The consensus pick would have to be De La Salle. That doesn't mean that Cal, Monte Vista, Foothill or someone else can't pull off the upset, but until they lose DLS has to be the favorite. We know about Nottingham and Mannion. Who will be the starting QBs for DLS, Cal, & SRV this year? I think AV's 2 running QBs were both juniors last year?
As you (and I) have said many times, until De La Salle is beaten, they will (and should) be the odds on favorite to take the EBAL title. As you also point out, that's not to say that they can't be beat, but until someone steps up, makes the commitment and effort to do so, DLS deserves the favorite status that they have earned.
As far as QB's go, I think the favorites headed into spring practice are Travis Pacos at DLS; Chris Comes at SRV, and Quinn Kaehler at Cal. Of the three, I think Kaehler is the one most likely to start for sure.
DLS wins the EBAL easily in 2009. They will run at will and their defense is going to be dominant as their front 7-8 will be a giant brick wall, much improved over last years front. I wouldnt be surprised if Pacos and Herting split time at QB until someone emerges.
Will be interesting to see how MV does losing entire O-line and their key receivers. Nottingham will be the best QB in the EBAL but can he do it alone? Cal should be very solid again but can they win the close games with the inexperienced coach? Foothill always near the top as long as sweeney is at the helm. I wouldnt be surprised if AV ends up winning alot. they have a number of playmakers/team speed.
Plus, Granada was much improved last season, and the Atkinson twins will be juniors. I'm not sure what kind of team speed they have elsewhere, but those two alone should give every team some concern.
DLS has to be the EBAL favorites this year. With 6 of their front 7 returning including DE Dylan Wynn there should'nt be any problems. The LBs will be solid with Alex Taylor and Blake Renaud. Three members of the state's third best 4x100m relay team ( Tyler Anderson, Terron Ward and Ken Egu) reside in the Spartans secondary.
Cal High was the only EBAL foe within a Touchdown last year. Unless there has been major improvement from last year, it might be thje same old song.
Until someone beats them. And rightfully so. They've gone without a loss to an East Bay school since 1991! That's SEVENTEEN YEARS... They are number one until a loss proves otherwise...
It looks like Livermore is shooting for a couple of wins prior to the rigors of EBAL league play, where they'll be lucky to win one game. Who can blame them? You might was well get the kids something.
I agree- that program needs a shot of self esteem...that only comes thru some success. They have plenty of athletes, just need some leadership and continuity.
Pittsburg hosts the real Jamboree. All Heavywieghts. Come out to Pirates Stadium Friday night Aug. 28th and see some real football. Four of the best programs in Northern California take on eachother as they all get ready for the upcoming season. California High School, James Logan, De La Salle and the host team Pittsburg tangle up. Varsity starts at 7:00. Some of the best players in the entire state will be there. Errick Dargan, Terron Ward, Robert Jiles, Dylan Wynn, Tracy Clark and Tyler Anderson. Just to name a few. Get there early. It promises to be a very entertaining evening of football. DON'T MISS IT!!
The voice.....Is this four game scrimmage to be played at Pitt or at the junior College??? And it will be interesting to see how everybody stacks up against De la Salle....Will they give DLS a game or will they be pushed around....De La Salle will come in with a solid defense and a offense that needs a few bugs removed, but don't let any body fool you... DLS is coming to play....
The scrimmage will be at Pirates Stadium. Pitt and DLS have hooked up four times this summer for passing league and have played pretty even close. That was without pads. Both teams have questions to answer. Pitt probably has one of the best receiving corps in the entire state of California. They have to be able to protect their very athletic QB and the will have to open holes for their deep running game. Defensively the Pirates only return three starters. Pitt always has athletes, it's just a matter of how quickly they grow up.
The Spartans are solid up front with the majority of their offensive line returning and six of their front seven back on defense. Questions for the Spartans are at QB, WR and in the secondary. They also have a couple of minor injuries. Expect the Spartans to try to establish the run and play solid defense up front.
Also with Cal High and James Logan, each team will get a chance to evaluate players against top competition.
The voice......this should be a good preview of just what the Pirate air force can do and see if the line can recover from last years grad...all four teams should wil be worth watching to see what the coming season has in store for us....
Those are 4 of the top programs in the East Bay, all in one place. I'm looking forward to seeing it. JVs at 4:30 & Varsity at 7:00. Should be some good competition for each of these teams as they get ready for their non-league schedules.
The JV's at the beginning of the jamboree went like this DLS 3 Pittsburg 1,James Logan 2 Calif. 0, second round.....James Logan 2 Pittsburg 2,DLS 5 Calif. 1...third round Calif. 3 Pittsburg 3 and James Logan 3 DLS 2 as you can see DLS roughed up Pittsburg and Calif and got handled by James Logan....DLS looked to be the team to beat and the James Logan team line play was tough and aggressive......each team had 17 minutes to do their thing, playing offense and then defense.
Varsity
Calif. 2..DLS 2 Cal hit 5 of 12 passes.....DLS went 3 for 8.....Pittsburg 2...James Logan 2..Pittsburg hit 2 of 9 passes....James Logan hit 1 of 4 passes....DLS 5 Pittsburg 1...DLS hit 1 of 2 passes but their running game ate Pittsburg alive as the Pirates were no match for DLS.
Calif. 3...James Logan 0 Calif hit 7 of 15 passes and James Logan hit 1 of 6...for what ever reason, Cal had James Logan's number and then James Logan and DLS faced off and the scrimmage ended in a tie with James logan pushing DLS around at 2 to 2...DLS in desperation thru 11 passes and hit 3 and James Logan thru 4 and hit 1 plus one interception.
Now Pittsburg and calif. faced off and battled to a 4 to 4 tie as Calif. came on with a strong running game which Pittsburg could not contain...But Pittsburg's offense did almost the same.....Pittsburg thru 6 passes and hit 3 while calif. thru 11 passes and hit 3...
The result.....Pittsburg has to work on their defense...DLS has a strong running game but their passing game did not work, their line play was tough, but James Logan made DLS work and pushed the spartan's around.....James Logan has big running backs that also fast and hard to bring down.....calif. was was able to deal with DLS and Pittsburg and shut out James Logan...goe figure.....this was only a srimmage, but all four teams have issues to work on.
Good summary, bluedog. Just a couple of comments. Against DLS, Cal's starting QB went 6-10 with two drops. The twos played the final five minutes. In the Pitt scrimmage, Cal starters went three plays and scored, and then the twos and others played out the final 15 minutes. Good on Billeci for getting a lot of play time for the twos and threes in all of the scrimmages.
DLS looked strong but not invincible. Pitt looked strong but inconsistent. James Logan played well against both DLS and Pitt. Cal's was the surprise of the night but need to strengthen their run defense.
Good assessments Bluedog. All 4 teams looked good, but all have areas that need work. But Bleedorange is right that a lot of the jamboree was being played by 2nd & 3rd teamers. The DLS and Cal QBs played much better than their backups. Dargen is just a beast. Logan should do well in the MVAL this year. I'm sure Bergman got a lot of good video materials on these 4 teams to study for his $3 admission fee last night. That was a good workout that benefitted all 4 teams as they get ready for the real season next week. Good luck to all these teams as they battle teams from outside the East Bay. Hopefully, they will represent!
Bluedog, I think I saw you taking stats in the stands last night. Are you left-handed? If so, I'll be sure to stop by and say hello next time I see you.
001.....Stop by any time..that was me and i am left handed....That was a great four team show down....Next game on the list is Alhambra vs. College Park at Alhambra....
For the start of the preseason, there are only three games scheduled for this coming Friday night and it appears that California will show that they are ready after their effort at the Pittsburg Jamboree.....DLS's running game was right on target, but their passing game was in question...One QB could throw the ball at least 45 yards, but couldn't hit any body, but this could change.....
DLS vs. Serra.....DLS 41 Serra 20.....The spartans show that they mean business right off the bat...
California vs. Washington.....Calif. 35....Washington 20..the Grizzlies come out shooting
Amador Valley vs. Freedom....Amador 33...Freedom 19....the Don's open the season with a big win....
All 3 EBAL teams are opening at home, and should be favored. That would be a big win for Amador if they can get by Freedom after the season the Falcons put together last year. AV seems to have more firepower coming back and I think they could win it, but by 2 TDs may be a stretch.
Cal beat Washngton by something like 40 at NCS last season, so look for the Huskies to try to get some payback. This game will be a good measuring stick for them, but I don't know if they will score more than 10. New Grizzly coach Bellici is very familiar with Washington, after having coached at Logan the past few seasons.
DLS almost lost to a spirited Serra squad last season, so look for the Spartans to roll them. I'm sure Lad will have them ready.
"Spartan" at the qb position- Get it.. Get it? Thanks folks, I'm here all week. Godzilla has a few scales missing and leaving him a bit vulnerable to state powers Don Bosco and Lakeland(?) this season. Neither returning qb is paticularly mobile and they brought up Bart Houston who qb'd the freshman team last year. How concerned are Lad and the boys regarding qb? A true sophomore, with extremely limited mobility (he does throw a nice ball) competed for the job. He actually played some in Friday's nail-biter. Actually neither qb's can run well so EBAL team at least won't see the true veer this year... Note to EBAL teams: Don't get too excited. There is still the issue of DLS "lights out" defense, great special teams (you'll have to drive 80 yds to score), and a deep, deep backfield. That will carry the Spartans thru EBAL and next year someone will probably appear on campus to take the qb job.
Herting can run the veer, but is not as strong of a thrower as Houston. Maybe Lad will platoon QB like he did with the undefeated 2007 team. One strong runner, one strong passer.
DLS rarely gets upper class transfers-it just doesnt happen very often.
Maybe not, but they probably get more than the average school does. Didn't Nate Montana come in as an upper class transfer? To be fair, they also seem to lose more than their fair share of upper class transfers as well, such as Nate's younger brother to Oak's Christian, Nick Pica to Concord and Taylor Brewster to MV.
Nate came in as a Junior-but didnt play football until he was a senior and was 3rd string. I can't name another starting upperclass football player in the 10 years i have been following them.
After California's performance at Pittsburg, it appeared that they were more then ready for Washington, but The Huskies had a lot of returning vets from last year and put the Grizzlies backs to the wall...still it looked like calif. was going to win..a good ball game..both teams never quit. And what about the DLS/Serra game.....with the usual strong DLS running game it seemed that DLS would walk all over Serra, but it was DLS's defense that saved the day, plus the ground attack to back up the defense......both team's have their hands full this coming Friday night and Sat. and DLS will have to put up some scores if they want to win..Don Bosco has a nasty habit of scoring a lot of TD's....Calif. defense will have to make a showing sat. and not give up the points they did against the Huskies....Del Oro got roughed up pretty bad last year, but they have a year behind them and will be rought to beat. And take a good look at Amador Valley and what they did to Freedom...the Don's have served notice that they are here to play....
The DLS Serra game was once again was a tight one. Serra is in one of the best conferences in Northern California and know the Spartans well. To say DLS has to get production out of their passing game is the understatement of the year. Only four completions in entire ball game for 44 yards has to be addressed and just one to the WRs. Kerry Blakeney was a pleasant surprise running hard and picking up tough yards.
Don Bosco is somewhat depleated due to graduation but will be very tough. Expect another white knuckler this week as the Spartans travel to New Jersey.
One good thing is the defense Alex Taylor Dylan Winn and Will Marre played well on D. Bottom line is DLS can't lose if they can't score.
Blakeny's play didnt surprise me as he was that type of player on JV's last year. You are right regarding the passing game this week vs DBP. DLS pass play calls were very conservative-they will throw some things at DBP they didnt show vs Serra; Walter (TE) will play this game and is the #1 receiving threat.
DLS travels to the East coast to meet Don bosco and you can bet that the passing game has been much improved to back up the running. Calif. meets del Oro at the Battle of the capitol which may be a shootout.
DLS Vs. Don Bosco.....DLS 28 Don bosco 19....The Spartan ground game and a tough defense are too much for DBP.
Monte vista Vs James Logan....James Logan 32 Monte vista 28...The colts come into this game with a QB with good deception and big running backs that have speed...The Mustang passing game is the key that the colts must stop to win
Livermore Vs. Liberty.....Livermore 20..Liberty 12....the cowboys put together a victory
Granada Vs. Antioch......Antioch 28...granada 19....The Panthers over come last weeks loss
Sat.
Foothill Vs. novato.....Foothill 39...Novato 13...Foothill ran over Novato last year and will do it again this year
San Ramon Vs. West of Tracy.....San Ramon 28...west 20.....west has a lot of vets comig back, but the wolves should be able to over come the Tracy team..
The battle of the capitol
California Vs. De Oro.....Calif. 28 del Oro 25....The grizzles win a wild game
Franklin of elk Grove Vs. Sacred Heart Catheral......SHC.....34 Franklin 24
Cardinal Newman Vs. Central Catholic.....CN 32...CC 20...last year CC had too many players going both ways and were worn down in a CN victory .....this year it will be a lot closer....
Wow, just listened to the DBP / De la Salle game. DBP dominated, I am happy to see NJ football measures up to some of the best. It may be considered a down year for DLS, but was last year ? Section Title, tough CIF bowl loss to Centennial, and Bosco beat that team too. Bosco is mustard ( nasty ) ! DLS has a great shot to show who they are against Lakelnd Fla. Where is Maxpreps at ? they had DBP ranked #44 this year and they finished last year ranked in the thirty's while DLS was in the high teens, even afte a head to head win !
Great effort by AV last night-they played their hearts out. DLS physical play and conditioning was just too much for AV to overcome.
AV has some nice play makers and will give MV, Cal and Foothill all they can handle. This is going to be an exciting EBAL campaign, wish I could see all of the games each week.
3 turnovers in the 2nd half by AV, all giving DLS a short field were a bigger difference than anything. If the Don's don't turn the ball over they win this game. I agree especially since Granada upset Foothill last night (congrats Matadors), the EBAL will likely be topsy turvy every Friday night from here on out!
Amador played an inspired game against DLS last night, but the turnovers got to them when it mattered most. Granada & Atkinson lll came up with the surprise game of the EBAL thus far with a big win over Foothill and Cal blasted SRV. Something tells me there are a few more surprises ahead for the EBAL in the coming weeks.
Both Amador and Foothill's student sections could benifit from a crash corse in civility. The first half chants of "OVERRATED" and "WHY SO QUIET?" were not only in poor taste but oh so premature. I mean really, they've NEVER beaten DLS for starters. And why would you give a superior team, who was at that time playing like crap, a reason to FOCUS? Last year vs Foothill, again DLS was playing like crap in the first quarter but this time their motivation to FOCUS came not from the student section but from the Foothill team. For starters, when DLS had the ball the entire Foothill squad yelled and screamed from the sideline in some lame attempt to disorientate the DLS offense. Even my 15 year old son asked why were they doing that. More annoying than anything. But DLS did fumble the QB/Center exchange on the first series. But next came the ugly moment. DLS was playing like crap and it was a tight game early. DLS had scored (14-7) and was kicking off. As their rather small kicker approached the ball and kicked, I noticed one of the Foothill player headed straight for DLS instead of running back to set up a block. I thought, "you've got to be kidding me- they are going after the kicker!" The kicker was LIT UP!! DLS sideline went berserk. I had never seen Coach Lad so animated. I said to myself, "Well now DLS has a reason to focus- Lad won't call off the dogs tonight" Payback's a mother- 63-7 Final. One last example of poor behavior- Last year, after Foothill's come from behind victory @ Amador, the Foothill students charged the field, faced the Amador stands (parents and children are in the stands too, you know) and chanted, "WE OWN THIS TOWN." We moved here (Pleasanton) not too long ago and my son has been on the fence regarding playing for Foothill or Amador. Now he says he wants to play for DLS or Valley Christian. Little did he know, I had made that choice for him last year after attending all the schools practices. F-bombs and shaming kids the norm at public. Coaching, motivating and praying the norm at private. Money well spent, I say.
I took the opportunity to go to the SRV/Concord game last week. I thought it was a extremely poor showing of sportsmanship when the SRV stands in unison loudly boo'ed the Concord team when they ran onto the field to begin the game. Classless.
I'd rather not get into the sportsmanship debate as I've seen plenty of poor examples across the board including at DLS. I will however defend the comments made above regarding attending Amador and Foothill practices and hearing f bombs, negative comments etc...
I am not close to the Foothill program, but have attended more Amador practices over the last 7 years that I'd like to admit. To that end, Coach Sira is nothing but positive energy period. I know at all football practices occassionally frustration escapes a coaches mouth when the players just simply aren't into practice or are going half hearted. To think or imply that this same thing dosen't go on at DLS is foolish. I've been personally involved in multiple sports (one as a coach) against DLS and there have been plenty of f bombs thrown on the field by DLS players and even an occasional coach. I'm not knocking the program, but simply think its only fair to inform that this DOES happen at that school as well. Regarding what sounds like shopping your kid around for which school to attend based on the football program leads me to believe your another one of these parents with a "super star" son who is obviously going to go D-1 some day if the coach dosen't screw him up. Good luck at De LaSalle (should your son be admitted), and enjoy the commute to Concord for 4 years on top of the tuition.
I've noticed your postings on here and have refrained from comment until now. I too will not get into the fan behavior as I have seen, in person, poorly behaved fans at virtually every school in the Bay Area; including DLS, Foothill, Amador, SR, CHS, MV, etc. No school is immune and to think so is naiveté at its best.
From your previous postings it seems you are quite enthralled with Valley Christian and you have clearly indicated your admiration of De La Salle and that's fine. What bothers me is that you seem solely focused on their football programs and not at all on their relative worth scholastically.
First, I have known Bob (and Tom) Ladouceur since they went to school with my brother and sister at San Ramon HS back in the 60's and 70's. As a HS coach myself, there is not another coach I respect or admire more than Bob. I have been coaching in Colorado since the 80's and have watched from afar as Bob has taken the DLS program from the cellar of the old C.A.L. to one of national prominence. I would not hesitate to have a son involved with Bob and the DLS program.
You made the comment that "... F-bombs and shaming kids (is) the norm at public (schools)..." Not only is this unture, but is insulting to those of us who coach at public schools. First,let me address the language issue you have raised. Does swearing occur in public schools? Of course it does. That said; your comment makes it sound as though coaches are curising like sailors when dealing with their kids. In my experience, this is patently false. Your comment that shaming kids is the the norm at public schools is also untrue. Most public school coaches do their best to instruct and teach the game to their players. again, there are those who have and do use other methods (shaming or disparaging kids). I submit to you that these coaches are an absolute minority and do not represent the "norm" in public schools.
Additionally, you wrote that; “…Coaching, motivating and praying (are) the norm at private…”I take issue with a couple of points here. First you insinuate that coaching and motivation only take place at private school (or by inference, rarely take place in public schools). As I wrote earlier, this is patently false. Finally, your reference to praying insinuates that certain language doesn’t happen at private or parochial schools. I would suggest that you pick up a copy of the DVD; ““1: The Story Behind the Longest Winning Streak in Football History”. This is a DVD documenting the 2002 Season at DLS. You will hear language exactly as you described (F-Bomb) uttered by coaches and players, including Coach Ladouceur himself. It’s certainly not every other word, but the words are used; probably about as often as they are at most public school games and practices (and remember, these are people on camera and likely on their very best behavior).
If you want to educate your children at a private school, that is your choice and I say go for it, if that’s what you want to do. But by making this choice, does it become necessary to then denigrate public schools? You mentioned the Amador and Foothill programs. I have met (don’t know) Rick Sira and having met him and knowing his reputation among the HS Coaching community, I can tell you he is highly regarded. I have known Matt Sweeney for over 20 years and can tell you that he is one of the most respected coaches around, not only in California, but nationally as well. As for your citing of the situation you claim occurred in last years’ Foothill/DLS game, I can only state that I am confident that if it did occur, 1) Sweeney knew nothing about it and 2) He handled it appropriately after the fact. Unfortunately, there are times when individual kids make poor choices, both on and off the field. Mind you, this happens at schools like DLS as well, but as a coach you do your best to teach kids right from wrong. It doesn’t always take right away, but in my experience, it usually sinks in (sometimes years after a kid has graduated).
Bottom line, if you choose to enroll your kids at a school like Valley Christian, that’s great! I would submit to you that there are two points which you have either missed or not stated. First, enroll your kids there because you believe they will get the very best education possible there; not because you think their athletic program is wonderful. Second, after having done so, rather that spending your time denigrating public schools, simply be satisfied that the choice you made was the right one for your kids. Standing on something to promote something else is NEVER the right thing to do.
Monte Vista has put together a long series of top football teams and this year looks like the year of the Mustang....this friday night at Monte Vista, we are going to see one of the most exciting games in some time....can the Mustang's stop DLS.... could be......In any case...this will be the game to see....But there are three more in the EBAL that all stand out and any game you go to...you will most likely will see some fireworks....
De La Salle Vs. Monte Vista.....MV 38...DLS 28.....Nottingham and gang put together enough team effort to stop the spartan's...
Foothill Vs. San Ramon Valley.....foothill 31...SRV 13...A angry foothill team comes out shooting after last weeks ambush by Granada
Amador Vs. granada.....Amador 28...granada 24....both teams are red hot and this could be any bodies game..
California Vs. Livermore.....Calif. 41..Livermore 12....The Cowboys got roughed up by MV last week and unfortnately it will happen again this week
I have to agree Bluedog2. After seeing Amador hang very tough and even have a lead in the 4th quarter, this game would seem to be the one for M.V. to beat DeLa. Having said that DeLa certainly "gets up" for big games as evidenced by losing by 1 in OT to Lakeland, FL. Amador exposed some weakness in pass defense for the Spartans that Nottingham should be able to exploit. His young recievers especially #3 (sorry I've forgotten his name), have really stepped it up.
M.V. 38 De LaSalle 31
Amador vs Granada may also be very interesting. Again Amador showed excellent team speed on both sides of the ball vs De La, but it looks like Atkinson 2 may be a better athlete/threat than anyone included the talented backs at De La. If AV can contain him, they've demonstrated thier ability to put points on the board in bunches. This game could come down to who has the ball last!
Amador Valley 35 Granada 28
I also agree that Foothill will come out on fire, and this looks like a down year for SRV.
Foothill 42 SRV 17
Cal should have not trouble handling Livermore. Davis may be close to 100% for the 1st time this season which should make Cal a threat every week for the rest of the year.
Concrete17......boy did DLS shove that prediction down my throat.....The Ward show just ran over MV....MV looked real good until game time, then all hell broke loose...
You know that comment you made about money well spent is my sentiment exactly. I'm so glad we sent our son to a school that has decent morals as demonstrated by the players, coaches, and fans. We pray for hurt players even during the most heated contests, and teams who show poor sportsmanship and play. I'm not ashamed to say this because it's the way I was brought up and it exemplifies the "Spartan" De La Salle way. When the student body said the "Our Father" for the fallen Lakeland player two weeks ago, I think the commenting population and the Florida fans saw the true spirit of Carondelet and De La Salle students. It's just a pure shame that other public schools don't have this integrity many times. Go Spartans, beat MV.
Presently have family attending DLS and am very happy with the academic, athletic and spiritual education. The programs work very well for us but my take on school comparisons are much closer to epcthree's post than speedtrap's posts.
I can appreciate your enthusiasm. My son has thrived at the school but I think saying..."the true spirit of Carondelet and De La Salle students. It's just a pure shame that other public schools don't have this integrity many times"... is a bit much and insulting to friends and acquaintances who have their sons and daughters attending the publics. No matter what the approach to education no one system is going to corner the market on integrity......6 years at various high school functions around the Bay Area has demonstrated that.
bluedog...
Follow you predictions weekly...not sure, but believe your first two game predictions about the Spartans were wrong...hope that "bluedog the predictor" of games 1&2 shows up rather than "blue dog the predictor" of games 3&4. TO's. penalties and defense will set the tone.
Concrete17.......DLS has always had a better then tough defense....getting thru or around the line is one of the hardest things the the local high schools face. Monte Vista has to play two full half's if they hope to stop DLS and that means no turnovers and no foolish penalites. If they can do that, then the passing arm of Nottingham and the receivers will make the difference.....Who ever wins.....it will be a great victory......
Lets face it...when the spartans seem to be in trouble they find a way to over come it. Ward ran wild tonight and the mustangs couldn't do any thing about it......MV's defense still held DLS to 28 points, but they still lost.....So the best money is not to bet on DLS loosing......... DLS 28 MV21....
Spartans where in controll of this game where it counted: along the LOS. On both sides of the ball the Sparatans were too imposing for the mustangs. If not for penalties, DLS wins by 3 TD's- they need to clean that up big time.
MV is going to get beat by another EBAL team, if not two. A team like Cal HS with their physical running style will give MV problems. I was surprised Nottingham stared down his WR's so much- somebodys defense is going to take advantage of that and get some picks. I have been high on AV all year and they also might beat MV. The Stancil/Turray combo will run wild on that soft MV run defense.
JuniorPJ........I think you are right...ward's running showed that the Mustang's have a serious weakness for ground defense....Cal and Amador Valley have the resources with their running game to knock off Monte Vista......And what happened to Foothill???...That is two games in a row that Foothill gave up 30 plus points and loose...No body in the EBAL is really save when you consider the skill most of the teams have and DLS may have a rough time in the following games, but they won't loose...They proved that Friday night.......
Pass first teams like Foothill and MV have troubles against running/physical teams. If you practice much of the time passing- then your team has a tendency to be soft. Running the ball makes both sides of your team tougher. Foothill and MV need to realize this. They have fantastic passing offenses and will win games against teams who dont take it to them in the trenches. The physical teams will beat them tho.
In what was a very electric night with all the "Big Game" feel, the Mustangs and Spartans did played a very entertaining game. Nottingham is all that was advertised driving his team to three first half TDs. The Spartans were able to match the Mustangs with three scores of their own. The game came down to halftime adjustments. De La Salle's defense tightened up and the game was a wrap.
What ruined a perfect evening of football was Monte Vista's public address announcer. To say he was horrible would be the understatement of the year. I can't imagine how an administration could tolerate such an unprofessional display of extremely biased home town "bush league" announcing. He time after time urged the sell-out crowd to make some noise. He sounded more like a nagging spouse. I think that's why you have cheerleaders and pom pom girls. I would be so embarrassed to be associated with any part of Monte Vista athletics with such a jerk in the booth.
The only noise that was made was by Terron Ward (398 yds rushing) and the De La Salle defense who pitched a shutout to the high powered, high octane (46 pts per game) Monte Vista offense. DLS reamins the King of the EBAL!!
Interesting comments about the MV announcer The Voice. This subject has been brought up before as it seems this announcer has been doing this for several years at MV. Monte Vista defenders have posted the he is "an acquired taste". I agree with you 100%. I've not been to any other high school game where any other announcer even came close to this guy. In addition to your comments I'll add, his announcing seems to be as much about him as it does the game itself. High School football IMHO is about the players, not the announcer. Monte Vista administration don't seem to have a problem with this as he's been allowed to continue in this way year after year.
Regarding the MV announcer, there was no intention to bash or berate the guy in the booth but, like you said EBAL1 the guy makes it more about "him" than the game. Like I said when you'er constantly begging a croud to make noise you are taking away from the duties of the very talented spirt squads they have at Monte Vista.
The main objective of a public address announcer is to inform the public of the events on the field. Who ran the ball, who made the tackle and the down and distance ect. This guy crossed the line repeatedly.
Dave George the De La Salle announcer would probably have gotten fired for such antics. If the admistration allows these things to go on maybe someone should take a look at them.
Concrete 17, I'm sorry that I didn't make myself clear in my comments. I didn't mean to impune the integrity of all students of public schools and you are right that a lot of kids do have a good sense of integrity. I too have friends whose kids are very honorable and do the right thing.
I was referring to the manner in which our student bodies, DLS and CHS, conducted themselves and the empathy they showed during the Lakeland game specifically when their player, Tedward Hamilton, was injured and carried off in a stretcher. I was proud of the way they acted that night and have seen numerous incidents of this type of character, even when opposing teams didn't show that same spirit of sportsmanship on the field and off the field. The Lakeland parents and fans sitting in front of us even made that same observation.
Our boys at DLS are certainly not angels but, yes, I think, in general, they do try and maintain a higher standard, one that is set by their teachers, administrators, and peers alike. I am always gratified when our youth, be they from our schools or from others, act like ladies and gentlemen. Yeah, I guess I'm a bit prejudiced, but I do expect a higher standard from them.
i called the lakeland school 3 times, to find out how their inured player is doing. left messages with the principle and vice principle, but nobody called back.
I will keep my GUNS, my FREEDOM, my MONEY, you can keep the CHANGE
Berlin47112, My sentiments too on the bottom of your post. DLS is back and looking strong. I would like an accounting, if someone could manage it, of Terron Williams-Ward's tremendous rushing numbers, subtracting out the lost yardage due to penalties. I'll bet he would have had close to 500! Monte Vista sure looked good for about 5 minutes and then the Spartan spirit entered the fray and showed up to play! Monte Vista is really vulnerable to a strong rushing attack which is evident in the stats but it's not invincible in the passing attack either, also proven Friday night.
DLS must work on those penalties though. It is like taking a loaded 57 Magnum and putting to your right foot. It blows off the momentum/foot every time. I know they get off fast but are the calls really legit or is it just that they couldn't hear the count. The famous, according to the MV announcer, 12th man of MV might have some bearing on the poor showing in the penalty stats for DLS. I haven't seen the replay yet, can't find it on Comcast Channel On Demand, so if anyone out there from the forum has seen the slow motion replays, please let us know what was going on. Usually De La Salle lines are noted for their quickness and not for repeated costly penalties. I will bet Lad and company work on this all next week until they get it.
I just re-watched the game last night Porque (DVR not on demand). From my perspective what has happended is that the refs are insisting (I believe rightly so), that the 0line must "set" for at least 1 second after going into a 3 point stance. The line at times seems to get into a rhythm where this is no "pause" before the snap. It looked like the refs were pretty consistant in the way this was called vs MV IMO. But it is a "judgement call".
Your observation is a correct one and it's something that DLS has done for years on the offensive line. What some may not know is that Coach Lad is the O-Line coach at DLS. He has taught what is refered to as a "rolling start" for years. Frankly, it's the key to the success at DLS. I know a number of officials who, after watching game film of DLS, have said that they would have trouble not throwing a flag on every down. Bottom line, this is a total judgment call by the officials and if they don't view it as a violation, then it's not a penalty. As long as it's not seen as a violation then DLS will continue to use it and be successful with it.
Amazing game tonite for AV - showed they belong with the big boys, esp after their play vs DLS. AV came up big in the end, esp in the OT, stopping UCLA-bound Nottingham in the OT, making MV go for the FG. Their miss sealed it - Nick Anderson nailed his on first down ...victory AV.
MV's rushing defense must improve - AV ran alot tonite - Turay must have been close to 175 yds, AV prob near 250-300 yds on the ground. They are vulnerable to a team that can run. N ottingham had some brilliant drives, and it looked like MV would snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat, but fumbled at the 1 on their way to the winning TD.
While Nottingham threw for alot of yards tonight, most were short dunk passes or middle screens that were big YAC plays. His one real nice throw of the night was a 35 yard TD pass to McGovern in the back corner of the end zone. M.V. seemed to have one really good drive and then would look out of sync. The no huddle offense did not look very organized at times.
I'll comment that the fumble at the end of regulation was a little bit of turn about is fair play. Earlier in the game Dalton Turay was held up trying to get more yards and had the ball stripped away. Same situation on Sullas's late run. His team was trying to push him into the end zone and that same Dalton Turay had the pressence of mind to strip the ball away.
Some heavy hitting in this game. Guys from both teams were banged up at different times this night. It dosen't get any easier for AV next week as the undefeated in EBAL play California Grizzlies come to AV next Friday night. Gotta love the EBAL!!
Notice a similarity with the teams at the top of the EBAL? physical running teams. DLS, Cal, AV (in that order) are the best running teams in the EBAL. The pass happy teams (Foothill, MV, SRV) are struggling. There is a good reason: pass first teams are soft. when you practice passing as much as these teams do- its makes your defense soft also.
AV/Cal is going to be a barn burner- what a great matchup that will be. AV's playmakers vs Cal's power.
DLS is hitting their stride and their passing game is starting to take shape- look out. they only surrendered 219 yds offense to SRV (6 rushing).
Posted on Tuesday, 6/09/2009 - 9:22 a.m. PDT — by Cal Fan
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The consensus pick would have to be De La Salle. That doesn't mean that Cal, Monte Vista, Foothill or someone else can't pull off the upset, but until they lose DLS has to be the favorite. We know about Nottingham and Mannion. Who will be the starting QBs for DLS, Cal, & SRV this year? I think AV's 2 running QBs were both juniors last year?
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As you (and I) have said many times, until De La Salle is beaten, they will (and should) be the odds on favorite to take the EBAL title. As you also point out, that's not to say that they can't be beat, but until someone steps up, makes the commitment and effort to do so, DLS deserves the favorite status that they have earned.
As far as QB's go, I think the favorites headed into spring practice are Travis Pacos at DLS; Chris Comes at SRV, and Quinn Kaehler at Cal. Of the three, I think Kaehler is the one most likely to start for sure.
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DLS wins the EBAL easily in 2009. They will run at will and their defense is going to be dominant as their front 7-8 will be a giant brick wall, much improved over last years front. I wouldnt be surprised if Pacos and Herting split time at QB until someone emerges.
Will be interesting to see how MV does losing entire O-line and their key receivers. Nottingham will be the best QB in the EBAL but can he do it alone? Cal should be very solid again but can they win the close games with the inexperienced coach? Foothill always near the top as long as sweeney is at the helm. I wouldnt be surprised if AV ends up winning alot. they have a number of playmakers/team speed.
Should be an interesting fight for second place.
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Plus, Granada was much improved last season, and the Atkinson twins will be juniors. I'm not sure what kind of team speed they have elsewhere, but those two alone should give every team some concern.
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DLS has to be the EBAL favorites this year. With 6 of their front 7 returning including DE Dylan Wynn there should'nt be any problems. The LBs will be solid with Alex Taylor and Blake Renaud. Three members of the state's third best 4x100m relay team ( Tyler Anderson, Terron Ward and Ken Egu) reside in the Spartans secondary.
Cal High was the only EBAL foe within a Touchdown last year. Unless there has been major improvement from last year, it might be thje same old song.
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Until someone beats them. And rightfully so. They've gone without a loss to an East Bay school since 1991! That's SEVENTEEN YEARS... They are number one until a loss proves otherwise...
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According to Rivals, Sean Mannion of Foothill has been offered, and has accepted, a scholarship offer to play for Oregon State.
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I saw Mannion at the passing league Monday night. He appeared in mid season form-very impressive. The Foothill vs MV game is going to be a cant miss!
I put the over/under on pass attempts for both QB's at 83.
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Here is a breakdown of SOS for EBAL teams non league games according to calpreps.com:
DLS- 53.0
MV- 32.8 (2 games)
Foothill- 24.65 (2 games)
Cal- 18.9
Granada- 15.8 (2 games- no rating for castro valley yet)
SRV- 14.4
AV- 11.2
LHS- (-3.43)
Calpreps is only showing 2 games for MV and Foothill so far.
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It looks like Livermore is shooting for a couple of wins prior to the rigors of EBAL league play, where they'll be lucky to win one game. Who can blame them? You might was well get the kids something.
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I agree- that program needs a shot of self esteem...that only comes thru some success. They have plenty of athletes, just need some leadership and continuity.
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Pittsburg hosts the real Jamboree. All Heavywieghts. Come out to Pirates Stadium Friday night Aug. 28th and see some real football. Four of the best programs in Northern California take on eachother as they all get ready for the upcoming season. California High School, James Logan, De La Salle and the host team Pittsburg tangle up. Varsity starts at 7:00. Some of the best players in the entire state will be there. Errick Dargan, Terron Ward, Robert Jiles, Dylan Wynn, Tracy Clark and Tyler Anderson. Just to name a few. Get there early. It promises to be a very entertaining evening of football. DON'T MISS IT!!
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8-27-09
The voice.....Is this four game scrimmage to be played at Pitt or at the junior College??? And it will be interesting to see how everybody stacks up against De la Salle....Will they give DLS a game or will they be pushed around....De La Salle will come in with a solid defense and a offense that needs a few bugs removed, but don't let any body fool you... DLS is coming to play....
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The scrimmage will be at Pirates Stadium. Pitt and DLS have hooked up four times this summer for passing league and have played pretty even close. That was without pads. Both teams have questions to answer. Pitt probably has one of the best receiving corps in the entire state of California. They have to be able to protect their very athletic QB and the will have to open holes for their deep running game. Defensively the Pirates only return three starters. Pitt always has athletes, it's just a matter of how quickly they grow up.
The Spartans are solid up front with the majority of their offensive line returning and six of their front seven back on defense. Questions for the Spartans are at QB, WR and in the secondary. They also have a couple of minor injuries. Expect the Spartans to try to establish the run and play solid defense up front.
Also with Cal High and James Logan, each team will get a chance to evaluate players against top competition.
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8-27-09
The voice......this should be a good preview of just what the Pirate air force can do and see if the line can recover from last years grad...all four teams should wil be worth watching to see what the coming season has in store for us....
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Those are 4 of the top programs in the East Bay, all in one place. I'm looking forward to seeing it. JVs at 4:30 & Varsity at 7:00. Should be some good competition for each of these teams as they get ready for their non-league schedules.
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8-28-09
The JV's at the beginning of the jamboree went like this DLS 3 Pittsburg 1,James Logan 2 Calif. 0, second round.....James Logan 2 Pittsburg 2,DLS 5 Calif. 1...third round Calif. 3 Pittsburg 3 and James Logan 3 DLS 2 as you can see DLS roughed up Pittsburg and Calif and got handled by James Logan....DLS looked to be the team to beat and the James Logan team line play was tough and aggressive......each team had 17 minutes to do their thing, playing offense and then defense.
Varsity
Calif. 2..DLS 2 Cal hit 5 of 12 passes.....DLS went 3 for 8.....Pittsburg 2...James Logan 2..Pittsburg hit 2 of 9 passes....James Logan hit 1 of 4 passes....DLS 5 Pittsburg 1...DLS hit 1 of 2 passes but their running game ate Pittsburg alive as the Pirates were no match for DLS.
Calif. 3...James Logan 0 Calif hit 7 of 15 passes and James Logan hit 1 of 6...for what ever reason, Cal had James Logan's number and then James Logan and DLS faced off and the scrimmage ended in a tie with James logan pushing DLS around at 2 to 2...DLS in desperation thru 11 passes and hit 3 and James Logan thru 4 and hit 1 plus one interception.
Now Pittsburg and calif. faced off and battled to a 4 to 4 tie as Calif. came on with a strong running game which Pittsburg could not contain...But Pittsburg's offense did almost the same.....Pittsburg thru 6 passes and hit 3 while calif. thru 11 passes and hit 3...
The result.....Pittsburg has to work on their defense...DLS has a strong running game but their passing game did not work, their line play was tough, but James Logan made DLS work and pushed the spartan's around.....James Logan has big running backs that also fast and hard to bring down.....calif. was was able to deal with DLS and Pittsburg and shut out James Logan...goe figure.....this was only a srimmage, but all four teams have issues to work on.
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Good summary, bluedog. Just a couple of comments. Against DLS, Cal's starting QB went 6-10 with two drops. The twos played the final five minutes. In the Pitt scrimmage, Cal starters went three plays and scored, and then the twos and others played out the final 15 minutes. Good on Billeci for getting a lot of play time for the twos and threes in all of the scrimmages.
DLS looked strong but not invincible. Pitt looked strong but inconsistent. James Logan played well against both DLS and Pitt. Cal's was the surprise of the night but need to strengthen their run defense.
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Good assessments Bluedog. All 4 teams looked good, but all have areas that need work. But Bleedorange is right that a lot of the jamboree was being played by 2nd & 3rd teamers. The DLS and Cal QBs played much better than their backups. Dargen is just a beast. Logan should do well in the MVAL this year. I'm sure Bergman got a lot of good video materials on these 4 teams to study for his $3 admission fee last night. That was a good workout that benefitted all 4 teams as they get ready for the real season next week. Good luck to all these teams as they battle teams from outside the East Bay. Hopefully, they will represent!
Bluedog, I think I saw you taking stats in the stands last night. Are you left-handed? If so, I'll be sure to stop by and say hello next time I see you.
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8-29-09
001.....Stop by any time..that was me and i am left handed....That was a great four team show down....Next game on the list is Alhambra vs. College Park at Alhambra....
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9-02-09
For the start of the preseason, there are only three games scheduled for this coming Friday night and it appears that California will show that they are ready after their effort at the Pittsburg Jamboree.....DLS's running game was right on target, but their passing game was in question...One QB could throw the ball at least 45 yards, but couldn't hit any body, but this could change.....
DLS vs. Serra.....DLS 41 Serra 20.....The spartans show that they mean business right off the bat...
California vs. Washington.....Calif. 35....Washington 20..the Grizzlies come out shooting
Amador Valley vs. Freedom....Amador 33...Freedom 19....the Don's open the season with a big win....
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All 3 EBAL teams are opening at home, and should be favored. That would be a big win for Amador if they can get by Freedom after the season the Falcons put together last year. AV seems to have more firepower coming back and I think they could win it, but by 2 TDs may be a stretch.
Cal beat Washngton by something like 40 at NCS last season, so look for the Huskies to try to get some payback. This game will be a good measuring stick for them, but I don't know if they will score more than 10. New Grizzly coach Bellici is very familiar with Washington, after having coached at Logan the past few seasons.
DLS almost lost to a spirited Serra squad last season, so look for the Spartans to roll them. I'm sure Lad will have them ready.
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"Spartan" at the qb position- Get it.. Get it? Thanks folks, I'm here all week. Godzilla has a few scales missing and leaving him a bit vulnerable to state powers Don Bosco and Lakeland(?) this season. Neither returning qb is paticularly mobile and they brought up Bart Houston who qb'd the freshman team last year. How concerned are Lad and the boys regarding qb? A true sophomore, with extremely limited mobility (he does throw a nice ball) competed for the job. He actually played some in Friday's nail-biter. Actually neither qb's can run well so EBAL team at least won't see the true veer this year... Note to EBAL teams: Don't get too excited. There is still the issue of DLS "lights out" defense, great special teams (you'll have to drive 80 yds to score), and a deep, deep backfield. That will carry the Spartans thru EBAL and next year someone will probably appear on campus to take the qb job.
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Herting can run the veer, but is not as strong of a thrower as Houston. Maybe Lad will platoon QB like he did with the undefeated 2007 team. One strong runner, one strong passer.
DLS rarely gets upper class transfers-it just doesnt happen very often.
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"DLS rarely gets upper class transfers"
Maybe not, but they probably get more than the average school does. Didn't Nate Montana come in as an upper class transfer? To be fair, they also seem to lose more than their fair share of upper class transfers as well, such as Nate's younger brother to Oak's Christian, Nick Pica to Concord and Taylor Brewster to MV.
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Nate came in as a Junior-but didnt play football until he was a senior and was 3rd string. I can't name another starting upperclass football player in the 10 years i have been following them.
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9-07-09
After California's performance at Pittsburg, it appeared that they were more then ready for Washington, but The Huskies had a lot of returning vets from last year and put the Grizzlies backs to the wall...still it looked like calif. was going to win..a good ball game..both teams never quit. And what about the DLS/Serra game.....with the usual strong DLS running game it seemed that DLS would walk all over Serra, but it was DLS's defense that saved the day, plus the ground attack to back up the defense......both team's have their hands full this coming Friday night and Sat. and DLS will have to put up some scores if they want to win..Don Bosco has a nasty habit of scoring a lot of TD's....Calif. defense will have to make a showing sat. and not give up the points they did against the Huskies....Del Oro got roughed up pretty bad last year, but they have a year behind them and will be rought to beat. And take a good look at Amador Valley and what they did to Freedom...the Don's have served notice that they are here to play....
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The DLS Serra game was once again was a tight one. Serra is in one of the best conferences in Northern California and know the Spartans well. To say DLS has to get production out of their passing game is the understatement of the year. Only four completions in entire ball game for 44 yards has to be addressed and just one to the WRs. Kerry Blakeney was a pleasant surprise running hard and picking up tough yards.
Don Bosco is somewhat depleated due to graduation but will be very tough. Expect another white knuckler this week as the Spartans travel to New Jersey.
One good thing is the defense Alex Taylor Dylan Winn and Will Marre played well on D. Bottom line is DLS can't lose if they can't score.
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Blakeny's play didnt surprise me as he was that type of player on JV's last year. You are right regarding the passing game this week vs DBP. DLS pass play calls were very conservative-they will throw some things at DBP they didnt show vs Serra; Walter (TE) will play this game and is the #1 receiving threat.
First team to 21 wins this game.
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9-09-09
DLS travels to the East coast to meet Don bosco and you can bet that the passing game has been much improved to back up the running. Calif. meets del Oro at the Battle of the capitol which may be a shootout.
DLS Vs. Don Bosco.....DLS 28 Don bosco 19....The Spartan ground game and a tough defense are too much for DBP.
Monte vista Vs James Logan....James Logan 32 Monte vista 28...The colts come into this game with a QB with good deception and big running backs that have speed...The Mustang passing game is the key that the colts must stop to win
Livermore Vs. Liberty.....Livermore 20..Liberty 12....the cowboys put together a victory
Granada Vs. Antioch......Antioch 28...granada 19....The Panthers over come last weeks loss
Sat.
Foothill Vs. novato.....Foothill 39...Novato 13...Foothill ran over Novato last year and will do it again this year
San Ramon Vs. West of Tracy.....San Ramon 28...west 20.....west has a lot of vets comig back, but the wolves should be able to over come the Tracy team..
The battle of the capitol
California Vs. De Oro.....Calif. 28 del Oro 25....The grizzles win a wild game
Franklin of elk Grove Vs. Sacred Heart Catheral......SHC.....34 Franklin 24
Cardinal Newman Vs. Central Catholic.....CN 32...CC 20...last year CC had too many players going both ways and were worn down in a CN victory .....this year it will be a lot closer....
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Wow, just listened to the DBP / De la Salle game. DBP dominated, I am happy to see NJ football measures up to some of the best. It may be considered a down year for DLS, but was last year ? Section Title, tough CIF bowl loss to Centennial, and Bosco beat that team too. Bosco is mustard ( nasty ) ! DLS has a great shot to show who they are against Lakelnd Fla. Where is Maxpreps at ? they had DBP ranked #44 this year and they finished last year ranked in the thirty's while DLS was in the high teens, even afte a head to head win !
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Great effort by AV last night-they played their hearts out. DLS physical play and conditioning was just too much for AV to overcome.
AV has some nice play makers and will give MV, Cal and Foothill all they can handle. This is going to be an exciting EBAL campaign, wish I could see all of the games each week.
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3 turnovers in the 2nd half by AV, all giving DLS a short field were a bigger difference than anything. If the Don's don't turn the ball over they win this game. I agree especially since Granada upset Foothill last night (congrats Matadors), the EBAL will likely be topsy turvy every Friday night from here on out!
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Amador played an inspired game against DLS last night, but the turnovers got to them when it mattered most. Granada & Atkinson lll came up with the surprise game of the EBAL thus far with a big win over Foothill and Cal blasted SRV. Something tells me there are a few more surprises ahead for the EBAL in the coming weeks.
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DLS had two TO's inside the AV 25 in the first qtr- so you cant play the what if with AV's turnovers without mentioning DLS's.
AV got tired- their d linmane had their hands on their hips and bent over by the middle of the 2nd qtr. DLS wore them out.
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Both Amador and Foothill's student sections could benifit from a crash corse in civility. The first half chants of "OVERRATED" and "WHY SO QUIET?" were not only in poor taste but oh so premature. I mean really, they've NEVER beaten DLS for starters. And why would you give a superior team, who was at that time playing like crap, a reason to FOCUS? Last year vs Foothill, again DLS was playing like crap in the first quarter but this time their motivation to FOCUS came not from the student section but from the Foothill team. For starters, when DLS had the ball the entire Foothill squad yelled and screamed from the sideline in some lame attempt to disorientate the DLS offense. Even my 15 year old son asked why were they doing that. More annoying than anything. But DLS did fumble the QB/Center exchange on the first series. But next came the ugly moment. DLS was playing like crap and it was a tight game early. DLS had scored (14-7) and was kicking off. As their rather small kicker approached the ball and kicked, I noticed one of the Foothill player headed straight for DLS instead of running back to set up a block. I thought, "you've got to be kidding me- they are going after the kicker!" The kicker was LIT UP!! DLS sideline went berserk. I had never seen Coach Lad so animated. I said to myself, "Well now DLS has a reason to focus- Lad won't call off the dogs tonight" Payback's a mother- 63-7 Final. One last example of poor behavior- Last year, after Foothill's come from behind victory @ Amador, the Foothill students charged the field, faced the Amador stands (parents and children are in the stands too, you know) and chanted, "WE OWN THIS TOWN." We moved here (Pleasanton) not too long ago and my son has been on the fence regarding playing for Foothill or Amador. Now he says he wants to play for DLS or Valley Christian. Little did he know, I had made that choice for him last year after attending all the schools practices. F-bombs and shaming kids the norm at public. Coaching, motivating and praying the norm at private. Money well spent, I say.
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I took the opportunity to go to the SRV/Concord game last week. I thought it was a extremely poor showing of sportsmanship when the SRV stands in unison loudly boo'ed the Concord team when they ran onto the field to begin the game. Classless.
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I'd rather not get into the sportsmanship debate as I've seen plenty of poor examples across the board including at DLS. I will however defend the comments made above regarding attending Amador and Foothill practices and hearing f bombs, negative comments etc...
I am not close to the Foothill program, but have attended more Amador practices over the last 7 years that I'd like to admit. To that end, Coach Sira is nothing but positive energy period. I know at all football practices occassionally frustration escapes a coaches mouth when the players just simply aren't into practice or are going half hearted. To think or imply that this same thing dosen't go on at DLS is foolish. I've been personally involved in multiple sports (one as a coach) against DLS and there have been plenty of f bombs thrown on the field by DLS players and even an occasional coach. I'm not knocking the program, but simply think its only fair to inform that this DOES happen at that school as well. Regarding what sounds like shopping your kid around for which school to attend based on the football program leads me to believe your another one of these parents with a "super star" son who is obviously going to go D-1 some day if the coach dosen't screw him up. Good luck at De LaSalle (should your son be admitted), and enjoy the commute to Concord for 4 years on top of the tuition.
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Current Posts: 400
I've noticed your postings on here and have refrained from comment until now. I too will not get into the fan behavior as I have seen, in person, poorly behaved fans at virtually every school in the Bay Area; including DLS, Foothill, Amador, SR, CHS, MV, etc. No school is immune and to think so is naiveté at its best.
From your previous postings it seems you are quite enthralled with Valley Christian and you have clearly indicated your admiration of De La Salle and that's fine. What bothers me is that you seem solely focused on their football programs and not at all on their relative worth scholastically.
First, I have known Bob (and Tom) Ladouceur since they went to school with my brother and sister at San Ramon HS back in the 60's and 70's. As a HS coach myself, there is not another coach I respect or admire more than Bob. I have been coaching in Colorado since the 80's and have watched from afar as Bob has taken the DLS program from the cellar of the old C.A.L. to one of national prominence. I would not hesitate to have a son involved with Bob and the DLS program.
You made the comment that "... F-bombs and shaming kids (is) the norm at public (schools)..." Not only is this unture, but is insulting to those of us who coach at public schools. First,let me address the language issue you have raised. Does swearing occur in public schools? Of course it does. That said; your comment makes it sound as though coaches are curising like sailors when dealing with their kids. In my experience, this is patently false. Your comment that shaming kids is the the norm at public schools is also untrue. Most public school coaches do their best to instruct and teach the game to their players. again, there are those who have and do use other methods (shaming or disparaging kids). I submit to you that these coaches are an absolute minority and do not represent the "norm" in public schools.
Additionally, you wrote that; “…Coaching, motivating and praying (are) the norm at private…” I take issue with a couple of points here. First you insinuate that coaching and motivation only take place at private school (or by inference, rarely take place in public schools). As I wrote earlier, this is patently false. Finally, your reference to praying insinuates that certain language doesn’t happen at private or parochial schools. I would suggest that you pick up a copy of the DVD; ““1: The Story Behind the Longest Winning Streak in Football History”. This is a DVD documenting the 2002 Season at DLS. You will hear language exactly as you described (F-Bomb) uttered by coaches and players, including Coach Ladouceur himself. It’s certainly not every other word, but the words are used; probably about as often as they are at most public school games and practices (and remember, these are people on camera and likely on their very best behavior).
If you want to educate your children at a private school, that is your choice and I say go for it, if that’s what you want to do. But by making this choice, does it become necessary to then denigrate public schools? You mentioned the Amador and Foothill programs. I have met (don’t know) Rick Sira and having met him and knowing his reputation among the HS Coaching community, I can tell you he is highly regarded. I have known Matt Sweeney for over 20 years and can tell you that he is one of the most respected coaches around, not only in California, but nationally as well. As for your citing of the situation you claim occurred in last years’ Foothill/DLS game, I can only state that I am confident that if it did occur, 1) Sweeney knew nothing about it and 2) He handled it appropriately after the fact. Unfortunately, there are times when individual kids make poor choices, both on and off the field. Mind you, this happens at schools like DLS as well, but as a coach you do your best to teach kids right from wrong. It doesn’t always take right away, but in my experience, it usually sinks in (sometimes years after a kid has graduated).
Bottom line, if you choose to enroll your kids at a school like Valley Christian, that’s great! I would submit to you that there are two points which you have either missed or not stated. First, enroll your kids there because you believe they will get the very best education possible there; not because you think their athletic program is wonderful. Second, after having done so, rather that spending your time denigrating public schools, simply be satisfied that the choice you made was the right one for your kids. Standing on something to promote something else is NEVER the right thing to do.
Joined: Oct 2006
Current Posts: 336
10-06-09
Monte Vista has put together a long series of top football teams and this year looks like the year of the Mustang....this friday night at Monte Vista, we are going to see one of the most exciting games in some time....can the Mustang's stop DLS.... could be......In any case...this will be the game to see....But there are three more in the EBAL that all stand out and any game you go to...you will most likely will see some fireworks....
De La Salle Vs. Monte Vista.....MV 38...DLS 28.....Nottingham and gang put together enough team effort to stop the spartan's...
Foothill Vs. San Ramon Valley.....foothill 31...SRV 13...A angry foothill team comes out shooting after last weeks ambush by Granada
Amador Vs. granada.....Amador 28...granada 24....both teams are red hot and this could be any bodies game..
California Vs. Livermore.....Calif. 41..Livermore 12....The Cowboys got roughed up by MV last week and unfortnately it will happen again this week
Joined: Sep 2007
Current Posts: 21
I have to agree Bluedog2. After seeing Amador hang very tough and even have a lead in the 4th quarter, this game would seem to be the one for M.V. to beat DeLa. Having said that DeLa certainly "gets up" for big games as evidenced by losing by 1 in OT to Lakeland, FL. Amador exposed some weakness in pass defense for the Spartans that Nottingham should be able to exploit. His young recievers especially #3 (sorry I've forgotten his name), have really stepped it up.
M.V. 38 De LaSalle 31
Amador vs Granada may also be very interesting. Again Amador showed excellent team speed on both sides of the ball vs De La, but it looks like Atkinson 2 may be a better athlete/threat than anyone included the talented backs at De La. If AV can contain him, they've demonstrated thier ability to put points on the board in bunches. This game could come down to who has the ball last!
Amador Valley 35 Granada 28
I also agree that Foothill will come out on fire, and this looks like a down year for SRV.
Foothill 42 SRV 17
Cal should have not trouble handling Livermore. Davis may be close to 100% for the 1st time this season which should make Cal a threat every week for the rest of the year.
Cal 42 Livermore 14
Joined: Sep 2009
Current Posts: 9
Bluedog2.....Props on the DLS-MV prediction...you got the DLS score right on the money....Will be looking for next week's predictions.
Joined: Oct 2006
Current Posts: 336
10-09-09
Concrete17......boy did DLS shove that prediction down my throat.....The Ward show just ran over MV....MV looked real good until game time, then all hell broke loose...
Joined: Dec 2007
Current Posts: 12
You know that comment you made about money well spent is my sentiment exactly. I'm so glad we sent our son to a school that has decent morals as demonstrated by the players, coaches, and fans. We pray for hurt players even during the most heated contests, and teams who show poor sportsmanship and play. I'm not ashamed to say this because it's the way I was brought up and it exemplifies the "Spartan" De La Salle way. When the student body said the "Our Father" for the fallen Lakeland player two weeks ago, I think the commenting population and the Florida fans saw the true spirit of Carondelet and De La Salle students. It's just a pure shame that other public schools don't have this integrity many times. Go Spartans, beat MV.
Joined: Sep 2009
Current Posts: 9
Presently have family attending DLS and am very happy with the academic, athletic and spiritual education. The programs work very well for us but my take on school comparisons are much closer to epcthree's post than speedtrap's posts.
I can appreciate your enthusiasm. My son has thrived at the school but I think saying..."the true spirit of Carondelet and De La Salle students. It's just a pure shame that other public schools don't have this integrity many times"... is a bit much and insulting to friends and acquaintances who have their sons and daughters attending the publics. No matter what the approach to education no one system is going to corner the market on integrity......6 years at various high school functions around the Bay Area has demonstrated that.
bluedog...
Follow you predictions weekly...not sure, but believe your first two game predictions about the Spartans were wrong...hope that "bluedog the predictor" of games 1&2 shows up rather than "blue dog the predictor" of games 3&4. TO's. penalties and defense will set the tone.
Joined: Oct 2006
Current Posts: 336
10-7-09
Concrete17.......DLS has always had a better then tough defense....getting thru or around the line is one of the hardest things the the local high schools face. Monte Vista has to play two full half's if they hope to stop DLS and that means no turnovers and no foolish penalites. If they can do that, then the passing arm of Nottingham and the receivers will make the difference.....Who ever wins.....it will be a great victory......
Joined: Oct 2006
Current Posts: 336
10-08-09
Lets face it...when the spartans seem to be in trouble they find a way to over come it. Ward ran wild tonight and the mustangs couldn't do any thing about it......MV's defense still held DLS to 28 points, but they still lost.....So the best money is not to bet on DLS loosing......... DLS 28 MV21....
Joined: Sep 2008
Current Posts: 47
Spartans where in controll of this game where it counted: along the LOS. On both sides of the ball the Sparatans were too imposing for the mustangs. If not for penalties, DLS wins by 3 TD's- they need to clean that up big time.
MV is going to get beat by another EBAL team, if not two. A team like Cal HS with their physical running style will give MV problems. I was surprised Nottingham stared down his WR's so much- somebodys defense is going to take advantage of that and get some picks. I have been high on AV all year and they also might beat MV. The Stancil/Turray combo will run wild on that soft MV run defense.
Joined: Oct 2006
Current Posts: 336
10-09-09
JuniorPJ........I think you are right...ward's running showed that the Mustang's have a serious weakness for ground defense....Cal and Amador Valley have the resources with their running game to knock off Monte Vista......And what happened to Foothill???...That is two games in a row that Foothill gave up 30 plus points and loose...No body in the EBAL is really save when you consider the skill most of the teams have and DLS may have a rough time in the following games, but they won't loose...They proved that Friday night.......
Joined: Sep 2008
Current Posts: 47
Pass first teams like Foothill and MV have troubles against running/physical teams. If you practice much of the time passing- then your team has a tendency to be soft. Running the ball makes both sides of your team tougher. Foothill and MV need to realize this. They have fantastic passing offenses and will win games against teams who dont take it to them in the trenches. The physical teams will beat them tho.
Joined: Oct 2008
Current Posts: 81
In what was a very electric night with all the "Big Game" feel, the Mustangs and Spartans did played a very entertaining game. Nottingham is all that was advertised driving his team to three first half TDs. The Spartans were able to match the Mustangs with three scores of their own. The game came down to halftime adjustments. De La Salle's defense tightened up and the game was a wrap.
What ruined a perfect evening of football was Monte Vista's public address announcer. To say he was horrible would be the understatement of the year. I can't imagine how an administration could tolerate such an unprofessional display of extremely biased home town "bush league" announcing. He time after time urged the sell-out crowd to make some noise. He sounded more like a nagging spouse. I think that's why you have cheerleaders and pom pom girls. I would be so embarrassed to be associated with any part of Monte Vista athletics with such a jerk in the booth.
The only noise that was made was by Terron Ward (398 yds rushing) and the De La Salle defense who pitched a shutout to the high powered, high octane (46 pts per game) Monte Vista offense. DLS reamins the King of the EBAL!!
Joined: Sep 2007
Current Posts: 21
Interesting comments about the MV announcer The Voice. This subject has been brought up before as it seems this announcer has been doing this for several years at MV. Monte Vista defenders have posted the he is "an acquired taste". I agree with you 100%. I've not been to any other high school game where any other announcer even came close to this guy. In addition to your comments I'll add, his announcing seems to be as much about him as it does the game itself. High School football IMHO is about the players, not the announcer. Monte Vista administration don't seem to have a problem with this as he's been allowed to continue in this way year after year.
Joined: Oct 2008
Current Posts: 81
Regarding the MV announcer, there was no intention to bash or berate the guy in the booth but, like you said EBAL1 the guy makes it more about "him" than the game. Like I said when you'er constantly begging a croud to make noise you are taking away from the duties of the very talented spirt squads they have at Monte Vista.
The main objective of a public address announcer is to inform the public of the events on the field. Who ran the ball, who made the tackle and the down and distance ect. This guy crossed the line repeatedly.
Dave George the De La Salle announcer would probably have gotten fired for such antics. If the admistration allows these things to go on maybe someone should take a look at them.
Joined: Dec 2007
Current Posts: 12
Concrete 17, I'm sorry that I didn't make myself clear in my comments. I didn't mean to impune the integrity of all students of public schools and you are right that a lot of kids do have a good sense of integrity. I too have friends whose kids are very honorable and do the right thing.
I was referring to the manner in which our student bodies, DLS and CHS, conducted themselves and the empathy they showed during the Lakeland game specifically when their player, Tedward Hamilton, was injured and carried off in a stretcher. I was proud of the way they acted that night and have seen numerous incidents of this type of character, even when opposing teams didn't show that same spirit of sportsmanship on the field and off the field. The Lakeland parents and fans sitting in front of us even made that same observation.
Our boys at DLS are certainly not angels but, yes, I think, in general, they do try and maintain a higher standard, one that is set by their teachers, administrators, and peers alike. I am always gratified when our youth, be they from our schools or from others, act like ladies and gentlemen. Yeah, I guess I'm a bit prejudiced, but I do expect a higher standard from them.
Joined: Dec 2005
Current Posts: 1247
@porque,
i called the lakeland school 3 times, to find out how their inured player is doing. left messages with the principle and vice principle, but nobody called back.
I will keep my GUNS, my FREEDOM, my MONEY, you can keep the CHANGE
Joined: Dec 2007
Current Posts: 12
Berlin47112, My sentiments too on the bottom of your post. DLS is back and looking strong. I would like an accounting, if someone could manage it, of Terron Williams-Ward's tremendous rushing numbers, subtracting out the lost yardage due to penalties. I'll bet he would have had close to 500! Monte Vista sure looked good for about 5 minutes and then the Spartan spirit entered the fray and showed up to play! Monte Vista is really vulnerable to a strong rushing attack which is evident in the stats but it's not invincible in the passing attack either, also proven Friday night.
DLS must work on those penalties though. It is like taking a loaded 57 Magnum and putting to your right foot. It blows off the momentum/foot every time. I know they get off fast but are the calls really legit or is it just that they couldn't hear the count. The famous, according to the MV announcer, 12th man of MV might have some bearing on the poor showing in the penalty stats for DLS. I haven't seen the replay yet, can't find it on Comcast Channel On Demand, so if anyone out there from the forum has seen the slow motion replays, please let us know what was going on. Usually De La Salle lines are noted for their quickness and not for repeated costly penalties. I will bet Lad and company work on this all next week until they get it.
Joined: Sep 2007
Current Posts: 21
I just re-watched the game last night Porque (DVR not on demand). From my perspective what has happended is that the refs are insisting (I believe rightly so), that the 0line must "set" for at least 1 second after going into a 3 point stance. The line at times seems to get into a rhythm where this is no "pause" before the snap. It looked like the refs were pretty consistant in the way this was called vs MV IMO. But it is a "judgement call".
Joined: Sep 2009
Current Posts: 9
The game is being replayed tonight on ATT Uverse channel 767 CSC @ 7:00 ...not on demand.
Joined: Nov 2006
Current Posts: 400
Your observation is a correct one and it's something that DLS has done for years on the offensive line. What some may not know is that Coach Lad is the O-Line coach at DLS. He has taught what is refered to as a "rolling start" for years. Frankly, it's the key to the success at DLS. I know a number of officials who, after watching game film of DLS, have said that they would have trouble not throwing a flag on every down. Bottom line, this is a total judgment call by the officials and if they don't view it as a violation, then it's not a penalty. As long as it's not seen as a violation then DLS will continue to use it and be successful with it.
Joined: Aug 2008
Current Posts: 42
Amazing game tonite for AV - showed they belong with the big boys, esp after their play vs DLS. AV came up big in the end, esp in the OT, stopping UCLA-bound Nottingham in the OT, making MV go for the FG. Their miss sealed it - Nick Anderson nailed his on first down ...victory AV.
MV's rushing defense must improve - AV ran alot tonite - Turay must have been close to 175 yds, AV prob near 250-300 yds on the ground. They are vulnerable to a team that can run. N ottingham had some brilliant drives, and it looked like MV would snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat, but fumbled at the 1 on their way to the winning TD.
Joined: Sep 2007
Current Posts: 21
While Nottingham threw for alot of yards tonight, most were short dunk passes or middle screens that were big YAC plays. His one real nice throw of the night was a 35 yard TD pass to McGovern in the back corner of the end zone. M.V. seemed to have one really good drive and then would look out of sync. The no huddle offense did not look very organized at times.
I'll comment that the fumble at the end of regulation was a little bit of turn about is fair play. Earlier in the game Dalton Turay was held up trying to get more yards and had the ball stripped away. Same situation on Sullas's late run. His team was trying to push him into the end zone and that same Dalton Turay had the pressence of mind to strip the ball away.
Some heavy hitting in this game. Guys from both teams were banged up at different times this night. It dosen't get any easier for AV next week as the undefeated in EBAL play California Grizzlies come to AV next Friday night. Gotta love the EBAL!!
Joined: Sep 2008
Current Posts: 47
Notice a similarity with the teams at the top of the EBAL? physical running teams. DLS, Cal, AV (in that order) are the best running teams in the EBAL. The pass happy teams (Foothill, MV, SRV) are struggling. There is a good reason: pass first teams are soft. when you practice passing as much as these teams do- its makes your defense soft also.
AV/Cal is going to be a barn burner- what a great matchup that will be. AV's playmakers vs Cal's power.
DLS is hitting their stride and their passing game is starting to take shape- look out. they only surrendered 219 yds offense to SRV (6 rushing).