The prep football season will begin with a bang in Salinas with a doubleheader Sept. 7 at the new Rabobank Stadium at the Salinas Sports Complex.
Following an array of youth games, the stands will be cleared at the spiffy new digs and the gates will re-open at 3:30 p.m. for a pair of prep games — North Salinas vs. Salinas at 4:30 p.m. and Carmel vs. Palma at 7 p.m.
“There’s definitely a buzz about it,” said Mandy Linquist, the marketing director for the California Rodeo that will run the stadium complex. “This has been 10 years in the making.”
Said North Salinas athletic administrator Jean Kinn Ashen: “The Vikings are thrilled … our football program will be hosting contests in a state-of-the-art facility. The entire Salinas community will benefit from such a stadium and we are ready to kick off on Saturday, September 7.”
They're also fired-up over at Palma -- even the clergy.
"We are delighted with the generosity of the entire Salinas Valley in making this new facility available to the youth of the Central Coast Section and beyond," wrote Br. Patrick D. Dunne, president of Palma School. "We hope to do the facility justice and make our community proud of being on the cutting edge of athletic facilities."
Opening ceremonies are between the prep games. Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Tunney will do the ceremonial opening flip before one of the games and former San Francisco 49ers player Chris Dalman — now an assistant coach at Palma — may do a coin flip before the other game. Linquist said.
Public Recreation Unlimited, the nonprofit group behind Rabobank Stadium, is planning a kickoff celebration September 6th at the Storm House in Salinas. The event, which will include a tail-gate dinner, will be highlighted by an appearance by four San Francisco 49er Gold Rush cheerleaders.
Tickets are $100 per person. More information: 831-775-3100.
Rabobank will be the home field for both North Salinas and Palma. That’s an exciting prospect for both schools, said North Salinas coach Steven Zenk.
“We get to play in the best high school stadium in Northern California,” Zenk said. “It’s really exciting that they took the best stadium, The Pit at Salinas High, and fixed and updated everything about it to make Rabobank the new best stadium."
Linquist said the stadium will host other events including soccer games, cheerleading competitions, etc. The nearby Boys and Girls Club will also use the venue. “We are trying to engage as many different areas of the community as possible,” Linquist said.
EL CAMINO WILL HIRE NEW BASEBALL COACH
El Camino High, after having the same baseball coach for 28 consecutive years, will have its third different coach in as many years this spring.
Last year’s coach, Victor Messer, confirmed Thursday night he resigned after last season because he would not be returning to El Camino as a teacher. He now teaches at Westmoor High in Daly City.
Messer had succeeded Carlos Roman, who coached the Colts for 28 years, plus one year spent as the frosh-soph coach. Roman, in fact, coached Messer.
“The hardest thing was after Carlos coaching here for 29 years, to have to walk away,” Messer said. “But the decision was the best for everyone. If I got a job somewhere down the Peninsula, I didn’t want to leave El Camino hanging (without a coach).”
Roman said he saw the Colts play four times last season and thought Messer did a great job. “He did everything he was supposed to do and more,” Roman said.
El Camino (13-13 overall, 10-4 league) finished third in the PAL-Ocean last season behind co-champs Sequoia and Mills.
El Camino has been traditionally strong at baseball and was a powerhouse in the 1970s under coach Lou Zuardo, winning CCS Division I titles in 1975 and ’77. Former major leaguer Rich Bordi played for Zuardo.
Roman also took the Colts to a CCS title game in 1994, falling to Serra 3-0.
The Colts’ 1965 team was also a juggernaut, winning the prestigious Tournament of Champions, an event that pre-dated the CCS playoffs.
The school is now in the process of hiring a new coach, said assistant athletic director Eric Jacobson.
SCOTTS VALLEY AT WESTCHESTER IS OFF
That ad-lib Scotts Valley at Westchester of Los Angeles football game? It’s off, according to information we've received from Ed Gonzalez of SportsJournalLA.com.
Scotts Valley had looked into the possibility of playing at Westchester on Oct. 5, to possibly replace the game against St. Francis CCC. As you might recall, St. Francis, due to a small roster and safety concerns, was seeking a modified schedule that probably would have dumped games against Aptos and Scotts Valley.
That's when Scotts Valley football coach/athletic director Louie Walters spoke with Westchester. Walters said nothing was ever finalized, but Westchester was confident enough the game would happen that it discussed it in the media.
Well, it appeared for a while St. Francis CCC would play its entire SCCAL schedule, and then that completely changed and the Sharks were granted independent status by the league. Meantime, Scotts Valley apparently decided it couldn't travel to Los Angeles anyway because of a conflicting Scholastic Aptitude Test. Are you following this?
Said Walters to SportsJouralLA.com: “We are a high academic school with 15-18 seniors and (as an institution) we don’t want to tell our parents that they can’t take the SAT to go on a trip to Southern California."
Added Walters: “We traveled to Texas, Nevada, and Alaska in the past. Our kids were excited to go. I feel bad about this situation.”
Said Gonzalez of the unusual turn of events: “This has been one of the stranger stories I have covered this summer.”
Briefly: The NorCal Clash boys basketball event is at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at El Cerrito High. ... Bishop O'Dowd'd Ivan Rabb will play in the Elite 24 basketball game on Sunday in Brooklyn to televised on ESPNU ... A group of Santa Cruz High baseball fans are petitioning the Santa Cruz City Schools to get deposed Cardinal baseball coach George Arnott's job back.
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You can reach John Murphy at jmurphy@Prep2Prep.com and follow him on Twitter @PrepCat
