Mitty is about to take some frustration out on Acalanes. Prediction Mitty 35-7.
Good luck Lancers... your gonna need it!DLS is at SF this week.
WCAL Football 2018 – Upcoming Game Previews
Mitty 1-1 at Acalanes 2-1 Friday 7:00 PM
Acalanes has 2 wins over Vintage of Napa by 28-27 and also a 48-27 win over Rodriguez of Fairfield. The Acalanes “Dons” are primarily a passing team and do not run the ball much, but when they do the primary RB is Jake Delaney 5’10-185 who has a 5.8 APC.
Acalanes throws the ball a lot using QB Nick Kresnak 6’1-200. The junior Qb has already attempted 112 passes in just 3 games completing 52% for 780 yards & 9 TD’s.
The Don’s spread the ball around to 5 different WR’s. The 2 top WR’s are Chris Rodgers 6’2-180 & Lucas Eppinger 6’1-175 & between them have 32 catches for 424 yards & 6 TD’s. The top 2 defensive players appear to be Tommy Thrasher & Alex Cortessis who are the leading tacklers for Acalanes.
Mitty is projected as the favorite in this game & should be motivated after a tough close loss to Menlo-Atherton. Acalanes will air the ball out as opposed to Oakdale or M-A and should be a challenge to Mitty’s D-secondary. With a QB who is completing 52% and 5 capable WR’s to throw to this game could be close. How will Mitty respond after the loss? 2 miscues of a fumble returned for a TD and a long INT return to set up another score cost Mitty in the loss to
M-A so Monarch’s will need to limit turnovers to keep the ball away from the best QB they will face to date. Shamir Bey of Mitty has accounted for 7 TD’s in 2 games & will be interesting to see how he responds after the loss as well
Prediction: Mitty 28-14
WCAL Football 2018 – Upcoming Game Previews
Bell’s 1-1 at Vintage 1-2 [Napa] Friday 7:00 PM
Bell’s shut out in their opener 28-0 by a solid Menlo-Atherton team get their first win last week in a narrow 13-12 victory over Clovis North of Fresno. The Bells will now face the Vintage “Crusher’s” who come in 1-2 with a 26-21 win over Lincoln-Stockton and 2 losses to Acalanes 28-27 and Wood -Vacaville 35-7.
Vintage is primarily a run team utilizing 5 RB’s including the soph QB Jacob Aaron 5’11-180. Aaron does not pass often and between Aaron & the #2 QB the team averages 80 yards passing per game and 189 rushing per game. Aaron has thrown 3 TD’s in 3 games. There is no one featured RB as it appears Vintage uses a rotation of the RB’s. The players who carry the ball are: Drew Hatfield 5’7-160, Michael Webber 5’10-155, Villiam Schaumkel 5’9-190 & Mauricio Castro 5’5-145 with Schaumkel being the top rusher of the 4. The QB Aaron shares in the carried as well. There is no primary WR and most of the passes go to the RB’s coming out of the back field.
The Bell’s will enter this game as the favorite though I believe the game could be closer than expected. The Bell’s were shut out vs M-A and only put up 13 vs Clovis North last week, so their offense is a bit suspect. If Vintage gets ahead early or scores on any turn-overs or kick returns then the Bell’s could fine themselves in trouble. Vintage though 1-2 narrowly lost 28-27 to a pretty decent Acalanes team [whom Mitty faces tomorrow night].
Prediction: Bell’s 21-13 over Vintage
Napa Valley Register Preview (also includes Saturday game Riordan - Napa High)WCAL Football 2018 – Upcoming Game Previews
Bell’s 1-1 at Vintage 1-2 [Napa] Friday 7:00 PM
Bell’s shut out in their opener 28-0 by a solid Menlo-Atherton team get their first win last week in a narrow 13-12 victory over Clovis North of Fresno. The Bells will now face the Vintage “Crusher’s” who come in 1-2 with a 26-21 win over Lincoln-Stockton and 2 losses to Acalanes 28-27 and Wood -Vacaville 35-7.
Vintage is primarily a run team utilizing 5 RB’s including the soph QB Jacob Aaron 5’11-180. Aaron does not pass often and between Aaron & the #2 QB the team averages 80 yards passing per game and 189 rushing per game. Aaron has thrown 3 TD’s in 3 games. There is no one featured RB as it appears Vintage uses a rotation of the RB’s. The players who carry the ball are: Drew Hatfield 5’7-160, Michael Webber 5’10-155, Villiam Schaumkel 5’9-190 & Mauricio Castro 5’5-145 with Schaumkel being the top rusher of the 4. The QB Aaron shares in the carried as well. There is no primary WR and most of the passes go to the RB’s coming out of the back field.
The Bell’s will enter this game as the favorite though I believe the game could be closer than expected. The Bell’s were shut out vs M-A and only put up 13 vs Clovis North last week, so their offense is a bit suspect. If Vintage gets ahead early or scores on any turn-overs or kick returns then the Bell’s could fine themselves in trouble. Vintage though 1-2 narrowly lost 28-27 to a pretty decent Acalanes team [whom Mitty faces tomorrow night].
Prediction: Bell’s 21-13 over Vintage
No names of key Bellarmine players?
Thanks for the analysis. Don’t count them out just yet. My prediction is they will give Mitty and Valley Christian as well as all of the city teams a competitive fight. They will likely not be able to compete with St. Francis and Serra. Although I have watched many holy wars and sometimes a rivalry game can go haywire for the heavy favorite. Skill positions are solid. Line is suspect and young both ways! We saw that in the MA game but remember, those coaches will have them battle tested and ready as the season moves on. If those teams meet again as history has proven often it’s hard to win 2 in a row. By the way,with all due respect, Bells does not have an apostrophe as it is not possessive. They are the plural for of “Bell”.colhenry - somewhat of an afterthought I guess before seeing your post. Quite honestly there has not been much to write about in regards to Bell's performance in the first 2 games. Blanked by M-A 28-0 and then had to come back in the 4th to edge Clovis North 13-12 in a game in which 3 of 4 P.A.T.'s were missed.
In the game vs M-A the Bell's generated 19 yards rushing & 78 passing for a grand total of 97 yards total offense & of that RB. Tyson Garcia accounted for 39 yards. Tyson Garcia was the only player of note from last year's varsity returning as listed in my initial write up of Bell's. As for the team here are the key players from what I can tell.
* Tyson Garcia RB/CB, 5'9-145
* Harry Mangrone QB, 6'0-170
* Luke Splaine LB/FB, 6'1-205
* Isaac Katcher LB, 5'10-145
* Matt Penelli WR/FS 5'8-150
As you can see from looking at the Bell's roster it is a young team with few experienced varsity players from last year and small physically compared to teams such as SF, Serra & M-A. Gonna be a tough year in WCAL for Bell's...
If anyone can get the most out of what he's got to work with it will be Coach Janda drdiablo.
Dang I never even gave it a thought, it was always just the Bell's. Now that you've brought up its simply the Bells,
do you know how many thousands of posts I'm gonna have to go back & correct?![]()
I feel bad for mentioning but your analysis are so in depth and detail oriented, I thought you might like to know. Again, thanks for all you do.If anyone can get the most out of what he's got to work with it will be Coach Janda drdiablo.
Dang I never even gave it a thought, it was always just the Bell's. Now that you've brought up its simply the Bells,
do you know how many thousands of posts I'm gonna have to go back & correct?![]()
WCAL Football 2018 – Upcoming Game Previews
SHC 1-1 hosts Homestead 0-2 [Cupertino] Friday 7:00 PM
The Irish get their first win of the season vs Homestead “Mustangs”. Homestead has no passing game to speak of and uses 2 RB’s to rush and that is their offense. The Homestead Mustangs 2 losses are both to teams below the rankings of the Irish and this game should be decided early.
Prediction: SHC 42-14 over Homestead
Riordan 0-2 at Napa 0-3
A toss of the coin on this one as the teams seemed about evenly matched. Crusader’s simply need to score on a team that gives up a lot of points, but can still manage a few scores itself. If Riordan scores and shows some offense then Riordan wins its first game of season.
Prediction: Riordan 35-21 over Napa
S.I. 0-2 at Gonzaga Prep-WA 0-1 at Spokane 6:00 PM Saturday
Gonzaga Prep has played one game and lost by a respectable margin to a very good team. S.I. has 2 losses to teams ranked well below the team Gonzaga Prep lost to and S.I. is well below the rankings of GP. The team shows a very large roster and may simply outman the Wildcats of S.I. in this one. Wonder who thought scheduling this out of state team was a good idea?
Prediction: Gonzaga Prep 42-14
Bells will be on the same station 1440 KVON AM tomorrow night against Vintage.The SHC win will be their second (and with any luck from last week, third). Riordan's game will be on 1440 KVON. They're ranked above Napa, so they may have a shot at winning.
WCAL Football 2018 – Upcoming Game Previews
Serra 1-1 at Pittsburg “Pitt” 1-2 Friday 7:00 PM
Serra should have its hands full playing Pitt on their home turf tomorrow night. While Pitt’s record is 1-2 the losses came at the hands of Clayton Valley 38-31 in O/T [CVC currently ranked 17th in the state] and powerhouse Centennial Corona ranked #3 in CA and 8th nationally. Pitt’s win was a 48-7 blow-out of St. Mary’s of Stockton who is by no means a weak team.
Pitt has plenty of weapons on offense which will prove difficult for Serra to stop. Pitt’s QB Trey Turner 6’1-180 is athletic and can run if pressured, but prefers to stay in the pocket. Turner is currently completing 47% with 4 TD’s & 3 INT’s in 3 games. While this doesn’t sound too impressive you may want to take into account the 3 teams Pitt has played & suddenly the stats don’t seem bad by any means. The 3 RB’s used are Avant Muldrew 5’5-160, Melvin Riley 5’11-200, Hezekiah Thomas 5’11-200 and the short yardage specialist Jack Lacy III who has 4 TD’s and is also the teams leading tackler at MLB. Pitt has a good group of WR’s with Willie Hart III the deep threat and also the best KR. Other WR’s to watch are Justin Boyd 5’10-160, Jalen Tauanu’u 6’3-230. For Serra this will be comparable to playing Serra-Gardena in the first game [though that Serra had a better passing game/QB]. Pitt has plenty speed and experienced varsity players from last season. This will e a difficult challenge for Serra and they made need some help in the form of Pitt miscues, turnovers, penalties & such. Serra will need the best game to date from its QB Luke Bottari in order to have a chance in winning this game.
Can Serra win this game? On paper Pitt looks to be favored by several TD’s. Serra #1 has to be able to run the ball against the Pitt D and cannot afford a game like the Serra-Gardena game where the Padres averaged 2.0 YPC on 33 rushes for a total of 65 yards. The O-line has to be able to open holes at least get the RB beyond the line of scrimmage. Posts have indicated Serra’s best RB David Coker is out indefinitely & if so that is dreadful news for Serra. Another critical player Ed Lahlouh has been out with a sprained ankle since the Serra-Gardena game & if so will be sorely missed. Simply put Serra will need to be able to run the ball to have any chance against the Pirates & the QB Luke Bottari cannot continue to be the leading rusher for Serra. The Padres also do not have the luxury of the record setting WR’s they previously had the last 2 season’s. Serra somehow has to elevate its passing game from the 104 yards PPG averaged in the first 2 games. It’s clear at this point that Pitt has the better run game and may have the better passing game as well simply due to the WR’s Pitt has. Serra’s D will have to come up with stops or this Pitt offense will simply wear out Serra’s D and the game could get away quickly. The X-Factor for Serra is Bottari in this one & Serra will have to play its best game to date if to win this one.
Prediction: Pitt 42-28 over Serra
WCAL Football 2018 – Upcoming Game Previews
* Due to time constraints & travel plans the remaining game previews will be brief & not as thorough as I generally like. Next week “normal operations” resume.
SHC 1-1 hosts Homestead 0-2 [Cupertino] Friday 7:00 PM
The Irish get their 2nd win of the season vs Homestead “Mustangs”. Homestead has no passing game to speak of and uses 2 RB’s to rush and that is their offense. The Homestead Mustangs 2 losses are both to teams below the rankings of the Irish and this game should be decided early.
Prediction: SHC 42-14 over Homestead
St. Francis 2-0 hosts DLS 3-0 Friday 7:30 PM
The Lancer’s get to find out very quickly Friday night just how good they are as this DLS team is looking better than most fans expected and is rolling. The DLS offense is better than expected and the DLS “D” is the best in NorCal and very, very impressive. If SF had a problem scoring last season in the 31-7 loss it does not get any better this season. The Lancer’s do not posses an explosive offense either running or passing so this is going to prove challenging. If SF cannot maintain ball control and depends on the Lancer D to stop the Spartans offense this one coule get ugly.
Prediction: DLS 35-7 over St. Francis
VC 1-1 hosts Clovis West 0-3 Friday 7:00 PM
VC comes in as a slight favorite and will need to avoid costly mistakes and run the ball to some degree to win this game. Clovis West averages almost 300 yards offense per game, but give up an equivalent amount or more with a somewhat porous defense.
Prediction: VC 28-14 over Clovis West
Riordan 0-2 at Napa 0-3
A toss of the coin on this one as the teams seemed about evenly matched. Crusader’s simply need to score on a team that gives up a lot of points, but can still manage a few scores itself. If Riordan scores and shows some offense then Riordan wins its first game of season.
Prediction: Riordan 35-21 over Napa
S.I. 0-2 at Gonzaga Prep-WA 0-1 at Spokane 6:00 PM Saturday
Gonzaga Prep has played one game and lost by a respectable margin to a very good team. S.I. has 2 losses to teams ranked well below the team Gonzaga Prep lost to and S.I. is well below the rankings of GP. The team shows a very large roster and may simply outman the Wildcats of S.I. in this one. Wonder who thought scheduling this out of state team was a good idea?
Prediction: Gonzaga Prep 42-14
Over on the CV preps board, posters on the TRAC pick'em thread are favoring a VC win 13-2. Massey ratings is predicting a CW 22-21 win while CalPreps is projecting a VC 28-17 win.
The Bells team has dropped off significantly from their historical norms, going 11-12 the last two years.and really not being competitive with the upper half of the WCAL. I think a .500 year would be considered an accomplishment this season. Their JV has started off 0-2, so doesnt look like the downward trend will change in the short term.With all the comments on those other threads ripping into Folsom for scheduling a team like Chaminade, I find it odd that a team with the rich history of the Bells would schedule Vintage? Vintage is currently the 38th ranked team in the NCS per CalPreps. Is there some connection such as a former Bell coaching the Crushers? Do they need a victory that bad?
The Poster TRAC Pick'em vote is now VC 19, CW 2.Over on the CV preps board, posters on the TRAC pick'em thread are favoring a VC win 13-2. Massey ratings is predicting a CW 22-21 win while CalPreps is projecting a VC 28-17 win.
The Bells team has dropped off significantly from their historical norms, going 11-12 the last two years.and really not being competitive with the upper half of the WCAL. I think a .500 year would be considered an accomplishment this season. Their JV has started off 0-2, so doesnt look like the downward trend will change in the short term.
The SHC win will be their second (and with any luck from last week, third). Riordan's game will be on 1440 KVON. They're ranked above Napa, so they may have a shot at winning.
SHC has a Freshman on the varsity playing special teams. Lumont Otis is listed at 5' 4" and 115lbs. I'm assuming he has some speed.
Serra Frosh beat a very big and talented Pitt team yesterday 28-14. Both teams have tons of talent. Both QB's 6 ft 2 to 6ft 3 are going to be highly rated. Both lines O and D averaged well over 275 lbs.
Will be interesting to see how these groups develop in a couple of yrsSerra Frosh beat a very big and talented Pitt team yesterday 28-14. Both teams have tons of talent. Both QB's 6 ft 2 to 6ft 3 are going to be highly rated. Both lines O and D averaged well over 275 lbs.
Both lines averaged well over 275 pounds? Good heavens.
Averaging well over 225 would be huge for a frosh line. But to have 2 frosh teams on the same field both averaging well over 275 is downright scary.
I saw his name on the Homestead roster on MaxPreps today.This article was in yesterday's paper on Darrell Page of St. Francis https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/08/10/is-st-francis-football-star-darrell-page-still-on-team/
WCAL clearly does not have the dominant edge this year. There is always at least a couple CCS public teams that can challenge the top WCAL teams. This year, parity is much closer.The final WCAL non-league ledger for 2018:
10-14 overall
9-9 vs. public schools
1-5 vs. private/parochial schools
2-5 vs. CCS public schools
Is it fair to state that this year's WCAL non-league results were less than stellar?
The final WCAL non-league ledger for 2018:
11-13 overall
10-8 vs. public schools
1-5 vs. private/parochial schools
2-5 vs. CCS public schools
Is it fair to state that this year's WCAL non-league results were less than stellar?
Stats edited to reflect Riordan's Saturday night W vs. Napa, a public school.