CCAA Football Preview: Can Big Valley make it a fifth straight league championship?
Stanislaus District football teams went all out last season. There were seven league champions, 16 teams earning playoff spots, three section champions, two runners up and one NorCal Champion all from this area. It might be hard to top the success we saw last year, but the beauty of sports is that every team will try.
The Bee will preview each league, highlighting last season’s league winner and giving notes on what to expect from teams this season.
The Central California Athletic Alliance had just one team qualify for last year’s playoffs: league champion Big Valley Christian. While the Lions went an undefeated 3-0 in the league, Stone Ridge Christian wasn’t too far behind with a 2-1 record. The league title came down to a matchup with the Knights, which the Lions won on the road 27-20 on Oct. 22.
2021 CCAA Standings
Team (Overall record, League record)
Big Valley Christian (6-5, 3-0)
Stone Ridge Christian (4-6, 2-1)
Millennium (5-4, 1-2)
Delta Charter (0-8, 0-3)
Big Valley Christian is coming off its fourth league title in Brian Berkefeld’s first five seasons as head coach. Entering his sixth, the Lions are in a transition period. The team graduated the majority of its roster, which is to be expected in high school sports. But unlike some teams in the area, Big Valley didn’t bring in an influx of newcomers.
After having 53 players in the program and a successful 6-5 season capped with a playoff appearance in 2021, the Lions have 30 players this year. If a sudden jump in interested students on the first day of school doesn’t happen, they’ll be forced to just have a varsity team. They did add transfer Logan Stevens who will have to sit the first five weeks, missing four games, but will be a welcome addition immediately in the locker room and on the field in the coming weeks.
“He’s been a really positive addition and jumped right in,” Berkefeld said. “He’s got a good mind about him. He played in our youth program, then went over to Davis and came back over here.”
The past few seasons, Big Valley has run multiple offenses based on personnel. Last year specifically, it started in a pro style offense but because of injuries switched to the hard nosed ground and pound Wing-T. This year, partially because of numbers and partially because of adjusting to a first-year sophomore quarterback, the Lions will attack defenses mostly with the Wing-T.
“We always had the Wing-T, but it became our main offense at about halfway through (last) year,” Berkefeld said. “This year, looking at our personnel that we had … when you have smaller numbers, you try to get guys a rest and things that they need because they’re gonna play both ways. The Wing-T seemed like it was gonna fit us really well.”
It’s been an offseason of learning for the Lions, who lost 12 from last year’s varsity roster of 22 players. Returners Jordan Banana and Kayden Spears have been two of the returners tasked with getting younger players and transfers acclimated before their season opener on the road against Waterford.
“The kids have really kind of come together,” Berkefeld said. “In terms of team unity, this is one of our strongest years so far. Even with all the transition stuff that happened, the seniors this year have really stepped up and have done a really great job leading everybody together.”
CCAA Notes
League Championship is extra important
The CCAA is a very small league, which means of the four teams, only one is guaranteed a spot in the postseason. Whoever wins the league earns a trip to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII playoffs.
With just three league games, a combination of competitive nonleague matchups and essentially a perfect league record are necessary to secure at least one extra game. Strength of schedule is always a deciding factor in determining playoff position. Division VI teams may also be eligible to drop into Division VII and knock out a smaller school from the CCAA or another league because in most cases, they have been playing tougher competition than a Division VII team.
“It’s difficult to make the playoffs in our league if you’re not the league champion because they sent these six schools down to D seven playoffs,” Berkefeld explained. “If you finished second place and you’ve had a good season but hadn’t played the teams that they’ve played, sometimes our power rating is not as high and then we get bumped out.”
Is Stone Ridge the team to beat?
For the past five years, the CCAA league championship has come down to the Stone Ridge Christian vs Big Valley Christian game. It’s a rivalry with serious playoff implications and the Lions have taken four of the last five. Could the league championship change hands this year? While the Lions are in a transition, Stone Ridge has a stacked team returning.
The Knights bring back their quarterback, three top rushers, top receiver and top tackler from last season’s team that was one touchdown away from forcing overtime with the Lions.
