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It’s two weeks into the prep football season and two things have become obvious. Some teams are set for very strong seasons and others could be in for a long one.
It is probably easiest to break it down by the haves, the have-nots and the too early to tell.
Haves
San Ramon Valley (2-0): That the Wolves are 2-0 is of little surprise and to be honest it’s not a surprise how easy they have made their first two games look. I did expect a tougher game at El Cerrito, but I wasn’t shocked when it was a 41-14 final. Week 2 was no surprise as Enochs of Modesto struggled last year and the Eagles lost their first game this year, so a 54-13 final was almost expected.
This week SRV hosts Clayton Valley in a game that figured to be a tight one before the season started. But after Clayton Valley lost 47-7 to Riordan last week, it may be another blowout in the making. Cole Dawes, the senior quarterback, has been efficiently running the show, throwing for 237 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Junior running back Owen Power has two 100-yard rushing games and a pair of touchdowns.
Monte Vista (2-0): Probably the most surprising story of the first two weeks, and it seems weird to say that given the Mustangs storied past. Looking at their schedule before the season started, the first two games looked like a 0-2 start might be possible. Instead, we find Monte Vista perfect through two, with both games appearing to be lopsided. They held serve to open the season with a 27-10 win over Marin Catholic, then travelled up to Brentwood to face a good Liberty team and came home with a 30-14 win.
This week they travel to a 0-2 Campolindo team with a chance to match San Ramon Valley on top of the table. Junior quarterback Jimmy Lagios is a transfer from Piedmont where he had 1,867 yards passing, 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions as a sophomore. Thus far for the Mustangs he has thrown for 404 yards and four touchdowns.
Livermore (1-1): I am going to put the Cowboys in the “Haves” department at this point. The season-opening 27-24 loss at Ripon is not a bad one in the least. Ripon is always a strong program that last week went to Placer and fell 14-7 to a Placer team that is 2-0 this year.
Livermore rallied back with a 13-0 win over Amador Valley in Week 2 and the defending East Bay Athletic League Valley Division champs are the team to beat this year in that division. Blessed with great team speed, the Cowboys will be among the elite this year.
Too early to tell
California (1-1): The Grizzlies opened with a loss to Liberty but then rebounded with a 41-19 win over James Logan. Granted Logan is not the powerhouse program it once was, but they are still a good team, and 41 points is a lot to put on the board.
Junior quarterback Nicco Kovacs, who threw for 1,800 yards as a sophomore at Amador before moving to Cal, has thrown for 352 yards and five touchdowns in the first two games. Cal coach Danny Calcagno is as good of an offensive mind as there is.
Granada (1-1): I thought it was a really strong win at Campolindo to open the season for the Mats, but a 17-7 home opening loss to Miramonte brought the team down to the “too early to tell status”. Junior running back Skyler Stuart went for 98 yards and a touchdown in the opening win.
Foothill (1-1): The Falcons opened the season with a win over Newark, which was not a surprise, then suffered a 41-29 loss to Analy in the second week. The loss is not as bad as it looks, as Analy opened the season with a 62-33 win over Wood of Vacaville.
Senior receiver Max Shuga is one of the best around and the 6-foot-3 Shuga has caught 13 passes in the first two games. The Falcons are always well-coached by Greg Haubner.
Have-nots (at this point)
Amador Valley (0-2): The Dons are still trying to find the endzone as they have yet to score a point this season, losing 16-0 and 13-0. Here’s the thing – the Dons will be much better by the end of the season. They are young with a first-year coach, so it figures there would be growing pains. It’s a team with a freshman running back and a sophomore getting time at quarterback.
Coach Duncan Burgermeister is a good one and will bring this team along. The problem is the schedule. Amador closes with a gauntlet of four games against San Ramon Valley, Monte Vista, De La Salle and California.
Dublin (0-2): The Gaels fell 29-7 to Antioch to open the season, then 31-0 at Vanden in the second game, As a comparison, Amador lost to Vanden 16-0 in week one. Like Amador, I expect Dublin to be much stronger by the end of the season.
Game of the Week
We’ll go to flag football with an Amador Valley at California game on Tuesday night at 7:45 p.m.
Amador is 8-2 overall and 4-0 in EBAL play. Both losses for the Dons came against Beckman of Irvine in a tournament this past weekend.
California has been one of the top programs since the inception of flag football, is 3-1 overall and 2-1 in league, losing 14-7 to Livermore in overtime.
The Grizzlies need a big game to show they are contenders, with Amador needing the win to keep pace with the loaded team from San Ramon Valley.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for the Pleasanton Weekly. This column originally appeared in Tri-Valley Preps Playbook, a weekly sports e-newsletter published by Embarcadero Media Foundation. To sign up for free, visit here.
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