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Last year the game of the year in East Bay Athletic League football was De La Salle’s 33-27 overtime win at San Ramon Valley.
It was a game where SRV had a couple chances to win the game in regulation, and the Wolves deserved to win the game — one of the best I have seen.
Fast forward to this year and last Friday. This time the Wolves traveled to Concord to face the Spartans.
There was plenty of hype for the game, as both teams came into the game undefeated. Would we see another night of high drama and a thrilling ending?
Nope. And it took about 90 seconds to put to bed any upset talk.
San Ramon Valley kicked off and it went to De La Salle junior Jaden Jefferson. Before I explain what happened next, remember that last year as a sophomore Jefferson was fourth in California in the 100-meter dash.
Knowing that, I am guessing you know what happened next.
Jefferson took the ball to the left, broke through the SRV special teams around midfield and there was going to be no catching him as he finished with a 89-yard touchdown.
Still, it was early and the Wolves have shown a productive offense. After getting a first down on their initial offensive play, the Wolves coughed the ball up and De La Salle recovered.
On first down, Spartans quarterback Toa Faavae — an Idaho commit — rolled for a first down, setting up a first-and-goal. Deuce Jones-Drew then found the end zone on the next snap and with the extra point, it stood 14-0 just 90 seconds into the game.
De La Salle kept rolling, taking the lead to 35-0 at one point.
While the Spartans confirmed themselves as the top EBAL team yet again, the 42-14 game does not count as an EBAL loss as De La Salle already has the automatic bid to the North Coast Section playoffs.
That leaves the Wolves as the Mountain Division leaders, and they are the team to beat for the banner.
They opened the EBAL season with a 38-26 winner over California. This week they host Amador Valley in a game I think has the potential to be a good one.
After starting 1-3, Amador Valley has won three in a row, including a 24-23 win over Acalanes to start the streak. Acalanes is 6-2 and just beat Clayton Valley 28-27.
The Dons had a bye last week and will be arguably at their healthiest this season. Throw in — and I mean throw — in Amador quarterback Tristan Ti’a and you have to give the Dons a puncher’s chance in this one.
Ti’a (a 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior) has thrown for 1,960 yards through the first seven games, hitting at almost 80% completions, an insane number considering the number of yards he has thrown for.
In addition, he leads the Dons in rushing with almost 500 yards, averaging 8.8 yards a carry with nine touchdowns.
The sneaky team to watch in the Mountain is Cal. The Grizzlies played San Ramon Valley very tough. They came back with a 50-36 win against Monte Vista this last week.
The Grizzlies are averaging over 39 points through eight games, but the defense is getting hit for 22 points a game. If they keep the defense tight, they will be in every game and capable of beating any of the other Mountain teams.
Monte Vista sits at 5-2 with their only losses coming to Cal and a solid O’Dowd unit. The game in two weeks where they host Amador Valley may be a big one.
On the Valley Division side of the EBAL, it seems like the title is Livermore’s to lose.
It’s certainly not an easy way home, but the Cowboys can take a big step this Friday as they travel to Dublin and a win would end the Gaels’ title aspirations.
After that they get a Foothill team that appears to be down this year, then close with rival Granada in a game that should decide the Valley title.
For Granada last week was a big rebound, as they went to Dublin coming off the bye week and beat the Gaels 45-14, making a statement about challenging for the title.
Foothill has been having issues and things didn’t get better when one of their most impactive players — George Schmitt Jr. — suffered a broken foot against Dougherty Valley and is out for the season.
If they can win over Granada this week, the Falcons will be playing Livermore for the Valley title on Nov. 1. And, they would have a bye to get ready for the postseason.
For Dublin, league play started great when they beat Foothill but the loss to Granada brought them back to earth. That leaves this week as a must win over Livermore to stay in the hunt for the division.
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.
