Five questions to go. Aren’t you going to miss all this?

Ben’s question: CalHiSports.com came out with its preseason state rankings earlier this week and De La Salle was atop them once again. With San Ramon Valley and San Leandro also on the list, the race for the state bowl series seems to be taking shape slowly but surely in the East Bay. What’s your take on the inital rankings?

Chace’s question: I think it’s a pretty solid 50, and of course, there’s no debate on the selection for No. 1. Read the rest of this entry »

Now that the offense has been established, how about the other side of the ball?

Chace’s question: There’s no shortage of defensive talent throughout Contra Costa County and lower regions of the Tri-Valley Area. So who makes the cut? I have a feeling a few guys from Pittsburg might be considered.

Ben’s answer: Nothin I can do here, Pitt’s got the horses. Now, about those other positions.

Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s throw out some preseason awards, shall we?

Ben’s question: We’ve listed breakout players, breakout coaches and everything in between. Now, we step back for a minute and give our preseason All-Times offense and defense (for our purposes, we’ll confine our search to the Times coverage area - essentially Contra Costa County with the EBAL tossed in). Today, Chace takes care of the offense.

Chace’s answer: Well, the quarterback for this team was pretty much a slam dunk.  I don’t think anybody is going to be arguing with the selection of San Ramon Valley’s, Joe Southwick. I think passing for over 3,000 yards and tossing 35 TD passes in 2007 makes him qualified for this honor. Read the rest of this entry »

The first set of CalHiSports.com state football rankings are out today and, to pretty much no one’s surprise, De La Salle is ranked No. 1. The Spartans are followed by Long Beach Poly, Lutheran-Orange, Mater Dei-Santa Ana and Bellarmine-San Jose. Other local schools in the top 50 are San Ramon Valley (No. 21) and San Leandro (No. 48)

I took a look at the entire top 50 and what stood out to me is that all the big names are here for the party this year. Last year, I know a lot of fans wondered who Centennial-Corona was when the Huskies made the CIF Division I state bowl game and they wondered where those traditional big names (Poly, Mater Dei, etc.) were. Well, they’re here this year. And, in case you thought Centennial was just a flash in the pan last season, the Huskies open the season ranked No. 6.

Alright, so here’s Question No. 2 for the day.

Chace’s question: Salesian has been among the most successful small school programs in the Bay Area over the past several years. A lot of that had to with a certain talented running back who will be lining up opposite Michigan State this Saturday as a member of the California Golden Bears. Last year, in its first season without Jahvid Best, the Pride still featured plenty of talent as players like Jon Wheat and Justin Brown led the team to a 10-2 season.  But coach Chad Nightingale had six all-league players graduate, and that leads us to ask the question if the cupboard at Salesian might finally be bare?

Ben’s answer: The cupboard might have some foreign objects, like names you haven’t seen before. But rest assured, the cupboard is not bare.

Read the rest of this entry »

First of all, Chace needs to apologize. We missed a day, and it’s all his fault. Something about writing three items for the High School Football Preview section that’s coming out on Sept. 4. Anyway, you, the reader, luck out in this scenario because there will be two questions answered today.

Now, everyone knows who plays quarterback at San Ramon Valley. What about the other side of the ball?

Ben’s question: There’s no doubt that QB Joe Southwick was the catalyst for San Ramon Valley’s run to the NCS 3A title last year. But anyone who watched the team consistently knows that the real key to their success was the defense, a hard-hitting bunch that was loaded with senior talent. This year the Wolves are faced with the task of replacing guys like Kai Cummings, Harmon Bruno and Dan Smithwick. With those standouts gone, who will be the defensive leaders for SRV this season?

Chace’s answer: So I’m a day late, but it doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about the answer. Actually, I think the Wolves defense should be just fine. Read the rest of this entry »

Believe it or not we’ve already forged our way through 20 questions. We’re two-thirds of the way home, which means kickoff is just around the corner. Yet, we still have 10 more questions to go. Important ones, too. Like, who is Keyser Söze? Or, who ordered the Code Red?

Okay, a real question then:

Chace’s question: One rivalry game that we didn’t touch on in our “Rivalry City” post last week was, the Island Bowl — which is now a nonleague game in Week 1 now that Encinal has moved to the Bay Shore Athletic League. Both are coming off strong years as Alameda went 7-4 and Encinal went 9-3. So which team looks poised to have the better season in 2008?

Ben’s answer: I gotta admit, I saw the title to this post and immediately wanted to talk about Jimmy Buffett. Oh well. I’ll settle for some football talk.

Read the rest of this entry »

So, we’ve avoided them all month. Now, it’s finally time to talk about the big green machine.

Ben’s question: It’s a tremendous stretch to think De La Salle will be good this year, isn’t it? The Spartans have plenty of talent again this season but there are a few questions that need to be answered, especially on offense. First, who will be the backup QB behind Blake Wayne?  Second, with Wayne the full-time starter, will the Spartans still be successful running their old standby offense, the veer?

Chace’s answer: As of now, It appears that the answer to the first question is going to be sophomore southpaw, Travis Pacos. The answer to the second question is an unequivocal yes. Read the rest of this entry »

Now a question about limitations.

Chace’s question: Does Patrone Wood II have any?  Wood was a rushing machine as an Ygnacio Valley sophomore in 2007. The big guy literally ran over defenses en route to over 1,300 yards, a staggering 8.1 yards per carry, and 16 TD. It would probably be fair to say that his productions slowed a little toward the end of last season, and part of that was likely the fact that the Warriors were facing tougher defenses by that time — all of which were keying on Wood. Now in a new league, there is little question that Patrone Wood is the odds on favorite to lead it in rushing? But just how many yards can we expect?

Ben’s answer: Oddly enough, this question has more to do with Wood’s teammates than it does with him.

Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s get down to what every high school kid loves to think about: rivalry games.

Ben’s question: In high school football these days, rivalry games don’t always come in the final week of the season. With the new realigned leagues, many natural rivals aren’t even in the same league anymore. You’ve got to hand it to the coaches though because in most instances, they kept these rivalries going with nonleague games. We all know that for the players especially, these games just mean more than the others. In that vein, which of the natural rivalries will have the most impact on this season’s final standings?

Chace’s answer: There are two rivarly games that should have ample implications this season. And the high school football fan can see both, if they so desire. Read the rest of this entry »