Battle Of The Bulldogs: Nor-Cal Preps
Posted by Troy Carrington on Friday, November 19, 2010
Playoff football is here with a number of excellent match-ups from Folsom to Salinas and beyond. In this week's NCP Field Pass, we caught up with Vacaville head coach Mike Papadopoulos as the Bulldogs prepare to take on Folsom.
Vacaville and Folsom share a mascot and a pension to put up big numbers on the scoreboard, but on Friday night, they will be battling for a shot at the SJS Division II semi-finals.
"We are very excited to be a part of it," Papadopoulos said of the match-up. "Folsom has an outstanding offense that is keeping us up at night trying to figure out how to slow it down."
Folsom is averaging more than 50 points and 442 total yards per game and have four players with double digit touchdowns with Dano Graves(61 total touchdowns), Jordan Richards(11 touchdowns), Tyler Trosin(21 touchdowns) and Kori Babineaux(11 touchdowns).
Still, it won't be the only prolific offense on the field as Vacaville and its 605 points on the year can also put up numbers.
The offense starts with the running of Quincy Forteand Melvin Mason, who both made All-MEL at running back. They are paired with Hudson Buck and the steady play of quarterback Tyler Irwin. Forte and Mason both exceeded 1,000 yards on the ground this year.
"(Forte and Mason) take pride in the little things in faking with the football, blocking and catching the ball out of the backfield," Papadopoulos said of what makes his backs special.
It hasn't all been smooth for Vacaville, which had to rebound from a 49-7 loss to Valley Christian (San Jose) on homecoming night.
"We had that big bump in the road early in the year against Valley Christian. It has definitely made us a better football team," Papadopoulos said. "We were disappointed we couldn't give them a better game that evening."
However, they have responded with seven straight wins with some strong defensive performances at times. They will need their best performance for a chance to move on Friday night. Vacaville had five defenders on the All-MEL team with linemen Hudson Buck, LaRyan King and Nick Henry to go with Forte at defensive back and an intriguing sophomore in Curtis Goins.
Vacaville and Folsom share a mascot and a pension to put up big numbers on the scoreboard, but on Friday night, they will be battling for a shot at the SJS Division II semi-finals.
"We are very excited to be a part of it," Papadopoulos said of the match-up. "Folsom has an outstanding offense that is keeping us up at night trying to figure out how to slow it down."
Folsom is averaging more than 50 points and 442 total yards per game and have four players with double digit touchdowns with Dano Graves(61 total touchdowns), Jordan Richards(11 touchdowns), Tyler Trosin(21 touchdowns) and Kori Babineaux(11 touchdowns).
Still, it won't be the only prolific offense on the field as Vacaville and its 605 points on the year can also put up numbers.
The offense starts with the running of Quincy Forteand Melvin Mason, who both made All-MEL at running back. They are paired with Hudson Buck and the steady play of quarterback Tyler Irwin. Forte and Mason both exceeded 1,000 yards on the ground this year.
"(Forte and Mason) take pride in the little things in faking with the football, blocking and catching the ball out of the backfield," Papadopoulos said of what makes his backs special.
It hasn't all been smooth for Vacaville, which had to rebound from a 49-7 loss to Valley Christian (San Jose) on homecoming night.
"We had that big bump in the road early in the year against Valley Christian. It has definitely made us a better football team," Papadopoulos said. "We were disappointed we couldn't give them a better game that evening."
However, they have responded with seven straight wins with some strong defensive performances at times. They will need their best performance for a chance to move on Friday night. Vacaville had five defenders on the All-MEL team with linemen Hudson Buck, LaRyan King and Nick Henry to go with Forte at defensive back and an intriguing sophomore in Curtis Goins.