Do local teams belong in VVAL?

Petaluma, Casa have more in common with Sonoma schools|

We’re now well into our second season of the Vine Valley Athletic League, and Sonoma County schools have shown they can compete with their Napa cousins in everything but football.

Pick any sport, boys or girls, in any of the three high school seasons (fall, winter or spring) and Sonoma County has a league champion or title contender.

For example, last spring three teams shared the VVAL baseball championship. They were Casa Grande, Sonoma Valley and Petaluma.

Of course, Petaluma and Sonoma are known for their quality baseball programs, from Little League on up through a large number of D1 and even Major League players.

But in other sports, teams from Sonoma County showed in the league’s first year that they could not only hold their own, but climb to the top or near the top of the VVAL mountain.

Petaluma in volleyball, Petaluma in golf, Casa Grande in cross country, both Petaluma and Casa Grande in wrestling, both Petaluma and Casa Grande in girls soccer, Casa Grande in girls basketball, Casa Grande in track, Petaluma in softball, both Petaluma and Casa Grande in boys lacrosse and Casa Grande in girls lacrosse, both Petaluma and Casa Grande in badminton were either titlists or title contenders in the VVAL’s first year. And local teams are on the rise in other sports.

It was a down school year for Petaluma and Casa Grande football teams, but better times are coming for both the Gauchos and Trojans. Casa Grande was competitive and on the cusp of being a contender this season, and once the Gauchos settle in under coach John Antonio and his staff, the Gauchos could be given Napa and Vintage a run for the pennant. Petaluma, with an enrollment of 300 to 400 students less than the larger schools in the league, will need health to make up what it lacks in depth, but on any given year has the coaching and tradition to be a football factor.

Can South Sonoma County schools compete in the VVAL? Yes. Do South Sonoma County schools belong in the VVAL? No.

Petaluma has a long history of playing Napa schools. When I first came to the Argus in the late ’70s - that is the 1970s, not the 1870s as some suggest - Petaluma was in a league with Napa, Vintage, Vallejo and Hogan, among others. But that was before there was a Casa Grande, and Santa Rosa schools consisted of Santa Rosa and Montgomery. This is now and the Petaluma and Casa Grande connection is with the other Sonoma County schools.

Much credit should be given to Casa Grande High School athletic director Rick O’Brien, who stepped in to take over as the first VVAL commissioner, and to the school principals and others who did a remarkable job of putting the new league together.

So what’s the problem?

Travel, of course, is one major obstacle. Enough has been said about the difficult to impossible commute between Sonoma and Napa counties. I’m not going to dwell on the drive, but it is a real consideration.

The other big problem is that we simply do not have a lot in common with the Napa schools. They have nice facilities, and the people I’ve encountered have all been extremely friendly, but playing Vintage in anything just does not have the same feeling as playing Montgomery. A Petaluma vs. American Canyon football game just doesn’t generate the excitement of a Petaluma vs. Santa Rosa rivalry game.

Vintage, Napa and American Canyon football teams from the VVAL were all in the North Coast Section playoffs. Did people who follow high school sports in Petaluma really care?

Santa Rosa, Piner, Rancho Cotate and Cardinal Newman were among the Sonoma County teams in the playoffs and there was much more interest in how they fared.

Of course, having Cardinal Newman and Rancho Cotate go on to play for state championships helped fuel the interest, but it was much more than that. It was a feeling that Rancho Cotate and Cardinal Newman were two of our own.

Is the Vine Valley Athletic League a success? Yes. Is it better for Petaluma, Casa Grande and Sonoma Valley? No.

(Contact John Jackson at johnie.jackson@arguscourier.com)

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