The novelty is not as strong as it was last season but the anticipation is just as plentiful.
Round Two of a Napa Valley based high school football matchup between the American Canyon Wolves and Vintage Crushers takes place Friday night at Wolf Den Stadium in American Canyon.
For the historical and community significance of this matchup, refer to this post from March, 2016:
For the last couple of years, yours truly has lobbied quite strongly for Vintage, Napa and American Canyon to be in the same league. That alignment appears to be all but a certainty with all three leaving the CIF Sac Joaquin Section for the North Coast Section. Vintage and Napa will vacate the Monticello Empire League. American Canyon will leave the Solano County Athletic Conference. After the 2017-2018 school year, all three schools will be in the same league together with Justin-Siena, Casa Grande, Petaluma and Sonoma.
However, there is still the 2017 football season to play. American Canyon won last season’s matchup 42-14 at Memorial Stadium in Napa. The game started as a back and forth contest as each team traded touchdowns in the first quarter with Vintage leading 14-13 after one period. After that point, American Canyon went “forth” and Vintage went “back,” with the Wolves scoring 29 unanswered points.
Last season, the Wolves were in a position of advantage. They had a roster of returning players. Larry Singer was in his second season as head coach. He also has been an American Canyon Wolf since the school opened in 2010. He was the freshman coach that season, the JV coach from 2011-2014 and then the varsity coach in 2015. As for Vintage, it was Dylan Leach’s first season. The 1992 Vintage High graduate inherited a program that needed cosmetic surgery more so than reconstructive -- but it was surgery nonetheless. Plus, he did not become the Crushers head coach until April 2016.
The Wolves tied the best season in school history going 11-2 and reaching the semifinals of the CIF Sac Joaquin Section Div. III playoffs, just as they did in 2012. The Crushers went 5-5 in Leach’s debut in 2016, despite being 2-4 at one point.
The preseason narrative was that despite losing some key pieces from last season, American Canyon would keep on rolling. Then, the season opener on Friday against Woodland took place. American Canyon led 28-13 late in the third quarter only to take a nosedive and lose 36-34 in overtime. Though the loss was a disappointment, it does not deter my thoughts on the season the Wolves can and will have. This team has too much talent not to have a very good campaign.
For Vintage, the narrative has been, this is Leach’s second season and he had an entire offseason. He knows the kids better. The kids know him better. With coaches in their second year, you hear the phrases, “we’re comfortable,” “we can react instead of think,” etc. You cannot underscore that difference. What we don’t know yet is how it translates for the 2017 Crushers because they have not played a game yet.
However, I am also intrigued by this edition of Vintage-American Canyon because I think the Crushers are trending up as a program. I also believe that despite Friday’s disappointing loss, the Wolves are too good to keep struggling.
What Friday’s game amounts to is this, Vintage has not played a game yet but it believes now is its time. American Canyon got a piece of humble pie in its opener.
This game amounts to two hungry dogs. I like that.
No comments:
Post a Comment