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Playoff Scoreboard (November 15-16)

Throwing a wet football is very problematic- even for "good" high school quarterbacks. Incumbent on teams to bring plenty of game balls- ballboys to do their job and officials to do a good job replacing balls.
So Wednesday practice in full rain, and bring in the ball boys for a ‘dry run.’ Team with the most dry towels wins.

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NCP Pick'em: Playoffs Week 2

Here are the games for this week. Picks are due at 7:00 PM on Friday. Game of the Week is De La Salle-Pittsburg

Turlock at Oak Ridge
Grant at St. Mary’s-Stockton
Manteca at Rocklin
St. Francis vs. St. Ignatius
Menlo vs. Palma
Los Gatos at Riordan
Hollister vs. Carmel
De La Salle vs. Pittsburg
Cardinal Newman at San Ramon Valley
Windsor at Amador Valley
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PCAL Playoffs Week 1

Riordan defensive line in the middle is very stout and o-line really good. They have excellent RB and QB with fast WRs. Riordan is more athletic than Los Gatos. Got to favor Riordan if they play their A game but they also can be inconsistent.

Los Gatos QB is impressive and they are very sound on defense. A very good Cat team.

It will come down to the trenches and who limits big plays. Riordan dismantled and dominated a very good Soquel team that lost by 7 to the cats and seems to be playing at high level. I'm inclined to think Riordan will win by 10+ and should be favored, but if the Cats can withstand and neutralize the Riordan line, it could be a close one. Riordan also can start slow. I wouldn't call it a huge upset if Los Gatos pulls out a win. This is high school football.
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Very Early Look at the CIF Bowl Divisions - 2024

You could be correct on that. However, IMO, since Serra beat Folsom, and then went on to lay an egg in the WCAL section, there is no scenario in which Folsom can get to the open.
That is probably correct that Folsom won't be considered for Open unless at least 2 or 3 teams ahead of them loses. DLS is not expected to lose to Pittsburg, but if they did, NorCal Open would be up for grabs between Clovis East and Pittsburg with the likely nod going to undefeated Clovis East.

I think Folsom has fairly good shot if Clovis East loses to Central, Pittsburg beats DLS and then loses to SRV. In that case it would be a toss up between SRV and Folsom with the nod going to Folsom. I doubt a SF victory over SI would get SF into the discussion.
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NCP Football Top 20: St. Ignatius, Riordan Flex their Muscles

The power for regional football rests in four playoff divisions with SJS Division I, SJS Division II, NCS Open/Division I and CCS Open/Division I.

In total, 19 of the Top 20 teams competed in those three divisions with only No. 20 Wilcox being out as the top seed in CCS Division II.

The first takeaway from last week were impressive wins by St. Ignatius (over Salinas) and Riordan (over Soquel) in WCAL-PCAL Gabilan matchups. St. Ignatius, which was thought by some to be a vulnerable No. 1 seed, was anything but that as the defense forced three first half turnovers in a 45-7 win. The defense took two of those three turnovers for touchdowns. Jarious Hogan added two touchdown runs. The Wildcats get a second matchup with St. Francis, which beat Valley Christian 24-14, for the CCS Open Division title.

On Saturday, Riordan also got off to a fast start in a 41-7 win over Soquel. Michael Mitchell Jr. and Chris Lawson connected for four touchdowns as the Crusaders have gelled, gotten healthy and won five in a row heading into this week’s matchup against Los Gatos. The Wildcats won a CCS Open/D1 game for the second straight year in beating Serra 14-7.

Moving to the NCS, Cardinal Newman finally got past Marin Catholic in the playoffs with a 20-7 win in Kentfield. The Cardinals had just one win over the Wildcats in the past decade despite numerous playoff matchups. They ran for 220 yards in the win. Next up is San Ramon Valley, which got a second win over California with a 35-7 win on Friday.

Looking ahead, many eyes around the state will be watching the De La Salle-Pittsburg matchup for the NCS Open Division title. The Spartans are No. 1 and undefeated with one of their best teams of the past decade. Pittsburg, with just a loss to St. John Bosco, is ranked No. 3 with an explosive offense and a defense with multiple Division I prospects.

The intrigue in the SJS picks up this week with the following questions being answered. Can Inderkum challenge Folsom again in the playoffs? Is this the year Turlock finally beats Oak Ridge? Who is the most physical team between Rocklin and Manteca? Does Grant or St. Mary’s-Stockton have a better group of skill players? And a final question, will we get three Sierra Foothill League teams in the section finals?

1. De La Salle (11-0)
2. Folsom (10-1)
3. Pittsburg (10-1)
4. San Ramon Valley (10-1)
5. St. Mary’s-Stockton (9-2)
6. St. Francis-Mountain View (9-2)
7. St. Ignatius (9-2)
8. Grant (8-3)
9. Oak Ridge (7-4)
10. Rocklin (9-2)
11. Riordan (7-4)
12. Los Gatos (8-2)
13. Cardinal Newman (10-1)
14. Marin Catholic (8-3)
15. Manteca (10-1)
16. Soquel (8-3)
17. Serra (5-6)
18. Turlock (9-3)
19. Salinas (8-3)
20. Wilcox (9-2)
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PCAL Playoffs Week 1

Soquel followers, since the Knights played both SRV and Los Gatos in close 14-7 losses, curious to get your assessment of Riordan and its upcoming game against Los Gatos? Riordan played a senior -dominated ‘ Cats team last year on the road in their first round loss. Essentially the entire Crusader squad returns for Saturday’s rematch.

Salinas vs Soquel at "The Pit"

This comment didn't age well in terms of Salinas having a shot.
Soquel came into Saturday's game against Riordan with even more impressive credentials that included a blowout win over Salinas and close losses to Los Gatos and SRV - both 14-7 outcomes. Soquel's D did not allow more than 14 points/game the ENTIRE season until facing the Crusaders. The Knights kept fighting and there was no quit in them until the final whistle. A very good classy program along with its supportive fans.

NCP Pick'em: Playoffs Week 1

Here are the results for this week. Congrats to sweejfromthebay on the weekly win! Scores go final at 12:00 PM on Monday.

Turlock beat Central Catholic 43-42
Destiny Christian beat Christian Brothers 28-7
Patterson beat East Union 38-22
Windsor beat Casa Grande 34-14
Cardinal Newman beat Marin Catholic 20-7
Liberty beat Vintage 35-7
Riordan beat Soquel 41-7
Los Gatos beat Serra 14-7
Menlo beat Christopher 21-14
Enterprise beat Shasta 26-20

Sweetjfromthebay 47
ChewpaMiverga 45
Relly900 44
WCAL88 44
Dlew66 43
RLS13 42
Sacchiefs 41
EN_FB_Alum 41
Kiddman32 40
NorCalSportsFan 39
Cal 14 39
2wcats 36
M.C. Fan 35
H.E.A.T. 35
Norcalguy111 34
FBAddict 33
SearsPoints 31
Streak One 24
Bella123 23
Carrying on my stellar regular season.

Very Early Look at the CIF Bowl Divisions - 2024

Ironically CN stopped the original streak that DLS had back prior to the one that started in 1992. And in 1991 Newman lost in the 3A semi's to Pittsburg who then went on to beat DLS at the Oak Coliseum the next weekend. You never know..... But we got MC first and those bastards are good.

I don't disagree on the open winner. I do think there would be a lot more hype with Folsom and their 5 star QB playing against MD.
You could be correct on that. However, IMO, since Serra beat Folsom, and then went on to lay an egg in the WCAL section, there is no scenario in which Folsom can get to the open.

Playoff Weather - 11/22 and 11/23/2024

Going to be a tad wet... But recall those days with the grass fields and the mud bowls this time of the year. At least with the field turf the game isn't nearly as impacted in monsoons.
When I think of wet grass fields and mud bowls, I always think of the Nevada Union-Monterey Trail section final at UOP. Think that was the last year they used UOP
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