Local prep teams hit opposition for the first time

With the season fast-approaching, area football players get their first full-pads look at live opposition with scrimmages this weekend.

Casa vs. Piner

Casa Grande will scrimmage against former assistant coach John Antonio’s Piner team Saturday morning at Santa Rosa junior College. Casa will be homeless for the majority of the season as its turf field is replaced by new synthetic turf, meaning Saturday’s scrimmage will give coaches not only a chance to evaluate the players, but also to gage how well they will adapt to playing “home” games away from home.

Piner, from the Sonoma County League, was 5-6 last season and played in the North Coast Section Division 3 playoffs.

Casa Grande held an inter-team scrimmage last Saturday at the end of the first week of practice, although coach Trent Herzog was reluctant to call it a “scrimmage” because the Gauchos had no field for a true game-like simulation.

“It was a practice, with some individual work and some competitive contact drills,” Herzog said.

The day not only gave the Gaucho players some needed contact work, but also provided parents with a chance to watch the players from the sidelines. All three Casa teams - varsity, JVs and freshmen participated and parents of players from all three were allowed to watch from the sidelines.

After the workout, the parents joined the players for a barbecue on campus.

Herzog said that he has been impressed with the players’ work ethic.

“This team really likes to practice,” he said. “They work hard and never complain.”

The players have benefited during the hot days of August by students from Heather Campbell’s sports medicine class members who make sure they stay hydrated by circulating with bottles providing water without the need to stop practice.

Petaluma four-way

Petaluma will host its annual four-way scrimmage Friday evening with San Marin, Maria Carrillo and Montgomery participating. Junior varsities will play at 5 p.m. with varsities on the field at 7:30 p.m. Petaluma will work out against Montgomery and Maria Carrillo.

The Trojans hit one another in an inter-squad scrimmage last week and Krist liked what he saw.

“We showed a lot of energy,” he said. “We got some kinks out. There are definitely a lot of thing we have to work on, but it went well.”

He said one of the good things he saw was the effort of some of the players who are considered reserves.

“There were some guys we thought would be in back-up roles who stepped up,” said Krist. “A couple may have earned a chance to start. It looks like we will have more depth in certain areas than we thought.”

Home scrimmage

St. Vincent will scrimmage on its home field Friday evening against El Molino and Kelseyville. Starting time for both varsity and junior varsity teams is 5 p.m.

St. Vincent coach Gary Galloway reports that the first week of practice has gone very well despite a small varsity roster.

Currently, there are only 18 players on the varsity roster, but the coach said every player had made every practice with no excuses or nagging injuries.

On a brighter numbers note, St. Vincent has 24 players on its junior varsity roster, with the promise of more once school has started and all the potential athletes are tallied.

In addition to being excited about the dedication of his players, Galloway is pleased with his new-look staff.

“For the first time in a long time, we have coaches who on the staff at school,” he points out.

New St. Vincent vice principal Art Walker will be defensive coordinator and head junior varsity coach. Mike O’Toole and Jack Duffy, who are on the school staff, will also help along with returning coaches Joe Murphy, Bill Pedersen and Wes Sitchler.