Veteran Calif. HS football coach steps down

They added the regional semifinal round in all divisions this past season. Virtually all Section crowns were awarded around Dec. 1. State final bowls have been at Home Depot Center. Unlike many state, AP does not do a state prep poll. Matchups are decided by committee with a lot of input from the folks at Cal-Hi Sports.

To accommodate the second layer of playoff games, the season started in mid-August and "fall" practice started around July 30.

 

Ladouceur was/is a phenomenal coach and teacher. When he started at DLS, I was a high school guy in the area and the studs were not recruited but stayed and played for local public school. The guys who could not make our HS team would go to DLS to get playing time.

Unfortunately (IMHO) in the early 80's the shift began, and private schools in CA became the big dogs and the public/local schools lost talent. That said, Coach Lad consistently developed the most disciplined, fundamental teams. There have been some really high caliber players, DJ Williams, Jones-Drew, Toomer, Matt Gutierrez (Brady backup), but not a program that spit them out every year. I have always been amazed at how he got 220 lb guards to get the better of 275-300 lb DTs. The pinnacle being when DLS beat Long Beach Poly.

As for the California playoffs, there are sectional playoffs to decide the various division championships, then at the end of the year a bowl for Northern Cal v. Southern Cal schools; Open, D!, etc.