Napa Valley football Week 4 around the horn

The week that was for high school football in the Napa Valley involved the debut of the
newly formed Vine Valley Athletic League teams squaring off against one another.

American Canyon scored its first victory of the 2018, and under new head coach John
Montante, 43-16 over Petaluma. Napa is still looking for its first win under Tom Petithomme
after losing to Sonoma 28-16. Justin-Siena and Casa Grande engaged in a thriller, which the
latter won 36-35. Vintage had a bye and hosts Casa Grande on Friday. Calistoga defeated
Point Arena on Saturday while St. Helena lost its North Central League I opener, 50-29.

Here’s a closer look in alphabetical order:

AMERICAN CANYON

Looking back: The final score was not indicative of how evenly matched the two teams
were. American Canyon, despite a comfortable 27-point win, only outgained the Trojans
191-138 in total yards. The difference in the contest was three non-offensive touchdowns,
two on interception returns (63 yards from Brandon Seay and 12 yards from Billy Biondini)
and a 22 yard blocked punt for a touchdown by Antonio Perez. The difference was also
explosive plays, 18 yard pass connection from Vance Eschenburg to Seay, 29 yard touchdown
toss from Eschenburg to Perez and a 55 yard touchdown run by Darius Thomas. Petaluma
ran 64 plays, only two went for 10 yards or more, nine for negative yardage and 20 for three
yards or fewer.

Looking ahead: The Wolves will be visiting a Sonoma team that figures to be sky high after
defeating Napa for its second win in a row. Another factor is that the Dragons home field is a
natural grass surface. Given that American Canyon likes to beat teams with athleticism, does
that become an equalizer? The two programs met twice as nonleague foes, Sonoma won the
2011 game 32-19 at Arnold Field and American Canyon won the 2012 contest 45-0 at Wolf
Den Stadium. Sonoma has given up just 63 points in five games.

CALISTOGA

Looking back: In an era of FieldTurf and fast tracks, a trip to Point Arena means football
field with grass and gopher holes along with dirt tracks with weeds and pickup trucks. Yours
truly speaks from experience. Calistoga improved to 3-1 thanks to 21 unanswered fourth
quarter points and a defense that created five interceptions, including two by Christian
Caldera on back-to-back drives. Teammate Juan Vega also added two picks. Jasiel Flores
added another.

Looking ahead: After losing their opener, 28-20 to South Fork (Miranda), the Wildcats
appear to be in a good place having won three in a row to improve to 3-1 under first-year
head coach Jim Klaczak. Calistoga has a bye and returns to action to face a school where
there is no love lost, Rincon Valley Christian (Santa Rosa). Yours truly also speaks from
experience. The Eagles are 2-1 with wins over Trinity Christian (Monterey) and Roseland
Prep (Santa Rosa), 32-8 and 41-0 respectively. RVC lost to Cornerstone Christian (Antioch)
30-16. The Eagles had a bye and are back in action Saturday when they host Upper Lake.

JUSTIN-SIENA

Looking back: One would be hard-pressed to find a more entertaining contest than this one.
After spotting the Gauchos a 14-0, Justin stormed back and appeared poised for victory
when quarterback Barrett Donohoe scored on a 1-yard run, giving Justin a 35-28 lead with
4:28 left in the contest which was followed by a Francisco Morales-Florentino two-point
conversion. With 16 seconds remaining, Casa Grande’s Jordan Gramjo scored on a 1-yard
run. Gramjo also followed with the two-point conversion. Despite the Braves spectacular
offense, the defense missed too many tackles to the tune of 370 yards and five rushing
touchdowns.

Looking ahead: The Braves will host a Petaluma team that is licking its wounds from a
43-16 loss to American Canyon. Justin’s defense hopes for a similar effort that American
Canyon had against the Trojans, who run a mixture of the veer and triple-option. Assignment
discipline will be crucial. Another subplot is that both clubs are 0-1 in VVAL and need a win
to avert an 0-2 mark. Those concerned that Justin might be in over its head in the VVAL saw
Exhibit A of why the opposite may play out.

NAPA

Looking back: The Grizzlies came out flat and their performance revealed. Headlining the
game’s plot was starting quarterback Gunner Schoeps being replaced by Isaiah Newton after
getting intercepted on the first drive. Newton finished the contest completing 10 of 18 passes
for 119 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Napa turned the ball over three times in
the first 12:05 as the Dragons took a 14-0 lead. Napa trimmed the margin to 14-9 at halftime
only to see Sonoma open the second half with an 84 yard kickoff return from Jake Baker.
Sonoma’s Tyler Winslow carried 22 times for 143 yards and a touchdown.

Looking ahead: Considering that the Dragons, who had also been struggling, were Napa’s
best chance for a victory, finding a win on the schedule is exceedingly difficult. Petithomme
was noncommittal on who the starting quarterback would be moving forward. The last time
Napa struggled to this magnitude was 1992, when the team went 1-9. The school, program
and culture were in a much different place. Napa also went 2-7-1 in 1999. The Grizzlies
have a bye and visit American Canyon on Oct. 4.

+4  

ST. HELENA

Looking back: Kelseyville was considered one of the behemoths of the NCL I along with
Middletown entering the season and gave little reason to dispel that notion. The Knights
led 20-15 at halftime before outscoring St. Helena 22-6 in the third quarter to fashion a
42-21 lead after three periods. St. Helena actually led 15-6 at one point. Kelseyville rushed
for 399 yards and six touchdowns. Jordy Lopez accounted for 171 of those yards and four
scores. Big plays against a quality opponent continue to be the Saints problem.

Looking ahead: St. Helena hosts Clear Lake (Lakeport) on Friday. After reaching the CIF
North Coast Section Div. V semifinals last season, the Cardinals are struggling with a 1-3
record. Clear Lake has momentum on its side coming into St. Helena, having beaten Willits
32-13. The Cardinals entered the game having scored nary a point but got healthy against a
weaker Willits team. This is a game St. Helena needs if it wants to finish in the
upper third-to-half of the NCL I.

PA4YS Shootout Oct. 19 in Vacaville

It is often said that golf is the sport of the lifetime in that it lends itself to playing into
advanced age when the body cannot play the same sports as their youth.

Thanks to Parents Advocates 4 Youth Sports, there are more opportunities to start
young. The first annual PA4YS Shootout takes place on Oct. 19, 2018, at Cypress
Lakes Golf Course in Vacaville, CA. The cost is $95 per person and includes golf
(scramble format), range balls, lunch, BBQ tri-tip and chicken dinner and awards.
The event benefits youth sports in the 707 area code.

PA4YS was established three years ago and has experienced rapid growth to provide
low cost athletic opportunities for youngsters in the 707 area code. The organization
currently offers a kids4golf yout tour and academy as well as a kids4karate program.

The organization, which is nonprofit, was also formed with the aspiration of creating
exposure of sports to kids (specifically ages 8-17) by offering affordable clinics,
academies and opportunities to compete in their sport of choice. The Board of
Directors are Eric Hallmark (president & CEO), Matt Stewart (Chief Financial Officer)
and Greg wright (Secretary). Board members are Steve Gonzales (Fundraising
Chairman) and Jesse Corpus (Kids 4 Karate). The program director is Dennis Urabe
(Kids 4 Golf Academy).

Sponsorship opportunities are available at pa4ys.org. For more information, contact
Matt Stewart at 707-494-9448 or e-mail at mstewart@pa4ys.org

Napa Sporting SC to host Vacaville at St. Helena High

The United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) welcomed the Napa Sporting SC to its
league last spring but on Sunday, the semi-pro team will get a chance to showcase
its talents on a local level.

The team will host Vacaville United Elite on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at St. Helena High.
Admission for ages 14 and up is $10, those under 14 receive free admission.

The Napa team has 25-30 players on its roster ranging from all parts of the Napa
Valley, from American Canyon to the South and Calistoga to the North. The USPL
teams, of which there are 10, play in the Northwest Conference. Besides the
aforementioned teams from Napa and Vacaville, the remainder of the teams are
comprised of Nevada Coyotes, Real San Jose, Jasa Redwood City, Dynamos FC
Danville, Chico Rangers, Vacaville Elite, Azteca FC Sacramento, San Leandro FC,
Oakland Stompers.

Napa Sporting SC has been in existence for nearly 40 years and is owned by
Fernando Lopez, Monica Macias, Bernie Ochoa and Debbie Weston, and is an
extension of Napa Sport Academy, of which Ochoa is the Director of Coaching.
Ochoa is also a longtime soccer coach for Vintage High, having led both the boys
and girls teams.

Ochoa added that the purpose behind the team taking its next step is to create a
bridge between the youth and professional level as well as giving local talent the
opportunity t pursue their craft locally.

Napa Sporting SC first started in 1979 by vineyard workers who came to the
United States looking for a better future. It has continued by its own success and
growth as second and third-generation players and coaches from those same
families continue to tradition in Napa Valley.

Napa Sporting SC can participate in the qualifying rounds for the Lamar Hunt U.S.
Open Cup through their affiliation and membership with the UPSL, the U.S. Soccer
Federation (USSF) and the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA).

The UPSL was formed in 2011 and currently includes more than 100 teams in
Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio,
Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. UPSL is the
fastest growing Pro Development League in the USA, with 125-plus teams targeted
for 2018 Spring Season. Each UPSL team is individually owned and operated, and
is responsible for maintaining either UPSL Pro Premier Division or Championship
Division minimum standards.

UPSL teams are all eligible to participate in the U.S. Open Cup Qualifying Rounds
through the leagues affiliation with the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) and the
United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA).

More information about UPSL can be found at www.upslsoccer.com or by following
the league on Facebook (www.facebook.com/upslsoccer) and Twitter (@upslsoccer).

Making a case for Justin-Siena football in the VVAL

Sometimes you have to humble yourself. In the process, you feel the need to pass along
the same information to those who may share similar sentiments but have not arrived at
changing their mind yet even though you have changed yours.

Before I arrive at what I am addressing, there needs to be a modern history lesson.

I never made any public predictions but when I saw the formation of the newly established
Vine Valley Athletic League of Vintage, Napa, American Canyon, Casa Grande, Petaluma
and Sonoma with Justin-Siena joining them, I blindly told myself, “My goodness, Justin is
going to be in over its head in football.” Many other 40 and over alums have expressed
similar sentiments in part because when they played football at Justin, they remember Napa
and Vintage being powerful programs with large rosters while Justin being the smaller school
had much less volume. In that era, it would have been a pipe dream to even suggest Justin
could compete with the likes of Napa or Vintage in football.

Yours truly graduated from Justin in 1991 and played three years of football. To put it mildly,
the Braves were a mess going 7-29 in my four years there with three different head coaches.
It pains me to say it but we were a high school version of the Cleveland Browns. My
freshman year, I remember scrimmaging Napa and Vintage at Memorial Stadium. Suffice it
to say, it was pretty scary. They absolutely terrorized us. It would have been even uglier in a
real game.

Justin competed in the Superior California Athletic League with St. Helena, St. Patrick’s
(Vallejo), John Swett (Crockett), Vanden (Travis Air Force Base), Dixon and Rio Vista. In
2000, the league disbanded and Justin began a 17 year stint in the Marin County Athletic
League. While the Braves were competitive in football and some other sports, travelling
through two counties for away games became a headache. Therein lies Justin’s move to
the VVAL.

When the Braves moved to the MCAL, I remember the narrative being to the effect of, “They
are playing bigger schools. How are they going to compete?” In the process, the Braves had
Rich Cotruvo as their head coach from 1997-2015, during which time the program went
144-74 with six CIF North Coast Section Div. IV titles. Justin was also twice the runnerup and
often had records that would hold serve in the regular season against Div. II and III schools
then play Div. IV teams in the playoffs. The postseason was often a comedown for Justin.

I also think that Justin alums from my time not only remember Napa and Vintage as perennial
contenders but also only recall the 1987-1996 Braves being terrible, as opposed to the
Cotruvo led teams and Dave Shipp led teams before 1987.

I can put the “Justin can’t compete because the league has bigger schools” theory to bed now.
According to the NCS website, Justin’s enrollment is at 530 students. There have been times
the enrollment has been North of 600 but you get the point. The rest of the MCAL goes as
follows: Marin Catholic (750), San Marin (1,150), Sir Francis Drake (1,203), Novato (1,391),
Redwood (1,910), San Rafael (1,350), Tamalpais (1,574), and Terra Linda (1,235).

In its 17 seasons, Justin went 79-50 against MCAL foes. The Braves were co-champs of the
league in 2004 and 2014 with Marin Catholic and Novato. Of those 17 seasons, only three
times did Justin finish below .500 in league, one season they went exactly .500, 4-4 in 2002.
Do the math, 13 seasons of going plus-.500 in a league with schools twice your size or better.
I wouldn’t call that being “in over their head.”

In the newly formed, VVAL the enrollments are as follows: American Canyon (1,564), Casa
Grande (1,973), Justin-Siena (530), Napa (1,980), Petaluma (1,355), Sonoma (1,293)

and Vintage (1,966).

Translation, Justin will be facing the same issue it faced in the MCAL. Perhaps another
reason for pessimism was that entering this season, Brandon Larocco, who was a former
player of Cotruvo and long-time assistant, led Justin to a 6-13 mark in his first two seasons.
So far in 2018, Larocco has the Braves cooking with gas with a 3-1 record. Justin’s loss was
a 28-7 setback to 3-0 Piedmont. The three wins were by a combined 140-22 against
Healdsburg, Armijo (Fairfield) and Hercules, who are a combined 3-7. Healdsburg has since
cancelled its varsity season and Hercules has taken a hard fall after reach the NCS Div. IV
title game last last.

Strength of opponents, however, is out of their control, you play who is in front of you and
handle business. The Braves’ 40-14 win over Armijo, however, deserves some credence
because Armijo is a Div. I school. Granted, the Indians have been perennial also rans but
any time a Div. IV team beats a Div. I team, it should get your attention.

In the process, look around the rest of the VVAL, entering 2018, Casa Grande and Petaluma
have been fair-to-midland, going 77-44-1 and 61-48 respectively the previous 10 seasons.
Sonoma has struggled going 40-61 in the same span. American Canyon has gone 55-28
since opening its doors in 2010. Vintage had gone 43-59 in that span, Napa went 75-37.

However, you have to look at programs for what they are, not what they were. As I look at
the VVAL landscape, I’m not suggesting the Braves will win the title. They probably won’t
but I can see them finishing middle of the pack. I said before the season that the league
title will come down to Vintage and American Canyon and I feel no reason to back away
from that notion.

Vintage and American Canyon as it stands in 2018 are good but not great teams. For the
former, I believe head coach Dylan Leach has the Crushers on the upswing in his third
season. I think Leach is the best coach Vintage has had since Les Franco (2000-2006).
For the latter, the Wolves are 0-4 having played a brutal nonleague schedule and
acclimating to a coaching change. American Canyon is not the force it was in 2016, when
it went 11-2, but has too many good athletes not to be a factor.

Napa is struggling at 0-4 and has been through three coaching changes in three years in
part because of the fallout of a hazing scandal that led to the resignation of former head
coach Troy Mott and his assistants. There has also been the fallout of a mascot change,
from Indians to Grizzlies. The roster volume is actually bigger with Justin, who has 33
varsity players to Napa’s 28, according to maxpreps.com.

I don’t see a league title for the Braves but they will get a few. The Braves have plenty of
tools in the toolbox to contend.

Napa Valley football Week 3 around the horn

Week 3 of what was in Napa Valley high school football mainly consisted of the conclusion
of nonleague competition.

American Canyon, Napa and Justin-Siena will enter their Vine Valley Athletic League slate
next week while Vintage has a bye. St. Helena had a bye and will open North Central League
I competition at home against Kelseyville. Justin and Vintage defeated Hercules and
Bellarmine Prep (San Jose) 39-8 and 26-14 respectively. American Canyon and Napa fell to
Wood (Vacaville) and Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco), 28-22 and 40-31 respectively.
Calistoga is 2-1 after defeating Upper Lake 39-20.

Here’s a look in alphabetical order:

AMERICAN CANYON

Looking back: Though the Wolves fell to 0-4, they finished their nonleague slate by playing
their best game of the season against a pretty solid Wood team. Turnovers and subpar tackling
had been American Canyon’s Achilles Heel but both issues were much better on Friday.
Offensively, Eddie Byrdsong led the way with 133 yards rushing on 21 carries and two
touchdowns. Defensively, American Canyon yielded two third-and-long conversions that
loomed large but limited the Wildcats offense to 191 yards on 39 plays.

Looking ahead: American Canyon opens VVAL competition at home against the Petaluma
Trojans, who are 3-1 after beating El Molino (Forestville) 56-31. The difference between the
two team’s nonleague slates, however, bears mentioning. The Wolves opponents have a
combined record of 11-4 with an average calpreps.com rating of 16.07. The Trojans nonleague
foes are 8-6 with an average calpreps.com rating of -10.8.

CALISTOGA

Looking back: The Wildcats had their schedule turned upside down, inside out and right side
up but once they took the field, Calistoga handled its business. The game was originally slated
for a 7 p.m. kickoff but Calistoga received notice that the officials that were supposed to work
the game were unavailable. The contest was going to get rescheduled to Saturday but that would
not work because most Calistoga players have Saturday jobs. The game was called by one
official as opposed to the customary four. Despite having just 18 rushing yards on 17 carries in
the first half, Calistoga led 14-13. Christian Caldera had a kickoff return for a score and
completed 4 of 5 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns.

Looking ahead: Calistoga travels to Point Arena on Saturday for a 2 p.m. kickoff. The Pirates
are 2-0 with wins over Round Valley (48-36) and Anderson Valley 66-6.

JUSTIN-SIENA

Looking back: The Braves won three games in each of head coach Brandon LaRocco’s first
two seasons. Justin needed just four games to get their third victory in 2018 against a Hercules
team that has fallen hard after reaching the CIF North Coast Section Div. IV title game a year
ago. Justin throttled the Titans thanks to the right arm of Barrett Donohoe, who completed 18
of 31 passes for 311 yards and five touchdowns. He ran for another score. Hercules suited up
just 18 players. Justin’s defense held the Titans in check with Miles Williams recording three
sacks.

Looking ahead: The Braves open their VVAL slate with a road contest against Casa Grande
(Petaluma). The Gauchos recorded their first victory of the season, 41-7 over Carrillo (Santa
Rosa). Casa Grande had previously lost to Windsor (30-22), Montgomery (35-7) and San
Marin (28-14).

NAPA

Looking back: For the second time in as many weeks, Napa’s offense showed signs of life
only to see the defense continue to struggle. The Grizzlies’ offense, however, hamstrung
itself by turning the ball over three times. Riordan quarterback Adham Abdelghani completed
14 of 25 passes for 302 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for 73 more on 13 carries.
Napa quarterback Gunner Schoeps had 105 yards on 18 carries and four touchdowns. As a
passer, he completed 16 of 29 throws for 264 yards and two interceptions. Napa led 17-12 at
halftime.

Looking ahead: The good news for the Grizzlies is that the rest of the VVAL hasn’t set the
world on fire. That’s not to suggest they won’t face challenges in VVAL but you get the idea.
Napa opens VVAL competition against a Sonoma team that won its first game of the season,
24-8 to El Camino (South San Francisco). Napa, though winless, has faced a more rugged
nonleague slate than the Dragons. Napa’s opponents are 7-7 with a calpreps.com average
rating of minus-2.0. Sonoma’s opponent are 8-5 with an average calpreps.com ranking of
minus-18.6.

VINTAGE

Looking back: The Crushers squared their record at 2-2. Even though three weeks have
passed since their season-opening 35-7 loss at Wood, it feels more like three months ago
based on Vintage’s bounceback from being outscored 55-15 in the first six quarters of an
0-2 start. This game was Exhibit A of “win the line of scrimmage, win the game.” Then,
throw in skill players like Jacob Aaron, Michael Webber, Drew Hatfield and Viliami
Schaumkel capitalizing and you have a winner. The Crushers marched 80 yards on 13
plays to start the contest. Webber was the Crushers’ Swiss Army knife, catching a
touchdown, rushing for another and sealing the game with an interception. Vintage’s
defense played like a salty bunch in giving up just 79 first half yards and no first downs
until the 4:41 mark of the second quarter.

Looking ahead: Though Bellarmine is not the powerhouse it once was, the Crushers
handled business and are playing like the team most people anticipated before the season.
Heading into its bye week, head coach Dylan Leach’s team appears to be in a good place.
The Crushers return to action on Sept. 21 when it hosts Casa Grande.