Friday night lights — what every kid looks forward to when it comes to high school football. All the blood, sweat and tears each player puts in don’t go unnoticed as they work their way to victory. Concord is lucky to have five high schools with great football programs to... Read more

SAN FRANCISCO – Archbishop Riordan won the CIF Northern California Regional Open Division championship Tuesday night in two five-minute windows. First came the five minutes the top-seeded Crusaders spent at halftime shoring up their defense and rebounding. Then came the opening five minutes of the third quarter, where they throttled... Read more

Concord De La Salle has won 14 Division 1 boys basketball titles in the CIF-North Coast Section, but the Spartans are still seeking their first Open Division crown after losing in the past three finals. Richmond Salesian is looking to become the first back-to-back Open Division champion since the bracket... Read more

For those anticipating a rematch involving the top two boys high school basketball teams in California at the Nike Tournament of Champions featuring Hoophall West, Eastvale Roosevelt and St. John Bosco are both scheduled to compete Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the inaugural event in Arizona, but not against each... Read more

Mater Dei captured back-to-back Open Division football titles for the first time since 2017-18 with a 37-15 victory Saturday against Concord De La Salle at the CIF State Championships at Saddleback College. Mater Dei (13-0), which is expected to conclude the year as the top-ranked high school football team in... Read more

SAN DIEGO – Elizabeth Leachman captured her second straight national title Saturday at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships, but the back-to-back crowns secured by the junior standout from Boerne Champion High in Texas wasn’t the only memorable double achieved at Balboa Park’s Morley Field. Leachman covered the 5-kilometer layout... Read more

Overnight And Destination Camps Should Regain Popularity This Summer, And A Series Of Running Camps In Oregon May Be Among The Most Appealing • If last summer was a soft re-opening for summer camps and clinics, 2022 appears ready to blow the doors open. With much of the pandemic seemingly... Read more

Fall High School Football Is Back, But “Normal” Is Defined Differently Campus To Campus. Coaches Weigh In On What Is Normal As The Lights Prepare To Come Back On • On a typically hot mid-August afternoon, everything felt normal at College Park High School. About an hour after the first... Read more

Athletic Directors And League Commissioners Want Nothing More Than To See Kids Back Competing — But Getting To That Point Has Never Taken More Work. So are the administrators who make high school sports tick breathing a sigh of relief that sports are coming back? Only if by some miracle... Read more

CHACE BRYSON: One Last Tale From Our 2010 NCS Football Oral History Interviews — How One Concord Coach Nearly Lost His House Days Before The Game • We’ve come to December of what can only be referred to as a challenging year in high school sports.  And we decided it... Read more

Revered As One Of The Past Decade’s Best NCS Football Championships, We’ve Used Several Interviews To Recreate The 2010 Classic Between Concord And Rancho Cotate • Not all great championship games are equal.  Over the magazine’s first decade, SportStars has covered its share of championship games across many sports. There... Read more

Series By The Clayton Pioneer Digs Into The Names Behind School Sports Facilities, Starting With Mt. Diablo High, Concord’s Original • Mt. Diablo High School opened in 1901 and its rich athletic history includes championship teams and outstanding athletes like Dan Colchico, who played for the San Francisco 49ers and... Read more