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It’s always interesting to see how people will jump to conclusions too quickly when it comes to sports.
Now that we are through the first week of play for EBAL football teams, is there anything we learned from the week that might provide some insight into the season?
Let’s look at all nine EBAL teams and get some quick thoughts on opening night.
Mountain Division
San Ramon Valley: The Wolves lost some talent to graduation but came back and opened with a convincing 28-10 win over St. Ignatius. The Wolves now host Soquel, who dropped their opener 14-7 to an always good Los Gatos program. The third week they will play Clayton Valley. The Wolves do not duck anyone, and as a result, always coming into EBAL play ready to roll.
California: The Grizzlies showed the offense was in midseason form when they scorched Patterson 41-34. The defense seems a bit shaky early as you don’t want to head into league play giving up over 30. Then again, a deep dive shows that Patterson won its first game, beating Merced 39-21 and perhaps brings a loaded offensive unit to the table. We will look for a step forward this week against James Logan.
Monte Vista: It was a very impressive opener for the Mustangs as they rolled Granada, a school that has been producing great athletics teams across the board. They scored and defended well to start the season. We will learn more this week when Monte Vista takes on an always consistent Bishop O’Dowd outfit.
Amador Valley: On the surface a 38-16 loss never looks good, unless it is to De La Salle. But El Cerrito has become one of the top programs in NCS and it was a road game. I have no doubt the Dons will be better this week and continue to improve throughout the season. I am excited to see what quarterback Tristan Ti’a will do this year.
Valley Division
Foothill: The Falcons got some players back this year that took their sophomore year off for baseball and it paid dividends right away with some big defensive plays. Having escaped the Mountain Division, the Falcons figure to be in the hunt to win the division. Now they travel to American Canyon, a team they lost to 30-28 last year, and a team that opened last week beating Wood 41-21.
Dougherty Valley: The Wildcats suffered on the offensive side of the ball, scoring only seven in the 15-7 loss to Northgate. Taking away a positive, holding the Broncos to 15 points was a step in the right direction. Could have a great shot at winning this week at San Leandro. Last year DV fell 20-14 and San Leandro lost 21-14 to an average Redwood side last week.
Dublin: The Napoleon Kaufman era at Dublin began with a tough, 14-10 loss to Berkeley. What do we know about the Gaels with Kaufman running the program? They will come to play each week and will be well coached. Tough road game at Ukiah this week. Ukiah fell 40-22 to a real good Rancho Cotate team in the first week.
Granada: The Matadors fell 41-14 last week to Monte Vista, a loss that leaves a lot of questions. Granada has been good in just about every sport right but have struggled a bit on the football field. A good test this week against Heritage as it will give a comparison to Foothill early in the season.
Livermore: Fell 29-22 to Hillsdale in their opener and now will have an interesting week two contest against Castro Valley. The Trojans gave up over 400 yards of offense in a 61-34 loss to Carlmont to open the season. If anything, it appears the Cowboys need to make sure their scoreboard is fully functional. Can take a big step forward here with a big defensive effort.
