Football Dumps on Dons, Wins DFAL Title

With a 49-19 win against Acalanes on November 6, varsity football finished their Diablo Foothill Athletic League (DFAL) schedule undefeated for the 5th consecutive season.

Campolindo scored its first touchdown against the Dons in the 1st quarter and never looked back. The Cougars scored another 6 touchdowns and kicker Matt Blair made all 7 field goals.

“I think when they had their 1st score, and it was a long drive, and there was a few penalties in there that kept that drive alive, and then we just quickly came right back with under a minute to go in the half, we just came back and scored,” said head coach Kevin Macy. “And I think that was a sort of statement that – you know, they got some assistance from the officiating right there but I think we came down with so much speed and scored at the end. And I think it just sort of took the game back in a way from them.”

Senior linebacker Jack Cassidy attributed their success to “just playing crisp, not a lot of mistakes; not a lot of penalties. Just coming out ready to play.”

With the win, Campolindo locked up another DFAL championship.  A title that is also unique because this is the final year of the league’s current configuration.  Next year Dublin and Dougherty Valley will play in the East Bay Athletic League while schools like College Park, Clayton Valley Charter and Northgate will join Campolindo in a new version of the DFAL.

“I’m happy for these kids. 1 of our goals this year was not to worry about playoffs, but if we had a chance to win league, and to do it undefeated, I think that’s something that hasn’t been done for the history of our league: 5 years in a row of our team going undefeated and now with the league closing next year, it’s something that they can be proud of,” Macy said. “It was a complete game. Every kid was a part of it; every kid’s been a part of this season. So that’s what you want.”

Macy, who is no stranger to winning championships, is particularly proud of this team for the improvement it has shown, and the perseverance through early season struggles. “I think we were a very young team coming into the year. The kids – they fought through a tough preseason and they just got themselves better and better. And when we lost to Napa, we didn’t take that as a setback. Because we knew we were a young team just trying to grow. So I think just the fact that the kids were patient, and everyone was patient with the kids, and they stayed disciplined, and they believed, and just slowly got better – you couldn’t ask for a better season,” Macy explained.

The North Coast Section seeding committee released the playoff brackets on November 8 with the Cougars seeded 1st. Their first NCS game will be at home against Ygnacio Valley on Saturday, November 14.

Though they are the defending champions, Macy is careful to keep his team’s focus on their next opponent rather than on aspirations of a repeat. “We’re not going to go down the road of putting big expectations. We’re going to stick with the formula we’ve had all year, which is taking it 1 week at a time; just 1 week at a time, looking for improvements. And if we do that, I think we’ll be fine in the playoffs,” he said.

“We’ve got a young quarterback that’s getting better, we’ve got young running backs that are getting better, our defense is still looking to get better,” Macy added. “Every kid wants to make themselves a better player at this time of year as well, and as a group we just want to be better.”

While Macy may be keeping a lid on any expectations beyond this week, some of his players are willing to admit their confidence is growing and the possibility for another section title is good. “I think we have a pretty good chance of doing pretty well in NCS. Couple of big schools we played last year ended up dropping down to D4, so I think we have a good chance of having success,” senior wide receiver Max Flower said. “I think we’ve improved every game, and we have a lot of success with a young team, so I think we’re looking good to move forward.”