Whitney beat Dixon, 60-25
McClatchy beat Pleasant Valley of Chico, 65-38
Folsom beat Shasta, 76-23
Davis beat (19) Woodcreek of Roseville, 70-51

Day 2:
(8) Whitney vs. (5) McClatchy
(1) Folsom vs. (15) Davis

( ) indicates Sacramento Bee newspaper preseason ranking

Nice write up from the Mercury News.

Oscar Frayer Invitational

Good matchup tonight at 7 o’clock at Grant high school, should be a good game

1-A: Pittsburg (9-2) vs. Liberty-Bakersfield (10-2)

Pittsburg is making its second appearance in the regional bowl games after winning the NCS Division I title over Clayton Valley, which beat Liberty-Bakersfield earlier this season. Christian Aguilar filled in at quarterback last week. Liberty running back Jalen Hankins has rushed for more than 1,000 yards and scored in 10 of 11 games.

2-A: Manteca (10-3) at Wilcox (9-4)

The game features two of the most productive backs in Northern California. Manteca’s Blake Nichelson has 1,887 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns. He is also the Buffaloes’ top receiver. Wilcox’s Luther Glenn has more than 2,000 yards with 26 touchdowns. He ran for 208 yards and four scores in a section final win over previously unbeaten Menlo.

3-A: Campolindo (10-3) at McClymonds (10-1)

McClymonds has won four straight NorCal bowl games (2016-2019) and has another strong squad. It beat Marin Catholic in the non-league and were up in the fourth quarter before losing to Menlo-Atherton. Campolindo has put together quite a turnaround with seven straight wins in capturing the NCS Division II title. Quarterback Dashiell Weaver has thrown for more than 200 years in each of the last four games with eight total touchdowns.

4-A: Chico (9-3) vs. Sacred Heart Cathedral (6-7)

Sacred Heart Cathedral had a 21 point average margin of victory in the playoffs capped off by a 27-3 win over Christopher. It has a tough to defend quarterback in Ray John-Spears. Chico came back from a 10 point fourth quarter deficit to beat Foothill-Palo Cedro 27-23 for the program’s first section title in 31 years. The Panthers have a win over 5-AA participant Sutter.

5-A: University Prep (13-0) at Sacred Heart Prep (6-7)

University Prep has held 10 of 13 opponents to eight points or less. Carter Abel has rushed for 1,283 yards and 20 touchdowns. Sacred Heart Prep has played a tough schedule with six of its seven losses coming by eight points or less. Andrew Latu and Luis Mendoza have combined for 22 rushing touchdowns.

6-A: Aragon (9-4) at Salesian (9-2)

Salesian has won four straight after back-to-back losses to El Cerrito and De Anza. The Pride won the 6-A state title in 2019. Aragon is averaging 33 points per game. The Dons had an average margin of victory in the playoffs of 26 points.

1-AA: Folsom (10-3) at De La Salle (10-2)

De La Salle won at Folsom 31-10 to start their current seven game winning streak. When it beat Pittsburg for the NCS Open Division title two weeks ago, Charles Greer had 189 total yards and two touchdowns. For Folsom, they got quarterback Tyler Tremain back for the postseason but it has been the defense that has stood out. The Bulldogs gave up 13 points per game against Lincoln-Stockton, Jesuit and Rocklin. All of those teams were averaging at least 35 points.

2-AA: Bullard (9-4) at Central Catholic (12-1)

This year’s squad could be Central Catholic’s best in the state bowl era. The Raiders have a strong one-two running punch with seniors Julian Lopez and Aiden Taylor. In the section finals against Monterey Trail, the duo ran for 246 yards and five touchdowns. Bullard got into the regional game after beating Bakersfield 45-21. Jayden Davis and Herman Zamora each have 14 touchdowns.

3-AA: Vanden (11-2) at Windsor (11-1)

Head coach Paul Cronin is leading his second school to a NorCal game and Windsor has a potent offense that has two wide receivers with at least 900 yards and a running back that has topped 1,000 yards. Vanden counters with its own exciting offense as junior Tre Dimes threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns in a section final win over Merced. Sean Davis had 95 rushing yards and 56 receiving yards. Rancho Cotate owns wins over both programs.

4-AA: Escalon (12-1) vs. Marin Catholic (12-1)

Marin Catholic is coming off maybe its best game of the year in a 42-7 win over Cardinal Newman. Michael Ingrassia had three passing touchdowns and three rushing scores. Escalon is led by a sophomore quarterback in Donovan Rozevink and a slew of juniors at the skill spots. Its only loss came to Kimball. In Escalon’s 12 wins, they are giving up 12 points per game.

5-AA: San Marin (12-1) vs. Sutter (10-1)

Sutter is coming off a thrilling 34-31 win over Paradise in the section finals. The Huskies have won eight in a row since a 21-0 loss to section runner-up Foothill-Palo Cedro. They have scored at least 34 points in seven of those eight games. San Marin is led by running back Justin Guin, who has more than 2,000 yards and 32 touchdowns. Its only loss was a seven point defeat to Marin Catholic.

6-AA: St. Vincent (11-1) at Argonaut (10-3)

Argonaut employs a multiple runner attack averaging nearly 300 yards on the ground per game. It is 10-1 since a 0-2 start. Dante Antonini is one of the more complete players in NorCal. He has more than 600 rushing and receiving yards to go with 103 tackles, six sacks and two interceptions. St. Vincent went 4-0 in one possession games.

7-AA: Le Grand (8-5) at Fall River (11-0)

Le Grand played in the small school state bowl in 2011 and is back in post-section play after beating Woodland Christian 35-12. Ronnie Ramirez had an interception return last week. Fall River has given up 58 total points this season. Ryan Osborne has thrown for almost 1,500 yards and is the team’s leading rusher at 1,330 yards and 26 touchdowns.

First round starting at 3:30 in this order:

Justin-Siena v. Palma
Cardinal Newman v. James Logan
DLS v. Marin Catholic
Capital Christian v. Serra

2nd round also starts at 3:30

Saturday final round is early... First game 10am, title game at 3.

Found this link below at CIF Sac-Joaquin Section website about new league alignments and what schools are now in which divisions, Divisions 1 - 6.
Does anybody know if this new league alignment and divisions will carry forward to Sac-Joaquin Section post-season playoffs, or will it be the same as previous years in seeding teams for Sac-Joaquin Section post-season playoffs?

Alright folks, enough of the off season/ covid year bickering. Looks like we have a "real" season coming up. Practices have started and schedules should be locked in.

Who you got as your top teams in NorCal?

Top teams in different sections?

Let's hear em and start some real debates!

THE BEE’S GIRLS’ BASKETBALL RANKINGS (With last spring’s record)
1. Folsom (7-1)
2. Oak Ridge (7-4)
3. Antelope (9-1)
4. Laguna Creek (2-0)
5. McClatchy (2-0)
6. Vanden (11-1)
7. Del Oro (10-3)
8. Whitney (5-8)
9. Grant (10-0)
10. Inderkum (6-2)
11. Granite Bay (3-7)
12. Christian Brothers (6-1)
13. Vista del Lago (6-2)
14. Lincoln (8-1)
15. Davis (12-5)
16. West Campus (0-0)
17. Franklin (2-2)
18. Colfax (8-3)
19. Woodcreek (3-7)
20. Monterey Trail (3-1)

Bubble teams (alphabetical order): Del Campo (4-3), Dixon (9-0), El Dorado (6-3), Elk Grove (0-1), Pioneer (6-1), Placer (2-8), Rio Americano (4-5), River City (3-7), Rocklin (2-5), Sacramento (1-3), Sacramento Adv. (12-1), Sheldon (6-1).Compiled by Cameron Salerno

This is always a great event with 4 NorCal teams in the platinum division. 2 NorCal teams in the gold division

December 27th-

Dublin vs Heritage Christian 11:30am

Salesian vs St John Bosco 1pm

Sacramento high vs Damien 7pm

Sheldon vs Etiwanda 8:30pm

Gold- Jesuit vs St Anthony 5pm

San Joaquin Memorial vs Rancho Christian 3:30pm

For the NorCal regional play this year, if all section winners opt to play there will be 26 Nor Cal section winners and two teams added from the Central Section. Two teams will receive a bye (one is the Open designee) to the State Championship bowl games. Based on their current CalPrep rankings this is the order. The six projected Central Section winners are in bold.

I have projected the team with the higher CalPrep ranking to win their section championship next week. The match-ups will be based on which two teams the CIF elects to slot into northern CA and for any minor tweaks they may make in the rankings for better geographical alignment to reduce travel.

1. St Francis 65.1 (De La Salle can't pass them in the rankings if St. Francis wins next week)
2. De La Salle 64.9
3. Central 54.0
4. Rocklin 53.1
5. Central Catholic 49.2
6. Clayton Valley 42.6
7. Oakdale 40.7
8. Bullard 37.0
9. Menlo 33.4
10. Foothill 31.7
11. Merced 29.5
12. Windsor 29.1
13. McLymonds 27.6
14. Marin Catholic 27.1
15. Escalon 25.6
16. Chico 23.4
17. Sacred Heart Cathedral 23
18. Bakersfield Christian 22.8
19. Del Norte 19.9
20. Paradise 19
21. Sacred Heart Prep 16.2
22. University Prep 13.0
23 Argonaut 12.3
24. St. Vincent 10.4
25. Independence 9.9
26. Fall River 5.6
27. Aragon 0.4
28. Righetti -0.2
29. Salesian -2.4
30. Woodland Christian -9.4
31. Taft -11.0
32. Lincoln (SF) - -22.0

The 47th annual Fr. Barry Classic is Dec. 9-11, 2021 at Jesuit High School. Great lineup of teams that should make for 3 days of great basketball.

Brackets and other tournament information can be found here: 47th Fr. Barry Classic

Some interesting posts re: Serra vs SF and the Padres chances of winning the rematch.
I've had some thoughts regarding the rematch, but will attempt to stick to facts

In the last several years when WCAL opponents have met for the 2nd time in playoffs, the winner of the first meeting was the winner of the 2nd meeting and in most cases the scores were similar to the first meeting - ie: the WCAL if nothing else is very consistent.

In SF's 3 toughest contests their adversaries of DLS, Serra & Aptos - none were able to stop the SF run game of minimum 3-4-5- yards per carry or more.

Vs Serra the SF RB Teu "Ju ju" broke the school record for rushing yards with 344 in a single game. Vs Aptos the 2 SF RB's who are both downhill RB's helped break the 29-year old school record for yards rushing in a single game with 438 yards on 40 carries [sounds like 10+ yards per carry to me]. Of more importance the DLS game in which DLS with a couple of excellent RB's avg 5.5 yards per carry while SF avg over 7.0 yards per carry.

Conclusion: What it comes down to is no opponent this season has been able to slow down the 2 bruising SF RB's behind their massive O-line [and oh yes its quite large BTW]. One other item - did anyone realize that in the De La Salle game the Lancers went with their back-up QB Dougherty? Not sure the issue, but stats show that as his only full game as the Lancer QB this season. On the other hand Serra had difficulty running vs the SF D-line which isn't encouraging for a 2nd meeting. All things said this looks to be a rerun of the first game with SF coming out on top by 2-3 scores as the Padres on paper do not match up well with the Lancers. SF 41-27

Near halftime of the freshman game…. Cougs are layin’ a whuppin’. 34-6 at the half.

OPEN DIVISION

Serra, San Mateo vs. Mater Dei at Saddleback College – Saturday, Dec. 11 at 8:00 p.m.

The following is the schedule for the 2021 CIF Regional Football Championship Bowl Games for Divisions 1-AA through 7-AA, and 7-A Championship. Winners from the NorCal and SoCal Regional games will advance to the CIF State Football Championships representing their respective divisions for the title of CIF State Champion. All teams were slotted based on competitive equity and the respective criteria.

DIVISION 1–AA

North: Folsom at De La Salle – Friday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

South: Cathedral Catholic vs. Lutheran, Orange at Orange Coast College – Friday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

DIVISION 1–A

North: Pittsburg vs. Liberty, Bakersfield at Bakersfield College – Saturday, Dec. 4 at 6:00 p.m.

South: Long Beach Poly at Serra – Saturday, Dec. 4 at 6:00 p.m.

DIVISION 2–AA

North: Bullard at Central Catholic – Friday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m

South: Helix at Mater Dei Catholic – Friday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m

DIVISION 2–A

North: Manteca at Wilcox – Saturday, Dec. 4 at 6:00 p.m.

South: Scripps Ranch at Valencia – Saturday, Dec. 4 at 6:00 p.m.

DIVISION 3–AA

North: Vanden at Windsor – Friday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

South: Newport Harbor at Aquinas – Friday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

DIVISION 3–A

North: Campolindo at McClymonds – Saturday, Dec. 4 at 6:00 p.m.

South: Birmingham at Patrick Henry – Saturday, Dec. 4 at 6:00 p.m.

DIVISION 4–AA

North: Escalon vs. Marin Catholic at San Rafael H.S. – Friday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

South: Central Valley Christian at Serrano – Friday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m.

DIVISION 4–A

North: Chico vs. Sacred Heart Cathedral at Kezar Stadium – Saturday, Dec. 4 at 6:00 p.m.

South: Northveiw at Colony – Saturday, Dec. 4 at 6:00 p.m.

DIVISION 5–AA

North: San Marin vs. Sutter at River Valley H.S. – Friday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

South: Independence, Bakersfield at Venice – Friday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

DIVISION 5–A

North: UPrep at Sacred Heart Prep – Saturday, Dec. 4 at 1:00 p.m.

South: Righetti vs. Northwood at Irvine H.S. – Saturday, Dec. 4 at 6:00 p.m.

DIVISION 6–AA

North: St. Vincent at Argonaut – Friday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

South: Quartz Hill at Palo Verde – Friday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

DIVISION 6–A

North: Aragon at Salesian – Saturday, Dec. 4 at 1:00 p.m.

South: El Camino Real vs. Arlington at Ramona H.S. – Saturday, Dec. 4 at 6:00 p.m.

DIVISION 7–AA

North: Le Grand at Fall River – Saturday, Dec. 4 at 6:00 p.m.

South: Loara at Morro Bay – Friday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

DIVISION 7–A Championship

Taft at Balboa – Saturday, Dec. 11 at 1:00 p.m.

https://cifstate.org/sports/football/2021_reg_fb

It was a chilly but vibrant Saturday night in Sutter and the crowd was ready to watch some smash mouth football, and they were not disappointed.

In a game that went to overtime and had 28 first quarter points, the Huskies would come out on top in a championship rematch 3 years in the making.

The Bobcats would capitalize on a Huskies punt on the games opening drive and score on a 59 yard rushing touchdown from Senior Tyler to which Sutter's Nic Fisher would return the favor and bust out a 62 yarder just minutes later.

The Bobcats ensuing drive would result in a punt that Sutter would turn into another 7 to take a 1 score lead. Paradise got the ball back and drove with determination on a 12 play drive to tie the game with a RedZone TD just a minute before the second quarter started.

The 2nd quarter would be mostly a defensive battle aside from a 3rd Bobcats touchdown on the ground as the quarter would come to a close 21-14 favoring Paradise.

The Huskies would take advantage of a early second half Paradise fumble, and tie the game up within a couple minutes of the play being resumed. The 2 teams would trade field goals to make the game 24-24 and it would stay tied for another 10 minutes until Paradise took over a Sutter fumble in the final 3 minutes and scored a 4th rushing touchdown of the day.

Sutter would lead a insane 2 minute drill to send the game to overtime, where the 2 teams traded overtime drives until Sutter was able to come out on top with a field goal making the final score 34-31, Sutter.

All in all it was a awesome back and forth game between 2 long time North Section titans that lived up to it's billing, but please allow me a minute to let my obvious Paradise bias shine through for a moment and let me put the spotlight on 1 player:

Senior running back Tyler Harrison. He took over the reigns as offensive workhorse back in 2019, less than a year after the Campfire that wiped out his whole town. He turned that opportunity into the Bobcats single season rushing yard&touchdown records as he went for 2505 yards and 30 touchdowns as a SOPHOMORE, and helped lead his team to a section title game appearance where they would go on to lose to the afformentioned Sutter Huskies.

The next year was obviously tainted due to the ongoing pandemic that cut many seasons short, resulting in the Bobcats only playing 5 games.

Now as a senior, in his first season back to some sense of normality, the Bobcats find themselves in the Section game once again inpart to his 1583 yard 22 TD season.

As it sits now, Harrison is the Schools all time leading rusher with yards as well as touchdown with a total of 4754 yards and 60 touchdowns in only 28 games, breaking marks set just 5 years ago by Austin Garber.

All props to this kid for the determination and will he showed to turn the camp fire into a driving force behind a phenomenal highschool career, and maybe into some college scholarships.

Congratulations to Sutter on yet another section title, and I wish you guys the best of luck in your change of scenery next year!

I saw @ArmchairGOAT got a thread going about picks for this weekend, but I wanted to share a pick'em contest. For those who don't follow the football board, we will use a confidence format with your top pick being your most confident (8 points) all the way down to your least confident pick (1 point). There will also be a pair of bonus questions. Picks are due by 9:30 AM on Saturday

5 points for picking the event high scorer (individual)
3 points for picking the game with the most combined points

Game 1: 9:30 AM Dougherty Valley (San Ramon) vs Woodside Priory (Portola Valley)
Game 2: 11:00 AM Lincoln (Stockton) vs Clayton Valley (Concord)
Game 3: 12:30 PM De La Salle (Concord) vs Elk Grove
Game 4: 2:00 PM Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland) vs Inderkum (Sacramento)
Game 5: 3:30 PM Riordan (San Francisco) vs Grant (Sacramento)
Game 6: 5:15 PM Oakland Tech vs Vanden (Fairfield)
Game 7: 7:00 PM Modesto Christian vs San Joaquin Memorial (Fresno)
Game 8: 8:30 PM Dublin vs Campolindo (Moraga)

Prizes:

1st Place: $50 Gift Card
2nd Place: $25 Gift Card
3rd Place: $10 Gift Card

Well there hasn't been much talk of hoops in general let alone Sacramento teams so let's get one going. I will put out my preseason top 10 with what I have seen in the off season and anticipating rosters as best I can. From what I can tell there was little or no big transfers in the area going into this year. The top 4-5 teams should all be pretty close IMO.

1. Folsom (11-2) Although they lose a very good player to Sonoma State (Wells) Folsom is very solid and 9-10 deep with a very good coach.

2. Jesuit (16-0) Sacramento's best team last year loses a lot but still returns a lot with probably the best returning player in town in Stojacovich.

3. Elk Grove (11-1) This team returns a ton of experience and Britton is one of the 3 best players in the area.

4. Sheldon (4-6) The Huskies were unusually bad last year and the high end talent that they had for 10 + years doesn't seem to be there anymore. But still very solid and improved a ton in the off season.

5. Inderkum (7-2) Claxton is a d1 bound player and they added a few players via transfer including a big so they are kind of a dark horse contender.

6. Grant (7-3) The Pacers are always in the mix year in and year out and this year should be no different. Matthews, Brown and Bobo can all play.

7. Sac High (4-7) Roseborough might be the best player in the city but their supporting cast and coaching seems to be average at best.

8. Oakmont (15-5) Two new transfers added to sophomore Kevin Haupt gives the Vikings their best team in a long time. Haupt will be 20+ ppg guy

9. Rocklin (10-6) Coach Taylor lost some key seniors but does move up and excellent JV team the Thunder always compete and get after it.

10. Ponderosa (7-1) Very much an under the radar team in the foothils the Bruins were quietly good last year and return everyone.

Announcing the lineup for the 67th Annual Gridley Invitational

December- 9th- 10th & 11th 2021

This has been an eventful year for all of us. “We are getting back to our hoops.

I hope this coming year’s lineup of teams, matches the intensity of years past.

Campolindo: The tough kids from the back alleys of Moraga, return a solid core of players. This team can play with anyone, anywhere.

Archbishop Riordan: Is this the year they make a big statement.

Salesian: They lose some key pieces. Let’s see how Coach Mellis does with a team on the rebuild.

De La Salle: We welcome them back. It has been 34 years since they last came to Gridley, and claimed the title 4 years in a row.

Sheldon: They Graduate lots of seniors. Is there anybody that thinks they won’t be back in the mix, come the end of the year?

Dublin: They have a young group with something to prove.

Sacramento: They return after a 5 year hiatus. They also have some young guns.

Gridley: They play hard every minute they are on the floor. They will have their hands full.

As usual the kids are housed, fed, and have events scheduled so they can have the best weekend possible. It is always more than just Basketball for us at the GIBT.

Here’s wishing you great hoops

According to Full time hoops, 2023 Jacob Bannarbie, leaving San Diego and heading to the Bay Area. My guess is Mitty or Riordan.

Halftime of the frosh/soph game.

Decent but not fabulous action for the level…. Until 35 seconds left in the half.

Um…. When’s the last time y’all saw a chasedown off-the-backbourd SWAT in a frosh/soph game???

A Salesian guy committed the act, don’t have his name or number. In any case, Logan leads at the half, 26-24.