HE SAID WHAT?!? “Un. Be. Lievable.” Anonymous member of the chain gang at the Northgate-Clayton Valley football game on Friday, Oct. 22 after the Broncos squandered a 24-7 halftime lead, then rallied as Matt Butler (pictured) scored a game-winning touchdown run with 1:06 remaining in a wild fourth quarter. The teams traded leads four times in the period (including three times in the final three minutes) and combined for 34 points as Northgate remained undefeated at 7-0 with a 38-34 victory.
Biggest surprises of the football season to date 1. northgate undefeated — Look, we knew the Broncos were going to be good. But they are 7-0 and tied with offensive juggernaut Concord for the Diablo Valley Athletic League lead. It bears mentioning that The Gate trails only Concord in total offense for the region (Concord: 489 yards/ game; Northgate 480 yards/game). The Minutemen play at Northgate on Nov. 5 in the throwdown that should determine the DVAL champ, and might burn out some lights on the scoreboard. 2. Lucas Dunne and Cameron Stover tied for the area lead in touchdowns — Again, we knew the De La Salle running back was going to be good. But 22 touchdowns good? An average of almost 19 points per game good? Perhaps even more surprising is Stover, the bruising Northgate wingback who has 22 TDs PLUS a 2-point conversion for 134 points to actually lead Dunne by fractions of points on average. 3. Pittsburg reeling — Can anyone remember the last time the Pirates started the season 0-5? It’s easier to find an instance of Pitt opening 5-0 than 0-5 (in 2004 the orange-and-black started 8-0). The Pirates’ worst start to the season in recent memory was 2007, when they went 0-2, then went ahead and won their league anyway. Oh, by the way, since that abysmal start, Pittsburg is 2-0 in league play. So don’t count Vic Galli and Co. out of the BVAL race just yet. 4. Pinole Valley undefeated — Wasn’t Berkeley supposed to run away with the ACCAL? Then the Spartans stunned the Yellowjackets 16-14 on Oct. 1 to take command of the league standings and remain unbeaten at 6-0-1. What’s going on here? How did this happen? A big test still looms, when El Cerrito (4-3, 3-0 ACCAL) comes to town on Nov. 5. 5. De La Salle undefeated — Um. Yeah. Just kidding. — Bill Kolb
RANDOM ACTS OF FACTNESS
In the 15-year history of water polo being a North Coast Section cham-
pionship sport, only two schools have won boys titles — Miramonte and De La Salle. The Matadors have won 11 times (including the last five), and De La Salle has won four times. However, when the NCS playoffs begin on Nov. 3, there will be two separate boys and girls tournaments for the first time (Division I and Division II). Miramonte (and Joey Fabian, right) and De La Salle will both compete in Division I, which means at the very least one new boys water polo program will be crowned champion this November. Check out page 20 for our NCS water polo preview. Butch Noble
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October 28, 2010
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