Early Wins Will Be Key to Warriors' Division Chances

During one of the final team practices before the start of the regular season, South San Francisco Varsity Football Coach Frank Moro stressed the importance of starting the season off on the right foot. With South City's 13-12 win over Santa Clara Friday night, The Warriors are one win in the right direction to achieving a second consecutive winning season. 

Under the tutelage of nine-year head coach Moro, the Warriors will surely look to capture what the other five teams in their respected division are also fighting for — The Peninsula Athletic League "Ocean" Division title. 

So with the 2010-11 season underway, here's a glimpse to some of the more intriguing matchups that await the white and blue as well as some players to watch.

Wrapping up last season — The Warriors finished last years Varsity campaign with an overall 6-4 record in the PAL Ocean Division. Though the football squad technically finished overall above .500, they amassed a less-than-stellar division record of 2-3.  Two of those three matches were 2-point losses to Half Moon Bay and San Mateo — 27-25 and 34-32 — respectively. Their third division loss came to Burlingame, a game in which the Warriors led 17-7 at halftime. The Warriors utterly fell apart in the second half losing 41-23.

Three key losses in this case made all the difference in altering South City's chances for the title. A win over San Mateo and the Warriors would have been one of the four co-champions of the PAL Ocean Division.  A second win over a conference opponent and South City would've won the division outright.

The Game to watch — With only 10 games in regular season play — five of which are division — losses can become a major roadblock for any team trying to seize the PAL Ocean title. At the helm, coach Moro has emphasized early and often the importance of starting off on the winning track. The Warriors kick off their league season opener on home turf against nearby conference rivals Jefferson High School on Oct. 8.  Though lacking the all-around excitement of a night game, South City will look to repeat the whooping they handed Jefferson last year (42-12) in trying to set the winning mood against 2010 division rivals Half Moon Bay, Woodside, San Mateo and Menlo.

Players to keep an eye on:

Returning Warriors — This season, South City welcomes the return of juniors Ramzy Azar and Rika Levi, both linemen who regularly see action on both sides of the ball. Both Azar and Levi proved pivotal in the Warriors' opening season victory against Santa Clara as they slowed the bruin attack during clutch situations.

On offense, former tight end and senior Greg Bildhauer will look to adjust to the position of wide receiver while senior Falah Salem will look to be the chief running back this season. Salem proved his worth against Santa Clara scoring a 20-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

The New Guys —Though South City already has a good running back in Salem, new recruit Kevin Cunha will also look to provide support in the backfield. Cunha and Salem primarily made up the ground attack that wore down the Bruins defensive line.

Perhaps not completely a new guy because he was on the varsity team last season, Brad Los makes this list due to his transformation from defensive back to quarterback. The junior seemed to handle the drastic change in positions as he scored the final touchdown against Santa Clara giving his team the 'W.' A veteran of several sports including varsity baseball and basketball,  Los was so good on defense last season that his coach declared, "If he wasn't playing quarterback, he'd be a defensive back right now."