10/8/12 - Last Fridays game vs. SHP was exactly what I thought it woould be. A tough, physical, defensive
oriented match that would come down to a few plays. I am extremely proud of the effort put forward
by our young men and truly b elieve that we got better as a football team, even in defeat. What I was
most please with was that everythjing we focused and worked on during the week in regards to our
game plan, especially on the defensive side of the ball, was executed by our kids. That is definitely
something to build on. Things don't get much easier this week as we travel to Menlo Atherton to play,
arguably, the best opponent we've faced up to this point. They are big,fast, and physical. As it always
does, it will take a great week of preparation followed by outstanding execution on Friday nightfor us
to have a chance. Based on what we're learning about ourselves, especially with all the adveristy
we've faced on almost a daily basis, our kids will be up for the challenge. I know I'm looking forward
to it.
9/16/12 - It sure has been a tough start to the season thus far. After roaring back last week to the tune of a 45-6
victory over Woodside we found a way to lose this past Friday night eerily similar to the way we lost
a couple weeks back. We have to learn to finish games. We are in a position to win but just can't seal
the deal. Things seemed to be a bit off all last week and it carried through to Friday night. We didn't exactly
have the best week of practice combinedwith our special teams coordinator and offensive asst. coach being
extremely sick and missing most of the week including the game. During the game our headsets didn'twork,
the cameradied late in the third quarter, and we suffered another significant injury. While all this was going
on Mt. view scored a two point conversion on a botched snap,received the benefit of a bad snap and two
points on a bad snap from our puntteam, and recovered their own fumble when we stopped them on a critical
third down to pick the ball up and take it 40 plus yards inside our ten yard line. Wow, the only thing we can
do is look forward, focus on Capuchino, and work our tails off to try and get our second win of the season.
The only thing I know for certain is that it won't be easy and we need to learn to finish football games.
9/1/12 - Last night surely didn't go the way we hoped it would. In addition to losing the game, it looks like we
may have lost our team captain and LB/TE for all or most of the season. We definitely have some adversity
to overcome right out of the gate. It will be interesting to see how we respond to the combination of
a heart breaking loss and key injury. Too many little mistakes through out the game and at critical
moments was definitely our downfall. The good news is that they are all correctable. We really need
bare down and have a great week of practice. Next Friday can't get here soon enough!
8/25/12 - Well, it's that time of year again and there are a lot of great things happening at Burlingame High School.
Our summer was outstanding with over 110 kids participating in our off-season program. There were
many highlights including a trip to Camp Parks for the varsity squad to spend a day training with the U.S.
Marines, our weekly 7v7 sessions with other schools,thehillsdale contact camp, weekly crossfit training
sessions and a wide variety of other events that have hopefully prepared us for the rigours of playing
high school football and competing at a high level. The commitment from the kids at all levels has been
nothing short of excellent. I am especially pleased that we have over 40 freshmen on this years squad.
It's hard to believe that we are less than one week away from our home opener vs. Saratoga H.S. I
thought the scrimmage last night vs. SSF, Carlmont, and Riordan went relatively well andwas good
preparation for what will clearly be a close game that will probably be decided by a TD or less. We have
a few mistakes to clean up and quite a few injuries to overcome and this week of preparation will be
critical in our quest to start the season at 1-0. Should be a lot of fun!!.....It was great seeing Pete Finau,
Mike Jerone, and many others from the class of 74 there to meet and support the team before the
scrimmage Friday night. It truly was an honor and we're all looking forward to awarding the first
annual Mike Jerone "Never Give Up" award to a deserving varsity player once the season concludes.
11/8/11 - We did what we had to do last Friday night at King's Academy and walked away with a big win
and an automatic birth into the Central Coast Section playoffs. I am very pleased with the way
we have been playing and feel like, for the first time in the past few years, that we are playing
our best football of the year at the right time. This team has made tremendous strides and to
see the improvement from week to week has been a real joy to watch. We clearly have a long
way to go and have not reached our ceiling just yet. We are now 2-0 in our 3 game mini season
and San Mateo is next in line. The Little Big Game is always a lot of fun, extrememlycompetetive
and intense, and full of excitement. We need this game to get to 6-5 and secure what I think will
be the 7th seed in CCS. We know and understand that SM will be ready and waiting for us and
we need to match and exceed that intensity and focus. Should be another great game!
10/29/11 - Last nights game at Jefferson wasn't our best effort but it was enough to get the win and put
ourselves one step closer to a ccs bid. At times weplayed really well and controlled the line
of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Once again penalties really hampered us, especially
in the red zone where we had three. We had an opportunity to go jup 28-6 late in the game and
seal the victorybut a holding call took that away and pushed us outside of the 30 yard line where
we eventually turned the ball over on downs. These are the type of mistakes we must avoid.
We had a chance to put them away and couldn't do it. It was nice to see our offense come through
late in the game in a 3rd and long situation where we busted a long run of over 50 yards for the
game clinching TD. Our team is really gaining confidence with each week and even though we
made some foolish mistakes I thought that overall we played relatively well in all 3 phases. We
are now 1-0 in our 3 game mini season and will need an excellent week of preparation to have
a chance at King's Academy next Friday.
10/22 - It was another very exciting Friday night at Burlingame but unfortunately the result was the same.
We gave T.N. just about all they could handle but it wasn't enough. Our record may not indicate it
but we have really grown and improved as a football team and I believe the best is still ahead of us.
Each game we play now becomes a must win if we want to have a shot at qualifying for CCS. Even
though our record stands at 2-5 it really doesn't feel like it. I firmly believe we are better than our
record shows but it's time to prove it on the field. We have basically reducedeverything to a three
game mini season and it starts next Friday night at Jefferson....A special thankyou to all the great
BHS fans. We've only had three home games but the place has been rockin'! You guys are the best!
10/15/11 - It was another heart breaking loss, this time at the hands of SHP. Once again, we were in control
of the game with multiple opportunities to put it away but we just couldn't make a play to get it
done and get our first league win. It was a very exciting and well played game by both teams and
the atmosphere was amazing. We just have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. We really are
our own worst enemy. I thought our kids played with a lot of desire and for the second week in a row
battled to the very end. That is something I am extremely proud of. I'm disappointed for the kids and
coaches because we were not able to pull it out but couldn't be more proud of our team. One thing
that is becoming very apparent is that we are fighters and once we work through these mistakes we
will definitely be a team to be reckoned with. Time is running out and we need to put a complete game
together. Things don't get any easier with Bay Division favorite Terra Nova coming to town next week.
We're going to have to bring our "A" game to have a chance of knocking them off. Our kids are
very resilient and Iknow we'll be ready for the challenge. Terra Nova has becomesomewhat of a
"friendly" rival for us over the past fewyears and our kids really enjoy competing against them.
Should be another very interesting and exciting week of Panther football.
10/10/11 - Last Friday's game vs. M.A. was in many ways a representation of the entire season to this point.
We had our momements where we played really well, especially in the first half where I fealt we
actually outplayed Menlo Atherton. We also had our moments where we made costly mistakes
and penalties at critical moments of the game. We just can't seem to get past the penalties and
missed assignments and if we can't figure it out soon it's going to haunt us for the rest of the
season. As I told the kids, I do feel like were close to putting it all together but I've fealt like that
the past couple of weeks. The turnovers, penalties, missed blocks and tackles, and blown
assignments are really hampering us and we need to have the team discipline to make the
corrections during the week and carry it over into Friday's contest. I am very happy with the effort
and determination we displayed last Friday. Our kids fought to the bitter end and that is something'
to be proud of. The new field is great. We just just need to get our first win on it. That will
be even better!
9/27/11 - I know I'm way behind on my blog entries and there are a number of reason why. As you all know,
sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the day and life can get in the way of certain things.
That being said, from here on out at least once a week if not more, I'll be making my blog entries.
With nearly half the season behind us we find ourselves at 2-2. We could very easily be 4-0 or at
the worst 3-1 but we're not and we're not for a reason. Last weeks loss to Mt. View was a definite
heartbreaker especially losing the game the way we did with a blocked punt in our own endzone
with only about 3minutes left in the game. Even in defeat there are a lot of positives that we can
build on and learn from. Having evaluated the film it is very clear that we gave the game away and
that a series on mistakes in all 3 phases of the game ultimately led to the loss. Mt. View was clearly
biggger and faster than we were and to the credit of our kids we hung tough andput oursleves
in a position to win. The other positive is that all the mistakes we made are correctable. We didn't lose
because of a lack of talent, size or speed. We lost due to a lack of execution at critical moments in
the contestand that will be the focus of preparation as we get ready for Menlo Atherton next week.
I do feel like we are improving almost daily and we've finally turned the corner in how we prepare
during the week. We are practicing much better on the field and arealso realizing the importance of
understanding the game plan, our opponents tendencies, and our adjustments based on those 2
factors. League play is going to be extremely challenging, tough, and physical. There are a number of
outstanding teams and coaches in the Bay Division and to secure a spot in CCS we must come in at
least 4th place. The way I see it, especially having seen most teams in our league live or on film, is
that there is not a team in our league that we can't beat. Unfortunately it works the other way as well.
There's not a team in our league that can't beat us, especially if we don't cut out the mistakes. I do know
that playing in a league with such parity means there's a lot of exciting football ahead!....Congratulation's
to our frosh team who is currently 3-0 and our soph team whi is 3-1. Great job guys!....Lastly I wanted
to thank Christi Johnson and all the great parents who helped put the football program together and
the parents and businesses who purchased ads. Your support is greatly appreciated....the field
is coming along great and should be done by next week. We are very greatful and appreciative of all the
work that both theschool and district administration have put in to ensuring that BHS has one of the
premier fields in all of CCS. Our game vs. MA is currently scheduled for Friday 10/7 at 3:00 but we are
hopeful and cautiously optomistic that we can play a double header here Thursday night 10/6.
GO PANTHERS!!