Last night Sean was awarded the title “Defensive Player of the Year” for the 2006 Benicia Panthers football team for his work in the middle linebacker position. He was surprised to find out that he was also selected for the 7th annual Vallejo Times-Herald All-Regional team. Next week he’ll be honored at the 7th annual Times-Herald/Vallejo Elks football awards dinner, where first-team athletes from the Solano County Athletic Conference, other conferences and Solano College will be honored.
Author Archives: Patrick Konoske
wine country wandering
Karen and I had a chance — or more accurately created a chance — to have an aimless day of sorts. Adam had to be in San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall at 9:00 a.m. Sunday for a concert, and after leaving him with the group, wandered off in search of breakfast. Which we promptly found one block down and to the left at The Crepe House. It’s a nice little place, offering crepes, eggs, omelets and your basic breakfast foods. I opted for a cheese, ham and mushroom omelet, which came with pan fried potatoes and thick sourdough toast. Karen splurged on eggs Benedict, accompanied by two “plain” crepes (with lemon, butter and powdered sugar). It was nice to enjoy a hearty breakfast without rushing off.
After a quick stop at the office so I could set up the artificial Christmas tree, we leisurely found our way to Sears Point with the thought of stopping at wineries we typically pass by on our way to others in the more northern Napa or Sonoma valleys. And we were pleasantly surprised at each of the three wineries we visited. (I believe that all three only sell on premises or to restaurants.)
At Roche Carneros, our first stop, we sampled the standard range of wines from the area. The 2005 Carneros Estate Chardonnay is a very good, balanced white. We found the other wines to also be generally good, but I was very impressed with two dessert wines: the 2005 Taramix and the 2005 Late Harvest Merlot. Both are more subtle than most dessert wines, but the late harvest merlot was unlike any wine I have ever tasted. As a blush, a slight presence of tannins works a bit against the sweetness to leave a fresh taste on the tongue. Definitely a great wine for a hot summer day!
Just down the road we entered the long, sweeping driveway to Viansa Winery & Italian Marketplace, which focuses on Italian and was established by Sam and Vicki Sebastiani, with Sam part of the well-known family behind the Sebastiani Vineyard & Winery. It’s quite a view from this winery’s hilltop location. The last half of Viansa’s name truly reflects what we found inside, with Italian foodstuffs and merchandise, as well as a small deli. Generally, the wines were good, but I think we were both very impressed with the 2004 Prindelo, which is a blend of Primitivo, Teroldego and Zinfandel. We also both enjoyed the crsip and clean 2005 Arneis. (Arneis is a reputedly difficult to grow Italian grape, while Primitivo is considered by some to be the ancestor of California’s Zinfandel. Teroldego is a rich red similar to Zinfandel.)
We continued northeast on Hwy 112, intent on heading up Hwy 12 to Sonoma, but before the turnoff spotted a smallish sign touting the funny little Larson Family Winery. I say funny because the first sign along the semi-private and rather rundown road states something like “Winery: .4173485 miles.” Further down the road another old wooden signs warns one to “Beware of Kamikaze squirrels.” This is another small, family-owned place with some surprising wines and hosted by a golden retriever named Buddy. Here you can find the 2004 Wingo White Carneros jug wine sitting alongside to a very nice 2005 Carneros Cuvée Rosé and what I would call an incredible 2003 Meritage. Speaking of rosés — it must have been inevitable that they make a return. But don’t turn your nose up at a rosé without first tasting it…I have very surprised at how good varietal rosés can be. (It’s not your father’s Lancers anymore!)
The rest of our day was fairly relaxed, dropping by Sonoma Jack’s for some cheese and food, visiting a few stores such as Pier 1 Imports for some Christmas goodies, before winding our way home.
P.S. I’m figuring that since we didn’t buy some of the wines that we enjoyed, a return trip will be in order soon!
i was wrong…
It seems that Sean will have one more game in his high school football career, even though the Benicia Panthers didn’t make the playoffs. He was named to the Solano County Athletic Conference’s 2006 first-team defensive line, which means he will have a last “high school” game sometime during the summer. Congratulations to Sean!
bethel@benicia (20-6)
What a tough ending to a season and a high school football career. It was a tough game from the beginning, with the score tied at zero at the half. Murmurs around me in the stands hinted at a belief that the first team to score would win the game by sheer momentum. In the end, the Bethel Jaguars (Vallejo) took away any hope of the Panther moving into the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs. In the end, Benicia simply made too many mistakes and couldn’t capitalize on the hard work of the defense, which was on the field much more than in most of the season’s games. Sean put in a strong effort though he was floating around on both offense and defense. One of his runs gained a first down for the Panthers deep in Bethel territory, but that’s where Benicia’s offensive drive ended. Not the best ending to a season, but I think its a season that Sean can look back upon and be proud of and one in which he really learned the meaning of “hustle.”
vanden@benicia (22-42)
This was a big game for the Panthers, and this win keeps them in the hunt for the Solano County Athletic Conference championship. When Benicia’s defense was on the field, I don’t think more than five or six plays went by without the announcer saying “Konoske” in a sentence as Sean was hustling all over the field. He had numerous tackles and one big “textbook” tackle that got the crowd to groan. You should be able to view a video clip of this tackle by clicking here. Great game! (And check out Sean’s swagger after that tackle!)
P.S. Sean ~ posted this, but still waiting on your stats, dude…
o flamingo, flamingo, smiling, damned flamingo!
Holy fowl demise, Batman!
Is a staple of the American landscape in danger of extinction?
Sean’s Stats/Season to Date
The below is from MaxPreps…
| Sean Konoske #41 | |
| Position: FB, LB Height: 6’0″ Weight: 200 lbs. Class: Senior | |
| Defensive | Statistic Definitions |
| Tackles | Tackles | Assists | Total | Tackles/Game |
| Season Totals | 24 | 14 | 38 | 7.6 |
| Sacks | Sacks | Sacks/Game |
| Season Totals | 1.0 | .2 |
| Game by Game | Tackles | Sacks | ||||
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tck | Ast | Tot | Sak |
| 9/8/2006 | American | W 15-6 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
| 9/15/2006 | Tokay | W 34-27 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| 9/22/2006 | Armijo | W 10-9 | 6 | 3 | 9 | |
| 9/29/2006 | St. Patrick/St. Vincent | W 34-28 | 6 | 3 | 9 | |
| 10/6/2006 | Fairfield | L 20-27 | 4 | 4 | 8 | |
rodriguez@benicia (36-18)
As you can see from the score, it was an ugly game Friday. But what you can’t see is Sean’s strong individual effort. In my humble opinion, the Panthers’ defense was there and ready to go, but it took at least a quarter before the offense was warmed up. The Rodriguez Mustangs, however, came out strong, scored quickly and effectively shut down two of Benicia’s best offensive players. Sean did have one carry for 2 yards and played on offense quite a bit this game, but it was on defense that he once again came up with several good stops, as well as forcing a fumble. It was good to him feeling and knowing that he put in a strong personal effort, even if this one didn’t go into the win column.
a boy and his (first) car
Chris’ Celica
Chris got his first car this weekend. He had begun to search Craigslist about a month or so ago, about the time he started working at Safeway. Though I had thought he’d want to wait longer, he was itching to get “something to work on,” even though he had yet to get his drivers license. So, we started looking. I couldn’t not believe what people tried to pawn off as “decent” or “good” cars within Chris’ price range. We look at one 1974 Toyota Corrolla that we should have been paid to take away! Then there was the 1990 Honda CRX in Pittsburg that had oil leaks, bondo over an entire front fender panel, cracked CV joint boots, suspicious wear on rear tire, a check engine light that was always on, and a non-working speedometer…and that’s only what I saw. But on a lark, we drove a bit further to Antioch after talking on the phone to the seller of a 1978 Toyota Celica GT (Chris adds more specifically that it’s an RA42 GT.) Apparently it was originally purchased by the father of the seller and has remained in the family since his passing four years ago. Sure, it looks like a 28-year-old car, but is in good shape and with a new carburetor, alternator, clutch, rear end, radiator, water pump and tires. (And everything except the radio is original…it even came with the original owner’s manual and window sticker!) Sure, Chris will have to put some work into the interior, and there a few things I’ve specified need to be fixed before he can drive it daily (including getting his license), but I think he found a good first car for a good price.
benicia@hogan (20-6)
It was a clash of defenses Friday night, with the Benicia Panthers taking on the Hogan Spartans. Unfortunately, defense alone can’t win a championship. But it can sure help a team along. The Panthers forced five turnovers, with Sean in on forcing one fumble that put his team in Spartan territory. Best of all, Sean finished the game without an injury to his shoulder! (He also had about the normal number of tackles, which is quite a few.) Because he didn’t participate in contact during practice, he didn’t start the game, but it wasn’t too long before the coach put him in. He and his defense — he’s a captain — did a great job of not only keeping Hogan from scoring, but in putting the Benicia offense in position to score. In the end, Benicia won 20-6, but it was a tough offense game for the Panthers. Next week, Sean will go head-to-head with his step brother as Rodriguez takes on Benicia at home.
fishing for words 