Clayton Valley Charter football back in the DAL while De La Salle ­Spartans heading to London vs. NFL Academy

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (August 23, 2024) — The football season is just a couple weeks away and local high school teams are gearing up for another exciting year.

Official practices began last week and with Clayton Valley Charter moving back into the Diablo Athletic League it has prompted a three-division setup in the 13-team league. The Ugly Eagles were shifted to the East Bay Athletic League in 2018 where they reunited with Concord rival De La Salle after some DAL schools complained that the Ugly Eagles were too strong.

This year CVCHS football has been moved back to the DAL as part of the 2024-2028 NCS realignment process. The Ugly Eagles will be part of a five-team Foothill Division along with state champion Acalanes, Miramonte, Las Lomas and Campolindo.

The four-team Mountain Division includes Berean Christian, Concord, Mt. Diablo and Ygnacio Valley. The four Valley teams (middle level of DAL brackets) is Alhambra, Benicia, College Park and Northgate.

To get the requisite five-league games for each team the Foothill and Valley divisions will have interleague matchups on Sept. 6 and 20 and Oct. 4. The Valley and Mountain teams will close the season with interleague matchups while De La Salle visits Clayton Valley Charter in a non-league clash of Concord schools.

More changes

Beyond the changes in DAL football divisions, North Coast Section adopted a new process in January for bracketing teams for post-season play in its competitive equity sports of baseball, basketball, football, lacrosse, soccer, softball, volleyball and water polo.

The process begins by placing teams based on their prior school year’s enrollment. In the case of local schools, all but Clayton Valley Charter and Northgate were moved up or down one division in this process. (See divisions for each school below with their schedule.)

MaxPreps rankings will now be used as a key factor in developing playoff brackets, which will still be finalized with NCS oversight. MaxPreps utilizes “the huge number of game results stored in MaxPreps across the nation. Generally, the more a team wins, the higher the ranking. However, the system takes into account quality wins (against other highly ranked opponents) and strength of schedule.”

Spartans visit Jolly Ole England

De La Salle over the years has played national games in Florida, New Jersey and Texas among numerous intersectional matchups. In October they will take it a step further as they travel to England for a game against NFL Academy in London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Coach Justin Alumbaugh considers himself “a travel” and says his team is “looking forward to a challenging schedule and have an overseas trip to London to play at Tottenham stadium. We have a lot of returning starters and more team speed than we have seen in a long time- the challenge will be making sure a lot of playmakers get opportunities with the ball.”

He cites a crew of returning players he’ll be counting on: Matthew Johnson, Mya Telona, Ace Robinson, Toa Fa’avae, Braydon Knight, Dom Kelley, Derrick Blanche, Deuce Jones-Drew, Tre Dean, Jaden Jefferson, Jayden Nicholas, Nico Baumgartner, Anthony Morgan, DJ Asiasi, Wyatt Ferguson, Jacob Dartez, Trisshon Wright and Robert Santiago.

That talent and experience will be tested close to home against highly ranked foes including San Ramon Valley (after last year’s two classic matchups), Grant of Sacramento, El Cerrito and regular non-league foes Serra, St. Francis and St. Mary’s-Stockton, not to mention the NFL Academy.

Herschel is gone but Mt. Diablo is ready

Mt. Diablo is without record-breaking, all-America runningback Herschel Turner Jr. but coach Fetuao Mua is ready for the challenge. “We are excited for the upcoming season, as there’s big shoes to fill. Many people are questioning how we’re going to look without Herschel on the team, but I’m confident that our team and staff are working hard to top last season.”

He mentions top returning seniors Jeremiah Owens, Santiago Rojas, Eryck Cabrera and Manny Zuniga plus junior Sheldon Silas. Top newcomers are sophomore quarterback Michael Vasquez and junior Antonio Campbell III, a runningback and linebacker.

With league and NCS bracket switches, rising and new players on the field and a new continent to conquer, this season promises to be a good one.

High school football schedule

Clayton Valley Charter (Open Div./Div. 1) – 8/30 Spanish Springs-Sparks, NV, 9/6 at College Park, 9/13 at San Ramon Valley, 9/20 Northgate, 9/27 at Liberty-Brentwood, 10/11 at Las Lomas, 10/18 Acalanes, 10/25 Campolindo, 11/1 at Miramonte, 11/8 De La Salle.

College Park (Div. 2) – 8/30 San Marin-Novato, 9/6 Clayton Valley Charter, 9/13 Salesian College Preparatory Pride-Richmond, 9/20 at Acalanes, 9/27 at Las Lomas, 10/4 at Miramonte, 10/18 Alhambra, 10/25 at Northgate, 11/1 Benicia, 11/8 Mountain opponent TBA.

Concord (Div. 5) – 8/30 Newark Memorial-Newark, 9/6 Alameda, 9/13 at San Lorenzo, 9/21 at Archie Williams-San Anselmo, 9/27 at Mt. Eden-Hayward, 10/4 Encinal-Alameda, 10/18 at Mt. Diablo, 10/25 Ygnacio Valley, 11/1 Berean Christian, 11/8 @ Valley opponent TBA.

De La Salle (Div. 2) – 8/30 Grant-Sacramento, 9/6 Serra-San Mateo, 9/13 Saint Francis-Mountain View, 9/20 at St. Mary’s-Stockton, 9/27 at El Cerrito, 10/8 at NFL Academy, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 10/18 San Ramon Valley, 10/25 Monte-Vista-Danville, 11/1 at California-San Ramon, 11/8 at Clayton Valley Charter.

Mt. Diablo (Div. 3) – 8/30 at Deer Valley-Antioch, 9/6 at Acalanes, 9/13 at Vallejo, 9/20 at Alameda, 9/27 at Mission-San Francisco, 10/4 Castlemont-Oakland, 10/18 Concord, 10/25 Berean Christian, 11/1 Ygnacio Valley, 11/8 @ Valley opponent TBA.

Northgate (Div. 3) – 8/30 Dougherty Valley-San Ramon, 9/6 at Campolindo, 9/14 Bishop Diego-Santa Barbara, 9/20 at Clayton Valley Charter, 9/27 Lincoln-San Francisco, 10/4 Las Lomas, 10/18 Benicia, 10/25 College Park, 11/1 at Alhambra, 11/8 Mountain opponent TBA.

Ygnacio Valley (Div. 5) – 8/30 at Alameda, 9/6 Redwood Christian-San Lorenzo, 9/13 at Kennedy-Richmond, 9/20 Pinole Valley-Pinole, 9/27 at Richmond, 10/4 San Lorenzo, 10/19 at Berean Christian, 10/25 at Concord, 11/1 at Mt. Diablo, 11/8 @ Valley opponent TBA.​