NCS Division-by-Division Poll
By Michael Bower
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 at 2:57 pm in Division by Divsion Poll, East Bay Football.
This was going to begin Monday, but we thought why wait? So, here it is: A North Coast Section division-by-division poll compiled by your Prep Corner staff (Kyle Bonagura, Michael Bower, Jimmy Durkin and Steve R. Waterhouse). We will be posting this poll every Monday and this is the only spot you can come to get it. It will not be in the newspaper. Make sure to post your thoughts!
DIVISION I
| Team | ‘07 Record | Points | Last week |
| 1. De La Salle (4) | 14-0 | 40 | - |
| 2. California | 11-2 | 36 | - |
| 3. Monte Vista | 8-4 | 31 | - |
| t4. Pittsburg | 6-5 | 24 | - |
| t4. San Ramon Valley | 12-1-1 | 24 | - |
| 6. San Leandro | 8-3 | 22 | - |
| 7. Foothill | 6-5 | 16 | - |
| 8. James Logan | 11-1 | 10 | - |
| 9. Berkeley | 6-4-1 | 7 | - |
| t. 10 Amador Valley | 6-4 | 3 | - |
| t. 10 Newark Memorial | 9-2 | 3 | - |
Others receiving votes: Deer Valley (7-3) 2.
DIVISION II
| Team | ‘07 Record | Points | Last week |
| 1. Las Lomas (2) | 13-1 | 18 | - |
| 2. Rancho Cotate (2) | 10-3 | 16 | - |
| 3. Pinole Valley | 10-2-1 | 10 | - |
| t4. Campolindo | 9-4 | 6 | - |
| t4. Casa Grande | 9-2-1 | 6 | - |
Others receiving votes: Ygnacio Valley (7-5) 4.
DIVISION III
| Team | ‘07 Record | Points | Last week |
| 1. Novato (4) | 13-1 | 20 | - |
| 2. Cardinal Newman | 11-2-1 | 16 | - |
| 3. Bishop O’Dowd | 8-3 | 12 | - |
| 4. Encinal | 9-3 | 6 | - |
| 5. Del Norte | 11-1 | 5 | - |
Others receiving votes: Piedmont (7-4) 1
DIVISION IV
| Team | ‘07 Record | Points | Last week |
| 1. Ferndale (4) | 12-1 | 20 | - |
| 2. St. Patrick-St. Vincent | 12-1 | 16 | - |
| 3. Salesian | 10-2 | 12 | - |
| 4. Justin-Siena | 6-5 | 8 | - |
| 5. Middletown | 6-4 | 3 | - |
Others receiving votes: St. Mary’s-Berkeley (6-3) 1.
DIVISION V
| Team | ‘07 Record | Points | Last week |
| 1. St. Elizabeth (4) | 8-4 | 20 | - |
| 2. St. Vincent | 8-4 | 16 | - |
| 3. South Fork | 7-5 | 11 | - |
| 4. Tomales | 7-3 | 9 | - |
| 5. Hoopa Valley | 7-4 | 4 | - |
Others receiving votes: none
[You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.]
September 3rd, 2008 at 3:37 pm
I am gonna go out on a limb and say when the season is all over and done with Div1 finals will be Pittsburg and DLS…
September 4th, 2008 at 8:01 am
GREAT JOB FELLAS — it’s been long overdue to have something like this. Hey, where’s Matt Scwab’s votes??
September 4th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Great idea! Here’s an early request/suggestion: Do the same for 3A and 2A baseball. Makes for a much more meaningful and relevant poll. Thanks.
September 4th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Good call, EBAL Fan. I will have to get his votes next week!
Ballfan, We will certainly do the same for baseball right here on the blog.
September 4th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
do it for basketball as well — you are on to something….
September 4th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Oh, one thing I forgot to mention.. I heard Middleton is loaded this year — should take the D-4 title.
September 4th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Middleton’s o-line is too small.
September 4th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I disagree Kyle… for D-4, they are perfect. That right guard who is being recruited by Mills College, is 5-4 and 140 pounds of a fightin’ machine!!
September 4th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
What I love about all this Middleton talk is that we don’t even have their school’s name spelled right. It’s actually MiddletoWn. Ha ha.
September 4th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
yep, go Mustangs baby!!!!! Middletown High football rules.
September 5th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
yikes, newark in the top ten?
they arent that good thats FOR SURE!
September 6th, 2008 at 12:05 am
No More Colts,
I saw Newark thrash Alhambra tonight, 35-13. Keep in mind, the Cougars return most of the defensive unit that was No. 3 in the East Bay last year. LB Anthony Sao and DL Eric Banford are legit. The offense was surprisingly good. They can run the ball and aired it out for a TD. Well disciplined.
September 6th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
newark bout to beast it this year!!!!!!!!!! to be ranked preseason at 10 is an insult were better than logan no doubt! we have a fresh senior class were going far baby1 our offense is a powerhouse not talked about much but we gona be shmackn oppinents in the mouth like blap!……dont even get me started with the D anthony sao might be one of the more under rated players in the leauge! our secondary is mega raw d-line is unstoppable w/ oconnor leading the way…speacial teams with a transfer from american high we have an unstoppable returner!……..our coaching staff is stacked!!!!!!!!!!!!! we will win mval undefeated! go in ncs ranked 3 and go to the championship game and get the respect theat is well deserved!!!!!….you heard it here first ya diggggggggg yeee!
September 8th, 2008 at 12:56 am
Chris C,
Newark is good, but I don’t know how this year teams compares to last year. Last year, the Newark Defense completely shut down Logan’s offense in the second half. Let’s see if Newark will finally beat Logan this year after like 10 plus years…
September 10th, 2008 at 3:22 am
I would go De La, Pitt, MV then Cal for D1.
I really like the speed and talent on this Pitt team and I think should they get matched up with Cal again in playoffs, they would have tons of motivation for that game.
I think MV MIGHT be the most over rated team in the section. They are good that’s for sure though. The thing is, their defense returns like 6 starters which looks great…but that defense gave up more than 24 pts I think 4 or 5 times last year…
October 14th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
kyle, i see your point
October 14th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
on the contrary we made it to second round so we wouldnt have fell off too much
October 14th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Will is right- MV is a bit overated at this point. They will score no doubt- but can they stop the run? They give up alot on that side of the ball.
Also, any offense that leans on the pass that much is vulnerable
October 14th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Hey Will Whelen and Junior: How can you say that Pitt should be ahead of MV? They played head to head and MV won! I was there! And MV can’t stop the run? Thats wrong too. Monte Vista only allowed 20 yards rushing against foothill. The place our defense gets burned is the pass, not the run.
Junior- you said that DLS blowing out Granada was the sign that the old DLS was back. But DLS was only beating granada by 11 at half time. MV was beating them by 28 at the half. You my friend are in denial. This MV team is very good.
October 14th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Junior I think u have got MVs defense all wrong, their run defense is pretty good especially with Wilkerson at MLB. The dbs are a little weak which was shown in the foothill game with about 400 yards passing let up. But the thing about MV is, their offense is gonna score on almost every drive so the defense has to make a couple stops and the games over.
October 14th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Gitrdone might be right - MV can score almost any/every drive. As example, at Foothill, momentum had changed, Foothill had scored for 31-24, and MV was then pinned down again on good kickoffs, this time at the 1-yard line. Despite intense pressure, away crowd, motivated team - they moved it well, lots of time off the clock - and scored again. Pressure on, they responded. They are for real, “Nott is Hott.”
October 14th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Will Whelan, there are so many things that you have no idea about. You rank Pit in front of MV (MV beat Pit) you put Cal on your top for over Foothill (Foothill beat Cal). If you don’t think that a head to head match is a good way to determine which team is better, it might be wise to keep your predictions to yourself.
And were you even at the Pit and MV game? MV stopped Pit form driving the ball with the run, all Pit got was a couple of breakaways with there running game. Pit hurt the MV defense more in the passing game than in the running. They were picking apart the secondary with out and curls.
October 14th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
MV should be ahead of Pitt- i agree with that.
MV fan- you misunderstood my post for a second time now- (in reference to the granada game comment i made)… i saw the O line click and start to play up to their potential at the end of the second half/start of third qtr. Like i said then, i know it when i see it- regardless of the competition, there is a pace, a pop, a rythym that they posses unlike no other.
not sure why you call giving up 173 yds/game on the ground a stout defense-
im still waiting for a norcal team to beat The Green Machine…. 20 losses in 30 years, not bad.
October 14th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Guys don’t jump all over Will so fast.
Check out the timestamp on his post SEPTEMBER 10th.
Obviosuly a lot has changed since then.
October 20th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
kyle,
I think BOD having problems with hayward shouldnt look good for them. They got a little love in the rankings. BOD struggled against hayward bro. They dont appear so dominant or better than EHS after all.
October 20th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
kyle and jimmy,
whats your thoughts on BOD struggling against Hayward.
October 20th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Lb050nit,
I think there’s definitely cause for concern over at BOD after that game with Hayward (although its also becoming clear that Hayward’s better than we thought). It’s clear they’ll need to play much better to beat San Leandro. As for the rankings, I’ve had Encinal ahead of them all season long (I believe) and at least for the last several weeks. I’ve also always had San Leandro ahead of O’Dowd because my feeling was, coming into this season, San Leandro was considered better and I would continue ranking them higher until there was proof otherwise. O’Dowd’s 6-0 and that’s why they are top 10 (in the poll, not my rankings), but things could change after this week.
October 20th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Definitely a cause for concern for O’Dowd. BTW, where has O’Dad disappeared to? We need his input here.
Still I think it’s pretty clear O’Dowd and Encinal, but honestly, I haven’t seen either team so every opinion I have at this point is strictly based on stats/numbers/and what I’ve heard from others.
On one hand, that’s not ideal, but also I can offer an outsiders’ view which is sometimes good to have.
October 20th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
No way, Kyle. I’m not giving out any locker room material this week! Should be a great game that will come down to our ability to stop their pass, versus their ability to stop our run. We haven’t been healthy for a while. Chris has had an ankle sprain lingering for a few weeks, and various injuries to linemen. Jimmy, I could refute every line you wrote above, but I won’t cause I like you bro, and you could also be right! But please, for crying out loud, rank Encinal above us next week no matter what. This cat’s obsession with us is becoming distracting, especially since he will see us close up around Nov 21st in the playoffs. All of our slow, skinny kids are looking forward to it. Hope you are…
October 20th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
As far as our game against Hayward, that that does not concern me as it is related to this week. San Leandro definitely concerns me, but, not in relation to how we played against Hayward. I believe Hayward went 1-9 last year, and I swear to you, ON THE DAY WE PLAYED THEM, they were a close second to San Leandro as the best team we played all year-and that includes Alameda and Ygnacio Valley(2 losses). We get their best focused effort of the year, every year. They do not lack for athletes, and bring it to us every time.
October 20th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
Encinal should be moved up in the rankings past BOD? It looks like these teams may be traveling way different paths…
Last week BOD ‘struggled’ against Hayward at Hayward (homecoming), by all accounts it sounds the Farmers were hell-bent on upsetting their rival and keep their playoff hopes alive; while Encinal played down a division at home against Swett (now 1-5).
This week BOD plays San Leandro at San Leandro, another rival wanting to keep their playoff hopes alive; while Encinal is again at home playing down a division against St. Mary’s (1-5, yes St. Mary’s did get a forfeit against Oakland, but on the field they are 1-5).
BTW, St. Mary’s got their first win of the year last week against Moreau (0-6); Moreau is another Encinal opponent yet this season…
October 21st, 2008 at 8:10 am
fair catch,
not our decesion
October 21st, 2008 at 8:44 am
saw bod play against hayward not surprising wat hayward did cause bod offense is so predictable. they seem scared 2 pass and when they do it’s a screen or a short dump off. hayward had sum athletes but it goes 2 show there non-league did’nt prepare bod and it will show this week at san leandro. sl 24- bod 13
October 21st, 2008 at 8:52 am
All Im saying and it shows is, If you want to be respected publicly in east bay you got to beat BOD in every sport especially football
October 21st, 2008 at 9:01 am
lb050nit,
Encinal and BOD have played the same soft schedule. We can’t tell anything about either of them until they play somebody good. At least BOD has San Leandro this week, but Encinal won’t have anybody except St. Patrick-St.Vincent. Can’t justify moving Encinal ahead of somebody based on a score. It isn’t like O’Dowd lost to Hayward. If the Dragons lose to San Leandro, then I am all with you. And I think O’Dowd will lose to San Leandro, but neither team is really playing great football right now so anything can happen.
October 21st, 2008 at 9:03 am
If you want to be respected publicly in the East Bay, you have to beat the EBAL schools. Not Bishop O’Dowd. Otherwise, with a perfect record, it would be the Dragons up a lot higher in our rankings.
October 21st, 2008 at 9:47 am
One thing people need to realize is Encinal is in a different position scheduling-wise than others. Against their wishes, they got bumped from the ACCAL to the BSAL and lost annual games against Berkeley and Pinole Valley. El Cerrito and Alameda have always been rivalry games, so those were scheduled. That left Encinal with truly just one non-league game to schedule and that was traveling down to play Monterey. I’m not saying that doesn’t mean to rank them lower or judge them lower because of their schedule, but you can’t put any blame on Encinal for playing that schedule.
October 21st, 2008 at 10:01 am
Michael Bower, your right but who no ebal teams would play us anyway so lets be realistic about this. BOD is the team to beat and you know this man…
October 21st, 2008 at 10:06 am
Lb050nit,
Yes, in Encinal’s position O’Dowd is the team to beat from the East Bay because the teams are both NCS D-III. Overall, it is the teams in the EBAL, though. And, yea, they have no reason to play you guys.
October 21st, 2008 at 10:45 am
i’d like 2 see an ebal team play grant high school or sum team from the wcal bellarmine or valley christian. an ebal team other than de la salle.
October 21st, 2008 at 10:47 am
Bellarmine is looking for opponents for their first three weeks next year. Where are the Monte Vista fans? get them on your schedule.
October 21st, 2008 at 11:03 am
Smoke-a-lot and Junior…
I agree it would be great to see MV, SRV or someone play the Bellermines or the Grants of the world, but the one problem is, the competition to get into NCS, especially now that DLS is in the league is so tough, you need to go out and play the other top NCS teams to establish yourself in the eyes of the selection committee.
The out of conference games actually mean very little to the NCS committees when it comes to selection time. If Monte Vista goes out and beats Pitt and Logan, when it comes time for seeding or selection, they have that hammer over those schools.
The same thing can be said for the other schools in the league. Take San Leandro — if they don’t win league, there’s a very good chance they don’t make NCS thanks to their losses to the EBAL teams, especially the whooping from a 3-3 Cal High team.
While those matchups with Bellermine or Grant would be great, there’s no benefit for the local schools when it comes to help of getting into NCS.
Sad, yes, but a reality.
October 21st, 2008 at 11:07 am
then all were gonna see in ncs d-1 is a bunch of rematches that we already know the outcome. it doesnt matter though no ones gonna beat dls.
October 21st, 2008 at 11:10 am
EBAL fan- I think that may change in the future though. NCS decided to go with the 6-person panel that is assigned at the start of the year, like they did for basketball last year. If the panel’s turn out to be smart they will be able to recognize things like that, so maybe that will help encourage some of those types of games.
October 21st, 2008 at 12:11 pm
O’Dad,
Late on replying to you from last night, but just wanted to say my comments weren’t meant to knock O’Dowd. I like O’Dowd and Perenon. O’Dowd has been tough to gauge up to this point because if you look at their schedule, you’d expect for them to be 6-0 at this point and they are. They’ve yet to have a true measuring stick game yet (and granted Encinal hasn’t either, although El Cerrito is a solid team and Encinal blasted them). O’Dowd will be a team to watch for in the playoffs and I think after this week’s game we’ll know a lot more. And I agree with your assessment about Hayward. The Farmers ALWAYS have athletes and will ALWAYS treat O’Dowd as the game of the year. That kind of focus can allow you to play above yourself.
October 21st, 2008 at 5:03 pm
ebal fan
if MV follows your lead then they are NEVER going to have a chance at a state bowl game. Strength of schedule is very important. Besides, NCS will respect a close game w/ Bellarmine vs another blowout over castro valley.
October 21st, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Junior –
In one respect, I hear what you are saying… and I agree it would be great to see. But I sat in those meetings for 16 years and the NCS committee gives little or no credibility to games against out of section teams, unless it’s a common opponent. Pathetic, maybe, but a fact of life.. Going 3-0 against three NCS opponents that may turn out to be league champs, speaks better in the meeting than losing a close game to Bellermine. I have witnessed for many years….One of the faults of the system, but you have to understand where the coaches are coming from.
October 21st, 2008 at 8:15 pm
so you are saying MV does not have state bowl aspirations?
October 21st, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Junior,
If Monte Vista is going to go to the state bowl game, it’s going to have to do so by beating De La Salle TWICE. Once in league and once in the playoffs. If it has two wins over DLS and is unbeaten, that’s going to be enough to get the state berth. Even with one loss (to DLS in the regular season or to another top team), if Monte Vista were to win NCS — presumably beating DLS sometime during NCS — it would likely get the berth. Remember, a team has to be a section champion to get that berth.
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Jimmy
Seems like you are stating that no other Div 1 team has a shot a state bowl? Only the EBAL champ (assuming they have no more than one loss) will go from the north?
Thus, my point is valid. of course, you must win NCS but at the same time seperate yourself from the CCS, SJS champ, etc. To do this- strength of schedule is important.
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Not true Junior. DLS would likely be in the Open Division if it was in the state bowl and that would open up Division I for another team. And if DLS isn’t in the Open, it’s because that went to another Div. 1 team from the north. and DLS took the Div. I berth.
What I’m saying is that if another EBAL team is going to get a state title berth, it’s likely going to have to beat DLS at least once (possibly twice) and with the strength of the rest of the EBAL, it’s going to have a strong enough schedule to get the berth, be it Open or Division I. And it’s not as if Monte Vista or SRV or Cal is playing cupcakes in its nonleague games. With MV, this year Logan and CV are down, but Pitt is a strong team. Cal took on Lomas, Bellevue and San Leandro. SRV’s is the weakest nonleague schedule, but they still played three traditionally solid programs. Trust me, if MV or SRV wins NCS and has only one loss or no losses (however unlikely that is), you’ll see them in a state title game. They won’t need a win over Bellarmine to get there.
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:57 pm
so an undefeated Grant or Granite Bay would get beat out? wow- what a sad commentary.
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:32 pm
There’s the Open Division and Division I. Most years I figure Division I will be filling those spots. And given the strength of DLS, it’ll usually get one or whoever beat DLS in the NCS title game will. There’s still either the Open or Div. I spot for your Bellarmines, or Grants, or Granite Bays. What’s sad about that?
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:38 pm
i believe we are in agreement then. Lets say MV wins the ncs- and Bellarmine wins CCS, Grant wins SJS. The CIF will take one of those teams for the open bowl game and one for the div I bowl game. Non league games now become important no??? so a MV win over Bellarmine puts them in for certain.
bottom line- ebal teams: play a solid non league schedule.
November 1st, 2008 at 9:43 am
EBAL Fan
am i still in denial?
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:15 am
where are the NCS D3 playoff picture?
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:32 am
Michael,
NCS Division by Division poll still had BOD higher than Encinal. Will that change especially with the fact that BOD struggled against Castro Valley and Hayward. I think CV and HAYSTACK may have a combined 4 or 5 wins (dont quote that).
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:38 am
I think that will change this week, lb050nit. Have to think Encinal will move ahead of BOD.
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:42 am
The D-III playoff picture should be coming soon. Durkin will probably get on that this week sometime, I am sure. If not today.
November 9th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
MV_Fan
where have you been? you are awfully quiet
November 15th, 2008 at 8:43 am
Jimmy,
Hey It’s THE CAMP (aka LB) I called last night. I hear what your saying but that was very strange when the Nail House didn’t see John Brown, Dominique Sashington, Abraham Amiri, or Tyronne Duckett on the pre-season 25 best players to watch. However, we cant wait to see your 1st team list for All East Bay and All American.