Two coaches already convinced that Bella Vista High School is the real deal are No. 4 Casa Roble's Norm Ryan and No. 8 Del Campo's Mike Dimino.
They agreed that the two perennial Capital Athletic League playoff teams were fortunate to escape with late-season victories against the Broncos in 2007.
Bella Vista appears to be even better than last year's 7-3 group, though it returned only five starters.
The Broncos (4-0) moved into The Bee's Top 20 at No. 19 this week after beating Foothill 27-10 Friday. They face visiting Center (4-0) in a homecoming game Friday.
Expect the Fair Oaks stadium to be rocking.
"Everybody is pretty excited on campus," said Matt Polston, Bella Vista's go-getter second-year coach. "I've got hard-working kids who are great students, we're winning football games, and a lot of alumni are coming back. This is what you want as a coach."
It helps that surprising Center also is undefeated because it will keep the Broncos from looking toward the league opener Oct. 17 at champion Casa Roble.
League play will be a big step up, Polston agrees.
Casa Roble, Del Campo, Bella Vista and Rio Americano are a combined 15-1. With three playoff berths in the league, one unhappy team will be done after the regular season.
Polston isn't making any predictions. But he likes his players, especially a senior group that didn't win a game as freshmen but has since established a penchant for winning.
The centerpiece on offense is senior running back Troy Samas, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound returning all-league player who set a school record with 280 rushing yards in a Week 1 win over Cordova.
The defensive leader is 6-foot-3, 180-pound senior cornerback Eric Rice, who has three interceptions and returned a fumble 34 yards for a touchdown with 31 seconds to help the Broncos beat Yuba City 14-7 in Week 3.
"A lot of our guys have stepped up," Polston said, also noting that his 49-man varsity has a combined 3.32 grade-point average. "They have grown tight as a group."
Talk about sibling rivalry – Siblings Andi and J.D. Darr have a nice competition between them to see who can accumulate the most points for the El Dorado football team.
At 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, J.D., a sophomore, is an emerging running back who had touchdown runs of 65 and 20 yards in Saturday's 52-0 win against Encina at El Camino High School.
But it's the 5-foot-8, eye-liner wearing Andi who catches most opponents' attention. That's because Andi, also known as Alison, is a girl.
As the team's kicker, she is a key contributor for the 2-2 Cougars. She has made 16 of 19 PATs and Saturday connected on a career-high 43-yard field goal.
"The field conditions weren't the best because of the wet weather," said El Dorado coach Rick Redding, noting that Andi missed two of her first three PAT attempts. "So that was an impressive kick."
Said Andi: "I actually didn't know how far it was when I kicked it. When I found out, I was shocked."
The field goal – she has kicked a 47-yarder in practice – gives her temporary bragging rights for points scored over J.D. entering the Cougars' Pioneer Valley League opener Friday at Placer. She has 19 points, J.D. 18.
Andi figures to get more opportunities Friday. The Cougars' wing-T offensive attack, which rolled up 589 rushing yards against Encina, is averaging 37 points.
Andi was the Cougars' kicker as a sophomore, then sat out last season with a groin injury. But she plans to play fútbol, not football, beyond high school. She is a forward for the El Dorado girls soccer team and a goalkeeper for the Elk Grove Pride club team. She leaves Sunday for a college soccer recruiting trip to Wayne State in Detroit and Buena Vista in Storm Lake, Iowa.
"I know I'm not going to make it into the NFL, but I hope to play soccer in college," she said. "I've worked really hard for a long time, so I'm not ready to let go yet."
Call The Bee's Bill Paterson, (916) 326-5506.
