We weren’t completely, 100 percent done with our tour of the state with preseason all-section, all-area teams when we got done with the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valley teams last week before the first games of the 2017 season were played. For that, we need to touch on a few key returnees for the CIF Oakland and San Francisco sections.
To see the last of our all-section/all-area teams that has links to all of the ones that were done, CLICK HERE.
The dominant football school in Oakland has been McClymonds and that’s not expected to change. In fact, runner-up Castlemont suffered more graduation losses than the Warriors plus they picked up transfer RB Jarmar Julien from Oak Grove of San Jose. What to watch for regarding McClymonds is where the team may be placed in the CIF bowls after it likely wins another Silver Bowl title.
After last year’s win over La Jolla Country Day in the CIF D5-A state final (third lowest from the bot tom), you might think Mack may move up this season. That all depends, however, on what other schools get eligible in the north by winning section titles. It actually may not be that much higher if at all.
In San Francisco, Mission wasn’t able to win the title last season with two-sport standout Niamey Harris injured, which helped Lincoln win the Turkey Day crown. The Mustangs were then essentially the last team on the NorCal bowl board and although they got to host a play-in game were not that close in a loss to Amador of Sutter Creek.
With Harris gone at Mission and most of the top players at Lincoln all gone, there doesn’t seem to be a favorite in the AAA. Lincoln still has longtime head coach Phil Ferrigno, though, so it’s never a bad pick to go with his team. Some of the teams in the league also may have trouble ending the season due to low numbers. With Mission and Lincoln not doing too well in the first two years of the CIF bowl games in which everybody gets a game, we could see a scenario where the SF champ just trots off with a trophy after Turkey Day and just says no thanks to being part of a bowl game.
SF-OAKLAND SECTIONS PLAYERS TO WATCH 2017
Charles Alberty (McClymonds, Oakland) WR/KR/DB Sr.
Jovon Baker (Lincoln, S.F.) RB/QB Sr.
Naseme Colvin (Skyline, Oakland) RB Sr.
Emoreea Fountain (McClymonds, Oakland) QB/RB Sr.
Darnell Hardeman (Skyline, Oakland) OL Sr.
Jarmar Julien (McClymonds, Oakland) RB Jr.
Eugene Larios-Felton (Lincoln, S.F.) TE/DE Jr.
Adrian Poot (Galileo, S.F.) QB/RB Sr.
