Sometimes you see things that remind you to pump the brakes amid a very good start feeding optimism. For me, that moment was witnessing the Lower Lake High football team defeating the St. Helena Saints 33-14.
The last time Lower Lake defeated St. Helena was 2007. The coaches for that game were Stan Weiper for Lower Lake and Dave Collinsworth for St. Helena. Process that for a moment. The win catapults Lower Lake to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in North Central League I. The loss drops St. Helena to 3-2 overall and 2-2 in NCL I.
The loss, however, is no reason to panic.
Before the season, I looked at the St. Helena roster and thought, this may not be the star-studded team earlier this decade but at the small school level, you do not necessarily need top-shelf talent to be competitive. If you have a top-flight coaching staff, you can mask weaknesses and still find a way to be competitive.
The examples I constantly give in the NCL I are Cloverdale basketball and Middletown football. Those teams do not win regularly because their athletes are so much better but when it comes to coaching, those programs are a well-oiled machine. Even at their worst, those programs do not sink to the depths.
With Friday’s setback, the Saints are 79-33 in head coach Brandon Farrell’s tenth season at the helm. That would qualify as a very successful tenure to date if I do say so. Coming into the season, I looked at the fact that the St. Helena JV team had gone a combined 2-18 the previous two seasons. I’m usually the first one to pump the brakes if a JV team goes 18-2 in the span. I’ve see many JV teams do great but flame out once reaching varsity but rarely do I see JV teams with bad win-loss records suddenly turn great even though the right staff can coach up a few wins.
Then there was the offseason, Farrell added long-time Justin-Siena assistant coaches Steve Vargus and Steve Shifflett to the coaching staff along with Ian MacMillan to become the Saints JV head coach.
I find it comical when people talk about what matters more, talent or coaching? I have always said one cannot happen without the other. The Saints started the season 3-1. They beat the teams they were supposed to beat Drake (35-0), Cloverdale (41-20) and st. Vincent (41-0). Those teams are a combined 4-12. The two Saints losses are against Lower Lake and Kelseyville (28-14). Those teams are a combined 8-3. That said, no shame attached to those defeats.
The NCL I has become a much improved league the past few years in that the quality in the middle has become stronger. People like to throw around the words “tough league” or “weak league.” I find most leagues to be about in the same in that there is quality at the top and lack of quality at the bottom. For many years, Middletown has been the lead dog with different teams challenging them. In the 2010s, it was mostly St. Helena and Fort Bragg. In past years, Kelseyville, Clear Lake and Willits also had their time.
I remember talking to Farrell in May. Like most any coach, optimism is going to be abound in spring time but he also cautioned that there would be some growing pains:
Vargus is very highly regarded having spent 16 seasons at Justin-Siena as defensive coordinator under former head coach Rich Cotruvo. Vargus’ 3-4 defenses were huge reasons why the Braves won six NCS titles in 14 seasons. Vargus has also coached at Vanden, Vintage and Terra Linda.
Lower Lake, which is the largest school in Lake County, that is much improved from years past. The Trojans have always had athletes, now they have the football acumen and discipline to go along with it. The next three weeks present win column opportunities for the Saints with a trips to Fort Bragg, Winters and Willits. All three are on the road but within reach.
All in all, it was fun to return to St. Helena and see some old and familiar faces as I covered this program up close for the better part of ten seasons. Though Friday night did not go as they liked, I still see a well-run program.
No comments:
Post a Comment