Four Napa Valley high school football teams punch playoff tickets

The final week of the regular season of Napa Valley high school football involved four
winners and four of the six teams punching their tickets to the CIF North Coast Section
playoffs.

The Vintage Crushers blasted the Napa Grizzlies 69-14 in Big Game 47. The American
Canyon Wolves prevailed over the Justin-Siena Braves 27-14. The St. Helena Saints
knocked off the Lower Lake Trojans 40-30. The Calistoga Wildcats whitewashed the
Roseland Prep Grizzlies 56-0.

As for the playoffs, Vintage garnered the No. 8 seed in Div. I and will host the No. 9
James Logan (Union City) Colts on Friday at 7 p.m. The winner takes on top-seeded
Antioch. American Canyon is the No. 8 seed but will visit the No. 9 seeded Montgomery
Vikings (Santa Rosa). That game will take place on Saturday at 7 p.m. The winner will
face the victor of Rancho Cotate and Casa Grande. The former is the No. 1 seed. In Div.
IV, Justin is the No. 10 seed and will visit No. 7 Piedmont. The winner visits No. 2 Del
Norte. In Div. V, St. Helena will host No. 10 Hoopa Valley on Saturday at 7 p.m. The
winner visits No. 2 Salesian.

Here’s a closer look:

NAPA-VINTAGE

Looking back: Nothing surprising happened here. Napa’s offense had its moments in the
early going before the Vintage defense shut the door. The Crushers established their
superiority to win sole possession of the newly formed Vine Valley Athletic League.
Vintage’s Viliami Schaumkel scored four touchdowns to lead the Crushers as his team
scored on all ten of their possessions. Schaumkel gained 163 yards on 13 carries. Chase
LaRue scored both of Napa’s touchdowns.

Looking ahead: Now that the Crushers won their first league title since 2005, the next
streak to break is achieving the program’s first postseason victory since 1986, when the
Crushers won the Sac Joaquin Section Div. I title. James Logan went 7-3 overall and 5-1
against Mission Valley opponents with the lone defeat being a 42-14 against league
champion Moreau Catholic (Hayward). Both teams come into the contest having run
roughshod over opponents. Since the aforementioned loss to Moreau Catholic, the Colts
have outscored their last four opponents 249-40. Vintage has outscored its last three foes
173-26. For what it’s worth, calpreps.com has the VVAL as the stronger league than the
MVL and gives Vintage the edge on strength of schedule.

As for Napa, where do they go from here after finishing 0-10 for the first winless season
since 1955? The program has had three head coaches in as many seasons (Troy Mott,
Jesus Martinez and Tom Petithomme). Petithomme was hired as the athletic director in
June and replaced Martinez shortly thereafter as the interim coach. The question becomes
does Petithomme go back to his AD role which he shares with Darci Ward and the school
pursues a football coach or is the interim tag removed? We shall see.

AMERICAN CANYON-JUSTIN

Looking back: American Canyon appeared headed for an easy victory when taking a 20-0
lead entering the fourth quarter before Braves quarterback Barrett Donohoe connected with
Solomone Anitoni for a 48-yard touchdown and Miles Williams scored on a 9-yard fumble
return. After the Braves turned it over on downs on their final possession, American Canyon
cemented the win with quarterback Vance Eschenberg connecting with Brandon Seay for a
28-yard touchdown. Eschenberg added three rushing touchdowns. Backfield mate Eddie
Byrdsong had 112 yards on 26 yards. The Wolves defense sacked Donohoe four times.

Looking ahead: The Wolves and Montgomery have two common opponents (Petaluma
and Casa Grande). American Canyon beat Petaluma 43-16 with a special teams and
defensive touchdown skewing the victory margin. Montgomery lost to Petaluma 21-7 in the
season opener. The Wolves beat Casa Grande 34-14 while one week after falling to Petaluma,
the Vikings beat Casa Grande 35-7. Though Montgomery is the lower seed, it is hosting based
on winning the North Bay League (Redwood) title. American Canyon received the higher
seed based on a more stringent strength of schedule. Calpreps.com rates the VVAL higher
than the NBL (Redwood).

For Justin, its matchup at Piedmont represents a rematch from the season-opener, which the
Highlanders won 28-7. The two programs have plenty of recent history. Justin won the 2013
(48-7) contest. The two teams split in 2015, Piemont won the season opener (24-14) and
Justin won the NCS Div. IV playoff game (14-3) along with a 2015 game (35-21). Piedmont
has won the last three in decisive fashion, including 48-14 in 2016 and 41-17 in 2017.

ST. HELENA

Looking back: The Saints ground attack amassed 384 yards led by the tandem of Ivan
Robledo and Cody DiTomaso. Robledo, who is a freshman called up from JV two weeks ago,
had 183 yards on 25 carries and four touchdowns. DiTomaso added 89 more on 19 carries on
two touchdowns. The game appeared headed for a blowout with the Saints leading 14-0
before Lower Lake’s Elias Hernandez threw a pass that appeared ticketed for an inception
but landed into Aries Brooke’s arms for a 78-yard touchdown. The Trojans later tied the
game at 14-all before the Saints took control in the second half.

Looking ahead: One week after recording his 100th career win as a head coach, Brandon
Farrell received victory No. 101. Even better news, St. Helena does not have to travel on
Highway 101 for its playoff game. The Saints are making a return trip to the playoffs after
missing out with a 3-5 record last season. St. Helena, however, has not hosted a postseason
contest since 2014. That season, the Saints went 12-2, reaching the NCS Div. V title game
before losing 14-7 to Salesian. St. Helena and Hoopa Valley are each 6-4 with one common
opponent, Arcata. The Saints opened the season with a 26-20 win over Arcata. Hoopa Valley
lost twice to the Tigers (24-16 and 22-14). The Warriors compete in the Humboldt Del Norte
Little 4 League.

CALISTOGA

Looking back: The Wildcats recovered from a difficult two weeks by running roughshod
against an overmatched opponent that was winless and scored just 12 points in eight games.
Calistoga suited up just nine players one week after having to forfeit its game against Stuart
Hall (San Francisco) because of not having enough available players. Roseland Prep
recovered an onside kick to begin the game but it was all downhill from there. Jasiel Flores
scored on a 35-yard touchdown run followed by a Christian Caldera two-point conversion to
begin the onslaught. The Wildcats defense limited the Grizzlies to just 50 yards of total offense.

Looking ahead: This marks the first year that the NCS has incorporated 8-man playoffs but
Calistoga did not make the selection. The Wildcats finished head coach Jim Klaczak’s season
5-4. The year started in promising fashion in going 4-1 but a three-game losing streak before
the aforementioned win over Roseland Prep derailed the Wildcats’ postseason chances.

Big Game 47 makes you wonder what could have been

Big Game -- you hear those words in Napa, CA, and you are either referring to
the Blue & Gold of Napa High or the Burgundy & Gold of Vintage High.

The 47th edition will take place on Friday night between the Vintage Crushers
and Napa  ….. I am holding my nose as my fingers hit the keyboard ….. Grizzlies.
Writing that mascot name makes me vomit in my mouth but I get through it. They
will always be Indians to me. Nice work, NVUSD School Board, you bumbs.  

The event draws people like nobody’s business even if the matchup on the field
has largely been uncompelling lately. Napa, who is formerly known as the Indians
and is now the Grizzlies of this past August, won 14 of the last 15 contests from
2002-2016 by an average score of 33.4-11.4 since 2002 before the Crushers broke
the streak with a 14-7 win a year ago. The previous time Vintage beat Napa was in
2005, 28-7. That season, Vintage won a share of the league title with Napa and
Vacaville as members of the Monticello Empire League. In that span, the question
was not if Napa would win Big Game but by how much? One can make the same
argument now but replace the teams.

Napa enters the game without a win in 2018. Vintage is 7-2 and winners of seven
straight. The Crushers clinched no worse than a tie for the Vine Valley Athletic
League crown and are a monster favorite to win Friday’s game.

Much has changed the last two years. For openers, Dylan Leach, who was Napa’s
defensive coordinator from 2010-2015 under now former head coach Troy Mott,
returned to his roots to become Vintage’s head coach. Leach, who is a 1992
graduate of the school, was a Vintage assistant from 2000-2009. The common
thought became “The MEL title has been going through Vacaville and Napa. Can
Leach assemble a staff to elevate what has been a mostly mid-tier Vintage program
the last 15 or so years and challenge those teams?”

For Napa, the last two years have been one firestorm after another that has resulted
in outrage and decreased alumni support. Without rehashing extensive details, those
storms have been: a) Mascot change, b) Hazing scandal that led to philosophical
differences with the administration that later led to Mott and the entire staff resigning,
c) Two more football coaching changes have happened (Jesus Martinez and Tom
Petithomme) and d) The removal of Annie Petrie as principal. Petrie will be replaced
by Frank Silva and is slated to move to another position within the district. Though I
have taken my jabs at Petrie as a principal in this space, I don’t dislike her personally.
The move was best for everyone involved, and I include for Petrie’s sake.

On the field, in 2016, Napa went 7-4 and beat Vintage 35-0 in Big Game to clinch
sole possession of the MEL title. Vintage went 5-5 in Leach’s first year despite losing
four of six games at one point. The last two seasons have been a complete reversal
as the Crushers have compiled a record of 14-5. On the other hand, Napa’s elevator
has gone from good to bad without stopping at mediocre. The program has gone
3-15 the last two years and last tasted a victory on Oct. 27, 2017, a 49-14 win over
Armijo (Fairfield).

Napa leads the all-time Big Game series 28-16-2 but a loss on Friday would put the
2018 team in not-so-select company. Napa enters the game 0-9 and dating back to
1911 has had only four winless seasons (1920, 0-4-1; 1937, 0-6; 1942, 0-5-1; 1955,
0-8).

Another change within the last two years has been Napa, Vintage, and American
Canyon leaving the CIF Sac Joaquin Section for the North Coast Section. Those
three schools along with Justin-Siena, which vacated the SJS for NCS in 2000, all
joined the Vine Valley Athletic League with Casa Grande, Petaluma and Sonoma.

One could argue that changing leagues coupled with Napa’s demise has accelerated
Vintage’s ascent. The VVAL has no team on par Vacaville or 2002-2016 edition of
Napa. However, if you’re a Crusher fan, what happened at Napa isn’t your fault and
you shouldn’t apologize. These points should not be summarily dismissed but if you
think Vintage’s rise is solely based on these factors, you’re not giving Leach, his staff
and players credit. They have done enough heavy lifting on their own to where their
arrow would have pointed upward anyhow, just a matter of what trajectory.

When Napa was dominating this rivalry, I followed the Indians from afar. I long
admired Mott’s leadership from and would go to Napa games if I was not
professionally conflicted. However, I longed for Vintage to reverse the trend to make
the rivalry compelling.

Though my freelance duties often take me to American Canyon, I am thrilled that
Vintage has bounced back and am a fan of Leach. I see a man that leads with
conviction but knows how to delegate. However, as a fan/writer, I feel robbed. I
wish the firestorms at Napa did not happen/would have been handled better and
Mott would have stayed. I wish that the Indians kept winning while the Crushers
kept rising but if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

Just think, we could have had two trains colliding full speed. The narrative could
have been: “Could Leach’s rising Crushers knock off Mott’s Indians?” The other
subplot is, Mott was an offensive minded coach that appreciated good defense.
Leach is a defensive minded coach but on fourth down, he will roll the dice with
any offensive coach. Translation, neither one coaches scared.

Big Game will still draw the biggest crowd of the year so it’s not going to hurt
financially. I just can’t help but lament how both teams could have ushered in the
VVAL era with the league title potentially being decided on Friday.

Though Vintage and American Canyon has become the more compelling matchup,
the Big Game still stands on its own.

Bay Area loses broadcasting legend Greenwald

One of the pitfalls of being middle-aged is that every now and then parts of your
childhood go away.

I was driving home from grocery shopping today while listening to 95.7 The Game
(KGMZ-FM), which is a San Francisco radio station, when I learned that long-time
San Francisco Giants broadcaster Hank Greenwald died on Monday at age 83 at
California Pacific Medical Center as a result of heart issues and kidney failure.
Greenwald had been suffering from such after an onset of bronchitis.

Greenwald was the Giants radio and TV voice for two separate stints (1979-1986;
1989-1996). In between, he spent two seasons broadcasting New York Yankees
games. Greenwald came out of retirement to broadcast the Oakland Athletics on
television during the 2004-2005 seasons.

Greenwald was born in Detroit and grew up listening to Detroit Tigers broadcasts.
Greenwald’s birth name was Howard but because of the affinity he developed for
Tigers’ slugger Hank Green Greenberg changed his name to Hank in his honor.
Greenwald’s family moved to Rochester, NY, following World War II. From there,
Greenwald’s passion for baseball evolved listening to Russ Hodges (Giants), Red
Barber (Dodgers), and Mel Allen (Yankees). Greenwald could also pick up radio
broadcasts of the st. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Greenwald graduated from Syracuse University, which has been known for producing
a pipeline of broadcasting greats. Besides the Giants and Yankees, Greenwald also
broadcast Syracuse football, Syracuse Nationals of the NBA, the then San Francisco
Warriors and minor league baseball games. After retiring, Greenwald put his writing
skills on display as he released a book titled “This Copyrighted Broadcast” in 1999.

As I think of Greenwald, I remember when broadcasting represented a much different
time. Growing up in Napa, CA, I remember a time when not every baseball game was
on television. When I couldn’t see a Giants game on TV, I would camp out in my room
and listen to it on the radio. I would also carry everything from my AM/FM walkman
or boom box and listen to the game while working at my father’s local business.

There was nothing like baseball on the radio. Greenwald had a dry but witty sense
of humor and like any of the best baseball broadcasters, he was a great story-teller.
Given the slower pace of baseball, there is more downtime in between pitches, which
then puts the onus on the broadcaster to fill that time usefully.

Here are a few of the many one-liners I can remember:

“If Houston and Montreal stay on top, it will be the first time the playoffs will be
outside the United States.”

“Someone once told me the bad hop is usually the last one.”

Being a kid, I remember listening a game, I forget the opponent but vaguely
remember the situation. The Giants were ahead by three runs. There were two outs
and a runner on base. Greenwald said: “The biggest thing to remember is, he can’t
tie the ballgame no matter what he does. In fact, he can hit it nine miles and he still
can’t tie the game.” From that point, I found myself using the same logic every time
I watched a game.

Greenwald defined what a baseball broadcaster was. With sports like basketball or
football, you expect broadcasters to carry themselves with some emotion. Baseball,
however, is slower paced with more down time between pitches. In that format, you
need to be a storyteller.

Having received my college degree in broadcasting before going into writing, I
discovered that you can’t broadcast baseball the same way as you do football.
Greenwald fit the baseball broadcasting mold like a hand in a glove. He had the
perfect story-telling mentality for baseball broadcasts. Even if you had no connection
as a fan with the ones that were subject to his stories, his demeanor lured you into
the story.

Greenwald came up as a broadcaster in a different culture, when broadcasters were
the reporter of the story rather than the creator. Today’s broadcast climate has its
share of shrill voices that think louder is better.

The most memorable call I remember from Greenwald came in Game 5 of the
National League Championship Series against the Chicago Cubs. It was on Monday,
we had no school because of Columbus Day but we had football practice. Before
my teammates and i suited up, we were gathered around one of the cars with the
radio blasting:

“And (Will) Clark hits it up the middle, into center-field, base hit!!! (Candy) Maldonado
scores! Here comes (Brett) Butler...on his way to third is (Robby) Thompson, the
Giants lead three to one!!! And Superman has done it again!”

“Twenty-seven years of waiting have come to an end! The Giants have won the
pennant!”

The World Series did not go so well, losing 4-0 to the Oakland A’s. Fortunately,
Giants fans were rewarded much later with three World series titles in five years from
2010-2014.

Though the 1989 team was rewarding to follow, the Giants had a few terrible teams
which meant Greenwald was the only good reason to listen to a Giants game.

As Game One of the World Series begins tonight, Greenwald is watching from a
broadcast booth in the sky.

Week 9 Napa Valley high school football around the horn

High school football in the Napa Valley featured three winners, two idle teams and a loss.

The Vintage Crushers blasted the Sonoma Dragons 56-6 to clinch no worse than a tie for the
Vine Valley Athletic League title. The American Canyon Wolves bolstered their CIF North
Coast Section Div. III playoff hopes with a 34-14 win over the Casa Grande Gauchos. The
Napa Grizzlies remained winless, falling to the Petaluma Trojans 41-22. Justin-Siena and
Calistoga were both idle. The former had a scheduled bye week while the latter had to forfeit
its game at Stuart Hall (San Francisco) because of not having enough available players.

Here’s a closer look:

VINTAGE

Looking back: This game was one where boxing fans would call a TKO. In a nutshell, this
game was not a fair fight as the Crushers produced a 49-0 halftime lead. In fact, Vintage led
28-0 before the first quarter reached the two minute mark. Vintage defensive end Colton
Fisher’s strip sack led to Mauricio Castro’s 14-yard touchdown run for the game’s first score
and it was curtains for Sonoma. The highlight of the game featured Vintage’s version of the
“Philly Special” except the “Crusher Special” involved quarterback Jacob Aaron lining up in
the pistol formation before faking an audible. Running back Viliami Schaumkel took the
direct snap and pitched to Troy Ghisletta on a reverse. Ghisletta then threw a 39-yard
touchdown pass to Billy Birdsall. The Crushers are physical at the line of scrimmage but
continue to employ a bevy of personnel packages.

Looking ahead: Remember when the Crushers were 0-2? That seems like prehistoric times.
Vintage has won seven straight and are now 7-2 overall and 5-0 in VVAL. The Crushers will
be raising a banner one way or another. It’s just a question of is it a shared title or sole
possession? There’s a great chance at the latter considering Big Game involves a Napa team
that is winless.

AMERICAN CANYON

Looking back: The Wolves had a lot to prove entering Friday’s matchup coming off a bye
that was preceded by a 27-14 loss to a Vintage team that is likely to win sole possession of
the VVAL title. The game plan on offense turned out pretty simple. Feed running back Eddie
Byrdsong and let him eat. The bruiser carried the ball 31 times for 267 yards and three
touchdowns. The Wolves gave up yards (65 plays for 242) but not points. American Canyon
committed 15 penalties for 121 yards but when you have Byrdsong breaking runs of 72 and
46 yards for touchdowns, that won’t prove costly.

Looking ahead: Remember when the Wolves were 0-4 and seemed dead and buried? That
seems like prehistoric times. American Canyon is now 4-5 overall and 4-1 in VVAL, sole
possession of second place. The Wolves face Justin at home to finish out the season. Though
the Braves were hammered 48-6 by VVAL leading Vintage and had a bye this week, they
have shown to be a tough out with three league defeats by a combined ten points. Both teams
have NCS playoff berths in their sites, Div. II for American Canyon and Div. IV for Justin.

ST. HELENA

Looking back: First there is the historical angle of Saints head coach Brandon Farrell
achieving his 100th career win as a varsity head coach. Then, there is the Saints getting a
much-needed win against a quality Cloverdale opponent to bolster their NCS Div. V
playoff hopes. JV callup Ivan Robledo, who is a freshman, made a smashing debut with
23 carries, 203 yards and three touchdowns. As a team, the Saints punctured the Eagles
with 472 yards rushing. Backfield mate Cody DiTomaso added 145 yards on 18 carries
and two touchdowns. Defensively, DiTomaso forced two takeaways to  lead to a pair of
Saints touchdowns. St. Helena limited running back John Wesele to 31 yards on 11 carries,
well beneath the 116 yard per game average he had entering the game.

Looking ahead: The Saints improve to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in NCL I. Though there is the
current business at hand, seeing a glimpse of the Robledo/DiTomaso combination at
running back coupled with another year of maturity from quarterback Daniel Martinez, the
St. Helena offense could be deadly the next couple seasons. The Saints finish the regular
season at home against the Lower Lake Trojans, who started 2-1 but have lost six straight.

NAPA

Looking back: Petaluma used its powerful ground game to fashion a 28-0 halftime lead
before Napa rallied to make the game closer in the second half only to see the Trojans pull
away. The Grizzlies paired Kalani Posey with Chase LaRue in the backfield. Posey is
normally a receiver. Posey wound up leading the Grizzlies with 114 yards on 11 carries and
a 56-yard touchdown. For Petaluma, it was too much Colton Prieto (10 carries, 117 yards,
one touchdown) and Garrett Freitas (10 carries, 157 yards, two touchdowns). On a night,
and season, in which Napa’s defense has been gouged, sophomore Brock Bowers was a
bright spot with two sacks and an interception.

Looking ahead: The 2018 campaign has been historically forgettable for Napa, which
remains winless entering Big Game against the archrival Vintage Crushers. The fact that
the Grizzlies are playing a rivalry game tio close the season, they figure to be mentally
engaged but facing a Crushers team that has won seven straight and is looking for sole
possession of the VVAL title is likely to be too much.