NorCal Issue 139, October 2017 by Sport Stars Magazine

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Ponderosa volleyball isn’t shy about setting lofty goals. They want state and nothing less. Pg. 14

The CIF continues to explore ways to boost attendence at Bowl games

EXCLUSIVE: NorCal Top 20 Volleyball rankings PLUS volleyball notebook

Aaron Hern lines up under center for Alhambra after surviving Boston bombings

Rancho Cotate QB Jake Simmons puts up numbers, but colleges slow to notice

Jeff Walters is young for a football coach, but right at home with Del Oro

EXCLUSIVE: NorCal Top 20 Football rankings: Who’s up, who’s down?

West Campus girls hoops begins new era — as a defending state champion

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Catch the newest State Volleyball Top 20 every Tuesday. Join the Gold Club to get individual breakdowns on each team.

In our Oct. 12 SportStars Extra, find out what’s making the NorCal No. 3-ranked Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills football team go.

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Justin Boyd PITTSBURG - FOOTBALL - JUNIOR Boyd was moved from starting wide receiver to starting quarterback just four days before the Pirates’ season-opener, and in just five weeks has become one of the most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks in the East Bay. In his last two games combined, Boyd completed 19 of 29 passes for 357 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions. He flashed his running ability in a 35-14 win over Vacaville on Sept. 22, running eight times for 82 yards and a touchdown. After losing its season-opener to Southern California-powerhouse Centennial-Corona, Pittsburg won three straight and remains one of the Top 5 teams in the SportStars NorCal Top 20 Rankings. The Pirates will open Bay Valley Athletic League play on Oct. 6 at defending champion Freedom-Oakley. The Falcons defeated Pittsburg twice last season, including a 55-35 North Coast Section Open Division playoff win.

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ust like that, we’re already more than a full month into the fall athletics season. Which means it’s time for us to share a few things that we think we’ve learned to this point. Here’s a running list of those things. ›› Despite a hiccup in the desert to Bishop Gorman-Las Vegas, De La Salle-Concord should find itself in the NCS Open Division championship yet again. And the NorCal unbeaten streak should still be intact, even though San Ramon Valley-Danville looks poised to threaten it once again. Unfortunately for the Wolves, they don’t see the Spartans until the last week of the season — and that’s typically when De La Salle is rounding into its best form. ›› The West Catholic Athletic League will send multiple girls volleyball teams to state finals. It’s tough to say exactly how many, because it’s the first year of the new competitive equity playoff pairings — which makes it likely that many of the league’s top teams will be put in the same brackets. But we count at least five teams right now (Archbishop Mitty-San Jose, St. Ignatius-S.F., Sacred Heart Cathedral-S.F., St. Francis-Mountain View and Valley Christian-San Jose) who all have state-championship potential. ›› This should be the year the Drake-San Anselmo boys water polo team wins the school’s first North Coast Section title in the sport. The Pirates were bounced from the Division I semifinals in a 9-7 loss to Campolindo-Moraga last season. This year’s team has opened up 7-2 overall with their only losses coming to Southern California powers Mater Dei-Santa Ana and Lutheran-Orange. Meanwhile, they have a 10-2 win over defending NCS Div. I champion Miramonte, as well a 9-6 overtime win over Harvard-Westlake-North Hollywood. ›› Folsom football is back. Technically, the Bulldogs never really went anywhere. They were 12-2 last season and Sac-Joaquin Section Div. I runners-up to St. Mary’s-Stockton. However, the mystique seems to be back after a 6-0 start. But it’s not just the record that’s impressive, it’s the opponents they’ve taken out. As of Sept. 30, the Bulldogs — ranked No. 2 in the SportStars NorCal Top 20 — are the only Top 20 team with wins over three teams still in the rankings (Sacramento, Oakdale and Granite Bay). ›› Clayton Valley-Concord should really be in the Bay Valley Athletic League for football. This needs to happen. It just makes sense, and it would further strengthen one of the best Div. I leagues in the state. Instead, the Ugly Eagles’ talented roster of more than 65 players will pound its way through a good Div. II-III league in which only one team (Campolindo) has a roster with more than 45 players. ›› We need more time in our week. Our October goal is to dig into some cross country, girls tennis and girls golf circles and share what we learn from those endeavors. Keep an eye out for two SportStars Extra digital editions at sportstarsmag.com in October as we attempt to absorb as much of the fall season as possible. And as always, feel free to reach out to us and tell us what you think you’ve learned from these first five weeks. ✪

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Open The Turnstiles A Look At How CIF May Tweak Venue Selections For Its Football Bowl Championships

his season will mark the third time that the CIF has had the top five games of its state football championships hosted at Sacramento State’s Alex G. Spanos Stadium. It remains to be seen whether Sac State will be awarded the next bid to host football finals and we also don’t know what other sites from around the state may be interested in submitting bids. If it does go to Sac State, one possibility that could actually help bring more fans to the games there would be to have the Open Division split away from the other divisions and be held at a venue in Southern California. The Open Division is always presented by the CIF as an attempt to match the best of the best from Northern California against the best of the best from Southern California regardless of school enrollment. In football, however, that’s just one team for each region and not eight from the north and eight from the south as in other sports. And as anyone who has even casually followed California football for the last 25 years, that means De La Salle of Concord for the north and the best team from the CIF Southern Section for the south. Sure, maybe this is the year that De La Salle finally loses in the CIF North Coast Section, but realistically even after only half of the regular season, it’s probably only San Ramon Valley of Danville that has a chance. In the south, the way that top teams this year in the CIF L.A. City and San Diego Sections have been throttled by CIFSS Division I teams it’s even more hard to see a scenario in which the CIFSS Div. I champion isn’t a slam dunk for the CIF Open for many years to come. Contrast that Open Division reality with the possibilities of teams looking how they may land in some of the other divisions — we’re thinking of schools like Folsom, Valley ChristianSan Jose, Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland, Central Catholic-Modesto, Oakdale, even Half Moon Bay (will they go CCS Open III or not?) — and the sense of a two-tiered CIF Bowl system becomes easier to comprehend. If the Open Division continues to be De La Salle vs. the CIFSS Division I champion, the biggest crowds for those games are certainly not going to be at Sac State. Folks in Sacramento, just like a big majority of all high school fans, frankly don’t care much about seeing the super teams in person and care much more about their own schools. Having an extra divisional game there basically strengthens the odds of more local CIF Sac-Joaquin Section teams being in that event. The CIFSS super teams, on the other hand, have all been able to draw big crowds when they’re in big games nearby. We’re thinking of the St. John Bosco-Bellflower crowd in 2013 at StubHub Center, the Centennial-Corona crowds in the same place, and Mater Dei-Santa Ana’s crowds when it plays in big games at Anaheim Stadium. If the CIF is looking at it simply as to which format may bring the most attendance, having an Open Division final at a place like Cerritos College in Southern California with the other

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Empty bleachers are seen in the background as St. John Bosco-Bellflower battles De La Salle in the 2016 CIF Open Division State Bowl Championship. five highest divisional games in the north (like at Sac State) then that may be the best of both worlds. The extra week off between the section finals and state final for the Open Division teams also could be eliminated if the Open Division state final were broken away from the other games. That would further distance the Open Division from the other games, but we may be headed in that direction regardless. Sac State attendance in 2015, the first year the five divisional state finals were held there, were hurt by pouring rain on Friday. Then last year it was freezing cold. There’s also been only one local Sacramento area team to have played in a state final at Sac State and that’s Del OroLoomis twice. The Golden Eagles lost last year in the D1-A final to San Clemente, but in 2015 they knocked off unbeaten Camarillo in the the D2-AA final. If Folsom could ever get into the Open Division or make it in D1-AA, then attendance could even be great for Sac State. But if the Open Division were held in Southern California and then the next five divisional games were held at Sac State, that seems like a much higher probability for large crowds instead of hoping for unseasonably warm weather or for De La Salle to lose. ✪

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CALIFORNIA FOOTBALL STATE TOP 20

Chris Olave of Mission Hills (Previous rank in parentheses) Through games of Sept. 30 1. (1) — Mater Dei-Santa Ana 5-0 A perfect nonleague season was completed for the Monarchs with a 52-14 win over St. Mary’s-Stockton at Levi’s Stadium. They definitely hope to be coming back to Northern California in December. 2. (2) — St. John Bosco-Bellflower 4-1 The first of possibly two showdowns with Mater Dei is set for Oct. 13. The Braves ended their nonleague schedule with 21-17 win vs. St. John’s-Washington DC, the same team De La Salle beat 35-31 in early September. 3. (3) — Centennial-Corona 3-1 The Huskies’ only loss remains the one against IMG Academy of Florida. They’ve routed both Pittsburg and NarbonneHarbor City. 4. (4) — Mission Viejo 6-0 Longtime head coach Bob Johnson confirmed he’ll retire at the end of the season after the Diablos improved to 6-0 with 49-17 win over El Toro-Lake Forest. 5. (5) — De La Salle-Concord 5-1 It’s debatable whether the Spartans should be ahead of Mission Viejo, but both teams will probably be playing stateranked unbeaten opponents to end regular season. 6. (6) — Long Beach Poly-Long Beach 4-1 QB Matt Corral led the way with hard-to-fathom totals of 39 completions in 45 attempts for 457 yards and five TDs when Jackrabbits beat Wilson of Long Beach 56-0. 7. (7) — Folsom 6-0 The scary aspect of this year’s Bulldog squad is that it’s very young with a lot of juniors and sophomores. Junior QB Kaiden Bennett and junior WR Joe Ngata lead the way. 8. (8) — Rancho Cucamonga 6-0 The Cougars led 42-0 at halftime and probably started thinking about this Friday’s game against unbeaten Upland by the end of the first quarter in their 49-0 win over Victor ValleyVictorville. 9. (9) — Chaminade-West Hills 5-1 Andrew Van Buren powered out 312 yards on 35 carries and scored five times in 37-32 win over state-ranked Serra-Gardena. Chaminade’s only loss is to St. John Bosco. 10. (10) — Calabasas 5-0 Like Folsom, the Coyotes also have great underclass players. Sophomore Jaden Casey ended 29 of 54 for 558 yards and eight TDs in 65-63 shootout win over state-ranked Valencia.

11. (11) — Lutheran-Orange 5-0 This first of four straight Trinity League teams in the state rankings from No. 11 to No. 14 has three wins over teams that were highly ranked. 12. (12) — JSerra-San Juan Capistrano 5-0 The Lions have been balanced offensively in their first five games, especially with senior Matt Robinson throwing the ball and senior Al Fisher running it. 13. (13) — Santa Margarita-Rancho SM 4-1 The only other loss suffered by a Trinity League team in the first five weeks of the season (other than St. John Bosco to nationally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas of Florida) was the one the Eagles suffered to state No. 4 Mission Viejo. 14. (14) — Servite-Anaheim 5-0 The Friars are the lowest-ranked team in the Trinity League in our system, but to be fair the MaxPreps computer has JSerra as the lowest. 15. (16) ▲ San Clemente 6-0 Head coach Jaime Ortiz’s squad won a rematch of last year’s CIF SoCal D1-A bowl game by defeating previous state No. 34 Edison-Huntington Beach 23-20. 16. (17) ▲ Mission Hills-San Marcos 5-0 That pass-catch combo at Mission Hills of QB Jack Tuttle to WR Chris Olave that was feared so much by other teams in the CIF San Diego Section has indeed been tremendous. 17. (19) ▲ San Ramon Valley-Danville 5-0 This team may be much like Monte Vista last year, except there doesn’t seem to be a possibility it won’t be in the NCS Open Division even with a 10th game loss to De La Salle. 18. (18) — Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills 5-0 The Trojans will likely move up to No. 2 in the Sac Bee rankings this week after being behind Granite Bay, but we already had them higher based on losing by just 17-16 to Folsom last season. 19. (24) ▲ Upland 5-0 Heading into league showdown with No. 8 Rancho Cucamonga, the Highlanders also are No. 1 in the CIF Southern Section Div. II rankings. 20. (20) — Narbonne-Harbor City 2-3 Rutgers-bound QB Jalen Chatman passed for 516 yards when the Gauchos lost a shootout game 56-50 to St. Louis of Honolulu. Their other losses are to Long Beach Poly and Centennial and they have a win over Serra-Gardena. Dropped out: No. 15 Valencia.

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Get your step counter on; it’s time to get ready for the eighth running of the Diablo Summit Stump, a 30K marathon where the Mount Diablo summit is just the halfway point. The event, which is staged out of Castle Rock Park in Walnut Creek, takes place on Nov. 4. Runners of the 30K will run from Castle Rock Park, all the way to the summit of Mount Diablo and back. Those not quite ready for the 18 miles of running can still participate in the 5K, 10K or half marathon. Runners who sign-on for the 30K also get a chance to “make a deal with El Diablo” at about Mile 9. At that point, if the runner isn’t feeling ready to make it to the summit that day, they can switch to the half marathon and be counted as an official half marathon finisher (except they go in the “surrendered” division for that race so aren’t eligible for any special awards). Finishers are awarded a special finisher medal. Those who finish in the top three of their age/gender division receive special awards. The event helps raise funds for Save Mount Diablo (via participant donations), but the main goal is to build community and support for our parks and outdoor activity.

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Concord Helps Host A Pair Of Fitness Forward Events In October, November Entry fees are as follows: ›› 5K: $48 until 9/18, $53 until 10/16, $58 after 10/16 ›› 10K: $53 until 9/18, $58 until 10/16, $63 after 10/16 ›› Half Marathon: $74 until 9/18, $79 until 10/16, $84 after 10/16 ›› 30K: $79 until 9/18, $84 until 10/16, $89 after 10/16 Registration fees will include all parking and shuttles fees, however each participant will also be charged a mandatory $7 fee to go to Mt Diablo State Park. Find out more about the Diablo Summit Stomp at brazenracing.com/r/summit stompmain.html#

International Functional Fitness Championships Now if you want to get yourself psyched for the Diablo Stomp, get to Concord Pavilion Oct. 21-22 to see some of the world’s most fit athletes compete in the 2017 International Functional Fitness Federation Championships. The pinnacle event of iF3 competition features world-class functional fitness athletes representing a variety of nations in a two-day competition. The event holds Team Medley and Individual Medley competitions. The Individual Medley features the iF3 standard six tests over two days, one in each categories: aerobic capacity, strength, bodyweight endurance, bodyweight skill, mixed modal, and power.

A quick description of each skill: Aerobic Capacity — This test contains repeatable cyclical work. It tests the athlete’s ability to pace, perform work, and recover quickly. Strength — This test contains strength work with a barbell. It tests the athlete’s timing, coordination and athleticism while working under a heavy load. Bodyweight Endurance — This test contains bodyweight movements paired with cyclical movements. It tests relative muscle endurance. Bodyweight Skill — This test pairs advanced gymnastics skill work. It tests the athlete’s pacing ability, range of motion, skill and core control. Mixed Model — This tests contains a variety of tasks and challenges. It tests the athlete’s ability to transition between movements, perform movement variations, control pacing and handle load variations. Power — This test contains a high demand of work to be performed for a short time frame. It tests the athlete’s ability to execute movements quickly with a proper strategy in order to display speed and pure power. The list of participating countries for the championships include the USA, Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster for $13.75 plus fees. To purchase tickets, or to learn more about the event, visit functionalfitnessfederation.org/if3-championship/ ✪

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Behind the Clipboard by Clay Kallam

College, Money & Shoes! Oh My! What’s going on with all of these FBI charges and arrests for bribery? What do these things have to do with basketball? And should I be worried if my club team gets free stuff from adidas? — D.C., Palo Alto

here’s an old saying in journalism: Follow the money — and in this case, it leads you right to the heart of the issue. First, college athletics are a billion-dollar industry, and what’s important to remember is that the key workers — the players — do not get paid anywhere near what they make for their employers. Yes, a scholarship is worth quite a bit, and some college athletes get stipends and, yes, all college sports except football and men’s basketball lose buckets of money. But men’s basketball generates hundreds of millions of dollars for schools and TV networks, and pretty much zero cash for players, and as families have become more and more aware of that disparity, they feel they deserve to get their share. After all, if the coach is making $5 million because he can bring Sebastian Slasher to Enormous State University, shouldn’t Sebastian get more than a year’s worth of free classes and some dorm food? Of course he should, but the NCAA (who many consider one of the most inherently corrupt and inefficient organizations in the country) wants to keep the golden eggs away from the geese, and wants to preserve the maximum amount of profit for its members. So the players don’t get anywhere near the amount of money they deserve for the revenue their skills generate. Meanwhile, the shoe companies sell more than just shoes, and their apparel is another huge industry. If star players wear their gear, especially

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young stars, other young players will want to as well, and so adidas and Nike are eager to get players like Lonzo Ball under contract. To make that happen, the apparel companies make deals with club coaches not just for their top teams, but for all the teams in one club (which can go down to fourth grade). To recap: Coaches and schools get rich when star young players decide to play at a particular university. Apparel companies get rich when star young players wear their shoes. Star young players don’t get rich, but would like to. Oh, and don’t forget the NCAA is not only uninterested in eliminating corruption, it doesn’t have the resources to do so with any efficiency. It is, after all, an organization consisting of the very institutions that break its rules on a daily basis, so you can add an essentially lawless landscape to the equation. Now, however, the FBI is involved — and expect the IRS to be right behind — and barring a miracle, the hammer is about to fall. Don’t worry, it won’t fall on you or any club or high school team that has a deal with Nike or adidas. And it won’t fall on the shoe companies, who are just doing business in a fairly open and aboveboard way. I would expect, however, the NCAA to either disappear or be radically restructured when all is said and done, and I’m hopeful that any athlete of any age will be allowed to hire an agent or get professional advice to negotiate how his or her college experience will be handled — but you never know. There’s a lot of money involved, and there are a lot of people who have a lot to lose, so it’s possible that inertia will win out. Maybe the existing sham of “student-athletes” will somehow survive for another century. But with the FBI and IRS in the hunt, I’ll bet my vintage Air Jordans that a seismic shift in the intercollegiate landscape is just over the horizon. ✪

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After A 16-2 Start To Its Season, Ponderosa Isn’t Shy About Its Big Goals Story by STEVEN WILSON Photos by JAMES K. LEASH 14

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ulin Kenison isn’t wasting any time with typical goals. The junior outside hitter for Ponderosa High School’s girls volleyball team has her sights set on a championship run, and her team has shown the promise to back up her claim through one half of the Capital Valley Conference season. “We’re trying to go to state,” Kenison said without hesitation. “Yeah, we missed the playoffs by one game last year, so getting to the playoffs is part of our goal, but once we get there we really want to go all the way.” Much like her lofty goals, Kenison doesn’t waste any time on the court either. She slammed home a pair of set-clinching kills last Wednes-

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day night against Cosumnes Oaks as two of the top five teams in the area squared off in Elk Grove. Those two kills helped Ponderosa earn a five-set victory and improve to 7-0 in CVC play (25-22, 23-25, 16-25, 25-14 & 15-10). “They’re the toughest team we’ll face in league, so that was big,” Kenison said. “We beat them two out of three earlier in the year, but we wanted to see if we could beat them three out of five.” After taking down Cosumnes Oaks in preseason play, the Bruins leaned on their speedy, wide-ranging offense to attack the holes in the Wolf Pack defense. Kenison finished third on the team with nine kills, trailing only her fellow juniors Kendall Kott (12 kills) and Zoe Zimmerman Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

(11 kills). Together, they pieced together a two-set comeback after trailing 2-1 early in the match. “That win was huge because we moved into first place at 7-0,” Ponderosa coach Mike Yates said. “If we lost, then we were both going to be tied at 6-1 and then it comes down to that final match, and we would probably need a win. So this gave us a huge confidence booster, because their team, in my opinion, is the most athletic team in the area right now.” The Bruins are off to their best start since 2011 — a group that began the year 13-2 and reached the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Div. II playoffs — and they’ve already beaten every team in the CVC at least once. “Beating some of those teams gave us a lot of confidence, but we’ve been ranked first or second in the area for a while so we’ve had a big target on our back,” Kott pointed out. “We need to keep this up and prove that we earned that rating.” Kott is one of two setters in Yates’ rotation and she doubles as an outside hitter. She says this team has the chemistry to withstand other teams’ runs and still mount a comeback, much like the Sept. 27 match with Cosumnes Oaks. “We’re a really tight team,” Kott stated. “Five of us played on varsity last year, so we’ve come to know each other really well and we can build off that this season.” Kott, Kenison and Zimmerman join setter Brooke Ono and libero Sessa Renfew as the five key juniors on the squad. Throw in a pair of senior captains in Kelsey Yoder, a strong middle blocker, and Anna Hicks, a two-sport standout for Yates’ squad, and the Bruins have plenty of experience to back up their lofty claims. Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

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Julin Kenison That deep junior group all played big minutes last year as the Bruins finished fourth in the CVC and nearly went to the postseason with a 15-14 record and 8-6 mark in league. “We were top-16 in the area all year, but we didn’t get to go to playoffs because we were fourth (in our league),” Yates acknowledged. “It was a sophomore-dominant team, but that can happen — there’s a lot of good teams that don’t get to go to playoffs because they happen to be in a tough league.” This year, the CVC has one extra automatic playoff bid, bumping their total to four. Yet there’s five or six teams in the fight for those spots. But Ponderosa shouldn’t need to worry about simply reaching the playoffs. The Bruins are atop the conference, and have found a way to beat Cosumnes Oaks — the second-best team in the CVC — twice. In doing so, the team found a way to slow down the Wolfpack’s 6-foot-2 outside hitter Amaria Kelley, a junior who already has a handful of Div. I college offers. Yates knows his squad doesn’t have intimidating height, or size like Cosumnes Oaks, but he does have speedy, wide-ranging players who can seemingly do it all — dig, pass, set, spike — and do it all very well. “I preached for my kids to play sand volleyball this past spring,” Yates explained. “That way you learn to do it all — hit, pass, dig, set, serve … which allows them to be more well-rounded. And the ability of my kids to do mulKendall Kott tiple things is what makes this team strong.” Yates hopes to one day create a club beach volleyball program through local high schools, but noted that many of his players hit the sand during the past summer in anticipation for the regular season. That helped his squad hit the ground running in August. The Bruins have only lost twice, once to SJS Div. I power Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills, in five sets, and once to Galena-Reno (Nev.) in a surprise upset after beating them in the same preseason tournament prior. The team bounced back with nine straight wins and didn’t shy away from a challenge after falling in a 2-1 hole against Cosumnes Oaks. Rather, Ponderosa came out strong in the fourth set with precise serving and recorded three aces en route to a dominating 18-4 lead and a 2514 win. The Bruins followed it up with a 15-10 win in the fifth set, capped by a midcourt kill from Kenison. It was a full team effort, showcasing skills in each facet of the game. It was a win that made Kenison’s state finals claim seem not so far-fetched. ✪ 16

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Volleyball Notes

Marin Catholic Shakes Up NorCal Hierarchy

Records are through Sept. 30 1. (1)

—

Archbishop Mitty-San Jose

16-4

2. (5)

▲

Marin Catholic-Kentfield

16-3

3. (8)

▲

Monte Vista-Danville

19-1

4. (14)

▲

St. Francis-Mountain View

14-6

5. (2)

▼

St. Ignatius-S.F.

22-5

6. (16)

▲

Valley Christian-San Jose

14-6

7. (3)

▼

Sacred Heart Cathedral-S.F.

16-3

8. (7)

▼

Menlo School-Atherton

15-3

9. (4)

▼

Turlock

17-4

10. (10) —

Carlmont-Belmont

17-2

11. (9)

▼

Branson-Ross

14-1

12. (6)

▼

James Logan-Union City

16-2

13. (11) ▼

St. Francis-Sacramento

17-4

14. (12) ▼

Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills

12-4

15. (15) —

Ponderosa-Shingle Springs

16-2

16. (NR) ▲

Palo Alto

13-3

17. (13) ▼

Tracy

25-8

18. (18) —

Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland

13-5

19. (19) —

Campolindo-Moraga

12-4

20. (17) ▼

Cosumnes Oaks-Elk Grove

18-5

Just when it seemed the NorCal girls volleyball landscape was shaping up to be the West Catholic Athletic League and everybody else, one North Bay team and one East Bay team decided to disrupt things. With several top NorCal teams in the Christine Craft Memorial Tournament on Sept. 30 at Oak Ridge High in El Dorado Hills, Marin Catholic went 6-0 and dropped just two sets en route to the championship. Along the way, the Wildcats defeated four teams ranked within the SportStars NorCal Top 20 — James Logan-Union City, Monte Vista-Danville, Oak Ridge and St. Francis-Mountain View, who entered the tournament ranked 7, 9, 12 and 14, respectively. Marin Catholic entered the tournament ranked No. 5, so the run wasn’t a great surprise. But that didn’t make it any less impressive. They now sit at No. 2 in the rankings, the first time all season that a non-WCAL team has occupied the spot behind No. 1 Archbishop Mitty-San Jose (of the WCAL). The Wildcats were an easy choice to jump up three spots, especially after their win over St. Francis-Mountain View. The Lancers entered the Oak Ridge tournament just three days after they had knocked off previous-No. 2 St. Ignatius-S.F. in WCAL play. The Wildcats are led by senior hitting duo Riley Ramsey and Isabella Bergmark. Bergmark, who is playing her first season with Marin Catholic after sitting out her junior following a transfer from San Marin-Novato, was especially strong at the Oak Ridge tournament, posting a hitting percentage of.350 with 30 kills, eight aces and 13 blocks across the six matches.

“That was amazing,” Bergmark told the Marin Independent Journal about the team’s tournament effort. “It was a super, super long day and the whole team was exhausted, but it was worth it.” Marin Catholic closed September with a 16-3 overall record. None of the losses are to NorCal opponents. They’ve dropped matches to Harvard-Westlake-North Hollywood, AssumptionLouisville (Kentucky) and Xavier College Prep-Phoenix. Monte Vista also had an impressive showing at the tournament, boosting their record to 19-0 before falling to 2-0 to Marin Catholic in the final. The Mustangs moved to No. 3 in the SportStars rankings. They took had a previous win over St. Francis-Mountain View and added tournament victories over previous-No. 11 St. Francis-Sacramento, previous-No. 17 Cosumnes Oaks-Elk Grove and previous No. 20 Pitman-Turlock. GETTING CLOSER: While St. Ignatius dropped to No. 5 after its loss to St. Francis-Mountain View, it may have been due to a letdown following its match against Archbishop Mitty just two days earlier. St. Ignatius was attempting to beat Mitty for the first time since 2011, and trying to erase a 2016 season in which it went 0-4 against the Monarchs without taking a set. The Wildcats didn’t get the victory on Sept. 26, but they did make it awfully competitive — winning the first set and nearly forcing a fifth set before losing 26-24 in the fourth. They’ll get a rematch in San Jose on Oct. 21. ✪

DROPPED OUT: No. 20 Pitman-Turlock. THE NEXT FIVE: 21. Granite Bay (19-8), 22. CaliforniaSan Ramon (20-2), 23. Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove (13-8), 24. Notre Dame-Belmont (12-8) and 25. Pitman-Turlock (11-10). BIGGEST MOVER: A pair of West Catholic Athletic League teams each jumped 10 spots and into the Top 6. St. Francis-Mountain View, which had been as high as No. 9 in early September, vaulted up No. 4 after a 3-2 win over previous No. 2 St. Ignatius. Valley Christian-San Jose used a 3-0 sweep of former No. 3 Sacred Heart Cathedral to hop up to No. 6. Palo Alto makes its first appearance in the rankings this season, debuting at No. 16.

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BEST OF THE BOYS 2016 The Top 10 finishers in the NCVA Boys Power League point standings from 2016. 18/17s Club ............................................. Points 1. NCVC Asics 18-1.......................... 2,487 2. MVVC 17 Red............................ 2,476.5 3. MVVC 18 Red............................... 2,476 4. Bay to Bay 18-1 ....................... 2,460.75 5. NCVC Asics 17-1.......................... 2,434 6. Apache 18-1............................ 2,425.25 7. MVVC 18 Black ....................... 2,424.75 8. Bay to Bay 17-1 ............................ 2,410 9. Main Beach 18-2 .......................... 2,394 10. Main Beach 17-2 ..................... 2,384.5 16/15s 1. MVVC 16 Red............................... 2,495 2. Bay to Bay 16-1 ............................ 2,479 3. MVVC 16 Black ............................ 2,471 4. NCVC Asics 16-1..................... 2,459.25 5. Main Beach 16-2 .......................... 2,428 6. MVVC 15 Red.......................... 2.425.25 7. Bay to Bay 16-2 ....................... 2,418.75 8. Pacific Rim 16-1............................ 2,416 9. Diablo Black 16-1 .................... 2,408.25 10. Bay to Bay 15-1 .......................... 2,402 14s 1. Pacific Rim 14-1............................ 2,489 2. MVVC 14 Red............................... 2,479 3. Bay to Bay 14-1 ............................ 2,477 4. MVVC 14 Black ............................ 2,464 5. Fresno 14 Red .............................. 2,447 6. NCVC Asics 14-1....................... 2,438.5 7. Bay to Bay 14-2 ......................... 2,431.5 8. Bay to Bay 13-1 ............................ 2,399 9. Absolute Blue 14-1 ...................... 2,395 10. Slainte Platinum 14-1 ................. 2,337

hile the high school girls volleyball season nears its midway point, the first full weekend in October signals the beginning of the boys clubs season. Northern California Volleyball Association Boys Power League action begins across the region with the first of four Power League weekends on Oct. 8. The rest of the season plays out on Oct. 22, Nov. 18 and Dec. 2-3. The NCVA Power League Region Championships take place Dec. 16-17 at the San Mateo Event Center and the San Jose Convention Center. As opening weekend approaches, it seemed like a good time to take a look at who some of the top clubs might be this season, primarily in the 18/17s age group. Rosters always shift slightly from season to season, but if we’re basing anything on last season’s final results, Mountain View Volleyball Club’s 18 Red and Northern California Volleyball Club’s Asics 18-1 ought to be on a collision course for the top of the standings. MVVC’s 17 Red finished second last season. Now the club’s 18 Red team, the squad is led by St. Francis High star outside hitter Jerod Nelson. During the high school season last spring, Nelson had 381 kills, 57 blocks and 36 aces to lead the Lancers

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to a 34-3 record. His high school coach, Jonah Carson, coaches MVVC 18 Red as well. Other standouts for MVVC 18 Red include Homestead-Cupertino outside hitter, Danny Wong. Wong had 484 kills during the 2017 high school season. His setter at Homestead, Josh Bockholt (951 assists last spring), also suits up for MVVC. The Asics 18-1 Blue team of Sacramento’s NCVC took the Power League points title a season ago. This year’s group has the talent to add another title for the club after finishing fifth as the 17-1 Blue team a year ago. They were just 43 points behind MVVC 17 Red. The NCVC 18s are led by the power tandem of Dawson Fugate (Del Oro-Loomis) and Jacob Cole (Roseville). Fugate, who has committed to Long Beach State, posted 393 kills and 266 digs during the 2017 high school season and Cole led Roseville to the CIF Division I Northern Regional championship with a phenomenal all-around season. He had 390 kills, 366 digs, 77 aces and 57 blocks.

Danny Sharrah, a star setter who posted over 1,000 assists for Whitney-Rocklin in 2017, will have the luxury of setting Fugate and Cole. Another team to watch will be the Bay To Bay 18-1 team of San Jose (finished 8th in point standings as 17-1s last fall). Coach Steve Siegmann leads a roster featuring BellarmineSan Jose standouts Brett Allen (312 kills, 138 digs for the CIF Div. I runner-up) and setter Brian Ross (763 assists,151 digs). The roster also includes Lynbrook-San Jose serve-receive star Daniel Lien. The Diablo Valley Volleyball Club 18-1 group could be a bit of sleeper in this division. Keep an eye out for 6-foot-5 Aaron Fox of Pittsburg. Look for Pacific Rim Volleyball Club of Pleasant Hill to be a major factor in the 16/15s field after its 14-1 group won the 14s point title a season ago. MVVC will also be a force. To follow the Power League’s tournament results, point standings or view upcoming event schedules, be sure to visit ncva.com/boys-division/ ✪

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BUILT tough T

he first thing that jumps out to the visitor in Aaron Hern’s bedroom is simply how immaculate it looks. Bed neatly made. No clothes on the floor. Dust absent from the drawers. Quarterbacks tend to be organized. They think big, too. “I want to go the Naval Academy,” he says, when asked where he sees himself in a couple of years. The place is dear to his family — his father, Alan, went there, and met Aaron’s mom, Katherine — and he has the grades, the athletic pedigree and all the intangibles needed. Yet, he says it with a self-assuredness and presence that’s disarming. “Live your best life,” he says. “Right?” The words carry real power when they come from this set of lips. The 16-year-old speaking them is living and after April 15, 2013, the day bombs burst near the Boston Marathon finish line, that alone is the best. But there’s far more to it than that. For one, Hern is rolling toward straight A’s at Alhambra High in Martinez, his dreams squarely aspiring to participation in a future Army-Navy game. For two, he’s starting quarterback for the 3-2 Bulldogs and healthy as the Bulldogs enter Diablo Athletic League-Foothill Conference play by hosting Ygnacio Valley-Concord on Oct. 6.. That puts him ahead of last season, when as a sophomore starter, he suffered a season-ending broken collarbone in Alhambra’s opener against Acalanes-Lafayette. And no, that hit did not take away his nerve. “One of my favorite things about football,” he says, “is the physicality of it. I’ve never been opposed to getting hit. Really, I’ll have some jitters before each game, and they last until I get hit for the first time. I love that first hit.”

Four Years Removed From Suffering Severe Leg Injuries In The Boston Marathon Bombings, A Thriving Aaron Hern Is Alhambra’s Starting Quarterback Story by JAMES G. KANE | Photos by BOB LARSON

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And, he says, he loves the chaos of it all. Which might seem strange, given the chaos of that day in 2013. The gory details of the bombing have been well-chronicled, but Hern is more than willing to retrace them — “I still remember looking up, seeing people running and the buildings in the sky and thinking, ‘Wow, I guess this is it.’ I thought I was dead” — with almost a matter-of-fact demeanor. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time when two bombs detonated 12 seconds and 210 yards apart near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Three people died. Sixteen others lost limbs. That he wasn’t one of them was no less than a miracle. Aaron and the family acknowledge it, along with occasional posts on a Facebook Page titled “Aaron Hern Recovery.” A banner atop the page reads “Boston Strong.” “He’s done really well with what has come his way,” Katherine says. “The overwhelming attention from the beginning was a lot. And I don’t want that in any way to be construed as a negative. But it’s a lot. And it was a lot. Here he is, this athletic boy who has been moving around his whole life and he’s having to learn to walk again at 11. “But you know, you have the process of the athlete. You accept it and you plan to give yourself the best chance possible to deal with what you’re facing. And we just kind of did that the best we could.” None of the Herns came out of it completely unscathed. Alan Hern says that in the year after the bombing, he lost some of his intensity for coaching and struggled to reconcile the adversity already thrown at his first-born child. The autumn before the bombing, he suffered a dislocated elbow playing football, a “particularly nasty injury,” Alan Hern says. “I had a really hard time with the fact that here he was this 11-year-old boy, and he’d already been through all this trauma,” Alan Hern said. “I struggled with that for a long time.” Mom suffered watching her baby hurt. Words don’t do it justice. The shaking of her head as she turns away does. The other side of that? Some of the other pain the Herns face now doesn’t strike nearly as deep. But they are there. The Bulldogs, a school with a winning and proud tradition, are far from a perfect team, and Aaron Hern — 5 foot, 11 inches, 160 pounds and possessing an average arm and speed — won’t be on the home page of any recruiting websites. “In the games I’ve seen when he’s had time to throw, he threw it really well,” said AcalanesLafayette coach Floyd Burnsed, a veteran of more than 20 seasons. “He’s good on the seam routes to his wideouts. He would have a long way to go (to be considered elite), but he’s a good high school quarterback.” Throw into the mix that his dad is the head coach, and hard feelings can fester in a small community. As one Alhambra official put it, “Some parents can be very cruel.” Hern has more than enough support to cope. He does the teenage socializing thing occasionally but says he prefers a quiet night with his folks and sisters Abby, 14, and Caroline, 4. 22

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Aaron Hern’s dad and Alhambra coach, Alan Hern, talks with son during a recent practice. Plus, he’s been the coach’s son his entire life, so that brings perspective in a situation that can appear to be wholly unfair. Not that he needed the perspective. “You know what?” he says. “It’s just noise. You get used to it. People who say those things and participate in it, they really don’t understand all that goes into playing the position I play and all that’s gone into preparation. I don’t skip workouts. I don’t skip film. I don’t skip anything. So it’s just noise.” Besides, as both he and his father point out, everything can change in an instant. One second, he’s quarterbacking the Bulldogs as a sophomore, the next he’s getting clocked blindsided and his collarbone is broken. One second, he’s standing along the road in Boston, the next ... “You realize,” he says, “that when people say you have to be in the moment, you really do have to be in the moment. And wow, some of those moments. There was the night during his recovery that he threw out the first pitch at an Oakland A’s game, and that other night he did the same things before the San Francisco Giants played. He has those baseballs — and dozens of others — signed and inside an encased glass box mounted on a shelf along his bedroom wall. There was the day the Oakland Raiders honored him, and all of them signed a game ball. That’s in Aaron’s room, too. There are the strangers who tell him he’s an inspiration, that he embodies Boston Strong. Yet there are other moments, too. Like the ones when Aaron thinks about 8-year-old Martin William Richard, of Boston, who died when the second bomb exploded. Martin and Aaron were mere yards apart. Survivor Guilt, as Katherine says, “is a very real thing.” “There’s definitely times, yeah, where I wonder ‘why did an 8-year-old have to die’, and it’s rough,” Aaron says. “But I try not to stay there too long.” It’s a fine line to walk. A hard line to walk. “There’s pressure that comes with it,” Katherine says. “He does a good job with it.” A few minutes later, Alan is showing a video on the family’s desktop computer. It shows Aaron in a rehabilitation room, struggling to walk with the aid of a walker. His legs move rigidly. His eyes reflect despair. “It breaks my heart, but I keep it and watch it occasionally to remind myself of where he’s been and what he’s overcome,” Alan says. “But it’s also to remind myself and us that you keep moving forward, because sometimes, that’s all you can do.” Silence follows. Aaron stares intently at the screen. He gives a visitor a glance and comes back to the screen. It’s a deeply intense, deeply personal moment, in the open, for others to see. “It’s OK,” Aaron says. “It’s who I am. It’s a huge part of my life. But day-to-day now, I don’t see it as defining me, and I don’t feel like it will be all that does define me.” Because, clearly, there’s much more to Aaron Hern and his life than just that day in Boston. ✪ Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

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VALUE

Section Tennis Championships Set For Roseville

On Nov. 2-3 the top girls high school tennis players in the Sac-Joaquin Section will arrive at Johnson Ranch Racquet Club in Roseville with hopes of securing section championship medals. The SJS Girls Championships will showcase nearly 100 players from Merced to Nevada City and from Napa to Yuba City with seven leagues out of Division I and seven leagues from Division II. Tournament director and Rocklin High coach Dale Eckenburg explained that each league sends its top two players in singles and top two doubles teams to this tournament. It is single-elimination with a draw of 16 for each division and all matches are best-of-three sets. “Basically there are four tournaments being run at the same time with Division I singles and doubles and Division II singles and doubles,” Eckenburg said. “Johnson Ranch is a wonderful spot for this event as it is a first-class facility and a great supporter of high school tennis, having hosted the tournament since 2006. “I really enjoy watching kids come together from all walks of life who can all enjoy the sport of tennis. We have USTA tournament players, but we also have girls who started playing tennis as freshmen who make the tournament. It gives them a huge reward for their hard work.” Several local Placer Valley girls out of the Sierra Foothill League are vying for spots at these sectionals and will know in late October if they made the cut. Canela Luna (2015 doubles champion) and Bailey Greenwell, both from Rocklin, have a great shot. Ali Isaac from Del Oro-Loomis, Olivia Treement and Kat Skrbec of Granite Bay are also ones to watch. Good luck to all! ✪

William Jessup Invitational Turns 3 On Saturday, Oct. 21 the William Jessup University (WJU) cross country team will host the third annual Warrior Invitational at Johnson-Springview Park in Rocklin. Placer Valley Tourism is thrilled to partner with WJU in welcoming several teams from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to this extremely competitive cross country invitational. The WJU Warriors will have three meets under their belts going into this invitational on their home turf in October. Parker Daniells, head coach for both the men’s and women’s teams, is excited that on both sides they have nine returning runners and four incoming freshmen runners this season, making for very strong Warrior teams. “We have received a lot of support from the local community in putting this event on and the meet brings in some of the best NAIA teams from around the country with 12 teams traveling from Idaho, Washington, Oregon, the Bay Area and Southern California,” explained Daniells. He added that it also gives the local high schools a chance to experience a college-level race, “There are not many opportunities for high school student-athletes to watch a collegiate race in the area and this is a great opportunity to get exposure to a collegiate race but more importantly, to meet some great coaches from wonderful colleges and universities in the West.” After this meet, the Warriors will head to Irvine for the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) Championships on Nov. 4 with their sights set on making it to the NAIA National Championship on Nov. 18 in Vancouver, Washington. ✪ — All photos and copy provided by Placer Valley Tourism

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›››› Rancho Cotate QB Simmons Creates Buzz Despite Scant College Clamor

Story by HAROLD ABEND Photos by BERRY EVANS III

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HiDDE

ome players are simply destined to fly under the radar. Despite putting up the kind of stats often seen up in the stratosphere, Rancho Cotate High-Rohnert Park quarterback Jake Simmons seems to be one of those guys. “Jake is phenomenal,” Cougars coach Gehrig Hotaling said. “If I had to build a team in the Bay Area, Jake Simmons would be my first pick.” Even with a junior season that ended with 4,802 combined passing and rushing yards, 56 touchdowns and a Cal-Hi Sports All-State selection — and leading Rancho Cotate to a 5-0 start to 2017 with a 146.2 quarterback rating — he’s not the first pick of any notable college program. Last year, Simmons sent retiring coach Ed Conroy out with career victory No. 197 after two wins in the North Coast Section Division III playoffs, but the run ended when the Cougars fell 37-34 in the NCS semis to eventual Div. III champ and CIF Div. 5-AA State Bowl-winners Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland. Conroy didn’t even need to see Simmons play football to recognize the kid’s potential. He first noticed Simmons’ arm on a baseball diamond while watching him pitch as a freshman. However, the longtime coach was pretty certain the Simmons’ heart was in baseball. Indeed, Simmons was considering quitting football to focus on baseball and basketball. As a kid in Pop Warner, his size had him playing lineman and he was done with that. Simmons told Conroy he still had interest in football — but only if he had a chance to play quarterback. And that was that. “It took a little time for him to settle into football, but once he did, he set all the JV passing records,” Conroy said. “He has a lot of natural ability and he’s one of the hardest working kids I’ve ever seen.” It helps to have athletic pedigree, too. His father, Ross Simmons, played football at Montgomery-Santa Rosa and then went to Santa Rosa Junior College and Oregon Tech. His mother, Gina, ran track at the old Ursuline-Santa Rosa before it merged with Cardinal Newman. His older brother, Ross Jr., graduated from Analy-Sebastopol last year after catching 23 touchdown passes over his last two seasons. He now plays for Santa Rosa Junior College. While the scouting radar may not be following Jake’s path, he and the Cougars certainly

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EN PHENOM

aren’t going unnoticed in the North Coast Section. Not after a 5-0 start that includes a 33-28 road win over reigning NCS Div. II champ Campolindo-Moraga. Simmons threw for 351 yards and three touchdowns in the win. After five games, he’s passed for 1,626 yards and 19 TDs. With the emergence of senior tailback Kobi Buckley, there’s less need for Simmons to be the rushing threat he was a year ago when he nearly reached 1,000 yards. Through his first five games of 2017, he’s rushed for 270 yards and eight touchdowns. “I’m definitely not afraid to run the ball, but I’m not typically a run-first quarterback. I like to air it out,” Simmons said. “I run when it’s mostly needed, like in the fourth quarter when I have to put the team on my back.” That may not be necessary until the teams’ regular season finale, a Nov. 4 showdown with Cardinal Newman which will most likely decide the North Bay League title. In last year’s overtime loss to Cardinal Newman, both team’s scored on their first possession in overtime; first Cardinal Newman and then Rancho Cotate on a Simmons TD pass. Conroy had confidence enough in Simmons to go for the win, but the 2-point conversion pass fell incomplete and left Jake and returning teammates with a score to settle. A win over Cardinal Newman would likely send an undefeated Rancho into the Div. III playoffs as a top-3 seed. Once there, the Cougars will be seeking their first section title since back-to-back 3A Redwood Empire crowns in 2001-02. But that will entail surviving one of the deepest fields in the section featuring O’Dowd, Cardinal Newman, Marin Catholic-Kentfield, Miramonte-Orinda and Acalanes-Lafayette. It will undoubtedly be a chance for Simmons to shine. “Jake can and is going to play somewhere (in college),” Conroy said. Despite his numbers, the naysayers point to his lack of height (6-foot-1) and blazing speed as reasons he hasn’t gotten any top-notch Div. I offers. Sacramento State and Azusa Pacific have made offers as well as Glenville State in West Virginia. “I’m absolutely shocked he’s not getting big-time looks and offers,” Hotaling said. “It’s crazy. You just watch him throw. His arm and accuracy is great and his vision is incredible. And the best thing is, as good a quarterback as he is, he’s an even a better young man.” There is still a lot of football left this season and anything can happen, but right now Bay Area high school football fans better not sleep on Jake Simmons and Rancho Cotate. ✪

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Jeff Walters’ Coaching Path Leads Back To Loomis

he second-most storied football program in Sac-Joaquin Section history is in the steady hands of an energetic alumnus who will turn 32 years old exactly one week from today’s publication. But don’t put this millennial in a box just yet. Jeff Walters was born to coach football, and he’s found the perfect home at Del Oro-Loomis — the place where it all began. Walters earned his first coaching gig with the Jr. Golden Eagles youth football team while he was a freshman at Del Oro. By the time he graduated, he impressed his varsity coaches so much, they signed him up to Del Oro’s freshman coaching staff. Those coaches — defensive coordinator Steve Birch and head coach Casey Taylor — would play a larger role in this story than any of them could have imagined, and went on to establish Del Oro as a Northern California powerhouse. By the time Taylor departed Loomis to coach Capital Christian-Sacramento last summer, Del Oro had won six more section titles, four NorCal championships and a Division II-A state title over heavily favored Camarillo, 16-13 in 2015. Thanks largely to Taylor, Birch, excellent staff support and the raucous backing of a die-hard football community, Del Oro is now No. 2 in the section record books with 11 blue banners and 16 title appearances. Only Central Catholic (19 and 21) has more. And while Taylor and Birch were establishing the Golden Eagles as state powers, Walters was sharpening his talons elsewhere. Walters coached at Durham in 2006, Whitney-Rocklin in 2008, Freedom-Oakley from 2009-2012 and, in first head coaching gig at Liberty-Brentwood from 2013- 2016. Walters led Liberty to back-to-back playoff treks and the school’s first postseason victory. Then Taylor opened the door for Walters’ return by moving to Capital Christian, and Birch, still the defensive coordinator at DO, has provided the hospitality. “The current state of this program is more in tune with a small college program than your typical high school,” Walters said. “Being a junior in Coach Taylor’s first season, I am not even sure that he envisioned what Del Oro has become.” Del Oro (4-2 through Sept. 30) is led by a tenacious defense with bite across the roster. Opposing teams average well under 20 points game, despite Del Oro playing perhaps the toughest schedule in the SJS. That unit is led by coach Birch’s senior son, linebacker An-

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First-year Del Oro coach Jeff Walters goes over a play with quarterback Josh Gazzaniga in a Sept. 22 game against Granite Bay. drew Birch, a 6-foot, 215-pound team captain and one of two returning starters on defense. The other, linebacker Tatuo Martinson, trails only Andrew Birch in tackles and leads Del Oro in sacks (seven). Martinson is in recruiting talks with UCLA. Trevor Johnson rounds out Del Oreo’s elite linebacking corps, and Dante Pericin leads the secondary. “Getting to coach with coach Birch is a really amazing opportunity,” Walters said. “He is one of the best football minds I have come across and definitely a major reason for the success of our program over the last 15 years.” Coach Birch’s defense has allowed just 37 first-half points all season, under seven points per game. The unit didn’t surrender

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a second first-down to Monterey Trail until the final seconds of the first half. Del Oro won that game 28-6 on Sept. 15. “When coach Walters came in here, he basically said ‘Do what you have been doing,’” Birch said after that win. “We had a great relationship when I coached him and he didn’t want to change things.” Offensively, Del Oro is still developing Walters’ pro-style spread offense into the program, but players are producing. Del Oro averages 150 rushing yards a game, and Brice Edwards has accounted for most of those. The senior played behind 2016 star runners Camrion Davis (Claremont McKenna College) and Dalton Gee (Butte College) last year. Edwards has bolted for eight touchdowns so far in 2017. He scored Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

three times against Nevada Union-Grass Valley on Sept. 29. Dawson Hurst, younger brother of Cal Poly defensive back and former Del Oro human-highlight-reel Mason Hurst, ran for a 66-yard touchdown against Nevada Union and is a multipurpose talent on offense, defense and special teams. Quarterbacks Josh Gazzaniga and Carson Jarratt have split time behind center. Matt Smart and Johnny Guzman have been top targets. “Offensively speaking, we are still in a transition period moving from the philosophy of the last 15 years and blending it with my approach,” Walters said. “I think it is just part of the process as we become more comfortable.” Del Oro is masterful on special teams, thanks to guys like Dawson Hurst returning kicks and the mighty leg of senior Connor Calvert. The kicker, who is being recruited by Reno

and UC Davis, also blasts booming punts and has accounted for 22 of Del Oro’s points this season. The cast of characters is diverse and talented, and with the community behind its native son, Del Oro is in good hands. A lot is expected of Walters, but he embraces the challenges. “It has been well chronicled that our community has high expectations for our program,” Walters said. “I’ve heard terms like ‘coaching meat-grinder’ and I can attest that it could be intimidating to some. Yet, that passion and spirit itself is what I love the most. “To me, expectations are simply opportunities to challenge ourselves in pursuit of excellence. That to me is what this program has always been about and I would not have it any other way.” ✪ — Story By Ike Dodson | Photos By James K. Leash

Records are through Sept. 30 1. (1)

—

De La Salle-Concord

5-1

2. (2)

—

Folsom

6-0

3. (3)

—

Oak Ridge-El Dorado HIlls

5-0

4. (4)

—

Pittsburg

3-1

5. (5)

—

Freedom-Oakley

5-0

6. (6)

—

Central Catholic-Modesto

4-0

7. (7)

—

St. Mary’s-Stockton

4-1

8. (8)

—

Manteca

4-1

9. (9)

—

Valley Christian-San Jose

4-1

10. (10) —

St. Francis-Mountian View

3-2

11. (11) —

San Ramon Valley-Danville

5-0

12. (12) —

Milpitas

5-0

13. (13) —

Serra-San Mateo

3-2

14. (14) —

Marin Catholic-Kentfield

5-0

15. (15) —

Clayton Valley-Concord

3-2

16. (16) —

Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland

3-2

17. (18) ▲

Sacramento

4-1

18. (19) ▲

Oakdale

4-1

19. (17) ▼

Granite Bay

5-1

20. (20) — Archbishop Mitty--San Jose 4-1 DROPPED OUT: None. THE NEXT FIVE: 21. Inderkum-Sacramento (6-0), 22. Half Moon Bay (5-0), 23. Del Oro-Loomis (4-2), 24. Rancho Cotate-Rohnert Park (5-0) and 25. Cardinal NewmanSanta Rosa (4-1). BIGGEST MOVER: By default this honor goes to one of the few teams who actually did move. Sacramento’s two-spot jump from No. 19 to 17 earns the honors. The movement involving the three teams that occupied Nos. 17-19 was all based on Folsom. Each of the three teams’ lone losses came at the hands of the current No. 2 team. Sacramento slotted first for playing the Bulldogs the toughest, falling 28-19. Oakdale, who lost to Folsom 45-29, followed, and Granite Bay (35-14 losers to Folsom on 9/29) slotted third. The rest of the rankings were relatively quiet in Week 5. TEAMS REMAINING FROM PRESEASON TOP 20: 16

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Redding Is Rich In Outdoors Options There’s something about a scenic trail that invigorates and revives your soul. This fall, discover a mosaic of crisp yellow, burnt orange and deep red, canopied corridors and riverbank paths in Redding, California, where 225-plus miles of trails within a 15-mile radius are waiting to be explored. Whether you hike, bike, walk, run or ride, Redding offers a trail for everyone. Journey from Shasta Dam to the worldfamous Sundial Bridge — the hub of the nationally acclaimed Sacramento River National Recreation Trail. Or, pack some dirt in your mountain bike tires at the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. If you’re craving more, trek to any of the nearby 50 waterfalls that reach up to 220 feet in height. With Redding boasting 300 days of sunshine per year as the sunniest city in California, there’s always a great chance to get out and embark on a trail for the first time. The opportunities for adventure are vast, and even the San Francisco Chronicle took note by labeling Redding’s extensive paths as the “gem of the U.S. trail system.” For the more daring enthusiasts, another 250-plus miles of trails are waiting to be conquered with your off-highway vehicles in the Chappie-Shasta OHV Area, navigating through BLM land and the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Shred the wide jeep trails in any vehicle or find the smaller tracks for ATVs and dirt bikes. The terrain takes you through dozens of creek crossings and steep hill climbs, and includes a large staging area on the river with new facilities. To top it off, stunning scenic views of Shasta Dam, Shasta Lake, Mt. Shasta and the Sacramento River accompany your entire ride. If you’re looking for easy paved paths for all kinds of recreation, or dirt trails for the daring enthusiasts, visit Redding – Where Fun meets Adventure! ✪ — All copy and photos provided by VisitRedding.com

Sacramento Program Charted Path That Led Straight To A State Crown

orthern Illinois. Eastern Washington. Western Michigan … In the world of collegiate sports, these fine institutions are known as “directionals,” and their primary role is to serve as cannon fodder for the USCs and Notre Dames of the world. They are out there on the edge of Division I, on the periphery of relevance, and though occasionally they can jump up and bite their betters, they’re not programs to be taken seriously. Up until 2002, Sacramento’s West Campus High didn’t even have its own identity – it was a satellite of Hiram Johnson, and though it was indeed a mile or so west of Hiram Johnson, in terms of Sacramento itself, West Campus is, well, in the east. In other words, we’re not talking a ton of respect for the magnet school of 800 students, which is in the Sac-Joaquin Section’s Division IV — or at least, we weren’t until the girls basketball team won a state championship last spring. But the journey from the outskirts of athletic relevance to the center of attention was not an overnight trip — coach John Langston is entering his ninth year at West Campus, and he took no shortcuts.

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“If you breed something,” he says, “you will birth something,” and though his teams were immediately successful in terms of wins and losses, it took time to instill the values that were the foundation of that state title. The issue was never success in the Golden Empire League, as West Campus is 85-5 since Langston took over in 2009, but rather moving on in the Division IV playoffs. Even though the team qualified for NorCals in Langston’s third year, it never got past the second round — colliding with powers like St. Mary’s-Berkeley and Salesian-Richmond — until 2017. “We have a six-week running program in the summer,” says Langston, “on the field. No basketballs. We’ve been doing that since I got here — that’s who we are.” And then Langston, who is set to win his 200th game at West Campus when the school rings up its first win in 201718, takes that conditioning and applies it full court. “We play baseline to baseline, man-to-man,” he says, “and we will trap you. If you can’t dribble, it’s going to be a long game for you.” Why man-to-man instead of the trapping 2-2-1 zone that has been the press of choice in recent years? “I’m a man-toman guy because if I don’t teach you to play man-to-man,

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when you play the best players, you get beat.” On offense, Langston relies on a read-and-react system that, yes, takes more than a season or three to install and run efficiently. “Everybody has to handle the basketball,” says Langston, and players have the freedom to attack their defender whenever an opportunity presents itself. “If you’re good at what you do, why not do it?” That said, the ability of individual players such as this year’s senior stars, Kiara Jefferson and Nia Johnson, has to be part of a bigger picture. “If you can’t play team basketball, you can’t play for me,” he says. But “me” is not something Langston focuses on. “I have absolutely nothing on my desk (about basketball),” says Langston, who is a youth specialist at Success Academy in Sacramento. “Too often coaches want to be the focal point, but when the game starts, I tell the girls ‘It’s time for you to play, not for me to coach’.” Along that line, the read-and-react West Campus offense does not have a rigid structure. “It’s hard for you to scout my team if we don’t have a set offense.” There is one obvious aspect of Langston’s teams, though

West Campus teammates Kiara Jefferson (left) and Nia Johnson

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Story by CLAY KALLAM Photos by DAVE LAWICKA

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“I’m ready for the battle.” — Nia Johnson

— lack of size. Even though he coached 6-4 Vicki Baugh (who played in the WNBA) while he was at Sacramento High School, his West Campus teams have been vertically challenged. “We haven’t had a 6-foot girl since I’ve been here,” he said, though his defensive pressure and offensive system have produced a .778 winning percentage despite smaller players. That will be one of several challenges facing the 2017-18 iteration of the team, as leading rebounder and scorer Namiko Adams graduated along with Nadia Johnson (now at Cal State Bakersfield). But Jefferson (being recruited by UCLA, Cal and Oregon) and Nia Johnson, Nadia’s younger sister, are ready to take charge of a young roster. “The newcomers don’t have the grit we have,” says Jefferson, “or the perspective.” Both were ramped up after the 2016 loss to St. Mary’s-Berkeley in the second round of NorCals. “We got into a mentality of winning after that,” says Jefferson. “We knew what we had to do.” Langston’s demanding summer conditioning program was just the beginning, but the team bought in. “It was crazy,” says Jefferson, “but it paid off.” Nia Johnson transferred from Antelope after the 2015-16 season, and was on board in time for the six weeks of running. “It was so much harder,” she says, but since she styles herself as a player who does the dirty work, she happily made the adjustment. But now, after that state title, both Jefferson and Johnson

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know there’s a target on their backs, and teams will be coming after West Campus every time out. After all, what better way to create a reputation than to beat a California champion? And yes, that means that West Campus has moved out of the “directional” category, in from the outskirts, and now is firmly planted at the center of any discussion about girls basketball in Northern California. “When you talk about teams in Sacramento,” says Langston, “West Campus has to be in the top three” — but that kind of success will only make things harder this year. Changes at the CIF level mean that once West Campus advances out of the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs, it will no longer be considered a “smaller” school. Teams will be seeded in NorCals solely on ability, which means West Campus could conceivably wind up in the Open Division with national powers like Archbishop Mitty-San Jose and St. Mary’s-Stockton, and, even if that bullet is dodged, is otherwise a lock for Division I. “We have to build on what we have, not what we want,” says Langston as he looks ahead to a season without five graduated seniors and a roster with no one over 5-11. “Let’s get it done.” Jefferson and Nia Johnson are on the same page. “I’m ready for the battle,” says Johnson, and Jefferson doesn’t care who the opponents are. “I’m not worried about it,” she says — and why should she be? The “directional” is a defending state champion, an upstart no longer, and when it comes to girls basketball, right in the center of everything. ✪

smartLIFTING Examining The Rights And Wrongs With Weights health watch: carleen baldwin, pt, dpt, cscs In recent years, Olympic lifting has become more identifiable and accessible to the general public, and strength training has become more integrated in sports and rehabilitation programs. The question that remains on many parents’ minds is, is strength training safe for young athletes? The answer is yes. With proper coaching, muscular strength gains have been proven without any increase in risk of injury when using weightlifting movements (snatch, clean and jerk, cleans, pulls, and presses). Strength training is not limited to just lifting weights, it can include weight machines, elastic tubing or body weight exercises. It is important to understand prior to starting the risks and benefits. Two main concerns with strength training are based on reports of growth plate injuries and soft tissue injuries, specifically back injuries. Sports and activities that have repetitive movements are more likely to have growth plate injuries because of the increased torque on muscle tendons. In many injuries, the contributing factors were misuse of equipment, inappropriate weight, improper technique, lack of qualified supervision, poorly designed equipment and progressing too aggressively. Poor technique faults can include ballistic (fast, repetitive, quick motions), compensations patterns, inadequate warm up, poor spotting and improper form. Supervised coaching can correct these and does not pose any higher risk for growth plate injuries than any other sport or activity. The American Academy of Pediatrics, Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, and National Strength and Conditioning Association have approved the safety of supervised strength training in adolescents that follows guidelines. The AAP recommends avoiding competitive Olympicstyle weightlifting until the athlete reaches physical and skeletal maturity (typically after puberty). There is no minimal age requirement for general strength training, but it is recommended the athlete can demonstrate maturity following directions and has adequate balance (developmentally usually at ages 7-8). An athlete should have physical exam prior to starting a program. Strength training can improve bone density, balance, cardiovascular risk profile, lean body mass and the psychological benefit of increasing an athlete’s self-esteem. Strength and power can improve 30 to 50 percent after 8-12 weeks of training twice a week. In addition, strength training can help prevent injuries. Several research studies have shown preseason conditioning programs that include plyometrics, weight training and education on jumping mechanics decrease the risk for knee injuries significantly, especially in adolescent female athletes. How to get started? Teaching an athlete how to properly lift requires advanced knowledge on technique and form as well as a considerable amount of time to teach the mechanics. It requires an understanding of how to progress these exercises from basic lifts such as a bodyweight squat to Olympic lifts like the snatch. An athlete should start with bodyweight exercises for form and advance to machines or free weights once proper mechanics are achieved. A physical therapist or athletic trainer at the Sports Medicine Center for Young Athletes can help offer a thorough assessment and training. ✪ Carleen Baldwin is a physical therapist and certified strength and conditioning specialist for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and its Sports Medicine For Young Athletes staff.

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good eating On The Run Here’s How To Achieve Balance In A Time Crunch nutrition: jill daniels As an athlete, you can run into some challenging food situations. Sometimes the dinner stop on the way home from an away game is at the mini-mart at the closest gas station. Win or lose, athletes need some post-game calories, and may even want some comfort foods. Even at a convenience store, you’ll be able to find healthy choices that can bring nourishment to both your body and soul. For a balanced meal, include a carbohydrate, from either the fruit or grain group, and a protein. This will give your body some great nutrients for recovery, and help you feel more satisfied after eating. Here are some ideas to get you started: Fruit: Banana or other fresh fruit, orange juice, 100 percent fruit juice/smoothie, raisins or other dried fruit, applesauce, dried apple chips, fruit leather. Grain: Triscuits, Wheat Thins, Belvita, graham crackers, popcorn, pretzels, cereal cups, biscotti, granola bar, whole wheat fig bars Protein: Milk, hard-boiled eggs, cheese stick, beef jerky, nuts, seeds, trail mix, canned tuna, yogurt, Greek yogurt, individual peanut butter or almond butter packs, cottage cheese, energy bars with 10-20 grams of protein. If you’re looking to save money, or you want to have even healthier options, you could always pack food ahead of time and bring it in a cooler. Here are some nutritious foods that might sound good after the game: turkey and avocado sandwich, carrots and hummus, peanut butter on graham crackers, yogurt with granola and fruit, cheese and crackers, egg salad and pita chips, pasta salad with veggies and chicken, tortilla with almond butter and banana. One meal from a gas station mini-mart won’t make or break your overall diet. If you know that you’ll be eating dinner at a convenience store, plan on eating healthier foods during your other meals and snacks throughout the day. Make the best choices you can, and follow it up with lots of water and a good night’s rest. These strategies will help your body recover well, and you’ll be set for a fresh start when you wake up. ✪ Maximize your athletic performance by seeking personalized advice from Nutrition Coach Jill Daniels, MS, RD, CSSD, Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics. www.JillDanielsRD.com

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