Thought I’d post this so it gets online quicker — congrats to SRV! Six straight playoff wins and they will take on the winner of Cal/Pittsburg next week. Read the rest of this entry »

Just wanted to give a quick recap and a congratulations to Castlemont for its victory today over Fremont in the Lou Jones Silver Bowl. The Knights won 13-0, getting another strong outing from its defense. Castlemont allowed just 113 yards and became the second team — along with Pittsburg — to shut out the Tigers this year. QB Jakari Johnson threw a 20-yard TD pass to Tyrone Radford and Robert Krebs recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for the Knights’ two scores. Congrats again to Coach James Barnes and his players and staff. Also, congrats are in order for Fremont, which rebounded from last year’s 1-9 season to go 9-3 this year. Castlemont finishes a strong campaign with a 9-2-1 record.

Well, a couple thoughts. First of all, the state Division I title game picture got a bit of a shake-up tonight with Oak Grove losing to Valley Christian. I think the main question is now will Grant run the table and be awarded a spot it lost out on two years ago? Now that the WCAL teams are knocking each other off in the CCS Open Division, it could open the door for a team like Bellarmine to re-emerge as well.

As far as the NCS goes, the East Bay acquitted itself quite well today. Miramonte, Clayton Valley, and Salesian all beat teams from the north. Now, if Novato holds up its end of the bargain, it will set up a big time matchup in Novato next week between the Hornets and Matadors. Also, Clayton Valley gets to host either Rancho Cotate or Las Lomas. Either way, that’ll be a good one. And, in Division IV, a possible final between Salesian and Ferndale looms. I was there a couple years ago when Salesian won its first ever NCS football title at Ferndale’s expense. Something tells me Ferndale will be looking to get revenge.

That’s all from here tonight. Hope you enjoyed it. I’ll be at the Pittsburg-California game covering for print. We’ll have a live blog from the Foothill-Freedom game anchored by Michael Bower on Prep Corner. I’ll be calling in updates, so be sure to check that out. Click the “read this post” link below to see the transcript of the De La Salle-Deer Valley game. See you tomorrow.

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As we have for the last few weeks, the live blog will be up and running tonight at 7 with updates from almost all of the local football games. I’ll have live play by play from the De La Salle-Deer Valley game, and I’ll have updates from our reporters in the field. So, check back here around 7 for all the action.

Here we go….

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TONIGHT, 7 P.M. @ Monte Vista — Get there early.

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 Most football teams with a 10-1 record and in the North Coast Section Division III quarterfinals would have the respect of the East Bay. But that’s not the case for Bishop O’Dowd this season. Read the rest of this entry »

Encinal High football coach Joe Tenorio knows all too well about taking teams lightly in the North Coast Section playoffs.

NCS Playoffs
First round
Division III
No. 9 Kennedy-Fremont (6-5) at No. 1 Encinal (10-0), 7 p.m.
Last week: Kennedy beat El Cerrito 34-9; Encinal was idle
Notes: After posting its first NCS win in school history, Kennedy looks to stage the biggest upset in this year’s playoffs. The Titans utilize a ground game that is led by Jerrell Walker (1,104) and Dane Dismuke (1,070). Encinal had a first-round bye and is looking to prove its worth. The Jets have a balanced attack with QB Jonathan Brown (960 yards, 19 TDs) and RB Dominique Sashington (659 yards, eight TDs).

Let’s hope these NCS games are better than this Tennesee-Detroit one.