Last season Turlock had arguably the biggest upset in the state in defeating St. Mary's 51-50 in the SJS Div. 1 playoffs. They are losing a number of key players so I was wondering if they would change their philosophy of scheduling tough non-conference games (as their league is weak) to prepare for the post season. They didn't, and even double-downed, with four of the same teams and trading Manteca for Folsom. On the road at Rocklin (51st in the state in year-end Calhisports ranking), and Central - Fresno (55th in ranking), with home games against Folsom (10th), Clovis West (37th), and Clayton Valley (56th). Turlock ended up ranked 49th. Div. 1 teams in the southern part of the SJS don't fair well in the playoffs so winning two post-season games last year was an accomplishment for them. The went 2-3 last year against these teams, and it could be hard to duplicate that this year. Central Catholic had a truly brutal non-conference schedule last year, probably the hardest in Northern California, and went 1 -4, but they also had a tough conference schedule too. They won their league but past success in D2 and D3 pushed them up into D 1 where they were soundly defeated by Folsom. So does a deliberately tough schedule help? Central has to be careful about injuries as their squads are usually small in numbers but aside from that I think it does. And I think the players enjoy the challenge, as long as there's a chance for an upset (i.e. you're not playing St. John Bosco).
Another tough schedule for the Bulldogs
- Thread starter Larno51
- Start date
Scheduling is a fickle mistress. There are more than a few variables involved...who needs a home game, who needs an away game, who has an open date, what team is willing to drop the previous "home and home" contract, where said game fits for the teams' season and strength of opponent, to name a few.
But, to answer your question, I think it is a grey area. IMO, CC got nothing after the first quarter going against Bosco last fall. Nor did Serra. More to the point, I think there is tremendous value in "scheduling up" provided it is not too far up. And there is no crystal ball from year to year. Many teams flip-flop scores in an overwhelmingly decided score between year one and year two of a contract.
I'll be the last person to call out a team/coach/AD on their scheduling practices unless I know all of the details.
But, to answer your question, I think it is a grey area. IMO, CC got nothing after the first quarter going against Bosco last fall. Nor did Serra. More to the point, I think there is tremendous value in "scheduling up" provided it is not too far up. And there is no crystal ball from year to year. Many teams flip-flop scores in an overwhelmingly decided score between year one and year two of a contract.
I'll be the last person to call out a team/coach/AD on their scheduling practices unless I know all of the details.
good catch MT...poor reading comp on my part lol...respect to Turlock for their scheduling
Case in point about flipping scores year to year. Well, two cases in point. In 2021 Rocklin crushed Turlock at home (Turlock was missing their quarterback and other key players, but would have lost anyway) and in 2022 Turlock won at home. In 2021 Turlock beat Clovis West at home without Turlock's starting quarterback and in 2022 Clovis West beat them 48-0 at home. Maybe a bit of home field advantage but good teams should win wherever they play, and high school kids shouldn't be bothered by a 100 mile bus trip.
We are all guilty sometimes of skimming a post too quickly. It happens to the best of us.
