Have you ever had a situation that seems so unfathomable now but then you realize, it actually did happen before? Calistoga and St. Vincent (Petaluma) High School have had many encounters over the years, many of which have come as North Central League II opponents.
Setting the stage: The games have been known to be contentious at times but it’s hard to call it a rivalry now because it has been so one-sided in St. Vincent’s favor, at least in the recent past with the possible exception of softball, where the teams split the four head-to-head matchups. In football, Calistoga has not beaten St. Vincent since 1999.
In some ways, the rivalry is social as much as athletic. Calistoga is a small town public school while St. Vincent is a private school. The argument is frequently made that public schools are limited in their drawing power whereas private schools can draw students from communities other than their own. Nowadays though that argument is flawed at best because public schools have students on campus that are from other districts. However, Calistoga is one of the few districts, at least in the immediate area, that has a legitimate gripe. You seldom if ever hear of a student coming to Calistoga living in another district.
As for private schools, the term “recruit” is often used. While that may happen in some cases, I wouldn’t put St. Vincent in that category because if they truly recruited, they would be on De La Salle’s level but that’s another debate for another time.
While Calistoga High basketball has fallen on hard times for much of the past decade, neither has experienced a winning season since the 2006-2007 season. Over the course of the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons, however, the Wildcats experienced the joys of success.
Thumbnail sketch of the games: On Feb. 1, 2005, the Wildcats trounced St. Vincent 68-50, but that final score was deceptively close as Calistoga led 52-29 after three periods.
The win marked the first in 13 years that Calistoga posted over St. Vincent. The previous time Calistoga beat St. Vincent, assistant coach Cesar "Shorty" Cruz was playing. Cruz is now the varsity girls basketball coach for Calistoga.
The Wildcats beat the Mustangs later that month 52-51 on two Donnie McMahon free throws in the closing seconds. McMahon led the Wildcats with 25 points and the Wildcats received timely contributions from other sources.
Luis Vasquez tallied 11 points while Beto Mendoza added 10 points and six rebounds. Francisco Gonzalez added seven and Shane Kohler six, all in the opening quarter. Jeremy Campbell scored just two points but added eight rebounds and eight steals.
On Dec. 15, the Calistoga girls turned the trick for the first time since at least 1988 five days after winning the Gene Duffy Holiday Classic.
The Wildcats edged St. Vincent 54-52 with Julia Hoff hitting the game-winning jumper with 41 seconds left in the contest. Hoff finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.
Rachel Lilly led the Wildcats with 20 points while Alyssa Smith had 12 points. Yesenia Vasquez led Calistoga in rebounding, grabbing 14. That game marked the first win over St. Vincent in girls basketball since 1988.
What it meant: On the boys side, the Wildcats went 15-11 to complete the 2004-2005 season. The following year, Calistoga would go 20-9 to win a share of the North Central League II South with Rincon Valley Christian. In 2006-2007, Calistoga went 19-10. Those years were a string of four consecutive CIF North Coast Section Div. V playoff appearances.
The Calistoga girls went on to finish the 2005-2006 season with a 18-11 mark, reaching the postseason for the first time in school history. The following year, Calistoga went 18-7.
While Calistoga basketball has fallen on hard times since those years, that era is a good reminder that you have to enjoy success while it lasts because success can be fragile.
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