Sixth months ago the Alameda Unified School District explored the possibility of combining the Island’s two public high schools. Last Friday’s rivalry between Alameda and Encinal high schools reminded the community that the Island Bowl is a tradition worth keeping.
The 65th Island Bowl wasn’t as close as last year’s matchup, but there were still fireworks between the Hornets and the Jets. When the dust settled, the Jets trotted off with a 42-0 victory and bragging rights for yet another year.
The first week of the 2019 high school football season was a success for both Alameda and Encinal high school teams.
Encinal High
Encinal High School (EHS) put a thumping on the overmatched Washington High School (WHS) of Fremont football team in route to a 42-0 shutout victory on Aug. 23 on the road. The Jets outdid last year’s blowout of WHS when they beat the Huskies, 41-0, in the 2018 season opener.
The Encinal and Alameda high school football teams will kickoff their 2019 seasons this weekend. Both teams have high expections after stellar seasons last year.
Alameda Hornets
Alameda High School (AHS) went 8-3 overall and 4-1 in the West Alameda County Conference (WACC) Shoreline League last season. They finished in a three-way tie for the division crown with Hayward High School and Tennyson High of Hayward.
St. Joseph Notre Dame (SJND) senior Emily Perez finished 14th in the women’s 1,600-meter race with a time of 5:06.84 at the Stanford Invitational on Saturday, March 30. Encinal High School (EHS) senior Shelby Nelson finished 25th in the same race. She completed the distance in 5:21.81. Twenty-six athletes competed in the race.
Alameda high school teams and athletes performed at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) state cross country championships Saturday, Nov. 24, at Woodward Park in Fresno.
Maybe it was rust from the long layoff. Or maybe it was going up against the first seed in the North Coast Section (NCS) Div. III playoffs. Either way the Encinal High football team was out matched in its 56-21 NCS quarterfinal game defeat to Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa Saturday, Nov. 24.
The Jets entered the road contest as the underdog and it showed. From the outset the eighth-seeded Jets were unable to keep up with the high scoring capabilities of the Cardinals.
The Encinal High School Jets football team will advance to the second round of the North Coast Section (NCS) Div. III playoffs after a 49-0 rout of Petaluma High Saturday, Nov. 3 at Stargell Field.
Even though the Jets and Trojans entered the tournament as the eighth and ninth seeds, respectively, Encinal overwhelmed Petaluma with its athletic talent.
The Jets’ offense took off before most people in attendance could get to their seats.
Both Encinal and Alameda high school football teams qualified for the North Coast Section (NCS) Div. III playoffs. The teams will compete in the first round of the playoffs this weekend.
The Jets were awarded the eighth seed out of 14 teams. They will take on Petaluma High Saturday, Nov. 3, at the Nail House. The Hornets were seeded 12th in the tournament. They will face fifth-seed Miramonte of Orinda Friday, Nov. 2.
