WCAL Gearing Up for the Season!
- Thread starter jordan24
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I can see this on social media. Serra's coach Bell & Riordan coaches are arguing about many things.
I think one school is focusing on getting their players recruited to college while one is focused on attending state championships. Problem is it takes good athletes to do either of these things.
Maybe they are both fighting over the graduating 8th graders that are entering high school in August?
Back to football...
It will be interesting to see how Serra's receivers look this season. They have two kids with great height and athleticism that played on their freshman team last year. I assume both will be moving up to varsity this season. One calls himself Megatron, three years with these receivers should give a passing team like Serra a huge advantage.
Serra also had a good JV team last season so I see no drop off this season.
It will be interesting to see how Serra's receivers look this season. They have two kids with great height and athleticism that played on their freshman team last year. I assume both will be moving up to varsity this season. One calls himself Megatron, three years with these receivers should give a passing team like Serra a huge advantage.
Serra also had a good JV team last season so I see no drop off this season.
Welcome back QPRTrinity!
Probably not arguing being Coach Bell went to Riordan and is really close with Riordans football staff. Friendly comp I'd assume.
I think both schools are focused on getting kids to college. This narrative that Serra only cares about winning and not getting kids to college is fascinating. Considering they've sent more kids to college to play football than most schools in Norcal.
It’s pretty wild — especially considering Serra just hosted a joint college showcase with De La Salle, expressly to get kids college looks.
Here are some of the D1 schools Serra fb seniors have signed with over the past five years: Oregon State, Washington State, Arizona State, UCLA, SDSU (multiple), Harvard, UC Davis, Louisville, Cal Poly, Sac State, and SJSU that I know of (I’m probably missing some).
This year’s class has commits to Army, SDSU, and SJSU that I know of. Smith, of course, has offers from across the country and Bey has seven offers, according to 247.
Coach Ravipati's 3 seniors from last year signed with D1 schools. Not bad for a 3-7 team. 6 players that return this season have D1 offers - many multiple including P5 programs. The players are tweeting their offers citing conversations from the respective schools' coaching staff, not Ravipati.
Last Spring, Ravipati hosted a free College Recruiting seminar provided by Before You Go Pro for families of aspiring athletes walking them through the process and what it takes in order to earn a college scholarship.
Last Spring, Ravipati hosted a free College Recruiting seminar provided by Before You Go Pro for families of aspiring athletes walking them through the process and what it takes in order to earn a college scholarship.
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Thanks @Streak One for clearing out all the noise. Back to WCAL football. I do think Bellarmine is too low. WCAL is shaping up to be very competitive but Serra is the top dog until another team knocks them off their perch. Will we see @Rmbr26 re-emerge this season? I hope so as I always enjoy his astute assessment of the league. Is it August yet?
No question Riordan's new regime has upped the ante when it comes to attracting athletes to that campus.
Sorry if I missed this, but what is everyone's take on the overall strength of the league? What do we think is the high water mark for the league in the past 5-10 years?
One could argue that 2021 was the best season for the WCAL in the last 5-10 years. Why? Because St. Francis became the first Bay Area team to defeat DLS in decades; then later in the CCS playoffs, Serra upset the then unbeaten Lancers (who had beaten the Padres during the regular season) and became the first WCAL school to play for a CIF Open Division title (losing to the nation's No.1 prep unit, Mater Dei). As for the overall strength of the league in 2023, that remains to be seen. It will probably be among the top three or four leagues in NorCal. But that's not a sure thing. Public school leagues east of SF and CCS and into the Stockton/Sacramento area are very, very good. Serra could field its best team ever in the fall. But nothing is written in stone. The Padres, whose pre-season expectations are off the charts today, have to perform as anticipated. No foe will treat them lightly as NorCal's pre-season top team. They have a bullseye on those papal jerseys. DLS, Folsom, Central Catholic, St. Francis, SI, Riordan and the rest will not roll over for the San Mateans.
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Last year was notable for the WCAL as they had 2 NorCal representatives in Serra (Open) and Bellarmine (3-A).
2021 had Serra vs Mater Dei in the Open and Sacred Heart Cathedral winning the 4-A title.
2021 had Serra vs Mater Dei in the Open and Sacred Heart Cathedral winning the 4-A title.
The two most impressive in 2021 were Serra winning the CCS Open title and St. Francis going 7-0 in league.
In a similar transfer vein, can you confirm that soph QB Brandon Mann (Serra and Leland) has moved again, this time north to SI?
How many games did he play for Serra? Looking at last season stats, seems like he played all of his games at Leland. Was he ever at Serra? Can't find anything on him from Serra.
How would that be possible? He transfers mid season and gets cleared right away and plays the rest of the year at the new school!?
This is what I was saying, looks like he only played at Leland.
Kinda shocking to see Bellarmine pegged for last place in the WCAL, given their great history in the league. I'll be keeping an eye on them
I think he left Serra before games started, but not 100% sure on that. Here is a story of him practicing with Serra
www.smdailyjournal.com
Serra football to play De La Salle in nationally televised ESPN game this season
The Serra Padres have played in some primetime games in recent years.
We told a look at Maxpreps and you are correct look like he played 9/10 games as a Varsity Starter for Leland . And his Hudl has no indication he ever played for Junipero Serra . Alot of chatter on thr forum about all of the alleged transfers on the kid. Only thing we found on Twitter which was also posted on this forum was the talk of his alleged transfer. Which from what we can see would be the youngman's 1st transfer. A bit interesting that there is no lengthy interest or chatter about Riordian 10 transfers since Jan of this year and their young QB Micheal Mitchell transferring out to Del La Salle in Dec of 2022 and then transferring back to Riordian after Jan
So the kid in the picture in the article Is really magical ghost that isn’t him but is a ghost with his name ?
“Mann figures to be the sixth freshman in Serra history to break camp with the varsity team, and he would be the first quarterback to do so. The first freshman was kicker Damon Lewis in 2016. The other four were all in the shortened 2020 COVID season during the spring of 2021: defensive back Joseph Bey, linebacker Danny Niu, defensive end Collin Tahitua and running back Jabari Mann”
This freshman named the same as him is AI created robot? Hmmmm interesting didn’t know the SM daily had access to high tech AI technology to create deep fakes of local high school football players! Insanity !
The first 2 pages of this thread have multiple posts about the Riordan transfers. Not sure what the Mitchell situation was about, but he appears all in now.
Not throwing shade on the article, it definitely looks like the youngman practiced during the summer there. I think some people in the forum are spinning it what ever way they would like their narrative to go. The facts don't show he ever played in a game or a scrimmage pre season or reg-season at Serra . Definitely looks like he never attended Serra academically either if anyone in forum has any information to support the transfer chatter that would be great to share . Or let's move on and discuss the up coming season and wish all the Youth football players the best in the up coming season.
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Wouldn't bet my life on it but I think he left after the first week of practice but before school had started.
Even Open was a bowl game going through the same process as other divisions to place their teams. The exception is that the Open division doesn't play a regional bowl game.
Because the open is the actual state championship, not a bowl game.
Huh, they are still selected by a committee. That's how its done for bowl games. IMO the lack of a regional bowl reduces the credibility of the Open bowl being called the state champion. That being said, I think most years the committee selected in such a way that results were the same as if Open division was a true playoff championship. In recent years of allowed recruiting in the SS section, MD or SJB have been the obvious state champs.
Lots of chatter about transfers this season, any info on incoming freshman that could debut on Varsity?
Serra has had several outstanding freshmen over the past few years play varsity. Coach Ravipati started a freshman in his first year as HC and was named WCAL Freshman of the year. Will that successful trend continue?
I hear VC and SF have promising freshman classes this year. SHC, too.
Serra has had several outstanding freshmen over the past few years play varsity. Coach Ravipati started a freshman in his first year as HC and was named WCAL Freshman of the year. Will that successful trend continue?
I hear VC and SF have promising freshman classes this year. SHC, too.
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Predicted order of finish 2023:
1 Riordan Crusaders - More division 1 talent than anyone else in the league and a great staff. Their soft schedule
early on will allow them to grow into what should be a powerhouse. Crusaders are taking the MD/Bosco
approach to football. The rest of the league is on notice.
2 St. Francis Lancers - Great young talent all over the field and a relentless run game should allow the Lancers to
compete for the WCAL crown and beyond. Less is more with this team, year in and year out - they dare you to
stop what they do.
3 Serra Padres - Before all of the Padre supporters jump down my throat, here is why they are 3rd. Defense
should be special again and the QB is legit. Question is, did they lose too much fire power on offense to keep
up with everyone else, add to that a brutal preseason schedule and a huge target on their back. I look for
them to be tough but beatable.
4 SI Wildcats - Lots of excitement with a new staff, 2 new transfer QBs and a good influx of young talent moving
to varsity. The Wildcats were a tough out under Regalia, let's see if the new staff can get them over the hump.
5 Valley Christian Warriors - It was strange to see this traditional power down in 2022. I am sure that longtime
head coach Valley Coach Mike Machado will have the Warriors ready to go in 2023.
6 Bellarmine Bells - This is the biggest mystery to me. The Bells looked like they were making good strides
under coach Buchanan and then just like that he was gone. They have gone back in the alumni pool and there
seems to be excitement surrounding the program. Unfortunately for the Bells, the league looks to be as
strong as it has been in a while.
7 Sacred Heart Cathedral - Not sure hat to make of the Irish. They win a D6 bowl game and then remove their
coach. Coaching staff seems confident that they will be a factor, but they may be closer to the team that left
the league than one that will be taking the next step.
8 Mitty Monarchs - Really like the Mitty staff, kids play hard and seem to be well coached, just not enough
talent or athletes to be a factor. This is not hoops.
As far as freshman classes go, the last couple of years St. Francis and SI seem to have had a leg up. From what I hear this year, Valley, St. Francis and Serra all have promising groups. Should be a fun year, can't wait for the season to start.
1 Riordan Crusaders - More division 1 talent than anyone else in the league and a great staff. Their soft schedule
early on will allow them to grow into what should be a powerhouse. Crusaders are taking the MD/Bosco
approach to football. The rest of the league is on notice.
2 St. Francis Lancers - Great young talent all over the field and a relentless run game should allow the Lancers to
compete for the WCAL crown and beyond. Less is more with this team, year in and year out - they dare you to
stop what they do.
3 Serra Padres - Before all of the Padre supporters jump down my throat, here is why they are 3rd. Defense
should be special again and the QB is legit. Question is, did they lose too much fire power on offense to keep
up with everyone else, add to that a brutal preseason schedule and a huge target on their back. I look for
them to be tough but beatable.
4 SI Wildcats - Lots of excitement with a new staff, 2 new transfer QBs and a good influx of young talent moving
to varsity. The Wildcats were a tough out under Regalia, let's see if the new staff can get them over the hump.
5 Valley Christian Warriors - It was strange to see this traditional power down in 2022. I am sure that longtime
head coach Valley Coach Mike Machado will have the Warriors ready to go in 2023.
6 Bellarmine Bells - This is the biggest mystery to me. The Bells looked like they were making good strides
under coach Buchanan and then just like that he was gone. They have gone back in the alumni pool and there
seems to be excitement surrounding the program. Unfortunately for the Bells, the league looks to be as
strong as it has been in a while.
7 Sacred Heart Cathedral - Not sure hat to make of the Irish. They win a D6 bowl game and then remove their
coach. Coaching staff seems confident that they will be a factor, but they may be closer to the team that left
the league than one that will be taking the next step.
8 Mitty Monarchs - Really like the Mitty staff, kids play hard and seem to be well coached, just not enough
talent or athletes to be a factor. This is not hoops.
As far as freshman classes go, the last couple of years St. Francis and SI seem to have had a leg up. From what I hear this year, Valley, St. Francis and Serra all have promising groups. Should be a fun year, can't wait for the season to start.
Big Onions you are high.
If Riordan wins the league, I will defacate on the 101 North while doing cartwheels.
Concerning Riordan, enthusiastic backers would be better off down-playing its prospects. The ultra-lofty prediction offered Saturday on this site can go wrong quickly. Then again, it can also be a wake-up call for Serra (a pre-season consensus No.1 NorCal ranking entering the 2023 campaign for the first time school history). It's entirely possible that the Padres could suffer from over-confidence and a sense of entitlement heading into the fall. But, make no mistake, they are as loaded with talent across the board as they have ever been. Is this the best roster in school history? That remains to be seen. The 2022 version wasn't too shabby. The expectations are very high on West 20th Avenue. Too high? We're going to find out very quickly. We should know the answer by the end of September.
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Pretty lofty prediction, but Serra is the team to beat. Really interested to see how the new regimes at the 2 Jesuit schools fare this season.
Riordan will win wcal in football, basketball,and girls flag football
do you think since they all do it, that it makes it OK? We use the word recruiting in HS sports now as norm and not a violation. Many struggling programs out there because, since Covid, private schools snap up MOST OF THE AREA TALENT (even more than before). I'm not even mad about WCAL recruiting, since you get high quality HS football and without boundaries they do what they want. But public schools have to watch as "their district players" stand on the sidelines in WCAL when they could start for their public school. It's not good for the state of football. The gap is even wider now and it's not all coaching talent. There are alot of quality Head Coaches but only 8 WCAL jobs.
Wow. Cleanup on the 380 interchange. Bring on the HazMat crew.
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