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WCAL Football 2017: Sports Stars Magazine write up of Serra's State Bowl Win

798 Streak One, Today at 12:19 PM
Agree with all four picks on the spread. Reading through the posts, I was thinking SI could keep it close at home against St. Francis. Scrolled down and you already were thinking that :)


Streak - S.I. has been their own worst enemy in games with miscues and missed opportunities, having missed 3 good opportunities to score in the VC game. Take away the missed opportunities and penalties and a bit of poor clock management and S.I. could beat a lot of teams out there IMO.
If the Wildcats play well & don't fold in the 2nd 1/2 they'll cover the +22 vs SF.

Historically S.I. has played SF tough at home games between the 2 teams. Here are the last 5 games:

2016 SF 35-12 @ SF [S.I. 4-6 on the year]
2015 SF 11-8 @ [S.I. [S.I. 1-9 on the year]
2014 SF 21-13 @ SF [S.I. 7-6 on the year]
2013 SF 42-28 @ SF [S.I. 4-9 on the year]
2012 SF 22-7 @ SF [S.I. 10-4 on the year & won CCS Open]
 
Re. Injuries... What team doesn't have key players with injuries? I don't deny the fact that there are teams out there with some key and highly visible players currently out. But, go ask any coach if they are dealing with, or have already dealt with key injuries this season. You'll find most are having to, or have had to deal with injuries. They just aren't offering the information up to the media, or anyone else that will listen. Why? I can't say for sure, but maybe they don't want to appear as having to use "key injuries" as one of the possible reasons their season isn't going as planned. Everytime i see anyone from the media talk about a team having just lost and how it was likely due to "key injuries", I want to ask them if they took time to walk across the field and ask the other coach the same question. If they started doing that the whole "we lost due to key injuries" would be stated a lot less. The truth is every team has them and mid way through the season, tell me what kid out there playing isnt feeling a little banged up. Thanks for listening/readng my rant.

Hope the teams you all support have a great game this week and I hope every player (key or not) walks away injury free.
 
smitj7 - reading your post the high school level is even more fragile to injuries and it all comes down to numbers, especially in the current atmosphere with some parents frightened by all the concussion discussions & discouraging son's from playing or switching to another sport. The local public schools and WCAL schools in SF just don't have the large rosters as the other 5 WCAL schools and of those 5 the 3 best teams VC, SF & Serra have the largest rosters of the 8 teams.

We're talking 60-70 players on those teams compared to for example 30 for HMB and around that number for quite a few teams I've checked. With small rosters comes more of a likelihood of 2-way players which presents greater risk of injury for those players. Think about this: Serra has 3 good QB's and HMB has 1 they rely on. If Serra's #1 goes down either #2 or #3 can fill in as #2 did last year in 4 complete games with time in several others. VC has 5 good RB's they use and if anyone follows HMB then you know who the prime-time RB is. VC can lose 1 or even 2 RB's and still has the 3 others, while if Toberlin or Hofmann goes down for HMB it will have a huge and immediate impact.
 
End of 1st quarter. VC 7-SHC 0. VC used 7 minutes off clock on opening drive for a TD. SHC has only had one possession. VC now with ball on SHC 24.
 
VC with another long drive. 21-0 2:44 left in half. SHC about to get their 3rd possession of the half. VC has scored on all three of its possessions.
 
Serra 64-21 over Mitty & could have been worse if not for running clock.
Mitty's soph QB Shamir Bey is a very good athlete, but just doesn't have the support in terms of a run game of 0-line to protect him - then again maybe Serra's D-line had something to do with the pressure.
 
Serra 64-21 over Mitty & could have been worse if not for running clock.
Mitty's soph QB Shamir Bey is a very good athlete, but just doesn't have the support in terms of a run game of 0-line to protect him - then again maybe Serra's D-line had something to do with the pressure.

Serra does seem to be the team to beat. Not sure anyone can beat them.
 
Defense_Rules - how was VC's pass game vs the Irish or did they pass much/at all with their run game rolling. Against S.I. I think VC threw for 4 TD's with the tall speedy WR getting 2 or 3 of those TD's [BTW did he get hurt end of S.I. game?].
 
Almost forgot, Pitt took down unbeaten Freedom by 47-31 which makes Serra's 35-28 loss to Pitt more respectable. For those unknowning Serra was intercepted on an ill advised pass inside Pitt's 10-yard line in the closing minutes when driving for the tying score. Passing within confined space in the red zone can be very risky in those situations and best to stick with the run for 4 downs or at least a roll out option play IMO.
 
Defense_Rules - how was VC's pass game vs the Irish or did they pass much/at all with their run game rolling. Against S.I. I think VC threw for 4 TD's with the tall speedy WR getting 2 or 3 of those TD's [BTW did he get hurt end of S.I. game?].

They only threw 3 or 4 passes. Their WR Alton Jones didn't play, so that may have had something to do with it. Their 2nd string soph QB did throw a TD of 25 yard or so to Jones' replacement in the 4th qtr. It was mostly a 3-4 yards a carry and control the clock kind of game. I think SHC may have has negative yards rushing, but they were able to pass fairly well. Their QB missed a lot of wide open receivers and they also had a lot of drops. That really hurt SHC. VC's secondary did not look sharp and that concerns me with Serra up in two weeks. Hopefully Jones will be back on their field. He gives the offense a completely different feel.
 
Are the Bells really banged up or just down talent wise? Good for Riordan to keep it very competitive.
 
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I would say a combination of both. Both teams are banged up and do not have the numbers/depth to make up for it. I know this had been brought up before, but it appeared the Bells ran only 5 different run plays all game. I can count on one hand how many pass plays they used. Crusaders at all levels played the Bells close today - Frosh tied @ 26 - remain undefeated in league play and the Bells JVs survived 20-14.
 
I have the same stance as at the beginning of the season, the talent is at Roirdan...but just wasn't on the field. Now it is all about learning how to win.

My prediction still stands,.."Kings of Kezar"
 
SFcityfan - can you expound on "the talent is at Riordan... but just wasn't on the field".
Are you simply referring to injured players (?)
 
There were transfers who had to sit out beyond the injuried.

I believe we had three starting players, I know two of them were on the line.

It is an old addage, every play starts on the line. When you place two starting lineman in place? The Crusaders start to score and it is about learning how to win.

That is why I have kept quite and listened to the expert pundits who posted how the O/D line was sloppy. I would challenge anyone posting, if they had to substitute 50% of their offensive protection...that is just my Opinion...I could be wrong?
 
Are chime ugbaja and jelani Clark still on the football team for riordan?
Je'Lani Clark played a key role yesterday down the stretch as he made some nice catches against Bellarmine's double team. Amazing as I understand he played at the NorCal Select hoops tourney in the morning (also at CCSF). Ugbaja started last week against Mitty, but did not see him nor soph qb Abdelghani yesterday. O/D lineplay much improved-still saw big transfer in civvies tho.
Miles is a nice addition at LB and RB for short yardage situations scoring his first TD as a Crusader.
Also, good to see the Crusader O adding in some new wrinkles in its passing game, wildcat formation and getting others involved. Opponents are looking for that too often used bubble screen and nice the OLine provided some time for Benham. QB #2 continues to still get hammered and needs to throw the ball away rather than take the sack- he is one tough Crusader.
 
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Current WCAL Standings & this weeks games:

VC 3-0
Serra 3-0
SF 2-1
Mitty 2-1
SHC 1-2
Bells 1-2
S.I. 0-3
ARHS 0-3

Fri 10/13 Mitty vs Sacred Heart Cathedral at Kezar Stadium 7:00pm
Fri 10/13 Bellarmine vs St. Ignatius at San Jose City College 7:00pm
Fri 10/13 Serra at St. Francis 7:30pm
Sat 10/14 Riordan at Valley Christian 7:00pm
 
Where does the WCAL stand in rankings going into week #6?

While there are a dozen local rankings which all differ based upon individual opinions I'll go by the computer "SOS" ratings and that of each teams opponents and their records along with points scored & allowed.

#1 VC holds steady at the top of the heap with a tenacious defense and a run game using 5 RB's all of which seem to be productive. In the last 2 games VC has opened up their pass game a bit and with good results. Overall VC shows slight improvement as the WCAL's top ranked team.

#2 Serra is rated higher than SF though some polls favor SF and we'll find out later this week which is correct. Serra's offense has been impressive both in running & passing and their defense seems to have improved game by game. Serra is creaping up in rankings/ratings and showed the biggest jump this last week and is ranked just behind #1 VC.

#3 SF holds steady at #3 slightly below Serra as the Padres moved ahead of the Lancer's. This weeks game will be the Game of the Week and answer many questions about both teams and also in regards to VC upcoming for the Padres.

#4 Mitty was looking good until the 43 point loss to Serra. Mitty drops significantly below SF and odds of upsetting any of the top tier teams are disappearing quickly.

#5 Bells are on a downward slide starting with an "upset" loss to Mitty in which the Bells failed to put the game away after an early lead and their offense went stagnant in the 2nd 1/2. This last week Bell's just nearly avoided an upset loss to winless Riordan and Bells are plummeting in the rankings.

#6 SHC - moves up a bit and past the Bells due to Bellarmine's last 3 games. Not that SHC has been a great team over the last 3 games and was shut-out by 35-0 by VC this last weekend. With one of the leagues returning QB's who is ranked among the top WCAL QB's and SHC failed to score a point against VC - not a good sign of things to come.

#7 S.I. is the best team with the worst record it seems at 1-5. The Wildcats play well at times but played the same type of game in losing 28-7 to SF as they did losing 34-10 to VC. S.I. plays well enough at times to be a good team, but too many inconsistencies on both sides of the ball along with penalties and at times questionable play calling.

#8 Riordan played well enough to put a scare into Bellarmine and like S.I. suffers from a schedule much tougher than many other schools out there with winning records or at least several wins compared to Riordan's 1-win. Neither S.I. or Riordan are bad teams by any stretch looking at their losses and their competitors records.
To put S.I. & Riordan into prespective with other "ranked teams" out there in CCS here are some eye-opening facts:
3 of the CCS top ranked undefeated teams are Milpitas, Aragon and HMB at 6-0 each.
In that order their strength of schedules are 1.4, 10.8 and -7.8.
S.I and Riordan's SOS in comparison are 32.1 and 27.1 [not even close & miles apart].
The 3 undefeated teams mentioned who are highly ranked at this time have played teams whose combined records are 35-73 and most have losing records.
S.I. and Riordan's opponents records are 42-28.
Conclusion: simply put S.I. and Riordan would be in contention for a league title in most other leagues in CCS and could likely give Milpitas, Aragon or HMB as least as good of a test as any has had to date IMO [not saying either S.I. or Riordan could beat those 3 teams, simply that they are better than most if not all the teams those 3 have played to date - including Burlingame who is 4-1 with an 0.1 "SOS" having just lost to HMB. Win/loss records can be very deceiving when comparing teams in different leagues.
 
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Found it interesting that all of SI's games this year have had a similar narrative...somewhat competitive against good teams, compete really well for most of the game, but fade in the second half. Campolindo, Marin Catholic, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Valley Christian, St. Francis all seem to fit that same story line. I think this is where the depth issue comes into play based on their game trends.

Can SI finally put it together for 4 quarter and beat the Bells? I think they score the upset this weekend.
 
Found it interesting that all of SI's games this year have had a similar narrative...somewhat competitive against good teams, compete really well for most of the game, but fade in the second half. Campolindo, Marin Catholic, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Valley Christian, St. Francis all seem to fit that same story line. I think this is where the depth issue comes into play based on their game trends.

Can SI finally put it together for 4 quarter and beat the Bells? I think they score the upset this weekend.

That's a good observation ncpfan and highly accurate. I would say that depth is an issue to some degree with S.I., but it has been more about miscues and play calling from what I've observed. During the VC game along the Wildcats squandered 3 different scoring opportunities. In addition the S.I. coaching staff in the first 1/2 was letting the clock run down while S.I. had the ball and then upon a couple quick first downs up to the VC 40 someone suddenly realized it might be wise to call a time out [I believe they had 2 left at that time with the 2nd one used with under 10 seconds left in the 1/2]. I know I'd mentioned this previously & how S.I. with better time management likely would have gotten off 3 maybe 4 more plays. I can't put that one on the players as it was simply a lapse in judgement by the coaching staff. When playing a heavily favored opponent such as VC was in that game it takes error free play, taking advantages of opportunities and the coaching staff to beat their opponent in calling plays that are unexpected. Certainly a challenge and by no means easy as I'm not the one on the field with the other coaches making those quick decisions. It is however what is required to win against a quality opponent. In S.I.'s defense the players always appear to be giving it all they have, the QB is shifty and one of the more athletic QB'a in WCAL and to contain all 5 of VC's RB's for a full game would be a challenge for any team [and why VC was able to burn S.I. for several long TD passes that were largely unexpected - as VC rarely passed up until that game].

S.I. has some talent and for the most part is well coached so they do have the ability to take down the Bells if they can correct a few short-comings I mentioned above. Should be a good and competitive game.
 
That's a good observation ncpfan and highly accurate. I would say that depth is an issue to some degree with S.I., but it has been more about miscues and play calling from what I've observed. During the VC game along the Wildcats squandered 3 different scoring opportunities. In addition the S.I. coaching staff in the first 1/2 was letting the clock run down while S.I. had the ball and then upon a couple quick first downs up to the VC 40 someone suddenly realized it might be wise to call a time out [I believe they had 2 left at that time with the 2nd one used with under 10 seconds left in the 1/2]. I know I'd mentioned this previously & how S.I. with better time management likely would have gotten off 3 maybe 4 more plays. I can't put that one on the players as it was simply a lapse in judgement by the coaching staff. When playing a heavily favored opponent such as VC was in that game it takes error free play, taking advantages of opportunities and the coaching staff to beat their opponent in calling plays that are unexpected. Certainly a challenge and by no means easy as I'm not the one on the field with the other coaches making those quick decisions. It is however what is required to win against a quality opponent. In S.I.'s defense the players always appear to be giving it all they have, the QB is shifty and one of the more athletic QB'a in WCAL and to contain all 5 of VC's RB's for a full game would be a challenge for any team [and why VC was able to burn S.I. for several long TD passes that were largely unexpected - as VC rarely passed up until that game].

S.I. has some talent and for the most part is well coached so they do have the ability to take down the Bells if they can correct a few short-comings I mentioned above. Should be a good and competitive game.
If the Bells return some of their players off injury (i.e. Cade Hall), Bellarmine will be a much more formidable challenge to the 'Cats at home. This is also considered a big rivalry game between two longtime Jesuit schools.
 
Rmbr 26, Appreciate your thoughts re. the challenges all teams face w/ re. to injuries. We mght have said it in a different way, but we are speaking the same langiage. I totally get the numbers issue and realize that more & more teams face the issue was th every passing year. Please know that I was in no way trying to make it a public school vs private school thing. There have really only been two instances this year where the media/fans/a coach/etc. made statements where it kind of sounded like the reason the team lost was possibly due to injury. The first time, the comments were made about a public school with a roster of 50+ kids. The second time it was a private school with a roster just shy of 50. Both teams very talented and both historically very strong programs. Unfortunately, both teams have had a couple tough losses and results thus far in 2017 are probably not what either program expected. Like I touched on earlier, while said differently, I think you, me & probably many others are on the same page. Rosters continue to get smaller as parents become more & more concerned about the safety of their kids. I get it because my child is out there as well. The days of being concerned about touchdowns, receptions, number of tackles are long gone. I simply hope and pray he comes home everyday in one piece and healthy. Do injuries play a role in the outcomes of games? Sure they do. Do injuries present greater challenges to teams with fewer players? Absolutley. But, no matter if its a public, or private school with large rosters or vice versa, all teams, especially at this time of year, have key injuries. It's every persons perogative to say whatever they want as to why they may have lost a game. I just hope people realize that they might want to stop and think before bringing up injuries, as it can discredit the incridible performance of the team that was fortunate to escape with the win. Especially if that team was clearly the underdog, had fewer players, and just as many key injuries. Don't ask me how I know... Ok, you twisted my arm. It's through personal and let's Just say that someone very close to me plays on this team and said team was very blessed to come out of two hard fought battles on the winning end of 2 games no one expected them to win. Won't say if they are public or private, but i will say that they have no more than 40 players (albeit talented). And in both wins, 2 - 3 key players did not participate due to injury (saying "key" as these kids have already verbally committed to D1 schools...no one else on the team will play at that level). This team also knows how it feels to be on the other end as they've tasted defeat this year. Again, everyone has the right to say anything they want when pointing out why they believe they lost. Some choose to focus on injuries and some don't. I'mprobably a little biased, but it n defeat, I'm proud that this team did not talk about injuroes and instead chose to give credit where credit was due...to the team and kids that won the game. All these kids work hard, but only one team walks away with the W. I just dont want to see effort, hard work, and yes, talent) being shortchanged. Sorry for rambling on. Just passionate about the great game we are all so fortunate enough to be able to talk about In this forum. For that I say thanks & I hope all of your teams realize much success this week and all walk away injury free.
 
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Will the Bell's rebound after 3 "not so great games" or is this the classic "trap game" for a Bell's team barely edging Riordan last week facing a tenacious S.I. hungry for a WCAL win. Does S.I. have the X-factor in its QB Charlie Katz who is def fun to watch and unpredictable. Do the Bells deviate from their no-throw run-only offense? Does Cade Hall & others sitting out recently return to bolster the Bell's on both sides of the ball?
Will S.I. or Bell's ever come up with a fan, coach or player to post their game stats as the 2 teams reluctant to make this effort the last several years [could actually prove helpful to receive feedback from fans who want your teams to win & it is for the fans coaches - all of the fans including yours as well].

I think S.I. comes in ready for this one while Bells in a quagmire without any real answers to their shortcomings. Could this be the start of a new order for the WCAL??
 
[B said:
"smitj7[/B], post: 176532, member: 3915"]Rmbr 26, Appreciate your thoughts re. the challenges all teams face w/ re. to injuries. We mght have said it in a different way, but we are speaking the same langiage. . All these kids work hard, but only one team walks away with the W. I just dont want to see effort, hard work, and yes, talent) being shortchanged. Just passionate about the great game we are all so fortunate enough to be able to talk about In this forum. For that I say thanks & I hope all of your teams realize much success this week and all walk away injury free.

Nice post smitj7 & other posters can read the full post just prior to this one above.
Well thought out and agree you are thinking along the same lines of many of us. Appreciate you sharing your comments & concerns as a parent of one of the players out there each week.
 
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