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WCAL FOOTBALL : Omission of WCAL's MVP from NorCal Top 50 list [??]

Rmbr26

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Looking ahead to the start of the 2015 season the WCAL looks similar to the start of the 2014 season and should once again be highly competitive & equally difficult to predict. Last season in 2015 Serra and VC shared the league title before both lost in the CCS Open Division Playoffs, with VC losing to Bellarmine 21-18 in an upset after beating the Bells 42-17 during regular season & Serra being shut-out by Los Gatos 28-0 in the opening round. In this sense both Serra & VC ended their seasons on a disappointing note. The Bells picked to finish 5th or 6th in league with a young under-sized team surprised everyone finishing 10-3 losing to Sacred Heart Prep in the Open Championship. As with 2014 several of the top tier WCAL teams are picked among the top 10 teams in the entire CCS.

Here is how the 2014 WCAL season ended for the 3 divisions of Varsity, JV & Frosh in order of overall finish:

Varsity: Serra, VC, Bells, St. Francis, Mitty, SI, Riordan & SHC.

Junior Varsity: VC, SF, Bells, SI, SHC, Serra, Mitty, Riordan

Frosh: VC, Serra, Bells, Mitty, SHC, SF, SI, Riordan

Based upon the finishes above in the 3 divisions this is how the teams appear to match up at the varsity level for the 2015 season:
VC, Bells, Serra, SF, Mitty, SI, SHC, Riordan
It does not appear that the forecast looks much different from how the 2014 season ended. However as I said the WCAL is difficult to predict and there are always some surprises & whether of not there will be a dominant team this season or 2-3-4 teams battling it out for the top spot remains to be seen. As you will see from the computer generated stats & adjustments below the forecast looks to be quite a bit different than what I am initially coming up with from the team finishes by division.

2014 Ending Season Records, Final Power Rankings & 2015 Projected STARTING Rankings:
Bellarmine:
record 10-3, 2014 ranking 42.8, 2015 Starting ranking of 42.4 [2015 = Minus .4]
Serra:
record 7-4, 2014 ranking 37.4, 2015 Starting ranking of 42.5 [2015 = Plus 5.1]
St. Francis:
record 9-4, 2014 ranking 36.9, 2015 Starting ranking of 37.5 [2015 = Plus .6]
Valley Christian:
record 9-3, 2014 ranking of 41.6, Starting ranking of 31.9 [2015 = Minus 9.7]
Mitty:
record 8-5, 2014 ranking of 34.6, 2015 Starting ranking of 21.7 [2015 = Minus 12.9]
St. Ignatius:
record 7-6, 2014 ranking of 32.3, 2015 Starting ranking of 21.2 [2015 = Minus 11.1]
SHC:
record 3-7, 2014 ranking 18.8, 2015 Starting ranking of 18.3 [2015 = Minus .5]
Riordan:
record 1-9, ranking of 15.2, 2015 Starting ranking of 17.9 [2015 = Plus 2.7]
Rankings/ratings conclusion:
Bells, SF & SHC all remain about the same while Serra shows marked improvement while VC, Mitty & SI all show considerable drops in team strength overall. Riordan shows a medium gain and is rated about even with SHC and both teams are close in rating to SI & Mitty this season to start. As with my order of finish above here is the rankings projected finish:
Serra, Bells, SF, VC, Mitty, SI, SHC, Riordan
The last 4 teams are the same in both my projection and the computer projection. The difference at the top is the Bells & Serra will battle for top spot while VC struggles and SF shows marked improvement and may challenge for the top spot as well. It is looking like a drop off year for SI and there very well could be a shake-up of the bottom 4 teams in the league.

2014 Season in review - High's & Low's by Team:

Bellarmine: mostly a season of high's for the surprising Bells picked to be among the lower tier teams and finished at 10-3 as the most successful WCAL overall in the CCS. A young team & under-sized the Bells won games as they usually do, with excellent play calling, great play execution and limited penalties. The low for the team was a humbling 42-17 loss to VC during regular season which the Bells reversed in a surprising tough win of 21-18 over VC in the opening round of the playoffs. The high for the season was yet another upset in a huge 9-6 victory over an undefeated & massive Milpitas team, which was many fans pick to take the Open Division. The Bells fell short in the CCS Championship by 14-0 to SHP who seemed to beat the Bells at their own game, simply by limiting mistakes and great play execution. The season was an overall success with most of the Bells talent returning for 2015.

Serra: a chaotic season of ups & downs for the Padres ending the legitimate season with a beat-down loss to Los Gatos by 28-0 on Serra's home turf and then a record setting punishment by out-going CCS commissioner Nancy Lazenby-Blaser for the Padres forfeiting a scrimmage consolation game against Milpitas. The punishment of Serra's highly respected program is even more baffling in that the consolation bracket games were abolished after 1 season & universally criticized as simply a terrible idea to generate more funds for the CCS. As for the regular season which actually counted Serra finished 7-4 [no one outside the CCS considered the consolation games as legitimate games & therefore they do not appear on Serra or any of the teams overall records]. Serra started the season with a new 15 year old sophomore QB named Siteleki Nunn going up against DLS. The game ended 41-13 DLS, however the young QB for Serra threw 2 TD passes against DLS which is something not many teams were able to accomplish during the 2014 season. Serra had 2 additional losses to Sherman-Oaks & Mitty in which the Padres were plagued by mistakes & turn-overs. When the Padres play well they played very well & when they fumbled, threw INT's and racked up penalties the results were somewhat predictable. With returning skill players and hopefully a better handle on the ball this season Serra should be a legitimate contender for the league title.

Valley Christian: the Warrior's were somewhat of a disappointment and a mystery at the same time for 2014. VC was a big physical team with the best core of 4 RB's in NorCal & a Division 1 WR in Collin Johnson. It appeared early on that VC would simply run the ball & no one might be able to stop them.
VC first stumbled in a 31-17 loss to Milpitas which at the time seemed like an upset, prior tofans realizing how good Milpitas was. VC later lost to Serra by a similar deficit and then was upended by the Bells in a rematch game in which the Bells shocked VC & ended their season. VC again will be big physically and has some talent at RB and returns one tall & fast WR by the name of Collin Johnson. VC will need better play calling and QB play in 2014 and overall better execution on offense. VC's Defense played well, but at times was placed on the field too many times after 3 & outs by their offense. VC must be able to pass if to have a successful 2015 season.

St. Francis: the Lancers were a highly competitive team in 2014 who were perhaps one step away from contending for the league title finishing at 9-4 overall and capturing a lower division CCS title easily. SF stumbled early on vs a good Palma team & had close losses to Bells & Serra. Like several other WCAL teams the SF Lancer team was solid on Defense, but lacking at times on offense with inconsistent play. The Lancer's high for the season was the Division II CCS Cahmpionship win with a convincing 17-7 win over MItty.

Mitty: the Monarch's finished 2014 with a respectable 8-5 record losing in the CCS div. II Championship to their nemesis St. Francis. Mitty started the season with a solid win over a tough Pittsburgh team by 13-7 and later upset Serra with a solid 27-14 win over Serra in which Mitty dominated. Mitty had a surprising number of close losses in their season which could have easily ended at 10-3. Their best game was the win over Serra and their low point the 2nd loss of the season to SF in the playoffs.

St. Ignatius: the Wildcats in all perspective simply had a tough year in 2014. Had some plays & calls went their way possibly their season could have ended on a different note. SI had numerous close losses which is what separates the best teams from the rest. SI's high point easily was the great win over St. Mary's Stockton, a highly talented team which I picked to beat SI by 7-14 points. There was little to separate SI from the top teams in the WCAL with close losses to the Bells 31-28, Valley Christian 17-15 and Mitty 17-14.
SI featured QB Ryan Hagfeldt as one of the best QB's in the CCS and they were certainly one of the most entertaining teams to watch. SI for the 2nd year in a row suffered a close heart-breaking loss in the Division III Championship to Aptos. SI will be solid for 2015, but Hagfeldt will be difficult to replace.

SHC: the Irish this season will be in a log-jam amongst 3-4 teams to see whom emerges possibly as a legitimate top tier team who can upset one or more of the perennial powers of the WCAL. The Irish have the athletes and in 2014 came close to several WCAL victories each time falling short. An extremely weak pre-season did not help prepare SHC for the rigors of the WCAL. The low point would be the 2nd consecutive loss to arch-rival Riordan while the high point would be the 2 close losses to SF 27-21 & Mitty 33-27.

Riordan: the Crusader's are inching closer this season in WCAL with a quality returning QB and a number of other good athletes. While the SHC win was huge for Riordan their high point was the near upset in a loss to SF by 25-23 in which the Crusader's almost pulled out the win. Also as I've mentioned was the narrow 13-7 loss to eventual CCS Open Champ SHP.

Upcoming: further predictions & team by team assessments of strengths & weaknesses while taking a look at early pre-season opponents & what to expect.
 
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Here are the 2015 Projections for the Top 10 CCS teams of the 94 schools in CCS along with rankings for the rest of the WCAL teams. The 2014 final ranking for each team is next to each team.

2015 Top 10 Projected CCS Teams

1] Bellarmine [2014 = 2]
2] Serra [7]
3] SHP [1]
4] San Benito [12]
5] St. Francis [8]
6] Los Gatos [4]
7] Palma [10]
8] Valley Christian [3]
9] Aptos [5]
10] Milpitas [6]

12] Mitty [9]
13] St. Ignatius [11]
18] SHC [19]
19] Riordan [20]
 
Due to change in Open division format next season, there could be disputable on who the top team in CCS with some teams not meeting head to head or in same playoff.

My early projection

#1 - 4 top teams in CCS

Bells - lots of speed and experience at all skill positions (McCauley, Martig, Buenrostro, and others) in both senior and senior classes (fastest team in CCS and speed kills). Defense should reload but undersized on line. Better than last year.

Serra - Could win WCAL, but suspended from playoffs. Very talented and speed at skill positions in both classes. Best they can do is knock off some very good teams early nonleague and win WCAL. Could be better than last year.

Palma - Maybe top QB and RB combination in CCS. Jr. RB Martinez is another level faster and stronger (a beast) than last season, but also team has lots of depth at skill positions and lots of speed. Seniors and juniors among top offensive and defensive classes at school as underclass. Line a couple of potential FBS prospects. Better than last season.

Valley Christian - Lots of FBS/D1 athletes and speed and big line. If returning QB, would bump them up, but in any event will be formidable playoff time and could bump off any of the above. Maybe not as good as last season.

5-9 teams

Los Gatos - Strong defense (not as strong as last season but one of the better ones in section, and lose alot on offense, but will reload some with underclass. Need to reload lots of offense and losing arguably 1st or 2nd two way player in the section last year (Joey Woods)

Sacred Heart Prep - return one of the top QBs in CCS and very good receivers and key linemen. Lose top twoway player in CCS last year. Team was very different with him not in games. Still a quality team on both sides but not as good as last year.

St Francis - returning talented QB with addition of talented Jrs, but probably not as good as last season overall. Jr Brandon Bains, Jr., RB/Slot, 5-9, 180, is one to watch, but don't think St Francis will place higher than 4th or 5th in WCAL. Under coach they play good defense so should be in most games. Pick them a tad higher than Mitty due to experienced QB

Mitty - Been able to reload the offense with all league RB Bauerle and others and have a transfer QB that is very talented. Should be competitive in middle of the WCAL. Return a little more than St Francis, but the Lancers edge them out with their returning QB and transfer (Tran) will be heading a different offense.

San Benito
- Double threat QB returning and returns lots of defense. Track star Shraee Harrison, Sr, WR, CCS 200M champ on team. Maybe a little more talented than last season

10-Bubble teams
Milpitas - huge line, but lacking in speed overall compared to last year. Decent skill players but not as fast as last season. Tough match up for some teams due to size. Will throw the ball some to decent receivers. Inexperienced QB. JV QB has upside.

Oak Grove - better than last year. League MVP back and some decent skill players.

Aptos - reload in running offense. QB will be tough to reload from last year. Well coached team and tend to reload.Good RBs but small size and not as strong as last year. Sound defense.

SI, SHC and Riordan - SI is down. SHC could win this year. Riordan will have talent, but depth an issue. These teams will battle it out at WCAL bottom. Good teams overall and top 15 type.

MHAL
Pioneer returns a lot. Could be a top 15 type team.

MBL Gab - Salinas - good QB, and defense should be decent, but not lots of experience at skill poistions. Talented sophs, but probably not as good as last season. Monterey (if Aldrete plays QB and doesn't sit out for baseball) has talented players in junior and senior classes (new HC from Wilcox).

Pen Bay
Burlingame, Terra Nova - not sure if one may emerge. Overall top 2 teams in league are a top 15 type team and top team a top 10.

MTAL
Carmel - lots of excellent skill players. New QB and one of the top skill players (WR Stivers) present offensive reload potential. New D coordinator. If defense steps up could be very good team.
 
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Very good knowledge NorCal [as usual]. Also as usual I feel the WCAL is almost incomplete without regular reports/feedback on Palma - the 9th team in the WCAL :) as well as SHP who now has to be included in all discussions of top CCS teams. Palma like St. Francis could shock a lot of people this season and rise in rankings as the season continues. Lots of good players on Palma followed closely by SF Lancers. Will have to digest the rest of your observations and see where mine are in contrast. Anyway lot more stats & projections upcoming & appreciate your feedback and opinions as always. There is NOT a lot that separate the teams at the top.

BTW - NorCal - you are the source for Palma FB, but I will acknowledge in regards to RB Martinez based on his stats and play, if he wasn't at Palma I would almost expect to see him wearing a green Spartan jersey [he is THAT good!].
 
Norcal and Rmbr, excellent work! You guys should be writing the prep football column for the SJ Mercury and SF Chronicle.
 
Rmbr thanks for coming back this year. You were on the fence for a while... I kinda knew you would be back since you are a bona fide football junkie. Keep up the good work. We all look forward to your breakdowns each week.
 
Thx Jordan & thx also 2wcats & appreciate all your comments as well. NorCal adds a lot to these discussions each season and is the source when it comes to the Monterey Bay-Gabilan League [Palma, San Benito, Salinas, etc,]. BTW - anyone who has not seen the Palma RB Martinez should catch one of the early games such as Palma vs St. Francis on Sept. 11th, Friday nite [at SF] or Palma vs SHP Sept. 19th Saturday [at SHP]. Martinez figures to be one of the best RB's in CCS and should be even better this season.
 
This is a very talented Palma team. They potentially have 4 Div 1 players on offense. Emilio is a very talented RB. His skill set fits Coach Dalmans zone running scheme to perfection. Extremely quick great top end speed and very strong. Scary thing is he is only a junior. He has to stay healthy though. Tweaked his hamstring at the end of the track season I know he went easy on his legs throughout summer. Will be 100% for football season. Palma is known for over working their RBs. Emilio had close to 250 carries last season. Senior QB Jack Richardson improved over the summer. Cleaned up his throwing mechanics. He is putting really nice spin on the ball. Has gotten Div1 looks. Just a matter of time before he gets some offers. Senior OL Zach Ralston has big things expected of him. He has the size and strength to have a great senior season. Could definitely get him looks from Div1 programs. Last but not least is junior OL Drew Dalman. The kid is a complete stud. Already the strongest on the team. He is extremely quick and talented. Doesnt hurt having a dad that played and coached at Stanford and in the NFL. He will without a doubt be a Div1 OLineman.

The big question will be the skill positions for the offense. They have a lot of speed and talent. Last year they dropped a lot of balls and were very inconsistent. Junior class has some pretty good athletes as well. Losing Senior TE Liam Mcmillin to injury last season hurt them but he is back and healthy. He should be the top receiving threat for them.

On defense they lost a lot to graduation but the junior class has some very talented players to fill in. They return some talented LBs. Should be just as good as last years defense.

They have a tough non league schedule(SHP,SF, Aptos, Sutter) but their league isnt too strong this year. Hollister is really the only team that should be a threat to them in league play. Carter Aldrete is not playing football so that is a big blow for monterey. They escaped a bad situation by landing coach Brown. They have a very talented RB Akili Jones but I dont think he will be enough to get them over that hump. Salinas QB Matt Casteneda is talented. Could have started for many teams last year. Lack of skill position players will really hurt them. As norcal pointed out they have some talented underclassmen just lack the experience.
 
Is it final that Aldrete is not playing football for Monterey? I know he has been a member of the Area code A's team, but I think that ends just when football practice starts. Hate to see him not playing.
 
In an article on area code roster release it said about Aldrete "a three sport standout who is concentrating on baseball now."
http://www.baseballamerica.com/area-code-baseball/2015-oakland-area-code-roster/


I took that as he is no longer playing football. It could mean he is just doing baseball through summer but he did that every summer. John Devine also said in an article that he is leaning focusing on baseball only. So nothing saying he is not playing football but ive yet to hear anything saying he might play football.

http://www.montereyherald.com/opini...erbacks?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
 
Thanks. Looking like he won't play. Hopefully these kids take HOFer John Smoltz' advice and play other sports as well:

"I want to encourage the families and parents that are out there that this is not normal to have a surgery at 14 and 15 years old. That you have time, that baseball is not a year-round sport. That you have an opportunity to be athletic and play other sports. Don’t let the institutions that are out there running before you guaranteeing scholarship dollars and signing bonuses that this is the way…. "
 
Awesome work Rmbr. Looking forward to your WCAL posts this year. @norcal and hookup, have you guys had a chance to watch Palma play any 7 on 7 this summer? How do they look?
 
I have not seen them compete in 7on7. I have only seen seen Richardson throwing with WRs on air. From what I have seen the WRs look pretty good. The WRs have talent its just whether or not it comes through in the games. One WR who looked really good was Orlando Yepez. I hear he has been working hard with Richardson all summer and it looks like it. He runs really nice routes has pretty good hands. Lacks top end speed but his routes our crisp enough to create seperation. Like I said before Mcmillin will be their top receiving threat. He is a very good athlete. He has the size to play at the next level. I know palma had big expectations for Wesley Johnson last year(his dad Ron Johnson played for the eagles). He is a big target. Routes get a little sloppy but will be hard for CBs to match up with him.
 
I've seen a little video as well and have talked to others close to the program that have seen them in internal 7-on-7 and outside.
McMillian is going to be very good if he stays healthy (he's been healthy through basketball season so not a problem, but was injured last year). In games he did play, he had 85 yards in receiving against St Francis and another couple games with 40-50 yard receptions. He's both athletic and good hands, good size and also very strong as a blocker at TE (potential to be top overall TE at the school). Yepez as mentioned above is a very sound receiver - good hands and routes, and also very strong physically. Johnson (6-3) and Kaselica (slot) have worked hard during the summer. At least one other senior that should contribute, and juniors have some very good receivers and a soph that will see packages. Juniors have lots of speed, good hands and run nice routes. Overall I think the team will be better overall pass catchers than last year and should have big play potential as well. Palma will be a run first offense, but also have the threat to score by pass with their play makers. Richardson throws a very good deep pass - one of his strengths and also is accurate, and they have a few players that can stretch the field. Their offense is the least concern this coming season. They need to replace one of the top FG kickers in the section from last and don't see anyone as good, but the school has had some good kickers develop..
 
WCAL 2015 Pre-Season Preview

Sacred Heart Cathedral 2015 Team Preview

SHC Fighting Irish 2014 Record = Overall 3-7 and WCAL League 0-7
Junior Varsity 2014 Record = Overall 5-5 and WCAL League 2-5
Frosh 2014 Record = 6-3 Overall and WCAL League 4-3

Best Game of 2014 Season: 2 WCAL league games resulted in narrow losses for the Irish in both a 33-27 loss to Mitty as well as a 27-21 loss to St. Francis of which either would have been a huge win & boost to the SHC program. The fact that SF was an easy winner in the Div. II CCS Playoffs shows that the Irish were close to taking the next step in WCAL play.

Worst Loss of 2014: A 28-0 shut-out by Valley Christian to end the season. No shut out is good, but to end the season with a goose egg on the scoreboard indicates the team was ready to empty their lockers. QB Logan White in his last game of 3 seasons deserved a better sending off by his teammates & coaches.

Most Important Game:
Another excruciating close loss to Riordan by 14-7. It doesn't matter what the score is in this game, but that the Irish were slightly favored against their cross town rivals. This was the case the last 2 seasons in which both times I picked the Crusader's to win for whatever reason I did.

So the biggest & only really important question heading into the 2015 season is "Will the Irish step it up and win a league game in 2015 for the first time going back to 2012?". SHC's last WCAL League win was Friday, November 2nd, 2012 vs Riordan by 35-14.
This followed a 2011 season in which SHC made it to the Div. III Championship before losing to St. Ignatius. So can the Irish be a better team in 2015 minus Logan White? That all depends on the coaching & play calling changes [if any] that are to be implemented this season. The record of the JV team at 5-5 indicates there is some talent moving up and the several very close games vs Mitty & SF last season indicates the Irish were a competitive team narrowly losing to 2 very good teams. So lets see what the Irish have to work with this season.

SHC's roster was smaller in numbers than the rest of the WCAL teams it faced last season. SHC had 41 players listed which is about 5-10 players short of what would be desirable. They were not lacking in physical size however and had 9 players 220 or larger with 6 of those players listed at 240 or larger. The JV team had 41 players also while the Frosh team had 49.
Of the 41 players listed last season only 14 players return with the most important being the RB Jamar Williams-Sheppard [6-1, 210]. The other important piece in the puzzle was 3 year starting QB Logan White who will be difficult to replace. Other keys players besides Williams-Sheppard returning are Ronan Murphy RB/WR/LB [6'3 - 215], Jay Na RB/DB [5'10-175] and Keith Ismael OL/DL [6'3 - 280], along with Emiliano Salazar FB/LB [5'11 - 200] & George Stefko QB/DB [5'11 - 180]. SHC will need at least 20 players coming up from JV along with any talented players as soph's coming off the frosh team. At that SHC would have a roster of approx. the same size as last season, which was a majority of senior players. The coaching staff has their challenges laid out for them and will need to devise an offense whereas the ball is spread around and not centered solely on Williams-Sheppard. Whether SHC chooses to go with a QB who can throw or an athletic QB who can scramble remains to be seen. The other questions are whether SHC has WR's who can get open & catch the ball. In looking at the QB situation a lot of questions remain to be answered. The other returning QB Stefko who is returning as a senior attempted 1 pass in 2014 and no other QB threw a pass other than Logan White. So SHC is faced with a situation in which they will start a QB with no experience at the position. In losing 7 league games its hard to understand why the coaching staff would not have wanted to give any game experience to the back-up QB coming back the next season[?]. As for Sheppard-Williams the SHC coaching staff cannot put the burden of giving Sheppard-Williams 90% of the carries as they did last season. What happened in 2014 was highly predictable as Sheppard-Williams started out with several great games going into league play. Unfortunately with the number of carries he was getting and WCAL teams keying on him his numbers dropped badly in the 2nd half of the season. The 2nd 1/2 of the season the Irish had 4 games where they averaged 3 yards or less per carry and in 2 games it was under 2 yards per carry. This translates into a lot of 3 & outs and a roster this small cannot leave the D on the field for extended periods. The results translated into SHC 's small roster wearing down in the 2nd half of WCAL games where the games simply got away from them. So Peralta and staff have their work cut out for them and need to utilize at least 1-2 other skill players & spread the ball around. As for defense they will likely need a number of 2 way players simply so they can rotate players in the 2nd 1/2 as needed. The offensive scheme last season did not work and the coaching staff will need to make substantial changes for this season to be successful.

The Irish will start the 2015 campaign vs Terra Nova in what looks to be a down year for the Pacifica team. The Irish are rated as just slightly down from last season's ranking which to me is a bit of a mystery [SHC appears on paper to be lower than the pre-season ranking shown]. SHC based upon the ranking system will be favored in this game, but as a first game I would not wager the house on it. Simply the Terra Nova game is a MUST-Win game for SHC as they will be the lowest rated team they'll face all season.The 2nd game against St. Joseph will likely give a better picture of where SHC's strengths & weaknesses lie. St. Joe is coming off a 7-5 season in a relatively weak league [Los Padres League in Santa Maria]. St. Joseph will have a larger roster than SHC & be larger physically as well. The St. Joe Knights have their QB returning who threw for 2,000 yards last season & also return their 2 top WR's and their top RB, so the SHC defense will likely have their hands full. St. Joe is ranked considerably higher than SHC [along the lines of Mitty, Valley Christian] and therefore a win by the Irish would be HUGE. Next up will be the Monte Vista Mustangs who are always tough in the EBAL. MV should be tough this season returning a good core of last season's players and ranked similar to St. Joseph's so again a win would show that SHC is ready for the WCAL season.

Conclusion: The Irish are projected to win 2 games this season with an overall record of 2-8. They finished 3-7 in 2015, but with a much softer pre-season schedule. This projection has the Irish winning 2 games against Terra Nova & Riordan. Should SHC lose to Riordan a 3rd time in a row that would take their record to 1-9 which is entirely possible. Facing those kinds of odds the coaching staff will have to make the best of what they have in terms of play calling. It would seem based on last year's results the Irish cannot win unless they have some kind of credible passing game to compliment their run game, which is their main strength [minimum 8-10 pass attempts per game]. Sheppard-Williams & Ja Na along with Ronan Murphy are all quality players if the coaching staff can perhaps find another RB/WR to spread the ball around. It seems some type of spread option offense would benefit the Irish best and give Sheppard-Williams and the other RB's a bit more room to run [a 3 RB formation with an option QB could be a possibility]. Its all conjecture at this point, but looking at the schedule a 3-7 record for 2015 would be considered a successful season. Anything more would be a huge turn-around for the SHC football program.
 
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Great preview of SHC. Agree that SHC willl probably have an overall losing season. I could see them winning 2 of their nonleague games (not so sure St Joseph-Santa Maria will be very strong this upcoming season and possibly against Terra Nova), and they could pull a couple wins in the WCAL (probably more like one). Overall, I agree it is looking like 3-7 at best and maybe 4-6 with an upset. Any record better would be a big surprise, but again this is high school football. SHC is an above average team for its size, but just in a tough league.
 
You have the SHC frosh record at 1-7 in 2014. Weren't they much better than that?

Thanks for heads up Colhenry & corrected [wrong year].
SHC Frosh in 2014 were 6-3 and had a good season with wins over Riordan, SI, SF & VC.

SHC Frosh Record 2014

SHC 42 - Novato 0
SHC 41 - Sequoia 22
Mitty 22 - SHC 20
SHC 34 - Riordan 7
Bells 27 - SHC 20
SHC 41 - SI 8
SHC 26 - SF 6
Serra 25 - SHC 20
SHC 14 - VC 13
 
sop
Thanks for heads up Colhenry & corrected [wrong year].
SHC Frosh in 2014 were 6-3 and had a good season with wins over Riordan, SI, SF & VC.

SHC Frosh Record 2014

SHC 42 - Novato 0
SHC 41 - Sequoia 22
Mitty 22 - SHC 20
SHC 34 - Riordan 7
Bells 27 - SHC 20
SHC 41 - SI 8
SHC 26 - SF 6
Serra 25 - SHC 20
SHC 14 - VC 13

In that Serra game, SHC had a pick-six taken away from them. Even the announcer was saying what a great game it was. They were the only team to beat champ Valley Christian and it was especially gratifying seeing them swamp SI 41-8.

In the MaxPreps roster (which I can't completely trust), it looks like four sophs will be on the Varsity. Jamar Lavalier and Aeron Mitchell should take the pressure off Sheppard, but Mitchell is also listed as a WR. Andres Ruiz played some good defense, so I'll expect to see him come up. Caleb Lagafua is also listed as a soph lineman coming up.

I'm told the incoming class is good too, so maybe that will help with the number of players overall . I'll let you know when a new roster is up.

QB is a big question mark. Maybe Ken Peralta will start passing more in pre-season to see if anyone impresses.
 
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Thanks Irish_Cheers as that is some good info, esp. re: SHC frosh being only team to beat league champ VC. I'd also wondered about eh SHC-Serra game & wasn't aware of the possible contested pick-6. Either way sounds like the SHC frosh has a successful season & should def contribute some talent to varsity for the 2015 season.
 
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In that Serra game, SHC had a pick-six taken away from them. Even the announcer was saying what a great game it was. They were the only team to beat champ Valley Christian.

In the MaxPreps roster (which I can't completely trust), it looks like four sophs will be on the Varsity. Jamar Lavalier and Aeron Mitchell should take the pressure off Sheppard, but Mitchell is also listed as a WR. Andres Ruiz played some good defense, so I'll expect to see him come up. Caleb Lagafua is also listed as a soph lineman coming up.

I'm told the incoming class is good too, so maybe that will help with the number of players overall . I'll let you know when a new roster is up.

QB is a big question mark. Maybe Ken Peralta will start passing more in pre-season to see if anyone impresses.
Only a shCathedral fan would try to use the previous years FROSH record to predict this years varsity record. What about the new offensive and defensive coordinators and the impact they will have?
 
Only a Sacred Heart Cathedral fan would try to use the previous years FROSH record to predict this years varsity record. What about the new offensive and defensive coordinators and the impact they will have?

That's not what I was doing Fool-bo. I said they'd have some good players moving up. You can't figure that much out?
 
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Irish Cheers, now that QB Jerry Peralta got a scholorship to Fairmont State in Virginia, do you see Logan White going to CCSF too next year? Anyone know if he is going to Santa Clara University and hanging up his cleats just for Rugby?
 
Thank you Rmbr26!

I'm really glad that you decided to come back and continue your invaluable contribution to WCAL football. I know that it takes a tremendous amount of hard work but your contribution to this forum is significant and only someone with your knowledge and talent can pull off a thread like this year after year.

I wasn't able to participate on your thread or this board as much as I wanted to last year as I was in the middle of changing jobs and geographical locations. The good news is that I moved from Santa Rosa back to the peninsula where I grew up. So I'm really looking forward to attending as many WCAL games as I can this year to make up for lost time.
 
Irish Cheers, now that QB Jerry Peralta got a scholorship to Fairmont State in Virginia, do you see Logan White going to CCSF too next year? Anyone know if he is going to Santa Clara University and hanging up his cleats just for Rugby?
I haven't heard anything yet. Usually the school's athletic site mentions any signings.
 
Thank you Rmbr26!

I'm really glad that you decided to come back and continue your invaluable contribution to WCAL football. I know that it takes a tremendous amount of hard work but your contribution to this forum is significant and only someone with your knowledge and talent can pull off a thread like this year after year.
I wasn't able to participate on your thread or this board as much as I wanted to last year as I was in the middle of changing jobs and geographical locations. The good news is that I moved from Santa Rosa back to the peninsula where I grew up. So I'm really looking forward to attending as many WCAL games as I can this year to make up for lost time.

Welcome Back WCAL75! [to the peninsula that is]. You've always been a steady contributor so great to hear from you again. St. Francis may be in the hunt for the league title this year once we get under way and will evaluate them soon to see what your take is on the Lancers [I believe you are a Lancer's fan/alum, correct?].
 
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Welcome Back WCAL75! [to the peninsula that is]. You've always been a steady contributor so great to hear from you again. St. Francis may be in the hunt for the league title this year once we get under way and will evaluate them soon to see what your take is on the Lancers [I believe you are a Lancer's fan/alum, correct?].

Yes, you are correct. I'm a Lancer alumni/fan. Although I moved pretty close to Serra so I will be attending a lot of Padres games. I use to really like those Saturday afternoon games.
 
Yes, you are correct. I'm a Lancer alumni/fan. Although I moved pretty close to Serra so I will be attending a lot of Padres games. I use to really like those Saturday afternoon games.
Welcome back to the Bay Area WCAL75. Serra kicks off its season Friday Night Lights style as it hosts DeLaSalle Sept 4th.
 
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Welcome back to the Bay Area WCAL75. Serra kicks of its season Friday Night Lights style as it hosts DeLaSalle Sept 4th.

Thanks Jordan24. I've never been at a Serra night game under the lights. I definitely plan on attending that game.
 
WCAL 2015 Pre-season Preview

Riordan Crusader's 2015 Team Preview:

Riordan Varsity 2014 Record = Overall 1-9 and WCAL League = 1-6
Junior Varsity 2014 Record = Overall 2-8 and WCAL League = 1-6
Frosh 2014 Record = 1-8 Overall and WCAL League 0-7

Best Game of 2014 Season: actually 2 games showed that Riordan could compete at a higher level, first losing a close game by 14-7 to the SHP team [less injured Ben Bur-Kirven] that would win the CCS Open beating Bellarmine by 2 TD's and a very tough WCAL League loss by 25-23 to St. Francis who would also claim a crown in CCS Division II. It typifies the frustration of Crusader fans that their team could nearly knock off St. Francis yet still lose 9 games [??].

Worst Loss of 2014: a tale of 2-halves is what took place in the loss to Serra by a final score of 36-10 on Serra's home turf. Riordan gave Serra all it could handle in the first 1/2 with stellar defense and headed into the locker room at 1/2 time leading 3-0 with the Serra stands quiet. Not sure what occurred in the locker room during that 1/2 time [possibly Riordan thought the game was over?]. Serra came out to score 4 TD's in the 3rd quarter and the game was quickly out of Riordan's grasp - a classic team collapse and player disbelief of what happened so quickly. Possibly the coaching staff could have done something - anything to slow down the Padres momentum after the 2nd score within minutes.

Most Important Game: for the 2nd year in a row Riordan entered the game against SHC as the underdog and came away with the victory. Riordan entered the game 0-4 and SHC was 3-1 having narrowly lost to Mitty the week before by 33-27 [and SHC had Logan White]. Whatever the records Riordan found a way to win by 14-7 and send the Irish home with a loss to the Crusader's for the 2nd year in a row.

So where is the Riordan football program heading into the 2015 season? Can the fans have any hope after another 1-9 season?
Looking at the scoreboard and Riordan's improved schedule there is hope for the Crusader program - just don't expect miracles. As I stated in the 2014 Pre-season preview that if Riordan could win 2 games they would be doing well and 3 wins would be a highly successful season. Riordan had 3 narrow losses of 14-7, 21-20 & 25-23 which if won would have changed Riordan's record from 1-9 to 4-6 [unlikely though not impossible]. Riordan has similar issues as SHC to overcome with smaller roster numbers, newer coaching staff still assimilating with the team and less than spectacular facilities [see Valley Christian & SHP campus & facilities].
SO what will the Riordan coaching staff's approach be in 2015? Will last year's JV & Frosh with 3 wins & 16 losses between them lend any support to this year's varsity? The first step is to look & see what the Riordan coaches have to work with.

Riordan's roster from 2014 had 53 players listed of which 32 players possibly return [compared to 14 for SHC]. Size-wise there are 12 players over 220 and 9 of those are over 250 [so physical size does not appear to be an issue]. The JV roster had a good size roster of 51 players so should add some talent at the varsity level. With 32 possible returning varsity players and possibly another 15 players from the 51 player roster of JV and the Frosh team Riordan would have approx.47 players which would be an acceptable number for a WCAL roster. Who returns? The center piece of the Riordan team is QB Jack Luavasa [6'2-220] both a capable passer and solid runner who could also play D [& probably should in limited play]. Other players that will be counted on are: Payton Ilalio - FB/G [5'11-230], Rocco Russell O/DL [5'10-195], Isiah Davis - WR [6'0-170], Mario Giusto - O/DL [6'0-280] and Aiden Verba-Hamilton - WR/KR [5'8-165], Raymone Sanders - RB/CB [5'8-160], Jamarian Caston RB/LB [6'0-225. The key skill players of course are Luavasa, Sanders, Isiah Davis & Verba-Hamilton, however those 4 are not quite enough and will need more carries from Caston as well as another WR/TE to step up on offense.

For 2014 with a significant size roster of 53 players the Crusader's seemed to wear down in the 2nd 1/2 of some games. This appeared to be the case of simply the defense being on the field too long [see similar comment re: SHC]. Either Riordan must find a way of more consistently moving the ball on offense in 2015 or the coaching staff has to recognize a means of slowing down the game tempo [easier said than done]. The season stats showed Riordan averaged 150 YPG rushing & 94 YPG passing or 244 YPG Offense. Luavasa's stats were 58/130 passing for an 11 YPC average and an average of 6 completions per game. The stats are deceiving as their best games were the games with the fewest pass attempts/completions and the most rushes [35+]. The Crusaders' worst games in contrast were the games in which Luavasa passed for over 100 yards. Riordan scored on average 12.4 points per game while allowing 23.6 points per game. In the WCAL defense wins games and the big disparity is in points allowed by Riordan. Riordan's top priority for the 2015 season is to improve on the defensive side of the ball and the best players on the team will all need to play a part if it is to be better [and on the same level as SF, Serra, Bells].

Starting the 2015 season Riordan travels to SHP who is already ranked as one of the top teams in CCS less Ben Bir-Kirven.
SHP returns most of their CCS Open winning roster & Riordan will need to focus on slowing down its offense. The goal for Riordan is not specifically to win this game [which would be a huge upset], but to simply keep it close & have a shot at a possible upset.
SHP returns an excellent QB athlete, its WR's and several good RB's, so it is a tough test early on. The second game is no easier against a better Menlo-Atherton team than Riordan faced last season. MA returns 18 of its 22 starters from 2014 including its QB, top RB and WR's. The projection for 2015 shows MA as having an up-season from last year & a solid CCS team. Ready for more good news Riordan fans? The 3rd pre-season game does not offer up any good news as well & this is what to expect with tougher schedules. Riordan travels to St. Mary's in the east bay to face a team coming off an 11-2 season & is rated higher than Valley Christian starting 2015. St. Mary's returns 13 starters including their QB, top RB skill players & linemen. SM is projected to win their own league the "Rock League" & finish this season at 9-1 including a win over Riordan. Looking at the pre-season schedule the Riordan coaches will need to have the team ready early in more ways than one & better have numerous options to fall back upon, ie: different formations during the game, multiple options on offense, regular rotation of players on defense, etc.

Conclusion: Riordan is projected to finish last in WCAL as they were in 2013 & 2014, but were somehow able to win against SHC both seasons & finish in 7th place ahead of the Irish. For 2015 the Crusader's in returning key skill player's are rated at 17.9 versus 15.2 for 2014, so a moderate increase with an overall positive adjustment of +3.7 points which is noteworthy. The projection shows Riordan ending the 2015 season finishing 2-8 which would be +1 more win than 2014. The likely wins would come against Menlo-Atherton, SHC or St. Ignatius. All 3 of these games are likely to be close games and wins will be hard to come by. A 2/8 record with Riordan's schedule would seem reasonable looking forward, however 3-7 or remotely 4-6 would certainly make the season successful going forward. The first game sets the tone for the season & the Crusaders' should be ready to go all out & start fast against SHP.
 
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Excellent write-up and analysis, Rmbr...as usual!

Conclusion: Riordan is projected to finish last in WCAL as they were in 2013 & 2014, but were somehow able to win against SHC both seasons & finish in 7th place ahead of the Irish.

Hey Jackrabbit fans...I'll bet you guys felt an overall sense accomplishment for the season with the "W" against SHC and ending up 2nd to last...You guys must have been extra proud winning that "better than pond scum" trophy...
 
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Excellent write-up and analysis, Rmbr...as usual!



Hey Jackrabbit fans...I'll bet you guys felt an overall sense accomplishment for the season with the "W" against SHC and ending up 2nd to last...You guys must have been extra proud winning that "better than pond scum" trophy...

I agree, good analysis Rmbr!

Ted, whatever your hate for Riordan is, and you're free to express it, it's not too cool to denegrate The Stanfel Cup, and Nick's legacy @ SHC and Riordan. I kinda take that personal, as would others who knew him.
 
A very good and accurate assessment of the 2015 Crusaders. Coulda, woulda, shoulda does not cut it, wins do. 17 offensive/defensive starters return. Entire offensive line returns this season; along with a number of potential big play skill players. Non-league schedule is challenging and should prepare them for league play. SHP will be a test and a great rematch as both team's best players (minus BKK) are back. It will be interesting how Coach Fordon and his new staff develops this team as well as at the lower levels.
 
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Ted, whatever your hate for Riordan is, and you're free to express it, it's not too cool to denegrate The Stanfel Cup, and Nick's legacy @ SHC and Riordan. I kinda take that personal, as would others who knew him.

You mean this trophy???

P4ZJ5Pj.jpg
 
On a side note besides the team previews I happened across this video from yesterday for Serra High School "Media Day" for football season. Now personally I was not aware high schools had media days, BUT thinking about it, it does appear to be a good marketing tool if trying to portray the school as a high profile program and a successful one at that - as the coach Patrick Walsh from Del La Salle has managed to do over roughly 10 years. The video is interesting & addresses numerous subjects including Serra's CCS punishment & upcoming night game vs De La Salle at Serra [may be one of DLS's best team's ever]. As for the individuals besides the coach in the interview the players shown are: Brandon Monroe - primarily a WR and deep threat [6'1-175], Siteleki Nunn who started Serra's season as QB, then moved to RB & WR besides returning kickoffs & punts & playing DB [5'10-170], Billy Tuitavake DL [6'2-230] and 3 year varsity player Kelepi Lataimua RB/WR/DB & KR [5'8-190, fastest player on Serra roster].

http://www.maxpreps.com/section/ca/football/central+coast+section.htm
 
On a side note besides the team previews I happened across this video from yesterday for Serra High School "Media Day" for football season. Now personally I was not aware high schools had media days, BUT thinking about it, it does appear to be a good marketing tool if trying to portray the school as a high profile program and a successful one at that - as the coach Patrick Walsh from Del La Salle has managed to do over roughly 10 years. The video is interesting & addresses numerous subjects including Serra's CCS punishment & upcoming night game vs De La Salle at Serra [may be one of DLS's best team's ever]. As for the individuals besides the coach in the interview the players shown are: Brandon Monroe - primarily a WR and deep threat [6'1-175], Siteleki Nunn who started Serra's season as QB, then moved to RB & WR besides returning kickoffs & punts & playing DB [5'10-170], Billy Tuitavake DL [6'2-230] and 3 year varsity player Kelepi Lataimua RB/WR/DB & KR [5'8-190, fastest player on Serra roster].

http://www.maxpreps.com/section/ca/football/central+coast+section.htm
Bellarmine, Riordan along with DeLaSalle also were invited to the inaugural MaxPreps Media day at Levi's Stadium. Pretty cool event where each team had their moment on the podium to field questions from the media in attendance. 49er HC Jim Tomsula even spoke to the group of almost 2 dozen NorCal HS teams. Riordan was represented by Coach Kevin Fordon and Seniors Raymone Sanders RB/WR/DB/KR [5-8-160], Jack Luavasa QB [6-2 220], Peyton Ilalio FB/ILB [5-11 230] and Anthony Orlando OL [6-4 260]
http://www.maxpreps.com/high-school...alleryid=09dbfc46-8b81-433e-9076-6b19975bcf8d
Jim Tomsula Addresses the Players http://www.maxpreps.com/news/chz20V...l-maxpreps-high-school-football-media-day.htm
 
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WCAL 2015 Pre-Season Preview

St. Ignatius Wildcats 2015 Team Preview

SI Varsity 2014 Record = Overall 7-6 and WCAL League 2-5
Junior Varsity 2014 Record = 5-5 Overall and WCAL League 3-4
Frosh 2014 Record = 1-7 Overall and WCAL League 1-6

Best Game: easily the O/T win over St. Mary's of Stockton game in which SM was as much as a 2-TD favorite. St. Mary's which was 12-2 in 2014 was a highly athletic team & looked to have the game won several times in the 2nd 1/2. Each time though SI was able to respond with another score finally sending the game into over-time in which SI pulled out a stunning win. Possibly the best game I saw all season for 2014.

Worst Loss: difficult as SI had 4 narrow losses by 3,3,2 & 3 points. One of those close losses stood out unfortunately as it was against Aptos for the CCS Division III crown. It marked the 2nd year in a row SI went into the Championship game as the favorite and both times was upset by Aptos.

Most Important Game: actually there were 2 in a season where SI finished in 6th place in WCAL and both wins came against the other 2 SF teams - SI over SHC by 20-7 & SI over Riordan by 45-28. The wins were important as they allowed SI into the Div. III playoffs and once again confirmed SI is a step ahead of the football programs at the other 2 SF WCAL schools.

The SI Wildcats exceeded all expectations starting 2014 by winning 3 tough games in a scenario some fans predicted might have SI at 0-3 entering league play. 3 quality wins included the first game on the road coming away with a 21-14 win over Marin Catholic, then holding on for a 27-24 win over Terra Nova in Pacifica before the stunning O/T win over St. Mary's 27-24. SI then entered WCAL league play & ran into some very tough breaks losing its first 3 WCAL games incl. 2 losses by 3 points each to Bellarmine & Mitty. The 4th game SI bounced back & took down SHC only to lose the following week to St. Francis 17-15. Entering Div. III playoffs SI was the team to beat. SI advanced to the championship round. SI advanced to the championship round which resulted in the narrow 11-8 loss to champion Aptos. The Aptos loss punctuated SI’s season in losing 4 different games by a total of 11 points. This season looks to be more of an uphill challenge for SI for numerous reasons, but the biggest is replacing the WCAL’s best passer last season in Ryan Hagfeldt. Hagfeldt threw for over 2,000 yards & 16 TD’s last season & this season SI will be hard pressed to total even ½ of those stats.


For 2015 it is a bit difficult to assess SI’s football roster with any accuracy. While they return up to 30 players off last years’ roster, few were starter’s or contributed much playing time. SI will also draw off a 5/5 JV team, but since the varsity had 14 sophs listed on its roster the talent moving up may not have much of an impact. So just WHO does return for the St. Ignatius Wildcats this season? Simply put the majority of starters were seniors and that includes all of the skill players incl. kicker. The biggest challenge as mentioned above is who will be the QB and what is his experience? The back-up QB for last year [according to roster] did not throw a single pass. SI returns several players who played well on D last season & will need those players & many more to step up if to have any kind of respectable season. From stats SI returns: Xavier Tharpe, RB [5’9-165] who rushed for 500 yards, Peter Katz, DB/QB [6’0-190], Jack Mckeon, DE/TE [6’1-190], and Spencer Sinclair, LB [6’0-210]. So far for the 3 bottom teams of the WCAL it appears SI has the least amount of varsity experience returning and makes this team a HUGE question mark.

Upcoming Pre-Season: SI kicks off 2015 with a road trip to Campolindo who was the state of California Div. III state champ last season & finished 16-0 [are you ready for more?]. While Campo lost many starters & skill players they return their back-up QB who saw action last season along with a plethora of soph's & junior's who shared playing time with more talented senior's. Before any SI fans get comfortable that Camp returns almost none of its starter's, this 2015 Campolindo team is rated well above any WCAL team & projected to go unbeaten in 2015.

Next up is Marin Catholic: finished 10-4 last season & projected to go 9-1 this season. MC returns their QB, top RB & best 2 way lineman who is a load [Clayton Demski 6'3-305]. MC is rated slightly down from last season whom SI beat, however still close to their rating of 2014 while SI is rated significantly down.

St. Mary's of Stockton is waiting for SI to visit their home turf & it could be a long bus ride home if SI is not adequately prepared. It could be pay-back time for St. Mary's coaches, players & fans remembering last year's WCAL "upset" by its 6th place team. If St. Mary's can pour it on they're not likely to let SI off the hook. SM lost most of its skill players to graduation, but still returns enough players to being projected 9-1 for 2015 with a rating similar to Bells/Serra, so a beat-down of the highest order is entirely possible.

Conclusion: SI finds itself in the unenviable position that Bellarmine found itself in last season, having few returning starters incl. all skill players and lots of inexperienced players at the varsity level with little playing experience. SI is projected 6th again in WCAL League, but will have to perform well to avoid falling victim to either or both SHC & Riordan this season. For this 2015 season SI has 10 games scheduled and is favored in only 2 games [SHC & Riordan]. So far on paper it appears those contests will be highly contested & both SHC & Riordan will be looking to replace SI as San Francisco's top HS football team/program [as well as move up to 6th in the highly contested WCAL - or 5th as not entirely impossible should Mitty or VC have a disastrous year]. It will be all about SI's coaching staff & what they can do with the players they have this season. Bellarmine with coach Janda had a tremendous season in 2014 facing the same obstacles and it remains whether or not St. Ignatius can do the same.

Next Up: Mitty Monarchs
 
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WCAL 2015 Pre-Season Preview

St. Ignatius Wildcats 2015 Team Preview

SI Varsity 2014 Record = Overall 7-6 and WCAL League 2-5
Junior Varsity 2014 Record = 5-5 Overall and WCAL League 3-4
Frosh 2014 Record = 1-7 Overall and WCAL League 1-6

Best Game: easily the O/T win over St. Mary's of Stockton game in which SM was as much as a 2-TD favorite. St. Mary's which was 12-2 in 2014 was a highly athletic team & looked to have the game won several times in the 2nd 1/2. Each time though SI was able to respond with another score finally sending the game into over-time in which SI pulled out a stunning win. Possibly the best game I saw all season for 2014.

Worst Loss: difficult as SI had 4 narrow losses by 3,3,2 & 3 points. One of those close losses stood out unfortunately as it was against Aptos for the CCS Division III crown. It marked the 2nd year in a row SI went into the Championship game as the favorite and both times was upset by Aptos.

Most Important Game: actually there were 2 in a season where SI finished in 6th place in WCAL and both wins came against the other 2 SF teams - SI over SHC by 20-7 & SI over Riordan by 45-28. The wins were important as they allowed SI into the Div. III playoffs and once again confirmed SI is a step ahead of the football programs at the other 2 SF WCAL schools.

The SI Wildcats exceeded all expectations starting 2014 by winning 3 tough games in a scenario some fans predicted might have SI at 0-3 entering league play. 3 quality wins included the first game on the road coming away with a 21-14 win over Marin Catholic, then holding on for a 27-24 win over Terra Nova in Pacifica before the stunning O/T win over St. Mary's 27-24. Si then entered WCAL league play & ran into some very tough breaks losing its first 3 WCAL games incl. 2 losses by 3 points each to Bellarmine & Mitty. The 4th game SI bounced back & took down SHC only to lose the following week to St. Francis 17-15. Entering Div. III playoffs SI was the team to beat. SI advanced to the championship round. SI advanced to the championship round which resulted in the narrow 11-8 loss to champion Aptos. The Aptos loss punctuated SI’s season in losing 4 different games by a total of 11 points. This season looks to be more of an uphill challenge for SI for numerous reasons, but the biggest is replacing the WCAL’s best passer last season in Ryan Hagfeldt. Hagfeldt threw for over 2,000 yards & 16 TD’s last season & this season SI will be hard pressed to total even ½ of those stats.


For 2015 it is a bit difficult to assess SI’s football roster with any accuracy. While they return up to 30 players off last years’ roster, few were starter’s or contributed much playing time. SI will also draw off a 5/5 JV team, but since the varsity had 14 sophs listed on its roster the talent moving up may not have much of an impact. So just WHO does return for the St. Ignatius Wildcats this season? Simply put the majority of starters were seniors and that includes all of the skill players incl. kicker. The biggest challenge as mentioned above is who will be the QB and what is his experience? The back-up QB for last rear [according to roster] did not throw a single pass. SI returns several players who played well on D last season & will need those players & many more to step up if to have any kind of respectable season. From stats SI returns: Xavier Tharpe, RB [5’9-165] who rushed for 500 yards, Peter Katz, DB/QB [6’0-190], Jack Mckeon, DE/TE [6’1-190], and Spencer Sinclair, LB [6’0-210]. So far for the 3 bottom teams of the WCAL it appears SI has the least amount of varsity experience returning and makes this team a HUGE question mark.

Upcoming Pre-Season: SI kicks off 2015 with a road trip to Campolindo who was the state of California Div. III state champ last season & finished 16-0 [are you ready for more?]. While Campo lost many starters & skill players they return their back-up QB who saw action last season along with a plethora of soph's & junior's who shared playing time with more talented senior's. Before any SI fans get comfortable that Camp returns almost none of its starter's, this 2015 Campolindo team is rated well above any WCAL team & projected to go unbeaten in 2015.

Next up is Marin Catholic: finished 10-4 last season & projected to go 9-1 this season. MC returns their QB, top RB & best 2 way lineman who is a load [Clayton Demski 6'3-305]. MC is rated slightly down from last season whom SI beat, however still close to their rating of 2014 while SI is rated significantly down.

St. Mary's of Stockton is waiting for SI to visit their home turf & it could be a long bus ride home if SI is not adequately prepared as pay-back is in order for St. Mary's coaches, players & fans remembering last year's WCAL "upset" by its 6th place team. If SM can pour it on they'll certainly not let SI off the hook. SM lost most of its skill players to graduation, but still returns enough players to being projected 9-1 for 2015 with a rating similar to Bells/Serra, so a beat-down of the highest order is entirely possible.

Conclusion: SI finds itself in the unenviable position that Bellarmine found itself in last season, having few returning starters incl. all skill players and lots of inexperienced players at the varsity level [IE: with actual playing time]. SI is projected 6th again in WCAL League, but will have to perform well to avoid falling victim to either or both SHC & Riordan this season. For this 2015 season SI has 10 games scheduled and is favored in only 2 games [SHC & Riordan]. So far on paper it appears those contests will be highly contested & both SHC & Riordan will be looking to replace SI as San Francisco's top HS football team [as well as move up to 6th in the highly contested WCAL - or 5th as not entirely impossible should Mitty or VC have a disastrous year].


Rmblr,

Great Analysis and I agree with the assessment. The one hidden value of the SI program, and the reason I believe SI plays so well in November and December, is the number of Lacrosse athletes that also play football. SI has established itself as the DLS of high school lacrosse (last year's team was ranked 5th in the country). While they might not have the size of traditional football players, the SI Lacrosse/Football players have the athleticism, toughness, discipline and competitive instincts to thrive in big game situations.

Many of them play Lacrosse all summer and don't start training for football until the start of camp. By my count, SI only returns 2 offensive starters (both OL) and three defensive starters (two DL and one DB). Let's wait and see at the end of September how many of the impact players for SI are also Lacrosse players.
 
CityBaseballFan - agreed that SI is to Lacrosse what DLS is to football at the HS level. Looking at the latest rankings SI Lacrosse team was #1 in CCS, #2 in CA and #11 nationally [and seems to be consistent in that respect for a number of years now]. Based simply on last season's roster as you acknowledged there are only a few starters returning while other returning players have limited playing experience. If the lacrosse team is going to contribute any players they would likely be new players to varsity or players already taken into consideration from last year's roster. So hopefully SI has some talented lacrosse athletes to add to the mix as they'll need all the help they can get this season.
 
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