NorCal report

[Cal 14]

This is an objective viewpoint of the weekly status of NorCal football teams and was requested by a couple of other posters.  Your opinions are welcome, but any outrage of false indignation will be ignored.  Not sure if I will make a new thread each week or just update as we go along (would appreciate feedback on this).  For each weekly report, I'll give a ranking of each CIF section.  However, for this first one, I will summarize how they each determine their playoffs, as there is no uniform CIF manner of doing this.  I will rank the top 9 from the SJS, 7 from the NCS, and 6 from the CCS (representing the relative size of each section) and top 10 overall in NorCal (no one from the NS, SFS, or OS are among the top 10 in NorCal for 2018).  For these initial sets, I am not including the Central Section, but I will if people request it (given that some CIF-CS division champs will compete in NorCal for the regionals).

As of Oct 15, 2018

Sac-Joaquin Section

The SJS determines their 78 playoff teams over 7 divisions by a combination of four things:

a.  League champions (automatic bids)

b.  Calpreps.com ratings (non-automatic bids)

c.  School CBEDs (average daily enrollments)

d.  Traditional league strength designations (for example, teams from D-I leagues cannot play lower than D-II in the playoffs and teams will histories of dominance of lower divisions are forced to move up)

Each league champion automatically qualifies for the playoffs and the remaining field is selected based on Calpreps.com ratings.  The largest 12 schools that qualify are placed in D-I, the next largest in D-II, and so on.  D-VII has only the smallest 6 teams.  In order to be considered, a team must have at least 4 wins.  For my rankings, I'll place their anticipated playoff division (which could change from week to week).

1.  Folsom (D-I):  The Bulldogs are the clear front-runner in D-I.  With the close loss to De La Salle to open the season and the continued battery of other SJS teams, the defending state D-IAA champions are poised to defend their title.

2.  Del Oro (D-II):  This is based mostly on their demolition of Oak Ridge a couple of weeks ago.  Other than that win, the Eagle coaching staff didn't really seek out the type of schedule we're accustomed to seeing them do, so they're a little bit of a question mark.  Del Oro takes on Folsom in the regular season finale.  Their very close win over an up-and-down (mostly down) Grant team should be cause of great concern.

3.  Monterey Trail (D-I):  This is based on two things... their big win over a good Sheldon team and default... because not many other stand out at this level and/or have some questionable games.  They don't play in a great (or even good) league and have largely been untested, but they are undefeated at the moment at 8-0.

4.  Capital Christian (D-IV):  Going on a little bit of a limb here over Oak Ridge.  Undefeated at 8-0, but with a win over Grant that is similar to that of Oak Ridge, minus the two severe blowout losses that the Trojans have taken.  The Cougars are coached by former Del Oro HC, Casey Taylor, so watch out for this program in the coming years.

5.  Oak Ridge (D-I):  Nice win over Grant and none that are questionable, but the two aforementioned crushing defeats at the hands of Folsom and Del Oro are puzzling.  While it's not shocking that they lost those games, the manner of how bad they were is.

6.  Central Catholic (D-II):  Challenged themselves against De La Salle and have a nice win over St. Mary's.  Close win over Manteca concerns.  Nearly dropped them one spot because of it.

7.  Inderkum (D-II):  This team could easily be as high as 4, but are lacking a signature win.  Best win over Antelope matched by Capitol Christian, but the Tigers can't match the ones against Grant or St. Mary's.  Still, Inderkum is a demonstration that there are going to be several good contenders for the SJS D-II crown.

8.  Placer (D-IV):  The defending NorCal 4AA champs are looking a little better than last year, but the concerns I had about them last year don't seem to be especially resolved.  Their wing-t offense is very fluid and difficult to stop, but they don't seem to be especially adept at stopping other high-quality offenses.  They're highly thought of by other websites (NorCalPreps and Cal-Hi Sports), so they may end up again playing much bigger schools in the NorCal regionals, should they get past Capital Christian.  Both the NorCal and state games last year were shootouts.

9.  Jesuit (D-I):  Really kind of wanted to put Sheldon in this spot, but the Huskies have been playing just above the levels of their competition lately, whereas the Marauders have started to step things up.  That said, those two teams are meeting this week to settle this, as well as the Delta League championship.

 

North Coast Section

The NCS determines their 5 playoff divisions loosely by enrollment, but have added elements of competitive equity lately.  Additionally, teams always have the option to petition into a higher division.  Last, there is an Open Division that should, at least theoretically, have the top 4 teams from the entire section.  Because the division is designated as an "Open", both the champion and another team is allowed to replace the champion of another division.  What is not actually clearly stated is whether or not a team that fails to advance to the Open championship game can be selected over their original division's champion.  What has been taking place in other sections (and the NCS) is that the runner-up is selected to compete in the NorCal regionals, but that is not explicitly stated in the NCS bylaws.  I bring this up because there is a possibility that Cardinal Newman, which is normally a D-III team, could possibly be selected to compete in the Open.  The NCS could conceivably also have them replace the D-III champion by virtue of this Open placement.  Other sections have much more clear language.

Designated league champions are automatically selected to advance to the playoffs and the rest of the field is determined as at-large teams.  In order to advance as an at-large, a team must be at least 0.500 overall, against schools with enrollments within their own original divisional placement (regardless of where in the United States they play), and/or within their league.  This is the only CIF section that will leave placements empty if there are not enough teams that satisfy this 0.500 requirement.

1.  De La Salle (D-Open):  What hasn't been written about this program's dominance from over the last 20 years?  Last week, they clobbered Foothill.  Not a surprise, but the fact that the Falcons actually scored kind of was.  While the Spartans remain the top team in the section and NorCal, they still appear to be somewhat vulnerable.

2.  Liberty (D-Open):  Easily the most consistent team in the entire NCS (including DLS), they have yet to truly be challenged.  While one may read that to say that they haven't played anyone decent at all, they do have a solid win over a good Cardinal Newman team.  They will play Pittsburg for the Bay Valley Athletic League title this week.  A win likely secures a #2 seed in the Open Division, but they will still likely advance there with a loss.  If DLS does not have a good night, Liberty is a squad that could conceivably dethrone them.

3.  Clayton Valley Charter (D-Open):  Placement into the Open is virtue of an early-season victory over Pittsburg.  While the Ugly Eagles also have a not-so-great loss to Antioch, there may not be another obvious team that could take their place.

4.  Pittsburg (D-Open... maybe):  The Pirates have scored a couple of solid wins over St. Mary's and San Mateo Serra.  However, the loss to Clayton Valley Charter puts their Open Division placement in doubt.  In my opinion, they cannot lose either of their last two games against Liberty and Antioch, respectively.  The Pirates lost their starting QB a couple of weeks ago, but I actually think they're better with the replacement, who led them to the state D-1A title game last year.

5.  Cardinal Newman (D-III):  If Pittsburg loses to Antioch, the Panthers would likely replace them in the Open, as they also have a win over Clayton Valley Charter.  If the Pirates only lose to Liberty, then it's a real possibility that the Cardinals could be pulled all the way up from D-III.  At 7-1, their only loss came against Liberty.

6.  Antioch (D-I):  This placement over Monte Vista is due to the win over CVC and the possibility they could also upset Pittsburg.  Those two wins would likely catapult them into the Open.

7.  Monte Vista (D-I):  The Mustangs have a few nice wins over California, Granada, and Granite Bay, but they blew a late lead against Bishop O'Dowd and got absolutely smashed by De La Salle.  Could have placed Rancho Cotate in this spot.

 

Central Coast Section

The CCS has the most unique playoff system in the state in that they have three Open divisions.  From the outside, the system can appear very complex, but upon close examination, it really does make sense.  The section has typically used enrollment to determine its division, with the exception of the top division (either called D-I or Open), into which the top teams could have either petitioned or been forced. 

The section's leagues are very fluid from year to year.  With the exception of the all-private school West Catholic Athletic League, they are referred to as "Super" leagues, with multiple divisions.  There may be as few as two divisions (Santa Clara County Athletic League) or as many as four (Pacific Coast Athletic League).  Every offseason, a meeting is held for each league to determine which of their teams will be placed in the A (top), B (middle), or C (lower) divisions.  The WCAL is always considered an A league.  The automatic bids are generally weighed towards the higher-level leagues/divisions.  At-large selection and seeding is determined by a point system that evaluates a combination of record and strength of schedule.  I can go more in depth on that upon request, but I'll leave it simple for the time being.

There are five overall divisions.  The top three are Open divisions and only teams from A league/divisions are automatically placed in them.  The bottom two are for teams from B and C divisions, however a champion from a B division could possibly petition into one of the Open division, displacing the lowest point-earning team down to D-IV or D-V.  There are eight teams in each division.  Once the field is selected the eight largest Open schools are placed in Open D-I.  The next largest in Open D-II and the smallest in Open D-III.  The larger eight B/C teams are placed in D-IV and the smaller eight go into D-V.

What confuses people is that the champions of D-IV and D-V are not eligible for NorCal regional games.  Instead, the top two playoff point earning runner-ups take those slots.  While this is common for the state basketball tourney, it isn't for football.  However, upon closer inspection, the reason why this is in place is that the B/C teams were complaining about having to face the mid-sized and powerful private school in the playoffs.  The CCS told them that they could have their own playoff brackets, but they'd have to give up their state aspirations, to which the schools/leagues agreed.  Last year, the two runner-up teams advanced to, and won state divisional titles.

1.  St. Francis (Open D-II):  Most significant win was against Notre Dame, from southern California, but a recent win over Valley Christian currently holds the most local impact.  That is explained just below.  The Lancers played quite well in a loss to De La Salle early in the year, but has since lost their starting QB for the year with a torn ACL.  So far, their strong defense has prevented them from dropping any additional games.

2.  Valley Christian (Open D-II):  The Warriors have two losses, one to open the season against Wilcox and recently by 4 points to St. Francis in a defensive slugfest.  The game that puts them at #2 in the section for me took place last week against Serra, which resulted in a resounding win.

3.  Wilcox (Open D-II):  Although the Chargers scored significant wins over Valley Christian and Palo Alto, they also had a very confusing close game against an up-and-down Los Gatos squad.  Valley Christian's big win over Serra and overall better SoS puts Wilcox down to #3, in my opinion.  That said, due to the CCS playoff point system, they are projected to be the #1 seed in what will easily be the toughest bracket in the section.

4.  Serra (Open D-II):  Prior to the game against Valley Christian, the Padres were looking a lot like the defending state D-2AA champions from a year ago.  The shocking 37-6 loss calls a repeat into heavy question.  Still, the magnitude of their other wins and a close loss to Pittsburg tenuously keeps them at #4.  They'll finish the season against St. Francis.

5.  Palo Alto (Open D-I):  Positions 5 and 6 could easily filled by any of three different teams, but I'll go with the Vikings as their only loss has been to Wilcox.  Their best win was against McClymonds.  For me, they are the current front-runners in Open D-I, but they will get significant challenges from two other teams.

6.  Aptos (Open D-III):  This could have gone to Menlo-Atherton, but the Bears took a loss to Palma, who the Mariners will play in two weeks.  I have Aptos favored in that game by a couple of scores.  Undefeated at 8-0, they'll likely be facing Salinas for the outright Pacific Coast Athletic League title at the end of the regular season.

 

Overall NorCal Top 10

1.  De La Salle - had big win over Folsom to open the year

2.  Folsom - most explosive offense in NorCal

3.  Liberty - could legitimately challenge DLS, but wish they had scheduled up more in non-league

4.  Clayton Valley Charter - traditional black and blue team, win over Pittsburg made sense after I saw the Pirates play

5.  Del Oro - lacking huge win, waiting for them to face Folsom

6.  St. Francis - monster defense will have to continue shoulder the load

7.  Pittsburg - close game against Serra pushes them below St. Francis for the time being

8.  Monterey Trail - will have to wait until the playoffs to see how good this team really is

9.  Cardinal Newman - possibly their best team since the state finalist of 2006

10.  Valley Christian - last time they played Cardinal Newman, they blew them out in the NorCal D-2A regional

 

[NorCalRuss]

Central Catholic is a much better team now than when they played DLS. They’re not rotating QBs any longer and are getting healthier. They’re passing more than usual with a legit q.b and doing it well. 

The Manteca game was never really in doubt. Rivalry game. 

[Cal 14]

4 minutes ago, NorCalRuss said:

Central Catholic is a much better team now than when they played DLS. They’re not rotating QBs any longer and are getting healthier. They’re passing more than usual with a legit q.b and doing it well. 

The Manteca game was never really in doubt. Rivalry game. 

I don't buy any "rivalry" business.  Either you're better than your opponent that night or you're not.  Manteca lost to both Downey and Granada.  They barely beat a down Oakdale team the week after the Central Catholic game.  Or was that a "rivalry" game, too?

[HawgGoneIt]

Where has this stuff been?!

California stepping their posting/content game up today with a little GoSpeedy stuff from the south and CalTeenish stuff from the north. 

 

 

 

[Extremely Humble]

I know you mentioned you’re not including them but Central is #3 in NorCal imo. 

[Cal 14]

1 hour ago, Extremely Humble said:

I know you mentioned you’re not including them but Central is #3 in NorCal imo. 

Given that there's a much better chance for Central to go undefeated than Liberty, I do believe that they'll be Folsom's NorCal D-1AA opponent.  I think that will be a good game, though.  I think Liberty vs. Folsom could also be pretty good.

But, get this... if the Lions somehow upset DLS in the NCS Open title game, that would cause a cascade that would probably force Folsom down to D-1A!  It would probably be the Spartans against the Grizzlies.

More than anything else, I'm hoping the top CCS team doesn't have to play the CS D-II winner.  That game has taken place for the last two years and has not been competitive.  Just not fair to the CS teams.

[Ararar]

13 minutes ago, Cal 14 said:

But, get this... if the Lions somehow upset DLS in the NCS Open title game, that would cause a cascade that would probably force Folsom down to D-1A!  It would probably be the Spartans against the Grizzlies.

Would that chap the Hide of Folsom for DLS to lose and still not make the open 😂

I say drop the central D1 champ to 1A and have Folsom and DLS play a regional game for 1AA if Liberty pulls the upset 

[Cal 14]

11 minutes ago, Ararar said:

Would that chap the Hide of Folsom for DLS to lose and still not make the open 😂

I say drop the central D1 champ to 1A and have Folsom and DLS play a regional game for 1AA if Liberty pulls the upset 

For me, a Liberty win would elevate them to #1 in NorCal, then drop DLS to #2, Folsom to #3, and Central to #4.  However, the CIF has seemed to want to avoid rematches (despite how compelling this one would be) in the regional games.  The D-1A game would probably be between Folsom and St. Francis.  A full-strength Lancer team (i.e., with their QB) would be one thing, but the current situation wouldn't be very good.

[Ararar]

4 minutes ago, Cal 14 said:

For me, a Liberty win would elevate them to #1 in NorCal, then drop DLS to #2, Folsom to #3, and Central to #4.  However, the CIF has seemed to want to avoid rematches (despite how compelling this one would be) in the regional games.  The D-1A game would probably be between Folsom and St. Francis.  A full-strength Lancer team (i.e., with their QB) would be one thing, but the current situation wouldn't be very good.

True but there would be a lot of pressure on the CIF to make the rematch in this scenario 

[ThunderRam]

5 hours ago, Cal 14 said:

This is an objective viewpoint of the weekly status of NorCal football teams and was requested by a couple of other posters.  Your opinions are welcome, but any outrage of false indignation will be ignored.  Not sure if I will make a new thread each week or just update as we go along (would appreciate feedback on this).  For each weekly report, I'll give a ranking of each CIF section.  However, for this first one, I will summarize how they each determine their playoffs, as there is no uniform CIF manner of doing this.  I will rank the top 9 from the SJS, 7 from the NCS, and 6 from the CCS (representing the relative size of each section) and top 10 overall in NorCal (no one from the NS, SFS, or OS are among the top 10 in NorCal for 2018).  For these initial sets, I am not including the Central Section, but I will if people request it (given that some CIF-CS division champs will compete in NorCal for the regionals).

 

Great write up, CAL. I hope this does become a weekly thing, but I understand if you don't. It can be a lot of work.

Having said that, I'll be the first jerk to request you do even more by at least including top 3 - 5 for D1 CS (if nothing more). That section is almost always an after thought to NorCal fans -- let alone to SoCal and Nationally -- but they often have at least 2-3 pretty good teams and at least 1 that is on par with the best teams from the SJS, CCS, and NCS (sans DLS). Like your playoff qualifications by section, it'll help familiarize outsiders with those teams.

[Cal 14]

On 10/15/2018 at 11:13 PM, ThunderRam said:

Having said that, I'll be the first jerk to request you do even more by at least including top 3 - 5 for D1 CS (if nothing more). That section is almost always an after thought to NorCal fans -- let alone to SoCal and Nationally -- but they often have at least 2-3 pretty good teams and at least 1 that is on par with the best teams from the SJS, CCS, and NCS (sans DLS). Like your playoff qualifications by section, it'll help familiarize outsiders with those teams.

Ok... per a request from @ThunderRam

Central Section

There is often a lot of talk about how watered down California playoffs are.  Well, this section is the poster child for that trend.  Last year, there were only 92 teams in the section, yet 63 of them saw post-season action.  There were two leagues that defected from the Southern Section, so the numbers are up to 104.  Still, 6 divisions for just 104 teams seems like overkill when other similarly-sized NorCal sections only have 5.  There was a couple of years in which the section simply said that everyone was invited to the playoffs.  Yikes.

The playoffs divisions are determined prior to the season and are competitive-equity based... which is also a little weird because many of the new teams from the SS that have no real history of being able to compete at a D-I level were thrown into that division for 2018... but, I digress.

Because of it's geographic location and how the total number of sectional divisions there are statewide, half of the CS teams play in the NorCal regionals and half in SoCal.  Luckily (or unluckily, given the actual results), the top two CS divisions have competed in NorCal.  For the purpose of this weekly report, I will rank 7 teams, given their relative size to the other sections, and include those teams in an overall top 10 at the bottom.

1.  Central (D-I):  The Grizzlies established themselves as a clear favorite to win the D-I crown when they defeated Buchanan a few weeks ago.  Unfortunately for us, they haven't played any other game that helps place them accurately in the general scope of top NorCal teams.  Fortunately for them, it probably won't matter as an undefeated season will likely propel them into the NorCal D-1AA regional game once again.

2.  Buchanan (D-I):  The Bears had a very close game against De La Salle in which the Spartan QB was down for much of it with an injury.  Because of that, many were curious about how they'd fare against Central (turns out, it wasn't so well).  Still, you never know what could happen in a playoff rematch.

3.  Liberty (D-I):  The Patriots have played two games that establish where this team belongs.  Unfortunately, they lost both of those games, although the one against Mission Viejo was overturned by forfeit.  They will finish the regular season against Bakersfield to determine the Southwest Yosemite League title.

4.  Bakersfield (D-I):  The next five teams could be generally interchangeable, but I will go with the Drillers next, as they've played (by far) the toughest schedule among this group.  Still, there is probably a big gap between this group of five and the top three in the section.

5.  Tulare Union (D-II):  I nearly put the Redskins down to #6, but their defense have been playing lights out recently.  They haven't allowed a point since their third game against Redwood.  Considering they're currently 8-0, that's pretty good.  That said, their schedule has been just OK so far.  A season-ending match up against rival Tulare Western will finally give them a good test.

6.  San Joaquin Memorial (D-II):  The Panthers and Tulare Union are close and I nearly chose SJM due to a generally better SoS and no questionable wins among them.  However, while SJM is getting some nice wins, they aren't quite as dominating as Tulare Union.  That said, since they both play in D-II, a meeting between these two will probably decide everything.

7.  Clovis (D-I):  Although the Cougars have three losses, they have been to Central, Buchanan, and Liberty.  I'm not sure that Tulare Western (despite the fact they're currently undefeated) would have fared any better and the game against Buchanan was reasonably competitive.

 

Overall NorCal Top 10 (including CS teams)

1.  De La Salle

2.  Folsom

3.  Liberty (Brentwood)

4.  Central

5.  Clayton Valley Charter

6.  Del Oro

7.  Buchanan

8.  St. Francis

9.  Pittsburg

10.  Liberty (Bakersfield)

[Ararar]

CalHi NorCal top 10 looks like this

1 - De La Salle (Concord) 8-0 (NCP #1)
2 - Folsom 7-1 (NCP #2)
3 - Liberty (Brentwood) 8-0 (NCP #3)
4 - St Francis (Mountain View) 6-1 (NCP #4)
5 - Pittsburg 6-2 (NCP #5)
6 - Del Oro (Loomis) 8-0 (NCP #10)
7 - Central Catholic (Modesto) 7-1 (NCP #15)
8 - Monterey Trail (Elk Grove) 8-0 (NCP #16)
9 - Wilcox (Santa Clara) 8-0 (NCP #11)
10 - Clayton Valley (Concord) 7-1 (NCP #9)

no CS considered 

[Cal 14]

19 hours ago, Ararar said:

CalHi NorCal top 10 looks like this

1 - De La Salle (Concord) 8-0 (NCP #1)
2 - Folsom 7-1 (NCP #2)
3 - Liberty (Brentwood) 8-0 (NCP #3)
4 - St Francis (Mountain View) 6-1 (NCP #4)
5 - Pittsburg 6-2 (NCP #5)
6 - Del Oro (Loomis) 8-0 (NCP #10)
7 - Central Catholic (Modesto) 7-1 (NCP #15)
8 - Monterey Trail (Elk Grove) 8-0 (NCP #16)
9 - Wilcox (Santa Clara) 8-0 (NCP #11)
10 - Clayton Valley (Concord) 7-1 (NCP #9)

no CS considered 

Cal-Hi tends to hold onto the notion that one team beating another means they must remain ranked higher (in most cases).  I rank teams on who I really think is better at the moment.

Tennis always thinks that the WCAL teams in the CCS are better, so he either ranks them higher or a public school must beat a WCAL to be considered.  Wilcox did beat Valley Christian at the beginning of the year and has another nice win over Palo Alto.  But, the Chargers also scraped by a questionable Los Gatos.  Valley Christian played a very close game with St. Francis and blew out Serra.  I just think VC would win in a rematch.

I drop St. Francis because of their QB situation.  Their wins do warrant a higher ranking, but I just don't think that the defense could win most games against similarly-ranked teams.  Bad luck, as they were looking really strong for a state title.  If they win out (which would include beating Serra), I think they could end up in either D-1A or D-2AA for the NorCal regionals.  I don't have confidence they win either of those games with their current situation.

Tennis also hammered Clayton Valley's loss to Antioch, but I feel you have to look closely to how that game transpired.  The Ugly Eagles turned the ball over a bunch early, which allowed the Panthers to take a big lead.  But, when they settled down, they roared back to nearly tie the game.  They lost when they elected to go for two at the end and didn't get it.  I think CVC's win over Pittsburg is more significant.

I'm really looking forward to the SJS D-II playoffs.  I think any one of Del Oro, Inderkum, or Central Catholic could win it.

[Exocet 98]

The title should be NorCal baby seal slap dicks minus DLS status. Common 27 years, 295+ ?? Even a blind squirrel can find a nut in 27 years. NorCal = weak sauce.

 

[AztecPadre]

On 10/15/2018 at 6:05 PM, Cal 14 said:

This is an objective viewpoint of the weekly status of NorCal football teams and was requested by a couple of other posters.  Your opinions are welcome, but any outrage of false indignation will be ignored.  Not sure if I will make a new thread each week or just update as we go along (would appreciate feedback on this).  For each weekly report, I'll give a ranking of each CIF section.  However, for this first one, I will summarize how they each determine their playoffs, as there is no uniform CIF manner of doing this.  I will rank the top 9 from the SJS, 7 from the NCS, and 6 from the CCS (representing the relative size of each section) and top 10 overall in NorCal (no one from the NS, SFS, or OS are among the top 10 in NorCal for 2018).  For these initial sets, I am not including the Central Section, but I will if people request it (given that some CIF-CS division champs will compete in NorCal for the regionals).

As of Oct 15, 2018

Sac-Joaquin Section

The SJS determines their 78 playoff teams over 7 divisions by a combination of four things:

a.  League champions (automatic bids)

b.  Calpreps.com ratings (non-automatic bids)

c.  School CBEDs (average daily enrollments)

d.  Traditional league strength designations (for example, teams from D-I leagues cannot play lower than D-II in the playoffs and teams will histories of dominance of lower divisions are forced to move up)

Each league champion automatically qualifies for the playoffs and the remaining field is selected based on Calpreps.com ratings.  The largest 12 schools that qualify are placed in D-I, the next largest in D-II, and so on.  D-VII has only the smallest 6 teams.  In order to be considered, a team must have at least 4 wins.  For my rankings, I'll place their anticipated playoff division (which could change from week to week).

1.  Folsom (D-I):  The Bulldogs are the clear front-runner in D-I.  With the close loss to De La Salle to open the season and the continued battery of other SJS teams, the defending state D-IAA champions are poised to defend their title.

2.  Del Oro (D-II):  This is based mostly on their demolition of Oak Ridge a couple of weeks ago.  Other than that win, the Eagle coaching staff didn't really seek out the type of schedule we're accustomed to seeing them do, so they're a little bit of a question mark.  Del Oro takes on Folsom in the regular season finale.  Their very close win over an up-and-down (mostly down) Grant team should be cause of great concern.

3.  Monterey Trail (D-I):  This is based on two things... their big win over a good Sheldon team and default... because not many other stand out at this level and/or have some questionable games.  They don't play in a great (or even good) league and have largely been untested, but they are undefeated at the moment at 8-0.

4.  Capital Christian (D-IV):  Going on a little bit of a limb here over Oak Ridge.  Undefeated at 8-0, but with a win over Grant that is similar to that of Oak Ridge, minus the two severe blowout losses that the Trojans have taken.  The Cougars are coached by former Del Oro HC, Casey Taylor, so watch out for this program in the coming years.

5.  Oak Ridge (D-I):  Nice win over Grant and none that are questionable, but the two aforementioned crushing defeats at the hands of Folsom and Del Oro are puzzling.  While it's not shocking that they lost those games, the manner of how bad they were is.

6.  Central Catholic (D-II):  Challenged themselves against De La Salle and have a nice win over St. Mary's.  Close win over Manteca concerns.  Nearly dropped them one spot because of it.

7.  Inderkum (D-II):  This team could easily be as high as 4, but are lacking a signature win.  Best win over Antelope matched by Capitol Christian, but the Tigers can't match the ones against Grant or St. Mary's.  Still, Inderkum is a demonstration that there are going to be several good contenders for the SJS D-II crown.

8.  Placer (D-IV):  The defending NorCal 4AA champs are looking a little better than last year, but the concerns I had about them last year don't seem to be especially resolved.  Their wing-t offense is very fluid and difficult to stop, but they don't seem to be especially adept at stopping other high-quality offenses.  They're highly thought of by other websites (NorCalPreps and Cal-Hi Sports), so they may end up again playing much bigger schools in the NorCal regionals, should they get past Capital Christian.  Both the NorCal and state games last year were shootouts.

9.  Jesuit (D-I):  Really kind of wanted to put Sheldon in this spot, but the Huskies have been playing just above the levels of their competition lately, whereas the Marauders have started to step things up.  That said, those two teams are meeting this week to settle this, as well as the Delta League championship.

 

North Coast Section

The NCS determines their 5 playoff divisions loosely by enrollment, but have added elements of competitive equity lately.  Additionally, teams always have the option to petition into a higher division.  Last, there is an Open Division that should, at least theoretically, have the top 4 teams from the entire section.  Because the division is designated as an "Open", both the champion and another team is allowed to replace the champion of another division.  What is not actually clearly stated is whether or not a team that fails to advance to the Open championship game can be selected over their original division's champion.  What has been taking place in other sections (and the NCS) is that the runner-up is selected to compete in the NorCal regionals, but that is not explicitly stated in the NCS bylaws.  I bring this up because there is a possibility that Cardinal Newman, which is normally a D-III team, could possibly be selected to compete in the Open.  The NCS could conceivably also have them replace the D-III champion by virtue of this Open placement.  Other sections have much more clear language.

Designated league champions are automatically selected to advance to the playoffs and the rest of the field is determined as at-large teams.  In order to advance as an at-large, a team must be at least 0.500 overall, against schools with enrollments within their own original divisional placement (regardless of where in the United States they play), and/or within their league.  This is the only CIF section that will leave placements empty if there are not enough teams that satisfy this 0.500 requirement.

1.  De La Salle (D-Open):  What hasn't been written about this program's dominance from over the last 20 years?  Last week, they clobbered Foothill.  Not a surprise, but the fact that the Falcons actually scored kind of was.  While the Spartans remain the top team in the section and NorCal, they still appear to be somewhat vulnerable.

2.  Liberty (D-Open):  Easily the most consistent team in the entire NCS (including DLS), they have yet to truly be challenged.  While one may read that to say that they haven't played anyone decent at all, they do have a solid win over a good Cardinal Newman team.  They will play Pittsburg for the Bay Valley Athletic League title this week.  A win likely secures a #2 seed in the Open Division, but they will still likely advance there with a loss.  If DLS does not have a good night, Liberty is a squad that could conceivably dethrone them.

3.  Clayton Valley Charter (D-Open):  Placement into the Open is virtue of an early-season victory over Pittsburg.  While the Ugly Eagles also have a not-so-great loss to Antioch, there may not be another obvious team that could take their place.

4.  Pittsburg (D-Open... maybe):  The Pirates have scored a couple of solid wins over St. Mary's and San Mateo Serra.  However, the loss to Clayton Valley Charter puts their Open Division placement in doubt.  In my opinion, they cannot lose either of their last two games against Liberty and Antioch, respectively.  The Pirates lost their starting QB a couple of weeks ago, but I actually think they're better with the replacement, who led them to the state D-1A title game last year.

5.  Cardinal Newman (D-III):  If Pittsburg loses to Antioch, the Panthers would likely replace them in the Open, as they also have a win over Clayton Valley Charter.  If the Pirates only lose to Liberty, then it's a real possibility that the Cardinals could be pulled all the way up from D-III.  At 7-1, their only loss came against Liberty.

6.  Antioch (D-I):  This placement over Monte Vista is due to the win over CVC and the possibility they could also upset Pittsburg.  Those two wins would likely catapult them into the Open.

7.  Monte Vista (D-I):  The Mustangs have a few nice wins over California, Granada, and Granite Bay, but they blew a late lead against Bishop O'Dowd and got absolutely smashed by De La Salle.  Could have placed Rancho Cotate in this spot.

 

Central Coast Section

The CCS has the most unique playoff system in the state in that they have three Open divisions.  From the outside, the system can appear very complex, but upon close examination, it really does make sense.  The section has typically used enrollment to determine its division, with the exception of the top division (either called D-I or Open), into which the top teams could have either petitioned or been forced. 

The section's leagues are very fluid from year to year.  With the exception of the all-private school West Catholic Athletic League, they are referred to as "Super" leagues, with multiple divisions.  There may be as few as two divisions (Santa Clara County Athletic League) or as many as four (Pacific Coast Athletic League).  Every offseason, a meeting is held for each league to determine which of their teams will be placed in the A (top), B (middle), or C (lower) divisions.  The WCAL is always considered an A league.  The automatic bids are generally weighed towards the higher-level leagues/divisions.  At-large selection and seeding is determined by a point system that evaluates a combination of record and strength of schedule.  I can go more in depth on that upon request, but I'll leave it simple for the time being.

There are five overall divisions.  The top three are Open divisions and only teams from A league/divisions are automatically placed in them.  The bottom two are for teams from B and C divisions, however a champion from a B division could possibly petition into one of the Open division, displacing the lowest point-earning team down to D-IV or D-V.  There are eight teams in each division.  Once the field is selected the eight largest Open schools are placed in Open D-I.  The next largest in Open D-II and the smallest in Open D-III.  The larger eight B/C teams are placed in D-IV and the smaller eight go into D-V.

What confuses people is that the champions of D-IV and D-V are not eligible for NorCal regional games.  Instead, the top two playoff point earning runner-ups take those slots.  While this is common for the state basketball tourney, it isn't for football.  However, upon closer inspection, the reason why this is in place is that the B/C teams were complaining about having to face the mid-sized and powerful private school in the playoffs.  The CCS told them that they could have their own playoff brackets, but they'd have to give up their state aspirations, to which the schools/leagues agreed.  Last year, the two runner-up teams advanced to, and won state divisional titles.

1.  St. Francis (Open D-II):  Most significant win was against Notre Dame, from southern California, but a recent win over Valley Christian currently holds the most local impact.  That is explained just below.  The Lancers played quite well in a loss to De La Salle early in the year, but has since lost their starting QB for the year with a torn ACL.  So far, their strong defense has prevented them from dropping any additional games.

2.  Valley Christian (Open D-II):  The Warriors have two losses, one to open the season against Wilcox and recently by 4 points to St. Francis in a defensive slugfest.  The game that puts them at #2 in the section for me took place last week against Serra, which resulted in a resounding win.

3.  Wilcox (Open D-II):  Although the Chargers scored significant wins over Valley Christian and Palo Alto, they also had a very confusing close game against an up-and-down Los Gatos squad.  Valley Christian's big win over Serra and overall better SoS puts Wilcox down to #3, in my opinion.  That said, due to the CCS playoff point system, they are projected to be the #1 seed in what will easily be the toughest bracket in the section.

4.  Serra (Open D-II):  Prior to the game against Valley Christian, the Padres were looking a lot like the defending state D-2AA champions from a year ago.  The shocking 37-6 loss calls a repeat into heavy question.  Still, the magnitude of their other wins and a close loss to Pittsburg tenuously keeps them at #4.  They'll finish the season against St. Francis.

5.  Palo Alto (Open D-I):  Positions 5 and 6 could easily filled by any of three different teams, but I'll go with the Vikings as their only loss has been to Wilcox.  Their best win was against McClymonds.  For me, they are the current front-runners in Open D-I, but they will get significant challenges from two other teams.

6.  Aptos (Open D-III):  This could have gone to Menlo-Atherton, but the Bears took a loss to Palma, who the Mariners will play in two weeks.  I have Aptos favored in that game by a couple of scores.  Undefeated at 8-0, they'll likely be facing Salinas for the outright Pacific Coast Athletic League title at the end of the regular season.

 

Overall NorCal Top 10

1.  De La Salle - had big win over Folsom to open the year

2.  Folsom - most explosive offense in NorCal

3.  Liberty - could legitimately challenge DLS, but wish they had scheduled up more in non-league

4.  Clayton Valley Charter - traditional black and blue team, win over Pittsburg made sense after I saw the Pirates play

5.  Del Oro - lacking huge win, waiting for them to face Folsom

6.  St. Francis - monster defense will have to continue shoulder the load

7.  Pittsburg - close game against Serra pushes them below St. Francis for the time being

8.  Monterey Trail - will have to wait until the playoffs to see how good this team really is

9.  Cardinal Newman - possibly their best team since the state finalist of 2006

10.  Valley Christian - last time they played Cardinal Newman, they blew them out in the NorCal D-2A regional

 

Aptos at #6? Child please.  Carmel will run ruffshed over them.  Lol.  This is a great idea to put this out here.  I would suggest doing a new thread every week, since we are getting close to the end of the regular season and playoffs just around the corner.  

[AztecPadre]

On 10/15/2018 at 6:05 PM, Cal 14 said:

This is an objective viewpoint of the weekly status of NorCal football teams and was requested by a couple of other posters.  Your opinions are welcome, but any outrage of false indignation will be ignored.  Not sure if I will make a new thread each week or just update as we go along (would appreciate feedback on this).  For each weekly report, I'll give a ranking of each CIF section.  However, for this first one, I will summarize how they each determine their playoffs, as there is no uniform CIF manner of doing this.  I will rank the top 9 from the SJS, 7 from the NCS, and 6 from the CCS (representing the relative size of each section) and top 10 overall in NorCal (no one from the NS, SFS, or OS are among the top 10 in NorCal for 2018).  For these initial sets, I am not including the Central Section, but I will if people request it (given that some CIF-CS division champs will compete in NorCal for the regionals).

As of Oct 15, 2018

Sac-Joaquin Section

The SJS determines their 78 playoff teams over 7 divisions by a combination of four things:

a.  League champions (automatic bids)

b.  Calpreps.com ratings (non-automatic bids)

c.  School CBEDs (average daily enrollments)

d.  Traditional league strength designations (for example, teams from D-I leagues cannot play lower than D-II in the playoffs and teams will histories of dominance of lower divisions are forced to move up)

Each league champion automatically qualifies for the playoffs and the remaining field is selected based on Calpreps.com ratings.  The largest 12 schools that qualify are placed in D-I, the next largest in D-II, and so on.  D-VII has only the smallest 6 teams.  In order to be considered, a team must have at least 4 wins.  For my rankings, I'll place their anticipated playoff division (which could change from week to week).

1.  Folsom (D-I):  The Bulldogs are the clear front-runner in D-I.  With the close loss to De La Salle to open the season and the continued battery of other SJS teams, the defending state D-IAA champions are poised to defend their title.

2.  Del Oro (D-II):  This is based mostly on their demolition of Oak Ridge a couple of weeks ago.  Other than that win, the Eagle coaching staff didn't really seek out the type of schedule we're accustomed to seeing them do, so they're a little bit of a question mark.  Del Oro takes on Folsom in the regular season finale.  Their very close win over an up-and-down (mostly down) Grant team should be cause of great concern.

3.  Monterey Trail (D-I):  This is based on two things... their big win over a good Sheldon team and default... because not many other stand out at this level and/or have some questionable games.  They don't play in a great (or even good) league and have largely been untested, but they are undefeated at the moment at 8-0.

4.  Capital Christian (D-IV):  Going on a little bit of a limb here over Oak Ridge.  Undefeated at 8-0, but with a win over Grant that is similar to that of Oak Ridge, minus the two severe blowout losses that the Trojans have taken.  The Cougars are coached by former Del Oro HC, Casey Taylor, so watch out for this program in the coming years.

5.  Oak Ridge (D-I):  Nice win over Grant and none that are questionable, but the two aforementioned crushing defeats at the hands of Folsom and Del Oro are puzzling.  While it's not shocking that they lost those games, the manner of how bad they were is.

6.  Central Catholic (D-II):  Challenged themselves against De La Salle and have a nice win over St. Mary's.  Close win over Manteca concerns.  Nearly dropped them one spot because of it.

7.  Inderkum (D-II):  This team could easily be as high as 4, but are lacking a signature win.  Best win over Antelope matched by Capitol Christian, but the Tigers can't match the ones against Grant or St. Mary's.  Still, Inderkum is a demonstration that there are going to be several good contenders for the SJS D-II crown.

8.  Placer (D-IV):  The defending NorCal 4AA champs are looking a little better than last year, but the concerns I had about them last year don't seem to be especially resolved.  Their wing-t offense is very fluid and difficult to stop, but they don't seem to be especially adept at stopping other high-quality offenses.  They're highly thought of by other websites (NorCalPreps and Cal-Hi Sports), so they may end up again playing much bigger schools in the NorCal regionals, should they get past Capital Christian.  Both the NorCal and state games last year were shootouts.

9.  Jesuit (D-I):  Really kind of wanted to put Sheldon in this spot, but the Huskies have been playing just above the levels of their competition lately, whereas the Marauders have started to step things up.  That said, those two teams are meeting this week to settle this, as well as the Delta League championship.

 

North Coast Section

The NCS determines their 5 playoff divisions loosely by enrollment, but have added elements of competitive equity lately.  Additionally, teams always have the option to petition into a higher division.  Last, there is an Open Division that should, at least theoretically, have the top 4 teams from the entire section.  Because the division is designated as an "Open", both the champion and another team is allowed to replace the champion of another division.  What is not actually clearly stated is whether or not a team that fails to advance to the Open championship game can be selected over their original division's champion.  What has been taking place in other sections (and the NCS) is that the runner-up is selected to compete in the NorCal regionals, but that is not explicitly stated in the NCS bylaws.  I bring this up because there is a possibility that Cardinal Newman, which is normally a D-III team, could possibly be selected to compete in the Open.  The NCS could conceivably also have them replace the D-III champion by virtue of this Open placement.  Other sections have much more clear language.

Designated league champions are automatically selected to advance to the playoffs and the rest of the field is determined as at-large teams.  In order to advance as an at-large, a team must be at least 0.500 overall, against schools with enrollments within their own original divisional placement (regardless of where in the United States they play), and/or within their league.  This is the only CIF section that will leave placements empty if there are not enough teams that satisfy this 0.500 requirement.

1.  De La Salle (D-Open):  What hasn't been written about this program's dominance from over the last 20 years?  Last week, they clobbered Foothill.  Not a surprise, but the fact that the Falcons actually scored kind of was.  While the Spartans remain the top team in the section and NorCal, they still appear to be somewhat vulnerable.

2.  Liberty (D-Open):  Easily the most consistent team in the entire NCS (including DLS), they have yet to truly be challenged.  While one may read that to say that they haven't played anyone decent at all, they do have a solid win over a good Cardinal Newman team.  They will play Pittsburg for the Bay Valley Athletic League title this week.  A win likely secures a #2 seed in the Open Division, but they will still likely advance there with a loss.  If DLS does not have a good night, Liberty is a squad that could conceivably dethrone them.

3.  Clayton Valley Charter (D-Open):  Placement into the Open is virtue of an early-season victory over Pittsburg.  While the Ugly Eagles also have a not-so-great loss to Antioch, there may not be another obvious team that could take their place.

4.  Pittsburg (D-Open... maybe):  The Pirates have scored a couple of solid wins over St. Mary's and San Mateo Serra.  However, the loss to Clayton Valley Charter puts their Open Division placement in doubt.  In my opinion, they cannot lose either of their last two games against Liberty and Antioch, respectively.  The Pirates lost their starting QB a couple of weeks ago, but I actually think they're better with the replacement, who led them to the state D-1A title game last year.

5.  Cardinal Newman (D-III):  If Pittsburg loses to Antioch, the Panthers would likely replace them in the Open, as they also have a win over Clayton Valley Charter.  If the Pirates only lose to Liberty, then it's a real possibility that the Cardinals could be pulled all the way up from D-III.  At 7-1, their only loss came against Liberty.

6.  Antioch (D-I):  This placement over Monte Vista is due to the win over CVC and the possibility they could also upset Pittsburg.  Those two wins would likely catapult them into the Open.

7.  Monte Vista (D-I):  The Mustangs have a few nice wins over California, Granada, and Granite Bay, but they blew a late lead against Bishop O'Dowd and got absolutely smashed by De La Salle.  Could have placed Rancho Cotate in this spot.

 

Central Coast Section

The CCS has the most unique playoff system in the state in that they have three Open divisions.  From the outside, the system can appear very complex, but upon close examination, it really does make sense.  The section has typically used enrollment to determine its division, with the exception of the top division (either called D-I or Open), into which the top teams could have either petitioned or been forced. 

The section's leagues are very fluid from year to year.  With the exception of the all-private school West Catholic Athletic League, they are referred to as "Super" leagues, with multiple divisions.  There may be as few as two divisions (Santa Clara County Athletic League) or as many as four (Pacific Coast Athletic League).  Every offseason, a meeting is held for each league to determine which of their teams will be placed in the A (top), B (middle), or C (lower) divisions.  The WCAL is always considered an A league.  The automatic bids are generally weighed towards the higher-level leagues/divisions.  At-large selection and seeding is determined by a point system that evaluates a combination of record and strength of schedule.  I can go more in depth on that upon request, but I'll leave it simple for the time being.

There are five overall divisions.  The top three are Open divisions and only teams from A league/divisions are automatically placed in them.  The bottom two are for teams from B and C divisions, however a champion from a B division could possibly petition into one of the Open division, displacing the lowest point-earning team down to D-IV or D-V.  There are eight teams in each division.  Once the field is selected the eight largest Open schools are placed in Open D-I.  The next largest in Open D-II and the smallest in Open D-III.  The larger eight B/C teams are placed in D-IV and the smaller eight go into D-V.

What confuses people is that the champions of D-IV and D-V are not eligible for NorCal regional games.  Instead, the top two playoff point earning runner-ups take those slots.  While this is common for the state basketball tourney, it isn't for football.  However, upon closer inspection, the reason why this is in place is that the B/C teams were complaining about having to face the mid-sized and powerful private school in the playoffs.  The CCS told them that they could have their own playoff brackets, but they'd have to give up their state aspirations, to which the schools/leagues agreed.  Last year, the two runner-up teams advanced to, and won state divisional titles.

1.  St. Francis (Open D-II):  Most significant win was against Notre Dame, from southern California, but a recent win over Valley Christian currently holds the most local impact.  That is explained just below.  The Lancers played quite well in a loss to De La Salle early in the year, but has since lost their starting QB for the year with a torn ACL.  So far, their strong defense has prevented them from dropping any additional games.

2.  Valley Christian (Open D-II):  The Warriors have two losses, one to open the season against Wilcox and recently by 4 points to St. Francis in a defensive slugfest.  The game that puts them at #2 in the section for me took place last week against Serra, which resulted in a resounding win.

3.  Wilcox (Open D-II):  Although the Chargers scored significant wins over Valley Christian and Palo Alto, they also had a very confusing close game against an up-and-down Los Gatos squad.  Valley Christian's big win over Serra and overall better SoS puts Wilcox down to #3, in my opinion.  That said, due to the CCS playoff point system, they are projected to be the #1 seed in what will easily be the toughest bracket in the section.

4.  Serra (Open D-II):  Prior to the game against Valley Christian, the Padres were looking a lot like the defending state D-2AA champions from a year ago.  The shocking 37-6 loss calls a repeat into heavy question.  Still, the magnitude of their other wins and a close loss to Pittsburg tenuously keeps them at #4.  They'll finish the season against St. Francis.

5.  Palo Alto (Open D-I):  Positions 5 and 6 could easily filled by any of three different teams, but I'll go with the Vikings as their only loss has been to Wilcox.  Their best win was against McClymonds.  For me, they are the current front-runners in Open D-I, but they will get significant challenges from two other teams.

6.  Aptos (Open D-III):  This could have gone to Menlo-Atherton, but the Bears took a loss to Palma, who the Mariners will play in two weeks.  I have Aptos favored in that game by a couple of scores.  Undefeated at 8-0, they'll likely be facing Salinas for the outright Pacific Coast Athletic League title at the end of the regular season.

 

Overall NorCal Top 10

1.  De La Salle - had big win over Folsom to open the year

2.  Folsom - most explosive offense in NorCal

3.  Liberty - could legitimately challenge DLS, but wish they had scheduled up more in non-league

4.  Clayton Valley Charter - traditional black and blue team, win over Pittsburg made sense after I saw the Pirates play

5.  Del Oro - lacking huge win, waiting for them to face Folsom

6.  St. Francis - monster defense will have to continue shoulder the load

7.  Pittsburg - close game against Serra pushes them below St. Francis for the time being

8.  Monterey Trail - will have to wait until the playoffs to see how good this team really is

9.  Cardinal Newman - possibly their best team since the state finalist of 2006

10.  Valley Christian - last time they played Cardinal Newman, they blew them out in the NorCal D-2A regional

 

Lil Padre represented in that game!!!

[AztecPadre]

On 10/15/2018 at 9:47 PM, Cal 14 said:

For me, a Liberty win would elevate them to #1 in NorCal, then drop DLS to #2, Folsom to #3, and Central to #4.  However, the CIF has seemed to want to avoid rematches (despite how compelling this one would be) in the regional games.  The D-1A game would probably be between Folsom and St. Francis.  A full-strength Lancer team (i.e., with their QB) would be one thing, but the current situation wouldn't be very good.

There is not a chance Liberty beats DLS this year.  Not unless a ton of injuries and suspensions and grade ineligibilities takes place.  But I hear ya. Lol 

[AztecPadre]

2 hours ago, Cal 14 said:

Cal-Hi tends to hold onto the notion that one team beating another means they must remain ranked higher (in most cases).  I rank teams on who I really think is better at the moment.

Tennis always thinks that the WCAL teams in the CCS are better, so he either ranks them higher or a public school must beat a WCAL to be considered.  Wilcox did beat Valley Christian at the beginning of the year and has another nice win over Palo Alto.  But, the Chargers also scraped by a questionable Los Gatos.  Valley Christian played a very close game with St. Francis and blew out Serra.  I just think VC would win in a rematch.

I drop St. Francis because of their QB situation.  Their wins do warrant a higher ranking, but I just don't think that the defense could win most games against similarly-ranked teams.  Bad luck, as they were looking really strong for a state title.  If they win out (which would include beating Serra), I think they could end up in either D-1A or D-2AA for the NorCal regionals.  I don't have confidence they win either of those games with their current situation.

Tennis also hammered Clayton Valley's loss to Antioch, but I feel you have to look closely to how that game transpired.  The Ugly Eagles turned the ball over a bunch early, which allowed the Panthers to take a big lead.  But, when they settled down, they roared back to nearly tie the game.  They lost when they elected to go for two at the end and didn't get it.  I think CVC's win over Pittsburg is more significant.

I'm really looking forward to the SJS D-II playoffs.  I think any one of Del Oro, Inderkum, or Central Catholic could win it.

Johnny Stanton rule.

[Cal 14]

1 hour ago, AztecPadre said:

Johnny Stanton rule.

I'm just trying to be realistic.  Their D is great, but you'll have to score to beat teams like Del Oro or Pittsburg.  Sure, they put up 38 on Riordan, but Serra had 35 against them... in the first quarter.

[Cal 14]

1 hour ago, AztecPadre said:

Aptos at #6? Child please.  Carmel will run ruffshed over them.  Lol.  This is a great idea to put this out here.  I would suggest doing a new thread every week, since we are getting close to the end of the regular season and playoffs just around the corner.  

I'm going to try to do this every week, including through the playoffs.

Aptos looks tough, man.  They've been very consistent all year long, although I think it's strange that the schedulers put their last two games as Palma and Salinas.  That's potentially a tough 5-game stretch (through the playoffs).

[AztecPadre]

22 minutes ago, Cal 14 said:

I'm going to try to do this every week, including through the playoffs.

Aptos looks tough, man.  They've been very consistent all year long, although I think it's strange that the schedulers put their last two games as Palma and Salinas.  That's potentially a tough 5-game stretch (through the playoffs).

Yes, Palma and Salas to end your season is not easy task.  But, Im telling you my Padres are on another level this year and are only getting better.  Watch for them to opt up to the open D3 and win it.  Plus they are a young team too.  Do you know if the Salinas game was a home and home?

[Cal 14]

4 hours ago, AztecPadre said:

Yes, Palma and Salas to end your season is not easy task.  But, Im telling you my Padres are on another level this year and are only getting better.  Watch for them to opt up to the open D3 and win it.  Plus they are a young team too.  Do you know if the Salinas game was a home and home?

Carmel is on another level... than the rest of the Mission Division.  :-P

I'm anticipating that the Padre-Cowboy contract to be a moot point when Carmel is moved up to the Gabilan Division.  You want them to be considered #1 in Monterey County?  Here's their chance to prove it.

[ThunderRam]

7 hours ago, Cal 14 said:

Aptos looks tough, man.  They've been very consistent all year long, although I think it's strange that the schedulers put their last two games as Palma and Salinas.  That's potentially a tough 5-game stretch (through the playoffs).

 

Blows me away that Randy Blankenship is still coaching. And still doing a great job of it. I played against one of his Nevada Union teams back in the 80's. And yet here he is today with a damn good Aptos team.

[Cossacks]

2 hours ago, ThunderRam said:

 

Blows me away that Randy Blankenship is still coaching. And still doing a great job of it. I played against one of his Nevada Union teams back in the 80's. And yet here he is today with a damn good Aptos team.

He’s a good coach. He has done well everywhere he’s gone for a long time.

[CaliNorth]

On 10/15/2018 at 6:15 PM, NorCalRuss said:

Central Catholic is a much better team now than when they played DLS. They’re not rotating QBs any longer and are getting healthier. They’re passing more than usual with a legit q.b and doing it well. 

The Manteca game was never really in doubt. Rivalry game. 

Like what was said earlier in some other thread, CC of Modesto could end up being one of Norcal's best this season ( Not including Central section ). They are a long way off  from  Dela and Folsom, but everyone else up here better watch out for them.