Prior to this year and since the CIF re-instituted football state championships in 2006, and even in the early years between 1915 and 1927 when they had state title games, no team from the City of Oakland has advanced to a state championship game in football.
Now, Oakland has two schools in action, one each in the 5-AA and 5-A games in this preview, Bishop O’Dowd from the North Coast Section and McClymonds of the Oakland Section.
DIVISION 5-AA
Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland (14-1) at Valley View-Moreno Valley (12-3), Saturday, 6:00 pm
This is an interesting match-up for a few reasons, and one of them is the competitive equity formula the CIF uses for placing teams in the Bowl Game pecking order.
Northern Regional 5-AA champion Bishop O’Dowd was the North Coast Section Division III champion but was placed three spots below Division 4 champion Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa despite a lone loss to Northern Regional D1 selection Freedom-Oakley in a game in which the Dragons were competitive for a half.
It turns out the CIF may or may not have placed the Dragons in the right spot because the south has so many good teams a private school like O’Dowd with 1,200 students now faces a public school Valley View with 3,000 students, but the twist is O’Dowd is No. 60 in the power rankings and Valley View is No. 136.
So, are the Dragons too low? The answer likely lies with the result of the Northern Regional 5-AA 24-21 win over Capital Christian-Sacramento in a game where O’Dowd just could not put the visitors away. Other than the Freedom loss, O’Dowd wasn’t tested until the playoffs and although they put away Marin Catholic-Kentfield 27-7 in the NCS D3 title game, the week before they needed a last second field goal to beat Rancho Cotate, so against the high octane Valley View offense O’Dowd Coach Napoleon Kaufman will need his Dragons boys breathing fire.
O’Dowd 6-1, 190-pound senior quarterback Joe DeLuca had a solid game against Capital Christian after going 10-of-15 for 195 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Primary running back Austin Jones, a 5-10, 180-pound sophomore, carried 36 times for 240 yards but did not find the end zone.
Those two have been the workhorses but if O’Dowd is going all the way to the Promised Land others will need to step up like senior Cooper Hagmaier. Not only is he one of the Dragons leading receivers and leads the receiving corps with eight TDs, the 6-5, 210-pound tight end is also a leader on defense at defensive end where he has 47 tackles with a team-leading 13 for loss, he’s tied for the team lead with nine sacks, and he’s forced and recovered three fumbles. Another player that needs to continue his strong showing on defense is the player on the other side of the line, 6-4, 235-pound DE Jordan Jackson. He has 48 tackles with 11 for loss and is tied with Hagmaier with nine sacks.
“The kids are extremely excited,” O’Dowd Coach Napoleon Kaufman. “It’s also a historical moment for the school and the football program.”
To make history the Dragons will have to stop a high-scoring offense of the young CIF Southern Section Division 11 champions that are riding the wave of a first-ever CIFSS title when they held on for a 33-32 win over Quartz Hill.
Second-year Coach Daniel Barlage has his son Jacob Barlage at quarterback, and the 6-0, 160-pound sophomore has passed for 2,370 yards and 18 touchdowns, including 231 yards and a TD in the CIF Southern Regional 5-AA 31-14 victory on the road at San Gorgonio-San Bernardino.
While the signal-calling of QB Barlage has been proficient it’s really the running game that has propelled the Eagles this season. Three running backs have combined for 4,207 yards and 55 TDs led by 5-6, 160-pound Justin Keeling and his 2,085 yards and 25 scores. Dwight Brown, a 5-5, 143-pound senior (1,393 yards, 12 TDs) and 5-10, 230-pound fullback Rudy Lovato (608 yards, 17 TDs) gets the tough yards and is also a leader on defense with 59 tackles at linebacker.
“The game plan is to play as hard and fast as we can,” said Coach Barlage, who in his first stint at Valley View took the Eagles to the 2001 CIFSS D5 finals before coaching at Riverside City College from 2007-2014.
O’Dowd would seem to have the size and speed that could give Valley View problems but if the small running backs of the Eagles get loose the Dragons could be in trouble.
“I know they’re big and athletic, a good, solid well-coached team,” was Coach Barlage’s assessment of O’Dowd.
“I can’t tell you everything I know about Valley View because you’ll put it in the article,” mused Kaufman, the former University of Washington and Oakland Raiders star who is still the Raiders Team Chaplain.
“I would say this,” continued Kaufman. “They’re a very good football team. “I like their style. They’re physical and I like their ground game.”
What about the crowd and the weather?
“When we won and knew we were going to get a home game it was almost surreal,” Coach Barlage remarked. “It’s new to everybody but it sounds like we’re going to have a big crowd and although it could rain on Thursday and Friday, it’s supposed to be clear for Saturday.”
For O’Dowd it’s a 450-mile bus ride they will make to Riverside County.
“We leave Friday morning and we’re taking the bus and heading down south,” Kaufman concluded. “And it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
DIVISION 5-A
McClymonds-Oakland (12-1) at La Jolla Country Day (12-2), Saturday, 6:00 pm
While no team from the City of Oakland or the Oakland Athletic League/CIF Oakland Section has ever appeared in a CIF Bowl Game the team that has gotten the closest is McClymonds.
Last year the Warriors were in the 3-A Division and lost in the NorCal game 56-20 to host Sacred Heart Prep-Atherton. In 2012 under the old format they had to face Central Catholic in Stockton and lost 42-12 in the NorCal Division IV game.
Now, they’re on the road again and this time it’s a 500-mile ride but after a 45-26 victory over visiting East Nicolaus-Nicolaus in the NorCal 5-A title game they’re in the biggest dance.
For McClymonds to win it likely is going to take the kind of big plays they got last week against East Nicolaus from 6-1, 208-pound junior quarterback Emoreea Fountain and 5-9, 160-pound junior wide receiver Day’marr Johnson after the visitors came on in the fourth quarter. After catching a TD pass from Fountain in the first quarter Johnson came up with an interception that turned it back around after East Nicolaus had closed it to 32-26 and then recovered an onside kick. Devin White and Jerrell Alberty had TD runs after that to seal the deal, and Fountain finished 7-for-15 for 186 yards and three touchdowns.
“The mood is high and the kids are excited to be part of the state championships and we’re going down there to try and win,” Fifth-year McClymonds Coach Michael Peters told Prep2Prep. “We finally have a healthy quarterback but we want to run the ball as well as throw it – and just play good football.”
“We don’t know much about La Jolla Country Day except they have a great quarterback with great receivers to throw the ball to,” continued Peters.
For Country Day that great quarterback is Arizona-committed 6-1, 215-pound senior Braxton Burmeister. On the season he’s completed 304 of 467 passes for 4,335 yards and 53 TDs with only seven interceptions. Last week in the SoCal 5-A title game Burmeister was a master after going 23-for-33 for 341 yards and five TDs in a 63-42 victory over Arroyo-El Monte. It was the fourth time he has thrown for five or more TDs in a game and the sixth time the Torreys have scored 60 or more points this season. To complicate things for the Mack defense Burmeister has rushed for a team-leading 1,358 yards and 25 TDs meaning he has 5,693 yards and 78 TDs of combined offense.
The three primary wide receivers 5-11, 185-pound senior Brennan Goring and 6-4, 215-pound senior Casey Mariucci and sophomore Jaden Dir have combined for 3,340 yards and 41 touchdowns. Goring and Mariucci also are defensive leaders as well. At linebacker Goring leads the team with 142 tackles (14 for loss) while as a DL Mariucci has 49 tackles, a team leading 15.5 sacks plus two interceptions and a fumble force and recovery.
Country Day would seem to have the kind of legitimate firepower McClymonds hasn’t seen since its week three lone loss 48-44 on the road to a Paso Robles team that went 8-3 and lost in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs.
Also, as extra incentive, Country Day will be sending Burmeister off to college as he will graduate early and head to Arizona.
“The kids are excited and this is a great opportunity for our program and the school,” said third-year Country Day Coach Tyler Hales, who led the Torreys to a San Diego Section Division 5 title in his first season and SDS D5 semifinal finish last season.
They’ve got some good ballplayers and can get the big plays they’re going to try and feed off on us,” continued Hales. “They are aggressive and tough, can bring pressure and have a solid secondary, but our kids are focused and have their eyes on the prize. The message is we’re not out here to just play a game. We’re here to win a state championship.”
