Half Way Point: EBAL
By Kyle Bonagura
Sunday, October 12th, 2008 at 3:17 pm in General.
Well, it seems like the season just started, but we’re halfway through the regular season. I thought I’d go ahead and give my thoughts on the EBAL thus far.
The King
De La Salle 4-1, 2-0 — I don’t think there is any doubt that this is not this year’s squad has seen a significant drop off from last year’s State Championship version, but the bottom line is that until DLS loses to a team from outside NorCal, I don’t see why there is a reason for anyone to expect that to happen. After three tough games to start the year, the Spartans got to ease into EBAL play with Granada and Livermore, which might have been a blessing. The running game has taken off and maybe that was the confidence those guys needed with a more difficult slate to come.
Heir to the throne
Monte Vista 5-0, 2-0 — Durkin jokes about me wanting Brett Nottingham for my fantasy team. And if I was playing EBAL fantasy football, he’d be the first pick: 89-for-123, 1,495 yards, 19 TD, 1 INT, 72.4 comp % — just an unreal start to his career. Zach Ertz has caught a TD pass in EVERY game this year (7 total), Tom Hemmingsen is one of the league’s best big-play threats and the running game with Johnson/Wilkerson would be good enough to carry a team — it just doesn’t have to. It also has been productive enough (145 yards p/g) to keep opposing defenses honest and has prevented teams from dropping 7 or 8 guys into coverage every play. If DLS is going to lose, it will be to Monte Vista.
Reloaded
San Ramon Valley 5-0, 2-0 — The biggest question mark for SRV coming into the year was how well it could replace the 10 starters it lost on offense and the 8 on defense. Luckily for the Wolves, the schedule was pretty easy and it has allowed all those new starters to adjust to varsity football. Now, SRV has to be considered the No. 3 team in the league. The offense hasn’t missed a beat and QB Joe Southwick has thrown for 1,074 yards and 12 TD. The schedule progressively gets harder (– it’s almost like they are playing a video game and have to keep turning up the difficulty. Rookie mode (non-league, except SL); starter mode for the first three games of league (Amador, Granada, Livermore); pro bowl mode for weeks 7/8 (Cal/Foothill) and All-Madden for weeks 9/10 (DLS/Monte Vista).
Week-to-Week
Foothill 4-1, 1-1 — The Falcons are a weird team, good, but weird. In their first game, they absolutely destroyed a Novato team (48-13) that has turned out to be very good. Since Novato lost to Foothill, it has gone 4-0 while outscoring its opponents 220-22. But since that game, Foothill has been up and down. It struggled with Logan, which is just 1-4, struggled with Miramonte (although the Mats are 4-1) and then gave up over 600 yards in a loss to Monte Vista. In that game Sean Mannion threw for nearly 400 yards and the Foothill offense looked very good. Last week, they beat a Cal team that is supposed to be very good, but even in the win, the offense struggled against a Cal D that has been suspect in its own right. I think the only way to make sense of this is that the coaching staff has put together distinctly different game plans each week – scheming to give the team their best chance to win. It’s the only way to explain how the Falcons look like a different team each time I see them play.
Jekyll and Hyde
Cal 3-2, 1-1 — After seeing Cal vs Bellevue and San Leandro I thought Cal was on par with Monte Vista, maybe a little better. They have the biggest o-line, the best running back in Leroy Green and Stompro was very efficient at QB. But the last two weeks have definitely been disappointments. Lots of penalties against Foothill, a key dropped pass, a key fumble, the sack on third-and-2 from the Foothill 26 … nothing went right except for the running of Green. All of a sudden a 5-5 record and a head start into the off-season looks possible if not probable. This team is still has to be considered among the top 6 or 7 in the East Bay, but with MV, SRV and DLS still on the schedule that really doesn’t matter.
(Fill in most east bay leagues here) champions
Granada 3-2, 0-2 — Put Granada in the ACCAL, BFL, DFAL, DVAL, HAAL or MVAL and Granada is competing for a league title. Lots of talent, good coaching, very good team. Problem is, that doesn’t necessarily translate to wins in the EBAL. Like Amador, Granada has a chance to pull off an upset on any given week, but I think its safe to say they are playing the spoiler roll again this year.
Playing for next year
Amador Valley 2-3, 0-2 — Amador was awful against Freedom, great against a pair of tiny schools, good against Cal and back down against San Ramon Valley. This is a really young team that really wasn’t expected to be much a player in the league this year. They are talented enough to pull an upset (see Cal game), but not enough to be competitive every week in league (see SRV game). They do have the best scoreboard though, that thing is sweet.
At least they had baseball
Livermore 0-5, 0-2 — With the first pick in the 2009 EBAL draft, the Livermore Cowboys select …
Circle these games:
10/17 — Monte Vista @ Cal
10/24 — Cal @ San Ramon Valley
10/31 — Monte Vista @ De La Salle, San Ramon Valley @ Foothill
11/6 — De La Salle @ San Ramon Valley
11/14 — San Ramon Valley @ Monte Vista
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October 12th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Good breakdown Kyle….You are right with Foothill, the coaches set a great scheme each week - they key, as I pointed out earlier today is, whether or not the kids can execute it..They had the right calls against MV, but some of the DB’s missed coverage.
As for the ugly Cal game, throughout the years, there’s been some real ugly games between those schools. Not sure if it’s the two coaching styles which produce some of those or not, but it was certainly a stinker. Cal needs some receivers who can catch the ball for starters. Stompro was not on, but he got no help….
The MV at DLS game in week 7 is going to be a great one — too bad it’s up at DLS with their horrible parking and overzealous prison guards on the field.
October 12th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
What’s so great about Novato? They beat up on Drake, San Rafael, Terra Linda and SI. Yahooooooooo!!
Oh wait, Drake shut down the Mighty A-11. My apologies.
October 12th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Well, they beat SI by the same margin Bellarmine did and gave up 14 less points. They also gave Valley Christian a good game…. But those are just the two top-ranked teams in NorCal in the top two divisions.
Seriously though, the general feeling after the Novato-Foothill game was that Novato was a bad team. Regardless of the strength of the wins for Novato, they were all still ridiculously one-sided scores. Isn’t that what is supposed to happen when a very good team plays a below average team?
October 12th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Let’s not get into the comparing scores with Bellarmine and all that mess. They won big like they should, yeah.
I’m just saying they’ve gone from crud to “very good” in a few weeks simply by beating up on garbage teams from the North Bay. Seems sort of convenient, but then again I’m 9 hours away so I don’t know anything.
Ask me about Bishop Gorman, Palo Verde or the double-wing, since everyone in Vegas seems to run it, and I’m your man.
October 12th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
All I’m saying is that when people were writing off Novato when it fell to 0-2, that was premature. The VC game was close and that team has like 17 guys back from the team that went to the state bowl game… Foothill just played out of its minds that night.
You’re Bishop Gorman knowledge makes the the six degrees of separation game easy. Gorman played Riordan, who played Bellarmine, who played SI, who played Novato. You’re four degrees from Novato!!!
October 12th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Amador does have a sweet scoreboard. However, there is a rumor out there that Monte Vista now has a scoreboard that boasts instant replays. Can this be true? If so, it may top AV’s.
October 12th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Novato beating up on bad schools doesn’t mean much. Fremont-Oakland had jus come off a 49-14 win againt a horrible school and this week they were beaten 41-0 and had a whopping 73 yards of total offense..
Don’t you ever wonder why in NCAA Football the bad teams that are undefeated don’t actually get a real shot at BCS bowls or the higher rankings??
A little talent goes a long way against a team with no talent..
Cal reminds me of that Pittsburg team from a couple years ago that went to Poly.. They lost by 8 to one of the states top teams, but they sure lost a couple games they shouldn’t have.. I hope cal gets on the right track.. I would love for Pittsburg to beat up on them in the playoffs (j/k)
October 12th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Plausible explanation for Foothill great game vs. Novato, and not-so-great after for awhile is a number of impact players being hurt/out. Some may return apparently at some point. Harder to explain: Monte Vista Nottingham, wow - how good can they be (though vs. smaller Foothill coverage looked easier than might be later against other opponents) - incredible. Sure, Cal 2 “weaker” showings, but, hey, it’s a good league. Big Q may be, how good is SRV really? Makes for exciting sets of games coming up as the EBAL monsters now take on DLS…. Careful on predictions there- Foothill initially -got to go to that one!
October 12th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Novato is going to go 8-2, then win 3 playoff games and meet O’Dowd in the NCS finals. That is my prediction.
PHS, come’on you can’t compare Novato and Fremont, Novato is coming off a state bowl game and has a track record of years of success. Fremont’s track record is completely the opposite. I know you like to relate everything back to Pitt, but this one is a stretch.
Also, college football comparisons don’t really work that well either. The dynamics of the HS game vs college are so different. I understand what you’re trying to say, but to make that point even more irrelevant, non-BCS teams are 2-1 when they’ve made it to BCS games…so maybe those “bad teams that go undefeated” aren’t that bad.
I will agree that there are some parallels between this Cal team and the 06 Pitt team, except Pitt didn’t have DLS that year which could be the difference in their 6-4 record and a 5-5 mark for Cal this year.
As for the MV scoreboard. Unless there has been one installed since Tuesday, a replay board is a myth. However, that would be awesome. Although, ideally, it would be portable so it could be transported to the gym for the winter, where it would get much, much more use.
October 12th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
The MV scoreboard could be something that’s portable that’s just brought in for games (if it’s not a myth that would explain why Kyle might not have seen it Tuesday). I know San Jose State is using a portable video scoreboard at Spartan Stadium now. Just a theory. I have no knowledge either for or against a scoreboard existing.
October 13th, 2008 at 8:00 am
X-Tower, what are you doing in Vegas? Had no idea you were gone….
October 13th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Kyle where would they put the replay board in the gym?? There’s no room with the 700 cheerleaders and their tumbling mats?
October 13th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Kyle, I dont know buddy. BOD struggled 1st half against San Lorenzo. They are not as fast as I thought they would be. #5 is the best player on the team. Simpson appears to be a skinny player with a neck roll. That gigantic TE is slow. I was impressed with the Right Tackle…
October 13th, 2008 at 10:54 am
EBAL- hang it from the ceiling!!!
Lb050- I can look past of 1 ok half against a team that actually had been playing pretty well. Especially when they won in a blowout.
We could say the same thing about Encinal for struggling for three quarters against a Piedmont team that arguably isn’t as good as San Lorenzo.
October 13th, 2008 at 11:24 am
I’d bet the my car Piedmont would blow San Lorenzo out by atleast 21 or 28pts. I truly think in the back of your mind you feel the same.
Who said anything about Encinal? Take it easy big fella.
October 13th, 2008 at 11:54 am
MV is getting a new scoreboard next year that is goingto have all of video replay and all it is going to be very SWEET!!!
October 13th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
No one said anything about Encinal. But since Miramonte and Encinal are the other two teams at DIII that have a shot at the finals (at this point), I was just pointing out that every team has flaws. And Encinal struggling with Piedmont for three quarters was the most obvious example from the past week.
As for Piedmont/SLz I haven’t seen either team, so I can’t really say for sure. But based on what I’ve heard from people who have seen those teams this year and actual game results, those teams are pretty evenly matched. Piedmont by that many is a stretch and you know it, especially considering they only beat a very bad Laguna Beach team by 2.
October 13th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Piedmont’s starting to click and I think they would beat San Lorenzo, but definitely not by 28 points. O’Dowd only beat SLZ by 29 and is certainly better than Piedmont.
I’d attribute Encinal “struggling” for three quarters against Piedmont to the fact that the Highlanders broke in some new plays (including a reverse handoff and then pass that went for a TD) as they were holding nothing back in trying to upset the BSAL’s top team. And since Encinal was without Sashington (for those that saw the box score, I screwed up and put Sashington in the rushing stats where it should’ve been Washington), the Jets were lacking a bit of their offensive firepower and a top player in their defensive secondary.
October 13th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
EBAL Fan,
Hanging out with Sigfried and Roy, taking in some Danny Gans shows and passing out those little cards on the Strip with the “escorts” phone numbers.
Actually, after I stopped working at the Trib, I was teaching and moved here, but I had to stop doing that. Sort of a long story, but no, it doesn’t involve any lawsuits. Now I’m doing some stuff for the Review-Journal here, covering games, writing features and doing the agate page. Good times.
Kyle,
Totally forgot that Gorman played Riordan. Gorman’s defense is ridiculous, although its offense was struggling going into that Riordan game. From what I understand, the Gaels finally settled on a QB and are putting up points now, too. I haven’t seen them since Week 1, but they had no speed on offense.
And as far as Novato going 8-2, agreed. If they play O’Dowd, that would be interesting. A little more even than Oceanside, that’s for sure.
October 13th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Kyle, I hear you on that. However I believe both BOD and Encinal would beat Miramonte. how about you
October 13th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
i believe miramonte would beat o’dowd. o’dowd is not battle tested.if they beat san leandro my hats off but just don’t c it
October 13th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I would side with BOD and Encinal over Miramonte for now, but could very easily see Miramonte beating either team.
I think the only clear part about the NCS DIII picture is that BOD, Encinal, Novato and Miramonte are the top-4 teams.
October 13th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Saw both the Piedmont vs. Encinal and O’Dowd vs. San Lorenzo games this past weekend:
Encinal didn’t seem to be firing on all cylinders. Makes sense if they were missing a key player; they only seemed to be able to move the ball through the air when they needed a play. BTW, their QB has quite a gun, crisp passes that hit their mark. Not a big team (they only had about 18 players dressed for the game); attrition through the rest of the season or in a game could be a factor?
This was the first time seeing the Piedmont flying-circus (A11). Interesting, the A11 seems to be oriented to big plays. Though, the Highlanders did grind out a nice drive in the 3rd quarter to take a one point lead. This was short lived when the Jets ran back the ensuing kickoff for a TD, and didn’t look back. The Highlanders seem to lack overall speed; seemed evident on the kickoff return.
BOD seemed to have other things on their minds (200?). They had a nice opening drive then went flat the rest of the first half. They promptly had SLZ drive down the field for a nice TD then kept spotting SLZ excellent field position by throwing an interception, and having their punter fumble two bad snaps turning over the ball on downs. The second half was the complete opposite of the first half for the Dragons, beginning with a 90+ yard kickoff return by #5. BOD has two good running backs, a ‘thunder and lighting’ act, which is paired with a good o-line. Their defense seems solid, and can hit (but only did so in the second half). It was good to see the coach get number 200.
San Lorenzo seemed up to the task of taking on BOD, but all their energy dissapeared after the opening drive; though their defense did keep BOD on its heels the entire first half. The first two plays of the second half seemed to set the tone for the rest of the game for the Rebels, giving up the opening second half kickoff for a TD then having a Dragon (#38?) launch into their wedge sending the Rebels scattering. It was all BOD after that… SLZ didn’t seem to play all four quarters.
October 13th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
wat about marin catholic? r they worth keeping an eye on?