These are the final rankings for EBAL football. Which team made it to the top of the Mountain division and which one landed at the bottom of the Valley division?

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1. Clayton Valley (9-4, 3-1): Must go with the Eagles here as they ended up advancing to the NCS D-1 finals before falling 28-14 to Pitt. Redeemed their one EBAL loss by beating Cal 24-21 in the NCS semifinals.

2. San Ramon Valley (8-4, 3-1): Will stay at the No. 2 spot despite a loss to eventual D-II champ Campolindo in the NCS semifinals, a division they were heavily favored to win. Stays here by their regular season win over Cal.

3. California (8-4, 2-2): Dropped a tough loss to Clayton in the semifinals. To me the biggest disappointment of the season was not having quarterback Teddy Booras get the much deserved All-EBAL first team quarterback selection. Then again, there are always head scratchers with the all-league selections.

4. Monte Vista (7-3, 2-2): Not a bad first year for new coach C.J. Anderson. The Mustangs surprised many throughout the season -– me included –- but dropped their last three games after starting 7-0.

5. Amador Valley (4-7, 0-4): The Dons and coach Danny Jones knew the Mountain would be tough, and it was. Despite losing seven straight to close out the season, be sure the Dons will be back next year with a vengeance.

1. Foothill (10-3, 4-0): After three games, one would have been hard pressed to think the Falcons would advance to the NCS Division II finals, but there they were Saturday night, driving the ball inside the Campolindo 10-yard-line, trailing 21-14 before just falling short. An inspirational run led by a group of senior leaders. If they can get solid QB play next year, the team will be tough again.

2. Livermore (6-5, 2-2): I would guess the Cowboys staff and players would be the first to admit it was a disappointing season for the team. Had the misfortune of drawing San Ramon Valley in the first round of the NCS playoffs.

3. Dublin (6-5, 2-2): In what I saw this year, easily the second most talented team in the Valley and pushed Foothill for that honor. Never found the stride I thought they would and even though I feel the Gaels were the second best team, they did lose to Livermore when the two teams met, so No. 3 it is.

4. Granada (4-7, 2-2): Tough season, but the Matadors were leaps and bounds better than they were in the COVID spring season. I have too much respect for coach Tim Silva and know this team will be better next season.

5. Dougherty Valley (6-4, 0-4): It doesn’t appear football is set to be a major sport at Dougherty, but the coaching staff played it perfectly, scheduling winnable non-league games and if NCS ever gets it together and makes the Wildcats a D-III team for the playoffs, they could make some noise.