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Clayton Pioneer • www.claytonpioneer.com
September 11, 2015
Sports CV Charter fall sports seasons underway JAY BEDECARRÉ Clayton Pioneer
Six fall sports are now underway for Clayton Valley Charter High School teams competing for the last time in the current setup of the Diablo Valley Athletic League. DVAL competition started this week in water polo and girls tennis. Next week, girls golf and volleyball begin DVAL matches with cross country league center meets starting Sept. 30 and football the last to begin league action Oct. 9. Concord, Clayton Valley Charter, College Park and Northgate are fielding teams in all fall sports. Berean Christian is part of DVAL cross country, tennis and volleyball. Mt. Diablo, the league’s senior member school, will not be fielding golf or water polo teams and Ygnacio Valley is not in water polo. To fill out the water polo schedule Pinole Valley, St. Vincent/St. Patrick of Vallejo and Hercules highs join four DVAL schools in the league.
FOOTBALL Tim Murphy is in the first few weeks of his fourth season at the helm of CVCHS football. During that time his high-powered teams have lost six games. Three came in post-season playoffs and the other three have been in season openers against tough Division I opponents. The 2012 Eagles lost their first game against perennial power Pittsburg and the following season opener in a battle of defending NCS champions De La Salle beat CV Charter. This season three missed two-point conversion attempts proved the difference as Clayton Valley lost 27-26 at State DII champion Folsom, a team which hasn’t lost a regular-season game since 2011. The Ugly Eagles twice took leads over the state champs. Murphy was pleased with many aspects of the opener against Folsom, including a strong defensive effort that held down the state’s leading passing offense of 2014, but the local team suffered a crushing blow when junior Jalen McKenzie suffered a season-ending knee injury on
experienced coaches. They will be tough to beat at all levels, but our team should stay in the thick of things. Last year our boys’ team was tied for first going into DVAL finals, when a bout of flu virus took its toll on both the girls and boys. Concord should be competitive this year and Berean Christian always represents well given the small size of its student body.” DVAL has three Wednesday center meets before the DVAL championships on Halloween at Hidden Valley Park in Pleasant Hill to qualify for NCS Nov. 21 and the state meet a week later.
Photo by Jason Rogers
RAY JACKSON III (23) WAS A FIRST-TEAM ALL-DVAL PLAYER as a sophomore at College Park. Due to eligibility issues about his transfer he sat out last year before bursting on the scene in the Clayton Valley Charter opening game with 225 yards rushing in a 27-26 loss to State Division I champion Folsom.
the second play of the year. The Eagles bounced back last Friday with a 35-0 shutout of Tracy and have their home opener this Friday evening hosting Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa. The run-happy Ugly Eagles rushed for 710 yards from scrimmage in the first two games with senior Ray Jackson III leading the way with 408 yards. New quarterback Luis Ramos is next with 151 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson has four TDs in the two games.
DE LA SALLE TEXAS LOSERS De La Salle suffered through a lightning delay and then a slew of turnovers and mistakes that cost them in a Jay Bedecarre 26-21 defeat to Trinity-Euless SENIOR ERIN WARDLE has taken over the No. 2 singles posiin the Spartans first-ever visit tion for Clayton Valley Charter. New head girls tennis coach Sayed Anwar is excited by his six strong senior class to Texas. DLS dominated the game members plus nearly two dozen new players who joined the program this fall. Wardle was second team all-DVAL as at times but lost two fumbles and an interception and then a junior.
missed on a tight end pass to a wide open receiver in the end zone in the final seconds to lose their first game since the 2013 State championship. Last Friday DLS rebounded at traditional rival Serra of San Mateo for a 37-21 victory that saw the Spartans grab a 28-0 first-quarter lead and then get outscored 21-9 in the final three quarters. This Friday they host the first of three Southern California foes when Servite of Anaheim comes to Concord. CROSS COUNTRY Clayton Valley Charter cross country coach Anthony Munch is expecting his boys and girls teams will be title contenders this year after not being hit too hard by graduation last spring. Sayed Opeyany was the team’s fastest runner as a junior and he will get help from Michael Cox and JJ Perez, a
Diablo FC appoints Zach Sullivan to its director of coaching position JAY BEDECARRÉ Clayton Pioneer
Zach Sullivan has been named the new director of coaching for the Diablo Futbol Club, the area’s premier youth soccer competitive program. Sullivan stepped down as head men’s soccer coach at Merritt College to accept the DOC position at Diablo FC, where he has been coaching teams since 2011. Diablo FC was formed in 2008 with the merger of Diablo Valley Soccer Club and Mt. Diablo Soccer League. Sullivan was also a DVSC coach in 2005-06. The new DOC succeeds Brian Voltattorni who held the position for seven years since the inception of the club. He is remaining with Diablo FC as director of youth development and community outreach, focusing on development and advancement of the new recreational program, community outreach and the San Jose Earthquakes-Diablo FC RDS system. Sullivan says, “Diablo FC prides itself on emphasizing player development. I hope to continue to prepare our soccer players for a potential college opportunity. Our track record for placing players on college teams speaks for itself. The coaching staff is one of the best in the business.” Diablo FC coaching directors Scott Alexander, Richard Weiszmann, Marquis White and Henry Foulk will be working with Sullivan. Weiszmann, White and Foulk are former professional players who have 40 years combined service with the club
COACH ZACH SULLIVAN
since DVSC started in 1991. Sullivan was head coach at Merritt from 2008 until this summer. He was the 2013 coach of the year in the 11-team Bay Valley Conference. He has also coached at Solano College and his alma mater Chico State plus at Justin Siena and Chico high schools. The new DOC got his bachelor’s degree and then a master’s in kinesiology at Chico State, where he was on the intercollegiate lacrosse and club soccer teams. After beginning his youth
soccer club coaching career at DVSC he was the under 11-U14 technical coordinator at Lamorinda Soccer Club for four years before returning to Diablo FC. He has been the DFC assistant girls director as well as coaching Diablo FC 98, 99 and 03 girls premier teams this year. “I am very excited for my new role at Diablo FC. DFC is one of the elite soccer clubs in Northern California and has the potential to continue its growth. We are a true community-based soccer club with a real family feel,” Sullivan said.
Club president Dan Pauline of Clayton says, “Diablo FC has become the regional leader in affordable youth soccer player development. As our director of coaching Zach, along with our highly-qualified and experienced coaches and training staff, plans to develop a deep and talented player pool. His enthusiastic training sessions will allow our players to do the work it takes to accelerate their development while having fun. His personality, demeanor and knowledge will lead our club to new heights.” The club has competitive girls and boys teams from under nine through U19, with all age groups competing at the highest National Premier League level. They have a United States Soccer Development Academy U14 boys team, one of only 88 such teams in America. They also have an exclusive RDS affiliation with the Major League Soccer Earthquakes and offer recreation and academy programs with professional coaching for youth starting at five years of age. Diablo FC—-and DVSC before it—-has developed dozen of State Cup champions plus sending teams to the USYSA, US Club Soccer and Super Y-League national championships as well as prestigious tournaments all over the United States. About 100 former Diablo FC players have played college soccer. Currently, Chris Wondolowski and Stefan Frei are former club players in MLS. For more information visit diablofc.org.
pair of juniors. Munch reports, “Senior Anthony Maytum was lost to injury last season, but is running strong now. Sophomore Dylan White is coming off of a very strong rookie track season. Ben Schoffstall and Branden Busby will also be bolstering the ranks.” Kelly Osterkamp and Oliva Villa were both allDVAL as freshmen last year and look to repeat those efforts this year. Senior Claire Olson along with juniors Natalie Ruzicka and Sarah Verderame figure to be big scorers for CVCHS. Sophomore Karina Linzey is new to varsity after a good frosh/soph season last year. She will join freshman Jessica Hevener and junior Jessica Chapman as varsity newcomers. Munch adds, “As usual, College Park and Northgate are very solid programs run by
GIRLS WATER POLO Veteran CVCHS water polo coach Dennis Bledsoe says his girls “will probably improve significantly. They are a young group with only one senior. “ He says his top returning players include three second team all-leaguers— juniors Caitlin O’Leary and Bailey Reading and sophomore Rebekah Reynolds. Junior goalie Skyy Burney is up from the JV team and figures to be a big contributor along with the lone senior Terra Rose Zuniga-Miller, Melissa Olson and Kimi Svoboda. New players up from the JVs are Jenna Armstrong, Jenny Vonnegut, Amber Curley, Skylar Maltbie, Brooke Johnson and Hayley Darr. New to Clayton Valley this year are Margaret York, Emma Skow and Sydney Skow. The team lost seven graduates including league MVP Katie VanTuyl but Bledsoe and co-coach Kelsey Carrigan say the league championship will probably come down to Clayton Valley vs. Northgate.
2 MDSA teams take 3 tournament titles
Photos courtesy MDSA
MDSA PHOENIX UNDER 11 TEAM had quite an August winning two tournaments. The local girls were first at the Creek Cup Silver Edition in Walnut Creek after earlier taking the gold medals in the Soccer By The Bay. The team includes, front from left, Sophia Sinclaire, Laine Moraes; middle row, Brooke Rickenbacher, Mipo Okeowo, Katelynn Brown, Melia Fabriquer, Ashlyn Albert; back row, coach Chris McNevin, Kaitlyn McNevin, Brooke Stanton, Jacklann Bellamy, Emily Beeson, Sarandon Kamrud, Hawah Opeyany and coach Heidi Brown.
MDSA BARCA UNDER 10 BOYS ELITE TEAM won the San Ramon Copper Select tournament at the end of August in their second tournament ever. They were fourth at the Stanford Classic the previous weekend. The team includes, front row from left, Cooper Whiten, Connor Velez, Mateo Alcantara, Diego Castaneda, Cody Liming, Nicholas Anderson, Michael DoAmor; back row, coach KC Anum, Max Anum, Skye Megyesi, Jesse Morales, Ben Hosler, Michael Albert and coach Javier Castaneda. Not pictured, Dylan Lynch.