Page 6 August 13, 2015 EL SEGUNDO HERALD By Adam Serrao Last Sunday afternoon, the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings marked the first game of this year’s NFL preseason and gave all true football fans butterflies in their stomachs as they anticipate the approaching 2015-’16 NFL season. In preparation for the season, we’ll take a look at some of the major storylines that should impact the upcoming season. From Tom Brady’s suspension to another year at starting quarterback for Robert Griffin III, it quickly becomes clear that every team in the NFL is dealing with their own unique set of circumstances. Obviously, the biggest story from this year’s offseason involved the New England Patriots. Not because they won last year’s Super Bowl, but because Tom Brady has been suspended for the first four games of the regular season. Brady will, of course, appeal his suspension and it is still to be determined whether or not he will serve the full term of his four game suspension, but at least for now, you can expect last year’s Super Bowl MVP to lose some time as he serves the punishment handed down for deflating footballs. While Patriots stock may be down a bit because of Brady’s suspension, other teams from around the AFC East may have experienced quite an uptick of sorts. The New York Jets, for instance, could have one of the best defense’s in the league this upcoming season with the additions of Darelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie and first round draft pick, Leonard Williams. They also added Brandon Marshall to an offense that should also be much improved. The Buffalo Bills, on the other hand, not only added head coach Rex Ryan, but also brought in running back LeSean McCoy to be what the team hopes is a reliable option out of the backfield. Add Percy Harvin to the receiving corps, Charles Clay as a tight end and Richie Incognito to the offensive line and there is reason to believe that Brady and the Pats could be dethroned this year. While Johnny Manziel remains the biggest headline grabber from around the AFC North, you can expect the Cleveland Browns to be rather forgettable. The division will once again come down to who wins the two inter-division games between the Baltimore Ravens and the amazing offense of the Steelers. In the South, the Colts and Andrew Luck have a clear road to first place and may even have paved themselves a road to the Super Bowl with the additions of Frank Gore at running back and Andre Johnson at wide receiver. If the Colts don’t win the Super Bowl this year, I, for one, will be very surprised. Saying that the Oakland Raiders are the Denver Broncos biggest competition isn’t saying much. While the Raiders do seem to be getting better, though, the Broncos and Peyton Manning may be on their last legs. Over in the NFC, the Packers should be back on top of the conference while Minnesota and Adrian Peterson will look to make an impact after a combustible season last year. If you play fantasy football at all, I would highly consider taking Peterson in Norv Turner’s offense at number one overall. Then there’s the NFC East. While Dez Bryant is already engaged in fights during training camp and Tony Romo is trying to figure out the next best way to not choke at the end of the year, the Philadelphia Eagles, under head coach Chip Kelly, stole the Cowboys running back (DeMarco Murray) and will be looking to steal their place atop the NFC Easy standings as well. Kelly has been making his own headlines this offseason, continuing to dump star players like LeSean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin, only to name a few, in order to create a team that is completely created in his essence. Some are questioning Kelly’s character after completely overhauling the roster that he required, but the third year head coach finally believes that he has the roster that he wants. That is, if Sam Bradford can stay on the field. The Seattle Seahawks competition just got a little easier and not just because they traded for tight end Jimmy Graham in the offseason. A mass exodus out of San Francisco took place that saw head coach Jim Harbaugh leave for Michigan and every good player on the team leave to either go play somewhere else or retire. The ‘9ers, as we knew them, are done, but look for the Seahawks to battle with the Eagles Continued Their Success in the Spring By Gregg McMullin Photo by Gregg McMullin The 2014-15 high school sports year was heading to the home stretch with the spring sports in action in baseball, softball, track, lacrosse and of course the historical CIF championship run the boys’ volleyball team made. It all made for some very interesting stories and memories for each team. The baseball team returned to its high standards by competing for its first Ocean League title, the softball team won 24 games, the lacrosse teams did well including the boys’ first league title and the track athletes sent runners to the CIF finals. When the boys’ volleyball season started, the El Segundo coaching staff was optimistic on the team’s chances to compete for its first Ocean League title. With plenty of experience, returning head coach Anjinho Bacil had reason to think his team would win its first Ocean League title in school history and its third consecutive league title, the Eagles won the Pioneer League championship in 2013 and again in 2014. Though expectations were high could anybody predict the team’s meteoric rise throughout the season and end up capturing the school’s second CIF Southern Section title? “We were on people’s radar from the very start,” said assistant coach Tim Hovland. He was referring to the fact the Eagles had reached the CIF playoffs four consecutive years and reached in the quarter-finals in 2012 and semi-finals in 2014. El Segundo has always been thought of as a powerhouse in baseball, football, softball and water polo and now you can add boys’ volleyball. Basketball standout Stephen Moye, just a junior, was one of the Eagles’ biggest threats. Then add seniors Brandon Kurke, Nick Rable, Ed Karrer and Nolan Sharp and their experience and it’s understandable why this team had been highly ranked in the CIF-SS Division 2 all year long. They were ranked as high as fifteenth nationally in a couple of publications. Six of their losses were to nationally ranked teams ahead of them including twice to Loyola (ranked second), Oak Park (fifth), Valencia (seventh), Newberry Park (nineth), Buchanan (12th) and Saddleback Christian (14th). In non-conference play the Eagles didn’t hide from anyone and faced some of the nation’s best teams. The fact is they embraced their opportunity to compete at the highest level. That determination saw the Eagles run the table in the Ocean League and dethrone Culver City reign on the league. It marked the third consecutive undefeated league schedule for the Eagles. The Eagles reached the CIF finals by defeating Mission Prep, Paramount, San Gabriel and Paloma Valley each three games to zero. Facing Quartz Hills in the final proved to be different. It wasn’t easy and at times looked like their dreams of a ring would disappear but they persevered and fought through adversity to win it all. The Eagles needed an epic comeback and climbed on Stephen Moye’s back to defeat Quartz Hills 21-25,22-25, 25-23, 25-16, 15-10. It marked the school’s second CIF Southern Section division championship, the first coming in 2010. Facing a sweep and their dreams of a championship season vaporizing, the Eagles fought back from an 8-4 deficit and tied the third game at 13 apiece with Nick Rable’s kill that capped a long rally. El Segundo went on a 6-0 run after once again trailing 22-18. Moye’s fourth kill of the set gave the Eagles life, the set and forced game four. The Eagles’ incredible fortitude rallied the team through the brink of defeat to force a fifth and winner take all set. In the championship game Quartz Hills started strong but the Eagles with the momentum, from winning previous two sets, kept the game close. Matt Carter was responsible for back to back points to give the Eagles their first lead in the fifth set. From there on out the Eagles never trailed. Carter’s sixth kill of the day gave the Eagles a 12-10 lead. Then Moye stuffed Quartz Hill’s Jakob Dipoma before recording the final two kills of the match sending the El Segundo players and fans onto the floor and into a delirious passionate celebration of the CIF champions. Baseball The Eagles started off the season with a revamped infield, a new catcher and some question marks on who would back up Willem Mostert on the mound. In the end second year head coach Steve Eno had that puzzle solved and the Eagles not only won a share of the Ocean League but won twenty-two games. El Segundo played an arduous schedule that saw them play sixteen teams that advanced to the CIF playoffs. Perhaps the most exciting game of the season was a 15-12 win over eventual CIFSS runners-up Redondo in the El Segundo Tournament in the first week of the season. Trailing 12-10 in the bottom of the seventh inning the Eagles managed to tie the game. With two on and one out Hunter Lewis unloaded on a 385 foot three run homerun for a walk off 15-12 win for the Eagles. These two teams would get to know each other pretty well since they would face each other four times during the year; each team winning twice. The Eagles won the San Luis Obispo Tournament defeating Amador Valley, Templeton, Golden Valley and the host team, San Luis Obispo, in the finals. In Ocean League play back to back loses to Lawndale and Santa Monica forced them to defeat Santa Monica on the final day of the season to finish as co-champions with the Vikings. The Eagles would throttle St. Joseph’s in the first round of the playoffs but would fall to Redondo in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 3 playoffs. • Top NFL Storylines See NFL, page 14 Willem Mostert completed his brilliant high school year. He was a combined 23-7 with a 1.72 ERA in 217 innings
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