Fall sports start early for Dragons

Even before classes convened at Sonoma Valley High School this week, fall sports got underway for both boys and girls, frosh to varsity.

Varsity football is the most visible and popular of high school sports, and the Dragons begin their 2016 season tonight, Friday Aug. 19, with a non-league scrimmage at Santa Rosa High School, which won’t even find its way into the season statistics but gives the teams a chance to run their first plays in competition.

Saturday, Aug. 27, finds the first real game played in Mill Valley at Tamalpais High School, followed by a “bye” week before the first home game against El Camino at Arnold Field, on Friday, Sept. 9. Another non-league game at home against Montgomery is the following Friday, with league play beginning Sept. 23 at Elsie Allen High. Junior varsity (JV) games are usually played at 5 p.m. before the varsity matches at 7:30.

Cross-country is another popular high school sport, with the team’s first competition held on Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Lowell Invitational at Golden Gate Park. Following competitions include multi-school “interlocks” at Spring Lake in Santa Rosa on Sept. 14, a home interlock on Sept. 21 at Maxwell Park, and the Vintage Run fundraiser at the Sonoma Plaza on Sunday, Sept. 25. The season concludes on Saturday, Nov. 26 with the California State Meet, for the region’s top-finishing athletes, at Woodland Park in Fresno.

Varsity girls tennis begins with a non-league match on Thursday, Aug. 25, at Casa Grande High, followed a week later by a league match-up with Elsie Allen at Sonoma Valley High on Thursday, Sept. 1. The next Tuesday the team travels to Healdsburg, another league rival, before a bye day on Thursday, Sept. 8. Tennis matches follow on Tuesdays and Thursdays into October, culminating with a Sonoma County League tournament at Santa Rosa Junior College from Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 27-29.

The girls soccer schedule has also been released. It starts today, Friday, with a scrimmage against St. Vincent at SVHS at 4:30 p.m. First game is Tuesday, Aug. 23, at Santa Rosa High, first home game is Thursday, Aug. 25, against Maria Carrillo. League matches start on Thursday, Sept. 8 against El Molino, and at home against Petaluma on Thursday, Sept. 15.

If most of the teams begin their season away, the girls volleyball squad plays its first two matches at SVHS, against Vintage High on Saturday, Aug. 27, and on Aug. 31, the following Wednesday, against Montgomery.

First league game is the next day, Thursday, Sept. 1, at Casa Grande. Freshman, JV and varsity games are usually played at the same location, same day, with play beginning around 4 p.m. for the freshmen, 5 for the JV and 6:30 for the varsity in most cases.

Additional fall sports include girls golf, boys soccer and water polo, but schedules have not yet been published for these sports.

For all fall sports schedules and other links, visit sonomavalleyhigh.org/fallsports.html or contact Co-Athletic Director Ian Slaney at islaney@sonomaschools.org