School is back in session and 2025’s football season is in full swing. The greater Tri-City area high schools had their first taste of the season as teams debuted their skills in their first games of the school year over the weekend.
Each team is starting fresh from the 2024 season and has an opportunity to start over if their previous season was lackluster. However, some teams are coming back from a monumental season.
Moreau Catholic High School had a historic 2024 season winning the State Championship game with a final score of 42-8. But even with this win under his belt, head coach Keith Minor is focused on this upcoming season. “Last year was last year, you got to put it behind you and put the work in this year. No one cares what you did [right] in the past; it’s about ‘What have you done for me lately,’” said Minor. Although the team has lost many players, including their quarterback, Minor is confident in the defensive skill of this year’s team.
Another team who will be entering the season with a different type of fresh start is Newark Memorial High School. This season’s roster will be the first to get their cleats into the school’s newly redone turf. All of the Cougars’ 2024 football games were on the opposition’s turf as the track and field was being reconstructed. With a majority of the 2024 roster being seniors, the team will also have to adjust to new player dynamics.
In Union City, James Logan is starting their second year with head coach James Barnes. Last year, the Colts qualified for the Division 3 NCS football champions tournament, but met an unfortunate end in the quarterfinal game losing to Heritage High School with a score of 34-0. In Barnes’s first year of coaching he said, “James Logan only plays for one thing—that’s playoffs or state titles.” It’s apparent that the team’s goal will be to stay in the game longer than last year. For more on Barnes’s first season, check out our 2024 article: tricityvoice.com/james-logans-new-football-coach-aims-for-state-title/
Boys’ football isn’t the only football ramping up this season. The girls’ flag football presence is only expanding in its third season. After the sport was approved in February 2023 by the California Interscholastic Federation, high schools all around the Bay Area were quick to form teams and compete.
Castro Valley’s girls’ flag football team has already shown that their team is ready for the 2025 season. In their first two games of the school year, the Lady Trojans dominated Emerald and Camplindo High Schools with final scores of 52-0 and 42-0, respectively.
San Leandro High School, one of the first schools in the area to form a team, looks to be on a toss up season. Last year the Pirates had a tough year coming out with 2-7 in league and 5-9 overall. In their last two games, the team took a loss from James Logan, but managed a 20-0 win against KIPP King demonstrating that a comeback could be possible for the Pirates.
As mentioned before, newcomers from Union City’s James Logan High School may prove to be the next team to watch. In their first games ever, the Colts faced seasoned teams San Leandro and Arroyo High Schools and sealed their games winning both, with final scores of 12-8 and 13-6, respectively.
As the fall season continues follow teams on maxpreps.com.
