage. SHC also had a chance to stop SF with 4 minutes left in the game to have a chance in scoring but SF just marched down the field without much resitence and sat down on the ball at SHC's 1 yard line to end the game. SHC plays Serra and VC next and they have a boat load of talented skill players on offense. If they play defense like the way they did with team who has a history trouble scoring, it spells doom. Right now, Serra and VC may score 50 on them.

SF vs Bells is going to be a great game. You can take a look at the Bells vs VC game as purely a bad game for the Bells. Last year it came down to a 4th and goal for SF to tie at the last play of the game but came up short. I'm sure SF will be fired up for this game and as well as the Bells. Expect SF to keep running the ball and do periodical play action if the game is close. Calcagno's game plan has been consistent throughout the year and I don't expect it to change anytime soon. SF were in striking distance on all three losses which meant that he wasn't in a situation where he had to air it out throughout the game. They kept Serra and VC's explosive offense in check and they may do the same with the Bells. Predictions coming in a couple of days.

BTW, I think we all sound like a broken record. "after this week, we will see who is the elite team in WCAL...yada yada" So far, its a 5 team horse race. If SF beats out Bell and SI, Mitty wins vs VC and Riordan, Bells beats Serra, VC beats SHC and Serra beats SHC, that's a 5 way tie for 1st place. That would be something. And who get's the privilege to be in the OPEN.

This post was edited on 11/3 4:51 PM by HSS75

 

[Rmbr26]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 6 of League Play


I know its early, but have to ask the question anyways: who are we looking at for MVP this year in WCAL??
I happened to think of it & I am drawing a complete blank as to a consensus player in the league. I do have one or 2 in mind, but would like to hear from a few others on their thoughts.

 

[PAL95]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 6 of League Play

Tough choice because to start the season, My top three were Johnson, Cassidy, or Monroe. Johnson has been banged up and Cassidy has been hurt as well. Monroe hasn't put up the numbers like last year due to a new qb, and being doubled even triple teamed all year as well as not getting kicked too. He has shut down all receivers in league and balls are rarely thrown his way if any. Sheppard looked like he was in the running, but has been quiet.Guadataro from the Bells could be in front. He has been solid on offense and defense. Hurtado could also be mentioned, as well as the sophomore from Serra Leki Nunn. He will be soph of the year for sure. I guess that's a very good question. I would have to wait and see what happens in these final two games. This year, since there are no eye popping numbers it might be a criteria choice. If X team was missing one of their top players, which top team would be impacted the most...

This post was edited on 11/3 8:32 PM by PAL95

 

[Rmbr26]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 6 of League Play

Agree PAL95 with everything you said about the top 3 going in, however 2 have been injured and not a factor in league and Monroe has been used sparingly at times and not as much a factor as last season on offense, though still effective. The Bells have several very solid players including Guttadaro and McCauley has been very impressive on offense.Serra's Leki Nunn is a tough call as he actually performed well vs DLS & NDSO's and then SSF was an easy win before his best game vs Valley Christian, a 24-10 win by Serra. This was of course when Leki Nunn was switched to RB as Hunter Bishop was inserted as the starting QB. In his first game as RB Nunn had over 200 yards rushing vs St. Ignatius and has been very good on punt returns as well. For the few games he has played as RB Nunn is ranked 7th among WCAL RB's 4 yards behind Bauerle of Mitty and 45 yards ahead of Hurtado of SF while Dakari Monroe comes in as the league's 16th ranked rusher - though also plays WR, DB and PR & KR so adds a lot to his numbers overall as well as his overall team value. Quite possibly the next 2 weeks games will determine the league MVP and very well may result in Co-MVP's this year.

Currently in NorCalPreps Top 20 Serra has dropped all the way from #4th to 15th in rankings followed by Valley Christian at #16 and Bells at #17.

 

[Rmbr26]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 6 of League Play

Mercury News CCS Rankings for Thursday Nov. 6th:

So in my above post this week's NorCalPreps rankings showing Serra drop from 4th to 15th after the decisive loss to Mitty, followed by VC at 16 and Bells at 17.

This weeks Mercury News rankings for the CCS show a major shuffling of teams with the biggest adjustment being Serra from #2 down to #7. Here is the Mercury News Top 10 Teams:

1. Milpitas 8-0
2. Valley Christian 6-2
3. Bellarmine 7-1
4. Sacred Heart Prep 8-0
5. Los Gatos 6-2
6. Mitty 5-3
7. Serra 5-3
8. St. Francis 5-3
9. Burlingame 9-0
10. St. Ignatius 4-4

Followed by:
11. Wilcox 6-2
12. Pioneer 7-1
13. Aragon 8-0
14. Oak Grove 5-3
15. Fremont 8-0

Food for thought: The Mercury News rankings have always primarily focused on the win-loss records rather than taking into account the strength of schedule of the teams being played. A good example would be the Burlingame-St. Ignatius CCS Div. III playoff game last season in round 2. Burlingame came in undefeated at 11-0 while SI limped in at 3-8, which had some fans question why SI was even in the playoffs [which SI qualified for under the CCS guidelines]. SI eliminated Burlingame 41-21 before a stunned home crowd at Burlingame field although some WCAL fans including myself had SI as the favorite going into the game [reason being SI had a tough schedule of opponents & Burlingame did not].
Comparing teams based upon common opponents sometimes gives the fan solid criteria for basing future games
while other times its similar to comparing apples to oranges. Either way its hard to ignore certain comparisons when giving a win/loss record as the top criteria for rating teams. Here are a few footnotes on numbers 11-15:

11. Wilcox 6-2 lost to Milpitas by 28-0 while Riordan lost to Milpitas 27-0. Wilcox Beat Palo Alto 20-19 whom Mitty beat 55-14.
12. Pioneer 7-1 opened season with a 55-0 loss to Valley Christian after ending their 2013 season with a loss to Serra by 59-7.
13. Aragon 8-0 from the PAL Ocean League has its top win over Half Moon Bay who is ranked 29th in CCS by Freeman rankings while Riordan is ranked at 19th.
14. Oak Grove 5-3 has played 2 WCAL teams and lost 28-0 to SF and 41-14 to VC.
15. Fremont 8-0 has played one team with a winning record in Mt. View who lost to San Mateo 32-13.

In fairness teams who are unbeaten with soft schedules they sometimes turn out to be very good teams who have not had a chance to perform at their highest level against quality competition. For other teams tough schedules with losses disqualify those teams IMO from rankings such as the Mercury News Top 15. I would like to see either Riordan or SHC play anyone of the teams in the 11-15 rankings above as I would be betting on either WCAL team. In a couple weeks we'll be treated to a few such match-ups in the CCS division playoffs & those are always the most interesting & fun match-ups to watch.

 

[PAL95]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 5 League Results

Mitty 27 VC 17
Dont get me wrong VC really wants this win, but I think Mitty wants it more at this point for an Open Ccs birth. I dont know Johnson's status, but my guess is they hold him out so he can get his first taste of the open. Mcloud has spelled Johnson very well in his absence, but having them both is dangerous. Mitty has found new life on offense as they FINALLY spread it out and let Foley do what he does best, run and make plays on the run. Look for another solid game from him. Defense has been great for Mitty and I dont see VC scoring more than 3 tds. Nice matchup with Monroe and the younger Johnson at receiver.
SF 21 Bells 14
Holy War game will not dissapoint and I see the Lancers shutting the Bells run game down. This should be a low scoring, hard hitting game. SF makes enough plays on offense and pull it out late.
Serra 35 SHC 14
Serra is licking their wounds after a Halloween shocker and will take it out on SHC. Cassidy gets back on track and has a huge game, but losing Kelepi for the season will hurt Serra the rest of the season more than one might think. He was a stud on defense, offense, and special teams. Nunn will pick up some slack as it wont be enough as I see them being bounced in the semifinal game of the open.
Riordan 17 SI 14
Yeah I said it! Riordan's defense makes plays and pulls off the upset. They have been close to a couple already, and I think they finally pull one out. Just a hunch..

 

[Streak One]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 6 of League Play

The CCS is tough to rank with so many different combinations when looking at head-to-head. It is hard for me to see Valley Christian at 2 and Serra at 7 after watching their game. I understand Mitty beat Serra by two touchdowns as well, but from watching all of the WCAL teams this year, I think the order of Serra and then VC at the top is right.

The margin between Bellarmine, St. Francis and Mitty is razor thin.

 

[PurpleHaze13]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 6 of League Play

Originally posted by Rmbr26:

I know its early, but have to ask the question anyways: who are we looking at for MVP this year in WCAL??
I happened to think of it & I am drawing a complete blank as to a consensus player in the league. I do have one or 2 in mind, but would like to hear from a few others on their thoughts.

I haven't seen an offensive player worthy of this honor due to injuries or consistent production. Therefore, I would award league MVP to Steve Dineen. 73 tackles through 8 games with 12 SACKS! Most dominant defensive player in the league.

 

[Rmbr26]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 6 of League Play Predictions


Week 6 Game Predictions:

Mitty vs Valley Christian: Some tough games to figure out this week, not only in point spreads, but who is actually going to win the game and this is one of the toughest. Mitty is coming off its strongest performance of the season while VC is coming off a narrow win over St. Ignatius. Both teams have been hot & cold at times and both play solid defense. VC seems to have the capability to put more points on the board even without Kirk Johnson with 3 other good RB's. Can Mitty put together another great game against the other top ranked team in WCAL 2 weeks in a row? Based upon the offense of the 2 teams I have VC at a slight advantage.
Prediction: VC 21-17

Bells vs St. Francis: Another tough game to call with the Bells going in as the favored team. Bells have the high powered offense putting up some big scores over the season and SF should have the edge on defense. The Bells will score, but will SF score enough to win the game? The Bells seem to find a way to win and have more playmakers on offense, so edge to Bells.
Prediction: Bells 21 -17

Serra vs SHC: Serra is coming off their poorest performance of the season in losing to Mitty by 27-14 while the Irish lost to to SF 27-21. Serra will need to eliminate its 3-4 turn-overs per game that might give the Irish any hope of an upset against the Padres. Serra is a 25 point favorite which I think is too much credit to Serra & too little to SHC. The Irish could give Serra a game depending on which Serra team shows up.
Prediction: Serra 24 -10

Riordan vs St. Ignatius: Riordan has played well at times, but has had trouble putting together complete games primarily in the 2nd 1/2. The Crusader's were projected to lose all 10 games this season and so far have one win over SHC in which Riordan was the underdog. I'd said pre-season that if the Crusader's could win 2 games this season with their schedule it would be considered a success and they came close to a 2nd win in losing to Menlo Atherton by 21-20. If the Crusader's could pull off the upset against the SI Wildcats it would be a huge upset and give Riordan 2 WCAL wins and IMO a successful season. Here is the bad news: SI has lost 3 WCAL games by 3 points each to Bells, Mitty & Valley Christian. SI's Hagfeldt is the leagues leading passer and has a number of very good WR's and a decent run game to go with the passing attack. I do not foresee Riordan's defense being able to bottle up Hagfeldt for an entire game and SI could take out their frustration over the close VC loss this week against the Crusader's. No upset this week.
St. Ignatius: 31 - 14
This post was edited on 11/7 3:22 PM by Rmbr26

 

[HSS75]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 5 League Results

Archbishop Mitty 24 - Valley Christian 21
I expect more passing from both teams.

Saint Francis 21 - Bellarmine 14
I heard a big contributor on Bells offense is not playing tonight.

Junipero Serra 49 - Sacred Heart Cathedral 21
SHC couldn't stop the run last week. It will get ugly

Riordan 14 - St Ignatius 17
Will Riordan pull off an upset? Not this weekend.

 

[Irish_Cheers]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 6 of League Play Predictions

Originally posted by Rmbr26:

Week 6 Game Predictions:



Riordan vs St. Ignatius: St. Ignatius: 31 - 14

This post was edited on 11/7 3:22 PM by Rmbr26

You nailed the halftime score.

 

[ds1968]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 6 of League Play Predictions

after looking at all the wcal league records, one thing of interest to me is the number of close games among the wcal teams. Bellarmine and Valley Christian won all their close games. St Ignatius lost a number of close ones, while Mitty and St Francis won some and lost some. i wanted to get readers' opinions on why some teams win the close ones and others don't. Is it players, or coaching, discipline, or is it luck? Because it just seems that once we get to ccs playoff time, winning these games is valuable experience. (even though it doesn't mean a guaranteed win)

ps to Rmbr26, you have called a number of these wcal games the past few weeks correctly. i don't know if you have some inside info.

good luck to all the teams in playoffs. should be exciting

 

[Rmbr26]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 6 of League Play Predictions

Originally posted by ds1968:
after looking at all the wcal league records, one thing of interest to me is the number of close games among the wcal teams. Bellarmine and Valley Christian won all their close games. St Ignatius lost a number of close ones, while Mitty and St Francis won some and lost some. i wanted to get readers' opinions on why some teams win the close ones and others don't. Is it players, or coaching, discipline, or is it luck? Because it just seems that once we get to ccs playoff time, winning these games is valuable experience. (even though it doesn't mean a guaranteed win)

ps to Rmbr26, you have called a number of these wcal games the past few weeks correctly. i don't know if you have some inside info.

good luck to all the teams in playoffs. should be exciting

ds1968: good observation about which teams can finish close games & those that can't. I don't have any "inside info" other than staring at stats/data and teams past performances. Once outside the WCAL/PAL teams I am def out of my comfort zone. I am not so concerned with the actual score as the point-spread as over the course of the season it paints a slightly better picture of the teams.

Here were the projected scores, actual & my predicted outcomes:

Freeman Projections:
VC 22 - Mitty 19 [+3]
Bells 28 - SF 21 [+7]
Serra 35 - SHC 10 [+25]
SI 24 - Riordan [+16]

Rmbr26 Predicts:
VC 21 - Mitty 17 [+4]
Bells 21 - SF 17 [+4]
Serra 24 - SHC 10 [+14]
SI 31 - AR 14 [+17]

Actual Game Scores:
VC 15 - Mitty 14 [+1]
Bells 17 - SF 14 [+3]
Serra 35 - SHC 17 [+18]
SI 45 - AR 28 [+17]

The WCAL is always a bit unpredictable & especially so this year with anone of the top 5 teams seemingly being able to beat the other on any given weekend. Its going to make for some exciting CCS playoffs especially since its not a lock this year with Milpitas, Palma, Los Gatos & SHP in the Open Division.

 

[Rmbr26]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 7 Final League Games Upcoming

Week 7 Final WCAL League Games & Current Standings:

3-Way Tie for First Place:
1rst: Serra 5-1 league, 6-3 overall
1rst: Valley Christian: 5-1, 7-2 overall
1rst: Bellarmine: 5-1, 8-1 overall
2-Way Tie for 2nd Place:
St. Francis: 3-3, 5-4 overall
Mitty: 3-3, 5-4 overall
3rd: St. Ignatius: 2-4, 5-4 overall
4th: Riordan 1-5, 1-8 overall
5th: SHC 0-6, 3-6 overall

Week 7 Final League Games:

Friday Night: St. Ignatius at St. Francis 7:30 PM
Valley Christian at SHC [Terra Nova 7:00 PM

Saturday: Mitty at Riordan 1:00 PM
Bellarmine at Serra 1:00 PM

Freeman Projected Game Winners/Scores:
St. Francis over St. Ignatius 17-16 [+1]
VC over SHC 35-12 [+23]
Mitty over Riordan 28-10 [+18]
Serra over Bells 27-21 [+6]

Team Match-Ups - Points Scored & Points Allowed Per Game: [Using WCAL Games ONLY as a more accurate gauge of teams]
SF 16.1 Offense + 18.3 Defense vs St. Ignatius 23.6 Offense + 22.0 Defense
VC 23.0 Offense + 15.1 Defense vs SHC 15.5 Offense + 27.3 Defense
Mitty 20.3 Offense + 17.5 Defense vs Riordan 16.1 Offense + 29.0 Defense
Serra 25.8 Offense + 14.3 Defense vs Bells 24.6 Offense + 21.6 Defense

Team Point Differentials - Offense Points Scored vs Defense Points Allowed:
SF -2.6 vs St. Ignatius +1.6
VC +7.9 vs SHC -11.8
Mitty +2.8 vs Riordan -12.19
Serra +11.5 vs Bells +3.0

Team Overall Season Ranking/Rating:
1. VC 42.7
2. Serra 42.3
3. Bells 41.4
4. Mitty 35.7
5. St. Ignatius 32.9
6. St. Francis 32.5
7. SHC 19.6
8. AR 16.7

Looking at this weeks games: Valley Christian looks to lock up a tie for the WCAL title with a win over the Irish of SHC Friday nite at Terra Nova barring a monumental upset. VC averages 8 points more on offense and 12 points less on defense than SHC. Serra was a 25 point favorite last week and won by 18 while VC is a 23 point favorite over the Irish. VC has the ability to roll up the score using its 4 RB's to wear down the Irish D in the 2nd 1/2, but likely will rest KJ & Quinby looking ahead to CCS [which may hold the score down otherwise].

St. Ignatius vs St. Francis is a difficult game to call as SF lost to VC in over time 21-14 along with a 17-14 loss to Bells, while SI has 3 point losses to Bells & Mitty and a 2 point loss to VC. While SF is a 1-point favorite, it is at SF's home field which usually is a 2-point advantage so this is really a pick-em game with SI actually having a very slight advantage in offense/defense averages.

Mitty has the advantage both ways over the Crusader's in scoring and defense and Mitty is likely looking ahead to CCS while this game will end Riordan's season. Riordan had a break-out game on offense against SI and showed it could score on the big play with 4 big play TD's against SI. The final score was 45-28 and Mitty is of the same caliber team as SI so the point differential of Mitty by 18 is likely unless Riordan scores an unlikely upset.

Serra vs Bells is the Game of the Week as one team, the winner will share the WCAL title and the other team, the loser will finish as the 2nd place team in league or 3rd overall. Serra is likely a 6 point favorite in this game based upon the Padres 24-10 victory over Valley Christian who is currently ranked as the best team of the 8 team in WCAL. The Bells hold a big edge in history over the Padres with only SF having a bigger edge in wins in the history of the teams playing. Serra got a bit of revenge last season with 2 wins in both league & CCS while Bellarmine has beaten Serra the previous 5 seasons prior to 2013. While the stat differentials show otherwise the Bells should have a slight advantage on offense based upon their much smaller number of turn-overs versus Serra's 2-4 turn-overs per game. Like Serra the Bells are a big play offense capable of big runs & big pass plays without the high turn-over ratio. On defense Serra appears to have the edge holding common opponents to lower point totals. Both teams need to contain the run. If Serra holds the Bells to 21 or less points it is likely that Serra wins the game - unless the Bells surprise and shut down Serra's run game. Serra will have to do better than the 0-points scored in the first 1/2 against both SF & Riordan as well as the 7 points scored last week against SHC as the Padres will need to score early and get their offense in sync.

More to come...



This post was edited on 11/10 2:52 PM by Rmbr26

 

[colhenrylives]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 7 Final League Games Upcoming:

Would it be fair to speculate that it might be time for Serra's Cassidy to break out vs. Bells? He should be about ready to ramble after weeks of recovery and rehab.

 

[Rmbr26]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 7 Final League Games Upcoming:

Originally posted by colhenrylives:
Would it be fair to speculate that it might be time for Serra's Cassidy to break out vs. Bells? He should be about ready to ramble after weeks of recovery and rehab.

Thought of that earlier today & YES Serra's Kava Cassidy will need to step up if his Serra Padre's are to win out over the Bellarmine Bell's. As soon as Cassidy was able to play again Serra's other exciting playmaker & 2-way player, punter & kick returner Kelepei Lataimua suffered the same injury of a broken collarbone as Cassidy earlier in season. Serra & Bell's both have a number of big play-maker's & that is what this game will come down to.

 

[Rmbr26]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 7 Final League Games Upcoming:

Week 7 Final League Games:

Friday Night: St. Ignatius at St. Francis 7:30 PM
Valley Christian at SHC [Terra Nova 7:00 PM

Saturday: Mitty at Riordan 1:00 PM
Bellarmine at Serra 1:00 PM

Predictions:
St. Ignatius @ SF is a close game to call with SI beating SHC & AR and having close losses VC, Mitty & Bells with their biggest loss to Serra by 12 points. SF in similar fashion beat SHC & AR, a 1-point win over Mitty with close losses to VC & Bells and their worst loss to Serra also by 12 points. SO in comparison the difference really is SF's 1-point win differential over Mitty & otherwise the records are the same. Based on the data & SF's home field I have the game as a 6-point advantage to SF while the computers say its SF +1. Could SI upset? Yes SI is capable of upsetting the Lancers with the passing offense SI has. In close games though SI has not shown the ability to pull out the wins although they did win in a close one over a good St. Mary's team [SM's only loss of year was to SI]. While I would like to go with SI in a mild upset SI gave up 28 points to Riordan last week, which was Riordan's largest point total on the year. If the Crusader's can score 28 then SF should be able to score enough to win this game & along with SF's D I will stick with the Lancers on their home turf.
St. Francis 20-14

Valley Christian vs SHC @ Terra Nova is the remaining game for VC to win to guarantee a share of the WCAL title. VC comes off a narrow win over Mitty while SHC comes in off a 18 point loss to Serra. SHC should be able to stay close if their pass game is successful, but like Serra VC should pull away in the 2nd 1/2 with a steady diet of run, run again & run some more. Will be curious to see in VC rests KJ for playoffs.
Valley Christian 31-17

Mitty at Riordan is Riordan's last shot at a 2nd WCAL win which would require a monumental upset of the Monarch's. Mitty has played very well in losing by 1-point to VC & SF, a 3-point loss to Bells and beating Serra by 13. Mitty may well be the dark horse of the WCAL going into the playoffs. Riordan has played well and is a better team than the 3 previous seasons IMO. Due to the Crusader's tough pre-season schedule they were projected to go winless at 0-10 and will likely finish at 1-9 losing to Mitty. It was good to see Riordan play tough pre-season opponents as opposed to SHC's schedule & likely was the difference in Riordan;s win over the Irish which I predicted prior to the season. If Riordan had pulled out the win over Menlo Atherton or could somehow pull out a win over a very good Mitty team it would be considered a successful season [again IMO based upon the forecast[.
MItty 31 - 14

Bells at Serra has the other 2 teams tied for first place in WCAL squaring off together fighting for a Co-Championship with likely winner Valley Chrisitian should they win over SHC as predicted. So it will be either VC-Bells as Co-Champs or VC-Serra as Co-Champs. This should be a good chess game of coaching between coaches Walsh of Serra & Janda of the Bells. The Bells are a big play offense as is Serra, but tend to run more than Serra, whereas Serra takes more chances than the conservative Janda allows the Bells. The Bells use 2 talented athletes at QB who can both pass & run and put more pressure on the defense - so edge to Bells at the QB position. At RB Serra may have the edge although they lost talented Kalepi Lataimua to injury, but still have Kava Cassidy & Leki Nunn. Serra will have to limit their miscues vs the Bells and not give up multiple fumbles & INT's in this game. The Bells have the edge in the kicking game, so field position will be a factor in this game as will be special teams. Serra has excelled in returns and has the edge over Bells in this aspect of the game. On defense edge to Serra in that while the Bells score a ot of points they also give up a lot. The Bells try to keep the game close with a somewhat conservative offense waiting to break a big run or pass play and have pulled out several close wins which is why they are 8-1. Overall the stats give Serra a slight edge unless the Padres shoot themselves in the foot with turnovers. A lot at stake and like many other Serra-Bells games this one could go down to the wire.
Serra 35 - 27

 

[Streak One]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 7 Final League Game Predictions

Interesting description on Bellarmine being a big play offense. I haven't seen the Bells since the beginning of the year. Does this year's offense have more big play ability than years past?

 

[Rmbr26]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 7 Final League Game Predictions

Originally posted by Streak One:
Interesting description on Bellarmine being a big play offense. I haven't seen the Bells since the beginning of the year. Does this year's offense have more big play ability than years past?

Streak One: the Bells are a difficult team to keep track of stat-wise as they simply do not report any player/team stats year to year.
I do look at the stats per game and the Bells do have a good big play offense. Rather than comparing them to multiple years I simply looked at last year's team. Last years Bells with K.J. Carta-Samuels at QB featured one of the best QB's in CCS/NorCal and finished 4-3 in WCAL & 7-3 overall tied for 4th place in WCAL. Coach Janda chose to stick almost exclusively with the double-wing run offense and his talented QB threw very few passes. Carta-Samuels was used as a running QB and was excellent in short yardage situations. The Bells for 2014 are currently 8-1 and will finish no worse than 2nd place in WCAL or possibly tie for first with a win over Serra. This year's Bells offense is slightly more productive than last year's and the defense is about the same in points given up. The Bells using a 2 QB system make it a bit more difficult for defensive coaches to figure out. Both Bell QB's are talented athletes who can run and pass and are more likely to break a big run compared to Carta-Samuels last year. Their multiple threat player Kyle McCauley RB/WR/CB seems to have a couple big plays every game while Anthony Guttadaro is one of the best 2 way players in the league. On a per game basis the Bells have put up some gaudy statistics in both yards and TD's and usually have 3-4 big plays in each game I've followed. Serra is #1 in scoring followed by the Bells at #2.

 

[HSS75]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 7 Final League Games Upcoming:

St Ignatius 24 - St Francis 14: I just can't see SF scoring more than two scores and their last score will be out of desperation. SI's passing game is going to be successfull because SF's pass defense is not that good.

Valley Christian 35 - SHC 21: SHC's offense is coming on strong as of late but their defense is not going to stop VC's running game. I foresee a 400+ rushing total for VC.

Mitty 28 - Riordan 14: Mitty is playing like the old Mitty from past. Tough year for Riordan. Maybe if they scheduled an easier pre-season, they could've have continued on in post-season

Bellarmine 14 - Serra 28: tough game to call but Serra will have more big plays than Bells. Serra's defense is still formidable without one if their star players. Great game to close out league play. It's for the championship. Serra needs to win to be in the open.

 

[Streak One]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 7 Final League Game Predictions

Originally posted by Rmbr26:

Originally posted by Streak One:
Interesting description on Bellarmine being a big play offense. I haven't seen the Bells since the beginning of the year. Does this year's offense have more big play ability than years past?

Streak One: the Bells are a difficult team to keep track of stat-wise as they simply do not report any player/team stats year to year.
I do look at the stats per game and the Bells do have a good big play offense. Rather than comparing them to multiple years I simply looked at last year's team. Last years Bells with K.J. Carta-Samuels at QB featured one of the best QB's in CCS/NorCal and finished 4-3 in WCAL & 7-3 overall tied for 4th place in WCAL. Coach Janda chose to stick almost exclusively with the double-wing run offense and his talented QB threw very few passes. Carta-Samuels was used as a running QB and was excellent in short yardage situations. The Bells for 2014 are currently 8-1 and will finish no worse than 2nd place in WCAL or possibly tie for first with a win over Serra. This year's Bells offense is slightly more productive than last year's and the defense is about the same in points given up. The Bells using a 2 QB system make it a bit more difficult for defensive coaches to figure out. Both Bell QB's are talented athletes who can run and pass and are more likely to break a big run compared to Carta-Samuels last year. Their multiple threat player Kyle McCauley RB/WR/CB seems to have a couple big plays every game while Anthony Guttadaro is one of the best 2 way players in the league. On a per game basis the Bells have put up some gaudy statistics in both yards and TD's and usually have 3-4 big plays in each game I've followed. Serra is #1 in scoring followed by the Bells at #2.

Thanks. Great breakdown. I agree Bellarmine is a tough team to gauge if you don't watch them all the time.

 

[wcalaholic]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 7 Final League Games Upcoming:

An easier pre-season would not have allowed Riordan to continue in the post-season as only the top 6 in WCAL are eligible.

 

[HSS75]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 7 Final League Games Upcoming:

"An easier pre-season would not have allowed Riordan to continue in the post-season as only the top 6 in WCAL are eligible. "


I wasn't sure if that was written in any WCAL, CCS, or CIF bylaws. In 2012, Riordan, by a coin flip, went to D3 playoffs as the 7th WCAL team. They were 3-7. That started the .500 discussion.

 

[Rmbr26]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 7 Final League Game Predictions

Originally posted by Streak One:
Interesting description on Bellarmine being a big play offense. I haven't seen the Bells since the beginning of the year. Does this year's offense have more big play ability than years past?

Here is a good example of the Bell's offense and how they score many of their TD's. I've watched a few of their games and the game vs St. Ignatius was highly entertaining with the Bells finally pulling out a 31 -28 win. Here are the Bells scoring plays to give you an idea:

Macauley - 4 yard TD run set up by Guttadauro 67 yard run

Macauley - 59 yard TD pass

Bunce - 39 yard FG

Macauley - 70 yard TD run

Garcia - 31 yard TD run

* Bells had approx. 300 yards rushing & another 100+ passing for over 400 yards offense vs St. Ignatius

 

[wcalaholic]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 7 Final League Games Upcoming:

I think you are right, but the .500 discussion turned in to the 6th place discussion. You can get in at 2-8 as long as you are 6th in WCAL.

 

[Rmbr26]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 7 Final League Games Upcoming:


St. Francis 21 - SI 13 Final after SI led early on 10-0 and 10-7 at the 1/2

 

[HSS75]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 7 Final League Games Upcoming:

"St Ignatius 24 - St Francis 14: I just can't see SF scoring more than two scores and their last score will be out of desperation. SI's passing game is going to be successfull because SF's pass defense is not that good."

Final score: St Francis 21 - SI 13

SF held SI's offense to two field goals. Their lone TD was a defensive TD. A 99yard fumble recovery. SF really did a great job in overall defense against the run and pass. SI had trouble sustaining drives and never really got in the redzone. Their kicker is the real deal tho. Tried to kick a 50 yard field goal and missed by a yard.

 

[Irish_Cheers]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 7 Final League Games Upcoming:

Originally posted by HSS75:

Valley Christian 35 - SHC 21: SHC's offense is coming on strong as of late but their defense is not going to stop VC's running game. I foresee a 400+ rushing total for VC.

Irish had a scoring chance but there was an INT at the 1 yard line. Real score was 28-0 and they didn't give up any 400 yards. Maybe 250.




This post was edited on 11/17 9:31 PM by Irish_Cheers

 

[CityBaseballFan]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 7 Final League Games Upcoming:

I agree with your assessment. The St. Francis D controlled the game. SI's kicker has 3 40+ yard field goals in the last two games.

 

[Rmbr26]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 7 Final League Games Upcoming:


Yes SI's kicker Andrew Ferrero is the best kicker in the WCAL and should get some interest at the next level - although the major colleges don't often give up a scholarship to a kicker [but will likely invite as a walk-on].

Ferrero this season is 9 of 16 with a long FG of 49.

Mitty had the 2nd best kicker in Kris Bubic who was 6 of 9 FG's with a long of 48.

These 2 were far & away the 2 best.

On another note re: Bells-Serra today: the Bells had 3-point wins over SF, Mitty & SI and got hammered by VC 42-17.
SO question is WHICH Bells teams shows up today vs Serra?

 

[Rmbr26]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Week 7 Final League Games Upcoming:


FINAL: SERRA 28-14 over Bells & share WCAL Title with Valley Christian

The Bells jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter of the game. Serra in its own territory had 2 back to back 15 yard penalties on offense and faced a 1rst and almost 40 yards before punting from deep inside the red zone. The Bells then had several good runs before punching it in from 1 yard out to go up 7-0. Shortly after the Bells Macauley returned a punt 72 yards for a TD to go up 14-0. After the kickoff Serra had a steady drive downfield before Serra's QB Hunter Bishop scored on a 39 yard keeper to make the score Serra 7 Bells 14. On the next Bells possession Serra blocked the 4th down punt, recovering on Bells 21 before Hunter Bishop connected on a 21 yard TD pass to WR Uniacke to even the score at 14-14. On the Bells next possession [still in 2nd quarter] the Bells fumbled inside their own 10 yard line and a Serra defender recovered in the end zone to take a 21-14 lead.
On the next Bells possession Serra's Leki Nunn returned the Bells punt 57 yards for a TD which was called back for a block in the back and Serra's drive stalled before punting. On Serra's next possession Hunter Bishop connected on a 25 yard pass to Dimitri McCoy to the 5 yard line where the Padres punched it in to take a 28-14 lead into the 1/2. The teams traded field position in the 2nd 1/2 without either team scoring again.

Notes:

In the 2nd 1/2 the Bells offense did not do much against the Padre defense while Serra's offense moved the ball up and down the field although without scoring, missing a short FG at one point.

Neither team had great success in running the ball although Serra outgained the Bells easily in yards gained.

Serra's RB Cassidy was bottled up throughout the game and longest carry was perhaps 7-8 yards gaining 0 yards or losing yards on a number of carries. One such carry at the Bells 6 yard line Cassidy reversed his field several times before being tackled back at the 20 which resulted in the Padres turning the ball over on 4th down.

Serra has some very sure-handed receiver's who made some very difficult catches to keep drives alive.

The Bells seemed to abandon their 2 QB system of rotating Quinn & Martig & went exclusively with Martig the entire game
[perhaps Quinn was injured?]. Martig made some good plays but was pressured constantly by the Serra defense.

The 2 best skill players on the field were Macauley for Bells & Nunn for Serra of which Macauley is a junior and Nunn a soph.

Late in the 3rd quarter Serra's QB Bishop had a leg injury & had to be helped off the field & did not return. Leki Nunn took over for Serra making a number of good runs and having a deflected pass turn into an INT by Bells Macauley.

When Serra goes into their double-wing offense and the QB pitches the ball back to the RB it is Russian-roultette at times with the pitch back being too high or too low or the RB bobbling the ball - one of the primary reasons for so many Serra fumbles to date.

IN an unlikely scenario the Bells appeared to commit more mistakes than the Padres and especially had trouble hiking the ball.
The Bells QB Martig had the ball hiked past him or squibbed to him probably 4 times -each time falling on the ball and incurring a large loss of yardage.

The difference in this game was the Serra defense.

 

[colhenrylives]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Serra & Valley Christian are Co-Champs

Milpitas appears to be the clear favorite to win the Open Division.

 

[jordan24]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Serra & Valley Christian are Co-Champs

Agree. Interesting, no one took the Riordan posters seriously after their loss to Milpitas, stating the Trojans are legit - Big, tough, talented and well-coached.
Good luck to all the WCAL teams in the post season!

Originally posted by colhenrylives:
Milpitas appears to be the clear favorite to win the Open Division.

 

[Rmbr26]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Serra & Valley Christian are Co-Champs

Originally posted by colhenrylives:
Milpitas appears to be the clear favorite to win the Open Division.

At this point I am not sure there is a favorite in the Open Division and looking forward to the games as outside the WCAL there are a number of teams who could win it besides Milpitas or WCAL teams such as Palma or Los Gatos or SHP. Milpitas beat VC very early in the season which is no indicator of how the teams would play at this time or how Milpitas would stack up against Serra or Mitty. Comparatively Milpitas has had a an easy schedule with 2 good wins on its schedule while WCAL teams rarely go undefeated due to having to play a large number of very tough games. Serra for example has also played DLS & Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks as well. Experience and coaching will also play a part in the CCS play-offs. Do I think Milpitas is good - yes, would I bet the farm on them winning the CCS Open - No, simply based on history.

 

[colhenrylives]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Serra & Valley Christian are Co-Champs

Have you seen Milpitas? Whoa.

 

[Rmbr26]

Re: WCAL 2014 - Serra & Valley Christian are Co-Champs

Originally posted by colhenrylives:
Have you seen Milpitas? Whoa.

No have not seen them, all I keep reading is how HUGE they are. If they are huge AND fast then that could be scary.
On the flip side Serra has played DLS & NDSO's who have some pretty big boys so don't think they'll be afraid of Milpitas.
I do think Mitty & Los Gatos are capable of beating anyone in the open as well.