Local teams showcase talent in scrimmages
It’s a long offseason. Practices and conditioning are hot and sweaty. Plus, football is an emotional game.
So asking kids to keep their cool the first time they put on the home colors to scrimmage another school might be asking a lot.
“I think our guys were a little too juiced up,” Menlo-Atherton coach Adhir Ravipati said about Friday’s three-way scrimmage at Serra against the Padres and Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd. “We lost our technique early on. But we got things cleaned up and did a lot of good things later on.”
All three teams earned spots in CIF State title games last year and all three appear strong, with the home team the most impressive among the trio, especially on defense.
Serra coach Patrick Walsh said his squad didn’t hold back, blitzed often and was generally aggressive.
The Padres tackled very well, which was a problem in the early going last year when they started the season 0-4 before winning 10 straight games to reach the state 2-A final, where they lost 42-40 to Sierra Canyon-Chatsworth.
The most impressive by far was Serra’s 6-foot-4, 330-pound noseguard Atonio Mafi. On a field that featured a lot of big bodies, including O’Dowd tackle Miles Owens (6-7, 310), Mafi stood out. Mafi and Owens have both committed to Cal.
“It’s pretty shocking to me that about every college in the country hasn’t offered this kid,” Walsh said.
Ravipati, whose roster features big recruits Ben Makoni (6-3, 305), Moala Tautuaa (6-1, 320) and Joseph Paulo (6-8, 330) said: Mafi “is an absolute force out there. He’s one hell of a football player.”
Top Serra rusher and receiver Isiah Kendrick was very impressive throughout the scrimmage, as were the team’s trio of quarterbacks, Luke Bottari, Jack Damelio and Michael Churich.
“They are physical and fast,” Ravipati said of Serra. “They are definitely a team to watch.”
M-A lost All-Metro quarterback Aajon Johnson and Peninsula Player of the Year Jordan Mims to graduation, but it returns 11 starters. “I think they definitely have a chance to be just as good as they were last year,” Walsh said. “They have a ton of size, they’re well coached, their lines are big and physical, and their linebackers run all over the place.”
On the other side of the bay, Pittsburg hosted a four-way scrimmage that featured De La Salle and Clayton Valley from Concord and Pleasanton’s Amador Valley.
De La Salle, ranked 16th nationally by MaxPreps, played its starters a very short time. All-Metro running back Kairee Robinson carried the ball just three times, but George King, a junior, showed well.
“We never feel great after a scrimmage,” De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said. “We rotated so many guys in and out. I think the offensive line played pretty well. The defensive line and linebackers were good. There’s a lot to work on. But it’s a good group.”
A knee injury to Pittsburg quarterback Trey Turner and an ugly brawl between Clayton Valley and Amador Valley marred the scrimmage.
Of the fight, Clayton Valley Coach Tim Murphy said: “It was pretty ugly. There were kids on both sides jumping on each other. Every coach was trying to break things up, but it lasted a long time.”
With about 15 minutes left, the referees canceled the rest of the ClaytonAmador scrimmage. Clayton Valley later scrimmaged Pittsburg.
“Both those teams are going to be really good,” Alumbaugh said of Pittsburg and Clayton Valley. “Pitt’s receivers looked really good. Their linebackers were fast and active. Clayton has a lot of size and they’re really physical.” MaxPreps senior writer Mitch Stephens covers high school sports for The Chronicle.