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Welcome to the Playbook!
It is time for another week of the 2025-26 prep sports year. The Playbook takes you inside the East Bay Athletic League, writing about outlooks, updates and insights into all the sports, along with profiles of athletes, and opinions regarding controversial issues in high school sport!
The Big Picture looks at NCS action for water polo, volleyball and flag football. Volleyball and flag football have reached the semifinals, with water polo – well-represented by EBAL teams – getting underway this week.
EBAL Power Rankings show no change as we head into the final week of the regular season for football, and the final week of NCS for volleyball and flag football. What to Watch has the final week of the regular season for football, and the NCS schedules for water polo, volleyball and flag football. The Fast Five is all about Amador Valley girls’ water polo goalie Deepika Suresh. Check out her motivational quote!
If you know of a great story or have any questions, please reach out either by email at acesgolf@aol.com or by phone at 925-200-0719.
From the sidelines,
Dennis Miller, Playbook Editor
13 EBAL teams competing in water polo sectional tournaments
The North Coast Section water polo playoffs begin this week – and as usual, EBAL is well-represented. Plus, it’s down to semifinals in NCS flag football and girls’ volleyball brackets, and the final week of football regular season.
Power Rankings as of Nov. 4.
FLAG FOOTBALL
1. California (17-3): The Grizzlies open NCS with a 19-6 win over College Park, then follow with a 13-0 shutout over Clayton Valley.
2. San Ramon Valley (16-6): The Wolves knock off Foothill 13-7, then Liberty 8-2 to make it to the semifinals against California.
3. Granada (14-7): The Matadors advanced to the semifinals with a 26-20 win over Alameda, followed by a 33-0 win against Heritage.
4. Amador Valley (15-7): The Dons drop their first-round NCS game 19-6 to Castro Valley.
5. Foothill (12-8): The Falcons drop a 13-7 game to San Ramon Valley in the first round of NCS play.
Others: Dougherty Valley (4-9), Carondelet (9-10), Dublin (15-10), Livermore (8-12), Monte Vista (6-15).
GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL
1. San Ramon Valley (25-9): Stuck in the Open division, the Wolves fell 3-2 to Branson. They are at James Logan on Wednesday.
2. Monte Vista (25-9): The No. 1 seed in D-I needed to go to No. 16 Petaluma and pulled off a 3-0 sweep.
3. Carondelet (26-9): The Cougars opened NCS D-I play with a 3-0 win at Rancho Cotate, then advanced to the third round with a 3-1 win over Foothill.
4. Foothill (25-9): The Falcons got the NCS D-I ball rolling with a 3-0 win over Northgate. In the second game, the Falcons season ended with a 3-1 loss to Carondelet.
5. Amador Valley (15-13): The Dons beat Terra Linda 3-0 in the first round of the D-II playoffs. In the second round, Amador fell at University-San Francisco 3-0.
Others: California (11-13), Dougherty Valley (16-17), Granada (13-13), Dublin (8-20), Livermore (7-19).
FOOTBALL
Mountain Division
1. Monte Vista (4-4, 1-1): The new No. 1 team could have had a short stay at the top as the Mustangs lost to Amador Valley 35-14. But, given they beat Cal and Cal beat SRV, we will leave the Mustangs at the top spot for now.
2. California (7-2, 1-1): The Grizzlies drop their second game in a row, falling to De La Salle 52-14. Cal closes with Amador Valley.
3. San Ramon Valley (5-4, 1-1): The Wolves get a bye and an extra week to prepare for the regular season finale with Monte Vista.
4. Amador Valley (3-6, 1-1): The Dons celebrate their senior night, then handle Monte Vista 35-14. They have California left to play.
Valley Division
1. Livermore (8-1, 2-0): The Cowboys come off their bye week and beat Foothill 38-17. Close with Granada and a win gives them the Valley title. A Granada win would leave three teams 2-1.
2. Dublin (5-4, 2-1): The Gaels have a bye and with Dougherty Valley dropping out of the league, Dublin will go without a game again next week.
3. Granada (4-4, 1-1): The Matadors had their second week off in a row and now close the regular season with a game against Livermore.
4. Foothill (4-5, 0-3): The Falcons fall to Livermore 38-17 in their final regular season game. Picked up a game with Redwood Christian this week.
Note: De La Salle is not used in the rankings since they get the automatic berth from the EBAL. De La Salle (9-0) d. California 52-14.
Today (Nov. 4)
NCS Flag Football: Semifinals, D-I – Granada at Las Lomas, 7 p.m. San Ramon Valley at California, 7 p.m.
Tomorrow (Nov. 5)
NCS Volleyball: Open – San Ramon Valley at James Logan, 7 p.m. D-I Semifinals – Windsor at Monte Vista, 7 p.m.; Berkeley at Carondelet, 7 p.m.
Thursday (Nov. 6)
NCS Flag Football: D-I Championship – Granada-Las Lomas winner vs. San Ramon Valley-California winner, TBD.
NCS Water Polo: Boys’ D-I – Northgate (2) vs. California (15) at Las Lomas, 4 p.m. Alameda (3) vs. Amador Valley (14) at San Leandro, 4:45 p.m. Clayton Valley (12) vs. Monte Vista (5) at Las Lomas, 6:30.
D-II – Alhambra (15) at Granada (2), 6 p.m. Cardinal Newman (4) vs. Dublin (13) at Amador Valley, 7:15 p.m.
NCS Water Polo: Girls’ D-I – Monte Vista (6) vs. San Marin (11) at San Ramon Valley, 3:45 p.m. Mission San Jose (16) at San Ramon Valley (1), 7:30 p.m.
D-II – Dublin (6) vs. Heritage (11) at Dublin Wave, 4:15 p.m. Irvington (16) at Amador Valley (1), 4:45 p.m. Foothill (2) vs. Cardinal Newman (15) at Amador Valley, 6 p.m. California (5) vs. Pittsburg (12) at Granada, 7:15 p.m.
Friday (Nov. 7)
EBAL Football: Redwood Christian at Foothill, Clayton Valley at De La Salle, 7 p.m. Amador Valley at California, Monte Vista at San Ramon Valley, Granada at Livermore, 7:15 p.m.
Saturday (Nov. 8)
NCS Volleyball: D-I Championship – Monte Vista-Windsor winner vs. Berkeley-Carondelet winner, TBD.
NCS Water Polo: Open first round – Miramonte (1) vs. San Ramon Valley (4), Campolindo (2) vs. De La Salle (3), TBA.
Boys’ D-I, D-II; Girls’ D-I, D-II: Second round matches, TBD.
Monday (Nov. 10)
CIF NorCal Girls’ Golf – at Berkeley Country Club, all day.
Pleasanton Preps: Looking over NCS playoff brackets for flag football, girls’ volleyball
The North Coast Section came out with its playoffs for girls’ volleyball and flag football with EBAL well-represented in both. And as is usually the case, there are some head-scratchers…
Teachable moment after social media rears ugly head for middle school athletes
“In the span of moments, their respective middle school football careers were in jeopardy all because of a poor choice making a social media video. Ultimately the coaches decided to use the situation as a teachable moment – the correct decision as far as I am concerned.”
We interview high school athletes and coaches all the time. Occasionally we ask them questions that have nothing to do with sports. Here’s one:
Name: Deepika Suresh
School and grade: Amador Valley (senior)
Sport: Girls’ water polo (goalie)
Favorite streaming channel/favorite show: Netflix/”Outer Banks”
Favorite genre music/Favorite performer: Pop/rock
Must follow on social media: Simone Biles
Favorite fast-food restaurant/meal: Chipotle
Favorite quote: Dream big. Start small. Stay Consistent. (Jim Rohn, American motivational speaker)
If you are interested in doing a Fast Five, contact Dennis Miller at acesmag@aol.com. Thank you!
Dennis Miller is a veteran sports writer and editor, covering sports in the Tri-Valley for over 35 years. In addition to being the editor of Tri-Valley Preps Playbook, he has written a weekly column for Pleasanton Weekly and PleasantonWeekly.com, “Pleasanton Preps,” since 2011. Email him at sports@pleasantonweekly.com.
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