Prep spotlight: Dougherty Valley gets what it wants. But can it beat DLS?
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DOUGHERTY VALLEY READY FOR EBAL CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE
After its East Bay Athletic League semifinal win over Amador Valley on Wednesday, there was only one opponent Dougherty Valley wanted to play in Friday’s league final: De La Salle.
The Wildcats got their wish.
The game will be a rematch of last year’s EBAL final when Dougherty Valley lost by 28 points on its home floor. The Spartans also got the best of the Wildcats last month in a 75-66 win in Concord.
Now, Dougherty Valley will get its chance to avenge those two losses. And the San Ramon school wants all the smoke.
“We’re very motivated for this game,” sophomore forward Alonzo Walker III said. “We’re gonna go to De La Salle and start whooping this time.”
If styles made fights, Friday’s game would be a promoter’s dream.
Dougherty Valley’s five-guard lineup has torched opponents, giving the Wildcats’ the spacing they need to attack the basket and hit 3-pointers with their plethora of crafty guards.
On the other side of the floor, De La Salle has punished opponents with its size and bruising post play.
Dougherty Valley coach Mike Hansen knows the challenges De La Salle presents, especially on its home floor.
“Everyone kept asking me during the preseason who is going to be on top of the league. There was talk about California or Amador Valley, but I always told people there are two really good teams who have been at the top of this league forever,” Hansen said. “It’s good to see us at the end with them. Marcus (Schroeder) does a great job. We’re going to have to change some things to deal with their size. I love our guard play against them, but it’s going to be a dogfight.”
Hansen also knows that a win over De La Salle — which is virtually locked into the North Coast Section Open Division — could vault Dougherty Valley into the section’s highest postseason bracket, too.
“I kind of thought that our win over Amador might push us into the Open, but we’ll see,” Hansen said. “We were in the EBAL final against De La Salle last year and after we lost, I woke up and we weren’t in the Open anymore. I worry about the controllable and what I’ll control is getting my team ready to play on Friday night.”
— Nathan Canilao
ST. FRANCIS: NO GOALS ALLOWED
Defense has been stellar all season long for the St. Francis girls soccer team.
The Lancers have conceded just three goals, with two coming in West Catholic Athletic League play. They have not allowed a goal since beating Mitty 2-1 on Jan. 13.
But it goes beyond that. In some games, St. Francis does not allow a single shot on goal.
Sometimes, it’s their own fault.
“One of them was an own goal,” St. Francis coach Carlos Barboza said. “So I have to give a lot of praise to how committed our defensive transitions are, and our goalkeepers are fantastic. It builds confidence when you can keep a clean sheet and you can make sure you shut out, not only goal-wise, but eliminating chances that they could even create goals. It builds confidence moving forward up the field.”
— Christian Babcock
LIBERTY: LIONS LETTING CHIPS FALL
After getting an NCS Open Division playoff spot last season, Liberty set its sights on getting back to the section’s top postseason division this season.
But despite having a strong resume, the Brentwood school is on the outside looking in going into Friday’s regular-season finale against Antioch.
Needing to finish within the top six of the MaxPreps rankings to earn an Open Division spot, the Lions currently sit at ninth. Liberty has a win over projected fifth seed Marin Catholic and a quality inter-section win over Modesto Christian.
But how ever Sunday’s seeding plays out, Liberty will be ready to make a playoff push in whatever division it is placed in. Even with the talent of an Open Division team, Liberty coach Rich Morton said there’s still work to be done.
“I definitely think we’re a Top 10 team in the Bay Area,” Morton said. “But for us I just think it’s a matter of which Liberty team comes out on any particular night. I think we can play with anybody.”
— Nathan Canilao
PITTSBURG: BIG MAN IS A REBOUND MACHINE
The Pirates are still a work in progress under first-year coach Jared Martin, but the East Bay school might have a program cornerstone in 6-foot-7 junior Brynden Hunt.
Hunt scored 10 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in a close loss to Liberty on Tuesday in what was a breakout game for the athletic big man.
“We always preach to him that he’s got to be a beast on the boards,” Martin said. “I feel like anybody can be a franchise cornerstone, but he does have the capabilities to be that guy for us next year. He can certainly grow into someone that can have a major role going for the team as a senior.”
— Nathan Canilao
ARCHBISHOP MITTY: LIGHTS OUT
Only external forces were going to stop Archbishop Mitty from facing Archbishop Riordan on Tuesday night.
And they nearly did.
With Mitty set to host Riordan as the first team to face the Crusaders in two weeks after tuberculosis cases emerged at the San Francisco school, everything was set up for another classic WCAL showdown.
Until the power went out.
“The lights went out here,” Mitty coach Tim Kennedy said. “The power went out in the freshman B game, and so they had to cancel the freshman A game. So I felt bad for those A players who hadn’t played in a couple weeks. And we were nervous, because they said the lights weren’t coming back, or the electricity wasn’t coming back until 7:45. So I was like, ‘Man, Riordan was cursed or something.’ They couldn’t get a game in.”
Thankfully, the lights came back on around 5:30, and Riordan and Mitty were able to complete the junior varsity and varsity games.
“I’m glad they were able to get it in,” Kennedy said.
— Christian Babcock
PALO ALTO: SPECIAL MOMENT FOR NEW COACH
What’s the best way for an aspiring head coach to find out he got the job?
From his players.
New Palo Alto football coach Ed Tonga is a Student and Family Engagement Specialist with the Palo Alto Unified School District, meaning he’s often on Paly’s campus. He has served on Palo Alto’s football staff for years, including most recently as defensive coordinator.
So when he was summoned to the gym a few Fridays ago, he got a nice surprise.
“I was pulled into the gym with all the football players,” Tonga recounted. “And they had an introduction for me, and I was told that I was the head coach for the 2026 football season. It was a memorable one.”
— Christian Babcock