SJ Issue 58, Dec. 20, 2012

vol. 3. issue 58

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champions jamboree

west coast

Granite Bay, Central Catholic bring the state hardware home to Northern California

Carondelet rides again

Top 20 players we pick winners in each division Pg. 24

First Pitch...........................................6 Locker Room....................................8 Behind the Clipboard......................9 AAA SportStars of the Week......11 Girls Basketball Rankings..............24 Boys Basketball Rankings..............30 In the Paint......................................30 Impulse.............................................32 Club Scene.......................................33 Training Time...................................34 Health Watch .................................35 TriSteps.............................................36 on the cover: The Central Catholic-Modesto football team Photo by Phillip Walton

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In the paint El Cerrito’s boys basketball team bolted out of the gates. But if you think an earlyseason stumble will sidetrack the Gauchos, you better think again.

Pg. 30 It’s no secret that Noah Allen is Palma’s best player. So why not showcase that unique ability and maximize his talent? Pg. 31

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your ticket to sac-Joaquin sports admit one; rain or shine This Vol. #3, December 2012 Whole No. 58 is published by Caliente! Communications, LLC, 5356 Clayton Rd, Ste. 222, Concord, CA 94521. SportStars™© 2010 by Caliente! Communications, LLC. All rights reserved. Subscription rates: 24 issues, U.S. 3rd class $42 (allow 3 weeks for delivery). 1st class $55.

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Five Favorites from 2012

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ratuitous year-in-review column alert!

Maybe they’re cliche, but we can’t help it. We enjoy looking back and remembering the stories that helped define the previous calendar year in prep sports. We’d like to invite you to look back with us, too.

Go to Facebook, and send us your favorite high school sports moment of 2012 and tell us why. We’ll publish the best in our first issue of 2013.

Here’s our Top 5, in no particular order.

■ James Logan-Union City and Amador ValleyPleasanton softball’s thrilling championship duel: As championship games go, I didn’t see a better one in 2012. Period. Amador Valley was the undefeated No. 1 team in the nation and they had the best pitcher in the Bay Area, Johanna Grauer, mowing down hitters — but James Logan still found a way to win. And if you’re going to win, you might as well do it by having your centerfielder make the final out by throwing out the tying run at the plate in a 1-0 final. There is no question SportStars will be there for the teams’ first meeting of 2013.

■ Sasha Wallace is golden: The Holy Names junior didn’t necessarily come out of nowhere, but her two-week stretch of double golds in the triple jump and 100 meter hurdles was still impressive to behold.

When she won her first two at the North Coast Section Meet of Champions, it was a bit ho-hum. When she went to state as the national leader in the triple jump, and then set a national-best time to win the 100 hurdles it was more, ‘Ok, Sasha. We’re paying attention.’

■ Sac-Joaquin Section steps up at state: It was a banner year for SJS athletes on the biggest stage, beginning with Vacaville senior wrestler Johnny Schupp taking the heavyweight title at the CIF Wrestling Championships in early March. It ended with three SJS football teams attending CIF Bowl games in December, two of them winning. In between, Del Oro-Loomis senior golfer Austin Smotherman won the individual state title and Granite Bay won the team title. Fairfield sprinter Deja Pugh raced to first in the 300 hurdles in record time, and the Brookside Christian-Stockton girls basketball team claimed the Division V basketball title.

Chace@ ■ Mitty to the Max: Archbishop Mitty has long SportStarsOnline.com history of athletic success, but we’re hard pressed to remember a year like the one it had in 2012. The boys (925) 566-8503 and girls basketball teams both won state championships, and for the boys it was back-to-back titles. The softball team stormed to its second consecutive Central Coast Section championship, and then the girls volleyball team capped off the year with an undefeated state championship season and a No. 2 national ranking by MaxPreps.com.

■ Air Folsom … Again: Just one year after Tanner Trosin set state single-season records for passing yards (5,185) and total yards of offense (6,349), the next great Bulldog quarterback made his mark. Folsom sophomore Jake Browning was not even sure to start for co-coaches Kris Richardson and Troy Taylor, but he got the call on opening night and threw for a section-record 689 yards and a national record-tying 10 touchdowns. When the season was finally in the books, Browning had thrown for 5,246 yards, surpassing Trosin’s year-old mark.

Browning also tossed 63 touchdowns, falling just two short of the state record. ✪

First Pitch Chace Bryson Editor

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rapidFIRE

Think Like a Man

Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101, Young Jeezy

Honey Nut Cheerios

Win Angry state Birds

Chris Paul @CP3

Watch the Throne, Jay-Z and Kanye West

Cap’n Crunch

Get Temple Better Run Grades

Kevin Durant @KDTrey5

Ted

Favorite New Year’s cereal resolution

sayWHAT

Jermaine Edmonds, Salesian

SportStars™

Favorite pro athlete to follow on Twitter

Best album of 2012

Juwan Anderson, Bishop O’Dowd

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Best iPhone game

Best movie of 2012

“It’s all perspective. We don’t focus too much on winning and losing. We talk about doing things our unique way, our style, and we grind.

Winning takes care of itself. Winning is a byproduct of who our kids are.”

Oakdale football coach Trent Herzog speaking with pride about his team’s season, which ended with a 42-15 defeat to Serra-Gardena in the CIF Div. II State Bowl game.

The Mustangs went 14-2, with their only two losses coming to Southern California schools.

December 20, 2012

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A hasty offense may not please purists, but it can save turnovers Our coach always wants us to shoot the ball quickly, and my dad says we don’t move the ball around enough. Why doesn’t our coach want us to run a set offense and pass more?

D.G., Oakland

A Top 5 Things We Hope to See in 2013

We at SportStars enjoyed 2012 to the max and there’s no reason why 2013 can’t top it. Here are the Top 5 things we wanna see once the calendar turns 1. More dunks. And by dunks we mean… well, dunks. We’re a little spoiled here in the Bay Area with guys like Aaron Gordon, Jabari Bird, Marcus Lee, etc. Seriously, the list goes on and on. But 2013’s gonna be a huge year and we wanna see some ferocious slamma jamma. Dunks that’ll be YouTube-worthy nationwide. We’re talking betweenthe-legs, 360s, 720s, shattering the backboard. You get the point.

2. More cowbell! And by cowbell, we mean pie. Not sure about you, but we prefer ours of the walk-off variety. The A’s were one of the best teams in MLB this year, but they took a backseat to no one when it came to celebrating those dramatic come-from-behind victories. More cameos from Pie-derman and we’ll be set.

3. Warriors in the All-Star Game. Pop quiz, hotshot: Name the last Warrior to be named an All Star. … We thought so. This season, there’s no excuse. They’re actually watchable now! And to reward them, grab those All-Star ballots by the handful and vote for Curry, Lee, and — if you’re feeling gracious — Biedrins*. Let’s get these guys to Houston!

4. A De La Salle football movie. Hey, this thing is happening! Good life lesson: When your football team wins 151 games in a row, you get a movie made about it. It’s a law or something. We broke a little news on Twitter last weekend that Jim Caviezel will be playing Coach Ladouceur. So far, we haven’t been contacted by Hollywood but we’re sure we will be any minute now.

5. More SportStars. With our two print editions and online mag, we got a lot of pages to fill and we want to spread the wealth to as many athletes as we can. This is where you come in, guest editor. Send us SportStar of the Week noms, story ideas, photos and we’ll get your athletes in the mag. It’s as easy as pie! *Shame on you if you thought we were serious with that one. Our Warriors enthusiasm has its limits.

— Erik Stordahl

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engeldinger lu

castle

So over the last couple months, SportStars has been in the giving spirit. It is that type of season. We wanted to give a shout out to some of our winners here, including the winners of our three prize giveaways at the Bay Area Golf Show — Joe Ulrickson of Livermore (Callaway Golf bag courtesy of TGW.com), Michael Lu of Foster City (Champ Golf Travel Bag) and Lance Engeldinger of Lafayette (Heavenly Greens Birdie Mate).

Then just this week, we handed out a SportStars hat to Tim Castle of San Pablo as part of our social media promotion. To see how you can win the next hat, go to SportStarsOnline.com/winyourlid.

Ulrickson

winnerWinner

re my players writing in again?

D.G., I’m guessing you play on a girls’ team, and if so, your coach has grasped by far the most important difference between male and female basketball at all levels — ballhandling.

Dunking is almost completely irrelevant in terms of actually playing the game, except for the fact that it is a very highpercentage shot, so the focus on how many times Brittney Griner of Baylor will dunk this year has nothing to do with the quality of women’s basketball, or whether it’s worth watching.

But ballhandling is a different story. If you were to strip the names off game box scores or cumulative statistics for teams, there is almost no way you could tell which belonged to women and which belonged to men – except for assist/turnover ratio.

Males of all ages handle the ball better than females, and though discussing why can be fun, it’s not really addressing your question.

What does address your question is the simple fact that if women do turn the ball over more often than men — and they do — then coaches of females should design offenses that get shots off more quickly than in the men’s games. If they don’t, the chances of a turnover go up, and when there’s a turnover, no points can be scored. Even the worst shot, on the other hand, has a chance to go in (well, except maybe for an Andres Biedrins’ free throw) so the percentages say that hucking up some ugly thing from the baseline is infinitely better than a turnover.

Paul Westhead, one of the most innovative offensive minds ever in basketball, won championships in both the NBA and WNBA and he did so with an offense that never came close to a shot-clock violation. I was talking to him one time and said “I noticed you don’t turn the ball over much,” and his comment was simply “We want to shoot it before we turn it over.”

I’ve always embraced this theory, and my uptempo teams will invariably take a number of bad shots every game — usually causing the few basketball purists in the stands to wince in horror — but over time, that philosophy pays off.

And as a player, I always enjoyed shooting more than running plays, or making a pass that leads to a good shot, and you don’t need a set offense to make either of those things happen. And the quicker you do either, regardless of gender, the lower the chances of a literally pointless possession that ends in a turnover. ✪

Behind the Clipboard Clay Kallam

Clay Kallam is an assistant athletic director and girls varsity basketball coach at Bentley High in Lafayette. To submit a question for Behind the Clipboard, email Coach Kallam at clayk@fullcourt.com.

December 20, 2012

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The fullback accounted for the majority of the yards during the Grizzlies’ game-winning touchdown drive in the CIF Division I Bowl championship on Dec. 14. Trailing 20-14 with just 3:40 remaining in the game, Partridge grinded out 56 of the 77 yards Granite Bay needed, including a key 33-yard screen pass to the Jackrabbits’ 27-yard line. Partridge followed the screen pass with punishing runs of 12, 8, and 3 yards to set up John Cooley’s 4-yard touchdown run with 1:12 remaining. For the season, he rushed for 825 yards and 9 TDs. His biggest game came in the Sac-Joaquin Section Div. I final where he torched Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills for 235 yards and two scores.

SportStars Magazine: Going onto the field for the final drive, did you know that your number would be called as much as it was?

Taft Partridge: I was telling my coach all game long to get me the ball to run inside. I knew that I was going to get the ball a lot and I think that it was my destiny for it to come down to that.

SSM: What did the Poly defense give you that allowed for the big screen pass play?

TP: We just took advantage of their aggressiveness. We knew that they were coming hard and fast, and that it would open up the screen play like it did.

SSM: As the youngest of four brothers to play at Granite Bay, does the state title give you

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taft partridge granite bay . football . senior

honorable mention

tyler ellis Antelope’s senior post poured in 24 points and grabbed 19 rebounds to lead her team past Valley-Sacramento 67-29. The win improved the team’s record to 5-1.

rey vega The Central CatholicModesto senior rushed for a game-high 208 yards on just six carries — four for TDs — to help lead the Raiders to a 66-7 victory over Santa Fe Christian-Solana Beach in the Div. IV CIF Bowl.

haley anderson Phillip Walton ultimate bragging rights in the family?

TP: Definitely. My brother, Clark, had previous bragging rights as having played on the best team (the 2007 and 2008 Grizzlies won a SJS title with Clark as a junior, and fell to Grant in the playoffs the year that the Pacers won the CIF Open Bowl), but now they can’t deny that the state title gives me the honor.

The Oak RidgeEl Dorado Hills senior forward scored 12 points off the bench in the Lady Trojans’ 75-31 victory over rival Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove in the title game of the Oak Ridge tournament.

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Unique experiences of NorCal’s five 2012 CIF Bowl teams, told through the individuals who represented them For just the second time since the CIF Bowls debuted in 2006, NorCal teams won more than they lost in 2012.

The three victorious teams — Central Catholic-Modesto, Granite Bay and De La Salle-Concord — won in very different fashions while building while navigating storylines which were extremely stark in comparison. Marin Catholic-Kentfield and Oakdale endured very different losses, as well.

Several people stood out in each team’s efforts. Here are five.

— Chace Bryson, Editor

FIRST FACE: Ray Lomas IV, Central Catholic, Division IV

Photos by Phillip Walton

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It wasn’t supposed to be this easy.

Ray Lomas IV took the first six carries of the game for the Raiders and found himself five, sometimes 10 yards down field, before any member of the Sante Fe Christian-Solana Beach defense was even in position to reach for him.

The running lanes were wider than wide. After six carries, Lomas had 75 yards rushing and Central Catholic’s first touchdown of the game — a 4-yard run in which he was, predictably, not touched.

Lomas wasn’t the only player to shine in the game, in fact his 183 yards on the ground were eclipsed by teammate Rey Vega’s 202 yards and four touchdowns. But Lomas was the face of that first scoring drive — the one that set the tone for a 66-7 blowout win on a record-setting night for the Raiders.

Did Lomas foresee that kind of dominance?

“Not at all,” the senior said. “It’s a state (championship) game.I was nervous before. And I was like, this is going to be the hardest game of my life.”

Turned out, not so much.

Sante Fe Christian probably didn’t foresee such things, either. But if they studied any film on the Raiders, they had to know that Central Catholic wasn’t shy about it’s rushing attack.

“I’ll be honest with you, we ran the same play for six weeks in a row on the first play (of the game),” Central Catholic coach Roger Canepa said. “And the kids say, ‘Coach, you don’t think they know it?’ And I say, ‘I don’t really care if they know it, they can’t stop it.’ It’s an attitude.

We’re telling them we’re going to run it and see if you can stop it.”

There was no stopping it.

“Ray and Rey — that’s an unstoppable combo,” Central Catholic’s Oregon-bound tight end Johnny Mundt said. “As long as our line gets the holes open, they’re gonna hit ‘em.”

Central Catholic set numerous bowl game records, including points (66), rushing yards (521) and touchdowns (9). Vega and Lomas accounted for seven of those TDs. “They’re great kids,” Canepa said of the two backs. “Some people thought we might’ve had a problem with two great backs and how we can both get them carries. But they knew they were getting 10-15 carries and when they did they better make good on ‘em. They fed off each other, and it was nice.”

Better than nice. State-championship nice.

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FRESH FACE: Dylan Keeney, Granite Bay, Division I

Nobody saw Dylan Keeney coming. Certainly not Long Beach Poly.

The Granite Bay defense, a senior-dominated group that entered the Division I championship allowing opponents just a shade less than 18 points a game, studied the film with its coaches and determined more personnel would be needed to defend the speed and athleticism of Long Beach Poly.

It was the football version of Chief Brody’s famous line from “Jaws.” They were going to need a bigger boat.

Enter Dylan Keeney — a 6-foot-5, 210-pound junior linebacker.

“Dylan Keeney is one heckuv an athlete,” Grizzlies’ defensive coordinator John Roza said following Granite Bay’s dramatic 21-20 victory. “He’s actually not a starter for us, though, because a senior is ahead of him. But we made some special packages for him tonight. And he came up big for us.”

Very big.

Keeney made three of the game’s biggest defensive plays in pass coverage for the Grizzlies. He had a pair of interceptions, returning the second one 29 yards for a go-ahead with 4:36 remaining in the third quarter. Then, midway through the fourth quarter, with the score tied and Long Beach Poly having driven inside the Granite Bay 25-yard line, Keeney fully extended himself to deflect a pass intended for a Poly receiver inside the 5-yard line. His deflection was eventually caught by Granite Bay safety Aaron Knapp at the 2. “(All season) he never complained about not getting as much time as he could,” Knapp said of Keeney. “And he listened tonight. On his pick six, we were telling him earlier in the game, ‘You’ve got to get under that out and under that curl,’ and he was all ears. Good for him, I’m so happy for him. That was just awesome.”

Long Beach Poly eventually did get its go-ahead score with 3:47 left in the game, but Granite Bay answered with a 6-play, 77-yard drive and won the game on a 3-yard run by John Cooley with 1:12 left. Knapp sealed the win with his second interception of the game.

Keeney finished with four tackles, including one for loss, and the two interceptions.

Roza just shook his head.

“We were hoping for something like that, but we didn’t expect it,” he said. “Guys like that make me look good.”

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CALM FACE: Jared Goff, Marin Catholic, Division III The good ones always rise to the occasion.

And Jared Goff is a good one.

The son of a former Major League catcher, it was no surprise that the 6-foot-5, 190-pound Cal-bound Marin Catholic quarterback embraced the big stage.

“Jared was the same today as he was in any other game that we played,” junior receiver and defensive back Andrew Celis said. “He was calm and very encouraging. Everything was the same.

“We weren’t putting too much on it, because it was the state game. It was just another game and we couldn’t take it too serious or approach it any different. Jared was just calm.

He was just Jared today.”

It was Celis who hauled in a 4-yard touchdown pass from Goff on the first play of the second quarter to give the Wildcats a 21-0 lead over a Madison-San Diego team which looked overwhelm during the first 12 minutes of play. Taking advantage of short fields due to strong special teams and defensive play, Goff needed a total of just 2 minutes, 24 seconds of possession time to get Marin Catholic its first three scores — two of which he passed for and one in which he ran in from 4 yards out.

Madison had a “good one,” too, in Pierre Cormier.

The Arizona-bound running back also embraced the big stage and his 296 yards and three second-half touchdowns were just enough to lift the Warhawks to a 38-35 victory Goff was practically unshakeable throughout the game. After a Cormier touchdown put the Warhawks up 31-20 early in the fourth quarter, Goff put Marin Catholic back in the lead with touchdown passes of 79 and 37 yards.

“Every game, every week he’s been phenomenal,” Marin Catholic coach Mazi Moayed said in summing up his quarterback. “I couldn’t ask for a better guy to play quarterback.”

Goff finished with 262 yards and four touchdowns plus his rushing score. But in the end, he had to tip his cap to Cormier and the Warhawks.

Good ones do that for one another.

“I’m happy with my whole team,” he said. “We played great today. We have nothing to hang our heads about. We just got beat.”

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STOIC FACE: Nikk Ryan, Oakdale, Division II Nikk Ryan walked among his teammates as the Oakdale Mustangs retired to the locker room for the last time of 2012.

It was a disheartened and physically exhausted group.

They looked how one might expect a team to look after a 42-15 loss to a Serra-Gardena team featuring a slew of Division-I talent. Many feared the game would be a massive mismatch, and the 42-0 score midway through the third

quarter confirmed it.

Ryan, a 6-foot, 210-pound two-way player for the Mustangs — and the Valley Oak League MVP — walked toward the tunnel with his head high. His expression showed equal parts angst and pride.

“I don’t know if we were really ready for them,” Ryan said as he continued walking. “The magnitude of play was may not have really been something we were thinking about

when we took the field.

“But I think we came back a little bit in the second half, and once we were calibrated for their style, we showed how we play. We went low and hit ‘em hard. And I don’t think they’re going to be feeling too good tomorrow morning.”

The Mustangs trailed 35-0 at the half when a game official asked if they wanted to agree to a running clock to begin the half. CIF rules mandate a fourth quarter run-

ning clock once a team’s lead reaches 35 points or more, however it can begin in the third quarter if both coaches agree to it.

Oakdale said thanks, but no thanks.

“It’s not in the DNA in Oakdale. We don’t quit,” Mustangs coach Trent Herzog said afterward. “We keep fighting and doing what we do.”

Oakdale, perhaps adjusted to the Serra’s style of play, and perhaps buoyed by a large crowd of supporters, actually won the second half. If not for a 78-yard touchdown run on a fake punt, Ryan and his defensive teammates would’ve shut out the Cavaliers offense over the game’s last 24 minutes.

“We talked (at halftime) about how we didn’t want to go out like this,” Ryan said. “We wanted to show everybody that we are a team to be reckoned with, and down in the valley we play hard. We wanted every one to know that.”

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NEXT FACE: Justin Alumbaugh, De La Salle, Open Division

If the game wasn’t the secondary story at the time of kick off, it certainly was by the time De La Salle lead Centennial-Corona 28-0 with three and a half minutes left in the first half.

On Dec. 1, when 34-year Spartans coaching legend Bob Ladouceur remarked to a local TV personality that he was considering retirement “this year or next,” it became the undercurrent to the last two weeks of De La Salle’s season. And, indirectly, it started the clock on when presumed-successor Justin Alumbaugh would officially fill the biggest shoes in high school football coaching history.

Did the two weeks of speculation finally make any of that real to Alumbaugh?

“Not one bit,” Alumbaugh said as he beamed a smile while De La Salle players celebrated a 48-28 win. “I’ve been working with these guys as a group since Jan. 8 on strength and conditioning. The last three weeks, I was focusing on them and them only.

“Of course, you see the paper, and some of the guys I used to play with gave me a call. ... But it wasn’t a distraction for anybody. We (as coaches) were too focused on making sure these guys got what they deserved. And they deserved a state title. And they deserved the coaching to get them a state title.”

Ladouceur said after the game that he wasn’t going to make any decision until after the Holiday season. The Open Division victory ran his career record to 399-25-2, all with the Spartans.

He’s 5-2 in bowl games and his program is 52-0 against a California team since his last CIF Bowl loss in December 2008.

“He’s been hinting at (retirement) for years,” said defensive coordinator Terry Eidson, who has coached along side Ladouceur for 32 seasons. “I think what he’s decided is that it’s going to happen soon and he’s ready to let people know that.”

Meanwhile, Alumbaugh remains emphatically devoted to the duties he has now, which are many, including the beginning of a new strength and conditioning program with returning players early in 2013.

“We’ve been relying on Justin heavily since Lad had his heart attack (in 2003),” Eidson said. “When that day comes, he’s more than ready to take this over. The bottom line, and the best way to say it is, we wouldn’t probably still be coaching if we didn’t have Justin. That’s how valuable he’s been to our program.” ✪

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Run, run raiders With a dominating duo at running back, Central Catholic polished off its first CIF Bowl championship season in record-setting fashion

C

By jim mccue | Senior Contributor

entral Catholic head coach Roger Canepa and his Raiders team did not lack for confidence heading to the program’s biggest game in its history. The Raiders built momentum from a challenging nonleague schedule to roll toward the CIF Division IV State Championship Bowl game in Carson with an 11-game winning streak and a seemingly unstoppable offense.

“We believed that the only thing that could stop us from winning a state title in Southern California was our bus breaking down on the trip down,” Canepa said. “We felt that nobody could stop us.”

And if the Central Catholic bus had broken down between Modesto and Carson, senior running backs Ray Lomas IV and Rey Vega could have likely carried the team all the way down Highway 99 and over the Grapevine.

Much like they carried the Raiders’ offense for much of the season.

The duo, behind outstanding blocking from an overpowering offensive line, combined for 385 of Central Catholic’s CIF Bowl record 521 rushing yards to lead the Raiders to an easy 66-7 rout of Santa Fe Christian-Solana Beach on Dec. 14 at the Home Depot Center. Vega ran for a game-high 202 yards on just six carries, which included scoring runs of 80, 60, 9, and 6 yards. Lomas carried the ball 16 times for 183 yards and scored three times to finish the season with 2,084 yards and 34 rushing scores.

The Ray-Rey rushing machine did not officially start running through opponents together until Week 6 of the season when Vega’s transfer eligibility cleared. At that point, the 4-2 Raiders never looked back — and opposing defenses often looked at their backs as they tried unsuccessfully to run down the speedy pair.

“It’s great to have two backs like that,” Canepa said. “At the start of the season, (Lomas) was getting 20-30 carries per game and you could see him getting a little tired on defense and late in the games.”

Canepa’s solution to sharing the workload was to alternate offensive series between the two backs to keep their legs fresh and keep defenses reeling. The rotation took a little time to jell, but once the pair got rolling, it was nearly impossible to slow them down, let alone stop them.

“At first it was a little difficult for both of us,” Lomas admitted.

“But, we both understood that we had to do whatever was best for the team, and it made things difficult for teams to have to plan for two backs.”

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Quarterback Garrett Ardis, left, and running back tRey Vega celebrate one of Vega’s four touchdowns in Central Catholic’s Div. IV CIF Bowl victory.

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In eight of their nine games together, Lomas and Vega each topped 100 yards with only a 38-6 victory over Central Valley-Ceres in Week 8 yielding less than triple digits for both runners. And, like the running game, the Raiders improved as a team as the season progressed to the point that they felt they could beat anyone they faced.

“We just got better and better and better,” Canepa said of Central Catholic’s improvement and growing momentum. “Ever since the loss to Downey, we became more of a team and everything started clicking.”

By the time, the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs came, the Raiders were playing their best football, according to Canepa. Despite playing in their 16th game at the state championships, the coach believed that his team was still improving.

“We felt every week that we were getting better,” he said. “We believed that we could keep going no matter how many games we played and keep winning.”

Fortunately for the rest of the state, Central Catholic completed its season and did not get a shot at another opponent after playing its finest game on the biggest stage.

From the opening possession of the state final, the Raiders dominated both sides of the ball. Lomas rushed six times for 75 yards on the opening drive before Central Catholic

held Santa Fe Christian to just 12 yards and one first down. After getting the ball back on the 40 yard line, Vega needed just one play to score and essentially put the game away.

The offensive and defensive lines dominated the first half, knocking out the Eagles’ starting quarterback and rolling to a 59-7 lead at the intermission. The 59 points and 52-point margin matched the state records for both marks with another 24 minutes left to play. Central Catholic would clear its bench and add just one more rushing touchdown to keep the final margin of victory relatively modest.

Though the end result was determined well before the final seconds ticked off the clock, the Raiders reveled in the victory, knowing that they had achieved the goal they set before summer practices began in the Central Valley heat.

“It was an awesome feeling,” Lomas said.

“We believed that we could do this since Day One, and we worked so hard to get that goal.”

Still brimming with the confidence that carried his team to the state title, Canepa was still ready to take on any and all comers for one more go.

“The way we were playing in the playoffs, we felt we would win every week,” he said.

“If they had us line up again next week, I feel like we could beat anybody.” ✪

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Ray-Rey Show

Ray Lomas IV and Rey Vega were the ultimate offensive combo out of the backfield in 2012. Here’s a statistical breakdown of their two seasons. (Source: MaxPreps) Lomas Vega Games

10

16

Carries

119

235

Yards

1,524

2,084

Avg/carry

12.8

8.9

Longest carry 83

74

Touchdowns 28

34

Raiders coach Roger Canepa was convinced by the end of the season that his team could’ve beaten just about any team it faced.

December 20, 2012

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BearDown When it mattered most, the Granite Bay Grizzlies found a way to save their season one last time

A

By jim mccue | Senior Contributor

ll season long, the Granite Bay football team seized every opportunity presented to them to salvage their season.

No opportunity was bigger than one final chance to drive down the field for a game-winning score in the CIF Division I State Football Championships at the Home Depot Center.

The team marched 77 yards in eight plays as the clock wound down on the game and their season to pull out a 21-20 victory over nationally-recognized state power Long Beach Poly.

“This team more than any other has always been the team that somehow, some way pulled it out to move on to the next week,” said senior safety Aaron Knapp.

Knapp and his defensive teammates had to watch their offensive unit pull out the final victory of an amazing season and cap a 12-game winning streak after a 1-3 start. Taft Partridge, a senior fullback, carried much of the load to put the Grizzlies into position for the winning score, highlighted by a 34-yard screen pass to the Poly 27.

Senior halfback John Cooley capped the drive with a four-yard scoring plunge with 1:12 left on the clock and kicker Colin Brown banged home the extra point for the final margin of victory.

The comeback paralleled the up-and-down season experienced by the Grizzlies (13-3). Granite Bay kicked off the campaign with a pair of losses against Southern California powers in Westlake and Oaks Christian and found itself at 1-3 with the tough Sierra Foothill League schedule looming. So, it was appropriate that the season-long turnaround climaxed with a win over one of the most recognized and feared programs from the south state.

The Jackrabbits (12-4) broke a 14-14 tie with 3:47 left in the fourth quarter, but Poly’s shaky kicking game was costly as the extra point was pulled wide left. Still, the Jackrabbits forced the Grizzlies to face a long field with an offense that had not found the end zone in the first 45 minutes of the contest.

“We felt pretty confident,” Knapp said of the mood on the Granite Bay sideline before the final drive. “We knew that they could get it done. It was ‘Here we go, offense, it’s your turn to shine.”

Partridge shined brightest on the final drive, but quarterback Grant Caraway was solid all game long, throwing for 118 yards and keeping the ball out of the hands of Poly’s talented and speedy defense. The senior signal-caller, who was in his first season as a starter under center, was smart beyond his experience in taking care of the ball and avoiding mistakes.

In contrast, Poly’s quarterback duo of Tai Tiedemann and Eban Jackson II were forced into multiple turnovers, including an interception that junior defensive back Dylan Keeney returned 30 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. Keeney had two interceptions in the game and Knapp added a pair of picks as well.Before the game, most observers believed that the Granite

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December 20, 2012

Phillip Walton photos

Senior running back John Cooley capped Granite Bay’s game-winning drive with a 3-yard touchdown run with 1:12 on the clock.

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Bay defense would be outdone by the Jackrabbits’ unmatched speed. But the Grizzlies countered with multiple defensive looks and a grit and determination that somehow negated Poly’s speed.

“We said all week that if we could keep them side-to-side we could slow them down,” Knapp said. “We threw some incredibly complex defenses at them and made sure that we never stayed in the same defense long enough for them to figure us out.”

The ability to prevent the Jackrabbits from running north and south allowed the Grizzlies to contain the fastest, most potent offense the team faced all season. And, by holding Poly to just 20 points and giving the offense a shot at winning the game, Granite Bay’s defense did more than its share in salvaging the game and the season.

With Poly getting one final possession and one minute to score, the defense held one final time with Knapp hauling in the game-clinching interception with the clock showing 0:32.

“It was an unbelievable feeling,” Knapp said of cradling the ball to pull in his second interception. “To go through the whole season the way we did and to end up getting to make that last play was awesome.”

Division II

Head coach Ernie Cooper, left, gives the play to quarterback Grant Caraway during the Grizzlies final drive. Caraway completed a key 33-yard screen pass to Taft Partridge on the drive.

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Serra-Gardena 42, Oakdale 15: The Oakdale approach has always been straight forward — as in running the ball straight forward and wearing down the opponent.

Unfortunately for the Mustangs, their approach could not slow down a faster foe as Serra-Gardena ran around Oakdale to win the Division II final 42-15.

Nikk Ryan and Marcus Northcutt both scored on short runs, but both scores came late in the fourth quarter after the Cavaliers sprinted out to a 42-0 lead.

The loss was only the second of the season for the Mustangs (14-2), who fell only to Southern California powers in Serra and Oceanside. Oakdale, Sac-Joaquin Section Division III finalists in each of the past two years, finally broke through in 2012 behind senior quarterback Spencer Thomas to win the section crown. The Mustangs advanced to the CIF State Bowl with a 27-24 win over North Coast Section champion and favorite Clayton Valley-Concord in the regional final. ✪

December 20, 2012

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! o e m Ro Oh

W es t c o as t j a m b o r ee

Records through Dec. 16 (source: MaxPreps.com) Rank, Prev. Team

Rank

1. (1)

Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland

2-0

2. (4)

St Mary’s-Stockton

7-0

3. (6)

Carondelet-Concord

3-0

4. (3)

St. Mary’s-Berkeley

5-1

5. (5)

Sacramento

4-0

6. (2)

Archbishop Mitty-San Jose

2-1

7. (7)

Miramonte-Orinda

5-0

8. (8)

St. Ignatius-San Francisco

5-1

9. (9)

Salesian-Richmond

6-0

10. (15)

Oak Ridge-El Dorordo Hills

9-1

11. (10)

Brookside Christian-Stockton

5-2

12. (13)

Modesto Christian

3-1

13. (16)

Heritage-Brentwood

4-2

14. (11)

Monte Vista-Danville

6-1

15. (19)

McNair-Stockton

7-0

16. (nr)

St. Francis-Mountain View

7-0

17. (nr)

Lynbrook-San Jose

8-0

18. (nr)

Christian Brothers-Sacramento

6-2

19. (12)

Kennedy-Sacramento

4-2

20. (nr)

Wilcox-Santa Clara

8-0

DROPPED OUT No. 14 Deer Valley, No. 17 Berkeley, No. 18 Montgomery, No. 20 Pleasant Valley

BIGGEST MOVER Oak Ridge jumped five spots as the Trojans beat Hanford and Christian Brothers-Sacramento — and have lost only to nationally ranked Mater Dei-Ana.

TEAMS STILL RANKED FROM PRESEASON TOP 20: 16 KNOCKING ON THE DOOR Eastside College Prep-Palo Alto (6-3), Sacred Heart Cathedral-S.F. (5-2), Deer Valley-Antioch (3-2),

Pinewood-Los Altos Hills (5-0), Bear River-Stockton (110), Campolindo-Moraga (6-1), Enterprise-Redding (7-0), Burlingame (7-0), Vanden-Fairfield (7-0), MontgomerySanta Rosa (6-1), Dublin (6-1), Soquel (4-1).

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Carondelet girls basketball pushes forward into new era behind its 22-year coach and junior guard Natalie Romeo

W

By clay kallam | Contributor

hen Margaret Gartner took over at Carondelet 22 years ago, she knew she had a tough job ahead — she just didn’t know how tough.

“I felt I had big shoes to fill,” she says now, as the Cougars had become one of the top programs in the area under the guidance of Steve Casillas. “But when I first started, there was so much to learn I gave myself permission to figure things out.”

Though Gartner had been a fine player at both Pleasant Hill and Ygnacio Valley high schools, and then at what is now Cal State East Bay, she concedes she was behind the curve. “I was sheltered,” she says. “I didn’t know there were scholarships or basketball camps. When I went to my first camp before my senior year, I thought ‘You can get a lot better if you work on your game’.”

So Gartner’s first seasons at Carondelet were focused on getting her program together, and developing her players — but then one year she wandered over to what is now Oracle Arena to watch the state basketball championships. “I saw Cheryl Miller play,” she said, “and I realized there was a whole ‘nother level – and what does it take to get there?”

Gartner did have some immediate help on her own campus in the person of Lexy Tamony, who went on to play at Cal. “I saw how hard she worked,” says Gartner, “but not every girl comes in like that. There were a few down years — but no one cared.”

That lack of pressure allowed Gartner to start piecing together a program that would become one of Northern California’s consistently strongest, and it started with her realization that she needed to develop players outside of the winter sports’ calendar.

“You have to play in the offseason,” says Gartner, “and not every girl plays AAU. So I started the Fastbreak basketball camps.”

The Fastbreak camps continue to this day, and though Carondelet has been known for its stars in recent years, Gartner’s been around long enough to understand the im-

portance of the entire roster. “It’s not just the Jayne Appels,” she says. “It’s everybody else who makes your team strong.”

Still, it didn’t hurt when Leigh Gregory, who, like Tamony, played at Cal, came to Carondelet, and with Nicole Lynch and Meaghan Keathley, were key players in Gartner’s first really strong team. That strength, however, did not translate into North Coast Section or NorCal titles.

“We kept running into Amador Valley,” says Gartner, “and Amador had Mia Fisher (who went on to star at UC Santa Barbara). We would play Amador in postseason and lose, then keep winning and have to play Amador again.”

The one year the Cougars dodged Amador didn’t work out any better. “We had to go to Pinewood,” says Gartner, where Doc Scheppler’s three-point shooting powerhouses were at the Division II level (an upwards move that is no longer allowed).

“We were right there,” says Gartner, but Carondelet couldn’t get over the hump.

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!

W es t c o as t j a m b o r ee

Norbert von der Groeben photos

LEFT: Margaret Gartner has built a perennial power at Carondelet. ABOVE: Natalie Romeo drives past a St. Mary’s-Berkeley defender during a 70-64 win on Dec. 15.

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W es t c o as t j a m b o r ee Carondelet’s Lauren Nicolosi, left, and Makenzie Cast showcase the team’s staunch defensive pressure by cornering St. Mary’s guard Kweie Serrell.

Then came Appel, who plays for the WNBA’s San Antonio Silver Stars and is currently averaging 28 points a game in the Chinese league.

And the Cougars were right back at it again.

With shooters like the Russi sisters and other strong players such as Ashley Ford, Carondelet finally won its first state title in 2004, beating Troy-Fullerton. The Cougars returned to face Troy the following year, but lost the rematch.

And the talent flow just kept on coming.

Erica Payne (now at Stanford) and Hannah Huffman (now at Notre Dame) anchored the next elite Carondelet teams.

“Erica was a great leader,” says Gartner.

“She worked harder than anyone else — and she was physically gifted.”

As for Huffman, “She has all the gifts,” says Gartner, “and when she spoke, everyone listened.”

This year, though, the mantle has been passed down to junior point guard Natalie Romeo, who unlike Payne and Huffman, won’t have a big-time sidekick. The rest of the roster is talented, but not at the Stanford and Notre Dame level.

“We’re playing fast,” says Romeo. “We’ve been pushing the ball and we’re trying to run teams because we don’t have as much height.”

Gartner has made other adjustments as well. “Natalie has much more freedom now,” she says. “She’s at her best when she has freedom. Before, she had to make sure certain people got the ball.”

Still, Romeo knows she can’t go it alone, and she has to get help from seniors Amy Harioka and Lauren Nicolosi.

“We have to get the team involved,” says Romeo, though she prepared for this season knowing she had to do more. “I’ve been working on my off-the-dribble jump shot — but I’m still trying to figure out the reverse layup.”

Such humility is not always the hallmark of elite players, but Romeo isn’t about getting all the attention. “It’s fun to play with her,” says Gartner. “If you’re open, you better be ready.”

Of course, Romeo is on the radar of all the top college programs, but she has some time before she has to make any decisions. “I haven’t really thought about college,” she says.

“I try to play in the moment.”

The moment right now will be the West Coast Jamboree, which the Cougars return to after a one-year absence.

“I felt awful being away,” says Gartner.

“There’s so much talent in the Jamboree there’s no reason to go anywhere else. Deer Valley is just like a college gym, and we’ve played some really good teams there.”

Romeo played in the Platinum Division as a freshman, and has fond memories too. “The West Coast Jamboree is one of my favorite tournaments,” she says. “Knowing the people who are always around is fun.”

But could this, after 22 years and 475 wins, be Gartner’s last Jamboree? “I just coach one year at a time,” she says. “The year I can’t go 100 percent is the year I step down” – but she did have one thing to add. “I do enjoy coaching Natalie, though,” which means we should see Gartner on the Jamboree sidelines for at least one more season. ✪

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W es t c o as t j a m b o r ee

As it turns 13, Jamboree still offers a bit of everything

T

By clay kallam | Contributor

he West Coast Jamboree is going back to the future.

The Platinum Division, with 16 teams from all over the country, will return to Deer Valley High — but unlike the past, there will be only one 16-team bracket as more and more teams prefer the eight-team divisions, and three-game commitment.

Another reason for the lack of 16-team brackets is the calendar. With Christmas on a Tuesday, the tournament can’t really start until Thursday and CIF rules prohibit games on Sunday. That means any out-of-area team that wants to play four games has to stay an extra night and play on Dec. 31.

Despite all that, the top bracket still has plenty of muscle, and some national flavor as well.

Nazareth-Brooklyn of New York, which backed out at the last minute last year due to financial issues, is committed this year, according to coach Lauren Best, and will bring high-scoring Bianca Cuevas to East County. Another Eastern power is Bishop McGuinness-Kernersville of North Carolina, which is consistently one of the top teams in that state — but the best story belongs to KinkaidHouston of Texas.

Long-time fans remember the Johnson sisters at Antioch, especially Courtney, since she played at Cal. But older sister Stacey went off to Texas, and now coaches Kinkaid, which won the 2A Texas state championship last year. She remained in contact with tournament director Dave Jackson, and this year is coming home to Antioch at Christmas, with her team in tow.

The overall strength of the bracket did her no favors, however, as Kinkaid drew Sac-Joaquin Section power Sacramento — and 6-4 post Ayanna Edwards — in the first round. Another first-round slugfest will match Carondelet-Concord and Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove.

There’s also lots of talent in other brackets, starting with the Diamond at Miramonte-Orinda. The host Matadors are one of the highest-scoring teams in the state, but Salesian-Richmond (with Mariya Moore), Kennedy-Sacramento, Modesto Christian and Edison-Fresno also bring plenty to the table.

The Gold Division at Valley Christian-Dublin features SJS Division II heavyweights Florin-Sacramento and McNair-Stockton as well as a trio of local schools — Amador Valley-Pleasanton, Foothill-Pleasanton and Dublin — which should pack the Vikings’ gym.

The Onyx, also at Valley Christian, has some of the top smaller schools in Northern California, including Miramonte point guard Carly Gill Butch Noble photo the hosts, Turlock Christian, West Campus-Sacramento, International-S.F. and McKinleyville. In addition, Mission Prep-San Luis Obispo will add some SoCal punch.

In fact, one of the hidden strengths of the Jamboree is the opportunity it gives smaller schools to play in a balanced tournament. Often in eight-team tournaments hosted by a single school, a Div. V or Div. VI program will be invited simply to serve as a guaranteed first-round win for the host, and then be lucky to win a single game. With so many teams (120 this year), brackets can be devised that match teams of relatively equal size and strength, and smaller schools have a shot at winning a tournament title.

Look for some of those schools at Bentley-Lafayette, Antioch, Freedom-Oakley, Ygnacio Valley-Concord and College ParkPleasant Hill, the other West Coast Jamboree sites this year. All the sites run on the same schedule, and except for Deer Valley (with one 16-team bracket) and College Park (with one eight-team bracket), there are two eight-team divisions at each location. The championship games will be at 6:30 and 8 p.m. on Dec. 29, with play beginning each day at 9:30 a.m.

The Platinum will conclude on Dec. 31, but to make sure everyone gets home in time to celebrate New Year’s Eve, half the teams will play at Freedom that Monday and half at Deer Valley. The Platinum title game will be at Deer Valley at 1:30 p.m., and there’s really no clear favorite — which should make for four days of competitive games in East County. ✪

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W es t c o as t j a m b o r ee

Top 20

Players to Watch

You have four days of WCJ action, and you should try go see as many of these players as possible.

Makenzie Cast (Carondelet-Concord), Jr., 5-10, Wing Mandy Coleman (McNair-Stockton), Jr., 6-3, Center Bianca Cuevas (Nazareth-Brooklyn(NY)), Sr., 5-5, Guard Chaya Durr (Sacramento), Jr., 5-11, Wing Ayanna Edwards (Sacramento), Jr., 6-4, Center Sabrina Engelstad (Heritage), Sr., 6-2, Forward Desire Finnie (Berkeley), Jr., 5-10, Wing Allie Green (Sacramento), Sr., 5-10, Wing Morgan Green (Pacific Collegiate-Santa Cruz), Jr., 5-8, Guard Jasmine Hampton (Modesto Christian), Jr., 5-10, Forward Dejza James (Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove), Sr., 6-0, Wing Lynette Johnson (Kennedy-Sacramento), Sr., 5-9, Guard Ashlee Jones (Bradshaw Christian-Sacramento), Sr., 5-8, Guard Jordan Kimbrough (Enterprise-Redding), Jr., 6-0, Forward Mariya Moore (Salesian-Richmond), Jr., 6-0, Wing Megan Reid (Miramonte-Orinda), Jr., 5-9, Wing Natalie Romeo (Carondelet), Jr., 5-8, Guard Dalayna Sampton (Florin-Sacramento), Sr., 6-2, Forward Haley Shaner (West Campus-Sacramento), Sr., 6-0, Wing Brecca Thomas (Kinkaid-Houston), Jr., 5-5, Guard

James K. Leash, Phillip Walton photos

We call it ... Get into it Here’s who we predict to win in each of the 14 brackets.

PLATINUM: Sacramento AGATE: Encinal AMBER: Windsor CORAL: Del Oro DIAMOND: Miramonte EMERALD: Fortuna GARNET: San Francisco Waldorf GOLD: McNair JADE: Bradshaw Christian ONYX: Valley Christian PEARL: Buhach Colony RUBY: James Logan SAPPHIRE: San Domenico TOPAZ: Freedom

The 13th Annual West Coast Jamboree features 13 eight-team brackets and the one 16-team Platinum Division.The various tournaments will play out in eight different schools across the East Bay Area.

For complete brackets, go to www.westcoastjamboree.com.

The brackets will be updated on the website throughout the event.

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Records through Dec. 16 (source: MaxPreps.com) Rank, Prev. Team

Rank

1.(1)

Archbishop Mitty-San Jose

3-1

2. (3)

Sheldon-Sacramento

1-1

3. (4)

Salesian-Richmond

5-1

4. (5)

Modesto Christian

5-1

5. (9)

Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland

3-0

6. (2)

Deer Valley-Antioch

8-2

7. (6)

Newark Memorial

3-2

8. (7)

De La Salle-Concord

3-1

9. (8)

Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove

5-0

10. (11)

Serra-San Mateo

5-1

11. (12)

Capital Christian-Sacramento

10-0

12. (13)

Archbishop Riordan-S.F.

6-0

13. (14)

Dublin

6-2

14. (18)

Palma-Salinas

4-1

15. (10)

El Cerrito

7-1

16. (16)

Antelope

5-2

17. (15)

Sacramento

2-3

18. (19)

Monte Vista-Danville

6-0

19. (NR)

Oakland Tech

7-1

20. (NR)

Sacred Heart Cathedral-S.F.

5-0

DROPPED OUT No. 17 Enterprise-Redding, No. 20 Piedmont Hills-San Jose

BIGGEST MOVER The most significant move came from Bishop O’Dowd, which jumped four spots to crack the Top 5. The Dragons made their climb by way of a 57-53 win over a Pacific Hills-L.A. team which had beaten previous No. 2 Deer Valley the night before. Bishop O’Dowd also owns an early-season win over Deer Valley, so it was time they make the jump ahead of the Wolverines (which drop to No. 6)

TEAMS STILL RANKED FROM PRESEASON TOP 20: 15 KNOCKING ON THE DOOR Heritage-Brentwood (7-2), Montgomery-Santa Rosa (6-1), St. Joseph Notre Dame-Alameda (7-3), Castro Valley (4-4), Weston Ranch-Stockton (4-3), Mt. EdenHayward (5-0), St. Patrick/St. Vincent-Vallejo (5-4), Monterey Trail-Elk Grove (6-3).

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TOUGHENING UP Not at full-strength, Huskies dive head first into brutal schedule

Sheldon head coach Joey Rollings expected that his team would gain valuable experience playing a challenging nonleague schedule, including traveling to high profile tournaments across the country. He did this hoping to prepare his team for the defense of the its Delta River League, Sac-Joaquin Section, and CIF Northern Regional titles.

What he didn’t expect was that so many of the lesser-known and less-experienced players on his roster would be logging valuable minutes agains such top competition.

“I am pleased with where we are at,” Rollings said of Sheldon’s early results. “Some young guys are playing real well and stepping up.”

The need for less seasoned players like freshman guard Devin Greene and senior forward Antonio Lewis arose from injuries and circumstance.

Senior standout D’Erryl Williams and guard Jalen Hicks are nursing ankle ailments, and Darin Johnson, a senior transfer from Franklin-Elk Grove, is not eligible to take the court for Sheldon until January.

With that trio on the bench, the Huskies, ranked No. 16 nationally

by MaxPreps, stayed close with No. 12 Archbishop Mitty-San Jose and its top recruit Aaron Gordon. Seniors Dakarai Allen and Ryan Manning were the lone returners with extensive varsity experience in the lineup, and they battled foul trouble while attempting to contain Gordon. But, Greene and Lewis picked up the slack and forced the Monarchs to fight to the last seconds before finally securing the 71-65 victory.

The Huskies (1-1) will now hit the road as they work toward becoming the complete, healthy team that could make another run at a state title.

The road started with the Tarkanian Las Vegas Invitational from Dec. 19-22, and will conclude with the All State Sugar Bowl Invitational in New Orleans from January 3-5.

In between, Sheldon will also travel James K. Leash to San Diego for the ESPN Torrey Dakarai Allen, above, is one of the few key returners shouldering the Pines Classic in late December. load as the Huskies await the return of some key players.

Rollings expects that his team will That includes SportStars’ 2012 Winter Athlete of the Year, D’Erryl add pieces and build a stronger bond Williams III, left. as they rack up miles by bus, van, and airplane before opening its Delta River League schedule with a January 9 game at Folsom. Williams, the SportStars Winter Athlete of the Year last year, might be back in action in Las Vegas if his bone bruise continues to mend, and Hicks will be back by the San Diego tourney as he recovers from an ankle ligament strain.

The opportunity to round back into game shape and jell as a team will be challenged by stiff competition in Las Vegas, which could include a rematch with Mater Dei-Santa Ana — the team that ended the Huskies’ postseason run in the Division I state final a year ago. If the Huskies and Monarchs do their part in the first two rounds of the tourney, a showdown will be set, albeit with a much less significant prize.

Johnson, a third top Division I recruit who will help form a potent three-pronged attack with San Diego State-signees Williams

Sheldon

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and Allen, has been practicing with the team. But the CIF’s transfer sit-out rule won’t allow him eligibility until the calendar turns. At that point, Sheldon may have the roster on the court that many expect will challenge for a state title again.

“That will be our coming out,” Rollings said of the Sugar Bowl tournament in New Orleans.

“It will take a while still to mold the pieces and round into a team, but once we do, it will be tough to stop us.”

Key to the rounding-out and jelling for the Huskies will be the thousands of miles they log during the holidays. Time spent as a team in vans, planes, and hotel rooms will be used to build the bond that Rollings hopes will carry Sheldon to even greater heights this year.

“Those tournaments will provide a chance for the team to bond,” the coach said. “The trips will bring us a lot closer as a team and let the guys get more comfortable with each other.”

The back-to-back-to-back tournaments against top tier teams from Washington, Chicago, Southern California, and the South will provide a test on the court as well as a challenge to the stamina and durability of the Huskies. But it’s that grind Rollings knows his team needs to experience now to prepare for the labors of the postseason. That it will be experienced by a deeper rotation by circumstance will only increase the level of preparation.

“We will be exhausted,” Rollins said. “But we have to learn how to deal with that. We know that it will be challenging, but it gets us ready for league and ready for the playoffs.” ✪ — Jim McCue, senior contributor

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Welcome to Impulse, your one-stop shop for gadgets, gizmos and gear. Compiled by staff writer Erik Stordahl, Impulse provides you with the latest and greatest and what’s currently hot on the market. If you’re reading this it’s most likely post-end-of-the-world scare and post-Christmas, which means you didn’t get anything you wanted. No worries! Peruse these goodies and treat yourself this Christmas Break!

Brooks

Whether you’re a track or cross country star, we have to assume you’re wearing Brooks. If you’re training for a marathon or just want to shed the never-ending Freshman 15, these are the shoes for you. Light as a feather and more comfortable than one of those massage chairs from The Sharper Image, Brooks is the ideal choice for runners of all levels. Hit up www. brooksrunning.com to find the perfect pair for you.

Halo 4

If you don’t already have this game, we don’t know what’s wrong with you. Well, it’s only $39.99 now -- no excuses! For addicting gameplay and hours upon hours of multiplayer action with your friends and enemies, accept no substitutes.

Warriors gear

We figure by now you’ve heard of the Warriors and their baller status of late. Time to jump on the bandwagon!

Don’t worry, there’s still room; make sure you look the part. Hit up the Warriors team store at warriors.com

Giants World Series gear

This might be the perfect time to go out and cherry pick 2012 World Series gear on the cheap. Grab a sweatshirt, beanie, heck, even a keychain will do. Open up your wallet and let your Gigantes fandom roar.

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Walnut Creek synchro swim team shines Twelve Walnut Creek Aquanuts, ages 15 to 19, represented the United States of America in the highly prestigious FINA Synchronized Swimming World Trophy Cup Championships in Mexico City, Mexico, from Nov. 30-Dec. 2.

The Aquanuts team was the youngest World Trophy Cup team competing against 8 National/ Olympic teams and another Club Team from Moscow. The Aquanuts placed 7th over all —

ahead of teams from the Netherlands, Great Britain and Brazil.

Walnut Creek honored its host with a Mexican-themed Highlight Routine that included full traditional costuming complete with ruffled skirts and sombreros. It showcased many lifts and throws in addition to unconventional props and costuming. The crowd went wild when Sandra Ortellado of Carondelet-Concord pulled a Mexican flag out of her suit, waiving it proudly while on top of the first lift.

The Aquanuts Trophy Cup team coached by Kim Probst (WCA Head Coach), Tammy McGregor (Juniors/Seniors WCA Coach, 2011 U.K. National Team Coach), and Olga Kouznetsova (WCA Coach) prepared several routines.

The Aquanuts’ highlight of the competition had to be defeating the Russian team with a burlesque routine in the Thematic Team Event.

Besides the incredible speed and precision of the routine, Sofia Bouzos (also of Carondelet) dazzled the FINA and celebrity judges with her rhythmic gymnastics on deck and atop the lift.

“The competition was exciting, the Mexican hospitality was wonderful, and the WCA athletes did a great job representing the USA,” Probst said through a press release.

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The Aquanuts Trophy Cup roster included: Jasmine Carillo (15); Karina Boyle (16); Rina Horii (16); Sandra Ortellado (16); Alexa Tchekmarev (18), Sofia Bouzos (17) – all from Walnut Creek; as well as Remy Mink (15, Alamo), Lizzie Welzien (16, San Ramon), Morgan Boneburg (17, Clayton), Sarah House (17, Lafayette), Jamie Kuchan (17, Mesa, AZ), and McKinzie Chelberg (19, St. Paul, MN).

Lacrosse Sacramento Lacrosse Association completed its inaugural season in 2012, and is itching to get its sophomore season underway. Sac LAX was created to give kids in the heart of Sacramento a place to play lacrosse. While area teams have been established for years, this is the first club designed to serve the areas of Arden-Arcade, Sierra Oaks, Natomas, Downtown, Land Park, East Sac, Carmichael and beyond.

Beyond its club teams, Sac LAX provides free Introduction to Lacrosse Clinics for girls and

boys ages 8 to 14 prior to spring registration (open now). In 2012, Sac LAX fielded teams for boys U11 and U13, as well as girls U13. This spring, Sac LAX is offering teams for boys U11, U13, and U15 and girls U13 and U15, as well as a provisional U11 girls team.

Spring practice will begin as early as Jan. 6, and sign-ups are being taken. The boys season begins in late February and the girls will begin playing games that count on March 9.

While the mission of Sac LAX is to develop players, supportive teammates and honorable opponents, Sac LAX’s other purpose is simple; provide an opportunity for kids to play and enjoy the game of lacrosse, to empower youth and give them a sport in which to express themselves, have fun, make friends and stay healthy.

Sac LAX is also dedicated to the principals of the Positive Coaching Alliance, a national non-profit with the mission to provide all youth and high school athletes a positive, characterbuilding youth sports experience ✪

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Young athletes need regeneration strategies as part of their training Each sport has its own movement skills that are repeated over and over again weekly, monthly and yearly throughout an athlete’s sporting life — adding even more stress to the joints of your athletes bodies.

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of their body. These imbalances come his week I’d like to share the from overstressed movement patterns missing link in most of your that lead to movement dysfunction, deathlete’s training and sports creased performance, pain and injury. programs that is hindering their perToo many strength programs, whethformance and greatly increasing their er implemented by a trainer or coach, chance of pain and injury. ignore the regeneration strategies before Picture for a moment the daily stress and after the strength program, practice to your athletes’ bodies. They sit in a or games. Just lifting and performing desk all day at school with horrible posexercises is not going to help your athture, in a flexed-over position through letes perform at a high level, and it will their shoulders, upper and lower back.

What about practice?

Tim Rudd for IYCA not help them stay healthy. Exercises are prescribed to athletes which they As the old saying goes, practice can’t perform effectively or promote bad makes perfect, right? They practice the posture. same skills and movements over and An example is a current athlete who is in-seaover again in an attempt to master these sporting son. After three weeks this athlete came back to me movements. Each sport has its own movement complaining of shoulder pain. I assessed what she skills that are repeated over and over again weekly, is currently doing in her in practice and with the monthly and yearly throughout an athlete’s sportteam trainer. First with the trainer: no assessment, ing life — adding even more stress to the joints no warm-up, and no regeneration strategies, which of your athletes’ bodies. Then they go home and equal no coaching. Second, the coach prescribes sit and get hours of homework done in the same exercises such as crunches and a high volume of posture that they sat in all day in school. push-ups which further strengthen bad posture As a young developing athlete, all the above and dysfunction. situations are essential not just for sporting success For most athletes in off-season programs, there but academic as well. The one thing missing in the is no understanding of where the athlete currently above scenario is the regeneration strategies that is and actually what they need. It’s not about what counteract all the movement patterns which leave the coach or trainer wants to do, it’s about what athletes with imbalances throughout the joints

December 20, 2012

Training Time

your athletes need when it comes to an effective strength and conditioning program.

This is happening to your athletes every day. If coaches don’t take the time to educate themselves so they can ask the right questions, get referrals from parents of current or past athletes’ success, or from other coaches. Then there is absolutely no excuse for hiring unqualified trainers or prescribing exercises that just look cool or make the athlete feel tired and beat up.

Every athlete requires regeneration strategies, but most programs just focus on the workout and fail to be comprehensive or complete. They’re missing what to do before and after practice, training and competition. It is these missing components of regeneration and recovery that are the key for unlocking your athlete’s performance potential and remaining injury-free. There is a three-step Regeneration Process I use with all my athletes that I plan to share in my next column. The plan ensures they are performing optimally throughout all seasons and staying injury-free. ✪ Tim Rudd is an International Youth Conditioning Association specialist in youth conditioning (level 3), speed and agility (level 2), and nutrition specialist (level 1). For more information on anything you read in Training Time, email him at tim@fit2thecore. com.

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Shoulder subluxations and their treatment L ast year I wrote an article about reducing the risk of wrestling injuries. Now that we are entrenched in the wrestling season this year I thought it appropriate to follow-up with an article focusing on a common wrestling injury we encounter in our sports medicine centers — the shoulder subluxation.

Shoulder subluxations, along with other shoulder injuries, are among the most frequently seen high school wrestling injuries. They represent a combined 18.6% of all high school wrestling injuries.

A shoulder subluxation occurs when the upper arm bone completely separates from the shoulder blade’s “socket” but spontaneously reduces. This usually occurs in wrestling during takedowns. As a review, the takedown position is among the most common wrestlingrelated activities leading to injury. From a defensive position, the wrestling athlete can experience large forces through the shoulder when being taken down to the mat.

Clinically, the wrestling athlete will usually present with some degree of muscle guarding around the shoulder, pain and possibly apprehension to movement of the shoulder. Rehabilitation of a shoulder subluxation can be divided into four phases:

ties, basic shoulder blade muscle exercises

Phase II

Progressive shoulder strengthening exercises, dynamic stability exercises of the shoulder and shoulder blade, advanced shoulder proprioception drills

Health Watch David Arakawa

Phase I Pain-free motions of the shoulder, shoulder isometric exercises, basic shoulder position sense or proprioception activi-

Phase III Initiate upper body plyometric training drills, normal weightlifting activities, light sport-specific exercises

Phase IV (Return to Sport) Continue all above exercises in Phase III and perform functional testing for the upper body To summarize, a shoulder subluxation is a common injury seen in high school wrestling. However, if recognized and treated efficiently, it will not derail the hard working and dedicated high school wrestler from the ultimate prize — the state championship. ✪ David Arakawa is a senior physical therapist for the staff of Sports Medicine For Young Athletes, a division of Children’s Hospital Oakland with a facility also in Walnut Creek. If you have questions or comments regarding the “Health Watch” column, write the Sports Medicine For Young Athletes staff at Health@SportStarsOnline.com.

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Stressing the importance of a good warm-up — in all conditions

W

arming up should be a focus in every up. A warm up for a race is nothing different than workout and race. what you do normally before a workout. Set a Plan a warm-up sequence before evroutine during regular practices, and make time ery workout. A good warm-up should include jogbefore your race to do the same routine. Recently ging and exercises that help your muscles and joints one of my athletes ran a 5k and came in last in his age group. This year he came in second, but he was get ready, as well as work on form, agility, balance, bummed to miss first by 4 seconds. He said he was coordination and efficiency. Even in hot weather late to the event and did not warm up. you should warm up before every workout.

RETURNING FROM BREAK: You are most Both the activities and the sequence of the likely to be injured when returning after a break by activities done in the warm-up are important. Static attempting to perform the way you were training stretching can actually be worse for your body before the break. The longer the break, the longer when performed before your muscles are not thorLiz Elliott it will take you to return to your former speed and oughly warm. Warm-up activities and sequence is distance marks. If you have not been running for especially important in cold weather. Set a pattern a while, your warm up should be at least 30 percent of your for your warm-up. If you have a set pattern with some variaworkout. Here’s an example warm up routine: tions for different weather and types of races, your warm-up ■ 10-20 minute jog (longer for cold weather) will be second nature.

■ 4-8 dynamic drills that incorporate large and small ON A COLD DAY: When the weather is really cold, warm muscle groups side to sides, cross overs, up two to three times as much as you would normally so that ■ 3-4 pick ups, to remind your body how to go fast your joints and muscles are truly ready. Always wear pants to ■ maybe another 10 minute jog in cold weather and from, if not during, your workout to keep joints warm. In After a thorough warm up, go straight into main set. Talk to cold weather, save the high knees and pick-ups until you are a coach, or attend a coached track workout for information on completely warmed up, or skip them altogether. Every person a good workout routine best for you. ✪ needs a different amount of warm up, but everyone needs a

Tri Steps

longer warm up in cold weather. If you find you can’t warm up, consider an inside workout, an easy run or skipping the run workout for the day. It is more likely you will injure yourself on a speed workout when you are not properly warmed up.

BEFORE THE RACE: Plan time before every race to warm

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Liz Elliott is the Head Coach of the Tri-Valley Triathlon Club based in Dublin. Liz specializes in preparing beginner triathletes for their first race(s). She was an All-American swimmer in college, and has over 20 years experience in teaching and coaching swimming. Contact her at Liz@TriValleyTriClub.com

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