High school football: California’s offense keeps humming, but bigger challenges await
OAKLEY – Always in the back of California coach Dan Calcagno’s mind as his team marches through the early part of its schedule are the daunting challenges that lie ahead, including games against fellow ranked teams Clayton Valley Charter, De La Salle, Monte Vista, and San Ramon Valley.
So far the Grizzlies are doing everything they can to get ready, particularly on offense.
California scored touchdowns on 10 of its 11 offensive possessions Friday, including five straight in the second quarter as it pulled away for a 70-20 nonleague win over host Freedom (1-2) on its homecoming night.
Grizzlies quarterback Teddy Booras threw five touchdown passes, including four to fellow senior Jake Calcagno. Taylor Rund had two touchdown runs, including a 62-yarder early in the first quarter, and finished with 136 yards rushing.
“It’s all about our offensive line,” Rund said. “They created the holes and I just ran through them.”
California has now piled up 167 points through its first three games, as it is off to a 3-0 start for the second time in three years.
The No. 9 Grizzlies host Milpitas next week, then begin their East Bay Athletic League gauntlet – No. 22 Dublin, No. 11 Clayton Valley Charter, No. 1 De La Salle, No. 19 Monte Vista and No, 4 San Ramon Valley in October, and No. 23 Amador Valley to end the regular season in November.
“As a coach, you’re never completely happy. There are always ways to get better,” Dan Calcagno said. “But these guys have worked hard every week and that’s all you can ask for.”
California never trailed Friday, but Freedom started to find a bit of a rhythm on offense midway through the first half. A 16-yard touchdown run by sophomore Herschel Turner Jr. gave the Falcons some life as they trailed 21-14 with 10:23 left in the second quarter. That was after the Grizzlies scored two touchdowns on their first five plays from scrimmage.
But the Falcons were their own worst enemy for most of the second quarter as three fumbles led directly to California touchdown receptions – two by Jake Calcagno and one by Dom Tuyor. The Grizzlies led 49-20 at halftime and had piled up over 300 yards in the process.
“That’s youth,” Freedom coach Zach Sims said of the turnovers.
Freedom was without injured senior running backs Shamond Brooks Jr. and junior receiver Dominick Tomlin, two of its biggest playmakers. That put a bit more responsibility on the shoulders of sophomore dual-threat quarterback Taylor Edmon, who completed 19-for-27 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns. In Freedom’s first two games this season, Edmon was 24-of-32 for 430 yards and four TDs.
Sims said Edmon has improved “exponentially every week. He’s doing things in games right now that I didn’t think he was capable of doing.”
Freedom plays at Foothill next week and is at James Logan on Sept. 24 before it begins Bay Valley Athletic League play Oct. 8 on the road against Antioch.