Napa Valley football playoffs carry a huge slate

Ben Jones, who starred as Cooter Davenport on the TV series The

Dukes of Hazzard (1979-1985) was known to use the phrase “wall

-to-wall, 10-feet tall” when playing his role. 

With all six Napa Valley, CA, high school football teams earning CIF

North Coast Section playoff berths on Sunday, “wall-to-wall, 10-feet

tall” could also apply in a region that produces wine as opposed to

shine (as in moonshine) in the aforementioned 1980s TV show. 

We’re not breaking down these matchups centered around base schemes,

etc. Outside of the Napa Valley, I don’t know enough so I’m not going

to be Lee Corso and break down base schemes. I’m simply going on

information that involves numbers crunching and you can draw your

own conclusion. 

Without further adieu, here are your matchups: 

NCS Div. II

No. 8 Napa Grizzlies at No. 1 Clayton Valley Eagles 

The last time Napa reached the playoffs in football, it was known as the

Indians (in 2016). After two seasons of missing the postseason with a

combined 3-16 mark, the program now known as the Grizzlies have

returned to a familiar spot. Napa was a playoff team from 2002-2016

every year as a member of the Sac Joaquin Section. 

The Grizzlies enter the game 7-3 overall and 4-2 in Vine Valley Athletic

League. The Eagles are 5-5 overall and 1-3 against the East Bay League

(Mountain). So why is Clayton Valley the No. 1 seed and Napa No. 8?

That pesky strength of schedule thing. Napa’s strength of schedule

based on calpreps.com is minus-2.3 with only one win coming against

a team in a higher division, and that was a 42-0 win over lowly Armijo

(Fairfield). 

Clayton Valley, on the other hand, had a strength of schedule rating of

29.0, by far the strongest in the NCS Div. II. The East Bay (Mountain)

League features the likes of De La Salle (Concord). I could mention

that school and stop there but add San Ramon Valley, Monte Vista,

California and Foothill and you’ve got no layups. 

No. 7 Redwood Giants at No. 2 Vintage Crushers

Despite the seeding disparity, this one has the potential to be a close one.

The Crushers broke their 32-year playoff win drought win two victories

a year ago. For Redwood, there has been no in-between the last four

games, either the Giants have delivered a shutout win — 62-0 (Novato),

57-0, (San Rafael) and 74-0 (Drake) — or they have been shutout, 14-0

to eventual Marin County Athletic League champion Marin Catholic. 

For the second time in as many seasons, the Crushers went 6-0 in the

VVAL but their most recent was a come-from-behind, tooth-and-nail

battle against archrival Napa, which was a 26-20 win. 

The two leagues are equally comparable. Calpreps.com rates the VVAL

No. 8 and the MCAL No. 9, essentially a push but you could say either

league is better and not be wrong. 

The equalizer for Vintage, neither team has played a game in two weeks.

The Crushers, however, would appear to have a sharper edge entering

this game having been pushed to the limit in their previous game. 

NCS Div. III

No. 5 American Canyon Wolves at No. 4 Hayward Farmers

Both teams enter the game with gaudy win-loss records but more than a

few cynics regarding strength of schedule. 

Hayward enters the contest 9-1 overall and 6-0 in the West Alameda

County (Shoreline) League. The Wolves are 8-2 overall and 4-2 in

VVAL. The Farmers last tasted defeat on Sept. 20 (21-0) to NCS No.

3 seed Campolindo (Moraga). American Canyon tasted some humble

pie in its last game, 17-10 loss to Justin-Siena (Napa). 

With this matchup, American Canyon’s calpreps.com strength of

schedule is minus-3.6, Hayward’s is minus-14.0. As far as league

strength, the VVAL ranks No. 8 out of 17 teams, the WAC Shoreline

ranks 16th.

The question becomes, which Wolves team do we get? If American

Canyon can be front-runners, as in get out to an early lead, it can

advance to the second round. However, if the game gets sideways in

the early going, as in get behind multiple scores, it could be curtains. 

NCS Div. VI

No. 5 Lower Lake Trojans at No. 4 Justin-Siena Braves

The Trojans have had a lot of lean years with the exception of a few

the past couple of decades. Lower Lake went 7-3 overall and 5-2 in

the North Central League I. The Trojans had won five straight before

a season-ending 54-39 loss to St. Helena. The Trojans have scored

40 points or more on five occasions but have given up 40 plus three

times. 

The Braves have been overmatched at times since entering the VVAL

but are coming off their best win since entering the league, a 17-10

win over American Canyon. Justin is also a team that is seldom

ill-prepared. 

NCS Div. VII

No. 5 St. Vincent Mustangs at No. 4 St. Helena Saints

The two teams have a lot of recent history. They were NCL I South

opponents from 2005-2010 and played each other regularly as non

league opponents. They meet again as playoff foes. St. Vincent went

9-1 in the Independent League. 

For what it is worth, the two teams have two common opponents —

Willits and Cloverdale. Both teams lost to Willits with St. Vincent

falling 27-0 to the Wolverines. St. Helena was within a two-point

conversion of tying the game to force overtime before losing 30-28.

That loss cost the Saints a higher seed. The two teams also beat

Cloverdale, 28-7 for St. Vincent and 47-0 for St. Helena. 

9-1. SH 8-2, 5-2. History. Common opponents Willits and

Cloverdale Willits — SV lost 27-0. SH lost 30-28. Cloverdale

win 28-7, SH win 47-0. 

The stars are aligned for the Saints. 

NCS 8-person football

No. 5 Calistoga Wildcats at No. 4 Tomales Braves

Realignment happens but these two follow each other from NCL

II to eight-man football. The Braves enter the game 6-3 overall

and 3-1 in NCL III South. The Wildcats were 5-3 overall and

1-2 in NCL III South, closing with a 44-0 win over Roseland

Prep (Santa Rosa) on Friday. 

The two teams met on Oct. 18, with Tomales winning 46-28 at

Calistoga. The winner gets a trip to face Cornerstone Christian

(Antioch) at Heritage High (Brentwood) on Nov. 22. 

Big Apple high school sports committee leaves a sour taste

One of the many lessons I learned in journalism school was “think

globally but write locally.” 

When I took a sports broadcasting class at the University of Nebraska,

those were the words of my professor, Rick Alloway. The premise is that

you take an event that happens outside your local arena and ask, “how

would you report this story if it happened here?”

The story I found recently scrolling across my social media timeline

pertained to a New York high school football coach caught my attention

— for both positive and negative reasons. Before I go any further, I

will acknowledge that I do not live in New York and nor did I witness

the games in question. However, lack of witnessing such events does

not preclude me from forming an opinion because I have seen plenty

of sports events at every level from little league to the NFL. 

Plainridge High, which is an American public high school in the hamlet

of North Massapequa, Long Island, New York, and is part of Plainedge

Union Free School District found itself in the news. The Red Devils

extended their 61-13 rout over the South Side Cyclones with a fourth

-quarter touchdown, it was a crowning moment for the winner of a big

game between unbeaten high school football teams on Long Island.

Nassau County has a policy designed to prevent lopsided results in

football games: If a team wins a game by more than 42 points, the

winning coach must explain to a special committee why such an outsize

margin could not be avoided.

With that last touchdown, Plainedge pushed the final score to 61-13,

putting the team in violation, and subjecting its coach, Robert Shaver, to

a one-game suspension.

The committee determined that Shaver, who became the first varsity coach

to be punished under the three-year-old policy, should have pulled his

starters when he had a big lead at the start of the fourth quarter, and it

found his explanation for why he did not lacking. 

One week later, without Shaver on the sideline, Plaineridge whitewashed

the Lynbrook Owls 36-0 in the regular season finale. 

Shaver told Newsday that he had not pulled his starters when the fourth

quarter began despite Plainedge holding a 35-point lead because he feared

that South Side might stage a comeback.

The committee that reviewed the matter — a six-member body made up of

local school administrators and athletic officials — was unpersuaded by

that argument. The results of Plainedge’s three victories before the South

Side game were 49-7, 42-0, 42-0.

As I examine more closely, I ask, “Have any of these stuffed shirted clowns

ever played competitive sports?” I played on some lousy high school

football teams at Justin-Siena (Napa, CA). I played on the JV team in 1988

that went 0-9. Believe me, I know what “running up the score” is. That

season, we were playing Colfax in a home game. Colfax beat us 52-0 and

kept its starters in for the majority of the contest. I remember our coach

(Steve Meyer) saying to the Colfax sideline from across the field, “the

scoreboard only goes to 100.” 

Like most people, I competed in a variety of different sports throughout

my youth and high school years. And like most people, my experience

ended there. However, I also spent 18 years as a sports reporter. I have

seen games from all over the spectrum: competitive wins, competitive

losses, blowout wins, blowout losses, etc. 

The common denominator that I keep returning to is that the score has

absolutely no bearing on whether or not a team ran up the score. I once

saw the Calistoga High (Calistoga, CA) football team win 55-0 over

Rincon Valley Christian (Santa Rosa, CA) but go out of its way not

to win 85-0. Two years later, I saw the same two teams meet with the

losing team from two years previous, RVC, win 28-13 but they ran up

the score. How? Go ahead, the winning team up 14-13 with 1:47 left

in the game, took a knee on one play, faked taking a knee and threw

a touchdown. Then onside kicked and scored another touchdown

when Calistoga had no timeouts remaining, winning 28-13. 

Those scenarios aside, I have long said that most every team has starters

and bench warmers. If the game is out of hand, the latter portion of

players will normally enter the game. Those players generally do not

play when the game is in the balance. Therefore, if such players are

getting into the game, they owe it to themselves and their coaches to

give maximum effort because it becomes their time to shine. The

coaches are constantly challenging those kids in practice with things to

the effect of, “OK, kid, you want more playing time, work hard in

practice, be ready when called to go into the game, etc.” Once those

kids get in the game, you cannot just de-program them. 

Running up the score is dictated by how the game is being managed

and what plays are being run. If I’m a football coach, have my

nonstarters in the game and am running simple plays, that’s your

problem if you can’t stop it, not mine. 

The part of the story that I wish I knew in terms of Shaver’s suspension

is, “what percentage of the committee has a sports background?” I’m

not suggesting that I am going to agree with their decision but I’ll at

least listen to them if they have a sports background versus are they

stuffed-shirted mathematicians that don’t know first down from third

down. 

Napa Valley High school football around the horn Week 10

Another regular season of high school football has come and gone in

Napa Valley, CA. 

The postseason awaits in the form of CIF North Coast Section playoffs

for as many as five teams in these parts. The only question is when and

where they are playing. Both fates, however, will be decided on Nov.

10, not Nov. 3 as originally planned. Another year of California wildfires

and PG&E power outages have decided such matters, the latter being the

Kincaide Fire, which had North Sonoma County as the epicenter. 

The NCS extended the regular season by one week to make up games,

some of which were local rivalry contests. On Friday, the Vintage

Crushers rallied to defeat the Napa Grizzlies 26-20. The Justin-Siena

Braves defeated the American Canyon Wolves 17-10. The St. Helena

Saints outscored the Lower Lake Trojans 54-39. The Calistoga Wildcats

had the remainder of their games as a result of the threat of the Kincaide

Fire in the early stages. The Wildcats were 4-3 overall and 0-2 in North

Central League III South. 

In the meantime, here is a closer look: 

NAPA/VINTAGE

Looking back: First of all, shoutout to both sides. Regardless of outcome,

you want local rivals playing games like this. Don’t give me 56-14, we see

plenty of that on Week 6 regardless of league when the projected first place

team plays the projected league stumble bumb. 

This event has received much criticism, including this corner, for being

uncompelling based on numerous one-sided games for much of the 21st

century. The 48th version, however, was not one of them. For the first time

since 2005, the league title, this time Vine Valley Athletic League, was on

the line. 

The favored Crushers took a 19-7 halftime lead. Vintage’s scoring came on

the strength of Mauricio Castro (36-yard run), Jacob Aaron (83-yard run)

and Aaron to Sam Neal (21-yard pass). Napa’s lone first half score was a

6-yarder courtesy of Benito Saldivar. 

The second half, however, saw the Grizzlies take command. The defense

put the clamps on Vintage’s offense, just like the Crusher defense did on

Napa in the first half. The Grizzlies went in front 20-19 on two Isaiah

Newton 6-yard touchdown runs, the second came with 2:17 left in the

game. The Crushers marched 64 yards on 10 plays capped by Aaron’s

4-yard touchdown run with :23.1 seconds left, giving Vintage sole

possession of the VVAL crown for the second time in as many seasons. 

Looking ahead: The Crushers (9-1 overall, 6-0 VVAL) are in the NCS

Div. II playoffs. Absolutely no doubt about it. Vintage will host a game

most likely. The Grizzlies (7-3 overall, 4-2 VVAL) would have been a

shoe-in with a win but at this juncture they are in the “probably in”

category. Could we get another round of Napa-Vintage? I don’t know

how likely that possibility is but it is in play. 

AMERICAN CANYON/JUSTIN-SIENA

Looking back: This win is Justin best in the VVAL era and it’s not even

arguable. The Braves beat an 0-10 Napa team 36-32 last season but it took

a crazy set of circumstances. In 2019, Justin motor-boated Petaluma

(33-10) and Sonoma (41-0), two teams that were a combined 3-17. Those

are out of county opponents that are floundering. Those wins are nice but

won’t raise any antenas. The win over the Wolves, however, will move the

needle because it came against a fellow Napa County school that has been

pretty damn good since opening its doors in 2010. 

Strange game in one respect. Justin-Siena, which was solidly assured of an

NCS Div. VI playoff spot, played with enormous urgency. The Wolves

had a chance to create a three-way tie for the VVAL title, came out with

little urgency. The result was a 17-0 Braves lead within the game’s first

nine minutes as Hudson Beers fired two touchdown passes, 19 yards to

Solomone Anitoni and 76 yards to Miles Williams. Flavio Marx added

a 21-yard field goal. 

The lead looked ready to swell to 31-0 but American Canyon’s Derrick

Conner recovered a fumble and Kekoa Wilson intercepted a pass to halt

Justin drives. The Wolves made it a game thanks to Ezekiel Anderson’s

58-yard scoring run and Alex Llamas’ 32-yard field goal. 

On paper this contest reflected a seven point Justin win. The eyeball test,

however, revealed a Braves team eager to prove a point and an American

Canyon team that thought it could show up and win. By the time the

Wolves figured that out, it was too late. 

Looking ahead: The Braves are a stone cold, lead pipe lock for the

NCS Div. VI playoffs. They will get one home game at the absolute

minimum, 7-3 overall, 3-3 VVAL. The Wolves finish the regular

season 8-2 overall and 4-2 in VVAL. The loss, however, cripples their

chances for a home game in the NCS Div. III playoffs. If the Wolves

have to travel, a trip to former Super California Athletic Conference

nemesis Benicia wouldn’t be so bad. However, a trip to Rancho Cotate,

which ended American Canyon’s season last year is also in play. 

ST. HELENA

Looking back: Lower Lake entered the contest having scored at least

45 points in three of the preceding four contests. The Saints built big

cushion early for what turned into a defense mechanism for a Trojan

offensive revival. 

Oh, and that Ivan Robledo fellow? He’s only a sophomore and

statistically he is above names like Tom Blanchfield, Raul Murrillo,

Charles Bertoli, Sebastian Segura, etc. Robledo carried the ball 39 times

for a school record 329 yards and six touchdowns. He also broke

Sebastian Segura’s record (1,717 yards) for the top spot on the single-

season rushing yards record with 1,809 and his six touchdowns pulled

him even with Charles Bertoli for most rushing scores in a season with

29.

As a team, the Saints (8-2, 5-2 NCL I) ran for 460 yards, giving them

3,809 in ten games this year, that total breaks the single-season team

rushing record of 3,577 they set last season in 12 games.

Backfield mate Cody DiTomaso added 66 yards on six carries and a

58-yard touchdown reception on Friday. DiTomaso surpassed the

1,000-yard barrier this season and has over 2,300 career rushing yards,

good for fourth all-time in school history.

Looking ahead: The win became significant for the Saints because

back-to-back losses earlier this season to Middletown and Willits put

the NCL I title hopes out of the picture. Those losses also put getting

a home game in the NCS Div. VII playoffs in jeopardy. With St. Helena

having won three in a row since then, a home game to open the

postseason appears to be back in the picture.