NorCal Issue 158, Dec. 22, 2018 by Sport Stars Magazine

NORCAL EDITION DEC. 22, 2018 VOL. 9 ISSUE 158

Ready for MORE

ust like that, another year of SportStars comes to a close. And now seems as good a time as any to brag about plans for 2019 — the year in which we’ll be turning 10 years old. We’re all lined up to produce 16 full issues again next year, 12 of which will run in print and four more which will be online exclusives. We’ll also be continuing our insert distribution with the Sunday Chronicle. We’re also working on how we get a few issues out to some of the neighborhood locations readers used to find us, also. As soon we can make that happen again, we’ll let folks know. Charting new ground and trying new things continues to be a focal point of the work we’re doing at SportStarsMag.com. In case you missed it, we released our first Day In The Life Project that included both a story and documentary-style video on St. Francis-Sacramento girls volleyball star Alexa Edwards. We’re hoping to film our second one — featuring Marin Catholic-Kentfield volleyball star Kari Geissberger — in early February and release it toward the end of that month. Other things to look forward to in the next few months include our extensive season wrap-up of the 2018 football season. Look for our February issue to include our annual All-NorCal Football Teams as well as our first foray into a ranked list of the region’s top senior recruits. For longtime prep football fans in the Bay Area, it may have a familiar look to it. Stay tuned. Wrestling will get its most extensive NorCal-centric coverage in our pages and on the website, and we’re branching out into more soccer this winter too. And of course, there will be hoops. Plenty of hoops. Our Annual Camps & Clinics Resource Guide returns in March, and our Yearbook Special in June. We’re obviously excited about the future, but we’ll do the other year-end dance, too. The SportStars staff will dig back into 2018 to compile some of our favorite moments of the past calendar year. Look for that to post to SportStarsMag.com over the last week of December. Until then, Happy Holidays, sports fans! ✪

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JOIN OUR TEAM PHONE 925.566.8500 FAX 925.566.8507 EDITORIAL Editor@SportStarsMag.com Editor Chace Bryson • Chace@SportStarsMag.com Assistant Editor Mike Wood Staff Writer Jim McCue • JimMcCue16@gmail.com Contributors Clay Kallam, Tim Rudd, Mark Tennis, James G. Kane, Harold Abend, Jill Daniels, Anthony Trucks, Erika Westhoff, Ike Dodson, Steven Wilson Copy Editor Bill Kruissink Photography James K. Leash, Phillip Walton, Doug Guler, Berry Evans III, Samuel Stringer, Jim Johnson, Dennis Lee, Dave Lawicka Interns Joshua Howser, Krishna Gomatam Marketing/Events Ryan Arter CREATIVE DEPARTMENT Art@SportStarsMag.com Production Manager Mike DeCicco • MikeD@SportStarsMag.com PUBLISHER/PRESIDENT Mike Calamusa • Mike@SportStarsMag.com ADVERTISING Sales@SportStarsMag.com, 925.566.8500 Account Executives Camps & Clinics: Ryan Arter • Camps@SportStarsMag.com Alameda County: Berry Evans • Berry@foto-pros.com READER RESOURCES/ADMINISTRATION Subscription, Calendar, Credit Services Info@SportStarsMag.com INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY John Bonilla CFO Sharon Calamusa • Sharon@SportStarsMag.com COMMUNITY SPORTSTARS™ MAGAZINE A division of Caliente! Communications, LLC PO Box 741, Clayton, CA 94517 info@SportStarsMag.com www.SportStarsMag.com

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YOUR TICKET TO CALIFORNIA SPORTS ADMIT ONE; RAIN OR SHINE

Bear Creek girls basketball isn’t afraid West Coast Jamboree girls 10 The basketball tournament is back! Read up 12 to play anybody — and they’ll meet with our preview of the elite divisions.

football lays claim to the 16 Fortuna Div. IV section championship

you anywhere you want. Game on.

La Salle football can’t keep up with 19 De Matre Dei in state final.

This Vol. #9, December 22, 2018 Whole No. 158 is published by Caliente! Communications, LLC, PO Box 741, Clayton, CA 94517. SportStars™© 2010-2014 by Caliente! Communications, LLC. All rights reserved. Receive FREE Digital Subscription in your inbox. Subscribe at SportStarsMag. com. To receive sample issues, please send $3 per copy, or $8 total for bulk. Back issues are $4 each. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission of Publisher is strictly prohibited. The staff and management, including Board of Directors, of SportStars™© does not advocate or encourage the use of any product or service advertised herein for illegal purposes. Editorial contributions, photos and letters to the editor are welcome and should be addressed to the Editor. All material should be typed, double-spaced on disk or email and will be handled with reasonable care. For materials return, please enclose a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. SportStars™© and STARS!™© Clinics are registered trademarks of Caliente! Communications, LLC.

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December 22, 2018

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NCVA Aids Collegiate Volleyball Star Fighting Life-Threatening Blood Cancer Alyssa Cavanaugh established herself as one of the best collegiate volleyball players in the country from 2014-2017. In her decorated four-year career at Western Kentucky University, the Hilltoppers could rely on the dominant outside hitter whenever the moment called for a big play. In four seasons, Cavanaugh totaled more than 1,800 kills, 250 digs and 200 blocks. Now, the former Conference USA Player of the Year and four-time All-America honoree, is relying on others to make a big play for her. The biggest. And SportStars readers can help. Cavanaugh, 22, had her world turn upside down on September 5 of this year. Just as she was in the process of obtaining her student visa, Cavanaugh’s plans to study for her masters degree in Strength and Conditioning and play overseas for England’s Northumbria University got put on indefinite hold. She was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Cavanaugh’s best chance for a cure requires a bone marrow transplant. Seventy percent of all patients suffering from ALL do not have matching donors within their family, and Cavanaugh is no different. That’s where Be The Match and NCVA come in. Be The Match is a global leader in bone marrow transplantation and over the past 30 years has built the largest and most diverse marrow registry in the world. The NCVA is joining forces with Be The Match to raise awareness for Cavanaugh, who is currently being treated at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the Norton Cancer Center in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. SportStars readers within the ages of 18 to 44 can take part in this search. To do so, visit https://join.bethematch.org/ncva and register to receive a simple cheek swap kit. A kit will be mailed within 3-7 days. Upon receipt, follow the instructions for swabbing and returning to Be The Match, and then be ready if called as a match. You can also text “Cure12” to 61474 to begin the process as well. Take the time to potentially be a hero for an athlete in need. ✪ — Photos provided by NCVA and Be The Match Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

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December 22, 2018

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Platinum Division’s Octet Of State-Ranked Teams Highlights West Coast Jamboree’s Elite Brackets

his year’s Platinum Division — for the West Coast Jamboree tournament happening Dec. 27-29 in high school gyms throughout the East Bay — doesn’t have any nationally ranked teams as in past year. With eight teams of this caliber, figuring out the first-round matchup draws while attempting to avoid same-region matchups was no easy task. Preseason No. 3 Pinewood-Los Altos Hills starts at the bottom of the bracket where Stanfordbound senior sharpshooter Hannah Jump and super-versatile senior Klara Astrom square off with Bishop Alemany-Mission Hills. Pinewood has a loaded squad that includes seniors Kaitlyn Leung and Trinity Copeland, and underclass talent like sophomores Annika Decker, Una Jovanovic and Courtni Thompson. Bishop Alemany will be returning from the Iolani Classic in Hawaii. Two players to look for are flashy senior guard Ashley Orozco and senior 5-foot-10 wing Izzy Hernandez. State preseason No. 6 Salesian-Richmond is on the top half of the bracket, where it opens against No. 36 Troy-Fullerton. Salesian is led by 6-5 USC-bound Angel Jackson, the state’s top-rated post, and Hawaiibound power forward Makayla Edwards. Coach Stephen Pezzola’s arsenal also includes seniors Anjel Galbraith and Nia Chinn, plus three underclass transfers who will be eligible for the Jamboree. Salesian will be coming from the Nike TOC in Phoenix. Troy has a lot of returners, led by junior Anaiyah Tu’ua and her twin sister, Aaliyah. At the outset of the season it’s been a pair of freshmen leading the Warriors: Hannah Stines has been the leading scorer and Isabella Pearson has also been a big contributor. Etiwanda-Rancho Cucamonga hails from SoCal’s Inland Empire region and was the No. 5 team in the state preseason rankings. Like other SoCal teams that started seasons almost two weeks before most NorCal teams, the Eagles have a significant head start. Etiwanda will have played 10 games coming into its Jamboree opener with preseason No. 32 Sacramento. Those 10 games include some of the top teams from SoCal. The Warriors’ top returners are senior wing Evanne Turner, and 6-0 senior power forward Kimora Sykes. Other Etiwanda girls to look for are 6-2 junior post Nnenna Orji, junior point guard Joy Campbell and senior forward Karol Nelson. Sacramento returns just about everyone, including senior standout guard RyAnne Walters, the ESPN No. 27-rated senior point guard in the nation. Two other girls to look for are seniors Andriana Avent and Rebekah Brown. The last of the first-round matchups is an interesting one: Preseason No. 12 Carondelet-Concord and No. 13 Clovis North-Fresno. Carondelet has a new coach, as Michael Morris has come over from Vacaville Christian-Vacaville. He inherits a team with almost all its Div. I section-championship talent returning — a group led by Ali Bamberger. The 6-3 Washington-commit came into the season as one of the top post players in the state and pairs with Texas-El Paso-bound 6-2 forward Tatyana Modawar. Three other senior returners are guards Erica Miller and Emily Howie and forward Alex Brown. Clovis North-Fresno will be making its second trip to the Bay Area after playing in the Elite Showcase at Chabot College. The Broncos are led by junior guard Savannah Tucker, who has started the season very well. Opponents also can’t sleep on 5-11 wing and reigning Cal-Hi Sports State Sophomore of the Year Rowan Hein, or senior point guard Taylor Pilot. ✪

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DIAMOND DIVISION This division features a defending state champion as well as the reigning Cal-Hi Sports State Freshman of the Year. Last year’s top frosh, Kiki Iriafen, leads Harvard-Westlake of North Hollywood. The Wolverines went 26-6 a year ago and lost their CIF SoCal Open Div. semifinal by one point. This year, a younger team is gaining its footing with Iriafen (19.6 points, 13 rebounds through 10 games) and sophomore Kimiko Katzaroff leading the way. Harvard-Westlake opens with Dublin, another team led by a Gabby Rones sophomore — Kendra Grant, averaging 17.9 points and 2.1 steals early on. West Campus-Sacramento is the defending CIF Div. III state champions. The Warriors are led by juniors Gabby Rones and Simone Johnson. Rones was averaging 23 points through the team’s first four games this season. They will take on Christian-El Cajon, a team considered to be among the best in the San Diego Section this season. Miramonte-Orinda returns a ton of talent from its 28-win team a year ago, including junior Erin Tasarow and sophomore Mia Mastrov. The Matadors, who began the season 6-1, open with a senior-led Reno team featuring Katelynn Biassou, a New Mexico-signee for volleyball. Filling out the bracket are Esperanza, led by its senior frontcourt of Samantha Fries and Megan Nieto, and Seattle Prep, a team which graduated just two from its 20-7 squad a year ago.

GOLD DIVISION This bracket has all kinds of intrigue, starting with the supremely talented Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland. The Dragons opened the year 1-4, but that fourth loss was by a mere three points (56-53) to preseason NorCal No. 1 Pinewood. Jada Holland and Lexi Love will be players to watch for O’Dowd, which open against an Oakland Tech team that began the season 4-0 behind seniors Tiffany Siu and Stephanie Okowi. National-power St. Mary’s-Stockton is forging a new identity behind a youth movement following the graduation of McDonald’s All-American Aquira DeCosta and others. The Rams open against American Leadership Academy of Gilbert, Arizona. The Eagles were undefeated (22-0) Div. II state champs last season. They’re led by Samantha Quigley, a senior who averaged 32 points through ALA’s first five games. Heritage-Brentwood went 23-8 a season ago and were Division I section runners-up to Carondelet. They’re led by senior guard Jordan Sweeney and junior post Abby Muse. The Patriots meet Edison-Stockton in the first round, which features all-around standout Kendra Banks (18 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.3 assists through six games). Finally there’s Los Angeles City Section power Granada Hills Charter, which opened its season 9-1, and Bishop Manogue-Reno, which opened 1-4 and doesn’t include a senior on its roster. Watch out for Jordyn Jensen, though. ✪ — Harold Abend and Chace Bryson Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

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December 22, 2018

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BEAR CREEK

RISING A FastAscending Program With A Loaded Roster, Stockton’s Bear Creek Is Diving Into A Demanding Schedule With A State Title In Mind Story by Mark Tennis Photos by James K. Leash

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ith six seasons of experience on the staff of the nationally known program at St. Mary’s-Stockton, head coach Anthony Matthews knows that building a team into a state championship contender — in any division — requires playing against the toughest competition possible. And that’s the formula he’s using at Bear Creek-Stockton. Playing against two state-ranked teams on the same day in separate events might be taking that quest too far, but not for Matthews and his girls. On Saturday, Dec. 8, Bear Creek played unbeaten Antelope (which was No. 24 in the CalHi Sports preseason state rankings) and then later in the day went up against one of the top teams in the Bay Area, Carondelet-Concord (No. 12 in the state). The Bruins faced Antelope in the title game of the Rocklin tournament at 1 p.m. and defeated the Titans 65-56. It then took three hours of rolling through traffic in a van from Placer County to get to Chabot College in Hayward for an 8 p.m. contest against Carondelet as part of the St. Joseph-Notre Dame Shootout. The wall seemed to hit the Bear Creek girls in the second half and they lost 55-36. “What happened is that we originally were scheduled to be in the showcase at Chabot, and then we had a tournament in Las Vegas we couldn’t do because there was no way we could get transportation for it,” Matthews explained. “Rocklin had openings and then they still needed one team for that later on and Antelope came in as the last team. “I wasn’t going to cancel on the showcase and thought we could pull it off (playing twice in the same day)” Beating Antelope also wasn’t just for the experience of playing another highly ranked opponent. The Titans also were a team that edged Bear Creek 66-58 in overtime in last year’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division II semifinals. “That win was emotional and that does things to a team’s psyche,” Matthews said. “The courts at a junior college also are bigger and we are a team that has to run. “A lot of schools might be deflated walking away from a loss (like the one to Carondelet). I realize it was their first game, but we’d love to play them again without everything we did earlier in the day.” For the Bear Creek girls themselves, playing twice in one day wasn’t a problem because several have done it many times (even three games in one day) playing for their club teams. “We’ve been preparing hard for this, so we’re ready,” said senior Deyliana Lewis in between the two games. “We’re prepared to play whoever at any time.” Matthews added that at a different, upcoming tournament in Las Vegas there’s a chance Subscribe to our Digital Edition at SportStarsMag.com

Mya Blake Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

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December 22, 2018

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the Bruins could play St. Mary’s-Inglewood and host school Centennial-Las Vegas on the same day. St. Mary’s recently notched a win over state-ranked Bishop MontgomeryTorrance. Centennial is a nationally ranked program that has been at the MLK Classic at St. Mary’s-Stockton several times and is nationally ranked this year as well. So why is Matthews so eager to strengthen the Bear Creek schedule? First, he has almost everyone back from a 2017-18 squad that went 28-4. For most of that season, the Bruins only had two losses and those were to Clovis North-Fresno and Fairfax-Los Angeles — two teams that would later be in the eight-team CIF Southern California Open Division playoffs. They reached the section Div. II semifinals only to lose to Antelope in overtime and then in the CIF NorCal Div. II playoffs they were upset 54-50 by St. Francis-Mountain View. “Yes, we are motivated by losing those two games,” said sophomore point guard Mya Blake, who was regarded as one of the top 20 freshmen in the state last season. “We’ve been practicing a lot on defense and learning how to play better with each other.” Blake led last year’s team with 17.4 points per game to go along with 4.3 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 4.2 steals.

“We’ve been preparing hard for this, so we’re ready. We’re prepared to play whoever at any time.” — Senior Deyliana Lewis “I don’t know of anybody with her court vision,” said Matthews, who said Blake already has “four to five” Division I college offers. “People see her size (she’s 5-foot-5) and don’t think she can shoot, but she can shoot it out of the gym.” The Bruins’ senior leader, though, is clearly Lewis. She’s a 6-foot forward who had averages last season of 11 points, eight rebounds and 2.9 steals per game. “I’ve been ready to become a leader,” she said. “It takes communication and knowing what the team is like heading into every game.” Two other key returnees are 5-foot-8 senior guard Cassidy Byrne (9.8 ppg) and 5-foot-5 senior guard Sarah Ruiz (8.7 ppg). Matthews also is looking for big things from two freshmen: 5-foot-8 guard Junae Mahan and 5-foot-6 point guard Charity Davis. Matthews also has experience building up a program that had never won a playoff game prior to his arrival. He did that before at McNair-Stockton, taking what he learned at St. Mary’s and combining it with an inner drive to learn everything he can from every team he has seen. “I’m a public school kid and it’s good to give other public school kids the same type of coaching as they’d get at a private school,” said Matthews, who’s been coaching since Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

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“I don’t know of anybody with (Mya Blake’s) court vision. People see her size (she’s 5-foot-5) and don’t think she can shoot, but she can shoot it out of the gym.” — Coach Anthony Matthews 1997 and had a two-year stint as an assistant coach at Delta College in between the McNair and Bear Creek jobs. “Being at St. Mary’s blew open the walls of what’s possible because they get to see to the whole big world of basketball. A lot of times kids at other schools here in Stockton only look at what’s in front of them.” At McNair, Matthews helped the Eagles reach the CIF NorCal Div. II championship game in 2014 where they lost to eventual state champion Archbishop Mitty-San Jose 57-54. This was one year before Mitty got uplifted into the CIF NorCal Open Division, but playing any Mitty team to within three points in a playoff game is worth celebrating. Matthews’ McNair teams also had to deal with being in the same league as St. Mary’s. Earlier in 2014, the Rams left the court prior to their game with the Eagles at McNair, citing fears of fan violence. McNair eventu18

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ally was given a forfeit win for that action, but St. Mary’s did not see an end to its state-record 186-game league win streak because forfeits are not counted in the CalHi Sports state records (in any sport). Bear Creek’s top threat in the San Joaquin Athletic Association is Edison-Stockton. The Bruins beat the Vikings twice last season, which looked good later on when Edison posted two wins over McClatchy-Sacramento (and McClatchy was a team that beat state top 10 Sierra Canyon-Chatsworth). This year, with Blake, Lewis and others, the Bruins are looking to make an even bigger name for themselves. “I tell people all the time it’s all about buying into what you want to do,” Matthews said. “I also will always set the bar high. I believe all humans can achieve anything if they do that.” ✪ Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

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December 22, 2018

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n the end, deciding to play for a North Coast Section championship was the right call. Both Fortuna and Moreau Catholic-Hayward opted to play for the NCS Division IV championship, with the Huskies winning 61-35 to capture their second consecutive section title and fourth overall. With the postseason delayed by extremely poor air quality due to the devastating Camp Fire, teams had big decisions to make. NCS playoff teams in Divisions II through V were given the option of skipping the section championship game. Instead, they could opt for a coin flip that would put one team in line for a CIF Northern California regional bowl game and the possibility of playing for a state championship. The other would be left out in the cold without any championship opportunity. Fortuna was one of six teams who chose to play for a section title. Only Division III finalists, Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa and Eureka, left things to chance. Eureka won the toss. “When I asked my seniors, what they told me was, ‘Coach, we would rather lose on the field than lose to a coin,’” Fortuna coach Mike Benbow said. “At that point, that sold it for us.” For the Huskies (9-5), that decision meant not getting a chance at back-to-back state bowl crowns after winning the 2017 CIF State Division 5-A championship. Tough call, either way. “Our team was actually a little split,” said Fortuna senior running back Joey Pontes, who had three of his team’s nine rushing touchdowns. “Because once you get state, you want state again. But we decided as a team to not risk the coin flip, and play our last game together.” And that they did. The Huskies’ option game led by an array of bruising runners proved too much for the Mariners (12-1), who were seeking their program’s first NCS title. Fortuna prevailed despite the incredible efforts of Moreau’s 2,000-yard running back Fresh Ison, who rushed for 200 yards on 17 carries and scored all five of his team’s touchdowns. “Our kids did a heck of a job; they did a heck of a job all year,” Moreau coach Rob Gatrell said. “I’m proud of them, though it didn’t end up the way we wanted it to. Proud of these kids and everything they have done. Our seniors, they set the bar higher than it’s ever been.” The game began with a wild first quarter, with each team scoring on its first three possessions. There was not a punt until 5:01 left in the first half. On the opening kickoff, Fortuna worked a de facto onside kick when a short kick eluded Mariners players and the Huskies covered the ball at the Moreau 40-yard line. “It was not exactly planned that way, but it worked out,” Benhow said. “Sometimes, the ball bounces a funny way and it happened to bounce right into our hands. That was a pretty good spot (to be in).” Indeed. Seven plays — all runs, with Pontes, fellow back Travis Lourenzo and quarterback Zac Claus each involved — culminated in a 3-yard score by Pontes and a quick 8-0 lead. The Mariners responded when Ison rolled over defenders into the end zone on a 1-yard plunge. Fortuna went back at it, with Claus scoring on a 12-yard keeper. Then Ison again showed his might on the next play from scrimmage, burning 64 yards to the end zone. He proved elusive most of the night, with the Huskies often needing 2-3 players to bring down the 5-11, 205-pound force of nature. Ison finished his junior year rushing for 2,131 yards and 33 touchdowns, plus two more scores in the air. “Unbelievable,” Benbow said of Ison. “We knew we had our hands full with him and he’s an amazing player.” Incredibly, Fortuna got back in business, with Levi Nyberg catching a 36-yard fade from Claus to set up a Lourenzo 2-yard score. Again, Ison was a one-play scoring machine, going 47 yards to make it 22-21 Fortuna. All this with 36 seconds still on the first-quarter clock. But it never got any closer. The Huskies scored on a 1-yard Pontes run with 1:43 to go before halftime. After a red zone drive late in the half ended without points, the Mariners kicked off to start the third quarter. Although Fortuna fumbled the return forward, Moreau couldn’t come up with the ball and the Huskies’ Bryce Sancho secured it. Fortuna went 67 yards in eight plays, finishing with a Lourenzo 13-yard run. Though Ison answered with a 35-yard run to make it 36-28, the running game of the Huskies proved too much, as Pontes scored on a 44-yard run to open the fourth quarter. “Our O-Line really stepped up — they were firing off the ball — they opened up the lanes for the running backs,” Pontes said. “Defensively, we set our edges better, since (Ison) is a hard player to stop.” Though it wasn’t filled with aerial exploits, the Huskies did what they wanted, grinding out 387 rushing yards, for 542 total yards of offense. “I think we played Husky football. ... It’s ka-chunk, ka-chunk, ka-chunk, we call it,” Lou-

STORY BY MIKE WOOD | PHOTOS BY BERRY EVANS III PHOTOS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Fortuna running back Joey Pontes attempts to break the tackle of a Moreau Catholic defender; Fortuna’s Travis Lourenzo, left, is congratulated by lineman Cassius Klinetobe (55) and Daeden Taylor following a touchdown run; Lourenzo looks for blocks in the open field. Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

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December 22, 2018

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renzo said. “We just drive it down the field. I don’t think they were ready for it, because coming in as the sixth seed, they were kind of underestimating us. And we showed them what we are about. A hard-fought, running type of team.” “We took what they gave us,” Benbow said. “They were packing the box and we just had to make sure that we hit our seams and we were able to score some points.” The long playoff road had unexpected turns, due to the fire. The Huskies at one point went 22 days between playoff games. The Mariners, who had a first-round bye, waited 29 days from the end of their Mission Valley Athletic League season until their first playoff game. “In hindsight, it was a football game we were waiting for, and I think that our kids realized that we had people in the Paradise area that went through way more than a football game,” Benbow said. “It was really insignificant ... I hate to say it like that, but we were just waiting to play football. These people were dealing with things with their lives.” The fire was the deadliest in California history, with at least Always More At 85 lives lost. It covered more than 150,000 acres and destroyed SportStarsMag.com much of the town of Paradise. The tragedy’s impact went well beyond that. Up in the coastal city of Fortuna, nearly 200 miles State Championship northwest of Paradise, people kept those endangered in their Coverage And Final thoughts. “We were thinking about them and praying for Norcal Top 20 Are them,” Lourenzo said. “And hoping they were OK. It gave us a Online Starting The lot of time to prepare. We were really eager to play our game.” Week Of Dec. 17-21 Once the long-awaited playoffs concluded and awards were doled out, teams had lengthy team meetings, with both teams realizing their season was over and seniors’ high school careers were over. On the Moreau side, there was consoling, reassuring and reminding players what they had achieved this season. “We talked about playing hard for four quarters all year, regardless of the outcome and they did that,” Gatrell said. “That’s all you can ask.” As for Fortuna, much gratitude was expressed in its post-game gathering. “It’s unfortunate that we’re not going to get the opportunity to play something bigger, and everything else, but this is really big,” Benbow said. “Winning a North Coast Section title is a big deal.” ✪ 22

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December 22, 2018

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Moreau Catholic junior Fresh Ison rushed for 200 yards and all five Moreau Catholic TDs against Fortuna. His night pushed him over 2,000 rushing yards for the season.

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December 22, 2018

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DLS Can’t Seize Dei Spartans Battle, But Can’t Keep Mater Dei From Another Bowl Title

t was a postseason that was anything but smooth for the De La Salle High football team. The Spartans closed out a stellar 10-0 regular season with a 49-0 shutout of California-San Ramon on Oct. 26. Then, because of a series of byes and air quality postponements due to the tragic Camp Fire in Butte County, De La Salle’s postseason included games on Nov. 9, Dec. 1 and Dec. 8. In a way, the CIF Open Bowl Championship was somewhat of a microcosm of that irregularity for the Spartans. Their effort was one of fits and starts, ebbs and flows. In the end, there was one too many ebbs in a 35-21 loss to Matre DeiSanta Ana. Facing the same Monarchs program that throttled them 52-21 in the 2017 Open Bowl Championship, De La Salle proved it had the personnel to push back this year. However, three fumbles and a botched punt snap added up to just a little too much help for a team which came in as MaxPreps.com’s No. 1 team in the nation. Despite all of that, De La Salle made Mater Dei earn it’s second straight CIF Bowl victory. After battling back from a 21-point deficit to pull within seven points on a Lu Hearns 1-yard James Coby touchdown run with 6:09 left in the game, De La Salle was hoping to get its chance. “We wanted to stop them, march down that field, and knew what two-point play we were going to go for,” De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh told Cal-Hi Sports when asked about the game’s final minutes. “We were confident we could get it done, but we couldn’t get them off the field. Those guys are great.” Mater Dei promptly drove down the field and sealed a win with a 15-yard touchdown run from Shakobe Harper — his third of the game — with 3:58 to play. While it will be difficult for the Spartans not to dwell on the mistakes that led to their 21-point deficit, there was no shortage of grit shown by the NorCal champion. Sophomore quarterback Dorian Hale completed an outstanding first season start-

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December 22, 2018

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ing behind center by completing 10 of 19 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns, one to Grant Daley and one to Lu Hearns. His efforts kept De La Salle afloat in a game in which it finished with negative yards rushing. The rushing attack was certainly affected by the absence of Henry To’oto’o. The heavily-recruited linebacker who plays both ways, was limited to just defensive action after severely injuring his foot in practice the night before. He did play defensively, but wasn’t 100 percent. The Spartans’ fortitude in defeat didn’t go unnoticed. “I commend De La Salle,” Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson said. “They gave us

everything we could handle.” De La Salle will bid farewell to much of its vaunted defense this season, including To’oto’o, linemen Gunnar Rask and Isaiah Foskey, linebackers Jhasi Wilson and Michael Puckett, and defensive backs Amir Wallace, Taveis Marshall and Erich Storti. Much of the offense will return, however. Hale, Daley, Hearns, Coby and 1,000yard running back Shamar Garratt will all return. They will undoubtedly begin grinding toward 2019 sooner than you think. ✪ — Chace Bryson

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December 22, 2018

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It was 13 years ago when a commercial construction manager set out to turn his passion for rugby into creating a high school rugby club — in the heart of Oakland. Today, Ryan Burke doesn’t have to quantify the life of his Oakland Warthogs program by counting years. He can count lives touched. Better still, lives changed. “I had a rough time in school and life while trying to figure out what crowd I wanted to surround myself with,” wrote 2014 Fremont-Oakland graduate Tevita Otuafi in a testimonial for the Warthogs. “I had no idea joining the Warthogs would impact me in the way it shaped me for who I am today.” Who is Otuafi today? A student at BYU-Hawaii studying biomedical science in hopes of becoming a doctor. He’s one in a long line of success stories that have began with becoming an Oakland Warthog. The team, which consists of 8th-12th graders, boasts a 100 percent high school graduation rate for every kid that has remained a Warthog through his senior year. A vast majority of those graduates have elected to attend college. Futhermore, every Warthogs player participates in the program for free thanks to the support network of donors and sponsors set up by Burke and his staff of volunteers. The club provides tutoring, requires players maintain a C average and will even take players on college visits. The program doesn’t just keep tabs on Warthogs players during the Rugby NorCal season of January through May, either. “The Warthogs changed my life,” former Warthog and Chico State-graduate Felipe Lopez told Oakland Magazine for a 2017 story. “If it wasn’t for the Warthogs, I wouldn’t have known what’s out there. I’d be working for minimum wage. The Warthogs changed everything for me.” Nearly every testimonial written by former players includes the term “brotherhood.” Burke and Warthogs head coach Yasha Ghaffarzadeh aren’t just teaching rugby. Their goal is to reinforce life skills like responsibility, commitment, confidence and teamwork. “I still keep in contact with my teammates and we still talk about being Warthogs,” Otuafi said. “I can’t thank enough the Warthogs and those that made it possible for us to be a part of this family.” Find out how to join this family, or how you can donate to its noble cause, by visiting the Warthogs website at WWW.OAKLANDWARTHOGSRFC.COM or email BURKE4RUGBY@GMAIL.COM

IN THE WORDS OF WARTHOGS “I made some bad decisions off the field and the Warthog coaches stuck it out with me and showed me that they truly cared about me.” — Austin Ve’e, member of the U.S. Army. “The Oakland Warthogs program absolutely played a part in my academic successes. … Additionally, the Warthog players and coaches are a melting pot of different racial, cultural and religious groups allowing me to meet interesting people and feel more comfortable communicating with people of different backgrounds. Ultimately, the program helped mold the man I am today.” — Tom Bliss, Univ. of Wisconsin graduate pursuing masters degree in Data Science at Columbia University. “The Warthogs helped me and my teammates better our lives. We were taught that the team is more important than the individual, which helps me today as a U.S. Marine.” — Cpl. Jesus Vasquez, USMC aviation technician

MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Donate to change a life! The Warthogs exist to improve the lives of young men. Together we can beat the odds and improve their lives and character of young men on their way to college.