Great Football Weekend

This was weekend #2 for college football and the first week of the NFL season. After the start of the high school season last Thursday and Friday, could life get ANY better than this?

Well YES, because my University of Washington Huskies. . .

. . . finally won a game!!!

That's the UW's premier QB, #10 Jake Locker, running for some of his 18 rushing yards that included a 3 yard TD scamper for the Dawgs first points of the day. He would also go 17 for 25 passing for 253 yards, 3 TDs and 0 interceptions.

Final Score: Washington 42 - Idaho 23

The significance you ask? It was the UW's first football win since late in the 2007 season. The Huskies were on a 15 game losing streak, the longest in the nation until yesterday's big breakthrough win!

Next up for the Dawgs is a home game next Saturday against the nation's #3 ranked USC Trojans.

Meanwhile in the Midwest. . .

Denver Wade's Wabash Little Giants opened their 2009 season with a smashing 56-7 victory over the Denison Big Red.

If you'll recall, Denver was our offensive line coach in Catania this past season and is a senior offensive lineman at Wabash this season.

While in the Pacific Northwest. . .

Brandon Bennett's Willamette Bearcats won their first game of the season over California Lutheran 20-13.

Brandon was Catania's outstanding lineman in 2008 and is in his second season coaching the offensive line for Willamette.

Update from the Desert Southwest. . .

Catania's legendary 2008 QB, Jason Johnson's University of Arizona Wildcats improved to 2-0 by thrashing Northern Arizona University 34-17.

As for Laurie and me, we were big time couch potatoes watching two GREAT college football games.

Unranked Michigan 38 - #18 Notre Dame 34

110,278 crazed fans at Michigan's "Big House" saw these two legendary programs produce an instant classic! Several lead changes and big plays made for great TV.

Our friend Debi Murphy is a die-hard Michigan fan while the rest of her family are true blue and gold Irish fans. Debi actually roots for ND every day of the year except for this one. Let's just say that she has a habit of gloating for months when the Wolverine's win this annual battle. I've tried to warn her for years that her children will one day pick her retirement home but she will not listen to me. She actually had a 4:00 p.m. wedding to attend also on Saturday and as the game was running late, had her cell phone going off DURING the ceremony with updates!

The Wolverines winning TD came with 11 seconds left in the game.

#3 Southern California 18 - #8 Ohio State 15

Another 106,033 fans attended this HUGE college night game that turned into a fantastic defensive battle. The Trojans pulled it out with a heroic fourth quarter 86 yard winning TD drive that saw Stafon Johnson score from 2 yards out with 1:05 left.

USC's true freshman QB, Matt Barkley, led this drive masterfully and then surpassed even Tim Tebow's best all-time performance in post-game "Praise the Lord" references!

Laurie decked out in her

Scott Fujita, New Orleans Saints #55 jersey

Sunday morning of the start of the NFL season means but one thing, breakfast at Cronies Sports Grill to watch the Saints opener at home against the Detroit Lions.

The Lions lost all 16 games last season and some, including myself, felt that a special post-season University of Washington vs. Detroit Lions game (perhaps the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho) last year would have been in order.

While I know it would have been like watching two lepers rot, I would have paid to view it.

Cronies is packed every Sunday with

Green Bay Packer fans

This cheesehead's T-shirt pretty much sums up their feelings about the Vikings' new QB.

15 High Def TV screens make Cronies the place to be!

A chance to watch any or all of the NINE NFL games that started at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Daylight Savings Time!

New Orleans 45 - Detroit 27

Saints' QB Drew Brees threw SIX TD passes!

Detroit now has a 18 game losing streak while the Washington Huskies have won one in a row!

I'm already looking forward to next Saturday when Jason Johson's uncle, Scott Westering, the Head Football Coach at Pacific Lutheran University (0-1), brings his Lutes to nearby Thousand Oaks, California to play the California Lutheran University Kingsmen (0-1). We'll be there to enjoy a warm afternoon of Division III football.

Friday Night Lights

On Friday night, Laurie and I got into the old Chrysler LHS for a 95 mile (153 kilometers for my Sicilian readership) jaunt up the Pacific Ocean coast to the city of Lompoc, California.

The City Limit sign proudly proclaims that Lompoc has 43,284 residents, is 98 feet above sea level and has not one but FIVE Sister Cities:

Locarno, Switzerland

Inca, Spain

Namwon, South Korea

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Lake Placid, Florida

The reason for our journey? Former Catania Elephant Riccardo Conticello, our outstanding rookie cornerback during our 2009 spring season in Italy, is now a foriegn exchange student at Cabrillo H.S. playing for the Conquistadores' Varsity football team.

Cabrillo opened its 2009 season at home (Lompoc H.S.'s Huyck Stadium is Cabrillo's home stadium) against the Righetti H.S. Warriors and we wanted to be there to lend a little moral support to Riccardo.

"Coach, here I am!"

We arrived about 45 minutes before kickoff as the Conqs were warming up. First player we saw was Riccardo who promptly walked off the field to greet us.

Riccardo Conticello

Number 15 in your program

Number 1 in your heart

The first comments from Riccardo was about how Cabrillo practices EVERY day except Sundays and even on the Labor Day holiday for three hours!

Welcome to American football in America, Riccardo.

After this quick chat we told him to get back with his team while we hit the snack bar for some sustenance.

Our friendly snack bar server Jenna

Wouldn't you know it, Jenna is part of Riccardo's host family as well as an outstanding and outgoing athlete at Cabrillo.

What were the odds of this random meeting?

You HAVE to buy a program!

Riccardo is the second player on the right of the bottom row right next to all the cheerleaders.

Eat your hearts out Gustavo and Giulio!

Nice picture in the program

Friday Night Lights - Cabrillo Style

"What a beautiful night to play

American football!"

Riccardo in black playing right cornerback

Big enough cushion? Although he didn't start, after the first two series he played the entire game on defense. He also plays on the Kickoff Return team and the Punt team.

On the first kickoff of the game he was, well, let's just say he was welcomed to American football and leave it at that. If he had a cape, he might have been mistaken for Superman on this play.

Overall, I thought he was a little nervous but played well as he settled down and got comfortable with his role.

Riccardo and his host family, the Brooks

From left to right: Kayla, Scott, Shari, Riccardo, Jenna and Sydnee

The Brooks' son Cody was absent.

I think Riccardo actually likes living in a house with three Cabrillo High School girls.

I could be wrong.

We sat with all the Brooks family during the game and they were delightful people. Riccardo is lucky to have them as a host family, especially since they are all very sports oriented.

His teammates have dubbed Riccardo "The Italian Stallion" while Jenna's friends ask her about "Her Italian Boy". Either way he is fitting in nicely and is making many friends.

Post game with family and friends

One of the joys of high school football to me has always been the post game get togethers on the field, a chance to share another key moment in your life with people close to you.

Unfortunately, Righetti beat Cabrillo 31-3 but the Conquistadores had their moments and Riccardo is now a full fledged American high school football player. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Next Friday, Cabrillo plays at Dos Pueblos H.S.

If you want to follow the Conquistadores throughout their season, they do have a website at www.cabrillofootball.com

Meanwhile back in El Rio, the Spartans were playing San Marcos. The JVs won 20-0 and the Varsity triumphed 23-7. Thus the Spartans won all three game against the Royals this week and all three Spartan teams stand at 1-0 going into next week's games at Newbury Park. A really GREAT start to the 2009 season for Rio Mesa!

Season Opener

Michael Contreras' first day student teaching at Rio Mesa H.S.

Mike started his new roles on Tuesday, both student teaching and now coaching Rio Mesa's freshman team wide recievers and defensive backs. He has been a very good addition to the staff.

After our shaky outing in the scrimmage against Royal last Friday, we opened the season at home Thursday against Santa Barbara's San Marcos H.S. They say that the biggest improvement your team makes is the week after they play their first opponent. Our game against San Marcos, after the Royal scrimmage, is a GREAT case in point!

San Marcos took the opening kickoff and after completing a 20 yard pass for an apparent first down, the reciever was stripped of the ball and linebacker Matt Espinoza recovered the fumble for the Spartans!

Our offense methodically drove the ball down the field and tailback Martel Tyler ran to paydirt from 9 yards out for the season's first points. We missed a two point conversion to lead 6-0.

The defense played strong again and forced San Marcos to punt.

Another sustained drive saw Tyler score his second TD again from 9 yards out, again the two point try was no good, Spartans 12 - Royals 0.

Martel Tyler showed his versatility as he ended the Royals next drive with an interception.

QB Gabe Duoungtran promptly found WR Riley Fagan for a 21 yard scoring strike. Daniel Gonzalez kicked the PAT, Rio Mesa now cruising 19-0.

Mike exhorting the troops to score again before halftime!

The defense played tough again and forced another Royals punt.

Mike's pleading was answered as Fagan scored his second TD on a 31 yards run. Gonzalez splits the uprights and Rio Mesa ups its lead to 26-0.

The half ends as Kyle Henschel intercepts a desperate San Marcos pass.

Halftime adjustments were minimal, things were clicking.

The only real decision was to play the starters on each teams first possesions before clearing the bench.

San Marcos on their TD drive

Our offense started the second half with another sustained drive that saw Tyler score his third rushing TD of the day, this time from 15 yards out. The PAT kick was wide right but the Spartans now led 32-0.

San Marcos punted for a third time so we started substituting very liberally, including one player who really did not want to go in. We had to force him in against his better wishes.

He lived.

Our next drive turned the ball over on downs.

San Marcos opened the fourth quarter with a nice drive and scored on a 12 yard run by their fullback #50, oh, the joys of Freshman football. Some of our defensive starters wanted back in to preserve the shutout not knowing that I believe that shutouts are intrinsically Fascist. We let the backups play, make mistakes and learn for the future instead. The Royals PAT was good making the score Rio Mesa 32 - San Marcos 7.

A very nice, time consuming drive for the Spartans ended with a lost fumble.

The Royals only had about 25 ticks left on the clock after the turnover and tried three bombs with no time outs left. The first two fell harmlessly to the ground and our defensive end, Keleigh Marquez sacked the QB to close out a really good opening to the 2009 season!

Besides the big win, our staff was very excited that all 38 players who suited out got into the game with our backups seeing considerable action in the second half. It was great for team morale and should make for a great week of practice next week.

Our next game is at Newbury Park H.S. at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, September 18th.

Coach Contreras x 2

Nice belt Mike!

Mrs. Contreras x 2

Celebrating at Cronies after the game of course!

Late Reception for Andy and Jenn's Wedding

Jenn and Andy Contreras

at their wedding in Mexico

Sunday we hosted a reception for our son Andy and his bride Jenn. As you may recall, they were married last February near Playa del Carmen in Mexico. Their's was a small wedding on the beach with only immediate family and a few friends in attendance.

Laurie wanted to host this reception so that family and friends in California could have a chance to greet one of Las Vegas' newest married couples.

How many men does it take to open an

Easy-Up?

THREE!

But only if you finally take a look at the directions. That's Brian FitzGerald on the left, me in the middle and Andy on the right. Do we all have a glazed look in our eyes?

Warm sunshine, the Taco Man cooking away and a few libations in the back yard are all we needed.

We even spilled into the front yard.

That's the world famous Moe DeCandia in the black shirt sitting to the right.

His surprise visit from his New Jersey environs has raised our home to possible National Historic Landmark status!!!

Andy walking his Grandmother Chuny to the car. . .

. . . while Mike escorts his Great Aunt Katica

A really fun afternoon, it was great seeing everybody and being with Andy and Jenn for a long weekend.

GREAT job organizing everything Laurie!!!

Royal Scrimmage

Friday was our first chance to finally compete against, and compare ourselves to, another Freshman team. We boarded the bus at Rio Mesa at 1:00 p.m. for the 40 minute ride to beautiful Simi Valley, California for a 50 play scrimmage versus the Royal Highlanders.

Getting Ready

We arrived at Royal H.S. 2 hours and 20 minutes before the scheduled start of the scrimmage and found shade from the warm California sun under the home stands.

First Offense

Our 41 player roster was depleted due to two absentees, three injuries and eight players who could not compete because they lacked the required ten days of practice to compete versus another school. That left us with only 28 players to use in the scrimmage but our youngsters got better the farther we got into the scrimmage.

Coaching this group of Freshmen is very tedious because of the high percentage of players who have no previous Pop Warner experience.

TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED!!!

The Dog Days of Summer

It's been quite a long time since my last post as the end of summer and the start of the high school football season have slowed down my blogging efforts.

Time to catch up. . .

First, I am so proud and happy for Jason and Christie Johnson for taking on the challenge of Spain's Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage Trail. GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT!!! Check out Jason's blog by clicking on the link to the left of this blog for some great reading.

The First Day of the 2009 Rio Mesa Freshman Practice

Only 41 players on the roster as compared to the 75 we had last year at this time. We only have 15 players with any Pop Warner experience, so this is going to be a work in progress for the next three months!

Los Angeles Airport Shuttle Service

Here I am greeting Mike and Vanessa on their return from their Honeymoon.

The latest version of Mr. and Mrs. Contreras

They arrived at about 1:00 a.m. from their great stay in the Carribean on the island of St. Martin. They are both still happy to be alive!

The Annual Camarillo Air Show

This vintage World War II bomber was one of many, many planes that buzzed over our house for two day's. The Camarillo Airport is only about 3 miles from our house.

Florene's Birthday

Florene is Laurie's Step-Mother and we had her and Laurie's Dad, Bill, over for a BBQ to celebrate another trip around the sun.

Some days I REALLY miss all of our friends in Sicily.

Gino Trattoria

No, not Gino's Trattoria, Gino Trattoria is the correct name of this great little Italian restaurant in Thousand Oaks. That is Gino himself in the white shirt with the mural of his hometown, Naples, Italy in the background. Gino is SO outgoing that he makes your night memorable all by himself.

Just some of Gino Trattoria's offerings

Laurie and I went to dinner here with our great friend Debi Murphy and her daughter Cyndy.

Why you ask? Because Cyndy just got a job reviewing restaurants for the new Conejo Valley Woman's Magazine. We had to help her research her first article.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

We enjoyed GREAT food at Gino Trattoris by the way.

Claudio Mangano

Among all the people we met in Sicily the last two years, Claudio was one of our favorites. Good guy and GREAT girlfriend in Roberta!

Here he is playing in the International Tournament last month fot the "Blue Team", Italy's National Team, what a great honor!

After beating the Spanish National Team 42-7, the Blues lost to eventual Tournament Champion Austria 34-3. The crazy thing about this tournament is that you play a game EVERY OTHER DAY!!!

Enrico Lombardi

Catania's stud running back also played for the Blues as did tight end Peppe Strano.

Warm-up for last Saturday's Intersquad Scrimmage

We run the agility bags every day to improve our players footwork and coordination.

Tackling is one of our Every Day Drills

Pre-Scrimmage Words of Wisdom

Take absolutely nothing for granted with this group of novices!

The Intersquad Scrimmage begins!

Paul Petrich

Paul blew into Camarillo on his way home to Santa Barbara last Saturday. We relived several "war stories" over dinner at Chuy's.

The Rio Mesa Water Polo Golf Tournament

This fund raiser last Sunday made for a good day of relaxation and friendship. The rest of the foursome from left-to-right is made up of Brian FitzGerald, Carl Melhorn and Gordy Abellera, all teachers at Rio Mesa.

Friday we travel to beautiful Simi Valley, California for a scrimmage against Royal H.S. It should be interesting for our youngsters to say the least.