Gearing For The Gridiron

Well, there’s summer in the rearview mirror. It’s shorter every year.

But unlike some of you athletes who may be groaning at a return to the books, the calendar’s turn to August fires us up. Now is when we get to really dig in to the upcoming football season and plan for what will be our Eighth Annual Football Preview Special.

This year’s planning takes on an extra level of excitement as we add our first SoCal edition of the Football Preview this year. We’ll be leaning heavily on the writing and guidance of our partnership with Cal-Hi Sports to pull it off, but there are very few we’d rather put our faith in.

As we begin the planning stages of the NorCal Preview, we like to start by asking questions. Questions we’re curious about for the upcoming season. Questions we think you might be curious about too.

Here’s some we’ve written down so far:

>> Will a more seasoned De La Salle-Concord team have enough firepower to avenge its CIF Open Division State Bowl loss* to a St. John Bosco-Bellflower being touted as even better than its predecessor? (Assuming Bosco can escape the loaded Pac 5 bracket)

*The last time De La Salle lost a CIF Bowl, it won five straight. Warrants mentioning.

>> Last year, NorCal’s top recruit to see was a no-brainer. It was Antioch running back Najee Harris. (Fans will still be able to watch him on TV most Saturday afternoons this fall, playing for national-power Alabama) This year the must-see talent is a little less defined. Who’s the one guy every NorCal fan should see before he goes on to star at the next level? Perhaps it’s Oregon-commit RB/DB Jevon Holland of Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland?  

>> The Sac-Joaquin Section’s most influential offseason transfer may not have been a player, but a coach. How will both sides of the Casey Taylor move play out? Will he lead Capital Christian-Sacramento to its first CIF Bowl? And how will his former program at Del Oro-Loomis look in its first season without the coach who led it to 14 playoff appearances, nine section finals appearances and six titles over 15 years?

>> Can St. Mary’s-Stockton Dusty Frampton possibly repeat his numbers from a season ago? The 5-foot-11, 210-pound running back ran for 2,435 yards and 42 touchdowns as a junior. But that was behind an offensive line featuring Popo Aumavae (now at Oregon) and Cole Norgaard (now at Washington). There’s still talent up front for the Rams, who likely will begin the season ranked as one of NorCal’s top three teams, but Frampton will have his work cut out for him against a daunting schedule.

>> Who will be NorCal’s most prolific quarterback this season? Perhaps its Oregon State-commit Spencer Petras at Marin Catholic-Kentfield? Or, whoever is the new starter for Folsom?

That’s a list we’re starting with. We’ll be sure to add more. Perhaps you have your own burning question you’d like to see answered when the Preview comes out Aug. 24? If so, email it to me, or reach out to us via Twitter of Facebook. Chances are we’ll be eager to dig in on the topic.

Who’s with us? Let’s go!