Despite bump up in playoff divisions, Justin-Siena looks to get back to section title game for third straight season
By Kyle Foster, photo courtesy of Eric Thompson (Shamboozled.com)
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In the last two seasons, Justin-Siena has had a knack for getting to the CIF North Coast Section title game. So if the old saying is that the third time’s the charm, this should be the season they finally get over the hump.
To do so, the Braves will have to get there with a bit of a different identity than they had last season when they went 7-6 overall and 2-5 in the Vine Valley Athletic League.
However, when the CIF North Coast Section Division 6 playoffs came, the Braves got hot. As the 3-seed Justin-Siena was able to make it to the section title game where they lost a 7-0 nail-biter to Pinole Valley. It was their second title game appearance in as many years.
Many things are going in Justin-Siena’s favor this season after their deep playoff run. The first and most important is a normal offseason.
“That was really nice, Justin-Siena head coach Tyler Streblow said of having a normal offseason. “I think last year, we figured out pretty early on that we were going to be a defensive team. So yes, we never really got our footing offensively, but we also weren’t taking a lot of chances because we knew how good our defense was and that just happens every year. You have to play to the strengths of your team. Last year, we were a defensive team, we had a young quarterback, we had a young running back, you know, we were trying to control the ball, we were trying to not turn the ball over all that kind of stuff.
“So I think this year, I feel a lot better about just letting it rip, letting Drew throw the ball a lot more putting in some more complicated things for him for Dallas for all our guys,” he continued. “So we have a very veteran crew. Basically all summer, it’s like ‘Oh, yeah, I remember this.’ We weren’t really going back and installing day one stuff. They already kind of remembered it.”
Then, there’s the fact that many of those key players from last year’s team are back. Signal caller Drew Sangiacomo will be back to lead the offense. With a full offseason to acclimate, the offense as a whole should be better as well.
“Just coming in and working,” Sangiacomo said as to how he’s gotten better during the offseason. “Working like a pro. Just getting better every day. I mean, it sounds cliche, but kind of how you get better. But last year, I wasn’t great. So this year, I came in with the mindset that have to be a lot better and I think I’ve done that throughout the summer.”
It also helps that Dallas Logwood is returning to lead the rushing attack.
“Dallas is kind of more of a leader this offseason,” Sangiacomo said of his running back. “ Ever since freshman year, we’ve always had a connection. But yeah, it’s been great sharing the field with him again. I think we’re gonna do some great things this year.”
Others returning for the Braves are Charlie Green, Luke Giusto, Jason Gray, Ben Sebastiani, Sam Denkin, Parker Schuemann, Dom Joya, and Jack Sordi.
During the summer, the Braves were able to see some quality competitions every Tuesday where they went to Marin Catholic for some 9-on-9 competition. They played a pair of games each Tuesday for a month during that time.
“It’s a good test. A bunch of good teams,” Sangiacomo said of the competition they faced at Marin Catholic over the summer. “I think it really showed a lot about our conditioning and where we’re at and I think we really picked it up after that. But they had a lot of great teams like Marin Catholic. So it really tested us throughout the summer.”
New year, new non-league schedule
In some years, the non-league portion of the season sees very few if any changes. But that’s not the case this season.
The only remaining non-league opponent from last season is St. Helena who Justin-Siena will open up against on August 25th in the Vine Bowl. This will be the Braves’ only home game for a month as well.
It will then be a pair of road games with an odd bye week in between. On September 1st, it will be a trip to the Bay Area to face De Anza-El Sobrante. The bye week comes the next week before it’s a long 4-hour plus track to Eureka to meet the Loggers on September 15th.
League play begins when Napa High visits on September 22nd. That game will also be a celebration of the 1973, 1983, and 2003 Section championship teams at halftime.
It will be the final installment for now of the Battle of Trower Avenue the next week when Vintage visits on September 29th.
October begins with a trip to Petaluma to face Casa Grande on the 9th. The next week Petaluma visits Justin-Siena.
In a weird schedule twist, the Brave’s final non-league game is on October 21st when they host St. Patrick-St. Vincent-Vallejo in a Saturday clash.
The regular season concludes with back-to-back road games. The first one is a trip to Sonoma Valley on October 27th. November’s lone scheduled game is a trip to American Canyon.
New playoff division in 2023
Now, you may be wondering what could be the reason for all the schedule changes in the non-league.
The answer is that Justin-Siena received a bump up to Division 5 in the offseason after their recent successes.
“It definitely affected our schedule,” Streblow said of the impact of the bump up in divisions this season. “We tried to get more Division 5 teams on the schedule this year. We’re gonna go play Eureka, we’re playing De Anza. I think De Anza made the playoffs a year ago as a borderline team. So those are going to be really big games for us.
“But it’s kind of exciting to be able to get to play some teams we haven’t played before,” Streblow added. “Division 5 is definitely a step up. But I think we’re ready for the challenge.”
While the defending champion of the division moved up, the runner-up, Miramonte-Orinda, is still in the division. Eureka and De Anza are also Division 5 teams. You can view the teams in the division here.
A few changes to the coaching staff
There will always be a few changes to a coaching staff.
This season, the changes are all at the varsity level. Taking over as the defensive coordinator is Steve Vargus, who has coached at Justin-Siena before, and is Streblow’s uncle. This shifts Spencer Joske to coaching the defensive line and being in charge of special teams.
“It’s been great,” Streblow said of Vargus’s impact so far and how it’s been working with him. “I worked with him from 2010 to 2015 when I was the quarterbacks coach here. I’ve spent a lot of time being the scout offensive coordinator. So we have had a lot of conversations. We were always working together on the defensive scheme and what the offense was doing. So I really got to learn how he does things and I think the biggest thing is he’s always been a mentor to me just in terms of his attitude, positivity, his knowledge, his wisdom, all that kind of stuff. So it’s just kind of carried right back over to where it was when we were back then.”
The new offensive line coach is Albert Washington. So far, he’s added a lot to the program in a few short months.
“He’s just calm and he’s just a steady force,” Streblow explained of Washington. “He’s just an amazing person. He’s a great role model for the kids. I think the number one thing we look for is a good man in this program, and he is an outstanding father and role model for these kids. He has a good right way of approaching his teaching, and how he relates to the kids and I just can’t say enough great things about him.”
