None of it was supposed to go like this for Danny Calcagno: Getting the
California (San Ramon, Calif.) head football gig. The pandemic. The 2-4 spring season, losing three games in the final 45 seconds.
Even the current 6-0 start, the 257-92 point margin, the No. 6 Bay Area rankings, all of it a surprise, unplanned and yet not a single complaint.
"I couldn't be happier, honest," said the 53-year-old father of four who starred as a quarterback at San Leandro in the 80s before coaching there and at Chabot College in Hayward.
Also a surprise, the Grizzlies' 7 p.m. East Bay Athletic League Mountain Division showdown at De La Salle (Concord) Friday. The Spartans (4-2), ranked third in Northern California, will be without their head coach Justin Alumbaugh and an unidentified number of players due to COVID-19.
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A decisive De La Salle victory — a projected 48-13 score by
calpreps — could be drastically different if the Spartans are down a significant number at key spots. Alumbaugh said he wasn't allowed to say.
Teddy Booros (9) receives great protection while throwing for one of his 17 touchdown passes.
File photo by Jason Weed
Friends with Alumbaugh, Calcagno is sympathetic, but also aware of the Spartans depth and strength. With three future NFL players at San Leandro — quarterback Dennis Dixon and defensive backs Marviel Underwood and Jarrad Page — Calcagno's teams lost four consecutive years to De La Salle in the North Coast Section finals starting in 1999.
"It's not going to change how we play or be a distraction for us," Calcagno said.
Said California senior quarterback
Teddy Booras: "They are still De La Salle. We are going to play our game: Score fast and hopefully get some stops on defense."
Always offensive-minded, Calcagno has the Grizzlies running a spread, no-huddle attack, but not in the "wide open, air raid mode," he said. "More balanced, like Clemson or Auburn."
Utilizing the strong, accurate arm of Booras (84-of-126, 1,202 yards, 17 touchdowns, four interceptions) — "He's not as athletic as (Dixon) but his arm is on that level," Calcagno said — and the catching prowess of the coach's son
Jake Calcagno (Bay Area best 50 catches, 766 yards, 12 TDs), California averages 391 yards and 43 points per game.
Jake Calcagno is the North Coast Section's top receiver.
File photo by Jason Weed
The two connected on a 19-yard touchdown pass in the final moments of a 19-18 comeback win over visiting and then ninth-ranked Clayton Valley Charter-Oakland last week. The TD finished off a dramatic 80-yard drive, overcoming two sacks and two fourth downs, helping to erase the spring's house of late-game horrors.
"Jake's got the best hands I've ever seen," Booras said. "He can climb the ladder to get the ball then make three guys miss."
The two were San Ramon youth league rivals in football and baseball, but joined forces at California. Jake Calcagno was actually a quarterback as a freshman, but got hurt. Booras came in and when Jake returned as a receiver, the two just clicked.
"Us being buds off the field made everything so much better on the field," Booras said. "We have so much chemistry. I know where he's going to be on the field the entire game."
Danny Calcagno left Chabot to watch his kids in high school, including two older daughters play softball. He wanted to help 11-year football coach Eric Belleci as an assistant, but Belleci resigned. The head job fell to him in winter of 2020.
"At first Jake didn't want his dad to be the head coach," Danny Calcagno said. "But after three or four days, talking with his pals, he changed his mind. It's all worked out great."
He's got a strong running game thanks to a pair of backs
Trevor Rund (560 yards, 7.5 average, seven TDs) and sophomore
Devan Love (277, 9.2, four) and the team's strength, it's offensive line led by 6-foot-4, 320-pound tackle
Ryan Rogers, a Division I prospect.
Offensive tackle Ryan Rogers is a Division I college prospect.
File photo by Jason Weed
The defense, anchored by linebackers
Tate Asborno and
MaCray Madruga (combined 109 tackles) and cornerback Rund, has allowed only 92 points.
"They play super hard and are well coached," Alumbaugh said. "That makes them extremely dangerous."
Booras said the perfect record or balanced offense — 200 yards per game passing, 190 rushing — isn't by accident. "The key has been our attention to detail on offense and defense. After the spring season we've better running the spread and throwing the ball. Our defense has shut teams down because of their film study and work ethic."
Coach Calcagno's energy and knowledge has paved the way, Booras said. "He brought a new culture. It's a different mentality to the game which makes it fun."
Having a leader like Booras helps with the fun, coach Calcagno said. "He's a great kid and I love his competitive nature," the coach said. "He wants to compete. I wants to be perfect."
It helps to have a former college and NFL quarterback as his position coach. Mike Pawlawski started at Cal in 1991 when the Bears went 10-2 and finished No. 9 in the national rankings. He was drafted by Tampa Bay in 1992 and later played in the Arena League and XFL. He's now an actor, color commentator for Cal and coach for the Grizzlies.
"He's been a Godsend," coach Calcagno said. "He's really helped in Teddy's growth and development."
There's been a lot of that since the spring for the entire team, Calcagno said. None of it has shocked Booras.
"I'm not surprised we're 6-0," he said. "Everyone on the team has worked their (butts) off and it's simply shown on the field this season."
Trevor Rund (2) is the Grizzlies leading rusher and top cornerback.
File photo by Jason Weed
Quarterback Teddy Booras has a fierce competitive edge, said his coach.
File photo by Jason Weed
Grizzlies take the field before their game with Antioch, a 48-20 win.
File photo by Jason Weed
