MVP: Derrico Kwa, Deer Valley
Coach of the Year: Dave Chen, Campolindo
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De La Salle has announced the newest inductees into its athletic Hall of Fame. Here’s a little more on the latest class, which will be honored Oct. 27 at the school. For more information on the ceremony or to register, go to dlshs.org.

• Mark Viera: The basketball and track and field standout was the school’s athlete of the year in 1971.
• Pat Oswald: The school’s 1983 athlete of the year starred in baseball, football and wrestling.
• Antonio Vernon: Excelled in football and baseball. He was named athlete of the year in 1986.
• Doug Brien: The 1989 graduate went on to kick in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl with the 49ers in 1995. He played soccer and football at DLS.
• Tom Coughlan: A star water polo player, Coughlan was an All-American at UC Santa Barbara and went on to coach internationally. He graduated in 1997.
• 1989 soccer team: Won the school’s first North Coast Section title in soccer.
• 2000 basketball team: Won the school’s first CIF state championship in basketball.
• Tom Baldacci (Alumnus of the Year): The 1977 graduate sent his four sons to the school. He has been an active part of of the community.
• Kenneth H. Hofmann: For over 25 years, he has been a devoted supporter of the school’s athletic programs and academic mission.

East Bay natives  Robert Stephenson and Joe Ross were reunited on Saturday in Fort Wayne, Indiana where the two former first-round draft picks staged a brilliant pitching duel.

For seven innings, Ross, a Bishop O’Dowd graduate, and Stephenson, a former Alhambra star, matched zeros for their respective single-A squads.

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Also receiving votes:  Heritage (14-8, 4 points), San Leandro (19-5, 4 points), Alameda (15-9, 1), Liberty (15-7, 1). The East Bay Baseball Poll is voted on by the prep sports staff of Bay Area News Group East Bay. Records are through Saturday.

Also receiving votes:  Livermore (14-12, 5 votes). The East Bay SoftballPoll is voted on by the prep sports staff of Bay Area News Group East Bay.

As if there wasn’t already enough pressure for new De La Salle football coach Justin Alumbaugh. In his first year taking over for the legendary Bob Ladouceur, Alumbaugh’s Spartans will enter the fall as the nation’s No. 1 ranked team by MaxPreps.com.

MaxPreps points to a talented group of lineman as well as returning starters QB Chris Williams and RB Das Tautalatasi as the Spartans’ biggest strengths.  Here’s more of what Maxpreps has to say about DLS and why it’s ranked No. 1.

Division I

No. 4 Amador Valley (17-10) vs. No. 2 De La Salle (19-7), Saturday, 4 p.m., Saint Mary’s College

The Spartans are looking to become the first team in the highest level of NCS baseball play to repeat as champions since they accomplished the feat in 1996-97. To do so, they’ll have to beat an East Bay Athletic League that swept the season series from De La Salle. Amador Valley beat the Spartans 3-2 on March 28 in Pleasanton and 7-4 on May 1 in Concord. De La Salle has only lost once since then. The Dons immediately went on a four-game losing streak after that last win over the Spartans. The streak started with a deflating 15-0 loss to Granada. But Amador has rediscovered itself in the playoffs and upset the top-seeded Matadors, handing Granada only its second loss this season, in the semifinals to reach the championship game for the first time since winning the title in 2010.

Division II

No. 2 Campolindo (20-6-1) vs. No. 1 Casa Grande (27-2), Saturday, 1 p.m., Santa Rosa Junior College

The Cougars are looking to make history by capturing their fourth straight NCS title. That would tie an NCS record set twice, most recently by their opponent Casa Grande, which won four successive NCS 3A Redwood Empire titles from 2004-07. St. Vincent also won four straight Class A titles from 1986-89, but no East Bay team has ever accomplished the feat. The Gauchos survived thewildest game of the playoffs to reach the finals, beating College Park 12-11 on a 13th-inning walk off home run. College Park blew leads of 7-2, 10-7 and 11-10 in the late innings.

Division III

No. 3 Analy (23-5) vs. No. 1 Acalanes (19-7), Saturday, 1 p.m., Saint Mary’s College

The Dons are after their third straight NCS title. They shared the crown in 2011 with San Marin when the title game was rained out and won it outright last year. They rode the arm of John York in a semifinal win over Sonoma Valley. The senior fired an 83-pitch perfect game in a 1-0 win. He had 15 strikeouts and six groundouts and not a single ball went to the outfield. Analy reached the finals with a marathon 5-4 win over Sir Francis Drake that lasted 11 innings. The Tigers are looking for their third NCS title. They won the 2A Redwood Empire title in 2000 and also won it way back in 1921.

Division IV

No. 3 Piedmont (19-9) vs. No. 1 St. Mary’s (18-5), Friday, 5 p.m., Saint Mary’s College

The Highlanders are in the title game for the first time since winning the NCS 2A East Bay title in 2008. Their coach at the time was John Nelson, who is now at St. Mary’s. Piedmont and St. Mary’s are former Bay Shore Athletic League rivals, but in the new league configurations, the Highlanders are in the West Alameda County Conference-Shoreline League and the Panthers are in the Tri-County Athletic League-Rock Division. Piedmont was the champion of the WACC-Shoreline while St. Mary’s won the TCAL-Rock. The Panthers have been dangerous all season behind their duo of aces in pitchers Devin Mahoney and Kevin Flemer. Mahoney pitched St. Mary’s to its semifinal win over Moreau Catholic, lining up the Oregon State-bound Flemer for the championship game. It’s the fourth time in the past five years St. Mary’s has made it to the finals and it’s looking for its second championship in that stretch.

Division V

No. 2 Head-Royce (22-5) vs. No. 1 Valley Christian (19-7), Saturday, 4 p.m., Fremont Christian

These Bay Counties League-East rivals met three times, with Valley Christian winning twice. Head-Royce’s win came in the only game in the set in which ace Steven Farinaro, one of the top pitchers in the Bay Area, was on the mound. He’s likely to pitch in this championship game. The UCLA-signee has an 11-1 record, 0.81 ERA and has struck out 146 batters in 69 innings. Valley Christian, which won the BCL-East title, is looking for its first NCS crown. Head-Royce in the defending champ and has won two of the past four titles.

There’s nothing set in stone yet, but the North Coast Section Division I baseball championship game will likely be at Saint Mary’s College on either Friday or Saturday. For Division II, if top seeded Casa Grande beats College Park (no easy task with Joe DeMers likely to be on the mound), that championship game would be played Saturday at Santa Rosa JC.

The Northern California championship games were run well, and provided some exciting volleyball on Saturday night. It was a good end to a very good season.
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Though it may leave some room for debate as to the best team in the state of California is, the issue of the best team in Northern California will be decided on Saturday at Dublin High School.
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