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It seems like it wasn’t that long ago when the Amador Valley High School football team made an amazing run through the postseason, falling just short of a state title.
While it seems like yesterday, we’ve launched the next football season and with one game under their respective belts, the local sides are fighting for the right to get their shots at the postseason.
I think the easiest way to look at the season is to run through each team in the East Bay Athletic League briefly and see how they opened the season.
Let’s split them up by division, divisions that are split with competitive balance in mind – and it works.
Mountain Division
The Mountain division is the “death group” of the EBAL with Amador Valley, California, Monte Vista and San Ramon Valley. De La Salle is technically in the Mountain and the Spartans play most of the Mountain teams, but they also are awarded the automatic North Coast Section berth, so the games against the Spartans do not count in league.
Last year Amador Valley went 1-2 in EBAL play, losing 29-28 to San Ramon Valley and 54-48 in overtime to California. The one win was a 32-28 win over Monte Vista.
The regular season got the Dons ready for the postseason, as there would be no team in NCS in their division that would be as good as they played in the regular season.
As mentioned above, the Dons went all the way to a CIF State Bowl game.
That’s a far cry from a competitive situation like when the Dons went 4-0 in Valley play in 2023 and outscored their four opponents 208-7 in the four-game season. The Dons went out and promptly lost their first NCS game, falling 41-14 to Pittsburg.
The old phrase “iron sharpens iron” is very true about the Mountain play.
Amador Valley (0-1): The Dons went on the road to a very strong program in Vanden and fell 21-14. You never want to lose a game but the Dons were less than full strength and played well.
This team features a senior class that head coach Danny Jones called the strongest group of juniors he ever coached. Yes, it was a big hit when quarterback Tristan Ti’a graduated and moved on to Oregon State, but with talent the Dons still have, good quarterback play could see them move deep into the postseason again.
California (1-0): The Grizzlies are always solid but took a big hit when running back Jhadis Luckey, who rushed for 2,000 yards and scored 31 touchdowns, jumped ship and transferred to Clayton Valley.
The talk is that the Grizzlies took a big hit due to graduation and Luckey left the team in a lurch, in a perplexing move. Trust me, any team with Danny Calcagno as head coach will always be a contender. The tight win over Patterson is a good one, as Patterson is a program that is on the rise.
Monte Vista (1-0): The Mustangs got a convincing 49-23 win over Foothill. A program that has always prided itself on a prolific offense seems to be in that spot again this year.
They’ve got a big test this week against Riordan, a team that destroyed an always good McClymonds team 41-18 to open the season.
San Ramon Valley (1-0): The Wolves have become the standard for excellence the last 10 years in the Mountain Division. The Wolves are the epitome of iron sharpens iron, never ducking an opponent.
Cole Dawes has the keys to the offense this year and opened with 265 yards passing and a pair of touchdowns with no interceptions.
Valley Division
I love the concept of the Valley Division because all the teams start the season with a chance to win the league. It’s made for better competition, with meaningful games each week.
Dougherty Valley (0-1): Tough start for the Wildcats as they fell 41-0 to College Park. They have a stretch of three winnable games as they face San Leandro, Hercules, and Kennedy. If things fall the right way, Dougherty could be looking at a 3-1 record.
Dublin (1-0): The Gaels laid a 42-7 hurting on Berkeley, a team that has put some decent teams on the field in the last few years. The Gaels have a nice pool of athletes to choose from for their athletic teams each season and are fully capable of winning the Valley.
Foothill (0-1): It’s a numbers game for the Falcons each year as evident once again, there is no freshman team at the school. Numbers or not, there is a lone constant with the Falcons. Greg Haubner-coached teams, while small in stature, show up and play hard every week. That keeps the Falcons in games and gives them a chance to win league.
Granada (0-1): The Matadors also suffer a one-sided loss to open the season, falling 42-7 to Campolindo. Campo is tough every year, and it’s a reach the Mats were going to win the game. Another tough one at Heritage this week.
Livermore (1-0): The Cowboys have been one of the better teams in the Valley each year, and rolling Castro Valley 51-13 to open the season shows they are ready to compete again this year. John Wade, one of the top coaches in all NCS, is back at the helm. Quarterback Matteo Lorti is back after throwing for 1,838 yards last season. He came out on fire, hitting 73% of his passes for 334 yards and a pair of touchdowns. AJ Carey caught seven passes for 142 yards and a TD.
If you have an idea for a Big Picture story, please do not hesitate to contact me at acesmag@aol.com.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for the Pleasanton Weekly. This column originally appeared in Tri-Valley Preps Playbook, a weekly sports e-newsletter published by Embarcadero Media Foundation. To sign up for free, visit here.
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