Welcome again to Monday Morning Lights, our weekly function that sheds extra mild on the highschool soccer weekend and peeks forward to the brand new week. Should you haven’t already, please subscribe right here for digital entry all season lengthy.
Woodside: Alternate scholar’s shining second
Typically the tales on highschool soccer fields are like a made-for-TV drama. The end between Woodside and Fremont-Sunnyvale was a type of events.
Fremont trailed by a degree Friday night time when it lined up for a 26-yard subject aim within the waning seconds.
Mattia Longo, a backup linebacker who was on the sector for Woodside as a result of the starter had rolled his ankle, blocked the kick and Antonio Zamorano scooped up the ball and returned it 86 yards to clinch a 34-27 victory.
However right here’s the place the story will get even higher.
Longo is an alternate scholar from Italy who had by no means performed American soccer till this 12 months.
“He simply went after it and laid out for it,” Woodside coach Justin Andrews stated. “It was a stupendous block.”
How did Woodside get Longo to play soccer?
“I didn’t,” Andrews stated. “I must beat him again with a stick. He needed it. His host household contacted me all by way of the summer season and let me know that they've a child coming in and he actually needs to play soccer.
“He’s been a highly-devoted and dedicated member from Day 1. He’s been superior.”
Longo, who performed rugby again residence, has contributed on particular groups and at tailback for Woodside.
“He’s really getting extra significant minutes every week, particularly on protection,” Andrews stated. “He was actually interested by American soccer. Early on we had some damage points that had been going to push him into taking part in lots sooner. I needed to sit down with him one-on-one to tutor him on the fundamentals of the game. He picked all of it up like a sponge and is simply getting higher and higher each week.”
And now Longo has a second to cherish for a workforce that's 5-2 total and 5-0 in league play.
– Darren Sabedra
De La Salle: Similar to previous occasions
Throughout its 41-7 victory at California on Friday, De La Salle’s sideline appeared like one thing out of its halcyon days. Terry Eidson watched the protection work whereas Maurice Jones-Drew paced the sidelines, and Bob Ladouceur stood a number of yards away as he peered on the motion.
After all, that is 2022, not 2002.
Eidson, this system’s longtime defensive coordinator, was there as a spectator, as was Ladouceur, the legendary former head coach.
Jones-Drew’s days as a celebrity working again are lengthy behind him. He's a De La Salle assistant now, teaching a workforce that, at the very least on this night time, resembled the legendary groups of many years previous.
Ladouceur’s 399 victories from 1979 to 2012 included a national-record win streak of 151 that led to 2004. This 12 months’s Spartans have appeared little like this system’s golden period, with youth and accidents main to 3 defeats towards top-notch NorCal competitors.
However regardless that De La Salle has struggled by its lofty requirements to a 4-3 begin, Ladouceur, 68, made it clear he has no real interest in interfering.
“I’m very hands-off, and I don’t wish to become involved,” he stated on the sideline. “I’m an enormous fan of the workforce, after all. I dwell and die by them, however I don’t wish to intervene except the coaches wish to ask for my opinion on one thing.”
Whereas Ladouceur fills his retirement days bowling, working within the yard and indulging in different hobbies resembling crossword puzzles, this system he constructed right into a nationwide powerhouse had what present gamers and coaches referred to as their greatest week of follow main as much as the California sport.
Probably the greatest gamers on the follow subject was junior receiver Johnathan Guerrero, who dominated Friday alongside fellow scout-team star Toa Faavae. Guerrero had solely caught two passes all season, however he had 5 receptions for 104 yards and a landing whereas filling in for injured Journey McKoy.
“Johnathan’s vitality and enthusiasm made him certainly one of our greatest gamers on offense, and he had quite a lot of vitality on protection too,” coach Justin Alumbaugh stated. “Toa was nice too when he ran the scout-team quarterback and emulated their man. I wish to reward guys which are doing that and are making our workforce higher.”
Guerrero is aware of his De La Salle historical past. He famous Friday that the 2004 Spartans that misplaced the document streak had a powerful end.
“In 2004, the workforce misplaced two video games to start out the season after which they got here again and gained the championship on the finish,” Guerrero stated, referring to a North Coast Part title. “It’s not the way you begin, it’s the way you end. We’ve hit some rocks, however we’re gonna overcome it as a workforce.”
– Joseph Dycus
Pittsburg: “We’re everyone’s Tremendous Bowl”
The wake-up name might need come on the proper time for Pittsburg. Not too early. Not too late. The Pirates responded to a close to defeat final week at residence towards Liberty with a blowout win Friday towards overmatched Deer Valley.
Pittsburg has three video games left earlier than the playoffs begin.
The Pirates are seemingly headed for a 9-1 end and a No. 1 or No. 2 seed within the NCS Open/Division I eight-team bracket. As a top-two seed in that division, Pittsburg can win the part’s Open championship with victories within the first two rounds. That, after all, means the Pirates must in all probability beat De La Salle for the primary time in 31 years.
A loss within the second spherical would slide Pittsburg into the Division I championship sport within the third and ultimate week of the part playoffs. The Pirates dropped down final season after shedding to De La Salle within the Open ultimate and beat Clayton Valley for his or her first NCS championship in three many years.
As Pittsburg coach Victor Galli sees it, his workforce remains to be fine-tuning.
“We’re making ready for this battle that's coming, which is the playoffs,” Galli stated Saturday. “Proper now, we make too many errors. We’re not the place we must be to make some actual noise.”
Pittsburg made it by way of a difficult non-league schedule with just one loss, by eight factors to Folsom, and is off to a 2-0 begin in league play.
The Pirates’ 51-0 rout of Deer Valley on Friday adopted a 31-29 win over Liberty the earlier week that required a late subject aim to prevail.
“They thought that these groups (in league) are going to roll over for us,” Galli stated. “They’re not. We’re everyone’s Tremendous Bowl. We have to focus and have a way of urgency at follow. The video games are gained Monday by way of Thursday. Friday is a byproduct of what you do in the course of the week. We’re simply attempting to hammer that residence to those guys. Liberty gave us a very good wake-up name. I’ve been doing this for a very long time. That is 21 years. I’ve seen all the things.”
Pittsburg performs host to Freedom on Friday.
– Darren Sabedra
Campolindo: “One of many best video games”
Campolindo has gained quite a lot of video games and championships below coach Kevin Macy. Depend the Moraga faculty’s 27-24 victory over beforehand unbeaten Acalanes as certainly one of its most memorable.
“We’re taking part in with a extremely restricted lineup,” Macy stated Friday. “I believed tonight, at one level in that fourth quarter, they lastly received us. We’re deleted. We simply don’t have the our bodies. We survived it.
“Proper now, you possibly can simply see how ecstatic the children are. The neighborhood. This was like one of many best video games when it comes to a rivalry, packing the gang, the noise. We’re a small faculty. That’s lots of people who got here out for this one.”
The victory, performed earlier than a sold-crowd crowd, improved Campo’s document to 7-0.
— Darren Sabedra
Depleted rosters result in forfeits
Saratoga and Gunn hope to play this week after forfeiting video games Friday as a result of they didn’t have sufficient wholesome gamers.
It was all accidents at Saratoga, which was supposed to go to El Camino.
For Gunn, which was scheduled to play host to Sequoia, it was accidents and (non-COVID) sickness, coach Dethrick Slocum stated.
In a textual content message Friday to the Bay Space Information Group, Saratoga coach Stephen Matos stated, “Hardest name I’ve ever needed to make and gutted for the gamers however we solely had about 17 guys (couple aren’t able to play) for this week and it wasn’t price it to danger the remainder of our video games. … We hope to be on observe for Fremont and the remainder of the season! Guys are slowly getting wholesome, however not quick sufficient for tonight.”
Matos famous that the roster quantity has improved on the JV however all however three gamers on that workforce are freshmen.
Selling gamers to varsity for the El Camino sport, Matos added, would have “put them in a horrible spot to not succeed and probably stunt their development.”
Thursday, Saratoga (2-5) is scheduled to play host to Fremont-Sunnyvale. Friday, Gunn (7-0) is scheduled to play at residence towards Cupertino.
— Darren Sabedra
Peek forward to Week 9
Thursday
Reside Oak (6-1, 2-0) at Lincoln-San Jose (7-0, 2-0), 7 p.m.: First place within the BVAL’s Mt. Hamilton Division on the road.
Friday
Wilcox (7-0, 3-0) at Los Gatos (7-0, 3-0), 7 p.m.: This one will resolve the PAL/SCVAL De Anza Division championship.
California (5-2) at Clayton Valley Constitution (4-3), 7 p.m.: Clayton Valley is undefeated on the street however winless at residence.
Overfelt (6-1, 2-0) at Westmont (7-0, 2-0), 7 p.m.: High groups within the BVAL’s Santa Teresa-Valley Division collide.
San Mateo (5-0, 3-0) at Terra Nova (6-1, 2-0), 7 p.m.: Winner grabs sole possession of first place in PAL/SCVAL Ocean Division.
– Darren Sabedra