WCAL Football 2018 - San Jose Merc All Bay Area Team
- Thread starter Rmbr26
- Start date
Yes. Riordan turned the ball over on downs with under a minute left in the game.
It was not pretty. Turnovers, lack of execution throughout the game spelled doom for the Crusaders 1st game of the year. Down the entire game until late 2nd half, Riordan finally went ahead. Before that both teams traded back to back kickoff returns for TDS. The Crusaders simply could not hold its 2 TD lead with roughly 6 1/2 minutes left in the game giving up the winning point from a 2 pt conversion. Very disappointing loss but a learning lesson for the team and coaching staff. Some talented sophs and juniors as this offense can score despite many penalties. Let’s see how this team improves over the next few games.
After seeing Serra play Serra, I think a rank order for WCAL this year is St. Francis, Serra and then Mitty.
VC will battle Bellarmine for the weakest south team. It is yet to be seen how either will stack up against SHC and SI. Riordan is probably still in last place.
VC will battle Bellarmine for the weakest south team. It is yet to be seen how either will stack up against SHC and SI. Riordan is probably still in last place.
I'm not drawing the same conclusion as of yet as the Serra vs Serra game is only 1/2 over. Also reading that Wilcox may have one of their best teams in years' doesn't convince me that VC may be one of the WCAL "cellar dwellers" everyone is resigning them to [Bell's another subject altogether unfortunately]. I can tell you in advance VC will match up very well with SHC, S.I. & Riordan & I will take bets as of now! Lol!
My "dark horse" Mitty did very well today & even surprised me - Go Monarch's!
I not seeing Riordan in last place over the city teams. Penalties and a slow start doomed Riordan. Honestly the offense is very smooth, setting up plays for the next one, offensive line giving QB time and Recievers gaining YAC. The defensive except for slow start was swarming and smothering.
For a young team, putting up 48 points is no joke. And truly should not be over looked.
Riordan has no expectations, but cieling is high. This team will improve, it is truly a matter will of which city game be far enough down the schedule.
Still think Riordan will steal a South Bay win....Who will it be?
For a young team, putting up 48 points is no joke. And truly should not be over looked.
Riordan has no expectations, but cieling is high. This team will improve, it is truly a matter will of which city game be far enough down the schedule.
Still think Riordan will steal a South Bay win....Who will it be?
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The pieces are there for the Crusaders compared to years past. Up to the players and coaches to figure out the best personnel for a given situation. The nice thing is there are a lot of promising underclassmen. How will Coach Morris play them ? Or will he?
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So, the first-week WCAL tally is a grim 3-5. Worse than imagined for sure. Of all the indicators, though, maybe the most revealing is that Bellarmine, with more than 1,600 boys, appears to be mediocre again. Who knew? The Bells, once a NorCal powerhouse, now seem to be well back in the pack, or at least no better than mid-pack. But there's plenty of time left to get a better handle on them. Still, that showing vs. Menlo-Atherton was not encouraging at all.
The offense looked really good with big play potential, steady running attack and the ability to move the chains making first downs on 3rd down conversions
The 3 senior receivers 2 on the outside and 1 (#2)working out of the slot we’re running open all day. And all 3 made big catches with # 6& 7 scoring on big plays. The QB in his first game since last year looked good overall but needs to throw the ball to his receivers instead of scrambling and taking sacks. He will get better he appears to have big play ability
The defense just couldn’t get it together all day. I expect changes in some areas but not toopanic as they have athletes to plug in play here.
Overall a game they should have won and were expected to win. But in high school sports for the most part, it’s a year to year proposition, this Riordan team is to not be taken lightly imo
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WCAL Football 2018 - Summary of the Teams 1rst Games of Season
Final Scores:
Wilcox 10-6 over VC
SF 23-12 over Notre Dame -Sherman Oaks
Paly 21-14 over S.I.
M-A 28-0 over Bell's
SHC 20-7 over Fernley
Salesian 49-48 over Riordan
Mitty 42-14 over Oakdale
Serra Gardena over Serra San Mateo
Rmbr26 Pre-Game Predictions of Scores:
VC 28-14 over WIlcox
SF 38-21 over Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks
S.I. 21-7 over Paly
M-A 20-14 over Bell's
SHC 35-14 over Fernley
Riordan 35-14 over Salesian
Mitty 27-21 over Oakdale
Serra-Gardena 35-24 over Serra San Mateo
Valley Christian: The biggest shcoking upset in NorCal for the week. I think only one person picked Wilcox in the Weekly Pick' Em" contest and many [incl me] picked VC as their Top 10 Pick. VC had "owned" Wilcox in previous years' games and no one [incl. me again] expected anything different. I did "soften" my score prediction though based upon VC's lack of a passing game and Wilcox returning a number of good players [the last several games between the 2 teams were all blow-outs in favor of VC]. So what does this tell us about VC? From just one game not a lot unfortunately. The lack of scoring by VC is surprising, but not shocking. I'd also read that this may be WIlcox best team in years' and until both teams play a 2nd game we jus won't know if: #1 - Valley Christian is in for a really down year, or #2 - Yes Wilcox is just THAT good. IMO the truth may be somewhere in the middle. VC only suffered 2 losses in 2017 & both to Serra. The pre-season data showed that Wilcox would be a respectable team and among the Top 10 teams in the entire CCS & favored to win the De Anza League over teams such as Milpitas & Los Gatos.
I think I fell into the same trap as most others & based my predicted win on simple past history. We now know Wilcox is solid and VC may have fallen a notch or 2. If VC has dropped a bit in rankings the Warrior's will still be ranked above 4 other WCAL teams despite the loss.
St. Francis: A classic SF type of football game - tough defense, pressure on the QB, grind it out run game and just enough passes [and catches by Evan Williams] to pull out the win. I said previous that on paper SF had the "horses" to win this game & I had SF winning by 17. The new QB Perry for SF did a good job in his debut first game as QB
and the "Page-less" Lancer's got enough yards from their RB's to keep grind out first downs. SF looks to be solid on both sides of the ball and if they have a weak spot it will be in their pass game against better opponents. The Lancer's do not possess a high scoring offense and must rely on their D agains the better scoring teams. DLS game will be interesting & the Spartan's will have the toughest defense SF will face this season [shut-out Folsom].
St. Ignatius: I do not know many details about the game except that S.I. was up 14-0 and ended up losing by 21-14, so a 3 TD swing in the game. I had S.I. winning by 2 TD's in this one based upon Palo Alto's record last season and thinking S.I. would simply "out-execute" the Vikings. I was wrong. This was a needed win for S.I. and wins this season will not come easily the rest of the way. Hopefully S.I. can make the needed "adjustments" as to be ahead several TD's and then lose the 1rst game has got to be disappointing.
Bellarmine: My how the Mighty Bell's have fallen. The largest all male parochial HS in NorCal who with SF dominated the WCAL for decades is now near the bottom of the league and entering a 3rd year with dim prospects indeed. It is a bit shocking to me used to seeing the Bell's year after year fielding superb teams and Coach Janda's mastermind ability to use his player's in the best fashion possible. What has happened? It was only 4 season's ago the Bell's defeated Del Oro and then won the NorCal semi-final defeating Folsom on their home turf in Folsom before the entire town and breaking a multi-year home win streak by the Bulldogs. But that was then and the current Bell's team shows little in common with that team. Bell's for whatever reason just do not have the player talent as in past. M-A dominated Bellarmine on both sides of the ball in shutting out the Bell's 28-0. The one bright spot is M-A has a lot of very good players this season and was also projected in the Top 10 for the entire CCS.
It could also be with a shift of roster numbers in the sport of football that some of the public schools are gaining ground on the WCAL teams. After this initial showing it will be difficult for Bellarmine to improve on its 2017 season.
SHC: I had the Irish winning this comfortably at 35-14 or by 3 TD's. The actual score of 20-7 was by 2 TD's so not too far off. I would have liked to see a bit more out of SHC's offense against the Fernley D, but 3 TD's is acceptable.
Fernley looked to be a young team in terms of returning players and lower roster numbers so the pre-game advantage was strong on the side of SHC. A win is a win and this game was a bit closer than I expected similar to their match-up last season. Not a bad showing for the Irish.
Riordan: This game is a head-scratcher for me simply due to the score of 49-48 in favor of Salesian. I had the game projected 35-14 in favor of Riordan. Earlier comments suggested from scrimmages indicated Riordan would be able to score on offense, but could their defense stop anyone? We now have the dinfinitive answer with Salesian scoring 49 points against the Crusader D. It sounded like an entertaining game in which Riordan was down, came back to take the lead and pull ahead only to give up several scores in the final minutes including a 2 point conversion at the end to lose the game. I guess the positive is the game was close, but still resulted in a "L" instead of a "W".
Riordan's coaching staff will seriously need to address issues with their D all the way around after giving up this many points. If Riordan gave up 49 to Salesian what can Crusader fans expect in games vs SF & Serra?
I had Riordan winning by 3 TD's and like S.I. this was a needed & winnable game for the Crusader's.
Mitty: A big & surprising game by the Monarch's. I suspected Mitty might be solid this season and had them winning over Oakdale by 27-21. The actual score of 42-14 in a game Mitty dominated throughout was a bit shocking. Reading about Oakdale's successful program, how the entire town supports them, the coaching staff and how they successfully reload each year had me wonder if the Monarch's could pull off a win. As it turns out Oakdale was not as advertised and no match for Mitty. Oakdale on paper was a young team with few returning players [only 2 starters] while Mitty returned a host of good players incl their talented QB and RB's. Mitty was at another level than Oakdale and a solid showing for Mitty all the way around.
Serra Padres: I was not surprised by the outcome of this game & had projected the Padres losing 35-24 or 11 points - approx. 2 scores. The Padres lost 42-21 or by 3 scores. If there is one play in the game that turned the momentum solidly in one teams favor it was the Padres going for it on 4th & 4 in their own territory early in the game [on the live stream you could hear a Padre fan in crowd yelling "Just Kick the ball!"]. The Serra coaching staff lost that gamble which IMO turned the game around with a possible 2 TD swing - a disastrous decision that simply made no sense. Giving credit to Serra-Gardena their offense looked very sharp for a first game and their QB once in a groove was extremely accurate in finding his WR's. The Padres DB's & SS did I thought a good job of coverage most of the evening. Serra-Gardena has a number of "track star" WR's & with little pressure on the QB the Padre secondary was on the losing side of that battle. Serra-Gardena was even bettter that I expected & a much better team than the Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks team that St. Francis played and won by 9 points. This was not a "bad loss" by the Padres & somewhat expected against the team they were facing. The Padres looked good at times, but have some work to do in making adjustments. Their pass game was out of sync at times & Bottari will need to get a bit more comfortable with the new WR's [who replace the starters from the last 2 year's - Nunn, Villaroma,Park]. Bottari also missed on a few passes to open WR's & forced a pass that resulted in an easy interception [ie: take the loss or throw it away]. The Padre's need some DL adjustments or DE or both to put more pressure on opposing QB's as well as containment. Question: I did not see the "new" TE Churich who was to provide a big target & blocking for Bottari - was he injured & N/A? Simply put cannot have this player at 6'6-240 sitting on bench as a back-up QB [but then again I thought that last year]. Also missing were any big runs by the Padre RB's as provided by David Coker during last season's playoff games. Perhaps this was due to Serra-Gardena D more than anything else. The Padres overall played respectably & some adjustments along with not taking unreasonable risks will provide better results in upcoming games,
Final Scores:
Wilcox 10-6 over VC
SF 23-12 over Notre Dame -Sherman Oaks
Paly 21-14 over S.I.
M-A 28-0 over Bell's
SHC 20-7 over Fernley
Salesian 49-48 over Riordan
Mitty 42-14 over Oakdale
Serra Gardena over Serra San Mateo
Rmbr26 Pre-Game Predictions of Scores:
VC 28-14 over WIlcox
SF 38-21 over Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks
S.I. 21-7 over Paly
M-A 20-14 over Bell's
SHC 35-14 over Fernley
Riordan 35-14 over Salesian
Mitty 27-21 over Oakdale
Serra-Gardena 35-24 over Serra San Mateo
Valley Christian: The biggest shcoking upset in NorCal for the week. I think only one person picked Wilcox in the Weekly Pick' Em" contest and many [incl me] picked VC as their Top 10 Pick. VC had "owned" Wilcox in previous years' games and no one [incl. me again] expected anything different. I did "soften" my score prediction though based upon VC's lack of a passing game and Wilcox returning a number of good players [the last several games between the 2 teams were all blow-outs in favor of VC]. So what does this tell us about VC? From just one game not a lot unfortunately. The lack of scoring by VC is surprising, but not shocking. I'd also read that this may be WIlcox best team in years' and until both teams play a 2nd game we jus won't know if: #1 - Valley Christian is in for a really down year, or #2 - Yes Wilcox is just THAT good. IMO the truth may be somewhere in the middle. VC only suffered 2 losses in 2017 & both to Serra. The pre-season data showed that Wilcox would be a respectable team and among the Top 10 teams in the entire CCS & favored to win the De Anza League over teams such as Milpitas & Los Gatos.
I think I fell into the same trap as most others & based my predicted win on simple past history. We now know Wilcox is solid and VC may have fallen a notch or 2. If VC has dropped a bit in rankings the Warrior's will still be ranked above 4 other WCAL teams despite the loss.
St. Francis: A classic SF type of football game - tough defense, pressure on the QB, grind it out run game and just enough passes [and catches by Evan Williams] to pull out the win. I said previous that on paper SF had the "horses" to win this game & I had SF winning by 17. The new QB Perry for SF did a good job in his debut first game as QB
and the "Page-less" Lancer's got enough yards from their RB's to keep grind out first downs. SF looks to be solid on both sides of the ball and if they have a weak spot it will be in their pass game against better opponents. The Lancer's do not possess a high scoring offense and must rely on their D agains the better scoring teams. DLS game will be interesting & the Spartan's will have the toughest defense SF will face this season [shut-out Folsom].
St. Ignatius: I do not know many details about the game except that S.I. was up 14-0 and ended up losing by 21-14, so a 3 TD swing in the game. I had S.I. winning by 2 TD's in this one based upon Palo Alto's record last season and thinking S.I. would simply "out-execute" the Vikings. I was wrong. This was a needed win for S.I. and wins this season will not come easily the rest of the way. Hopefully S.I. can make the needed "adjustments" as to be ahead several TD's and then lose the 1rst game has got to be disappointing.
Bellarmine: My how the Mighty Bell's have fallen. The largest all male parochial HS in NorCal who with SF dominated the WCAL for decades is now near the bottom of the league and entering a 3rd year with dim prospects indeed. It is a bit shocking to me used to seeing the Bell's year after year fielding superb teams and Coach Janda's mastermind ability to use his player's in the best fashion possible. What has happened? It was only 4 season's ago the Bell's defeated Del Oro and then won the NorCal semi-final defeating Folsom on their home turf in Folsom before the entire town and breaking a multi-year home win streak by the Bulldogs. But that was then and the current Bell's team shows little in common with that team. Bell's for whatever reason just do not have the player talent as in past. M-A dominated Bellarmine on both sides of the ball in shutting out the Bell's 28-0. The one bright spot is M-A has a lot of very good players this season and was also projected in the Top 10 for the entire CCS.
It could also be with a shift of roster numbers in the sport of football that some of the public schools are gaining ground on the WCAL teams. After this initial showing it will be difficult for Bellarmine to improve on its 2017 season.
SHC: I had the Irish winning this comfortably at 35-14 or by 3 TD's. The actual score of 20-7 was by 2 TD's so not too far off. I would have liked to see a bit more out of SHC's offense against the Fernley D, but 3 TD's is acceptable.
Fernley looked to be a young team in terms of returning players and lower roster numbers so the pre-game advantage was strong on the side of SHC. A win is a win and this game was a bit closer than I expected similar to their match-up last season. Not a bad showing for the Irish.
Riordan: This game is a head-scratcher for me simply due to the score of 49-48 in favor of Salesian. I had the game projected 35-14 in favor of Riordan. Earlier comments suggested from scrimmages indicated Riordan would be able to score on offense, but could their defense stop anyone? We now have the dinfinitive answer with Salesian scoring 49 points against the Crusader D. It sounded like an entertaining game in which Riordan was down, came back to take the lead and pull ahead only to give up several scores in the final minutes including a 2 point conversion at the end to lose the game. I guess the positive is the game was close, but still resulted in a "L" instead of a "W".
Riordan's coaching staff will seriously need to address issues with their D all the way around after giving up this many points. If Riordan gave up 49 to Salesian what can Crusader fans expect in games vs SF & Serra?
I had Riordan winning by 3 TD's and like S.I. this was a needed & winnable game for the Crusader's.
Mitty: A big & surprising game by the Monarch's. I suspected Mitty might be solid this season and had them winning over Oakdale by 27-21. The actual score of 42-14 in a game Mitty dominated throughout was a bit shocking. Reading about Oakdale's successful program, how the entire town supports them, the coaching staff and how they successfully reload each year had me wonder if the Monarch's could pull off a win. As it turns out Oakdale was not as advertised and no match for Mitty. Oakdale on paper was a young team with few returning players [only 2 starters] while Mitty returned a host of good players incl their talented QB and RB's. Mitty was at another level than Oakdale and a solid showing for Mitty all the way around.
Serra Padres: I was not surprised by the outcome of this game & had projected the Padres losing 35-24 or 11 points - approx. 2 scores. The Padres lost 42-21 or by 3 scores. If there is one play in the game that turned the momentum solidly in one teams favor it was the Padres going for it on 4th & 4 in their own territory early in the game [on the live stream you could hear a Padre fan in crowd yelling "Just Kick the ball!"]. The Serra coaching staff lost that gamble which IMO turned the game around with a possible 2 TD swing - a disastrous decision that simply made no sense. Giving credit to Serra-Gardena their offense looked very sharp for a first game and their QB once in a groove was extremely accurate in finding his WR's. The Padres DB's & SS did I thought a good job of coverage most of the evening. Serra-Gardena has a number of "track star" WR's & with little pressure on the QB the Padre secondary was on the losing side of that battle. Serra-Gardena was even bettter that I expected & a much better team than the Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks team that St. Francis played and won by 9 points. This was not a "bad loss" by the Padres & somewhat expected against the team they were facing. The Padres looked good at times, but have some work to do in making adjustments. Their pass game was out of sync at times & Bottari will need to get a bit more comfortable with the new WR's [who replace the starters from the last 2 year's - Nunn, Villaroma,Park]. Bottari also missed on a few passes to open WR's & forced a pass that resulted in an easy interception [ie: take the loss or throw it away]. The Padre's need some DL adjustments or DE or both to put more pressure on opposing QB's as well as containment. Question: I did not see the "new" TE Churich who was to provide a big target & blocking for Bottari - was he injured & N/A? Simply put cannot have this player at 6'6-240 sitting on bench as a back-up QB [but then again I thought that last year]. Also missing were any big runs by the Padre RB's as provided by David Coker during last season's playoff games. Perhaps this was due to Serra-Gardena D more than anything else. The Padres overall played respectably & some adjustments along with not taking unreasonable risks will provide better results in upcoming games,
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Presentation...what aspect of the 3 parts of the game was missed?
Hate the message not the messager, don't sleep on Riordan. They can score and that is the hardest part of FB. Tighten other areas and without expectations....who does the fog horn blow for?
Hate the message not the messager, don't sleep on Riordan. They can score and that is the hardest part of FB. Tighten other areas and without expectations....who does the fog horn blow for?
With well over 550 teams, the Southern Section is larger than all of NorCal sections combined. It should utterly dominate all sports in CIF playoffs. And, much of the time, it does.
We'll see. Serra Pads couldn't get a pass rush going without blitzing but did pretty well against the rushing attack. Cavs definitely had a QB that could deliver the ball and athletic and fast WRs, but not so sure they would fair well any better than Folsom against that DLS defense including pass rush. DLS also played straight up defense and didn't have to take the risks that the Pads did. Folsom WRs seemed every much as good overall and at least in the beginning the Cavs dropped pass after pass. I would also take Folsom's RB over the Cavs. Serra Pads looks like a good team, but definitely not elite. Pads will need to get much better to beat Pitt when they face off later this season. Pad have a high upside, but probably too many new faces to play a team like Cavs as a first game and still don't think they are at the Cavs level.
Were Serra's two 6-5, 220-pound defensive ends available for Saturday night's ballgame? Heard they were not.
WCAL Football 2018
WCAL Team Rankings after Week 1 as of August 27th
1. Serra 0-1 retains top spot despite losing to highest rated team any WCAL team faced in week 1.
2. SF 1-0 stays right behind Serra with predicted win over Notre-Dame [Sherman Oaks].
3. Mitty 1-0 Monarch's improve their rating considerably with dominating win over Oakdale.
4. VC 0-1 Warrior's suffer unexpected loss to Wilcox who is better than most fans thought.
5. SHC 1-0 Irish win as expected over Fernley while 3 teams ranked below them all lost.
6. Bell's 0-1 Bell's ranked just ahead of S.I. & Riordan due to strength of their opponent M-A.
7. S.I. 0-1 Wildcats lose in slight upset by Palo Alto after leading Vikings by 2 TD's.
8. Riordan 0-1 Crusader's let this game slip away in giving up 49 points to Salesian.
* Overall WCAL was 3-5 in week #1.
WCAL Team Rankings after Week 1 as of August 27th
1. Serra 0-1 retains top spot despite losing to highest rated team any WCAL team faced in week 1.
2. SF 1-0 stays right behind Serra with predicted win over Notre-Dame [Sherman Oaks].
3. Mitty 1-0 Monarch's improve their rating considerably with dominating win over Oakdale.
4. VC 0-1 Warrior's suffer unexpected loss to Wilcox who is better than most fans thought.
5. SHC 1-0 Irish win as expected over Fernley while 3 teams ranked below them all lost.
6. Bell's 0-1 Bell's ranked just ahead of S.I. & Riordan due to strength of their opponent M-A.
7. S.I. 0-1 Wildcats lose in slight upset by Palo Alto after leading Vikings by 2 TD's.
8. Riordan 0-1 Crusader's let this game slip away in giving up 49 points to Salesian.
* Overall WCAL was 3-5 in week #1.
A quick look at the coming weekend's WCAL schedule could bring more bad news for the league and its loyal supporters. Five or six more losses are entirely possible. Predicting a 4-4 mark might be quite optimistic today, although an improvement over Week 1.
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South Bay/Peninsula public schools take care of business against WCAL
[from Bay Area Preps - Mercury News]
OK, Menlo-Atherton’s 28-0 victory over Bellarmine on Friday at San Jose City College was not all that surprising. M-A is loaded with talent, even though some of its top guys are injured, and Bellarmine is inexperienced -- and small -- in comparison to M-A. The Bears did what they had to do and got some payback in the process. But a few miles away in Santa Clara, not many expected Wilcox to emerge with a victory over Valley Christian. The Chargers, who will regularly fall into a playoff division that includes the likes of Valley, Serra and St. Francis, got “bigger, stronger, faster” in the off-season and won on their home field 10-6. While that stunner was unfolding, Palo Alto, in its first game under new coach Nelson Gifford, got a touchdown reception from Jamir Shepard in the closing minutes to beat St. Ignatius 21-14, making it a clean sweep for the South Bay/Peninsula public schools Friday against West Catholic Athletic League competition. Trust us, that does not happen often.
-- Shamir Bey threw four touchdown passes to make Sione Ta’ufo’ou’s debut as Archbishop Mitty’s coach a successful one, guiding the Monarchs to a 42-14 rout of Oakdale at the Honor Bowl.
[from Bay Area Preps - Mercury News]
OK, Menlo-Atherton’s 28-0 victory over Bellarmine on Friday at San Jose City College was not all that surprising. M-A is loaded with talent, even though some of its top guys are injured, and Bellarmine is inexperienced -- and small -- in comparison to M-A. The Bears did what they had to do and got some payback in the process. But a few miles away in Santa Clara, not many expected Wilcox to emerge with a victory over Valley Christian. The Chargers, who will regularly fall into a playoff division that includes the likes of Valley, Serra and St. Francis, got “bigger, stronger, faster” in the off-season and won on their home field 10-6. While that stunner was unfolding, Palo Alto, in its first game under new coach Nelson Gifford, got a touchdown reception from Jamir Shepard in the closing minutes to beat St. Ignatius 21-14, making it a clean sweep for the South Bay/Peninsula public schools Friday against West Catholic Athletic League competition. Trust us, that does not happen often.
-- Shamir Bey threw four touchdown passes to make Sione Ta’ufo’ou’s debut as Archbishop Mitty’s coach a successful one, guiding the Monarchs to a 42-14 rout of Oakdale at the Honor Bowl.
WCAL Football 2018
Freeman's UPdated Rankings of Top 15 CCS Teams for this Week
1. Serra
2. SF
3. Mitty
4. Wilcox
5. VC
6. HMB
7. Gilroy
8. M-A
9. Milpitas
10. Aptos
11. Aragon
12. Christopher [Gilroy]
13. Los Gatos
14. Carmel
15. Terra Nova
* Note: Mercury News Top Bay Area 25 ranks the Bell's at #19 while omitting HMB & Gilroy altogether.
* Freeman's has the Bell's ranked #21 in CCS right behind SHC at #20. I think the Merc with Darren Sebedra and 4 other "colleagues" are way off on the Bell's ranking of #19 for all NorCal.
Link to complete article:
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/08/27/prep-football-rankings-week-3-bay-area-news-group-top-25/
Freeman's UPdated Rankings of Top 15 CCS Teams for this Week
1. Serra
2. SF
3. Mitty
4. Wilcox
5. VC
6. HMB
7. Gilroy
8. M-A
9. Milpitas
10. Aptos
11. Aragon
12. Christopher [Gilroy]
13. Los Gatos
14. Carmel
15. Terra Nova
* Note: Mercury News Top Bay Area 25 ranks the Bell's at #19 while omitting HMB & Gilroy altogether.
* Freeman's has the Bell's ranked #21 in CCS right behind SHC at #20. I think the Merc with Darren Sebedra and 4 other "colleagues" are way off on the Bell's ranking of #19 for all NorCal.
Link to complete article:
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/08/27/prep-football-rankings-week-3-bay-area-news-group-top-25/
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The Merc’s rankings are not for all of NorCal. It is just for the Bay Area News Group’s subscription area. That is limited to just the East Bay, South Bay and Peninsula. No SF, no North Bay, No Sac or SJS or NS at all.
In fact, at the bottom of the rankings, it states: “Teams eligible for these rankings come from leagues based predominantly in Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.”
Yes -know that & routinely forget it as its kind of a weird demographic, but posters just as routinely catch it & point out so all good & thanks.
Either way Bell's should not be included & agree with colhenry - "M-A too low & HMB too high".
WCAL Football 2018 – Previews of This Week’s Games
Bellarmine 0-1 hosts Clovis North 1-0 Friday 7:00 PM @ SJCC
Bell’s lost to M-A by 28-0 and Clovis North took down Sunnyside of Fresno by 50-7. The Clovis North “Bronco’s” were favored going into the Sunnyside game, but not to the extent of the blow-out by 43-points. Going into the season the Bell’s had actually been rated slightly above Clovis North. After the Bell’s shut-out loss to M-A and the Clovis North blow-out of Sunnyside that is no longer the situation and the Bell’s find themselves as the underdog entering their 2nd game. Simply the fact that the Bell’s were not able to score a single point & Clovis North put up 50 the Bell’s are now ranked/rated below the Bronco’s. I did view a brief video recap of the Clovis North game last week and they have some talented athletes and a bit of size as well. For the young and “smallish” Bell’s squad they will have to perform better than last week versus Menlo-Atherton if they want to be in this game. Can the Bell’s offense score against the CN defense and how often? Can the Bell’s stop an offense that put up 50 last week? Bell’s in 2016 did not have a great season, but a winning record at least. Bell’s in 2017 were not as good as 2016 & with a losing record. The concern for the 2018 Bell’s is in 2017 they averaged only 14 points per game offense and gave up almost double that on defense [on average]. It could be that this season’s team may not be on par with last season. So it is up to Coach Janda & staff to reorganize after last week’s shut-out to M-A and see how well they can use the players’ they’ve got. The data suggests the Bell’s cannot score enough to win against CN, but stranger things have happened.
Prediction: Clovis North 20-7 over Bell’s
Bellarmine 0-1 hosts Clovis North 1-0 Friday 7:00 PM @ SJCC
Bell’s lost to M-A by 28-0 and Clovis North took down Sunnyside of Fresno by 50-7. The Clovis North “Bronco’s” were favored going into the Sunnyside game, but not to the extent of the blow-out by 43-points. Going into the season the Bell’s had actually been rated slightly above Clovis North. After the Bell’s shut-out loss to M-A and the Clovis North blow-out of Sunnyside that is no longer the situation and the Bell’s find themselves as the underdog entering their 2nd game. Simply the fact that the Bell’s were not able to score a single point & Clovis North put up 50 the Bell’s are now ranked/rated below the Bronco’s. I did view a brief video recap of the Clovis North game last week and they have some talented athletes and a bit of size as well. For the young and “smallish” Bell’s squad they will have to perform better than last week versus Menlo-Atherton if they want to be in this game. Can the Bell’s offense score against the CN defense and how often? Can the Bell’s stop an offense that put up 50 last week? Bell’s in 2016 did not have a great season, but a winning record at least. Bell’s in 2017 were not as good as 2016 & with a losing record. The concern for the 2018 Bell’s is in 2017 they averaged only 14 points per game offense and gave up almost double that on defense [on average]. It could be that this season’s team may not be on par with last season. So it is up to Coach Janda & staff to reorganize after last week’s shut-out to M-A and see how well they can use the players’ they’ve got. The data suggests the Bell’s cannot score enough to win against CN, but stranger things have happened.
Prediction: Clovis North 20-7 over Bell’s
WCAL Football 2018 – Previews of This Week’s Games
SHC 1-0 vs Palma 1-0 at Salinas Sports Complex Friday 7:30 PM
The Irish travel a long ways for the Friday evening contest in Salinas which could be a long bus ride home if SHC does not play well. Palma is rated as just slightly better than SHC so this game could be a toss-up. Palma Chieftains defeated Soledad by 52-6 last week while the Irish of SHC won over Fernley of Nevada by 20-7. Of the 2 games Fernley of NV looked to be the better quality team over Soledad. Palma is by no means a heavy favorite though they do return their QB from last season and have a highly rated RB in Anthony Villegas 5’9-175. I think SHC can score on Palma, but can the Irish contain the Palma running game? Both experience and home field advantage lean towards Palma. Of the 2 teams perhaps Palma has the better offense while the Irish may possess a better D. While I like the SHC win over Fernley this Palma team presents a much more difficult challenge. The returning Palma QB who threw 4 TD’s last week passed for nearly 1700 yards in ’17. Likewise their top RB Viilegas rushed for almost 1700 yards last season. Unless SHC can put together a monumental defensive effort I’ll have to go with the Palma offense in outscoring the Irish.
Prediction: Palma 35-20 over SHC Irish
SHC 1-0 vs Palma 1-0 at Salinas Sports Complex Friday 7:30 PM
The Irish travel a long ways for the Friday evening contest in Salinas which could be a long bus ride home if SHC does not play well. Palma is rated as just slightly better than SHC so this game could be a toss-up. Palma Chieftains defeated Soledad by 52-6 last week while the Irish of SHC won over Fernley of Nevada by 20-7. Of the 2 games Fernley of NV looked to be the better quality team over Soledad. Palma is by no means a heavy favorite though they do return their QB from last season and have a highly rated RB in Anthony Villegas 5’9-175. I think SHC can score on Palma, but can the Irish contain the Palma running game? Both experience and home field advantage lean towards Palma. Of the 2 teams perhaps Palma has the better offense while the Irish may possess a better D. While I like the SHC win over Fernley this Palma team presents a much more difficult challenge. The returning Palma QB who threw 4 TD’s last week passed for nearly 1700 yards in ’17. Likewise their top RB Viilegas rushed for almost 1700 yards last season. Unless SHC can put together a monumental defensive effort I’ll have to go with the Palma offense in outscoring the Irish.
Prediction: Palma 35-20 over SHC Irish
WCAL Football 2018 – Previews of This Week’s Games
St. Francis 1-0 at Oak Grove 0-1 Friday 7:00 PM
SF took down Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks by 23-12 while Oak Grove dropped their opening game to Del Oro by 58-20. SF looks to be a better team than Del Oro and the last meeting between SF & Oak Grove last season had SF prevailing 35-0. There is not much to make me think the outcome will be much different from last season as SF is very good again this season and Oak Grove may be a slightly weaker team than in ’17. The Oak Grove “Eagles” hopes will have to rest upon their QB Justin Munday 6’3-243 who actually had a good game vs Del Oro last week 18/31- 255 Yds, 1-TD. Unfortunately Del Oro shut down Oak Grove’s run game and limited the Eagles to 71 yards for the game [2 yards per carry]. I don’t know that Oak Grove can do any better against the SF defense with their run game, but if Munday gets hot & in sync with his WR’s anything could happen. Oak Grove’s top WR is Isaiah Nakanishi who had 6 catches last week for 120 yards. Then again SF has quite a good defensive secondary.
Prediction: SF 35-7 over Oak Grove
St. Francis 1-0 at Oak Grove 0-1 Friday 7:00 PM
SF took down Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks by 23-12 while Oak Grove dropped their opening game to Del Oro by 58-20. SF looks to be a better team than Del Oro and the last meeting between SF & Oak Grove last season had SF prevailing 35-0. There is not much to make me think the outcome will be much different from last season as SF is very good again this season and Oak Grove may be a slightly weaker team than in ’17. The Oak Grove “Eagles” hopes will have to rest upon their QB Justin Munday 6’3-243 who actually had a good game vs Del Oro last week 18/31- 255 Yds, 1-TD. Unfortunately Del Oro shut down Oak Grove’s run game and limited the Eagles to 71 yards for the game [2 yards per carry]. I don’t know that Oak Grove can do any better against the SF defense with their run game, but if Munday gets hot & in sync with his WR’s anything could happen. Oak Grove’s top WR is Isaiah Nakanishi who had 6 catches last week for 120 yards. Then again SF has quite a good defensive secondary.
Prediction: SF 35-7 over Oak Grove
WCAL Football 2018 – Previews of This Week’s Games
Valley Christian 0-1 at 1-0 Pleasant Valley [Chico] Friday 7:00 PM
The Pleasant Valley “Eagles” won last week’s game over Yuba City by 32-12 while Valley Christian suffered somewhat of an upset to Wilcox by 10-6. While VC looks to be the favorite in this game it should be highly competitive. The roster for Pleasant Valley looks solid with 20 starters returning from last season along with having a strong JV team last season. One of those starters is PV’s QB Tanner Huges 6’3-190 who threw for 1800 yards and 16 TD’s last season. This alone gives PV an edge over VC. The Pleasant Valley QB’s favorite target should be Caleb Cooley 5’9-165, however PV likes to spread the ball around and will use a host of WR’s. PV’s top RB is Dante Martin 5’9-170 who was the #2 RB last season. This game is a difficult one to predict and could be a toss-up. Based upon the players and last week’s results. The VC-Wilcox game was a defensive battle and neither team was able to generate much offense either in the air or on the ground. VC’s passing game was ineffective & their run game averaged 3-yards per carry, scoring just 1-TD & a missed PAT. I’m going to give VC the edge on defense and PV the edge on offense. Looking at Pleasant Valley with returning skill players I’m not sure VC can outscore them on their home turf.
Prediction: Pleasant Valley 20-13 over Valley Christian
Valley Christian 0-1 at 1-0 Pleasant Valley [Chico] Friday 7:00 PM
The Pleasant Valley “Eagles” won last week’s game over Yuba City by 32-12 while Valley Christian suffered somewhat of an upset to Wilcox by 10-6. While VC looks to be the favorite in this game it should be highly competitive. The roster for Pleasant Valley looks solid with 20 starters returning from last season along with having a strong JV team last season. One of those starters is PV’s QB Tanner Huges 6’3-190 who threw for 1800 yards and 16 TD’s last season. This alone gives PV an edge over VC. The Pleasant Valley QB’s favorite target should be Caleb Cooley 5’9-165, however PV likes to spread the ball around and will use a host of WR’s. PV’s top RB is Dante Martin 5’9-170 who was the #2 RB last season. This game is a difficult one to predict and could be a toss-up. Based upon the players and last week’s results. The VC-Wilcox game was a defensive battle and neither team was able to generate much offense either in the air or on the ground. VC’s passing game was ineffective & their run game averaged 3-yards per carry, scoring just 1-TD & a missed PAT. I’m going to give VC the edge on defense and PV the edge on offense. Looking at Pleasant Valley with returning skill players I’m not sure VC can outscore them on their home turf.
Prediction: Pleasant Valley 20-13 over Valley Christian
A 4-4 week for the WCAL would be an improvement. But it's certainly not guaranteed. Not at all.
Prep To Prep CCS Top 25 Teams - THROUGH WEEK 1
Palo Alto celebrates Jamir Shepard's game-winning touchdown against St. Ignatius (Courtesy of Karen Hickey)
A few stunning results in the first week of play across the Central Coast Section have given our initial rankings a slightly different look to start the year, though the WCAL still occupies the top two spots and three of the top four positions. After that, however, we had to wade through what each win and loss meant as the fall season got underway.
#1 ST. FRANCIS (1-0-0)
Last: def. Notre Dame, 23-12; next: at Oak Grove (8/31)
The Lancers grab our top spot after the first week of play, after an impressive performance against Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks. Opeti Fangupo and Evan Williams were playmakers on both sides of the ball, while the defense showcased tremendous depth across the board, with players such as Mose Vavao, Maurice Wilmer, Justin Sinclair, and Josh Pakola shutting down the opposition. Saint Francis faces Oak Grove this week.
#2 SERRA (0-1-0)
Last: lost to Serra, 41-22; next: vs. Elk Grove (9/1)
The Padres' defense could not contain the explosive Serra-Gardena offense in their Honor Bowl defeat, but the team did show resilience by continually cutting into the deficit. Terence Loville had seven catches for 129 yards in the loss. Serra hosts Elk Grove this Saturday.
#3 MENLO-ATHERTON (1-0-0)
Last: def. Bellarmine, 28-0; next: at Mitty (8/31)
The Bears were dominant defensively in a shutout win over Bellarmine to open the season, while junior Justin Anderson and senior De'Marshaun Payton combined to pace a ground game that totaled over 200 yards. Anderson accounted for three scores - two rushing, one passing - in a complete team victory. M-A faces Mitty this Friday, at Foothill College.
#4 ARCHBISHOP MITTY (1-0-0)
Last: def. Oakdale, 42-14; next: vs. Menlo-Atherton (8/31)
The Monarchs made a statement in their opening game, dominating perennial Sac-Joaquin power Oakdale in Saturday's Honor Bowl opener, as Shamir Bey accounted for 297 yards and five touchdowns from scrimmage and Mitty led by 26 points at the half. Mitty hosts Menlo-Atherton this Friday.
#5 WILCOX (1-0-0)
Last: def. Valley Christian, 10-6; next: vs. San Benito (8/30)
The Chargers emerged from an old-fashioned slugfest to open the season against Valley Christian with a victory. Paul M Rosa scored the team's only touchdown of the game, on the opening drive, and the defense held the Warriors to below 200 yards of total offense. Rosa finished with 63 yards on 16 carries to lead the ground game. Wilcox hits the road to face San Benito this Thursday.
#6 VALLEY CHRISTIAN (0-1-0)
Last: lost to Wilcox, 10-6; next: at Pleasant Valley (8/31)
Junior Isaiah McElvane ran for a game-high 77 yards, and Skylar Loving-Black made an impressive touchdown catch in the back of the end zone, but it wasn't enough for the Warriors in a hard-fought loss to Wilcox. Valley Christian heads to Pleasant Valley-Chico this week.
#7 ARAGON (0-0-0)
Last: DNP; next: vs. Aptos (8/31)
The Dons did not play last week. Aragon opens its season this week against Aptos.
#8 APTOS (1-0-0)
Last: def. Templeton, 55-6; next: at Aragon (8/31)
The Mariners routed Templeton in their season opener, as senior Marcos Reyes ran for four touchdowns, and Silvano Lopez notched three interceptions. Aptos heads to Aragon this week.
#9 LOS GATOS (1-0-0)
Last: def. Leland, 35-9; next: vs. Leigh (8/31)
It took a half for the Wildcats to get their feet under them, as they pulled away with 28 unanswered points in the second half for the win over Leland. 12 different players carried the ball, as they ran for 318 yards as a team. Ryan Garwood led the way with 69 yards from scrimmage. Los Gatos hosts Leigh this Friday.
#10 PALMA (1-0-0)
Last: def. Soledad, 52-6; next: vs. Sacred Heart Cath (8/31)
Grant Sergent threw for four touchdowns, all in the first half, and Anthony Villegas ran for 101 yards, as the Chieftains cruised past Soledad to open the season. Palma hosts Sacred Heart Cathedral this Friday.
#11 Terra Nova 1-0
#12 Milpitas 0-1
#13 Christopher - Gilroy 1-0
#14 Palo Alto 1-0
#15 HMB 1-0
#16 Carmel 1-0
#17 Salinas 0-1
#18 Bellarmine 0-1
#19 Live Oak 1-0
#20 Burlingame 1-0
#21 SHC 1-0
#22 S. I. 0-1
#23 SHP 1-0
#24 Menlo School
#25 Overfelt
On the bubble: Gilroy 0-1, Independence 1-0, Leland 0-1, Los Altos 0-0, Oak Grove 0-1, Pioneer 1-0, San Benito 0-1, Santa Clara 1-0, Willow Glen 1-0
http://www.prep2prep.com/sports/BoysFootball/Team.aspx?schoolID=80
Palo Alto celebrates Jamir Shepard's game-winning touchdown against St. Ignatius (Courtesy of Karen Hickey)
A few stunning results in the first week of play across the Central Coast Section have given our initial rankings a slightly different look to start the year, though the WCAL still occupies the top two spots and three of the top four positions. After that, however, we had to wade through what each win and loss meant as the fall season got underway.
#1 ST. FRANCIS (1-0-0)
Last: def. Notre Dame, 23-12; next: at Oak Grove (8/31)
The Lancers grab our top spot after the first week of play, after an impressive performance against Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks. Opeti Fangupo and Evan Williams were playmakers on both sides of the ball, while the defense showcased tremendous depth across the board, with players such as Mose Vavao, Maurice Wilmer, Justin Sinclair, and Josh Pakola shutting down the opposition. Saint Francis faces Oak Grove this week.
#2 SERRA (0-1-0)
Last: lost to Serra, 41-22; next: vs. Elk Grove (9/1)
The Padres' defense could not contain the explosive Serra-Gardena offense in their Honor Bowl defeat, but the team did show resilience by continually cutting into the deficit. Terence Loville had seven catches for 129 yards in the loss. Serra hosts Elk Grove this Saturday.
#3 MENLO-ATHERTON (1-0-0)
Last: def. Bellarmine, 28-0; next: at Mitty (8/31)
The Bears were dominant defensively in a shutout win over Bellarmine to open the season, while junior Justin Anderson and senior De'Marshaun Payton combined to pace a ground game that totaled over 200 yards. Anderson accounted for three scores - two rushing, one passing - in a complete team victory. M-A faces Mitty this Friday, at Foothill College.
#4 ARCHBISHOP MITTY (1-0-0)
Last: def. Oakdale, 42-14; next: vs. Menlo-Atherton (8/31)
The Monarchs made a statement in their opening game, dominating perennial Sac-Joaquin power Oakdale in Saturday's Honor Bowl opener, as Shamir Bey accounted for 297 yards and five touchdowns from scrimmage and Mitty led by 26 points at the half. Mitty hosts Menlo-Atherton this Friday.
#5 WILCOX (1-0-0)
Last: def. Valley Christian, 10-6; next: vs. San Benito (8/30)
The Chargers emerged from an old-fashioned slugfest to open the season against Valley Christian with a victory. Paul M Rosa scored the team's only touchdown of the game, on the opening drive, and the defense held the Warriors to below 200 yards of total offense. Rosa finished with 63 yards on 16 carries to lead the ground game. Wilcox hits the road to face San Benito this Thursday.
#6 VALLEY CHRISTIAN (0-1-0)
Last: lost to Wilcox, 10-6; next: at Pleasant Valley (8/31)
Junior Isaiah McElvane ran for a game-high 77 yards, and Skylar Loving-Black made an impressive touchdown catch in the back of the end zone, but it wasn't enough for the Warriors in a hard-fought loss to Wilcox. Valley Christian heads to Pleasant Valley-Chico this week.
#7 ARAGON (0-0-0)
Last: DNP; next: vs. Aptos (8/31)
The Dons did not play last week. Aragon opens its season this week against Aptos.
#8 APTOS (1-0-0)
Last: def. Templeton, 55-6; next: at Aragon (8/31)
The Mariners routed Templeton in their season opener, as senior Marcos Reyes ran for four touchdowns, and Silvano Lopez notched three interceptions. Aptos heads to Aragon this week.
#9 LOS GATOS (1-0-0)
Last: def. Leland, 35-9; next: vs. Leigh (8/31)
It took a half for the Wildcats to get their feet under them, as they pulled away with 28 unanswered points in the second half for the win over Leland. 12 different players carried the ball, as they ran for 318 yards as a team. Ryan Garwood led the way with 69 yards from scrimmage. Los Gatos hosts Leigh this Friday.
#10 PALMA (1-0-0)
Last: def. Soledad, 52-6; next: vs. Sacred Heart Cath (8/31)
Grant Sergent threw for four touchdowns, all in the first half, and Anthony Villegas ran for 101 yards, as the Chieftains cruised past Soledad to open the season. Palma hosts Sacred Heart Cathedral this Friday.
#11 Terra Nova 1-0
#12 Milpitas 0-1
#13 Christopher - Gilroy 1-0
#14 Palo Alto 1-0
#15 HMB 1-0
#16 Carmel 1-0
#17 Salinas 0-1
#18 Bellarmine 0-1
#19 Live Oak 1-0
#20 Burlingame 1-0
#21 SHC 1-0
#22 S. I. 0-1
#23 SHP 1-0
#24 Menlo School
#25 Overfelt
On the bubble: Gilroy 0-1, Independence 1-0, Leland 0-1, Los Altos 0-0, Oak Grove 0-1, Pioneer 1-0, San Benito 0-1, Santa Clara 1-0, Willow Glen 1-0
http://www.prep2prep.com/sports/BoysFootball/Team.aspx?schoolID=80
[B said:
Yes agreed, in scheduling Palma it was not like they were scheduling Serra-Gardena
Palma & SHC Irish are actually very close in ratings & if Irish play well & get a few breaks could come away with a win.
[now that I've doomed SHC by stating this outlandish possibility..sorry Irish..]
Palma, at one time, was a very strong CCS football program. Recent results, though, indicate that the Chieftains have taken a step or two or three back, to the point where they are no longer a clear favorite in the PCAL, primarily a public school league. SHC has a shot at a W this week. Maybe not a great shot. But a shot.
Palma has been impacted by declining enrollment and defections to Salinas, however they have some very good players although lack depth on line. Palma enrollment dropped with increases in tuition and many players from the the last few classes transferred or opted to attend Salinas. Varsity has ~ 43 players, JV 21 players and Frosh over 40 from what was typically 50+ Varsity, 30-40 JV and 55-60+ frosh. Last year they had about 7 sophs on varsity and 4 sophs up this year. There are a few other sophs that could play on varsity this year on JV that are very talented but JV needs the players. In general the line play was average last year and that hurt them This year it is a little better (former 9er and tanford and Atlanta Falcons line coach seems to be working with the line this year I hear) but undersized. They are still young this year but will be better than last year and next year they should be very good. Their line is young...they have two sophs and a junior starting on on-line and lots of juniors and some sophs on playing on defense (not just line), but very talented. The line isn't all two way starters and so they have enough depth to rotate players or have some that play mostly one way with exception of one or two that play both sides alot. The underclass have lots of size and starting next season it will get bigger. Some big frosh and sophs. If their defense steps up, thy should compete for a league title this year. Only team in league I am not sure they can defeat (or compete against) is Aptos and Aptos is very undersized on line but has some decent experienced skill players and they run the Wing T to perfection. Palma has some speed this year. Their QB has really improved from last year and he was pretty good then and I think he may have a shot at playing after high school (live arm and accurate) and good size if he doesn't play baseball. Smart and athletic young man and RB should be one of the better ones to come out of the school by the time his playing ends at the school. Overall though it looks like the school will have more peaks and valleys rather than reload every year at a high level. They may have it their peak to compete competitively with the top of the WCAL with exception of maybe every so often. It has been a while since they have been able to and much has to do with enrollment and participation. They are in an up trend at least this year and next and early to tell how good frosh are although they defeated Salinas HS last week.
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