Prep sports: What were the top ten best games from the 2019-20 school year?
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
We’ve made it to the end of another school year. It’s been one for the ages for a variety of different ways.
But after each year, it’s important to look back on the year of sports that we had just seen. That only makes it right to bring back to the top 10 games of the year countdown again.
However, a new year calls for some slightly different criteria for what will be considered and eligible to be on the list for this school year. For the fall and winter sports, non-league games will not be considered because of the fact those sports were able to get in their complete seasons in their entirety. Spring sports are where things are going to be altered. Since there were only non-league games played, these are what will be considered for this year’s list. Just like last year’s countdown, in order for the games to be considered, we had to be there to cover it.
Honorable mentions
First, let’s take a look back at some great moments throughout the seasons as a whole. Once again, the best sports season overall was the basketball season. The only difference from last year to this year was that the boys’ Vine Valley Athletic League was way more competitive than the previous season. On the girls’ side, Casa Grande ran away with the title. But after that, the league was very tightly contested. In the fall, all three schools had great seasons an ultimately qualified for the CIF North Coast Section playoffs. Lastly, the spring was just cut too short, which leaves many people wondering what could’ve been if Coronavirus wouldn’t have ended the season so early.
Since the spring season is still somewhat fresh, let’s do a quick rewind of games that just missed. The first one that misses is the pitchers duel scoreless tie that the Vintage softball team had in their season-opener against Redwood-Larkspur on March 2nd. The Vanden-Napa baseball game on March 11th was another fun one in the Grizzlies comeback season. Napa won the game in 8-6, but they had to fight back after getting down four runs early on.
Now, let’s talk about the games that just missed being on this list from the fall. The Acalanes-Vintage football game on September 6th was a classic, but because it’s a non-league game it doesn’t make the list. Other non-league games that won’t be considered, but were still games worth mentioning are the Nevada Union-Napa game on August 30th and then the Archbishop Riordan-Justin-Siena game on Septemeber 13th. Although it was a good game, the October 4th VVAL game between American Canyon and Napa misses the list because Napa lost and American Canyon isn’t one of the schools we cover. Another league game that was a fun one was the Casa Grande-Justin-Siena game from September 20th, but again it misses the list because Justin-Siena lost this one. The last football game that just misses is the Justin-Siena-Napa game on October 11th which was won by Napa, 42-14. Even though the score doesn’t reflect it, the game was a battle in the first half.
Things were even more fun when the basketball season began. In the non-league portion, there were many great games. The first one that comes to mind, however, is the double-overtime thriller that the Vintage boys had against Washington-San Francisco on November 27th and then their thrilling win over Rodriguez-Fairfield on December 2nd. Also on the boys’ side, Justin-Siena had a thrilling 51-38 win over Hercules on December 30th. In league play, there were many competitive games as well for the boys. The Casa Grande-Justin-Siena game on January 22nd was a thriller, but the Braves, unfortunately, dropped that game by a score of 49-48 in overtime. The first Vintage-Justin-Siena game on January 8th was a defensive battle, but it barely misses out on making this list. The Sonoma Valley-Vintage game on February 5th was also an entertaining game, but it narrowly misses the list. The last VVAL boys contest to not make this list is the first Big Game on January 17th, which Vintage won 51-41.
The girls’ side also had some great league games this past season. The first Big Game that Napa won 46-39 on January 16th was a battle all the way to the end. Also, the first Napa-Justin-Siena meeting on January 9th was close for all but one quarter was what won this game for the Grizzlies. Finally, the second Vintage-Justin-Siena meeting on January 30th was a battle won 37-23 by the Crushers, but it doesn’t make this list.
Wow, that was all the games that just missed, so without further ado let’s get into the list.
10. Kelseyville @ Justin-Siena baseball, February 29th, 2020
The Braves won their third straight home-opener the way the won the previous two in walk-off fashion.
In the contest, Justin-Siena faced seven and four-run deficits, which was caused by four errors.
“They were physical errors, so you can live as a coach with the physical errors,” Justin-Siena coach Jeremy Tayson said. “Obviously, you don’t want to see them in the quantity that we saw them. But I think we’ve really been trying to preach and establish and have an emerging culture, of grit and spirit and toughness.”
The game ended on a Nick Andrews single to right field with the bases loaded and two outs that brought in James Snoke and pinch-runner Billy Katz. Snoke reached on a bunt single earlier on in the inning and Katz pinch ran for Robbie Sangiacomo who reached on a fielder’s choice.
“I was pulling everything all day and our coach is like ‘just take one oppo’,” Andrews said of his walk-off two-RBI single. “So, I tried to sit back. He was throwing really slow and I just sat back and took it the other way.”
Andrews also picked up the win in relief in the game by working three innings, striking out one, and walking one. He also threw 38 pitches on the day.
“I just try to throw strikes,” Andrews explained of his good outing on the bump. “Let them put the ball in play and my teammates got my back.”
The Braves scored two runs in the bottom of the first and three in the fifth.
To read the complete story, go here.
9. Justin-Siena @ Napa girls basketball 2, February 1st, 2020
Whenever these two programs get together it’s always a hard-fought contest.
In the end, it was Napa who was able to come away with the season sweep of their crosstown rivals when they prevailed 39-32.
The difference in the game was free throwing. Napa made 6 of their 12 shots from the charity stripe, where Justin-Siena made 6 of their 19 opportunities.
“Honestly, I think it came down to our free-throw shooting,” Justin-Siena coach Andy Bettencourt emphasized. “I don’t even want to know the numbers, but I know they’re not good. And I thought that really helped keep them ahead. When we did make plays, we didn’t convert on those opportunities. You know, and they were able to make more shots than we did. So, you have to give them credit there.”
The Grizzlies also forced Justin-Siena into a good amount of turnovers thanks to their half-court trap.
“I think we forced a lot of turnovers,” Napa coach Taylor Willis said. “I think we made it hard. We got a couple (of) 30-second violations and that’s what that’s supposed to do.”
Napa was led by senior guard Anna Ghisletta. She ended as the team-high 11 points while also bringing in a rebound.
“She brings so much energy and heart,” Willis explained of Ghisletta’s strong performance. “And she kind of brings the game up to another level and controls the game.”
Justin-Siena was led by Isabella Wright. The sophomore had game-highs 13 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
“She’s a strong, strong competitor,” Willis explained. “She rebounds really well. We went over a lot of rebounding yesterday because I knew they were gonna go as hard on the boards. So, she’s a hard contain.”
“Bella’s a good basketball player,” Bettencourt explained. “I think sometimes as coaches, we expect so much out of our best players that we forget to appreciate it. (I) definitely appreciate the way she’s been playing the last few games because she seems to be becoming more consistent, which is good.”
You can go back and read the full story here.
8. Justin-Siena @ Vintage girls basketball 1, January 7th, 2020
Talk about a fun way to get the league season off and running. That’s exactly what this game did.
Vintage was able to come away with a narrow 38-33 victory in this one, which was due in large part to the use of their full-court press.
“We don’t normally run that,” Vintage coach Joe Donohoe said. “We just kind of put that in. And so we’re picking up full court man, but (it) seems to work against us. We tend to make mistakes, so we might as well try and do it to other teams.”
“We turned it over a few times against their press, which hurt us,” Justin-Siena coach Andy Bettencourt pointed out. “So, that was tough.”
In the game, Vintage was led by Lizzie Qui. She ended the night with 16 points and grabbed three rebounds.
Justin-Siena was led by Isabella Wright in this game. She ended the night with 14 points while also bringing in eight rebounds.
Another thing that came into play in the contest was free-throw shooting. The Braves went 6-for-16 from the line compared to the Crushers 7-for-15 effort.
“I honestly thought they did a better job at the free-throw line than we did,” Bettencourt explained. “And I thought that throughout the game made a big difference. I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but I know that we struggled at the free-throw line and we can’t give away free points like that. And they were just able to make couple more shots than we were.”
To read the complete story, go here.
7. Napa @ Justin-Siena boys basketball 2, February 3rd, 2020
Both meetings between these two this past season were hard-fought games. This one stands out in particular because neither team could really gain much separation.
Part of the reason neither team could gain much separation was due in large part to the fact neither team could find their rhythm on offense.
“I think tonight we just made a couple more plays down the stretch than they did,” Napa coach Zack Cook explained. “They played great. They defend better than anyone in our league and we knew it would be a grinder and a slugfest and we were able to just get a couple more baskets late and hang on.”
“We couldn’t score,” Justin-Siena coach Dave Granucci added. “But our guys battled. I mean that that was the difference. We just couldn’t score, we couldn’t make some shots. Some of those that we usually finish around the rim we just couldn’t finish. We got some clean looks at times that just didn’t go in.”
In the game, Napa was led by Brayden Greenlee who scored 11 points and three rebounds.
“Brayden struggled a little bit. They had a good game plan against him,” Cook said. “We’ll take scoring from whoever we can get it from.”
As for Justin-Siena, they were led by Vince Jackson. The freshman scored 11 points and brought in 10 rebounds to end the game with a double-double.
The complete story can be viewed here.
6. St. Helena @ Napa baseball, March 5th, 2020
These two programs have played some great games over the last few years. This one was no different.
The reason this game is so high up the list is because of how back-and-forth this game was.
When the dust settled, Napa came away with a 7-6, eight-inning victory against their inter-county rivals.
The game ended on a Connor Ross two-RBI walk-off single to center field that brought in Lucas Brandon and Elliot Zuidema. The inning began with back-to-back singled by Brandon and Dylan Foster, who was later pinch ran for by Zuidema.
“Honestly, just hit the ball hard,” Ross said of what he was thinking during his walk-off single. “When it got over the second baseman’s head, it was just exhilarating. It was amazing.”
St. Helena looked to have the game in hand as it went to the bottom of the seventh, but that’s when Napa answered back with three runs to send the game to the eighth. The Grizzlies’ first run came on a sacrifice fly to right field by Dylan Snider that brought home Jacks Madigan who began the inning with a single. After reaching on an error, Omar Gonzalez came home on a wild pitch.
Another highlight in the game came in the bottom of the fifth when Napa took their initial lead. They were able to go up by a run after Travis Brayton hit a solo home run to left field.
“I was just super excited,” Brayton said of his blast. “I couldn’t wait to get back to the team and see the boys.”
The Grizzlies also scored a run apiece in the first and fourth innings.
Ross also picked up the win on the bump. He recorded one strikeout and one walk in an inning of work. He also threw a total of 13 pitches in that one inning.
The game was started by Zuidema who got a no-decision. In four innings of work, he struck out four and walked three. In 75 pitches, he also allowed two runs to score, one of which was earned.
“He grew up a little bit in that game,” Chatham added. “The first couple of innings he walked a few guys and he was having a hard time controlling his fastball. After that, I felt like he started to establish all three pitches for a strike.”
To read this whole story, go here.
5. Big Game girls basketball 2 – Vintage @ Napa, February 6th, 2020
Big Games are always fun, so it’s to be expected that there would be a few to make the list. For the second year in a row, the final Big Game of the season makes this list.
Vintage was able to come away with a narrow 45-42 victory over their crosstown rivals. But the game also showed that they were able to handle the big moment and come to age.
“Well, we got a couple (of) key rebounds and a big steal at the end, and we just played hard to the buzzer,” Vintage coach Joe Donohoe said. “They were calm when it mattered and we’ve been in a lot of close games this year. Eventually, you learn from it. Eventually, you start getting more comfortable in those situations.”
“I think it’s fatigue, I think it’s a culmination of being undisciplined and not going hard enough in practice and I think it just comes back to bite you,” Napa coach Taylor Willis explained.
This was a battle throughout where neither team could put together a run to gain the edge. But one of the keys for Vintage was that they outrebounded their rivals 36-34.
“Every game we go into it needing to win the rebounds,” Donohoe continued. “We’re never going to be the biggest team, so rebounding is important.”
“The offensive boards really killed (us),” Willis admitted. “I don’t know how many times I need to ask for them to box out and want it. It just didn’t happen and I feel like Vintage wanted it more than we did. I think they control the tempo of the game and we just weren’t ever able to stay composed.”
In the game, Vintage was led by senior forward Mo Groves. She ended the night with a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“We’d be talking a different scenario all season, to be honest, if she would’ve been able to play all season,” Donohoe explained. “But, I’m sure happy for our four seniors to get a Big Game win in their final game against Napa.”
Meanwhile, Napa was led by sophomore forward Sofia Tinnon. She ended the night with 11 points and four rebounds.
“I love Tinnon,” Willis said of the sophomore. “When I tell her to do something she does it. She does want it, she goes really hard, and I think there’s just a couple of things we need to work on with her game. And I think she’s going to be an incredible athlete.”
To read the complete story, go here.
4. Justin-Siena @ Vintage boys basketball 2, January 31st, 2020
In most years, this game would probably be higher up the list. But with the games that were ahead of it, this game only makes it to fourth on the countdown.
In this contest, Vintage was able to come away with a hard-earned 51-45 victory over their Trower Avenue rivals.
Like many of their games this past season, the Crushers had to come back from a double-digit deficit in order to get the win. In this particular contest, they were able to battle back from a deficit of 11-point first-half deficit.
The main thing that got Vintage back into the game was the use of their half-court trap that led to many Justin-Siena turnovers.
“It’s a combination of things,” Vintage coach Ben Gongora said. “I think the environment helped. We had a nice little crowd. We already beat them at their place, now we’re here. It’s a little different energy. We played our game.”
“Defensively, they just turned their pressure up and just started trapping us,” Justin-Siena coach Dave Granucci explained. “We talked about it at halftime, we knew they were going to do it, and we were prepared for it. We just didn’t do a good job of taking care of the basketball and because of that, it started to become their pace-of-play. Obviously, when you turn the ball over and you lose possessions like that it leads to layups and open shots.”
It also helped that junior guard Logan Nothmann was able to catch fire from beyond-the-arc. He made three straight three-pointers to extend the Crushers’ second-half advantage. It was a great showing for Nothmann who was just starting to come back from an injury from earlier on in the season.
“You know, the kid suffers a tremendous injury over two months ago (and) stays involved, stays positive. (There’s) no pity party,” Gongora explained. “He hasn’t been in a situation like this in months, and to come in and calmly drain those shots and tickle the twine. They weren’t rim rattlers. These were swish, swish, swish. It’s just a testament to who he is.”
However, Vintage was led in the game by Imani Lopez. He ended the night by scoring 16 points and bringing in two rebounds.
As for Justin-Siena, they were led by Liam McDevitt who ended the night with 16 points and four rebounds.
To read the whole game story, go here.
3. Big Game boys basketball 2 – Vintage @ Napa February 7th, 2020
Now is where things get even tougher because this was one of the best Big Game boys basketball games in recent memory.
In this wild back-and-forth game, it was Vintage who came away with an exciting 49-47 win over their rivals.
But the game was decided with 13.2 seconds left when Napa intentionally fouled Vintage senior center Loren Castro and sent him to the line for two free throws that he ultimately nailed. It was something Castro wasn’t expecting.
“I wasn’t ready for it,” he explained. “But I mean, it is smart. I just missed two free-throws.”
“He was struggling from the line, so we wanted to foul him,” Napa coach Zack Cook said. “ Maybe he makes one maybe he misses both and we have 15 seconds left rather than them inbounding and isolating Imani (Lopez), running the clock down, and then him going to the basket and running into somebody and getting a foul call.”
With the win, Vintage was able to clinch their first league title in 20 years.
In this game, the Crushers were led by Imani Lopez who ended the game with game-highs of 29 points and 12 rebounds to end the night with a double-double. He scored 19 of his 29 points in the first half.
The Grizzlies were led by Brayden Greenlee who ended the night with a team-high of 21 points all while bringing in five rebounds.
The full game story can be read here.
2. Justin-Siena @ Napa boys basketball 1, January 10th, 2020
The VVAL was super competitive and very even for boys basketball this last year, which is what made games 2-4 on this list so hard to rank. With that being said, an overtime game in league play against an in-town rival is what gives this one the No.2 ranking.
When all was said and done, Justin-Siena came away with a 51-50 overtime win. A large reason they were able to come back was due to the effort of senior guard Liam McDevitt who scored 15 of his 19 total points in the second half and grabbed three rebounds.
“I realized that if we came into the gym today thinking we’re going to do whatever we can to walk away with a W, so after the first half I knew I had to put the ball in the basket if we’re going to get a win,” Mcdevitt explained. “So, that’s what I tried to do and I achieved that.”
“The first half just wasn’t us,” Justin-Siena coach David Granucci said. “It wasn’t us with our effort. It wasn’t us with our energy. So we challenged the guys at halftime a little bit, told Liam to be a little bit more aggressive. He wasn’t being aggressive. I think a little bit was just he’s coming off of being sick and some things. But the second half, he took it to heart and we told him to be aggressive going downhill, don’t settle, be aggressive going downhill and he was. So, that was big.”
On the Napa side of this, they were led by Brayden Greenlee who ended the night with a game-high of 20 points and one rebound.
“Brayden played his heart out tonight,” Napa coach Zack Cook said of Greenlee’s effort. “I don’t think I subbed them out once, so I should have. He played really well defensively. I think he could have got to the line a couple (of) times on offense but that’s how it goes. He’s got a lot to carry. He’s got to carry the offense a lot of the times and he’s guarding the other team’s best player often, so it’s just a lot for him and I think he just got fatigued there at the end.”
To read the complete game story, go here.
1. Big Game XLIII (48) – Napa @ Vintage, November 1st, 2019
As great as all those other games were, it’s hard to not put Big Game XLIII at the top of the list. This is also the only game from the fall football season to make it onto this list.
Vintage was able to come away with a dramatic 26-20 victory over Napa to claim their second straight Vine Valley Athletic League title.
With only 23.1 left in the game, the Crushers took the lead when Jacob Aaron was able to get to the end zone from four yards out.
“We didn’t panic with two minutes to go,” Vintage coach Dylan Leach said. “We ran our offense. We didn’t get out of sync. We didn’t try to drop back and do a bunch of crazy things. I think that that that helped out but a great game played all around, so I don’t know how much difference there was.”
With 2:17 left in the game, Napa senior quarterback Isiah Newton broke off a six-yard touchdown run to give the Grizzlies a one-point edge.
“It felt good,” Newton said of his big score late in the contest. “But you know, two minutes is a lot of time in a football game. So, you just gotta depend on the defense, and Vintage just did what they had to do to win the game. They wanted it.”
“He’s a fantastic young man,” Napa coach Richie Wessman said of Newton. “He’s done a great job of leading this football team and you can count on him to make big-time football plays for us.”
The full game story can be read here.
