Oakland football champs remain on solid footing
When Oakland schools McClymonds and Bishop O’Dowd won their first state football titles in December, the attention each program received was unprecedented.
Mayor Libby Schaaf honored both teams, and McClymonds was given a mini parade back to campus with television crews in tow. The outside interest might have waned a bit, but not on campus.
Each program is at a highwater mark in terms of numbers, coaches and transfers — and nobody is complaining.
It’s no longer against CIF rules for student-athletes to transfer for athletic reasons.As long as there’s no coercion or prior contact from coaches to switch schools, it’s all good. That’s still a sensitive subject at McClymonds, which in 2014 had to forfeit the first four games of a 12-0 season when junior quarterback Kevin Davidson was ruled ineligible because of a then-illegal transfer to the school.
There are no such issues this season, which McClymonds opens ranked 10th in The Chronicle’s poll. O’Dowd is fifth, and each ranking represents the highest in the preseason for both schools.
Mack, a school of fewer than 400 students, has 37 players on its roster and 80 in the program. Among those are two junior transfers, running back Jamar Julien (Oak Grove-San Jose) and linebacker Javanz Dornners (Moreau Catholic-Hayward).
Julien is a 5-foot-10, 217pounder whom coach Michael Peters describes as a “violent runner. He seems to feed on contact.” Dornners (6-2, 200) is a linebacker who had 53 tackles last season. “He’s got a ton of upside,” Peters said.
Mack, winner of seven straight Oakland Section titles, already had several key returners, including third-year starting quarterback Emoreea Fountain (6-1, 215), tackle Amani Trigg-Wright (6-5, 305), cornerback Charles Alberty (5-11, 180), defensive tackle/strong safety Dwayne Washington (5-11, 200) and wide receiver/cornerback Daymarr Johnson (5-9, 160).
In addition to the transfers, several players who sat out before have seen the light. Or at least the Mack black and orange.
“Sure, I think the attention from winning state has a lot to do with it,” Peters said. “It’s a good problem to have, but it’s also more to manage.”
Indeed, the school doesn’t have enough equipment and has started a gofundme.com page to help raise $10,000. As of Monday, $405 had been raised.
O’Dowd, a private school of 1,200, has 53 on its varsity roster and more than 100 players in the program. Under third-year coach Napoleon Kaufman, the Dragons boast three of the top 18 players in the Bay Area: Oregonbound cornerback Jevon Holland (6-2, 185), Cal-bound tackle Miles Owens (6-7, 310) and one of the nation’s top junior running backs, Austin Jones (5-11, 190).
Among those who transferred in were sons of two NFL players — sophomore tight end Colton Vardell (from San Ramon Valley-Danville, son of Stanford alum Tommy) and junior defensive back Tarik Glenn (Tarik Sr. is an O’Dowd and Cal alum and won a Super Bowl with the Colts) — and junior linebacker Brandon Owens. Glenn and Owens, both juniors, transferred from St. Mary’s-Berkeley.
All three can practice but won’t be eligible for games until Oct. 2 because of the CIF’s sit-out transfer rule.
“Nothing has changed here,” Kaufman said. “My mind-set when I came here was to win state championships. We were in a good, healthy spot before more kids came in, and we continue to be.” Preseason rankings: The West Catholic and East Bay athletic leagues lead the charge with five teams each among the Top 25, and the Bay Valley and Santa Clara Valley De Anza leagues each boast three teams.
Palo Alto, at No. 25, is the only squad with a sub-.500 record from last season. But with 15 returning starters, including highly rated junior quarterback Jackson Chryst (6-3, 210) and SCVAL Running Back of the Year Paul Jackson III (6-0, 200), the Vikings figure to bounce back to form under second-year head coach Danny Sullivan.