Beyond The Game

In this episode, we welcome California high school sports luminaries Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times and Serra High School football coach Patrick Walsh. The highly decorated Sondheimer has been covering high school sports for over 40 years and has been with the LA Times since 1997. Walsh is the most successful coach in Serra history, having led the Padres to eight WCAL titles and five Central Coast Section championships in 19 seasons. Walsh recently created the Golden State High School Football Coaches Community, an advocacy group whose goal is to present a data-driven plea directly to the office of Governor Gavin Newsom with the hopes of influencing a return to action plan for high school sports in California.

Today Nate and Harold welcome 247 Sports National Recruiting Editor Brandon Huffman, one of the pre-eminent recruiting analysts in the nation. They discuss the close of the early signing period and some of the top football recruits in Northern California, who have committed to some of the top college football programs in the country.

The California Department of Public Health has issued guidelines on participation for youth and adult sports as California tries to deal with the worsening coronavirus pandemic. In this episode, we take a look on how this might impact the high school sports season in California and whether there will be one at all for some sports.

In Northern California, we are still awaiting for word on the status of the high school football season, but that hasn't stopped Prep2Prep Foundation students Mateo Arenas and Dylan Freeman from getting started on their media coverage for Prep2Prep. The two juniors from Heritage High School in Brentwood join us on the podcast to discuss their recent experience covering the National Preps Collegiate Showcase in Vacaville and future plans for their careers in sports media.

High school football season in Northern California is on hold until December, but that hasn't stopped the recruitment process from taking place this fall. Today we are joined by Northern California recruits Jackson Holt (Oakdale High School), Sam Ross (Miramonte High School) and Jerry Mixon (Sacred Heart Cathedral), each of whom excelled at a recent National Preps Collegiate Showcase in Fresno.

With COVID-19 forcing the postponement of the California high school football season to early January 2021, high school football players who are looking to play at the next level need ways to gain exposure. Enter National Preps, which is holding combine/showcases for top prospects. Today we are joined by Brandon Huffman, one of the pre-eminent recruiting analysts in the nation; Trent Herzog, head football coach at St. Vincent de Paul High School and Western Region College Football scout for National Preps; and Gary Howard, National Preps Western Region/Texas Recruiting Director.

Today Harold, Nate and Danny are joined by special guest Lou Richie and we speak with the Preppy Award winners for Female and Male Breakthrough Athletes of the Year. After flying under the radar her junior season, Lexi Zandonella led the Carondelet soccer team to the NorCal Division 1 Regional championship by scoring 9 of her 14 goals n the final month of the season. She is starting her collegiate career this fall at Sonoma State University. After serving primarily as a role player his sophomore season, Bishop O'Dowd basketball star Marsalis Roberson broke out his junior year earning Prep2Prep North Coast Section Player of the Year honors after leading the Dragons to the NCS Open Division title. He is a heavily recruited athlete expected to commit to a Division I school during his senior season.

Today we speak with the Preppy Award winners for Female and Male Team Coach of the Year. Brian Sato took over midseason and led the St. Joseph Notre Dame girls basketball team to its first-ever CIF North Coast Section Open Division championship and a runner-up finish in the CIF Northern Regional Open Division playoffs. Jon Schwan led the Montgomery boys soccer team to its best season ever, finishing a 26-0-1 record and a North Coast Section Division 1 championship - the first in school history in any sport - and a CIF NorCal Division 1 title.

On Halloween night in 2019, Omari Taylor's brother Omar Jr. was shot and killed while DJing a party in Orinda. The next day, Omari, who plays football at Clayton Valley Charter (Concord) had a game against California powerhouse De La Salle. He made the decision to play and rushed for 76 yards that night. Though Clayton Valley didn't win that night, the Eagles didn't lose another game all season, winning both the North Coast Section Division 2 and California Interscholastic Federation 2-AA state championship. Today we speak with the Preppy winner for Most Inspirational Athlete Omari Taylor and his coach Tim Murphy.

Today we speak with the Preppy Award winners for Female and Male Athlete of the Year. Tehya Bird (Cloverdale High School) is a three-sport star who excelled in softball, basketball and volleyball. She will play softball at the University of Oregon. Nate Rutchena (Monte Vista High School) is a two-sport star who excelled in football and basketball and will continue his football career at Cal.