There's a chill in the air and folks are scrambling to buy last-minute Christmas gifts, which means it must be state playoff bowl time. Here's what dawned on us after last weekend's CIF-State Northern California Regional bowl games:
PREDICTIONS JUST EDUCATED GUESSES
El Cerrito was favored by CalPreps.com heading into its CIF-State Division III game with Sacred Heart Prep by 28-17. I picked El Cerrito 34-21. So much for predictions. In one of the bigger upsets in recent memory, Sacred Heart Prep walloped the Gauchos 42-7. This was an El Cerrito team that fell to Bellarmine by only three points and beat Cardinal Newman by 28, Campolindo by 15 and Marin Catholic by 16. It just goes to show there's no substitute for hard work, great execution and tremendous coaching. Nicely done, Gators.
NO COACH OF YEAR SHOO-IN
Following Sacred Heart Prep's mightily impressive blowout victory against El Cerrito, Gators coach Pete Lavorato seems like an obvious candidate for state coach of the year, especially if SHP defeats Corona del Mar this week in the state bowl title game. If he did win the honor, it would be warranted. But CalHiSports, which names the state Coach of the Year, has a history of not picking the same coaches for honors multiple times and Lavorato was named state Coach of the Year LAST YEAR. So well done on the part of the Gators' stellar, veteran coach, but don't be surprised if he doesn't bag the state's highest coaching honor this season.
SERRA HAS GOOD THING GOING
The addition of new coordinators at Serra in Steve Lo (offense) and Chris Vasseur (defense) has been much discussed and there's no doubt they greatly aided the Padres' ascension to CCS Open Division champs. Now with Serra using a wide-open spread offense more than half the time, don't be surprised if more quarterback prospects and more skill players overall float the Padres' way.
It used to be there was little reason for a kid who likes to throw spirals to enroll at the school on West 20th Avenue with the run-heavy offense. However, this season Serra quarterback Matt Fa'aita threw for more than 1,600, and don't think there weren't some Pop Warner kids and their dads noticing.
OFFICIALS AREN'T PERFECT
Del Oro executed well, was the better team Friday night and richly deserved its 28-20 victory against Serra, but the Golden Eagles also had some help.
Serra was flagged for 11 penalties for 95 yards, while Del Oro got nicked for just four penalties for 20 yards. No doubt most of these Padre indiscretions were earned, but a helmet-to-helmet call on a sack of the Del Oro quarterback on the third play of the fourth quarter that happened right in front of us seemed very questionable. Meantime, a non-call that had Serra fans howling was an apparent block in the back by Del Oro on the Golden Eagles' punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter. Not sure how that was missed.
We're not the only media outlet who questioned these calls in print. John Reid of the Bay Area Newspaper Group did as well.
Another head-scratcher was an illegal procedure penalty called on the Padres when a player accidentally kicked the ball between plays when Serra was driving for a possible touchdown. Illegal procedure? C'mon man.
DE LA SALLE A TOUGH OUT
Well, this is not a recent revelation as the Spartans are four-time state bowl champs. But the Spartans did have a coaching change this season and they were not guaranteed a trip to the state bowl game in Carson until beating Folsom 45-17 on Saturday night at Diablo Valley College. The Spartans had two rushers top 100 yards against the Bulldogs, running behind a lethal offensive line. They have five Division I recruits on their defensive line, playmakers all about and a 40-game winning streak overall, as well as a 67-game win skein against California teams.
St. John Bosco-Bellflower will be a very formidable opponent for De La Salle this week in the state bowl title game, but I'm sure as heck not picking against DLS.
