Week 1 Napa Valley High School football around the horn

If there ever was a “you can’t win them all” example, it was Friday night
as it pertains to high school football in the Napa Valley. 

The previous week had no team lose with five enjoying victories and the
other (Calistoga Wildcats) having an open date. Calistoga (26-12 to
Woodside Priory-Portola Valley) and the Napa Grizzlies (20-14 in
overtime to Nevada Union-Grass Valley) each sustained losses. The
American Canyon Wolves (20-6 over St. Patrick’s-Vallejo), Vintage
Crushers (29-9 over El Cerrito), Justin-Siena Braves (27-0 over
Healdsburg) and St. Helena Saints (52-0 over Sir Francis Drake-San
Anselmo) improved to 2-0 with wins. 

Here’s a closer look in alphabetical order: 

AMERICAN CANYON

Looking back: Many people clamored for this matchup in 2016 when
St. Pat’s won the state title and American Canyon went 11-2. Guilty as
charged, I was one of them as yours truly covered the Wolves on a weekly
basis that season. The Wolves offense did just enough despite being
shackled by penalties and turnovers while the defense did the heavy lifting.
The Bruins scored first and American Canyon followed with 20
unanswered points, two touchdowns for Kaave Gaviola and another for
Vance Eschenburg. Defensively, the Wolves surrendered 68 yards on 35
plays and intercepted St. Pat’s quarterback Ja’vione Shepherd twice, one
by Justin Del Rosario and Jordan Fisher. Derrick Conner had two sacks
while Jordan Hamilton and Jeffery Brown each had one. 

Looking ahead: Unlike the last two seasons, the Wolves are starting with
forward momentum. That trend has a chance to continue on Friday as
American Canyon travels to Montgomery (Santa Rosa), whom the Wolves
beat 43-29 in last year’s CIF North Coast Section Div. III playoffs. The
Vikings are 0-2 with a 40-0 loss to traditional power Campolindo (Moraga)
and 32-10 to Casa Grande (Petaluma). 

CALISTOGA

Looking back: Despite the tremendous effort of quarterback Christian
Caldera, 208 yards on 26 carries, the Wildcats offense could not sustain
drives. On four occasions, Calistoga’s offense faced fourth down only to
run out of downs. The irony is that the Wildcats scored the game’s first
touchdown came on a fourth down conversion when Caldera connected
with Yuli Caballero for a 36-yard connection. With the win, Woodside
Priory atoned for last year’s 46-6 loss. 

Looking ahead: Calistoga travels to Upper Lake on Friday. In past years,
trips to the Northern Lake County school involved a Saturday afternoon
affair that often involved sweltering heat even in late October. Despite
winning the turnover battle 3-2, Upper Lake is 0-1 with a 20-0 loss to
Virginia City (Nevada). Calistoga defeated the Cougars 39-20 in last
year’s meeting. 

JUSTIN-SIENA

Looking back: The Braves scored all 27 of their points in the first half.
Justin gained 153 yards rushing on 40 carries with Caden Partlett amassing
101 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown. Noah Young rushed for two
scores and returned an interception for a score. Blake Hoban also returned
a fumble for a score. Playing an overmatched opponent, Braves head coach
Brandon LaRocco used the NBA’s “load management” approach by resting
some starters in the second half. Healdsburg went backwards on offense,
literally and figuratively with minus-4 yards on 37 plays. Justin recorded
five interceptions. 

Looking ahead: In a matchup that figures to involve familiarity on both
sides since Justin has students with Fairfield roots, the Braves visit Armijo
for the second half of a home-and-home. Justin won last year’s game 40-14.
Armijo, which has struggled mightily for numerous seasons, is 0-2 with
losses to Acalanes-Lafayette (75-6) and Pioneer-Woodland (41-21). 

NAPA

Looking back: Nevada Union’s Jaxon Horne compiled 203 yards rushing
on 27 carries with three touchdowns, including the game-winner from 6-
yards away in overtime. Napa never led but tied the game on two occasions
with two Hunter St. Clair touchdown passes, 33 yards to Christoph Horton
and 90 yards to Brock Bowers. St. Clair, who is a sophomore, stepped in
for an injured Isaiah Newton. As of this writing, there was no definitive
word on the extent of the injury. Losing the turnover battle 4-1 did not
help the Grizzlies. 

Looking ahead: Though this was a tough loss to sustain, through two
games, the Grizzlies are demonstrating that they are a much improved
team over the previous two seasons, during which time they went 3-16.
With Vallejo and Armijo forthcoming as the next two opponents, Napa
has a chance to match that win total before the month of September ends.
Vallejo is 1-0 with a 24-20 win over Fairfield in a matchup of two
programs that were once perennial winners that have struggled mightily
for more than a decade. Napa-Vallejo is the third oldest rivalry in California
but the two teams are playing for the first time since 2013. 

ST. HELENA

Looking back: St. Helena entered the 2019 campaign with big aspirations
and got early separation from an overmatched opponent. The Saints led
46-0 at halftime and rushed for 299 yards, 120 on 16 carries from
sophomore sensation Ivan Robledo, who ran for three touchdowns and
returned an interception for another. Rowan Desmond also returned an
interception for a score. The Saints defense stifled the Pirates offense in
allowing just 25 yards on 27 plays. 

Looking ahead: If the Saints are not the best team in Div. VII of the NCS,
you can make a pretty good argument and not be wrong. If Robledo stays
healthy, he could finish his career shattering Saints school records. St.
Helena hits the road for its final game before North Central League I
competition arrives for a nonleague contest at Winters. The two teams
will meet for the sixth  straight season. The Saints won the first of those
five before Winters won 33-14 last season. Winters lost its season-opener
28-14 to Dixon. 

VINTAGE

Looking back: Pedja Zivkovic broke a scoreless tie with a 2-yard
touchdown run to send the Crushers on their way to 2-0. Quarterback
Jacob Aaron add two rushing touchdowns while Dylan Smith added
another. For the second time in as many weeks, the Crusher defense
came up large. This time, Vintage limited an athletic Gaucho team
that has big play capability. 

Looking ahead: Being 2-0 after a pair of games is a good sign, especially
for a team looking to sustain its success of the last two seasons. The
Crushers, however, figure to face a stringent test on Friday at home
against Acalanes-Lafayette, which is 2-0 with a 75-6 win over Armijo
(Fairfield) and 44-14 over Sacred Heart (San Francisco). Acalanes defeated
Vintage 28-27 in a game that was a tale of two halves last season. The
Dons led 28-7 in the third quarter before Vintage’s rally fell short. That
second half sparked a 10-game winning streak. 

Luck's sudden retirement should serve as a cautionary tale

There is news that surprises you, and there is news that surprises you. 

The bombshell that dropped on Saturday night of Indianapolis Colts
quarterback Andrew Luck was one that no one, perhaps outside of
Luck’s family or maybe the Colts organization saw coming. The 29-
year old Luck’s sudden exit from the game of football should serve
as a cautionary tale for NFL franchises that spend a lot of capital on
a quarterback. Before I explain why, here’s some context. 

Before playing seven years with the Colts, Luck was a college phenom
at Stanford University, where he won the Maxwell Award and the
Walter Camp Award and was twice named All-American. Luck was
the Heisman Trophy runner-up in 2010 and 2011 and was the
Offensive Player of the Year in the Pac 12 in both of those seasons. 

Luck was tabbed as a can’t miss prospect and was the first overall pick
in the 2012 draft. Luck led the Colts to the playoffs in each of his first
three seasons, two of which the team won the AFC South title. In that
span, Luck was selected to two Pro Bowls and led the Colts to the
second largest comeback in in NFL playoff history. Though known
for his passing, Luck had really good mobility. 

In 2016, he sustained a shoulder injury but continued to play. He had
surgery on that shoulder in the offseason and missed the entire 2017
campaign. Luck returned in 2018 and flourished. He finished second
in the league in touchdown passes and setting career-highs in several
categories, as well as leading the Colts to 10 wins and their first playoff
appearance since 2014. For his play he was voted to the fourth Pro
Bowl of his career and was named the Comeback Player of the Year. 

Colts owner Jim Irsay added that Luck could potentially be giving up as
much as $450 million dollars in future salary. Luck, meanwhile, cited
how the constant pain and rehabilitation sucked the joy out of playing.
The injury toll on Luck’s career goes as follows: a) Torn cartilage in two
ribs, b) Partially torn abdomen, c) Lacerated kidney that left him peeing
blood, d) At least 1 concussion, e) Torn labrum in his throwing shoulder,
f) Mysterious calf/ankle issue.

The news leaked as the Colts were playing their exhibition game at Lucas
Oil Field. As the teams vacated the field, Luck was booed by his home
fans. Being a sports fan with allegiances, I can understand the fans being
upset, especially considering the timing. After all, the Colts entered the
season with Super Bowl aspirations and Luck was the key to that hope.
Booing him though, while it is the fans’ right, I believe was out of
bounds. 

What is worse are people like ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb tweeting: “Retiring
cause rehabbing is 'too hard' is the most millennial thing ever
#AndrewLuck.” Gottlieb has absorbed much blowback but he justified
it as "I'm a smart ass. I always have been. I always will be," Gottlieb
said on his show. "And, if I can't find something funny with the things
in life, well then you know what, strike me down because I like to make
fun of things in life."

Two things, as a Generation Xer, I admit to having thrown plenty of
shade at millenials. However, anyone who questions Luck’s intestinal
fortitude, has nary a clue. I dare you to play three years at the Div. I
college level and seven in the NFL and take the pounding Luck has
absorbed, until you do, I’m not interested in your opinion on
questioning someone’s toughness. Secondly, Mr, Gottlieb, in order to
be a smart ass, first you have to be smart. You’re not, so that just makes
you an ass. 

There might be a few things about millennials that get me triggered but
given how many former NFL players are living compromised lives after
their careers, which in some cases have been speculated to lead to suicides,
it’s hard to blame them for being forward thinking about their lives. 

Most of all, Luck’s early retirement should be a message to teams spending
high end dollars and draft capital on quarterbacks. For openers, winning
a Super Bowl without a franchise level quarterback is career suicide unless
you have the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, 1985 Chicago Bears, 2000
Baltimore Ravens, to name a few, as a defense. 

The common narrative has been “offense sells tickets, defense wins
championships.” In today’s offensively driven NFL, I perceive that notion
to be less valid. I would take it a step further, “offense sells tickets, defense
wins games, trenches win championships.” I have seen plenty of great
offensive teams not win a Super Bowl. The 1998 Minnesota Vikings, the
2007 New England Patriots, the 1984 Miami Dolphins are a few that
come to mind. I have seen great defenses not lead to Super Bowls. The
1977 Atlanta Falcons (aka The Grits Blitz), the 1969 Minnesota Vikings,
1991 Philadelphia Eagles, are among those that come to mind. 

However, you simply cannot win without at least a good offensive line.
You don’t need the famed Great Wall of Dallas from the 1990s but you
can’t have a bad one. The quarterback is your car, whether it’s a
Lamborghini, Mazzerati, GMC or Honda. Depending on your taste, all
are nice vehicles. The offensive line is your insurance and mechanic
rolled into one. 

Good vehicles do you not function in the long run without either. You
need good insurance in case someone crashes into you and the car gets
wrapped around a utility pole. You also need a good mechanic whether
it is for basic maintenance or any repairs, major or minor. 

Unfortunately, the Colts addressed neither and that is why Luck broke
down. 

Napa Valley high school football around the horn Week Zero

High school football made its triumphant return around much of the
United States and the Napa Valley was no exception. 

Five of the six teams were in action on Friday, with Calistoga having
a bye, and began their seasons in auspicious fashion. Vintage (41-0
over Wood-Vacaville), American Canyon (40-8 over Deer Valley-
Antioch), Justin-Siena (35-9 over Piedmont), Napa (33-13 over
Middletown) and St. Helena (46-27 over St. Patrick’s-Vallejo)
delivered decisive wins to open the 2018 campaign. 

Here is a closer look in alphabetical order:

AMERICAN CANYON WOLVES

Looking back: This game was a contest of role reversal. In last season’s
meeting in the season-opener, Deer Valley took a 22-0 first half lead on
the way to a 36-21 win at American Canyon. On Friday in Antioch, the
Wolves returned the favor on the Wolverines as American Canyon
scored 40 unanswered points before a late Deer Valley touchdown
averted a shutout. Ezekiel Anderson’s interception for a touchdown was
the game’s first score and American Canyon never looked back. Anderson
also added a rushing touchdown. Quarterback Vance Eschenburg threw
one touchdown and ran for another. 

Looking ahead: With the exception of the 2016 season when the Wolves
went 11-2, slow starts have plagued the program in recent years, 1-5 in
2015, 0-3 in 2017 and 0-4 in 2018, only to bounce back with strong
second halves of the season. American Canyon appears positioned for a
strong start in head coach John Montante’s second season. The Wolves
host St. Patrick’s (Vallejo) in what is compelling on the surface due to the
regional proximity of being about 10 miles apart. The Bruins lost 46-27
to St. Helena, which figures to be a series threat in Div. VII of the CIF
North Coast Section. The Wolves, meanwhile, have the look of a team
that is a serious threat to win the Vine Valley Athletic League. 

JUSTIN-SIENA BRAVES

Looking back: The Braves overcame a slow start to beat Piedmont for
the first time in the regular season since 2013. Justin, however, defeated
the Highlanders in the 2014 and 2018 NCS Div. IV playoffs. Junior
quarterback Hudson Beers made good on 12 of 24 passes for 212 yards
and a pair of touchdowns. Miles Williams was on the receiving end for
a touchdown and returned a blocked punt for a score. The Braves defense
also had an outstanding night in allowing just 175 yards on 60 plays. 

Looking ahead: Justin visits the Healdsburg Greyhounds on Friday.
The once perennial contender forfeited its 2016 season after two games
based on a lack of roster size. That second game was a 61-0 loss to Justin.
Though football has returned to Healdsburg, it has not been a triumphant
one. The Greyhounds lost 46-6 on Saturday to the Sir Francis Drake
(San Anselmo) Pirates, who entered the season having recorded a 12-37
record the past five seasons. The score could have been worse if not for
two Drake touchdowns being nullified by penalties. 

NAPA GRIZZLIES

Looking back: Eleven games and 665 days later, Napa football is back
in the win column in head coach Richie Wessman’s debut. The last time
that happened, the Grizzlies were known as the Indians. Napa put the
reigning NCS Div. V champs in the hole early as junior phenom Brock
Bowers returned the opening kickoff 75 yards to paydirt. Bowers, who
has received various offers from Div. I schools, caught two touchdowns
from quarterback Isaiah Newton. Trey Dennis carried 28 times for 117
yards. The Napa defense, which was routinely shredded in 2018,
yielded 240 yards on 45 plays. The Grizzlies took a 20-0 lead before
Middletown vut it to 20-6 midway through the third quarter but Napa
was never in danger of losing. 

Looking ahead: While you don’t want to anoint a youngster prematurely,
Bowers has the potential to be among the all-time greats in Napa Valley
high school football history by the time his career ends. Though the
program can feel good again about getting into the win column, fair or
unfair, a Div. II team beating a Div. VI is not going to help the NCS
playoff resume. The Grizzlies would appear to have a good chance to
start 2-0 as they host the Nevada Union (Grass Valley) Miners. Nevada
Union, which was once a revered program, lost 31-12 to Yuba City and
has not had a winning season since 2011. 

ST. HELENA SAINTS

Looking back: Though St. Helena only trailed once, 7-6 in the first
quarter, this game had a back and forth feel, before the Saints slammed
the door. St. Helena clinged to a 30-27 lead later in the third quarter
before George Cutting and Cody DiTomaso touchdowns iced the game.
The latter capped an 11 play, 97 yard drive. DiTomaso also intercepted
a pass near the goal-line to halt a Bruins drive. The Saints piled up 477
yards rushing led by Ivan Robledo (15 carries, 217 yards, three
touchdowns), DiTomaso (17 carries, 150 yards, two touchdowns).
The Bruins brought a potent rushing attack of their own led by Ja’vione
Sheppard (16 carries, 166 yards, one touchdown) and Bobby Brooks
(24 carries, 150 yards, one touchdown). 

Looking back: The Bruins may not be the State Championship level
team they were in 2016 and 2017 but they have enough athletes to be a
problem for opponents. All told, a gratifying win for the Saints who
have a talented but small roster with 17 players. St. Helena would appear
to have a good chance at 2-0 as Drake comes to North Napa Valley. Drake
pounded Healdsburg 46-6 but it’s hard to put much stock in that win
given that the Greyhounds forfeited the 2018 season after two games. 

VINTAGE CRUSHERS

Looking back: Wood has been a headache to the Crushers, having won
seven of the last ten head-to-head matchups dating back to 2009 but on
Friday it was the Wildcats that needed Excedrin as Vintage delivered an
“I Owe You” to the Wildcats. The Crushers beat the Wildcats from pillar-
to-post in out gaining them 367-85 in total yards. Mauricio Castro rushed
for two scores while Pedja Zivkovic rushed for one touchdown and
returned a fumble for a score. Harrison Barrett also produced a takeaway
for the Crusher defense with an interception. 

Looking ahead: The Crushers have the look of a well-oiled machine and
there’s every reason to think they will be in line to repeat as VVAL
champions, though American Canyon and Napa could have a say in that
matter. Vintage travels to El Cerrito on Friday. The Gauchos lost 42-6 to
Marin Catholic but given the opponent’s perennial status as a high-level
program, it’s hard to put any negative stock in that defeat.