And so it begins . . .

The official fall sports season in the CIF-North Coast Section kicked off today, one week after the official start in the Sac-Joaquin Section and Central Coast Section. It is also one week after the official start in the Southern Section, which saw flag football teams playing their first official games of the season on the same day as the NCS teams started practices and/or tryouts. For the record, Edison-Huntington Beach defeated Anaheim 40-0 on Monday afternoon to get flag football going at full speed this fall.

As the fall season gets going, one of the topics in this space is going to include the big questions that teams in multiple sports will strive to answer as the season gets underway. Today’s focus is flag football in the NCS, which I coached the past two seasons and have a continued passion for even in my new role.

• How does Granada replace the production of Katie Vail and Marin Llenicka?

  
  Vail and Llenicka were two of the top players in the EBAL and the NCS last season, with EBAL MVP Vail throwing for over 4,300 yards and 49 touchdowns. Llenicka, meanwhile, was a two-way standout as a threat at receiver but also at defensive back. Fortunately for last year’s section finalists, the cupboard is far from bare. Senior Isabelle Dunn was last year’s leading receiver and junior Liv Llenicka anchors the returns on defense. Meanwhile, keep an eye out for sophomore Bellamy Black - whose dad Brandon is the head football coach - as the next quarterback in the Matador system.
  

• How does San Ramon Valley handle sky-high expectations?

  
  Following last year’s 14-7 win over Granada in the NCS Division 1 title game, talk had already turned to whether the Wolves could repeat in 2026, with no seniors on the 2025 roster. That includes standout junior quarterback Gia Ryan and two-way playmaker sophomore Tatum Prindiville. Prindiville is one of four returners with over 600 yards receiving last year, led by seniors Asha Hanger and Hania Bowes. Bowes is certainly in the conversation for most accomplished all-around athletes, also having a key role on the powerful SRV girls basketball team. The focus for this group will be tuning out the repeat talk during a grueling EBAL and non-league schedule, a task which head coach Chad Cochran will no doubt be instilling in his girls from day one.

• Aside from De La Salle in football, are there heavier favorites to win section crowns this year than Las Lomas (Division 2) and Cardinal Newman (Division 3)?

  
  With the addition of a third playoff division, and no competitive equity format (yet) for girls flag football, both the Knights and the Cardinals have to be considered heavy favorites in their respective playoff divisions. Las Lomas returns arguably the top dual-threat quarterback in the section, with senior Maggie Kruger, and her 71 total touchdowns last season are once again complemented by familiar faces. Her top two receivers from last season - Violet Keeperman and Hannah Shank - both return for the Knights, as does running back Lexie Kou. Meanwhile, no one even came close to slowing down Cardinal Newman in Division 2 last year, and now the Cardinals seemingly have less competition down in Division 3. The return of NBL MVP Nicole Hayeems only strengthens a team that went 24-0 last season and outscored opponents 951-95.
  

• Who are the candidates to emerge this season?

  
  Picking a dark horse is a real challenge when so many teams have such great returning firepower. But don’t overlook Rancho Cotate this year. The Cougars will benefit from the new playoff alignment, after missing the dance completely last year. They also return all offensive production from last season, and will be battle tested from seeing Cardinal Newman in league play. Also keep an eye on all four of the teams in Division 1 who lost in the quarterfinals last year - Castro Valley, Heritage, Clayton Valley and Liberty. All of them return their starting quarterbacks and plenty more on both sides of the ball.