Full slate on tap for prep athlete's this weekend

From Moraga to Contra Costa College to Albany High the prep sports scene will take center stage Saturday. Let's start off in Moraga where the always entertaining Campolindo Shootout goes down once again where some of the best teams girls in the east bay will take the court in an all day hoops fest.

Host Campolindo, Miramonte (16-0), Dougherty Valley (9-7), St. Mary's (Berkeley) (9-4), Berkeley High (13-1) and Mission San Jose (15-1) will highlight an event which has become a must see event for basketball fans.

Berkeley High stepped away from ACCAL play to beat Lincoln (Stockton) and St. Ignatius last week. They get defending NorCal champs St. Mary's (Berkeley), but the Panthers will be without sophomore Gabby Green at Campo. Green is still out with an injured ankle.

Bishop O'Dowd will take on Sheldon (Sacramento) at Contra Costa College Saturday at 6pm. The game is a rematch of a 73-65 Sheldon win earlier this year. Sheldon is one of the best teams in the Sac Joaquin section and they could make some noise in the crowed division playoff field.

Albany High will play host to one of the top prep wrestling tournaments in the state this weekend's Albany Invitational. Top schools from all over Northern Cali will be on hand.

Newark Memorial, De La Salle, Foothill, McQueen (Reno, Nev.), Wood (Vacaville) and Kimball (Tracy) will be just a few of the outstanding teams that are sending wrestlers to Albany.

Prep cagers get set to for the "real" season to start

Traveling and playing in pre season tournaments can be a blast. You get to go places you might not have gone to without the sport. You can play against some of the best teams from around the country and see how you stack up against the best.

That is swell, but when it comes to what people will remember, there is nothing like winning your league title. For most schools that journey starts this week as leagues open up all over the bay area. From Bishop O'Dowd (who could be double trouble in D3) in Oakland, Salesian (Richmond, D4) to De La Salle (boys, D1) and Carondelet (girls, D2) across the street from each other in Concord, and Archbishop Mitty (boys San Jose, D2) the catholic schools appear to be the cream of the crop in high school basketball this year.

The biggest splash could come from the Bishop O'Dowd girls who looked primed to win the schools first state championship in girls basketball. A long time boys powerhouse, the girls at O'Dowd will not have to play second fiddle to the boys this year.

Lead by four Jr's and a tall, physical and talented front line, the O'Dowd girls will be a tough out when the D3 playoffs come around. Led by point guard Ariell Bostick the Lady Dragons took second place in the prestigious West Coast Jamboree's Platinum division losing to the top team in California and third ranked team in the nation Windward out of LA.

O'Dowd's front line stands 6'3" (Oderah Chidom), 6'3" (Breanna Brown) and 6'1" (K.C. waters). Most teams would be happy to have one player over six feet tall, but O'Dowd has three that start and they are all just Jrs.The O'Dowd girls are in a place they rarely occupy.

The top ranked team in the bay area, Carondelet is right behind them and they are being led by all everything guard hannah Hoffman, a 5'9" spark plug that will continue her career at Norte dame next year. First things first, and Hoffman will try and help Carondelet win a D2 state title this year.

Carondelet would have made it to the D1 state finals last season if it were not for the young ladies at Berkeley High. the Lady YellowJackets lost twice last season. Once to Carondelet in the West Coast Jamboree and in the state championships.

Gone from B-High is point guard Brittney Boyd (starting as a freshmen at Cal) and forward Chairese Culberson (leading San Diego st in rebounding as a true freshmen). What B-High still has is an ultra quick, but small team that plays five guards who have pressed there way to a 8-1 record.

There only loss was to Windward in the West Coast Jamboree. Berkeley High opened up ACCAL play with a not as close as it looked 51-40 victory over Alameda. Berkeley High outscored Alameda 26-11 in the second and third quarters before Alameda went on a 19-11 run in the 4th to make it look respectable.

Jasmine Guinn runs the show from the point while fellow guard Elisha Davis provides plenty of verb along side Guinn. Berkeley High might not lose again until they reach the playoffs. They were pushed by a good Terra Nova squad in the third place game of the West Coast Jamboree.

Terra Nova might not be on very many peoples maps, but do not sleep on them. They could very well represent the CCS in the D3 Norcal playoffs in a month and a half.

Berkeley has another team that should kick up a little dust. St. Mary's lost to Windward in the D4 state championships last year and that did not sit very well with the lady Panthers. They are almost all they way back and ready for another run at a state championship.

Led by a pair of sophomores (Gabby Green and  senior Shannon Mauldin) St. Mary's will be hard to beat this year. Gabby Green has not played this year due to a injured ankle, but she should return soon. The 6'1" Green has already made herself into one of the best players in the state.

On the boys side of things the De La Salle Spartans have that look of a title contender. Then again, it does not matter what De La Salle looks like, they always seem to be playing for a chance at a state title at the end of the season. The Spartans surprised more then a few people when they avenged a blowout at the hands of a deep and talented castro Valley team in the North Coast championship game by coming back to beat Castro valley with a berth in the state championships on the line.

The Spartans will be led by senior point guard Amadi Udenyi and Jr. wing Elliott Pitts. It remains to be seen who will step up and challenge De La when the D1 playoffs roll around. If the Spartans first EBAL league game of the 2012 season was any indication of how good they are the rest of NorCal better watch out.

De La Salle (10-1) beat 8-5 San Ramon Valley 66-28. Monte Vista was able to solve De La Salle slowdown game by beating the Spartans on their home court the first week of the EBAL season.

Salesian High out of Richmond has what most people think is the best player in the Bay (Jr. guard Jabari Bird) and they have started out 9-2. Bird is one just about everybodies recruiting list, but Salesian hopes he stays around for the next year and a half.

Salesian could have won two or three state championships in the past four years if they had not lost some many players that transferred. This year is no different with Oregon bound point guard Dominic Artis gone off to Findley Prep in Las Vegas for his senior year.

Artis had started for Salesian since his freshmen year when they won the D4 state championship on a team filled with freshmen and sophomores. Bird will have some help with Jr. guard Mario Dunn along side.

Berkeley High v San Leandro photo's click here Grant v Long Beach Poly photo's click here Skyline v Oakland High photo's click here Berkeley High v Marin Catholic photo's click here Valley Christian v Salesian photo's click here Fremont High v Oakland Tech photo's click here McClymonds v Salesian Photo's click here		2011 Silver Bowl Photo's click here
		De La Salle v Bishop Gorman 2010 photo's click here

McClymonds claims second straight Silver Bowl with win over Skyline

photo by Eric Taylor

The first team all City squad was on hand to watch McClymonds repeat as Silver Bowl Champion capping the 2011 OAL football season. Tied at 13 in the third quarter, the game turned on back to back series when Mack recovered fumbles on two screen passes turning them into 14-quick points on their way to a 33-19 victory More click here 2011 Silver Bowl Photo's click here

Campolindo keeps state hopes alive on the gridiron

It did not look good early for Campolindo in their game against Cardinal Newman in Santa Rosa. Down 21-0 in the second quarter Campolindo started the rally with two touchdowns in the final 28-seconds of the first half.

First Jamie Vega scored on a three yard run with 28-seconds left in the half. That touchdown was set up by a Gabe Samaniego interception of Cardinal Newman's QB Zach Rodriguez with just over two minutes left in the first half.

Newman decided to throw the ball again when they got the ball back and guess what ?. That's right, Campo picked the ball off again. This time J.J. Ewing got himself a pick that set up a 33-yard touchdown pass from Brett Stephens to Karl Thorton and just like that it was 21-14 Cardinal Newman at the half.

Campo went on a 35-3 run against the top ranked team in a very good division, NCS D3 and Cardinal Newman has themselves to blame.

As in four turnovers. Two interceptions and two fumbles. Campolindo turned the first three turnovers into 21pts to tie the game. It was 24-21 Cardinal Newman after Nico Hoene hit a 34-yard field goal late in the third quarter.

Campolindo score the last 14pts of the game to close it out. A win next week against either Encinal or Marin Catholic in the NCS D3 championship game and Campo could find themselves on their way to Carson to play for a championship.

Dublin get pounded by a good Windsor team 35-0

All good things must come to an end and the moment came for Dublin High in their D2 semi final game against #1 Windsor Friday night. It was so bad that a running clock was used in the fourth quarter after Windsor, which led 21-0 at half time, scored the first two times they had the ball in the second half.

Dublin could get nothing going on offense. Turnovers is what did in Dublin. Windsor's first two scores were off turnovers. It was a bad end to a good season for a Dublin team that turned a 3-7 record in 2010 into an 8-4 record this year.

Playoffs off and running in high school football

The playoffs are a whole new ball game, just ask Pittsburg High. the Pirates beat Antioch 38-20 the week before in their annual Little Big Game, but when the two teams meet in the first round of the D1 NCS Playoffs Pitt had a much tougher time beating Antioch.

In fact they had to come from behind to win 19-13 and advance to the second round where they will play Berkeley High, a team they lost to 41-40 this year. Pitt quarterback Malik Watson scored the winning touchdown on a two yard run early in the fourth quarter and Pitt's defense took it from there.

Antioch took a 14-13 lead in the third quarter when Troy Amate hit Jeremy Bittle on a 22-yard touchdown pass.

Concord High rides the back of Olito Thompson

Thompson set a single game Concord High record with 370-yards rushing and two touchdowns in Concord's 42-7 thrashing off Newark Memorial. Thompson had 280-yards before halftime as Concord High cruised to the victory.

Things will get tougher for Concord when they travel to Walnut Creek to face off against Las Lomas in round two of the D2 NCS playoffs. Uaisele Manoa added two touchdowns and Concord quarterback Wyatt Morrow threw a touchdown pass for Concord, now 8-3.

Miramonte 42 Tennyson 7

Miramonte quarterback Ross Anderson threw for 219-yards two touchdowns and ran for another pair to help Miramonte roll. The game marked the end of a good season for Tennyson (8-3). Miramonte will now travel to Alameda to challenge Encinal.

Both teams are 10-1 and the D3 playoffs might be the most competitive in the NCS this year. Marin Catholic (11-0), Cardinal Newman (11-0), Campolindo (11-0) are still playing.

Look for some real fireworks in the semi's in two weeks when a couple of teams will be putting there perfect records on the line with a chance to play in the state finals on the line.

Second season set to start as playoff match ups are set

There was a lot to play for during the last weekend of high school football. Several leagues still had not decided there regular season champion. No such case in the OAL and EBAL where McClymonds High (Oakland) and De La Salle had already put the trophy in the case.

McClymonds had close games against Oakland High (a 14-13 win) and Oakland Tech (a 20-10 win) to close out a perfect OAL season. De La Salle is the top seed in the D1 playoffs and looking to defend their state title.

Bishop O'Dowd closed out a perfect HAAL record with a 48-26 win over San Leandro Thursday night. O'Dowd struck early with a 66-yard touchdown pass on quarterback Dominic Miroglio's first pass of the game.

San Leandro's Stephen Johnson took the ensuing kick off 95-yards for a touchdown to tie the score at 7, but it was all O'Dowd after that. Miroglio would throw three more touchdowns in the first half to put the game away.

Berkeley High passed another test by thumping a good El Cerrito team 30-0 to complete a 6-0 ACCAL record winning the league. Rudolpho James rushed for 141-yards and two TD's helping Berkeley High to a 23-0 half time lead.

Concord High got 183-yards rushing and three touchdowns from the best back that you have not heard of in their 28-12 win over Northgate. That would be Olito Thompson who has had one of the best seasons in the area.

Northgate jumped out to a 12-0 lead before Olito and Co. got going.

Crunch time nears as teams find out just how good they are

Bishop O'Dowd takes control of the HAAL

It can be easy to get ahead of your self if you play sports. Win a couple of early season games and you think the rest will be easy. Several teams have had good pre league season, but now that league play is in full swing there have been a few reality checks on the prep gridiron.

Take last weeks Bishop O'Dowd v. Tennyson match up. It was Tennyson who came into the game riding high after a 5-0 start. Those five wins came against teams that are a combined 8-20-1. San Leandro (3-3) was the only team Tennyson beat that did not have a losing record.

There was a lot of trash talk over Facebook and Twitter leading up to the game, but it was O'Dowd who had the last word, blowing out Tennyson 44-19 in a game that was not that close. Tennyson has a decent team, but they need to keep their mouths, I mean key boards quiet and just play football.

Now it is O'Dowd who is sitting pretty, but with games left against Hayward and San Leandro left on the schedule there is plenty of football left before they can lay claim to another HAAL football title.

Miramonte slips past Las Lomas, rival Campo up next

One of the games of the year took place last weekend in Orinda when Miramonte held off Las Lomas in a battle of unbeaten's. Miramonte quarterback Ross Anderson put the team on his back and had a hand in each of Miramonte's five touchdowns in the 33-28 win.

Anderson capped his night with an eighty yard touchdown scamper to make the score 33-21 midway through the 4th quarter. Anderson, a 6-6, 220-pound senior, threw for 240-yards and four touchdowns helping off set a game effort by Las Lomas back up QB Adam Wood.

Wood, filling in for the injured Jackson Miller, threw for 352-yards and two late touchdowns, the last made it 33-28 with two minutes left in the game. When Miramonte recovered the ensuing onside kick they were on their way to a 7-0 start and 2-0 in the DFAL.

Now they will head three miles up the road to take on a 7-0 Campolindo squad that is fresh off a 42-13 beat down of Dublin. The winner of that game will have the inside track to a league title and it is a game that you can throw out the records. If you are going you might want to get there early to find a seat.

Cal High loses for first time in 2011, fall to San Ramon Valley 42-38

San Ramon Valley quarterback Zack Kline teamed up with wide receiver Patrick Worstell to beat California High 42-38 to knock Cal High from the ranks of the un beaten last Friday night. Kline, a Cal commit, passed for 337-yards and five touchdowns.

Worstell was on the receiving end of more then a few of those throws, catching seven passes for 179-yards and three touchdowns. Kline scored the winning touchdown with a one yard run with just under three minutes left in the game.

The loss by Cal High tightens up the race for second place behind De La Salle in the EBAL standings. Armani Washington did what he could to keep Cal High from losing. Washington ran for three touchdowns and had a 88-yard touchdown run called back due to a holding call.

Valley Christian (Dublin) season is on the line

They have started out the 2011 season 6-0 and are fresh off a 71-42 pasting of a 5-1 California School for Deaf team last week, but the games due not get any bigger for Valley Christian then the next two weeks.

First they will head north on 680 to take on Berean Christian (Walnut Creek, 4-2) before heading out to Richmond the following week to play league bully Salesian (6-0). These next two weeks will decide the winner of the Bay Football League.

If Valley Christian came get by both of those teams and make a run to a NCS D5 title they could find themselves down in Carson playing for a CIF small schools title come December. First things first, they must get past a game Berean Christian squad that is always tough to beat in league play.

Old friends catch up with each other as leagues open play all over the Bay Area

Tennyson steps ups and beats San Leandro

San leandro opened the season by pounding Berkeley High at home. It looked like the 2011 season was going to be a good one. San leandro has not won since. After getting pounded by Bellermine (San Jose) and James Logan (Union City) San leandro was hoping to get the 2011 HAAL season off to a good start.

Tennyson, on the other hand, was looking to beat San Leandro for the first time since 1994. It was Tennyson who got the victory, beating San Leandro 31-21. The lancers are now 4-0, 1-0 in the HAAL while San Leandro fell to 1-3, 0-1 in the HAAL.

Alson Paxton Jr. made the most of his five pass receptions, burning the San Leandro defense for 186-yards and two touchdowns. Tennyson QB Pablo Magallanes threw three Td's, ran for another score and found time to kick a 23-yard field goal that put the game out of reach.

San Leandro outstanding freshmen quarterback, Stephen Johnson, raced 99-yards for a touchdown that made the final score 31-21 with seven minutes left in the game.

Hayward High blasts cross town rival Mt Eden

Hayward got their 2011 HAAL season off to a flying start with a 50-0 pounding of Mt. Eden. Hayward (2-2, 1-0) did not waste much time getting into the swing of things. Kyle Foote returned the opening kickoff 90-yards for a touchdown and a quick 7-0 farmers led.

It was all bad for Mt. Eden the rest of the way. Mt. Eden fumbled the first time they had the ball and Hayward scooped it up at the Mt. eden 7-yard line. Austin Adams scored three plays later to make it 14-0 Hayward. The farmers would score four touchdowns in the first quarter and the rout was on.

Bishop O'Dowd breezes past Castro Valley 36-17

Daniel Jones rushed for 148-yards and two touchdowns helping to lead Bishop O'Dowd to an easy win over Castro Valley in both teams 2011 HAAL league opener. Castro Valley (0-3, 0-1 HAAL) held tough for a while and it was 10-10 at halftime.

The O'Dowd passing game took over in the second half. Dragons QB Dominic Miroglio connected with wide receiver Terrance Daniel for two touchdown passes, the second made it 23-10 O'Dowd in the third quarter.

Nick Lima had 127-yard receiving for Castro Valley in the loss.

Encinal's Banks jump starts rout over Piedmont

Tied at 6 in the third quarter, Encinal needed somebody to step up and make a play. Senior leader Bo Banks made two plays and the Jets zoomed off to a 40-6 victory. Piedmont held tough, stopping the Jets on fourth and goal from the three, but one play later Banks returned and interception for a touchdown.

Banks was not finished and when Piedmont got the ball back they moved into Encinal territory before banks stepped in front of a Eric Huppert pass and returned it 77-yards for a touchdown and just like that a 10-10 score was 23-10 Encinal in the space of a minute.

Banks would score again, this time on a 25-yard pass for quarterback Andrew Ve'e and Piedmont (1-3, 0-1 BSAL) was finished.

Concord running game too much for Heritage

A lot can be done in just five games. Just ask anybody that Concord High has played so far this season. Stopping Concord's tailback Olito Thompson has been next to impossible. In just five games Thompson has gone over the 1,000-yard mark.

In his latest effort, his 260-yards on just 21-carries (and three touchdowns) helped Concord High beat Heritage 24-19 in one of the games of the week. It was the fourth time Thompson has rushed for more then 200-yards in a game already this season.

De La Salle gets beat in Florida, Berkeley High shocks Pittsburg in OT

It is not often that a De La Salle football team gets held to under 10pts in a half, let alone a game, but that is what happened to the Spartans when they travel over 3,000 miles to face off against St. Thomas Aquinas, the number 2 team in the nation took advantage of four De La salle turnovers to win going away, 30-6.

The Only Spartan touchdown came on a trick play right before the half.

Andrew Buckley threw a wide receiver option pass to a wide open Anthony Williams to make it 14-6 St. Thomas at the half. That was as close as De La would get. two of the Spartans four lost fumbles turned directly into St. Thomas touchdowns.

The Spartans moved the ball well, but after forcing a three and out the first time St. Thomas had the ball in the second half, De La quarterback Bart Houston fumbled at his own 48 when De La salle got the ball back and St. Thomas was in the end zone a short time later and the Spartans were in a 17-6 hole they could not climb out of.

This was De La salle's last loss since Lakeland (Florida) beat the back in 2009 out in Concord.

Berkeley High gets the best of Pittsburg 41-40 in double OT

You just never know about a team. After Berkeley High was drubbed by San leandro in the first game of the 2011 season many people wrote off the Yellowjackets 2011 season. Losses to Lincoln (Stockton) and Marin Catholic had Berkeley facing the #3 team in the East Bay with an 0-3 record.

Berkeley had been playing without their best running back, Rudulpho James, who hurt his shoulder against san Leandro. The Yellowjackets have played better in each game since losing to San Leandro. They had a chance to beat Marin Catholic.

Against Pittsburg, Berkeley fell behind 20-6 at the half, but things changed when Rudulpho was able to lobby his way into the game. After not playing since week one, james took it out on Pittsburg finishing the game with 140-yards rushing and three touchdowns. James also scored the game winning, two point conversion.

That helped off set Malik Watson's 216-yards passing and three TD's through the air. Heading into the game against Berkeley High Pittsburg had only given up 21pts and were 3-0, outscoring their opponents 94-21.

Alameda pushes Encinal to the brink in the Island Bowl

It has not been much of a game the past few years. Encinal has put half of the sold out crowd at the annual Island Bowl, a battle of the two football teams in Alameda, to sleep with easy routs of the =their cross town rivals.

Not this year. Alameda did not not go out without as fight as they put the rivalry back into the island Bowl losing 45-41. Alameda was holding it's own against Encinal until the Jets special teams got Encinal going.

They blocked Alameda punts on two straight possessions and they turned them into 14pts and more importantly a 21-14 Jets lead. Two long pass plays gave Alameda a 14-7. Alameda quarterback Antonio Manibusan hit Andrew Cooper on a 43-yard touchdown strike and Zac Alfer's from 53-yards out to make it a 14-7 Alameda advantage.

The Jets scored the final 17pts of the first half to take a lead they would never give up.

Alameda did not give up either, making it 31-28 Encinal after Manibusan hit Keelan Doss (39-yard touchdown pass) and Alfer's on a 27-yard touchdown pass late in third quarter. Manibusan passed for 376-yards, four touchdowns in the game. he also ran for another score.

McClymonds (Oakland)

Mother Nature lights up Friday night

It is not often that games get cancelled because of weather in California. If you went to a game in east or South Bay last weekend there was a good chance to had your game postponed due to lightning strikes. James Logan had to wait until Monday to finish their 41-14 win over San Leandro.

There was a lot of action on the field last weekend. Antioch got past Clayton Valley 29-23 in an overtime thriller. Skyline High (Oakland) went toe to toe with Acalanes before losing 28-21 on the road. Acalanes was coming off a 49-0 beat down of Ygnacio Valley in their first game of the 2011 season.

Skyline was playing their first of 2011 against Acalanes and it keep it close is a good sign for Skyline. The rest of the OAL had a mixed weekend on the football field. Castlemont got a win on their record because St. Elizabeth could not field a team, but they lost to Pittsburg High 42-0 on the same day.

How ?

Pittsburg's game against Jefferson (Daly City) was cancelled when a host of Jefferson players got suspended for fighting in their first game of the season. Both Castlemont and Pittsburg had open dates and they agreed to play.

Oakland got Tech ventured out to San Francisco and beat Balboa 26-21 while Oakland High took a trip out to Tracy only to lose to Millennium 33-14. Fremont High had a bye.

Amador valley and Concord played a tight ball game with Amador notching a 14-12 win. Valley Christian (Dublin) and Dougherty Valley (Dublin) are both new schools and they sit just a few blocks apart. The budding rivalry went Valley Christian's way this time 14-9 in a defensive struggle.

Serra (San Mateo) had perhaps the most surprising score against Monte Vista (Danville). The Padres pounded what was thought to be a decent Monte Vista squad 54-13. I can't even remember De La Salle beating Monte Vista like that.

Serra will head over to Alameda and Play Encinal Friday night. The Jets are coming off a 27-0 whitewashing of Hayward High and they believe they can play with the bigger Serra team. It could be one of the games of the week.

Grant High gets their 2011 season off to a good start by beating defending D2 state champion Folsom High 43-16 Photo's click here

Long Beach Poly holds off Grant 24-23

Grant kept fighting to the end, when an extra point was block that would have tied the game at 24 wit just over five minutes left in the contest, Long Beach Poly came away with a 24-23 triumph in the final game of the Smack Down in Sac Town.

It was not a banner day for the top ranked teams in the Sac - Joaquin section. Top ranked Pleasant Grove was up ended by Lincoln (Stockton) 50-49 in overtime and Del Oro was beaten by Westlake (Westlake Village, LA) 30-27, also in OT. For more go to the Sacramento Bee

Grant v Long Beach Poly photo's click here

De La Salle keeps NorCal streak alive

One of these days a team from the WCAL is going to beat De La Salle. The Spartans have not to a Northern Cali team in 212 games, but it is not because nobody has tried.

St. Francis,. Serra and now Bellermine (all from the WCAL) have all pushed De La Salle to the edge. St. Francis tied De La 14-all on year and they played them tough two other times. De La got lucky to beat Serra two years ago.

Now Bellermine took their shot against De La Salle, and came up just short, I mean wide left. The Spartans needed two overtimes to beat the Bells 26-23 in front of a packed house in Concord. De La Salle had to sweat this one out.

They trailed 7-0 at the half, gave up a late touchdown as Bellermine came from behind to tie the score at 14 and force overtime before missing an extra point that would have given the victory to the Bells in the first OT.

De La got the ball to start overtime, scored a touchdown, but missed the extra point, leaving the door open for Bellermine. The Bells seemed to walk right trough, scoring a touchdown of their own in OT, but as luck would have it, missed their extra point the same way De La did.Wide left.

The Spartans held Bellermine to a field goal in the second overtime and they finished things with a one yard sneak by quarterback Bart Houston. After a listless half that saw them get out gained 144 yards to 49, the Spartans got their season jump started with a 90-yard punt return by Anthony Williams in the third quarter.

Houston hit Williams with a 69-yard touchdown pass and catch that put De La up 14-7 and everything look like it was back in order for the Spartans. The Bells would tie the score on a one yard run by Bells QB Travis McHugh with just over two minutes left in the game to send it to OT.

And the excitement was just getting started.

James Logan 41 Arroyo 0

James Logan rushed for 267-yards with Jr. Warren Miles leading the way with 136-yards on the ground in their 41-0 trashing of Arroyo in both teams season opener. The Colts jumped out to a 21-0 first quarter lead and never looked back.

Miles scored three times in the first quarter and the Colts defense was all over the field, forcing five turnovers and holding Arroyo to just 96-yards of total offense. Next up for James Logan is a San Leandro squad fresh off a 34-14 beat down of Berkeley High.

San Leandro 34 Berkeley High 14

The stands were packed on the home side and San Leandro rode a mistake prone Berkeley High team to an easy victory. Berkeley High got the opening kickoff and new quarterback Xavier Williams threw an interception on the Yellowjackets first play of the season.

Berkeley High v. San Leandro Photo's click here

San Leandro jumped on that mistake by going ahead 7-0 when freshmen quarterback Stephen Johnson hit tailback David Vilingia on a short swing pass and Vilingia did the rest. When David was finished running past and around a couple of Berkeley High defenders he had himself a highlight reel 43-yard touchdown.

The play came on 4 and 1 and Berkeley High was never in the game the rest of the way.

Monte Vista 41 Castro Valley 27

Castro Valley came into their game at Monte Vista with nothing to lose. Monte Vista wanted to get off to a good start with Oregon bound quarterback Jeff Lockie. It took awhile, but Lockie put his Mustangs on his back, throwing five touchdown passes to lead Monte Vista to a 41-27 win.

It was 10-6 Castro Valley midway through the second quarter before Lockie got his show on the road. Five touchdown passes and many of his game high 357-yards later the Mustangs had a win in the bag. A 12-yard TD pass to Dan Scritchfield gave Monte Vista a 13-10 lead and they would not look back.

Scritchfield caught nine passes for 11-yards and three touchdowns. Castro Valley got a great performance from running back Jessie Sellers. Sellers cord on touchdown runs of 40 and 67-yards and he finished the game with 135-yards rushing.

Football set to jump off as teams across the state look to end season in LA

The De la Salle Spartans have started practice and they are looking to improve on the state championship season from a year ago. It would be hard to match what they did in 2011.

De La opens with Bellermine, St. Mary’s {Stockton} and Aquinas {Fort Lauderdale, Fl). Only the Bellermine game is at home. The combined record of the three teams De La plays to open the 2011 season was 35-5 in 2010.

Aquinas, won the Florida state championships last year with a 15-0 record. That could be De La’s toughest game of the season.

We will have to wait and see if anybody will be able to step up and challenge De La Salle this year in the bay area.

We are one year away from having an extra game added on to the end of the section playoffs in the hope that the best two teams in both the north and south have a chance to play each other for the right to go to the CIF State Championships. As it is now the two state finalists are chosen by a panel.

That has left many teams left out in the cold. It is never going to be perfect. They are too many teams and not enough time for all the games, but that extra game at the end will give fans a chance to see De La sale against the best big school from the Sacramento area.

The past few years Grant High, Grass Valley (in Nevada Union) and last year Folsom High would have given De La a run for there money. Bellermine and Palo Alto might have had something to say as well.

Palo Alto High is also looking to keep things rolling. They are fresh off a 14-0 season of their own that ended with a hard fought 15-13 victory over Centennial (Corona, Ca.) in the D1 state championship game down in Carson last December.

Paly will host San Benito to open up the season before taking on Archbishop Mitty at Foothill College 9/16 in a rematch of last year’s first round CCS playoff game that Palo Alto survived 13-10.

Speaking off the Sacramento area, Grant will entertain Long Beach Poly at home Sept. 3^rd as part of the California Classic featuring teams from all over the state. A win over Poly will jump start Grant’s season in a big way.

Berkeley High is looking to keep their momentum going in the right direction, opening with a tough schedule before league play starts.  They open with a road game at San Leandro.

Berkeley High hits the road to play at Lincoln (Stockton) who was 8-4 last year before entertaining Marin Catholic (12-1 last year) and an always tough Pittsburg team in week 3.

Berkeley knocked off James Logan in the first round of last years NCS playoffs before getting beat 35-7 by Cal High out of Danville. Berkeley High has won two playoff games in the past 15-years and those wins came in the past three.

Head coach Fred Sims has the numbers to compete with the big boys and now it is up to the coaching staff to get the most out of what they have. Sims has won small school championships at St. Elizabeth (Oakland) in the past.

	Meet of Champions 5/20/2011 - Some of the best prep track and field athletes in Northern California competed at the 2011 Meet of Champions at Cal's Edwards Stadium. The meet featured athletes that were one step away from a trip to the CIF state championships in Fresno. PHOTO'S CLICK HERE

Playoff picture clears up a little

Folsom High's upset of top ranked Grant High out of Sacramento has got the ball rolling for several teams looking to play for a state title. Folsom is now in the drivers seat for a D2 bid for state.

That win was not good news for Concord, McClymonds or Rancho Cotate who all have the credentials to stake a claim for the D2 bid, but they do not have the big win over a nationally ranked team that Folsom has.

Grant was top ten in the country in several polls but ran into a hit Folsom team without two of their best players up to speed.

Grant had no running game against a tough Folsom D, while giving up a season high 41pts in their Sac - Joaquin D2 final.

Encinal in Alameda turned the same trick in the NCS D3 Playoffs when they knocked off the top ranked Marin Catholic 20-15 up in Marin last week.

Encinal is highly ranked in Northern California D3 and if they can knock off two time state finalist Cardinal Newman Dec they can start dreaming of a place in the CIF state Championships down in Carson Dec. 18th - 19th.

McClymonds got the short end of the stick after they got classified as a D2 team. Mack has well under 500 kids and could easily play for a small school title if they were in the small school division.

Instead they will go up against the Folsom's and Concord Highs of the world for a bid to state. Folsom pretty much locked down the D2 bid with their win against Grant last week.

De La Salle is looking like a strong bet to play for an Open Championship if hey can get past California High, one of two teams to give De La Salle a game this year.

De La beat Cal High 31-17 during the regular season holding Cal High 23pts under their scoring average this season. Cal High will have to score around 40pts, which is what they averaged against anybody except De la Salle for a chance to win the game.

The winner of this game is going to state.

Palo Alto High 13-0, could get back down to the Home Depot Center, site of the state championships, for a second time after knocking off Valley Christian 21-14 in the Open Division of the CCS Section last week.

Several teams have a CIF state bid on the line tonight

From San Jose to Sacramento the hopes and dreams of a couple of very good football teams will come down to section finals tonight Up in Sacramento Grant High will try and topple high scoring Folsom and capture Sac Joaquin D2 title.

Folsom is 12-1 averring over 52pts a game and have put up under 49pts only twice this season. One of those times was the first game of the season when Grant beat them 49-14.

Grant, on the other hand, has had a few close games mixed in with several blowouts. Last week Grant out lasted a game St. Mary's (Stockton team) 20-11 in the semi's.

Who ever wins this game is a good bet to play for a state title in two weeks.

The game is at Sacramento St. and it starts at 7pm.

Down in San Jose Valley Christian will take on Palo Alto in the Open Division of the CCS Section at San Jose City College. Valley Christian has a state bid waiting for them if they get past a good Palo Alto team.

Palo Alto has already played down at state and a win would go a long ways toward them getting back down to Carson in to weeks. Game time for both games in 7pm.

Second round set for CIF football teams

It has gone as planned in the first round of the playoffs in high school football around california. Most of the higher seeds won their first round game. That has set up a couple of big games in round two.

In the Central Coast section two former CIF state finalist square off against each other when Palo Alto and Bellermine play at San Jose City College Nov. 26th at 7pm in one half of the Open championships in the CCS.

Valley Christian, the bay area's second best team behind De la salle, will take on Palma out of Salinas in the other half of the bracket. VC got past a game Serra squad without suspended tailback Byron Marshall 31-20 in the first round.

One team making a few waves in Granada (Livermore). They knocked off Freedom in the first round of the playoffs and they now get to host College Park in round two.

It has been a long time since Granada has had to chance to advance to the final four, but if the Akinson twins can get get into space and stretch the field look for Granada to move on where De La Salle should be waiting for them.

The top ranked Spartans host Heritage Nov. 26th at 7pm. De La salle has rolled through the season. They had two hard games this year. Bishop Gorman and EBAL foe California gave De La a run for there money but other then that it has been business as usual.

De La has trailed only once this year and that was against Bishop Gorman. The Spartans are trying to get there first perfect season since 2007.

Speaking of Cal High, they host a Berkeley High team coming off a good defense effort in their 23-6 win at James Logan last week.

The Yellow Jackets shut down a pretty good pair of running backs and their D will have to be on point to beat the high scoring Grizzles Friday night.

Cal High averages 44pts a game and they scored 40 a game in the EBAL while only allowing 11 in the league play, they score a lot of points in that league, and just 10pts a game overall.

Berkeley High has similar numbers putting up 35pts a game while only allowing 8pts a game, including 3pts a game in the ACCAL, the Berkeley's league is nowhere near the quality of Cal Highs league.

Berkeley did only give up six against James Logan so maybe there is something there.

Washington out of the MVAL and Fremont heads up I-80 to face off against ACCAL champion Pinole valley in what should be an entertaining second round game in the NCS D2.

The cream is starting to rise to the top

Teams are starting to line them selves up for the post season. One such team, Antioch's Deer Valley, can put away a long time rival if they can beat Pittsburgh Friday night.

Pitt is 0-5 and they need a win in the worst way. THere is nothing like a big game to get you going. If Pitt can win this one a league title could be in the works.

Look for Deer Valley to pull it out.

One team rooting for Pitt is McClymonds out of Oakland. The Warriors are ranked high in the D5 NorCal rankings and they own a victory over Pitt.

The better Pitt does the better it is for Mack. Mack heads into OAL play against Oakland High after a bye week. After O-High the game of the year in the OAL could be when McClymonds plays Fremont.

Bellermine and Valley Christian, both 5-0, are heading for a showdown Oct. 22nd at Valley Christian. The Bells got another great game from tailback/DB Kristoffer Olugbode in Bellermine's 28-14 win over St. Francis.

Olugbode rushed for 122-yards and on touchdown. He also picked off two passes on defense.

Galileo made huge strides last year when they came out of nowhere to win the Turkey Bowl and the San Francisco City Championships. They are a good bet to repeat and if they can get anymore games like the one tailback Quincy Nelson had against Balboa last week look for them to be playing at Kezar come Thanksgiving Day.

Nelson rushed for 349-yards and six touchdowns on 28-carries in Galileo's 56-33 win. That is the second most yards in game game in San Francisco City history.

Only Lincoln's David Henderson has had a better game by a running back from San Francisco. Henderson, a 2008 graduate, churned out 411-yards against Balboa back in 2006.

The De Anza league picture will become a lot clearer after this Friday when Los Gatos host Palo Alto at 7pm. Both teams are a perfect 2-0 in league play so far.

Don't look for much scoring. Each team gives up just 10pts a game.

There are a couple of quarterbacks that are tearing it up out in the East Bay. Concord's Ricky Lloyd and Miramonte's Jr. signal caller Ross Anderson have been just about un stoppable this season.

Anderson has been a big reason why Miramonte has gotten off to a 6-0 start. The 6'6" Anderson has drawn comparison's to Nevada's 6'6" QB Colin Kaepernick, a running and throwing threat.

Ross has already rushed for 900-yards, passed for 723-yards and has accounted for 19-touchdowns. Miramonte takes on 1-4, but always tough in league Los Lomas Friday night.

Concord High only has 25 players on the team. They play against teams with twice as many players, but it does not matter. Behind the strong arm of Ricky Lloyd, Concord High has jumped out to a 4-1 start and they are a game behind Northgate in the DVAL.

Lloyd leads the bay area with 1,711-yards, touchdown passes, 22, and completions, 130 through the first five games. Lloyd has completed 67% of his passes while only throwing three interceptions.

Ricky is doing all of this under the preseason pressure of being labeled the best QB in the area.

Watch out for Mack
By Eric Taylor

9/27/2010 - They have beaten two divisional powerhouses in the first two weeks of the season and the McClymonds Warriors are off and running in the 2010 football season.

Few expected Mack to beat Pittsburg on the road. This is a Pitt team that is in Division 1 of the CIF while Mack would qualify in the school school division.

This was a game that people saw on the schedule and wondered why is Mack going out to play at Pitt where they will get blown out by the bigger program.

Not so fast. McClymonds got a late touchdown to come out on top 26-21 at Pitt.

McClymonds has one more test before the start of play in the OAL.The Warriors head over to Richmond to play Salesian Oct. 2nd at 1:30pm. A victory over Salesian will set up Mack for a perfect season.

The OAL does not look strong top to bottom, but there is always somebody waiting for you when league season starts. Right now the defending Silver Bowl champion Fremont Tigers and Oakland Tech appear ready to challenge Mack for the title in the OAL this year.

Granada High out in Livermore has been racking up some big numbers behind the play of senior George Atkinson 111 and his brother Josh. Granada is 3-0 after dusting Castro Valley 41-16 last Friday.

George touched the ball five times on offense, all rushing attempts. He scored three touchdowns and had 206-yards rushing. george scored his three touchdowns in the first 90-seconds of the game.

Granada's first real test will come this Friday night when they take on 3-0 San Ramon Valley in the EBAL opener for both.

San Ramon Valley is led by Cal bound quarterback Zach Kline and they are fresh off a 55-8 pasting of a decent, but 0-4 Washington (Fremont) team.

Heritage continued their strong start to the 2010 season with a 24-12 win over James Logan. Heritage is now 4-0 and moving up the charts in the east Bay rankings.

They look like the main threat to knock Deer Valley off the top of the DVAL mountain with Pittsburg reeling at 0-4. Heritage is far and away the highest scoring team in the league.

They average 41pts a game, 15 more then Deer valley who have been putting up 26pts a game. Heritage has four wins over teams who were a combined 31-17 last year.

Berkeley High will travel out to Pinole Valley to play what amounts to a title game in both teams ACCAL league opener. Pinole Valley beat Berkeley last year to take the title.

A loss to Pinole Valley and Berkeley High could be on the outside looking in when the NCS Playoffs come around. Berkeley High is the only D1 team in the ACCAL and with their losses to Freedom and Marin Catholic on their record nothing less hen a regular season title could keep Berkeley High out of the playoffs.

For a recap of week fours top performers in the east bay click here
Insidebayarea.com Posted 9.27.2010

Week one saw a few surprises on the prep gridiron

We all knew De La Salle had it in them. Blowing teams out is the thing to do if you are a Spartan. The way De La Salle handled a good Serra team 45-7 Saturday, on the road is not a good sign for the rest of the East bay.

De La Salle v Serra photo's click here

The running game was at it's usual best, grinding out 395-yards and five of the six touchdowns De La Salle scored. As impressive as their offense was it might take a back seat to their defense.

They gave up 12-yards on Serra's second play of the game. After that it was lights out for the Serra offense. Serra only had 24-yards passing in the game and much of the 241-yards rushing came on a 70-yard touchdown gaunt by Erich Wilson late in the fourth quarter.

Richmond High got a big season opening 31-0 win over Marshall. True Marshall is not among the best teams out there, but the way Richmond won is impressive and maybe the once good, but long struggling team is starting to turn things around.

Concord High got 349-passing yards from their quarterback Ricky Lloyd, perhaps the best QB in the bay this year, but still lost 42-40 to Whitney-Rocklin Saturday.

Lloyd hooked up with Brandon Pham with 1:43 left in the game to make it 42-40, but the two point conversion try was intercepted in the end zone and that was that.

St. Patrick's/ St. Vincent out lasted a game Salesian team on the road 33-27 when a last second, fourth down pass was just to long for Salesian's Nick Marchini to catch in the end zone.

This game was back and forth all day. Naji Patrick scored from nine yards out early in the third quarter to make it 21-7 St. Pat's. Salesian came right back.

Ikaika Woolsey hit David Mize on a 16-yard touchdown strike and Aaron Prier followed that up with a 11-yard run the next time Salesian had the ball and it was 21-20 St. Pat's.

St. Pat's got tricky after taking a 27-20 lead with five minutes left in the game. They came with and recovered an onside kick. Julian Pilate scooted in from four yards out with two minutes left in the game and it was 33-20 St. Pat's.

Salesian came right back with a 50-yard scoring pass of their own and to make it 33-27. St. pat's fumbled when they got the ball back setting up Salesian's last ditch effort to win the game.

That was not the closes game of the day. that would go to Kennedy (Fremont) beating Balboa (San Francisco) 28-26 when Robert Nagel stopped Balboa's Greg warren at the goal line on a two point try with 50-seconds left in the game.

Bellermine showed they are for real by man handling a decent San Leandro team 38-7 in San Jose Friday night in both teams season openers.

The Bells Kristoffer Olugbode broke loose for a 83-yard touchdown on the games opening kickoff and the rout was on. It was 31-0 before San Leandro put some points on the board.

Berkeley High scored four touchdowns in the first quarter and the game was over before much of the large crowd made their way into the stands at Oakland High.

Head coach Fred Sims came over from St. Elizabeth were he spent ten years, won two D5 NCS Championships and never had more then 30 players on his team at one time. Or so it seemed.

Berkeley High v Oakland High photo's click here

Not a problem at Berkeley High were coach Sims has an offense and defense to go along with special teams.No two or three way playing on this team unless you are that good.

It will be interesting to see what coach Sims can do with some players at his side. Next up is a Freedom team that gave up just seven points but lost to Amador Valley 7-0 in their first game of the 2010 season.

It was a good opening weekend for the very top heavy ACCAL. The league went five and two to start the 2010 season. Only El Cerrito and De Anza lost the first weekend.

Alameda held it down for the ACCAL by downing Newark Memorial 20-19. Pinole Valley shutout Irvington (Fremont) 27-0, Hercules beat up on Burton (San Francisco) 26-0 to give the league three shutout victories in one week.

The ACCAL has a ways to go before it becomes one of the best leagues in the Bay. Right now EBAL and the WCAL are by far the best in the bay area.

Cagers settle things in Bakersfield

Legends were made and dreams got shattered at the 2010 basketball championships out in Bakersfield, Ca over the weekend. Two teams, St. Mary's (Stockton, girls) and Westchester of LA (boys) repeated as champions.

St. Mary's put themselves at the top of the national polls this season and they proved it by dominating a very good Bishop Amat team 89-41 in the D3 final.

Bishop Amat is a team that is used to winning state championships and after getting out of the always ruff and rugged Southern California section Bishop Amat figured they had a chance.

Not so.

Westchester took off on Newark Memorial in the D1 final making 56% of their field goals in the final. Newark is one of the best defensive teams in the state, but when you are blessed with players like Jordin Mayes, Kareem Jamar and Dwayne Polee that Westchester was blessed with any team will have a hard time stopping them.

Westchester showed why they are the best team in Cali and in the top ten in the nation.

The Bishop O'Dowd Dragons will have to keep waiting for another state championship after falling 63-59 in overtime to Serra (Gardenia). O'Dowd last won state in 1981, but they have been back to the state championships five times since.

It has been quite a year for Serra who also won the D3 state football championships this year. The school became the first to win a football and basketball state championship ever and they did it in the same year.

St. Mary's High School in Berkeley, Ca. headed into the state championships trying to come away with a sweep in the boys and girls side in D4. They were the only school in the state to do that, but it did not go well for either of them.

The boys lost 58-44 to a very talented Price team from Los Angeles while the girls got beat 58-43 by Harvard from Westlake Village. The final scores were just about as close as the seasons the two teams had And they played in back to back games at state on Friday.

Pinewood from Los Altos Hills was able to knock off St. Anthony's of Long Beach 62-44 in the D5 girls final for their second state championships. Branson (Ross) just missed out on their fifth D5 state title, losing 35-32 to Lutheran out of La Verne.

Oak Ridge from El Dorado Hills raised a couple of eye brows by beating Long Beach Poly 55-42 in the D1 girls final to win their first state championship.

Lincoln of san Diego also won their first state title, whipping St. Francis of Mountain View 74-59 in the D2 boys final. The Mater Dei girls also got over the hump with a 58-43 victory over Carondelet in the D2 girls final.

You can make a case for who is the best team in the nation on both the boys and girls side.

Too bad there is no way a national championship could be held. It is not too much basketball for the youngsters. Most of them are heading off to their summer league teams the week after the high school season is over.

The money and the travel with all of the school budget cuts it would be hard to come up with unless President Obama bails out the schools.

It's no time for half steppin', state championships are here

They have won their leagues and now it is time for them to prove they are they best in the state.

High school basketball has hit the big time and next week up in Sacramento and Folsom ten teams will try and punch their tickets to Bakersfield for the CIF State Championships

From Sacramento to San Jose Northern California was alive with packed gyms watching teams go back and forth trying to keep their dreams alive.

One school, St. Mary's of Berkeley has a chance to get both their boys and girls teams into the state finals.

They boys have a re match with Salesian after getting past BSAL league rival St. Patrick's/St. Vincent 58-44. Salesian survived to win 69-65 over Modesto Christian.

Desmond Simmons was every where for Salesian scoring 34pts and pulling down 20-rebounds. Salesian blew out St. Mary's the first time the two teams played each other, but St. Mary's played better each of the three times they faced each other since.

St. Mary's finally got over the hump, beating Salesian for the first time in seven contests to win the NCS Championship last week but this time the game will have a lot more at stake.

The winner goes on to play for a state championship.

The City of Berkeley could get three of the twenty teams into the state finals if St. Mary's sweeps and Berkeley High can get past Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) and their talented guard Sara James.

Berkeley High hosted two teams from Sacramento in the NorCal playoffs beating McClatchy and Kennedy and now they get to go to Sac and see if they can beat another Sac area team.

Both Berkeley High and Oak Ridge were tested Saturday. Berkeley High needed two free throws from Ashley Walker with 15-seconds left against Kennedy.

The free throws made it a 50-47 Berkeley High lead. The game was close through out. Walker lead the way with 21pts. Brittany Boyd got Berkeley HIgh off to a fast start with 10-first quarter points on her way to 13 in the game.

Oak Ridge almost blew an eight point lead with four minutes to play but James came through like the great player that she is. James, with the game tied at 63 against Deer Valley sank a four footer in traffic for the win with five seconds left in the game.

The Bishop O'Dowd boys can now see that light at the end of the tunnel after beating an over achieving El Cerrito squad that has an awful lot of heart.

The Dragons won 52-38, but the game was a lot closer then the final score. O'Dowd was up 34-33 with eight minutes left in the game.

No problem. O'Dowd went on a 16-0 run to put the game away. Next up for them is an entertaining, and early, match up with home town Sacramento at noon next Saturday at Arco Arena.

Speaking of early. How about the ten o'Clock start of the St. Mary's (Stockton) and Sacramento High girls game. The 10am start is early even for Sac High and they are not that far from Arco.

I am sure both teams will be there bright eyed and ready with a shot at state on the line. St. Mary's is one of the top teams in the country, number one in some publications, and they are trying to win back to back state championships.

Sac High found their way to Arco by way of a nail biting 50-48 win over Bishop O'Dowd. O'Dowd went up 48-47 with a minute left on a basket by Robie Mayberry.

Sac High's Brittany Shine had it all planned out. Get the ball and make an off balanced bank shot, for three and the final points of the game with 46-seconds left. Shine is a good word because Brittany did to the tune of 27pts in the game.

De La Salle and San Ramon Valley split their two regular season match ups in the EBAL. De La got past San Ramon valley again in the NCS playoffs.

The two meet again in the NorCal playoffs and De La came away with the win again, this time the spartans got past San Ramon 59-56 in front of a jammed packed crowd at St. Mary's College in Moraga.

De La now gets a re match with Newark Memorial, a 75-61 winner over Sheldon (Sacramento). Newark is one of the best defensive teams in the state and they will have their hands full trying to slow down De La's big man in the middle Jeff MacArthur.

The Head Royce girls and boys teams saw their season come to a crashing end last Saturday.The boys lost 50-39 to Branson while Head Royce's girls squad fell by the same score, 50-39, to Bradshaw Christian (Sacramento).

Carondelet (Concord) and Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) will tangle in what should be a great D2 match up of a pair of girls teams that are used to winning state championships at 2pm at Arco Arena.

Who ever makes it out of this weekend with a ticket to Bakersfield should be ready to represent the North well after knocking off all the great teams just to make it to state.