Prep2Prep is previewing the 2013 football season. Today we look at the Diablo Valley Athletic League of the North Coast Section.
Clayton Valley coasted to a league title and their first-ever North Coast Section title last season and appears to have the most talent in the DVAL again this year.
The Eagles, who lose the Protheroe brothers, return more starters than anybody else in the league and are loaded up front. Tanner Wraa is expected to put up monstrous numbers in the explosive Clayton Valley offense this season.
Northgate’s Eric Haynes and Jake Smith are two of the better players in the league, but the key for the Broncos is new quarterback Kyle Austin and whether he can replace the underrated Joe Pelletier.
Don’t underestimate Concord’s chances of making noise and possibly winning the league. The Minutemen are well-coached and easily have the best quarterback in the DVAL, Mitchell Daniels.
College Park brings back some skill players, but there was a big gap between the Falcons and the top three teams in the league last season and it doesn’t appear that gap closed much heading into the 2013 campaign.
Ygnacio Valley and Mt. Diablo each have one or two playmakers but major issues on defense.
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH:
Clayton Valley
Concord
Northgate
College Park
Ygnacio Valley
Mt. Diablo
GAMES THAT MAY DECIDE THE DVAL: Northgate at Concord, Oct. 18; Concord at Clayton Valley, Nov. 1; Clayton Valley at Northgate, Nov. 8
OTHER CAN’T MISS GAMES: Clayton Valley at De La Salle, Aug. 30; San Marin at Northgate, Sept. 6; Concord at Amador Valley, Sept. 6; Northgate at Livermore, Sept. 13; Las Lomas at Northgate, Sept. 20; Heritage at Concord, Sept. 27.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Mitchell Daniels, Concord, QB, Jr.; Tanner Wraa, Clayton Valley, WR-DB, Sr.; Eric Haynes, Northgate, RB-DB, Sr.; Jake Smith, Northgate, TE-LB, Sr.; Steven O’Brien, College Park, LB-TE, Sr.; Austin Hunt, Mt. Diablo, QB, Sr.
LAST YEAR’S STANDINGS: 1. Clayton Valley 5-0, 2. Northgate 4-1, 3. Concord 3-2, 4. College Park 2-3, 5. Ygnacio Valley 1-4, 6. Mt. Diablo 0-5
1. CLAYTON VALLEY
LAST YEAR: The Eagles finished 12-2 and won the school’s first ever NCS title before a 27-24 loss to Oakdale in the NorCal Division II regional bowl game.
TOP PLAYERS: Tanner Wraa, Justin Rogers, Max Connor, Dylan Jue, Griffin Bentley
DID YOU KNOW?: The Eagles broke five records and amassed over 700 yards of offense, including 551 yards rushing, in a 68-21 win over Vintage last season. Clayton Valley averaged 390.6 yards rushing per game last season.
COACH’S OUTLOOK: Tim Murphy (2nd year, 12-2), "The players know the system now so it's just a matter of perfecting it. We had some good leaders last year so the key really is leadership and these guys wanting to win. No longer do they have the chip on their shoulder of being under Concord High so we have to get them to understand that it's actually harder to achieve it the position they are in now."
BOTTOM LINE: The Eagles will have difficulty replacing the Protheroe brothers, including Joe, who ran for over 3,000 yards last season, but coach Tim Murphy’s double-wing offense simply means new players will emerge.
One of those players is Tanner Wraa, a second-team DVAL selection, who averaged nearly seven yards per carry, was second on the team in receiving yards (324), and scored 10 touchdowns last season. Dylan Jue was also second team all-league and is a threat as a fullback and tight end.
The Eagles may be strongest up front with the return of first team DVAL senior linemen Justin Rogers and Max Connor. Junior Griffin Bentley is a 6-foot-4, 245-pound beast and was a second team defensive lineman last season.
Wraa is the leading returning tackler and the defense will continue to see the emergence of senior corner Ben Davis and junior Jax Carter.
The Eagles open at De La Salle, ranked No. 4 in the nation. The good news is that last season, the best in Clayton Valley history, also opened with a loss. After the Spartans, the Eagles should be able to pad their statistics with games against Castlemont, Independence, Skyline, and Hayward before opening the league season at College Park.
2. CONCORD
LAST YEAR: The Minutemen were 10-3 and lost to Clayton Valley, 49-22, in the NCS Division II semifinals.
TOP PLAYERS: Mitchell Daniels, Robert Liu, Branden Barajas, Malik Blackburn, Mason Knight, Jayrome Hill
DID YOU KNOW?: Concord is 33-8 the last three years and has had five straight winning seasons.
COACH’S OUTLOOK: Brian Hamilton (11th year, 61-42-1), “We’re inexperienced, but we have depth and we’re hungry. The key is going to be how fast we get used to the speed of varsity football.”
BOTTOM LINE: Concord only brings back a couple of starters but one of them is junior quarterback Mitchell Daniels. The 6-foot-2 Daniels, who was invited to the Elite 11 camp in San Francisco this year, had a solid season for a sophomore, including a 98 quarterback rating and only four interceptions.
Other than Daniels, the strength might be up front with junior Robert Liu, the only returning starter beside Daniels, and senior Branden Barajas.
The loss of Olito Thompson to Washington State stings considering the talented back had more than 5,300 yards rushing the last two seasons, but coach Hamilton has never had trouble finding skill talent.
The defense will be made over, as Concord graduates its 12 leading tacklers from 2012 but the strength may be in the secondary with the likes of Malik Blackburn, Jayrome Hill, and Mason Knight, who will all be asked to fill in on offense.
Concord may have the toughest schedule in the league with games at Liberty and Amador Valley to open the season before home games versus Bethel, Heritage, and Oakland.
3. NORTHGATE
LAST YEAR: The Broncos finished 9-3 and suffered a 31-17 loss to Rancho Cotate in the NCS Division II quarterfinals.
TOP PLAYERS: Eric Haynes, Jake Smith, Steven Cuneo, Nick Mastrelli
DID YOU KNOW?: Until its semifinal loss, Northgate scored at least 21 points in every other game.
BOTTOM LINE: Under coach Justin Lowell (6th year, 26-28), the Broncos had a ton of success last season thanks to their talented running game which averaged over 300 yards per game.
Fisi Tavake was the bell cow, rushing for over 1,000 yards and making DVAL first team offense and defense. Tavake, though, has graduated as has most of Northgate’s starters on the offensive and defensive lines.
Senior running back Eric Haynes returns after a 523-yard, seven-touchdown season and senior Kyle Austin is expected to take over at quarterback for Joe Pelletier. Austin is fortunate to have second team DVAL tight end Jake Smith and receiver/running back Nick Mastrelli.
On defense, Smith was a second-team linebacker, while senior defensive backs Mastrelli and Cuneo were also second team DVAL selections.
It looks to be enough to give Northgate back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in several years.
The non-league schedule won’t be easy although we should expect a Broncos win at Hayward to open the season. San Marin quarterback Manny Wilkins, an Arizona State commit, visits in week two and then non-league contests include Livermore, Las Lomas, and Antioch, three teams who all made the playoffs last season.
4. COLLEGE PARK
LAST YEAR: The Falcons had a rare non-playoff season and finished 4-6. Their four wins were over teams that combined to win seven games last season.
TOP PLAYERS: Steven O’Brien, Dimitri Salido, Timmy Jackson
DID YOU KNOW?: College Park played only two games last season that were decided by 10 points or fewer.
BOTTOM LINE: Under coach Bill Kepler (25th year), the Falcons return a solid senior class, including quarterback Dimitri Salido and second team DVAL running back Timmy Jackson. The continuity means College Park should cut down on its turnover problems after losing 20 fumbles last season.
Defensively, Steven O’Brien was a first-team linebacker and he’ll lead a squad that allowed more than 200 rushing yards per game.
The toughest non-league game for the Falcons is a home game against Dougherty Valley, but College Park has winnable contests versus Alhambra, Pinole Valley, and Hayward.
5. YGNACIO VALLEY
LAST YEAR: 2-8
TOP PLAYERS: Khalil Branch, Jordan Abernathy, Christian Maravila
DID YOU KNOW?: While the Warriors have finished 2-8 in each of the last two seasons, they did reach the playoffs for seven straight years from 2004-2010.
BOTTOM LINE: The Warriors are looking at another challenging season, but Khalil Branch was a second-team DVAL running back and Abernathy is a dangerous receiver.
Like Mt. Diablo, defense is a big problem at Ygnacio Valley as the Warriors allowed 48.5 points per game last season under Phillip Puentes (2nd year, 2-8).
The Warriors non-league schedule won’t be easy and includes games versus American Canyon and Dublin, teams known for dominant running games.
6. MT. DIABLO
LAST YEAR: 2-8
TOP PLAYERS: Darneail Jenkins, Austin Hunt, Daniyl Hawkins
DID YOU KNOW?: The Red Devils have lost 16 straight DVAL games and their last league win was on November 7, 2009.
BOTTOM LINE: Second team DVAL quarterback Austin Hunt threw for over 1,500 yards and 14 touchdowns last season and his favorite targets, Darneail Jenkins (1st team DVAL) and Daniyl Hawkins, are fellow seniors who combined for 990 yards receiving last season.
Defense could be an issue again for coach Bryan Shaw (2nd year, 2-8) after allowing over 43 points per game in 2012.
The Red Devils will have difficulty breaking their DVAL win streak but do play the two teams, Fremont-Oakland and Berean Christian -- the teams they beat last season.
