If pigskin is your pleasure, don’t just plop yourself on the
couch this weekend and turn on the tube. Yes, it’ll be interesting
to see how the Pac-10 pecking order starts to shake out with the
Cal
–ASU game in Berkeley.
If pigskin is your pleasure, don’t just plop yourself on the couch this weekend and turn on the tube. Yes, it’ll be interesting to see how the Pac-10 pecking order starts to shake out with the Cal–ASU game in Berkeley. And I’ll be as eager as the next guy to see if the Niners can hang a loss on the Eagles after a promising performance last Sunday against St. Louis.
But some of the best prep football pickings in recent memory are just a hop, skip and a jump away from home.
It’s not every weekend – or year – that three West Catholic Athletic League teams head south to take on our local Tri-County Athletic League programs. And did we mention that Concord’s De La Salle is coming to Salinas for a highly-anticipated showdown with Palma on Saturday?
With league play opening up across the Central Coast Section next week, San Benito and Gilroy play host to WCAL heavyweights Bellarmine and Serra tonight – the coveted chance for the public school boys to take their best shot at their Catholic school brethren.
But moreover, the games are the final chances for the players and coaches to take a hard look at their units heading into the regular season.
“For us to get an opportunity to play them and use them as a measuring stick,” Gilroy head coach Rich Hammond said, “it’s exciting to us.”
Added ‘Balers head coach Chris Cameron: “This’ll tell us where we are right now, I’ll tell you that much.”
San Benito’s Kevin Burley said the players get especially amped up when they see one of these marquee opponents on the schedule. “Going against the best, you can know how good you are,” the tight end and defensive tackle said, “if you can hang with them or not.”
That three WCAL teams – Mitty visits Salinas tonight as well – scheduled their final preseason games against TCAL programs says everything you need to know about how the northern powerhouses feel about football down here. Coaches of respected programs are anxious to put their teams to the test, especially right before league play starts, so it’s no coincidence that teams from what Hammond calls “the best two leagues” schedule games against each other in the preseason finales.
“Anytime you’ve got teams like this facing off, it’s a big deal,” Hammond said.
As juicy as those games may be, it’s Saturday’s contest at the Salinas Sports Complex that is the real treat. Just the name De La Salle evokes football greatness. 151 consecutive wins, a streak that was finally snapped in 2004. Once again, the consensus top-ranked team in California.
The Spartans, who search out top out-of-state opponents, venturing to Louisiana and Hawaii in recent seasons, are set to do battle with Palma – a team that has built its dynasty on a more local level. One of the nation’s best vs. one of the section’s best.
“They’re playing the cream this weekend,” Cameron said of Palma’s opponent, “the cream of the crop.”
The Chieftains, who have largely shelved their traditional rushing attack this season in favor of an aerial assault, get to test themselves against a team whose incredible streak was founded on airtight defense.
The WCAL and De La Salle in our own backyard? What a doozy of a weekend!
As San Benito assistant coach David Kaplansky told the ‘Balers after practice Monday, “There ain’t many times you get to play these kind of guys at this level. It’s a big test. And I can’t wait.”
