Tag: Rodriguez High School

Little suspense in MEL football

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Welcome to the annual race for second place, otherwise known as football in the Monticello Empire League. Let’s cut to the chase and concede the 2023 championship to Vacaville High without making the Bulldogs play five games.

Vacaville has won six consecutive MEL titles, so the only suspense each season is which team will take second. And even that has not been exciting with Vanden finishing as the runner-up in each of the past five seasons.

Tanner Donaldson contributed to the Bulldogs’ success as a player and now hopes to do as an assistant coach.

Will C. Wood was second in 2017, the first season after Napa and Vintage left the league. Vanden and Fairfield joined the MEL when the Superior California Athletic Conference folded.

Vanden is the only MEL team to come within 20 points of Vacaville in three of the past four years.  The Vikings lost 35-17 to the Bulldogs two years ago, their last loss on their way to the state 3-AA championship.

If Vanden lost twice to Vacaville with Tre Dimes at quarterback, what chance do the Vikings stand  without him? 

Will C. Wood lost 34-31 to Vacaville in 2018, three years after the Wildcats humbled the Bulldogs in a 49-26 victory. The Bulldogs’ last MEL loss was 28-21 to Napa in 2016. Vacaville has won 27 consecutive MEL games since then.

Vacaville’s average margin of victory during that winning streak is 33.6 points. That includes a 40-10 victory against Napa in 2017, a parting gift for the only team that could give Vacaville a run for the money.

The 2023 MEL season kicks off Friday night with Vacaville welcoming Rodriguez to Tom Zunino Stadium, Fairfield traveling to Wood and Vanden visiting Armijo. The closest the Mustangs have come against the Bulldogs was a 49-42 loss in 2008. 

Rodriguez has come within 30 points of Vacaville twice in 14 meetings since then. The Bulldogs’ average margin of victory against the Mustangs is 40 points,  including three games decided by 50 or more .

Armijo is the only unbeaten team at 5-0, but three of the Royals’ victories have come against teams with a combined record of 1-14. Fairfield’s five opponents are a combined 7-16. The Falcons did manage to beat Davis 27-26, but let’s not forget the Blue Devils were routed 43-0 by the Bulldogs in the first week.

Two of Wood’s three victories have come against 0-6 Sacramento and 0-5 Dixon by a total of 14 points. Armijo routed Dixon 42-7 two weeks after the Rams gave the Wildcats all they could handle in a 19-8 loss.

Vacaville can afford to look ahead to the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs because no MEL team will pose a threat to the Bulldogs’ reign. The playoffs have not been kind to the Bulldogs, who are 6-9 in the postseason since winning the section Division II title in 2011. They have reached the semifinals once in 10 years since then.

Two section championships in a span of six years (Vacaville won its first in 2006) raised the bar for the Bulldogs. MEL titles are nice, but they lose their luster when they become as certain as death and taxes.

Vanden is the only MEL team to come within 20 points of Vacaville in three of the past four years.  The Vikings lost 35-17 to the Bulldogs two years ago, their last loss on their way to the state 3-AA championship.

Will C. Wood lost 34-31 to Vacaville in 2018, three years after the Wildcats humbled the Bulldogs in a 49-26 victory. The Bulldogs’ last MEL loss was 28-21 to Napa in 2016. Vacaville has won 27 in a row since then.

Remarkable return to baseball

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Miles Meadows has no business starting in center field at Solano Community College. The 2022 Rodriguez High School graduate had not played baseball in seven years until he joined the Falcons. His teammates paid their dues for four years in high school for an opportunity to play at a junior college. Meadows has some nerve to think he belonged even though he had not swung a bat since he was 12 years old.

Meadows does belong, however. The freshman is batting .328 with three home runs, 22 RBI and a team-high 17 steals. There have been times when Meadows could not hide his inexperience. He has committed seven errors, four more than any other outfielder, and his baserunning needs a bit of work. Against Los Medanos on April 11, Meadows tagged at second base on a blooper that Mustangs second baseman Darrell Mays dropped just a few steps into the outfield. Even if Mays had caught the ball, there was no way Meadows could have made it to third.

At least Meadows made amends by stealing third and scoring on a single by Ryan Mitchell. That did not prevent third-base coach Brian Guinn from pulling Meadows aside to discuss the mistake and then jokingly call him a “freakin’ rookie.”

Miles Meadows

Head coach Scott Stover has been a bit more forgiving because he takes into consideration all that Meadows has done for the Falcons this season. The Falcons are 8-10 in the Bay Valley Conference and 14-21 overall with three games remaining. Stover would rather not think of how the Falcons would have fared without Meadows.

“We have guys who work hard and they can’t do what Miles does,” said Stover, who has to be counting his baseball blessings . “He’s a leader, he’s so positive and he’s our biggest cheerleader. It’s always been a team thing for him. He’s not selfish and he gets us going.”

There is much more to Meadows than his talent and spirit. Stover missed the April 11 game at Los Medanos when he was hospitalized with an illness. Only one player contacted Stover after the game to check on the coach’s condition. Do you want to guess who it was?

The call came from a young man who had his heart set on playing football as he did at Rodriguez until realizing he could not afford to commute to junior colleges in Sacramento and the Bay Area. And there were a number of junior colleges that were interested in Meadows’ services after he was the starting quarterback for two years at Rodriguez.

Stover is already looking forward to have Meadows return in 2024 and believes Meadows will have every opportunity to play baseball beyond Solano. “I’ve never talked to him about playing football,” Stover quipped, “because I don’t want to put it in his head.”

Meadows will not be going anywhere anytime soon. Playing at Solano has allowed his grandfather, Allan Brown, to attend games. Brown had a hand in raising his grandson, Meadows said, and continues to play a prominent role in Meadows’ life.

“I was not always the best kid. When I got in trouble, he always set me straight,” Meadows said. “I never want to disappoint him.” There is little chance of that ever happening because Meadows is driven to make the most of every opportunity to come his way.

His teammates would welcome Meadows even if he was not a starter and at the top of the Falcons’ batting order. They have come to count on the freshman to provide leadership and be the spark that ignites the team. “Some guys just have it,” said second baseman Victor Vega, who is the team captain. “The guys want to be around him.”

It took more than talent for Meadows to earn the respect of teammates who could have been envious of his emergence. They could have turn a deaf ear whenever Meadows stepped forward to address the team. They could have teased him after overhearing Meadows’ phone conversation with his girlfriend during which she called him “Pookie.”

To be honest, they do tease him. Meadows does not mind the ribbings because they are underlined with respect. “They see the work I put in. They respect the way I carry myself,” Meadows said. “When I say something, they know it’s coming from a good place.”

Meadows is in a good place. “I love these guys,” he said. “This is a perfect fit.”