Football playoffs on tap for Napa Valley high schools

Playoff football season is underway in the Napa Valley with four teams (if you factor in Calistoga’s Redwood Bowl) punching their tickets to the postseason.

For the Sac Joaquin Section, American Canyon drew the No. 2 seed in the Div. III bracket and will host El Camino, which is the No. 15 seed on Thursday. Napa garnered the No. 8 seed in Div. I and will host Sheldon (Elk Grove) on Friday. Both are 7 p.m. kickoffs. The SJS moved all football playoff games to Thursday night because of Veterans Day falling on Friday but games can be moved to Friday if both schools agree to it.

For the North Coast Section, St. Helena drew the No. 10 seed and will travel to No. 7 Ferndale on Saturday for a 1 p.m. game.

Here’s a closer look:

American Canyon

For the Wolves, this position is similar to 2013 entering the postseason. Except American Canyon fans hope for a different outcome. That season, the Wolves went 9-1 and entered the postseason as the No. 1 seed. American Canyon struggled to beat No. 16 El Dorado (Placerville) before losing to No. 8 Christian Brothers (Sacramento) 30-27.

Fast forward to 2016, American Canyon is 9-1 and has sealed its fifth consecutive Solano County Athletic Conference title (sole possession or shared). The Wolves enter the postseason as the No. 2 seed and, like 2013, is seeking a deep postseason run. Oakdale is the No. 1 seed. El Camino, which competes in the Capital League, went 6-4 overall and 3-2 in league play. The Eagles’ wins came against teams that had a combined record of 13-47. The four losses came against foes with a combined mark of 26-14.

Napa

Despite a 2-3 start before Monticello Empire League play, the Indians rebounded to win their eighth MEL title since 2002. It should also be dually noted that one of Napa’s nonleague defeats came against Pittman (Turlock), 7-6. Pittman is the No. 7 seed in Div. I and will host Monterey Trail. The winner of the Napa-Sheldon game likely plays at No. 1 seeded Folsom, which hosts No. 16 Kennedy (Sacramento).

Sheldon, which competes in the Delta League, finished the season 7-3. Like most 8-9 matchups, the tail of the tape would indicate two evenly-matched teams. For openers, both teams finished 7-3. The Huskies seven wins came against teams with a combined record of 26-44. Sheldon’s three losses came against teams with a composite mark of 19-11. Napa’s seven wins came against teams with a combined record of 25-45. The three defeats were against teams with a combined mark of 20-10.

St. Helena

Exactly one decade later, the two programs meet again in the postseason. In 2006, Ferndale defeated the Saints 18-14 in a game that to this day is remembered for controversial calls. That game, however, matters none today as the current seniors were in second grade at that point. St. Helena enters this postseason heading in the wrong direction, having dropped three of its last five games after a 4-1 start. The Saints have lost their last two, 24-0 to Middletown and 50-44 to Clear in a game that saw the Saints cough up a 16-point second half lead.

Like St. Helena, Ferndale went 6-4. The Wildcats compete in the Humboldt Del Norte Little 4. For what it’s worth, the two teams have one common opponent, Willits. Ferndale beat the Wolverines 62-30. St. Helena beat Willits 72-28.

Calistoga

The Wildcats otherwise successful season ended with a thud on Saturday, losing 56-12 to Rincon Valley Christian (Santa Rosa) in the Redwood Bowl. Calistoga made its move to the North Central League III last season. That league plays 8-man football. After several peaks and valleys playing 11-man football, the Wildcats opted to move to the 8-man league in 2015 at least for the foreseeable future.

Though Calistoga has the enrollment, about 220 students plus or minus a few, and the roster size to play 11-man football, finding a nearby league where it can be consistently competitive is another matter. Eight-man football probably is the best option. The Wildcats have gone 11-5 since making the move.

Vintage

The Crushers finished season No. 1 of the Dylan Leach era going 5-5. Though losing 35-0 to Napa in the Big Game marked the 11th straight rivalry game defeat, Vintage would appear to be in a position to trend up either next season or the following.

Leach replaced Kyle Hofmann last March. The fact that Leach will have a full offseason to lead the program his way should already be a plus. When 14-18 year old youngsters go into an offseason knowing what to expect, it makes a difference. Couple that with the fact that the Crushers JV and freshmen teams each went 8-2. The reasons for optimism are well-founded, getting them to translate to success is another matter.

Justin-Siena

The Braves finished up the first season of the Brandon LaRocco era going 3-7. Injuries didn’t help but Justin went from good to bad without even stopping at mediocre. In the previous 19 seasons with Rich Cotruvo as head coach, the Braves went 144-74 with six NCS titles and were twice the runner-up. This past season, the Braves lost six games by double-figures, five by 20 or more points and three by 30 or more points. With a JV team that went 6-4, the question becomes can the Braves get back to respectability?