- East Bay Prep Corner
30Q-2-KICKOFF (No. 22): Across the ACCAL
By Jimmy Durkin
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 at 10:00 am in 30 Questions to Kickoff, East Bay Football, Uncategorized.
After taking a little more serious tone yesterday, let’s head back to our tour of the leagues by talking about the Alameda Contra Costa Athletic League.
Berkeley won at least a share of three straight titles before Pinole Valley captured the crown last season. The difference ended up being a 16-14 win by the Spartans over the ‘Jackets in the ACCAL opener. Berkeley got on a decent roll after that, winning six straight games, including a first-round NCS Division I victory over James Logan.
Pinole finished 11-1-1, with the lone hiccups a tie to Sequoia-Redwood City, which also finished 11-1-1, and a NCS Div. II playoff loss to eventual runner-up Rancho Cotate. It was a terrific season for the Spartans. While a couple of talented defenders graduated in Travis Feeney and Antoine Davis, the Spartans return leading rusher James Lewis, a second-team All-East Bay choice. Pinole usually crafts together a stingy defense, so a returning explosive back like Lewis makes them dangerous and the favorites on paper.
Berkeley should still be a team to be reckoned with, even after graduation hit them hard. The team has only 14 seniors (a tiny amount at a school that big), but one of them is RB Rudolpho James. The ‘Jackets have a tough nonleague schedule, but that should prep them for league play. Sir Devonta Stewart is another good athlete and Berkeley actually has a pretty good kicker in Sam Boyden.
El Cerrito has been in the mix for several years, including winning a co-championship in 2009. The Gauchos went 4-2 in ACCAL and 5-5 overall, but did not make the playoffs. That should have the team motivated for a run at the postseason this year. Sophomore Jalen Harvey was an all-leaguer as a freshman and quarterback Jordan Webster saw some time last year and that should help him.
Alameda has a new coach in former assistant Kemp Moyer and will look to rebound from a 4-7 season that did see the Hornets sneak into the playoffs before losing to Pinole. Zac Alfers will be the top receiver and offensive threat and RB Frank Muzio should carry the load on the ground. Defense is where the Hornets want to see the most improvement in order to improve on last season.
At Hercules, there should be a little momentum flowing from last year’s 5-5 season. Although it didn’t result in a playoff berth, it had to be nice to get to .500 for the first time in at least a decade. Nico Murrillo returns after running for 1,008 yards a season ago for the Titans.
Richmond has a new coach in Tashaka Merriweather and the Oilers have to be happy to return the ACCAL’s second leading passer in Daniel Esparza, who threw for over 1,200 yards and 12 TDs. De Anza also has a new coach in Jim Klaczak and will try to improve.
[You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.]
August 23rd, 2011 at 10:22 am
1.) Pinole – Its not going to be close this year. May win it all in D-2
2.) Berkeley – R. James will be featured and will give them second place this year
3.) EC – May be a sleeper this year. Good athletes down there. If they play Berkeley tough like they have in the past they can very well take second place.
4.) Alameda – Hearing rumblings about the “New” Hornets. Wait and see with them. They can let you down in a sec. I hear the coaching change has helped
5.) Hercules – Terrible coaching with pretty good athletes.
6.) Richmond – Hard to have success coaching at a school like that.
7.) De Anza – What happened down there? The Dons don’t seem to get the same type of players they once did but maybe that will change with the new school they built. They’re the worst team in the bay area next to MSJ.
August 23rd, 2011 at 10:37 am
MSJ beat De Anza 27-6 last year.
August 23rd, 2011 at 11:40 am
1-pinole will go undefeated in league 2-berkeley only team that has a chance to upset p.v but a nonfactor when it comes to ncs 3-whoever wins el cerrito alameda game the game will be a shootout cause neither play defense the rest who cares there terrible montgomery at hercules is a joke & richmond de anza are the bottom of the barrell!
August 23rd, 2011 at 12:31 pm
JD, Thanks for the info. I hope De Anza can get back on the upswing because they used to be a force. Maybe a new coach to go with there new school.
August 23rd, 2011 at 8:03 pm
Mission’s J.V team beat DeAnza as well last year.(not sure if DeAnza fielded a frosh-soph team or a regular j.v sqaud)
August 23rd, 2011 at 8:11 pm
Its offical de anza is the worst program. There h.c is terrible big clown.
August 24th, 2011 at 6:34 am
Pinole Valley wins the league, El Cerrito will come in second. Berkeley is going to be down this year. I see them going 4-6. Wow how the mighty have fallen. One man has totally wrecked a good program.
August 24th, 2011 at 9:34 am
WARRIOR JACKET, Is Sims doing that bad down at Berkeley? I heard they didn’t look to good but didn’t they almostt win league last year?
August 24th, 2011 at 11:30 am
Who does B-High scrimmage this year?
August 24th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
@Warrior Jacket: I guess the Carter Gravey Train is over. I thought Simms was suppose to take them to the Promise Land, passed on Barnes & Perenon for him? I saw them during the summer very unorganized no weightroom.
August 24th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
What’s going on down in Berkeley? Is it Sims? Are players not believing in what he’s preaching?
August 24th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
warriorjacket 4-6 so ur sayn dey aint winning n non league cuz u gots 2 count dem beating alameda de anza richmond n hercules not very good teams there. Maybe dey were mighty n da accal but thats it bhigh aint been a factor n ncs since the 1930′s!
August 24th, 2011 at 7:25 pm
hey jimmy where is everybody scrimmaging at this year, last year bhigh, san leandro arroyo, miramonte and mack where all at arroyo last year, it was good too, any coaches reading who, when and where. lots of people would love to come out and watch
August 24th, 2011 at 9:38 pm
I will admit the Berkeley Administration lunched by taking so long to hire a new coach. Thats the reason they missed out on Barnes. Even though Perenon was a known coach,I question if he was the answer considering his troubles at Peidmont and Mt. Eden. I spoke with some parents at O’Dowd after he was fired, they were not happy with Perenon towards the end of his coaching stint.
As far as the Carter gravy train being over,well, its over! Whether you love, like or hate Carter he builds programs and every blogger who has commented on my initial statement has included a Carter led Berkeley team in the NCS playoffs conversation. Wins over Pittsburg, Logan and Pinole were rare the three years prior to Carter’s arrival at Berkeley.
Sims is a good dude, but the program seems to be overwhelming for him. Some of his leadership decisions have been questionable. I also question some of his coaching staff selections. After missing the All- League meeting last,he never addressed the seniors or parents about the incident. Last years team was very good. Coaching was the reason they lost to Pinole and MC. I won’t even discuss the CAL game.
Hey its nothing personal, just my opinion.
August 24th, 2011 at 9:44 pm
poor deanza, they only get one sentence
August 24th, 2011 at 10:27 pm
Damn WARRIOR JACKET! You really don’t like Sims. It has to be tough for everybody wearing red and gold because going 4-6 just isn’t going to cut it for a team like Berkeley. Time for the admin to get someone in there can compete with DLS possibly win D-1 year in and year out. The players are always going to be there and its about time they get the right guy in place to lead this team. If Sims can’t handle it then he needs to do the right thing and step down.
August 24th, 2011 at 10:39 pm
I don’t know of every scrimmage, because most of the schedules we receive just have the games. But I do have a few I can share. Kennedy-Richmond is hosting a jamboree Saturday with Oakland Tech, Castlemont and Mission-S.F. at noon. Freedom is at Las Lomas on Friday at 5:30. Moreau is at Sequoia on Friday at 7. Miramonte and Antioch are at Rodriguez-Fairfield on Friday at 7:30. Mt. Eden and McClymonds are scrimmaging Saturday. Don’t have a time on that.
August 24th, 2011 at 11:35 pm
I want the man to turn it around, but from what I have seen its highly unlikely. We’ll see, time will tell. There were some incidents last year and this summer that caused me to lose some respect for him and some of his staff. Its cool though, hopefully he can learn from past mistakes.
August 24th, 2011 at 11:36 pm
thanks jimmy for the info. too bad to hear about bhigh, they got lots of talent over there year in and year out, they freshman team beat down my pirates last year badly, looks like the tables might turn for my pirates
August 24th, 2011 at 11:37 pm
DLS, Cal & Logan will be at Pitt for the Pittsburg Jamboree 4-way scrimmage this Friday at 7:00. JV’s scrimmage at 4:30.
August 25th, 2011 at 12:00 am
that should be good 4 playoff teams
August 25th, 2011 at 1:19 am
I will admit Berk High doesn’t look to good right now & yes they do look very unorganized & not well coached plus there numbers are down but lets give Sims one more year before we draw our final conclusion! Also I agree with you WarriorJacket the Berk High Admin team blew it taking to long to hire a Coach because James Barnes would have been a prefect pick look how he’s turned around Arroyo program already!! Also look for my Pitt Pirates to bounce back this year
August 25th, 2011 at 10:17 am
@Wolfman
You say wait one more year, I say for what! During the Carter years and Fred’s first year a 120-130 kids tried out for football. Spring ball would have no less than 85-95 kids. The numbers drop off this year has been staggering. As a fan of the program it has been hard to watch. When Fred Sims was hired it was explained to him what the current and future expectations were for the program. At the very least he should maintain a competitive atmosphere and field a fresman, JV and Varsity sqaud. The foundation was and blue print was already set, all he had to do was maintain.
Obviously dealing with the program has been harder for him than he or the Berkeley Administration thought it would be. Sims spoke a big game before getting the job but his actions have not backed up his big talk. The Berkeley community has been bambozzled, hoodwinked and flat out hustled by Fred Sims and Co.
Mandown its not that I don’t like Sims, I just can’t stand to watch a good program on this side of the Tunnel desenergrate before my eyes and some people think its OK. I’m sure if you were to ask Sims how he thought it was going he would say,” Ahh its cool man we just working, getting it in.”
Like Bumpy Johnson said ” When they don’t know, they just don’t know!’
August 25th, 2011 at 10:58 am
I remember when those interviews were happening & there were talks on these blogs from coaches that the B-High admin wasn’t very dedicated to football & wasn’t more concerned then just having a team. I make no excuses for Simms but Warrior Jacket do you beleive the admin is giving him the support he needs?
August 25th, 2011 at 11:15 am
warriorjacket they can show up n win 4 games n da accal thats how bad dat league is so if ur right he should b fired. I c dem going 6-4 making ncs probably gettn a seed somewhere n da teens n gettn blown out n 1st rnd.
August 25th, 2011 at 12:41 pm
Berkeley high is in the same situation as Pitt and Pinole Valley, they should be dominating every year with no doubt and they all have the athletes to be competing against DLS and state. If Sims loses more than 3 games he should be fired. No excuses why he can’t win 7 games on that schedule.
August 25th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
@ billjohnson
Where do you see the other two wins coming from?
August 25th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
At Berkeley the head varsity coach is the CEO of the program . He has the autonomy to hire coaches. There is a program to train student sports trainers. There are free tutorial programs. There is a large contingent of parent support. The administration lets him have control over all football operations. The athletic director is a joke so Sims gets no opposition from him. Carter was strong enough to handle it, Fred isn’t.
August 25th, 2011 at 7:29 pm
Warriorjacket im countn dem 2 beat san leandro n el cerrito but i know both dem games could go either way so ur 4-6 prediction could b right but if dats the case 4-6 really means 0-6 if all u beat r de anza alameda richmond hercules. Mandown u said it buddy pitt bhigh pinole should turning out perrenial contenders.
August 25th, 2011 at 9:15 pm
Warriorjacket y r less kids coming out is he asking 2 much unrealistic expectations? or da kids r lazy? Or personality jus turning kids off? Wats change since carter left im sure he left him da blueprint wat 2 do
August 25th, 2011 at 11:16 pm
wow sad to hear that b high is going down like that, how they dont have 35-40 kids per level. they have over 3400 kids at the school
August 26th, 2011 at 1:00 am
Although being a Big Pittsburg Pirate fan I can’t help but notice that this is 2 seperate programs that the Guy Carter left (Berk Hs & Mack) and both programs seem to struggle with the new Coaches transition!! Say what you want that guy won games and put alot of kids in college so I do understand WarriorJacket how you feel and I’m very curious how Mack does this year after going 12-0 last year under the other fraud Coach Mac!! You think Sims is a joke and a big talker he has nothing on Coach Mac he’s a real Clown on the down low!! LOL! Go Pirates
August 26th, 2011 at 8:46 am
Earlier this summer I asked the question WHO are the TOP 100 East Bay coaches of the past decade?
Alonzo Carter would easily make that Top 100 list
August 26th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
say what u will but zo carter, has help get many of kids in the whole bay area get scholarships, u cant just limit him to mack and b high kids. lots of other coaches bad mouth him and dont like him, has written him up, but yet still he has helped their players. he has sent so many recruiters to other high schools once they have talk to zo. we need more coaches that care about these young men getting to high education then using these kids to get wins and league and section titles. at the end of the day its about these young men, they are our future
August 26th, 2011 at 9:25 pm
I can’t agree more. Winning is important, but I think a coach should also have the agenda to get his kids out. And be realistic about it, not every kid is D-I but if they are coached up and are academically prepared a coach should do what he can to help his kids to the next level.
I don’t respect coaches who just pimp kids for wins.
August 27th, 2011 at 12:30 am
thats ashame that coaches would do that, im always going to support the real coaches that really work hard and do right by his players, but the coaches that are “pimping out ” their players for wins, they need to b called out
August 27th, 2011 at 9:39 pm
How’d B-High look today at their scrimmage? PV?
August 28th, 2011 at 2:30 am
Talking about good coaches.. alot of coaches are different some are mellow and have alot of success and some are greedy and dont look at players college futures. if we did a top 100 coaches currently in the east bay. Galli would be in the top 10 followed by sweeney and Brian Hamilton, Kevin Macy, Rick Sira. if we were to do the top 100 current coaches.. it would almost be like a “How long have you been coaching” type of thing. I think the best coaches are the ones that really engage in relationships with players. The more you get to know them, the more they will play hard for you and take you seriously.
I think the most underrated coach in the East Bay is Bill Kepler of College Park. Not only has he been coaching since like the early 80′s but hes had alot of success at CP. Upsetting Foothill and Amador Valley back to back playoff appearances witch is remarkable with no Home field advantage. Has sent players to D1 D2 schools over the years. But he also is a good play caller and knows how to work with what he has got. His offense every year has some sort of positive to it. Im pretty sure he has a winning record since hes been at CP.
August 28th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
Looks B-high will only dress 30 players on Varsity this year, good job Sims.
August 28th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
wow whats going on over there at b-high, anybody have some insight
August 28th, 2011 at 2:08 pm
Fatman,
What gives at B high? 30?? Isn’t their enrollment at 2500 + students? Back in the 80′s B high fielded squads of 50+ no problem…that’s too bad!
August 28th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
Must be hard if B HIGH can’t pay their coaches. Fasho the administrations fault leave Simms alone. Nobody works for free in this world. You guys been watching ESPN lately, high school games all weekend starting on Thursday. This is big business, pay the man so he can get right…
August 28th, 2011 at 4:07 pm
actually b high has over 3400 students the 2nd biggest in ncs only to james logan with over 4300. and what does pay coaches has to do with kids either transfering out or not playing anymore or not having grades
August 28th, 2011 at 4:56 pm
@Same ol’ Williams that was the type of support I was talking about. I don’t have any clue what the numbers are between schools but is B-High’s administration paying the same & giving the same support as a Logan, SL, Cal High, Foothill? If the answer is no then spread some of the blame out. Making no excuses for Simms even Bissel could get 45 kids out on his Var team.
August 29th, 2011 at 9:57 am
I heard Berkeley and Encinal heald a scrimmage last week. Anyone know how that went?
August 29th, 2011 at 10:27 am
I heard the b high and encinal scrimmage was physical. My mole tells me there was a lot of jaw jacking on the field and in the stands. A couple helmets went flying, blood on uniforms. From what I understand it appeared to look like a natural rivalry game. Like the Raiders vs the Steelers. To sum it all up, Both teams were fast and physical.
August 29th, 2011 at 10:50 am
Wow I would have loved to see that scrimmage. So Encinal was able to hang with Berkeley?
August 29th, 2011 at 11:35 am
@ Perkins
The principal at B-High supports the athletic programs, money is always tight but that has nothing to do with kids coming out for football. The coaches, team reputation and team atmosphere are the reasons the numbers are low.
August 29th, 2011 at 11:45 am
ManDown, what you mean “was Encinal able to hang with Berkeley? That’s an insult. Was Marin Catholic able to hang with Berkeley? Berkeley played whistle to whistle man from what I hear. That’s all that one could expect from a scrimmage…
August 29th, 2011 at 11:51 am
Warrior Jacket, come on now B High atmosphere is perfect for football. But, what kind of atmosphere would you prefer? What could change for the better?
August 29th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
There’s no excuse why Berkeley should only have 25 players. Thats terrible and the HC should be ashamed of himself for allowing that to happen.
August 29th, 2011 at 12:54 pm
Yeah Warrior/Jacket I agree. Just trying to bring out the root of the problem. Carter is no doubt a dynamic personality regardless of the situation he made it work. B-High got new uni’s atleast once & always went to the CAl Camp which isn’t cheap. But before him & after him there are numbers issues. Bissel didn’t run with a Frosh team his last couple of years & Simms is having the same problem.
August 29th, 2011 at 1:14 pm
Berkeley had the ball for 15 min. on offense, they scored on the first play on a deep pass BUT ONLY because Bo Banks was waiting for referee’s to start the game so when he saw the offense line up he didn’t think much of it until a receiver was catching the ball, OOPS.He found out later that the ref’s had left for the day as did ALL THE OTHER COACHES who were baffled by that fact. It was Berkeley O VS Encinal D and if you go to youtube……. http://youtu.be/R7lVJ9Ts-4Q you will see exactly how it went for Berkeley.I hear in the 15 minutes they had on offense Encinal stuffed them cold….in the video you can see Berkeley TOP 25 PLAYER Rudolpho James (white jersey) getting
macked by LB Alex Amiri and from what I hear encinal handled them to leave little doubt.
August 29th, 2011 at 1:24 pm
Berkeley played tough they had some good looking kids. We don’t need that talk going. I’m sure they were missing a couple of players they only had 22-24 guys. Its just a scrimmage it means as much as you see on our record. We didn’t do a great job against Alhambra a couple yars ago I remember reading blogs that they wanted a higher seed because of it. We still have a LONG WAY to go! I don’t need my players reading how good they are & not coming to practice. Jet Pride.
August 29th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
End of conversation…!
August 29th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
@ Same Ol’ Williams
When I saw atmosphere I don’t mean the surrounding area, nieghborhood or facilities, I mean the coaching vibe. Something is missing and its a combination of reasons why. A lack of discipline, efficiency, respect, professionalism, punctuality and an overall seriousness which is needed to run the program consistently.
August 29th, 2011 at 2:33 pm
I meant “say”
August 29th, 2011 at 2:35 pm
Speaking of Alhambra, my mole tells me Hayward High likes a power running offense. Alhambra vs Miramonte… I got Miramonte by 17 points.
August 29th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
Probably said too much sorry coach me and a bunch of fathers throughout the league
got together Saturday night after the scrimmages and did some drinking and talked alot of crap to each other, shared ideas shared view points plus we were watching the UFC fights.
Its unanamious that shit talking from players is not necessary it was just us friends,Dads and coaches having fun sharing and talking crap between us. We like to think these are solely opinions of individuals and were all entitled to share them with no harm intended PLEASE never take them to heart because most of us on here are just giving OUR VIEWS of things the way we see it if were blind than so be it but were just voicing our thoughts
Go BayArea High School Football..
August 29th, 2011 at 10:01 pm
Sim, knew what he was getting into when he took the job they are treating him the same way they did “Carter”, except Carter kept his kids eligible.
August 30th, 2011 at 1:36 am
Berkley has black helmets this year? very interesting..
might want to consider that maybe the coaches did that on purpose to not give things away to the team they are playing in Week 1.
On maxpreps it counts 31 players.. they barely have any depth on the O-line position. They are starting a Sophmore QB which could go bad.
But why is it that Berkeley isnt producing the same number in size of rosters over the years? and what is causing this to happen? This is a very interesting topic to follow right now.. What do you guys think about this?
August 30th, 2011 at 9:36 am
bval expert where did u hear that berkeley is starting a soph at qb, what happened to the senior the stole from oakland tech.
August 30th, 2011 at 2:40 pm
I dont know if hes starting .. but hes on the roster as a SOPH QB… The other guy that is listed is AKIL BORDELON who is 5-5. Im pretty sure they are not going to start a 5-5 QB with knowing berkley having Huge lineman over the years.. Probably would be difficult to throw over those lineman.. All the info is on maxpreps
August 31st, 2011 at 12:26 am
looks like b high is n trouble, i say they start off with a loss friday
August 31st, 2011 at 12:30 am
i wonder what happened to the qb they took from tech, did he not make grade or not cleared by ncs?
August 31st, 2011 at 7:56 pm
Its official, Fred Sims in 1-1/2 years has transformed a very good D-1 program and turned it into a version of his own St. Elizabeth’s. Instead of stepping up his game and maintaining a good program, he brought the program down to his level-Small yet JANKY! No respcet to St. Elizabeth’s this is not an insult to you or your team. But for Berkeley to only suit 24 players for their first game is ridiculous. He has whittled the program to a nub. I hope the Berkeley kids don’t as much as I think they will this season. Its really sad!
August 31st, 2011 at 8:41 pm
Damn 24 players suited up for Berkeley? Sims is going to have a long year.
August 31st, 2011 at 10:36 pm
thats unbelieveable big as that school is only 24-30 kids on varsity and i hear that they have lots of 10th graders on varsity, not lookin good for sims, maybe coach barnes is waiting for another opp if sims cant cut it