*|DATE:l, F j, Y|*
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 goes inside the North Coast Section football playoffs. Who made it into the tournament and in what division? What were the seeds and were there any surprises? The road to the CIF State Bowl games begins now. (Also, read about how the EBAL dominated the girls’ NCS golf tournament!)
EBAL Power Rankings get turned upside down in the Mountain football division as teams jump from third to first and fourth to second following a big final week of the regular season.
What to Watch has the full schedule for the NCS football playoffs, as well as the second week of the NCS water polo playoffs. The Fast Five is all about Amador Valley football player McKay Kenitzer; check out his favorite quote as he doesn’t stray from the Amador football team.
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
Amador a 7-seed? Cal on road as No. 3? And more head-scratchers from NCS football brackets …
“Death, taxes and the North Coast Section coming up with screwy seeds and playoff brackets – those are the only sure things in life.”
Power Rankings as of Nov. 11.
EBAL FLAG FOOTBALL (FINAL RANKINGS)
1. San Ramon Valley (18-6): Knocked off California 24-13 in the semifinals and then took the NCS crown with a 14-7 win over Granada.
2. California (17-4): The Grizzlies fell in the semifinals 24-13 to San Ramon Valley.
3. Granada (15-7): The Mats knocked off Las Lomas 13-7 in the semifinals but fell 14-7 to San Ramon Valley in the championship game.
4. Amador Valley (15-7): Season is over.
5. Foothill (12-8): Season is over.
Others: Dougherty Valley (4-9), Carondelet (9-10), Dublin (15-10), Livermore (8-12), Monte Vista (6-15).
EBAL GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL
1. San Ramon Valley (25-9): The EBAL playoff champs were put in the Open Division where they fell in their second match, 3-0 to James Logan. By virtue of being in the Open, the Wolves move on to the CIF NorCal tournament and keep our top spot. Seeded No. 9 in NorCal D-I tournament.
2. Carondelet (28-9): The Cougars take the D-I title with a 3-1 win over Berkeley in the semifinals, then by taking out Monte Vista 3-2 in the finals. Seeded No. 10 in NorCal D-I
3. Monte Vista (27-10): Battled a tough Windsor squad in the semifinals and pulled out the 3-1 win, advancing to face Carondelet in the championship. Seeded No. 12 in the CIF D-I tournament.
4. Foothill (25-9): Season is over.
5. Amador Valley (15-13): Season is over.
Others: California (11-13), Dougherty Valley (16-17), Granada (13-13), Dublin (8-20), Livermore (7-19).
EBAL FOOTBALL
Mountain Division
1. San Ramon Valley (6-4, 2-1): The Wolves end the regular season with a win, beating Monte Vista 28-10 to build some momentum for the playoffs.
2. Amador Valley (4-6, 2-1): The Dons close out the regular season with their second win in a row, taking a shootout with California 42-35.
3. Monte Vista (4-5, 1-2): The Mustangs end the season with a 28-10 loss to crosstown rival San Ramon Valley.
4. California (7-3, 1-2): After starting 7-0, the Grizzlies lose their last three regular season games, this time falling 42-35 to Amador.
Valley Division
1. Livermore (9-1, 3-0): The Cowboys take the Valley title with a hard fought, 15-13 win over Granada in the regular season finale.
2. Dublin (5-4, 2-1): The Gaels were off for the second straight week thanks to Dougherty Valley dropping their program.
3. Granada (4-5, 1-2): The Matadors end the regular season with a 15-13 loss to Livermore.
4. Foothill (5-5, 0-3): The Falcons ended the regular season with a 35-18 win over Redwood Christian to even their record at 5-5.
Note: De La Salle is not used in the rankings since they get the automatic berth from the EBAL. De La Salle (10-0) d. Clayton Valley 47-15.
Today (Nov. 11)
CIF State Volleyball – D-I Girls: San Ramon Valley (9) at Oak Ridge (8), 6 p.m.; Monte Vista (12) at Valley Christian-San Jose (5), 6 p.m.; Carondelet (10) at James Logan (7), 6 p.m.
Tomorrow (Nov. 12)
NCS Girls’ Water Polo – D-I Semifinals: San Ramon Valley vs. Tamalpais at De La Salle, 6 p.m., Archie Williams vs. Las Lomas at Redwood High, 5:45 p.m. D-II Semifinals: Marin Catholic at Amador Valley, 4:30 p.m., Alhambra vs. Dublin at De La Salle, 4:30 p.m.
NCS Boys’ Water Polo – Open Third Place: San Ramon Valley at De La Salle, 7:30 p.m. D-I Semifinals: Monte Vista at Redwood, 4:30 p.m. D-II Semifinals: Granada vs. San Marin at Amador Valley, 5:45 p.m.
Thursday (Nov. 13)
CIF State Girls’ Volleyball – Second round: First round winners, TBD.
Friday (Nov. 14)
NCS Football – Open/D-I: San Ramon Valley (8) at De La Salle (1), Liberty (7) at Pittsburg (7), San Marin (6) at Cardinal Newman (3), Marin Catholic (5) at Acalanes (4), all 7 p.m.
D-II: Campolindo (1) at Livermore (8), Windsor (5) at Clayton Valley (4), Amador Valley (7) at Monte Vista (2), California (3) at American Canyon (6), all games at 7 p.m.
D-III : San Leandro (8) at Vintage (1), Antioch (4) at Ukiah (5), Rancho Cotate (7) at James Logan (7), Dublin (6) at El Cerrito (3), all games at 7 p.m.
D-IV: Irvington (8) at Hayward (1), Deer Valley (5) at Granada (4), Redwood (7) at Benicia (2), Alameda (6) at Miramonte (3), all games at 7 p.m.
Saturday (Nov. 15)
NCS Boys’/Girls’ Water Polo Championships: Semifinal winners, TBD.
CIF State Girls’ Volleyball: Regional semifinals, TBD.
Super Bowl champ’s message on perseverance resonates with Tri-Valley audience
Tri-Valley residents had the chance to hear a unique perspective on professional leadership and personal perseverance earlier this fall when the Dublin Chamber of Commerce hosted Rocky Bleier, a four-time Super Bowl champion with the Pittsburgh Steelers and a Purple Heart recipient Vietnam veteran.
Pleasanton Preps: Amador girls seeded No. 1 in NCS water polo D-II tournament
The Amador Valley girls’ water polo team ended the regular season with a 9-6 win over rival Foothill. The Dons were subsequently awarded the No. 1 seed in the NCS Division II tournament.
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: McKay Kenitzer
School and grade: Amador Valley (senior)
Sport: Football
Favorite streaming channel/favorite show: Netflix
Favorite genre music/Favorite performer: The Beach Boys
Must follow on social media: bkprovideo on Instagram
Favorite fast-food restaurant/meal: Chick-fil-A
Favorite quote: “Pound the rock.” (Amador coach Danny Jones)
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.
Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved.
*|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|*
Our mailing address is:
*|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|*
You can update your preferences and manage your groups, or if you really never want to hear from us again, including other emails from us you may have signed up for, you can totally unsubscribe from this list.
View this email in your browser
‘This is destiny’: Four Livermore dealerships acquired by Texas-based auto groupMarch 20, 2026 8:45 am
'A message of apathy': SRVUSD talks enrollment projections, budget constraintsMarch 18, 2026 9:04 pm