Today’s edition is sponsored by The Rose Hotel.
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Welcome to the Playbook!
Here we are in the EBAL winter season! Each week the Playbook will bring you a story about something related to the current sports taking place locally!
With 40-plus years of covering the EBAL, the Playbook knows the landscape of local sports and will bring you the ins and outs, as well as the good (and the bad) of prep sports!
The Playbook is delivered each Tuesday into your inbox! It’s free — you just register to get it. Be sure to share with the players and parents of your team so they can get the Playbook each week too! They can do it at danvillesanramon.com.
The Big Picture looks at the wrestling upset when Amador Valley beat De La Salle in a dual meet last week. The Spartans have almost been as dominating on the mat as their football team has. But Amador coach Travis Chubb had a feeling this year and had to put pressure on De La Salle to have a dual meet this year. Read about the behind the seen jockeying before this match and what it means for the post-season.
EBAL Power Rankings has some movement in the ranks this past week but the top four remain the same. Check out who ended up in what spots for basketball and soccer.
What to Watch sees the last week of the regular season for soccer and basketball. Check where the must-see games are this week!
Got a great story idea for something coming up in the winter? Let me know at acesmag@aol.com!
From the sidelines,
Dennis Miller, Playbook Editor
‘It was a great night’: Amador Valley boys defeat vaunted De La Salle wrestling team
And the Dons made the most of the chance, beating the Spartans 38-33. It doesn’t change much heading into this week’s postseason, but it may give teams a good feeling that the dual title is wide open.
Power Rankings as of Feb. 3.
EBAL GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
1) San Ramon Valley (19-3, 6-0): The Wolves stay on top of the league and the Power Rankings. Beat Pinole and Granada last week.
2) Carondelet (18-4, 7-1): Beat Foothill in their only EBAL game last week. The Cougars and revving up for a post-season run.
3) California (15-8, 6-1): The Grizzlies have been consistently the third-best team in the league. Does get a shot at Carondelet this week.
4) Dublin (17-4, 5-2): Has only one more loss than California but fell by 30 when the two teams met this year. Gets a shot at San Ramon Valley this week.
5) Monte Vista (9-13, 2-4): The Mustangs climb into the top five this week after beating Dougherty Valley 51-48.
The rest: Dougherty Valley (15-8, 3-4), Granada (10-15, 3-5), Amador Valley (7-13, 1-4), Livermore (8-15, 1-6), Foothill (5-16, 0-6).
EBAL BOYS’ BASKETBALL
1) Dougherty Valley (18-6, 6-1): No one is playing better in league right now as the Wildcats beat Monte Vista by 30 last week, then won at California 73-44.
2) De La Salle (21-3, 6-1): The Spartans beat Mira Costa in a non-league contest, then beat Foothill and Livermore in the league. Big one with Cal in the last league game.
3) San Ramon Valley (17-7, 6-1): The Wolves picked up wins over Granada and Foothill last week. Closes regular season by hosting Dublin, then facing Monte Vista.
4) California (20-4, 5-2): The Grizzlies had an interesting week, outlasting Livermore 62-57 in overtime, then falling at home to Dougherty Valley 73-44.
5) Dublin (21-3, 5-2): The Gaels may have been looking ahead to the final week last week when they beat Amador by six and Granada by eight. This is a monster week where they play at San Ramon Valley and then host Dougherty Valley.
The rest: Amador Valley (17-7, 2-5), Monte Vista (15-9, 3-4), Granada (7-17, 1-6), Foothill (12-12, 1-6), Livermore (14-10, 0-7).
EBAL GIRLS’ SOCCER
1. Carondelet (14-2-0, 7-0-0): The Cougars beat Foothill and Livermore, both by 2-0 finals to stay on top of league and the Power Rankings.
2. San Ramon Valley (8-1-0, 6-1-0): The Wolves have won five in a row since their 2-0 loss to Carondelet. Have not given up a goal in their last four games.
3. Granada (7-2-7, 1-2-4): Too many ties for the Mats this year as just a couple more goals and they would be right there. Still, I think they will be tough in the postseason.
4. Monte Vista (4-3-3, 3-2-2): The Mustangs slide into the top five with wins over Dougherty Valley and Amador Valley. They have won three of their last four games.
5. Amador Valley (5-3-0, 4-3-0): The Dons have lost three of their last four games and are stuck in a rut right now, scoring only two goals in the three losses.
The rest: Dublin (6-4-2, 2-3-2), Foothill (6-3-4, 2-3-2), California (6-5-4, 3-2-2), Dougherty Valley (4-8-0, 1-6-0), Livermore (2-10-1, 0-7-0).
EBAL BOYS’ SOCCER
1. Dougherty Valley (12-2-2, 7-0-0): The Wildcats keep winning and as a result continue to sit on top of the Power Rankings with one week left in the regular season.
2. De La Salle (11-3-2, 5-1-1): The Spartans pull out a tough 1-0 win over Foothill, then tie Livermore 1-1, giving Dougherty Valley some breathing room.
3. Monte Vista (7-3-2, 4-2-1): The Mustangs, by virtue of their 2-1 win over Granada this year, stay a spot above them right now.
4. Granada (12-4-1, 4-2-1): The Matadors grab wins over San Ramon Valley and Dublin, and will be a tough out in the EBAL playoffs.
5. San Ramon Valley (10-6-2, 3-3-1): The Wolves fell to Granada 4-1 but came back to beat Foothill 3-2. Beat Cal 3-2 two weeks back so gets the No. 5 spot over the Grizzlies.
The rest: California (8-6-3, 2-4-0), Livermore (7-7-4, 3-2-2), Amador Valley (3-10-6, 0-5-2), Dublin (4-6-5, 2-5-0), Foothill (5-11-2, 0-6-1).
Tuesday, February 4
EBAL boys’ soccer (6:30 p.m.) – Granada at De La Salle: The Spartans are 5-1-1 in league with Granada at 4-2-1. This is a big game for playoff seedings. Monte Vista at Livermore: Another big game for postseason seedings. The Mustangs stand 4-2-1 after dropping a close one to Dougherty Valley, 3-2. Livermore is 3-2-2 after tying De La Salle 1-1.
EBAL boys’ basketball – Amador Valley at Dougherty Valley: The Wildcats have the game of the year on Friday when they travel to Dublin, possibly for the top-seed in the EBAL playoffs. If they don’t bring their A game here, Amador has the talent to take them out. Dublin at San Ramon Valley: If Dublin wants to play for the big apple on Friday, they are going to have to beat the Wolves on the road on Tuesday. The Wolves are 6-1 in the league and have been putting the hurt on people, beating Granada and Foothill by over 40 each last week.
Friday, February 7
EBAL boys’ basketball – De La Salle at California, Dougherty Valley at Dublin: These are big games regardless of what happens Tuesday, but at the same time, these games can be either interesting or huge with what goes down earlier in the week. If Dublin and Dougherty both win, this game between the two heated rivals will be one for the ages.
Pleasanton Preps: Two tournament wins take Hazen to No. 2 ranking in NCS wrestling
Lytning Hazen, a freshman at Dublin High, followed up his 108-pound weight class championship at the Lou Bronzan wrestling tournament at Liberty with another title at the San Ramon Valley Invitational.
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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