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WCAL Football 2018 - San Jose Merc All Bay Area Team

WCAL Football 2017 - Serra vs St. Ignatius

S.I. took opening kick-off and marched down the field in impressive fashion and Serra did little to slow them down. 2 & 1/2 minutes into game & its S.I. 7-0 over Serra.
 
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First game had no sound & no picture looks like it just snowed on the field. In between somehow Serra scored a TD without showing it & score tied. OK now picture back to "normal" and Serra just kicked off out of end zone. Game getting chippy as multiple personal fouls called and flags flying like confetti. I like S.I.'s QB as very mobile as Serra D starting to apply pressure
 
Beautiful 42 yard TD run by Serra called back for illegal shift as S.I. catches a break. Looks like Serra is going to stick to the run & just as I say that S.I. stuffs Serra for the 2nd time on 4th down. Good showing by Wildcats.
 
Serra looked no way to be in control of this game, up until maybe a minute ago in 2nd quarter. Serra's D just batted up a pass off a deflection and then whomever intercepted broke numerous tackles scampering approx. 25 yards into S.I.'s end zone. Padres who appeared comatose to start the game now up 22-7 in the 2nd quarter. S.I. is everything I thought they would be and could beat most teams outside the WCAL in CCS.
 
Serra holds S.I. deep in their territory & runs back punt to S.I. 40. Sevral plays later Serra's QB Bottari runs a QB keeper 30 yards for TD & suddenly Serra 29-7. Serra once hot is surprisingly effective especially when given a short field. Serra just holds S.I. and runs the punt again back to the S.I. 34, but S.I. intercepts on the next play to stay alive for the time being. Serra's Bottari has thrown a number of ill-conceived passed tonite and that one was badly thrown right to the S.I. defender.
 
Serra looked no way to be in control of this game, up until maybe a minute ago in 2nd quarter. Serra's D just batted up a pass off a deflection and then whomever intercepted broke numerous tackles scampering approx. 25 yards into S.I.'s end zone. Padres who appeared comatose to start the game now up 22-7 in the 2nd quarter. S.I. is everything I thought they would be and could beat most teams outside the WCAL in CCS.

Unfortunately, most CCS teams are, shall we say, rather iffy at best. If SI cannot handle teams like Alvarez, Watsonville, Gunn, Mills, Harbor, Santa Cruz, Hillsdale, South City, Homestead, El Camino, Pacific Grove, Sequoia, Cupertino and on and on and on, well, that's a problem. For that matter, SI might be a real factor in the AAA as they were so very long ago. But that's all speculation at this point in 2018.
 
WCAL Football 2018 - Last Nites Scores

Serra 50-14 over S.I.
SHC 38-0 over Riordan
SF 28-0 over Bells
VC 27-0 over Mitty

No surprises in the final scores although both SF & VC appeared to have "coasted" vs Bells & Mitty. I thought S.I. vs Serra might be closer & especially watching that first quarter. Even with numerous penalties incl. a TD called back Serra pulled away in the 2nd & the game was essentially over at the 1/2. I was also hoping to see Riorda make a game of it against the Irish, but yet another runaway. Just what does Riordan have to do to field a decent team at any level? Are the Bells next season the Crusaders only hope of a victory??
 
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WCAL Football 2018 - Updated CCS Top 20

Last nights game did not alter the rankings of any of the top tier teams in CCS. The only surprise appeared to be Burlingames 31-20 win over The King's Academy who was the favored team coming into the contest. IN the top 10 teams the only change since last week was #5 Palo Alto and #6 M-A have traded places and now M-A #5 and Paly #6.
Mitty dropped a spot to #14 while SHC took over #13 and S.I. also dropped a spot to #16 due to last nite's games. The King's Academy dropped 2 spots to #18 while Independence climbed 4 spots with a 35-0 shut-out of Del Mar to up their record to 8-0. Rounding out the top 20 both #17 Oak Grove and #20 Overfelt fell out while San Benito 5-3 is now #19 and Burlingame 6-2 is the other new team at #20 with the big win over TKA.

1. SF 7-1
2. Wilcox 8-0
3. VC 6-2
4. Serra 5-3

5. Paly 7-1
6. M-A 5-2 [to play undefeated #12 SHP 7-0 today at 2 PM @ SHP]
7. Aptos 8-0
8. Palma 7-1
9. Terra Nova 7-1
10. Carmel 8-0
11. Salinas 6-2
12. SHP 7-0
13. SHC 5-3
14. Mitty 4-4

15. Independence 8-0
16. S.I. 1-7
17. Live Oak 7-1
18. Kings Academy 6-2
19. San Benito 5-3
20. Burlingame 6-2




 
WCAL Football 2018 - Last Nites Scores

Serra 50-14 over S.I.
SHC 38-0 over Riordan
SF 28-0 over Bells
VC 27-0 over Mitty

No surprises in the final scores although both SF & VC appeared to have "coasted" vs Bells & Mitty. I thought S.I. vs Serra might be closer & especially watching that first quarter. Even with numerous penalties incl. a TD called back Serra pulled away in the 2nd & the game was essentially over at the 1/2. I was also hoping to see Riorda make a game of it against the Irish, but yet another runaway. Just what does Riordan have to do to field a decent team at any level? Are the Bells next season the Crusaders only hope of a victory??
 
WCAL Football 2018 - Upcoming Games

Friday Nite Lites 10/26 at 7:00 PM

Serra vs SHC at Kezar
Mitty at St. Francis
Bellarmine at Valley Christian

Saturday Night 10/27 at 7:00 PM
10/27 St. Ignatius vs Riordan at Kezar Stadium

Not too much suspense over the upcoming games with the most interesting IMO being the Serra-SHC game on home turf for the Irish at beloved Kezar Stadium [who out there has never been there?]. The Irish are coming off 2 big wins with a 26-21 win over S.I. and a 14-0 shut-out of the Bells. While neither of those teams was competitive in their games vs Serra the Irish are a notch above both and have some momentum going for them. The SHC defense has played well including in the 14-0 loss to SF 3 weeks ago. If SHC and their new QB can get some offense going then possibly the Irish can hang around in this game into the 2nd 1/2. Valley Christian exposed Serra's defense as being susceptible to the run, so look for SHC to take advantage of that & attempt to establish a run game with Anthony Heard who leads the WCAL in rushing. Of note SHC had Peyton Monaco as their QB their first 4 games before making a switch to Cian Dowling the last 3 games. Looking at their numbers its interesting that their per game stats are almost identical which I didn't expect: Monaco avg 102 yards per game completing 51% while Dowling is avg 101 YPG completing 53%. Will SHC stay with Dowling if the Irish cannot move the ball against the Padres or will SHC switch or possible alternate QB's in an attempt to confuse the Padre D? The Irish need to play well in this game heading towards their last league game vs Mitty the following week. A win against Mitty would give SHC 4 league wins and solidify the Irish in 4th place in the WCAL for the season with an overall record of 6-4 [unless of course a monumental upset of Serra at Kezar Friday nite].

St. Francis tunes up for Serra against Mitty coming off a shut-out 27-0 loss to Valley Christian. The SF-Serra game will either give SF an undefeated league season with a win or with a loss to the Padres a shared 3-way title between SF-VC-Serra. Having already won over VC in a tightly contested game the Lancers will be a heavy favorite over the Padres. The Lancers have the #1 D in WCAL followed by VC & then Serra. We now know how Serra's high powered offense faltered against the more physical defense of VC which does not bode well for the Padres upcoming vs St. Francis. A SF win gives the Lancers the undisputed WCAL title and with only a 33-15 loss to DLS at DLS the Lancers would be a heavy favorite heading into CCS playoffs.
 
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WCAL Football 2018 - Upcoming Games

Friday Nite Lites 10/26 at 7:00 PM

Serra vs SHC at Kezar
Mitty at St. Francis
Bellarmine at Valley Christian

Saturday Night 10/27 at 7:00 PM
10/27 St. Ignatius vs Riordan at Kezar Stadium

Not too much suspense over the upcoming games with the most interesting IMO being the Serra-SHC game on home turf for the Irish at beloved Kezar Stadium [who out there has never been there?]. The Irish are coming off 2 big wins with a 26-21 win over S.I. and a 14-0 shut-out of the Bells. While neither of those teams was competitive in their games vs Serra the Irish are a notch above both and have some momentum going for them. The SHC defense has played well including in the 14-0 loss to SF 3 weeks ago. If SHC and their new QB can get some offense going then possibly the Irish can hang around in this game into the 2nd 1/2. Valley Christian exposed Serra's defense as being susceptible to the run, so look for SHC to take advantage of that & attempt to establish a run game with Anthony Heard who leads the WCAL in rushing. Of note SHC had Peyton Monaco as their QB their first 4 games before making a switch to Cian Dowling the last 3 games. Looking at their numbers its interesting that their per game stats are almost identical which I didn't expect: Monaco avg 102 yards per game completing 51% while Dowling is avg 101 YPG completing 53%. Will SHC stay with Dowling if the Irish cannot move the ball against the Padres or will SHC switch or possible alternate QB's in an attempt to confuse the Padre D? The Irish need to play well in this game heading towards their last league game vs Mitty the following week. A win against Mitty would give SHC 4 league wins and solidify the Irish in 4th place in the WCAL for the season with an overall record of 6-4 [unless of course a monumental upset of Serra at Kezar Friday nite].

St. Francis tunes up for Serra against Mitty coming off a shut-out 27-0 loss to Valley Christian. The SF-Serra game will either give SF an undefeated league season with a win or with a loss to the Padres a shared 3-way title between SF-VC-Serra. Having already won over VC in a tightly contested game the Lancers will be a heavy favorite over the Padres. The Lancers have the #1 D in WCAL followed by VC & then Serra. We now know how Serra's high powered offense faltered against the more physical defense of VC which does not bode well for the Padres upcoming vs St. Francis. A SF win gives the Lancers the undisputed WCAL title and with only a 33-15 loss to DLS at DLS the Lancers would be a heavy favorite heading into CCS playoffs.

Maybe statistics are about the same but Dowling has the X factor and is a better scrambler and runner. Also if SHC receivers hang on to the ball a few times, the stats would be farther apart.
 
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WCAL Football 2018 - Updated CCS Top 20

Last nights game did not alter the rankings of any of the top tier teams in CCS. The only surprise appeared to be Burlingames 31-20 win over The King's Academy who was the favored team coming into the contest. IN the top 10 teams the only change since last week was #5 Palo Alto and #6 M-A have traded places and now M-A #5 and Paly #6.
Mitty dropped a spot to #14 while SHC took over #13 and S.I. also dropped a spot to #16 due to last nite's games. The King's Academy dropped 2 spots to #18 while Independence climbed 4 spots with a 35-0 shut-out of Del Mar to up their record to 8-0. Rounding out the top 20 both #17 Oak Grove and #20 Overfelt fell out while San Benito 5-3 is now #19 and Burlingame 6-2 is the other new team at #20 with the big win over TKA.

1. SF 7-1
2. Wilcox 8-0
3. VC 6-2
4. Serra 5-3

5. Paly 7-1
6. M-A 5-2 [to play undefeated #12 SHP 7-0 today at 2 PM @ SHP]
7. Aptos 8-0
8. Palma 7-1
9. Terra Nova 7-1
10. Carmel 8-0
11. Salinas 6-2
12. SHP 7-0
13. SHC 5-3
14. Mitty 4-4

15. Independence 8-0
16. S.I. 1-7
17. Live Oak 7-1
18. Kings Academy 6-2
19. San Benito 5-3
20. Burlingame 6-2




With all due respect, didn't Palma defeat M-A some weeks ago? If so, shouldn't the latter be ranked below the former? What am I missing as I stumble toward a CVS discount sale on a Coors 30-pack?
 
Regular or Silver Bullet?
Excellent point re: M-A ranked above Palma who defeated M-A who is 6-2 vs Palma’s 7-1.
M-A ranked #5 vs Palma #9.
The Palma win was 26-20 the 3rd game of season, so 5 weeks ago. Overall M-A has had a much stronger schedule & has been impressive in recent games. M-A’s opposing teams records are 40-24 while Palma’s opponents records are 23-41 (nite & day as they say). With M-A’s #1 QB back they would now be the fav in a rematch.
As to Rmbr26’s list of fav brewski’s it is well known by his inner circle:
1. Sierra NV Pale Ale
2. Blue Moon
3. Heineken (cans only)
4. Stella
5. Lagunitas 12th of Never (tastes like grapefruit)
6. 805
7. Silver Bullet (bottles only)
8. Bud
 
Regular or Silver Bullet?
Excellent point re: M-A ranked above Palma who defeated M-A who is 6-2 vs Palma’s 7-1.
M-A ranked #5 vs Palma #9.
The Palma win was 26-20 the 3rd game of season, so 5 weeks ago. Overall M-A has had a much stronger schedule & has been impressive in recent games. M-A’s opposing teams records are 40-24 while Palma’s opponents records are 23-41 (nite & day as they say). With M-A’s #1 QB back they would now be the fav in a rematch.
As to Rmbr26’s list of fav brewski’s it is well known by his inner circle:
1. Sierra NV Pale Ale
2. Blue Moon
3. Heineken (cans only)
4. Stella
5. Lagunitas 12th of Never (tastes like grapefruit)
6. 805
7. Silver Bullet (bottles only)
8. Bud

Love that 805. Unhappy about the soaring price of PBR.
 
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Looking at the Bay Area Preps (SJ Mercury) rankings I’m curious how they have M/A #7 ahead of VC #8. Both are 5-2. VC has lost to #4 SF (7-3) and to #6 Wilcox (10-6). M/A’s two losses have been to unranked Palma (26-20 OT) and Valor Christian of Colorado (27-0). I’d love to hear their justification.
 
Looking at the Bay Area Preps (SJ Mercury) rankings I’m curious how they have M/A #7 ahead of VC #8. Both are 5-2. VC has lost to #4 SF (7-3) and to #6 Wilcox (10-6). M/A’s two losses have been to unranked Palma (26-20 OT) and Valor Christian of Colorado (27-0). I’d love to hear their justification.
It just gets curiouser and curiouser...
 
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Serious question for the rational purple and gold. If Riordan and Lincoln SF play right now, does Riordan win?
 
Looking at the Bay Area Preps (SJ Mercury) rankings I’m curious how they have M/A #7 ahead of VC #8. Both are 5-2. VC has lost to #4 SF (7-3) and to #6 Wilcox (10-6). M/A’s two losses have been to unranked Palma (26-20 OT) and Valor Christian of Colorado (27-0). I’d love to hear their justification.

Yes. That one is arguable. M-A's penchant for self-destruction can be a real problem. That loss to Palma, for example, was self-inflicted.
 
Lincoln beat Piedmont by 10. Piedmont easily beat Salesian by 24. Salesian beat Riordan by 1. Those games were early in the season. Lincoln is playing well today. Riordan is not and is in serious decline.
 
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Looking at the Bay Area Preps (SJ Mercury) rankings I’m curious how they have M/A #7 ahead of VC #8. Both are 5-2. VC has lost to #4 SF (7-3) and to #6 Wilcox (10-6). M/A’s two losses have been to unranked Palma (26-20 OT) and Valor Christian of Colorado (27-0). I’d love to hear their justification.

Palma is unranked because it is outside the newspaper's circulation area.
 
Ya. I forgot that point. Mitty is a common opponent for both M/A and VC. M/A beat Mitty 28-21. VC just beat them 27-0. So there is that too...

Correct. The SOS definitely favors VC. For some reason, there seems to be a lack of perspective in this situation. The Wilcox loss for VC is a lot like the Palma loss for M-A. Close but no cigar. But the VC ledger is more impressive. In the end, it's not a big deal. VC can still tie for the WCAL crown again. Would not be a shocker. Been impressed by VC ever since they joined the league in 2002.
 
Yes serious trouble in Crusaderville as the situation appears worse than ever. Riordan used to be as least competitive with SHC & S.I. to degree, but clearly that is no longer the case. Could it get any worse other than deleting football as a sport at ARHS?
 
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It would not be outrageous to suggest that Riordan take a hiatus from the WCAL in football for a period of time. Not sure how many years it would take to bring the program back to some semblance of competitive equity with at least the lower WCAL tier. SHC tried that approach for a significant period. RIordan's administration might want to consider it as well. But one thing seems pretty clear today: The current Riordan football plan is not working.
 
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Yes serious trouble in Crusaderville as the situation appears worse than ever. Riordan used to be as least competitive with SHC & S.I. to degree, but clearly that is no longer the case. Could it get any worse other than deleting football as a sport at ARHS?
Try turning it around and talk about how SHC's program is improving, even without a JV team this year. What surprised me was how well the defense has played. They beat SI twice in a row, held the Lancers to 14 points, came close to beating Palma. Beat Bellarmine for Pete's sake and recorded two shutouts in a row for the first time in WCAL play. Go Irish indeed!

UPDATE: Dec. 11, 2021 - Sacred Heart State 4A CHAMPS!
 
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It would not be outrageous to suggest that Riordan take a hiatus from the WCAL in football for a period of time. Not sure how many years it would take to bring the program back to some semblance of competitive equity with at least the lower WCAL tier. SHC tried that approach for a significant period. RIordan's administration might want to consider it as well. But one thing seems pretty clear today: The current Riordan football plan is not working.

I would be against this. Where would SH's one most likely league win come from then?
 
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