The 2009 Football Season is Winding Down

As we ease into Thanksgiving Week, the football season is starting to slowly come to a close as teams finish their regular season games or lose in their playoffs. Although this means less and less games each week, it also means more intense games as only the better teams are still playing.

Wearing my Contreras Cobras T-Shirt with PRIDE

enjoying a cup of coffee

After spending most of Saturday with Mike and Laurie at our house watching college football, on Sunday we went to Mike and Vanessa's house to watch the NFL game between New Orleans and Tampa Bay.

Vanessa got out the snacks necessary for good NFL TV watching.

Mike teaching me the fine details of preparing a Power Point presentation.

I am in the process of setting up a series of meetings with the Senior football players at the 14 colleges that still play football in southern California from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo down to San Diego State. The purpose of these meetings is to make these players aware of the possibilities that await them if they are bold enough to enjoy the adventure that is playing American football in Europe!

Nice shoes Mike!

SATURDAY'S COLLEGE RESULTS

OF INTEREST TO OUR

BLOG FOLLOWERS

Wabash at Illinois Wesleyan

Denver's Wabash Little Giants (9-2) lost their NCAA Division III first round playoff game to Illinois Wesleyan in double overtime 35-41. This ends their season.

Taber's San Diego Toreros (4-7) ended their season with a loss to Southern Utah by a score of 32-37.

Jason's Arizona Wildcat's (6-4) suffered a heart breaking loss 41-44 to Oregon in yet another double overtime contest. They play at arch-rival Arizona State this week.

My Washington Huskies (3-7) had a bye as they prepared for this week's Apple Cup game at home against the Cougars of Washington State. OK, so some not so good teams are still playing college footballs.

Larry's Nebraska-Omaha (7-4) squad continues their work for their Dec. 5th Kanza Bowl game against West Texas A&M.

Both Brandon's Willamette Bearcats (8-2) and Matt's Hardin-Simmons Cowboys (6-4) ended their seasons last week.

Now we move on to

Hässleholm's Favorite Teams

The University of Miami Hurricanes (8-3) defeated Duke 34-16 and finish their regular season this week at the University of South Florida.

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane (4-7) lost their game at Southern Mississippi 34-44. Tulsa's last game this week is at home against Memphis.

FINALLY, AN NFL RESULT

Our favorite NFL team, the New Orleans Saints (10-0), closed out the weekend as they cruised to a 38-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Bucs today. Their next game will be a tough one in New Orleans against the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football.

San Diego Playoff Madness

While surfing the net this morning, I opted to go to the C.I.F. - San Diego Section to check out their upcoming football playoffs for a possible weekend trip for myself and my bride Laurie.

What I found was a bit disturbing.

I know that C.I.F. playoffs have been watered down quite a bit in the last 30 years. Back when I was in high school their were only five playoff divisions (AAAA, AAA, AA, A and Small Schools) in the C.I.F. Southern Section with only the league champions qualifying for the playoffs. Occasionally, one or two second place teams might qualify but only if a division had less than 16 leagues.

My senior year in high school, the 1964 season, Servite and Mater Dei squared off for their league title on the last night of the regular season. One of them, Mater Dei, entered the game a perfect 7-0 and had recorded shuouts in ALL SEVEN of their games. Servite won the game 7-0 and got the league's AAAA playoff bid, 7-1 Mater Dei did not make the playoffs that year despite only allowing only SEVEN points in their eight game schedule!

Today, in 2009, the C.I.F Southern Section holds football playoffs in 11 different divisions, each a 16 team affair with an occasional losing record in the mix when a team gets hot in their league games after a losing non-league season. In most divisions, the top three teams in each of the five leagues that make up a division earn automatic bids to the playoffs and one Wild Card team is picked to bring a total of 16 squads into the tournament.

With this as a background, here is what is going on in the C.I.F. San Diego Section's 2009 football playoffs:

Each of their five playoff divisions is a 12 team affair with the top four seeds in each division earning a first round BYE.

Division I

For the 19 schools with enrollments

of 2541 or more

Teams in the Division I playoffs include:

Torrey Pines 4-5-1 Overall (2-2-1 League)

Otay Ranch 3-6-1 (2-3)

Fallbrook 2-8 (1-4)

Carlsbad 3-7 (2-3)

El Camino 3-7 (3-2)

Division II

For the 18 schools with enrollments

between 2125 and 2540

Teams in the Division II playoffs include:

Mt. Carmel 4-6 (3-3)

Westview 3-7 (1-5)

Orange Glen 4-6 (0-6)

Division III

For the 18 schools with enrollments

between 1725 and 2124

Teams in the Division III playoffs include:

San Marcos 4-6 (2-4)

Division IV

For the 18 schools with enrollments

between 790 and 1724

Teams in the Division IV playoffs include:

Clairemont 4-6 (3-3)

La Jolla 4-6 (1-3)

Santana 2-8 (0-4)

Division V

For the 20 schools with enrollments

between 175 and 789

Teams in the Division V playoffs include:

Horizon 2-8 (0-4)

That is 13 teams out of the 60 in their playoffs with losing overall records!

How on earth can you justify the three teams (Orange Glen, Santana and Horizon) being in the playoffs with a combined 0-14 league records?

For a real playoff treat, check out the Orange Glen 4-6 (0-6) at Scripps Ranch 5-5 (1-4) opening round Division II game this Friday night. Two teams that went a combined 1-10 in their leagues!!!

Sorry 1964 Mater Dei Monarchs

Las Vegas Weekend

Laurie and I loaded up her Chrysler PT Cruiser and headed to North Las Vegas, Nevada for a weekend with our son Andy, his bride Jenn and their two English Bulldogs, Blitz and Dooley.

After driving about 100 miles it was time for breakfast.

We were near Victorville, California so that meant only one thing. . .

Emma Jean's!!!

Emma Jean's Holland Burger Cafe is one of Guy Fieri's picks for his "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" TV show on the Food Channel. It was Laurie's first trip to Emma Jean's.

I think she liked it.

The Bacon and Eggs for her

The Kielbasa and Eggs for me

"HARDY" and "DELICIOUS" are the words that most come to mind.

"STICK-TO-YOUR-RIBS" is a good phrase too.

After leaving Emma Jean's, it was on to North Las Vegas!

Dooley and Blitz

I must admit, they are a riot to watch in their never-ending canine sibling rivalry.

Two Football Couch Potatoes

That's Andy on the right if you can't tell the difference in our two bald heads.

We spent Saturday analyzing a plethora of college football games and Sunday doing the same to the NFL games. For us, a Vegas weekend is a lot of time with family and hardly any time on the glitzy Las Vegas Strip.

GOOD TIMES INDEED!!!

Jenn and Andy at

Hash House A Go Go

Adam Richman has a food show of his own on TV's Travel Channel called "Man vs. Food".

The basic premise of the show is that Adam travels to a city and reviews three restaurants that serve either incredibly LARGE portions or incredibly HABAÑERO HOT food. When he came to Las Vegas, the Hash House A Go Go was the spot he recommended for breakfast.

On Monday morning we decided to take on the challenge.

"Andy's Sage Fried Chicken Biscuit Benedict"

Andy opted for Adam Richman's breakfast of choice at the Hash House A Go Go. By coincidence it is also named after an Andy. It includes fresh spinach, hardwood smoked bacon, market tomato, griddled mozzarella and chipotle cream.

"Hash House Smoked Salmon Biscuit Benedict"

Lauries's choice included fresh asparagus, sundried tomatoes, and chill cream.

"Hash House Famous Pumpkin and Chocolate Flapjack"

Jenn went "light" with a (singular) flapjack . . . good choice in this food orgy of a menu.

"The Tractor Driver Combo"

I was sold by the name alone!

Two eggs over easy, hardwood smoked bacon and a Hash House Famous Apple and Cinnamon Flapjack.

Large but manageable, I think I made the right call.

All Four Breakfasts before the carnage!

In the end, only one person could finish . . .

Hey, IT WAS ME!!!

It was a great way to end the weekend!

THE WEEKEND'S FOOTBALL RESULTS

Wabash wins the Monon Bell!!!

The winner of the Wabash vs. DePauw game gets to keep the Bell for the next year. The Little Giants (9-1) prevailed this past Saturday 32-19. With this win in the 116th meeting between the two schools, the Little Giants now lead the series 54-53-9. Their win came at the expense of a 7-2 DePauw team that made the NCAA Division III Playoffs despite the loss. Even sweeter was the fact that Wabash was also included in the 32 team 2009 NCAA Division III Playoffs as they received one of the 6 At-Large bids. Wabash opens the Playoffs at 9-1 Illinois Wesleyen this weekend.

GO DENVER WADE GO!!!

BRANDON: Willamette (8-2) finished their season with a 48-10 victory over Menlo.

TABER: San Diego (4-6) beat Morehead State 13-7.

JASON: Arizona (6-3) lost to California 16-24.

GEORGE: Washington (3-7) lost to Oregon State 21-48.

LARRY: Although his Nebraska-Omaha (7-4) team had already finished their regular season last week and did not earn an invitation to the NCAA Division II Playoffs, they DID get invited to play West Texas A&M (6-5) in the Kanza Bowl played in Topeka, Kansas on December 5th.

HURRICANE WATCH

Tough weekend for Hässleholm's two favorite college teams as they were both beaten.

The Miami Hurricanes (7-3) lost to North Carolina 24-33.

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane were handled by East Carolina 17-44 in a rare Sunday night college game.

NFL RESULTS

I'm proud to announce that the New Orleans Saints improved to 9-0 on the season by beating the St. Louis Rams 28-13. Our Godson and Saints' linebacker, Scott Fujita, returned to the starting lineup after missing three games with a torn calf muscle and played well.

Also of note was the Sunday night game between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts. I say this because it was my first chance to watch the Patriots' offensive left tackle Sebastian Vollmer. . . STUD!!!

Vollmer is special for all of us connected with American football in Europe. He grew up in Kaarst, Germany learning to play the game there before accepting a football scholarship to the University of Houston. Everyone in Europe was pumped when Sebastian was drafted by New England last spring in the 2nd Round of the NFL Draft with the 58th pick overall. He was amazing to watch Sunday night as he dominated the Colts' defensive end Dwight Freeney ALL NIGHT LONG!

Contreras v. Roybal

Contreras v. Roybal

No, this was not a historic Supreme Court case that further defined U.S. law through the Case Law process. Rather, this was a football game between two brand new inner-city Los Angeles high schools. Actually both of these institutions carry the title of "Learning Center" instead of the more traditional high school apellation.

Since I first discovered that the Miguel Contreras Learning Center existed and played football two years ago while reading the high school football results one Saturday morning in the L.A. Times, I had wanted to go to one of their home games to see them play. Friday night was the night.

United States Post Office Annex

This majestic old building is a Los Angeles landmark near one of L.A.'s best hole in the wall restaurants. Our son Mike and I were hungry after our one hour drive from Camarillo and we just had to eat at. . .

. . . the BEST French Dip Sandwich Restaurant in L.A.!

It is located only about a short mile and a half from the Contreras campus so it was a perfect stopping point.

Philippe's Nerve Center complete with sawdust on the floor

It seems like every person who works here has been at it for at LEAST half of the 101 years that this dining institution has been open.

My aunt Katie first took me here in the 1960's for lunch and I've been hooked ever since!

The Main Event

It is ALWAYS the pork sandwich with Bleu cheese and hot mustard with an ice cold lemonade to wash it down for me. Now, they do have a very extensive menu posted about 10 feet from this small one but remember what is advertised on their sign atop their building.

Go with the French Dip if you come to Philippe's!

Philippe's even has five old school style phone booths in case Clark Kent drops by to dine.

Fully sated, now it was time for the game.

Contreras Cobras (2-7)

v.

Roybal Titans (0-9)

I told you this would be a BIG GAME! The Cobras beat Los Angeles H.S. last week 22-14 and wanted to end their season on a two game winning streak. The Titans just wanted to win a game in 2009.

Entering the stadium

The girl wearing the #5 jersey got me pumped up for the game as "CONTRERAS" was boldly printed across the front of her jersey above the front numeral of her away jersey.

J.V. Cobras in action in the black home uniforms

The Cobras would win this contest by a mark of 35-8.

I have GOT to have one of these!

Unfortunately, they were not selling anything at the game including programs. Undaunted, we found one of their Assistant Principals, one Jolly Enciso, and she let us know that if we call ahead next week she will help us buy a sweatshirt like this awesome one!

Titan Cheerleaders warming up in the shadow of the Los Angeles City Hall.

". . . able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!"

The opening Kickoff of the Varsity game

Did I mention that this was an inner city game in the second largest city in the USA?

#19, no programs equal no names

Whatever injury has befallen this Cobra Varsity player, I am positive that it has let him discover his true inner self as Contreras' BEST cheerleader bar none!!!

This is a role that he thoroughly enjoys by the way.

Cobra Nation. . . ON THE MOVE!!!

The Cobras were ready and dominated the contest from start to finish. The now 3-7 Contreras squad did indeed end the campaign on a two game win streak with its 26-0 victory on this fine Friday night.

Meanwhile, to the north of us, football was still being played on this last weekend of the regular season.

At Lompoc, Riccardo Conticello's Cabrillo team (1-8) was playing their crosstown rivals, the Lompoc Braves (0-9), for city pride. Final score Lompoc 28 - Cabrillo 24.

At Camarillo H.S., Rio Mesa was taking on their crosstown rivals as well.

The J.V. game was for the Pacific View League championship with the 9-0 Spartans facing the 8-1 Scorpions. No contest this year as the Spartans won 40-17 to cap a perfect 10-0 year!

The Rio Mesa (5-4) team needed to win against a Camarillo (8-1) squad which already wrapped up the PVL title last week. An upset win by the Spartans could propel them into the playoffs. It would a very tough assignment for the Spartans as the Scorpions were on a roll having scored 68 and 69 points in their last two games.

The Spartans played with great courage in taking a 14-0 lead at the 7:14 mark of the third quarter but the Scorpions played like champions in rallying late to tie the game at 14-14. The end of the fourth quarter saw the teams still knotted at 14 all so it was on to Overtime.

The Spartans were on offense first and missed a Field Goal. The Scorpions responded with a 25 yard TD screen pass on their first play to win the game 20-14. The Scorpions will be in the playoffs with their 9-1 record while the 5-5 Spartans ponder what might have been.

Season Finale at Camarillo H.S.

Our season came to a close last night with a trip to Camarillo H.S. to play the 8-1 Scorpions. The Scorpions sat atop the Pacific View League standings with a 4-0 mark and were heavily favored to win over the Spartans who entered the contest at 3-6, 2-2 PVL.

Another crisp Autumn evening,

perfect for football!

The sun setting on both Camarillo and

the 2009 PVL Frosh Football season.

Coach Mike Muro going over some last minute details with his offensive linemen.

How many games has Coach John Reardon been in in his illustrious career?

5:30 p.m. Kickoff

The Spartans took the opening kickoff and we had, in many ways, our best drive of the season. SIXTEEN plays, 60 yards, we were clicking but could not finish as our last two plays were a dropped pass at the 3 yard line and a lost fumble on a throwback to the QB pass that was wide open for a TD.

Camarillo responded with a very efficient 85 yard drive for a TD to go up 7-0 in the first quarter.

Spartan Offense

The rest of the first half was a see-saw affair with Rio Mesa only gaining an additional 64 yards while we were able to hold the Scorpions potent pass oriented attack to only 40 more yards.

With only 20 seconds left in the second period, we called for a split end reverse pass. The flanker did a great job and was 10 yards behind the defender for a potential 25 yard, game tying TD. As he got ready to toss the TD bomb a crazy thing happened, our split end simply dropped the ball as he got ready to throw it. A Camarillo linebacker scooped up the ball and ran 75 yards with it for a TD to end the half with a 14-0 lead for the Scorpions.

How would we react to such a devastating play?

Spartan Defense

The answer to the question was that we would continue to play tough defensive football in the third quarter, holding Camarillo to only 34 yards on 10 plays!

The Scorpions played great defense as well holding us to 25 yards on 10 plays in the quarter.

After three periods it was still Camarillo 14-0.

Fourth Quarter Action

Camarillo finally put the game away with two very solid drives of 84 and 60 yards to start the fourth quarter that both resulted in TDs.

Final Score: Camarillo 28 - Rio Mesa 0

Final "Afterglow" of the season

In a society that stresses winning at all costs and scoffs at those who don't win constantly, a 3-7 seasons is hard to stomach.

For us, as a Freshman coaching staff, the goal has always been to take a group of 14 year olds and do two things. First, teach them the fundamentals of the great game of football. Secondly, make them better, more responsible young men than when we first started practicing in August.

I think, because of the great coaches that I get to work with, we accomplished both of these goals. As we saw other teams at all levels in our area who were also having rough seasons seemingly roll over and give up at the end of the season, our kids kept battling up to and including last night's season finale. I am also very proud that we finished the season with 42 of the 43 players we started with back in August.

So, my 40th season of coaching high school football in Ventura County comes to an end and now it is on to a third season of coaching American football in Europe. The 2010 campaign will see me leaving Italy's Catania Elephants to coach the Hässleholm Hurricanes of the Swedish American Football League. It should be a GREAT year in Hässleholm. Laurie and I are excited about the incredible prospects for next season's on and off the field experiences.

Frosh Team BBQ

November 11th in the United States is Veterans Day, a day when we honor all of the men and women who have served and sacrificed in the defense of our countries ideals and interests. Schools are closed throughout the country but football must go on!

We had our final practice of the season at 3:00 p.m. as we continued to prepare to face our cross-town rivals, the 8-1 overall, 4-0 PVL, Camarillo Scorpions on Thursday night.

After practice, our parents treated the team to a delicious BBQ in the Rio Mesa Cafeteria.

GOOD TIMES INDEED!

The players at this table just HAVE to strike fear into the hearts of our opponents!

The kids had a good time dining together. . .

. . .as did the coaches

Of course, the Dads BBQed Burgers and

Hot Dogs. . .

. . . while the Moms served the boys

Condiments please

One of the Moms even made a

DELICIOUS cake!

My slice required me to eat the first three players in row one, it was still quite tasty!

We all appreciated the effort that the parents put into this fun evening as the season comes to a close.

Sicilian Dictionary and Phrasebook

SICILIAN DICTIONARY & PHRASEBOOK

Sicilian - English

English - Sicilian

by

Joseph F. Privitera

FUTATINI!!!

Where was this book when I needed it?

On Sunday we were still in Pasadena and stopped by Distant Lands which is a store in Old Town dedicated 100% to all things about traveling. They sell maps, books, clothing, language books and DVDs, luggage and you can even buy your Eurail tickets there!

While searching for Lonely Planet's book on Sweden which I had not been able to find at Borders or Barnes & Noble, we ran across this great little book on the Sicilian dialect. It would have been a GREAT addition to our Catania experience the past two years.

By the way, Distant Lands did indeed have the hard to find Sweden book that I was seeking