Sports Shorts
STANFORD FOOTBALL
It’s a run for the roses
QUITE A CATCH . . . The Palo Alto High football team saw its season end two weeks ago in the Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs, but one former member of the team is still playing into the postseason. Davante Adams, who played on the Vikings’ 2010 CIF Division I state championship team, has found himself a home at Fresno State. This past Saturday, Adams helped the Bulldogs romp to a 48-15 victory over visiting Air Force and clinch no worse than a share of the Mountain West Conference championship. Adams, a redshirt freshman, caught nine passes for 141 yards and touchdowns of 64 and 24 yards as Fresno State improved to 9-3 overall and 7-1 in its first season in the Mountain West. The Bulldogs finished tied for first with San Diego State, with Boise State (6-1, 9-2) likely making it a three-way tie with a win over Nevada this weekend. The championship is the first for Adams since his Paly days. In 12 games, Adams has 89 receptions for 1,168 yards and 13 touchdowns. He’s averaging 13.1 yards per catch and 97.3 receiving yards per game. Adams is tied for ninth in the nation for catches and ranks No. 11 nationally in receiving yards among Division I players.
FLORIDA BOUND . . . The Palo Alto Knights’ Jr. Midgets will depart on Friday for the 75-80 degrees temperatures of Kissimmee, Fla., where the American Youth Football (AYF) National Championships will get under way Sunday. The Knights will begin their quest for the first-ever national title in program history at 10 a.m. First-round matchups won’t be released until Saturday night. “We’re ready,” said Palo Alto coach Mike Piha. “I think we’re decent. We’re a deeper team than before. One thing for sure, we’re not going to be intimidated. It’s not new for 22 of these guys who are making their fourth trip.” The Knights also will play Tuesday with the title game next Thursday.
ON THE AIR Friday College football: UCLA at Stanford, 5 p.m.; FOX (2); KNBR (1050 AM); KZSU (90.1 FM) Women’s basketball: Stanford at UC Davis, 7 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM) Women’s soccer: Stanford vs. North Carolina, 8 p.m.; ESPNU
Sunday Women’s basketball: Stanford at Gonzaga, 2 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM) Men’s basketball: Denver at Stanford, 2 p.m.; Pac-12 Networks; KNBR (1050 AM)
www.PASportsOnline.com For expanded daily coverage of college and prep sports, please see our new site at www.PASportsOnline.com
by Rick Eymer The formalities are over; the AllPac-12 football team has been announced and major conference honors awarded. There’s one thing left unfinished and that will be decided on the field. While last weekend’s 35-17 victory over UCLA in the Rose Bowl is all but forgotten, No. 8 Stanford (8-1, 10-2) has to do it all over again Friday when the Bruins (6-3, 9-3) visit Stanford Stadium for a 5 p.m. kickoff with the Pac-12 championship on the line and a return to the Rose Bowl. The Stanford seniors get one more chance to play in front of the home crowd and take yet another ‘Last Walk.’ “We’ll put tape over the date of last week’s T-shirt,” said Stanford linebacker Chase Thomas, who was named to the Pac-12 first team for the second straight year earlier this week. Thanks to changes in the television schedule, which forced Stanford to play California in October,
Stanford senior Stepfan Taylor (33) ran for 142 yards on 20 carries and scored two touchdowns in a 35-17 win at UCLA last Saturday. The teams will meet again, on Friday at Stanford, for the Pac-12 title.
(continued on page 28)
CCS FOOTBALL
NORCAL VOLLEYBALL
Valpo Bowl history gives SHP an edge
SHP girls on threshold of state title
by Andrew Preimesberger
By Andrew Preimesberger
H
istory appears to be on the side of the Sacred Heart Prep football team when it meets neighborhood rival Menlo School in the Central Coast Section Division IV championship game on Saturday night. Since the Gators joined the CCS for football in 2008, they have faced the Knights three times in the section playoffs. SHP has won twice and Menlo once. Each postseason victory coincided with that team winning the regular-season Valparaiso Bowl. In 2008, Sacred Heart Prep won the Valpo Bowl and then defeated Menlo in the CCS Small School Division playoffs, 28-14. In 2009, the Knights captured the Valpo Bowl, 27-21, and later topped the Gators in the Division IV semifinals, 20-14. In 2010, SHP defeated Menlo in the bowl game, 35-7, and later cruised to a 49-21 triumph in the postseason. That brings us to Saturday’s historic showdown at Terra Nova High in Pacifica, with the kickoff at 7 p.m. The local rivals will be meet(continued on page 29)
Page 26ÊUÊ Ûi LiÀÊÎä]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V
T
Keith Peters
READ MORE ONLINE
Rob Ericson/isiphotos.com
NEW COACH . . . Menlo-Atherton has hired Giovanni Napolitano as its new boys’ varsity water polo coach following the retirement of legendary coach Dante Dettamanti. Napolitano was the Bears’ junior varsity coach this season and assisted Dettamanti during a fine season that saw M-A reach the Central Coast Section Division I championship match before falling to Bellarmine, 9-8.
Cardinal hosts UCLA with shot at berth for the Rose Bowl
Ryan Gaertner of Sacred Heart Prep (4) rushed for 135 yards in a 47-17 victory over Soquel in a CCS Division IV semifinal.
he bar of expectations was set very high, very long ago when the Sacred Heart Prep girls’ volleyball program won the 1996 CIF Division V State Championship and finished 39-4. That accomplishment and record haven’t been touched since by any Gators’ team. Head coach Liz Santie retired after her second straight state title and with a remarkable two-year record of 73-13. Since then, the Gators have won five Central Coast Section titles and three NorCal championships. Yet, it has been 16 years since SHP captured that elusive state crown. The Gators had a shot in 1998 and again in 2010, both missing the mark. Sacred Heart Prep, however, is in position to take aim once again after posting a 25-13, 25-11, 23-25, 25-22 victory over Harbor in the NorCal Division IV title match on Tuesday night in Atherton. Top-seeded Sacred Heart improved to 33-5 following the eighth NorCal title in program history, (continued on page 31)