In wake of tragedy Vintage football comes together during bye weeks before section semifinals
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
A bye week in high school football generally comes during the regular season. However, a bye week can also be earned due to being a top seed in the playoffs.
But for the Vintage High School football team they’ve had two weeks off since their thrilling 24-21 double overtime win over Antioch on November 9th.
Vintage will get the winner of Saturday’s matchup between No. 4 seed San Ramon Valley and No. 5 Monte Vista on December 1st in the semifinals of the CIF North Coast Section division 1 playoffs. Since they’ve had so much time in between games they are preparing for their next contest like it’s a college bowl game.
“It’s tough and we’re not really having a preparation for a team yet, so we’re just doing fundamentally sound things and making sure that we all spend time together and I think it goes a little bit bigger than football these last few weeks with the fires and also with Alaina’s tragic passing, so our minds has been trying to keep these kids ready to go in a football sense and we’ve had a great time just hanging out with each other and we’re thankful for that.”
During that time they also took some time to take their minds off of football by having a bowling outing on November 16th at Napa Bowl in South Napa.
VC Football needed to get the competitive juices flowing… so they all went bowling this morning! @VHS_Crushers @VHSBoosterClub @CIFNCS pic.twitter.com/4KBgRQsb4b
— VC Athletics (@VHSATHLETICS) November 16, 2018
“Just have fun right and come together and have a fun time,” Leach explained of the bowling day. “And be in a place where we can get out of the smoke at that point.”
Both teams will pose different challenges for the Crushers. SRV is a power-run team with a 3-4 defense, while Monte Vista is spread team that runs a 4-3 defense. The SRV-Monte Vista game will be broadcasted live on NorCal Sports TV at 7 p.m.
“They both present different challenges,” Leach said. “They’re both (filled with) tough kids, they remind me a lot of ourselves, so hard nosed, discipline, and that’s what you’re going to get this time of year. So everyone is going to be a challenge and we’re looking forward to. As a staff we want to be challenged against the best possible staffs we can, and as a program we want to put ourselves up there against the best possible teams.”
San Ramon Valley beat Monte Vista 17-10 on October 26th.
The Crushers (10-2) have won ten straight games over a span of 11 weeks, so the bye week could hurt them as far as momentum goes. Then again, everyone is in the same situation as Leach points out.
“Yeah, but hey everyone’s had two weeks off,” he explained. “We can’t do anything about it, so there’s no use worrying and complaining about things we can’t control. So all we can do is try to present the best football product we can come December 1st.”
The time off has been crucial to getting some healthy bodies. However, the Crushers will be without sophomore quarterback Jacob Aaron who continues to heal up after breaking his collarbone in the Antioch game.
On Thanksgiving Vintage held a morning practice at Napa Memorial Stadium, which was open to the public. It was the first time there had been a Thanksgiving morning practice at Napa Memorial Stadium in 11 years.
“This is a great time right,” Leach said after their Thanksgiving practice. “I thought it was a good practice. I thought we were effective and it’s awesome to have the parents here and all the support we have and make sure we get an opportunity to take some pictures and have a happy Thanksgiving.”
It was the first time they practiced outside due to the bad air quality from the Camp Fire outside Paradise.
The Crushers will play their next game on December 1st with heavy hearts and with a new decal gracing the back of their helmets. 18-year-old Alaina Housley, a class of 2018 Vintage graduate, was tragically killed along with 11 others at the Borderline Bar & Grill shooting in Thousand Oaks on November 7th. She was also on the soccer and tennis teams as well as being a member of the concert and chamber choirs, and ASB Leadership at VHS. Housley was a freshman at Pepperdine University in nearby Malibu at the time of her death.
“I’m really proud of all you guys,” Alaina’s mother Hannah the activities director at Vintage explained. “I love seeing your faces families and players, but I’m super proud of this Crusher family. This is Crusher strong at it’s finest. It is truth, it is real, and we feel it all the time from all of you and the Napa community as well. But this Crusher family it’s all here (in the heart) and we’re so thankful and I can’t wait to see you guys win these next two games, so let’s go Crushers.”
A non-profit organization aimed to end gun violence has been set up. To donate to the nonprofit, Alaina’s Voice Foundation, go here.
