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"We knew that once we hit league we've got two defending NorCal champions - that represented Northern California in the state bowl last year - right off the bat," said head coach Jack Schram.
The Mats open up DAL play by hosting Clayton Valley and Campolindo on back-to-back Fridays, beginning Oct. 7.
"We've got tough teams coming up," Schram said. "But we've got (time) now to clean up all the little things to see if we can get better and see what we can do."
The team's last meeting with Clayton Valley, who MaxPreps ranks as the No. 38 team in the state, came back in 2013, when the Mats surprised the heavyweights with an upset win in the NCS playoffs.
"We did beat them last time we played them, which is definitely fresh on their coach's mind,"Schram said. "They're not going to overlook us at all."
A week later, the Mats will welcome in the Cougars for a matchup that Schram described as the "biggest game of the season, probably." With the challenging games looming, the Mats will be relying heavily on quarterback Tim Tague. The senior has aired out 19 touchdowns in five games.
"The numbers probably could have been doubled - had we wanted to," Schram said, pointing out that Tague has only played about two-and-half quarters of football thanks to all the early-season blowouts.
Senior Nick Foster has been the No. 1 option for Tague - hauling in five touchdowns - but he's one of just six players with multiple touchdown catches.
Before meeting the Mats in the second game of the DAL season, Campolindo visits Las Lomas for the opener on Oct. 7. For head coach Kevin Macy and the Cougars, the top priority is simply trying to get as healthy as possible after navigating a loaded preseason schedule with a 3-2 record.
"We're just so patchwork as we're trying to manage all the injuries and we're going to see what we can do to piece something together for league play," Macy said.
With a depleted running back corps and an inexperienced offensive line, the Cougars will be looking to their most consistent player - senior quarterback Jacob Westphal - to lead the way. Macy singled out seniors Matt Ringquist and Vince Mossotti as Westphal's most important receivers - especially with their rivalry game against the Mats approaching.
"That's always a big one - regardless," Macy said. "But I imagine with the turn of events it's just gotten bigger."
"We're both going in two different directions," Macy added. "They're rolling and healthy and we're limping and beaten up. That will be one of those games where if we can just find enough able bodies that's the goal."
Acalanes, who doesn't see either of their neighbors until the final two weeks of the season, hosts Concord on Oct. 7 to begin their DAL slate. The Dons went 3-2 in nonconference action despite playing four of those five games on the road.
"I think (that experience) will make us a better team throughout our league schedule by playing tough teams and playing the way we did," explained head coach Floyd Burnsed.
For the Dons, junior quarterback Robby Rowell has excelled behind a young, but rapidly improving offensive line. During the nonleague schedule, senior Matt Burns and junior Brian Merken were Rowell's favorite targets, as both upperclassman hauled in four touchdown catches a piece.
Burnsed explained that his team spent much of its pre-league bye week working on fundamentals and making sure they don't get too far ahead of themselves, with a tricky DAL schedule out on the horizon.
"I think you look at one game at a time," Burnsed said. "It's not looking at Clayton or Campo or Miramonte. It's looking at Concord. That's what our main focus will be - getting ready for Concord."
Nontheless, Burnsed knows just how enjoyable it will be to end the season with a run of games against the Dons' most-familiar opponents.
"There's a lot of rivals in there in Miramonte, Campolindo and Las Lomas," Burnsed said. "So, playing our district schools is a lot of fun because there's a lot of interest in it and a lot of people come to see those games."
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA