CCS Final Top 10 and year in Review

[PALbooster]

How At-Large should work this morning

The following 10 teams should be selected for consideration by CCS points.
1. St. Francis -33
2. Bellarmine -30
3. Milpitas -23.33
4. Burlingame 22.5
5. Hillsdale 22.5
6. Soquel 22
7. Carmel 21.5
8. Silver Creek 20.83
9. Gonzles 20.83
10. Willow Glen 20.5

If one or more of these teams isn't presented the alternates would be in order
11. Gunn 20
12. Alvarez 19.83
13. Jefferson 19.75

Their Calprep rank is added from 10 to 1
1. St. Francis 33+10=43
2. Bellarmine 30+9 = 39
3. Burlingame 22.5+8 =30.5
4. Milpitas 23.33+7=30.33
5. Carmel 21.5+6 =27.5
6. Hillsdale 22.5+5=27.5
7. Soquel 22+4=26
8. Silver Creek 20.83+3=23.83
9. Gonzales 20.83+2=22.83
10. Willow Glen 20.5+1=21.5

If any of the alternates get in their section rank is too low to crack the top 7.

 

[PALbooster]

It is an hour before the meeting and I don't see any changes from Calpreps per my posts earlier today. Will check back in an hour

 

[thehookup55]

Kinda bummed we don’t get to see Salinas and Carl Richardson in D1.

 

[PALbooster]

How At-Large should work this morning

The following 10 teams should be selected for consideration by CCS points.
1. St. Francis -33
2. Bellarmine -30
3. Milpitas -23.33
4. Burlingame 22.5
5. Hillsdale 22.5
6. Soquel 22
7. Carmel 21.5
8. Silver Creek 20.83
9. Gonzles 20.83
10. Willow Glen 20.5

If one or more of these teams isn't presented the alternates would be in order
11. Gunn 20
12. Alvarez 19.83
13. Jefferson 19.75

Their Calprep rank is added from 10 to 1
1. St. Francis 33+10=43
2. Bellarmine 30+9 = 39
3. Burlingame 22.5+8 =30.5
4. Milpitas 23.33+7=30.33
5. Carmel 21.5+6 =27.5
6. Hillsdale 22.5+5=27.5
7. Soquel 22+4=26
8. Silver Creek 20.83+3=23.83
9. Gonzales 20.83+2=22.83
10. Willow Glen 20.5+1=21.5

If any of the alternates get in their section rank is too low to crack the top 7.

Minor immaterial change here - Calpreps moved Willow Glen one spot ahead of Gonzales so Willow Glen ends up at 22.5 and Gonzales at 21.83 but neither qualify for play-offs.

 

[PALbooster]

Don't see any changes as of 9 AM except for the small one noted above that doesn't change the field or any projected seeds. One or two interesting things always come up at the meetings. It will be interesting to see if there is anything this year.

 

[SqMike]

Don't see any changes as of 9 AM except for the small one noted above that doesn't change the field or any projected seeds. One or two interesting things always come up at the meetings. It will be interesting to see if there is anything this year.

I'm just curious what the playoffs will look like if the ccs used last years playoff system. Would some teams left out make it in last years system?

 

[Cal 14]

Kinda bummed we don’t get to see Salinas and Carl Richardson in D1.

If they had played some crappy MHAL team instead of crappy North High, they would be in D-I.

 

[colhenrylives]

All of the CCS brackets are available now via Twitter.

 

[thehookup55]

If they had played some crappy MHAL team instead of crappy North High, they would be in D-I.

they had to keep the “rivalry” of north high vs Salinas high. I’m sure they don’t mind avoiding D1.

 

[Irish_Cheers]

http://www.cifccs.org/landing/index

 

[Cortezraiders831]

You’re still not getting this. Leland being in D-V means they’ll be playing other D-V type teams in the regional. Fair or not, but that would be D-VAA or D-VA. I don’t think they’d be out in D-VIA or higher, not D-VIAA or lower.

But first, they’d have to win CCS D-V. That’s not a given.

A lot of the times some of these teams are lumped in a league based on circumstance.. Is Leland and Alisal that much different? While it may be hard to qualify in some leagues, for the most part you are seeing teams placed fairly across the board. Also teams are being rewarded for their scheduling appropriately.

 

[PALbooster]

I'm just curious what the playoffs will look like if the ccs used last years playoff system. Would some teams left out make it in last years system?

With last years rules you lose the extra bonus points for top 100 and 150 opponents and calprep rankings. All the automatic qualifiers would have been the same. Last year there were four at-large spots for A teams and 3 for B/C teams. The only difference in the field would have been that Bellarmine would be out and there would be a coin flip for either Silver Creek or Gonzales to be in. Of course all the divisions and seeding would have been different.

 

[831ccschamp]

Palbooster or anyone else is ccs going to keep this same criteria for next season. When is criteria for points decided?

 

[PALbooster]

831,

There is a post-season meeting - I believe on December 4th - where there is a coach representative from each league and any changes are discussed and proposed for the next year. If it passes a vote at this meeting it is forwarded to a set of later meetings with athletic directors and district administrators for ratification

 

[PALbooster]

CCS Top 10
Rank School Last week NorCal State
1 Serra 1 2 18
2 Valley Christian 2 4 23
3 Wilcox 4 12 64
4 Saint Ignatius 3 13 67
5 Los Gatos 6 21 83
6 Menlo-Atherton 5 28 99
7 St. Francis 8 36 118
8 Half Moon Bay 7 40 126
9 Mitty 9 48 154
10 Sacred Heart Prep 10 55 173

There are 24 section winners that advance to the Norcal Regional games and three teams are added from the Central Section to the Norcal mix.

Here is where the CCS section champs stack up based on their Norcalprep ratings. The criteria for regional games rankings is somewhat subjective with other rankings (calhi sports and scorestream) considered as well.

The CCS DI winner between Serra and Valley Christian will be the #2 team in Northern California behind DelaSalle. However, the Central vs Buchanon winner from the Central section will likely be ranked higher. It would still place the CCS champion in the 1AA game but it might be on the road in Fresno.

Los Gatos is in a tight cluster between 7 and 10 but they play the weakest opponent in their section final and will likely not move up from their #10 spot in Norcal Section winners. They will also likely be ranked below the top 2 Central section winners so will likely be the #11 or #12 team which will place them in the 3A game.

The DIII winner Terra Nova vs Kings Academy and DIV winner Milpitas vs Branham will likely be in the 5AA, 5A, or 6AA games. The Leland/Santa Cruz winner looks destined for the 6A game.

Ranking of Section Winners (based on Norcalpreps)
Rank School State Rank Opponent State Rank
1. DelaSalle 6 Pittsburgh 35
2. Serra 18 Valley Christian 23
3. Oak Ridge 25 Monterey Trail 31
4. McClymonds 42 Skyline 414
5. Whitney 60 Elk Grove 73
6. Center 62 Ripon 104
7. Manteca 74 Placer 80
8. Clayton Valley 77 Campolindo 98
9. Cardinal Newman 82 Marin Catholic 90
10. Los Gatos 83 Oak Grove 186
11. Oakdale 95 Sierra 130
12. Escalon 115 Hilmar 119
13. Las Lomas 117 Rancho Cotate 160
14. Chico 121 Pleasant Valley 218
15. Sutter 125 Paradise 162
16. Encinal 177 Del Norte 181
17. Kings Academy 222 Terra Nova 257
18. East Nicolas 230 Pierce 488
19. Branham 238 Milpitas 326
20. Salesian 253 Ferndale 385
21. Kennedy 256 St. Bernards 302
22. Leland 426 Santa Cruz 472
23. Fall River 555 Las Molinos 607
24. Lincoln (SF) 562 Balboa 681

Central Section

1. Central 7 Buchanon 20
2. San Joaquin Memorial 48 Tulare Western 110
3. Washington Union 129 Selma 152
4. Bakersfield Christian 136 Central Valley Christian 216
5. Caruthers 266 Dos Palos 282
6. Bishop 429 Orosi 440

 

[PALbooster]

CCS Top 10
Rank School Last week NorCal State
1 Serra 1 2 12
2 Valley Christian 2 5 26
3 Wilcox 3 14 66
4 Saint Ignatius 4 18 76
5 Los Gatos 5 19 78
6 Menlo-Atherton 6 30 100
7 Half Moon Bay 8 37 117
8 St. Francis 7 40 125
9 Mitty 9 55 167
10 Sacred Heart Prep 10 56 172

The only change in the top ten was Half Moon Bay and St. Francis switching the 7 and 8 spots. The only likely change with the regional play-offs is Los Gatos could move up to #3 with a regional and or state victory.

CCS teams are underdogs in four of the five regional games. Serra is the only favorite.
School State rank School State rank Projection
San Joaquin Memorial 43 at Serra 12 Serra 35-21
Los Gatos 71 at Cardinal Newman 78 CN 28-21
Del Norte 146 at Kings Academy 197 DN 24-21
Milpitas 281 at Carrathurs 232 CA 28-21
Salesian 277 at Santa Cruz 434 SA 35-14

 

[PALbooster]

The CCS held its annual post-season football committee meeting to recommend any changes for the 2020 season. For the first time in recent memory there were no recommended changes to the play-off format for 2020 and unless there is intervention at subsequent meetings of section athletic directors it will remain as it was for 2019.

It was noted that the league rating system needs to be adjusted for the equity play-off structure and there is a group working on that,but it will not impact league classifications for 2020. The problem with the current league rating system is that it makes no distinctions between wins and losses regardless of what play-off division you are in. The ratings from the CCS came out as follows (Compared to the NorCal league rating). The CCS ratings will not change with regional or state results - there will be some slight changes in the final calpreps ratings based on the handful of remaining games.

League CCS Rating Calprep Rating Play-off Record

WCAL 3.274 29.2 6-5
Deanza 3.632 14.1 8-3
Bay 3.197 14.1 7-4
Gabilan 3.153 2.1 2-5
Mt. Ham 3.285 -4.5 5-4
Ocean 2.485 1.0 1-3
St. Ter 2.603 -8.5 2-2
Mission 2.403 -12.4 0-3
Cypress 2.576 -10.9 3-1
El Cam 2.415 -23.5 0-2
Lake 1.665 -26.2 0-1
St. Luc 1.664 -38.7 0-1
W. Val 1.766 -36.2 0-1

 

[PALbooster]

The above is hard to read - can't make it format correctly

CCS league ratings

1. Deanza 3.632
2. Mount Hamilton 3.285
3. WCAL 3.274
4. Bay 3.197
5. Gabilan 3.153
6. Santa Teresa 2.603
7. Cypress 2.576
8. Ocean 2.485
9. El Camino 2.415
10. Mission 2.403
11. West Valley 1.766
12. Lake 1.665
13. Santa Lucia 1.664

Calpreps League Ratings

1. WCAL 29.2
2. Deanza 14.1
2. Bay 14.1
4. Gabilan 2.1
5. Ocean 1.0
6. Mt. Hamilton -4.5
7. Santa Teresa -8.5
8. Cypress -10.9
9. Mission -12.4
10. El Camino -23.5
11. Lake -26.2
12. West Valley -36.8
13. Santa Lucia -38.6

One reason for the differences is that Calpreps scores and ranks each game separately. A game against a low ranked A team is not counted the same as a game against a highly ranked A team.

The CCS league classification ranking index treats all A teams the same and counts all play-off results the same regardless of division. This year since the Deanza went 8-3 in the play-offs and the WCAL went 6-5. The fact that all the Deanza wins were in DII and DIV and the WCAL wins were in DI didn't matter. The CCS recognized this and will address this. The points for League Classification Index are different that CCS power points.

 

[carmelkyd]

Interesting that what is perceived to be the "better/tougher" B league in the Mission ends up below the "lesser" B league (the Cypress). In both CCS and calpreps. So I guess if Carmel drops from the Gabilan to the Cypress they will be dropping to the tougher B league? (JK - sort of)

 

[SpeedCity51]

Interesting that what is perceived to be the "better/tougher" B league in the Mission ends up below the "lesser" B league (the Cypress). In both CCS and calpreps. So I guess if Carmel drops from the Gabilan to the Cypress they will be dropping to the tougher B league? (JK - sort of)

Well hopefully the league does the right thing and keeps Carmel in the Gab and it won’t matter which B league is better.

 

[PALbooster]

The whole PCAL didn't do a very good job with its equity leagues. It doesn't seem like the decision makers have a good handle on relative competitiveness of different schools.

I put the school size at the end of each school to show that on field success and student population are not that closely tied together.

Interesting that Santa Cruz plays Salesian this week which has a rating above Salinas.

1. Salinas 17.9 - G 2707
2. Palma 15.9 - G 768
3. Aptos 8.8 -G 1433
4. San Benito 2.5 - G 3009
5. Santa Cruz 1.7 - C 1151
6. Soquel (0.4) - C 1185
7. Carmel (0.7) -G 859
8. Seaside (1.4) - M 1089
9. Monte Vista Christian (2.6) - M 718
10. Alvarez (4.9) - G 2670
11. Gonzales (8.8) - C 814
12. Alisal (9.7) - M 2923
13. King City (10.3) - C 1079
14. North Monterey County (11.1) - C 1265
15. Soledad (11.9) - M 1440
16. Monterey (12.1) - M 1350
17. Christopher (17.9) - G 1623
18. Gilroy (19.3) - G 1698
19. Pacific Grove (19.5) - SL 620
20. Scotts Valley (20.9) - M 818
21. San Lorenzo Valley (23.9) - C 810
22. St. Francis (28) - SL 250
23. North Salinas (30.2) - M 2353
24. Stevenson (30.5) - SL 500
25. Watsonville (30.9) - C 2176
26. Greenfield (38.8) - SL 1222
27. Pajaro Valley (47.7) - SL 1453
28. Marina (51.7) - SL 580
29. Harbor (55.7) - SL 847

 

[SpeedCity51]

The whole PCAL didn't do a very good job with its equity leagues. It doesn't seem like the decision makers have a good handle on relative competitiveness of different schools.

I put the school size at the end of each school to show that on field success and student population are not that closely tied together.

Interesting that Santa Cruz plays Salesian this week which has a rating above Salinas.

1. Salinas 17.9 - G 2707
2. Palma 15.9 - G 768
3. Aptos 8.8 -G 1433
4. San Benito 2.5 - G 3009
5. Santa Cruz 1.7 - C 1151
6. Soquel (0.4) - C 1185
7. Carmel (0.7) -G 859
8. Seaside (1.4) - M 1089
9. Monte Vista Christian (2.6) - M 718
10. Alvarez (4.9) - G 2670
11. Gonzales (8.8) - C 814
12. Alisal (9.7) - M 2923
13. King City (10.3) - C 1079
14. North Monterey County (11.1) - C 1265
15. Soledad (11.9) - M 1440
16. Monterey (12.1) - M 1350
17. Christopher (17.9) - G 1623
18. Gilroy (19.3) - G 1698
19. Pacific Grove (19.5) - SL 620
20. Scotts Valley (20.9) - M 818
21. San Lorenzo Valley (23.9) - C 810
22. St. Francis (28) - SL 250
23. North Salinas (30.2) - M 2353
24. Stevenson (30.5) - SL 500
25. Watsonville (30.9) - C 2176
26. Greenfield (38.8) - SL 1222
27. Pajaro Valley (47.7) - SL 1453
28. Marina (51.7) - SL 580
29. Harbor (55.7) - SL 847

To be fair, it’s only been two years since the MBL and MTAL merged, so there still may be some side effects of just making educated guesses when placing the teams for 2018.

Also, with 4 divisions it may just be harder to get schools where they “should” be outside of the very best and worst schools. More leagues, more variables.

 

[carmelkyd]

It doesn't seem like the decision makers have a good handle on relative competitiveness of different schools.

You got that right!

As to your other point, I will admit that I have been a strong and vocal proponent that small public schools are at a disadvantage to large schools and private schools. Having said that, it is also clear that the quality of coaching allows a small school to compete with bigger schools.

Take out the 4 private schools and divide the remaining 25 schools by 3...put the 8 smallest schools in the Small school category...9 schools in the Middle sized school category...and the remaining 8 in the Large school group. Among the Small schools, Carmel and Gonzalez stand out (ranked in the top 11 on your list). Good coaches. 4 of the Middle sized schools in the top 11. Good coaches.

Issue for small schools is that in today's declining participation having enough players becomes a major issue. How about PG? 22 of their 24 varsity players this season were seniors. Will they have a varsity and JV team next year? Will they even have enough for a varsity team?

Going to be interesting next year especially if participation continues to decline. Similarly interesting to see if the decision makers in the PCAL can get equity more correct than they have so far.

 

[SpeedCity51]

You got that right!

As to your other point, I will admit that I have been a strong and vocal proponent that small public schools are at a disadvantage to large schools and private schools. Having said that, it is also clear that the quality of coaching allows a small school to compete with bigger schools.

Take out the 4 private schools and divide the remaining 25 schools by 3...put the 8 smallest schools in the Small school category...9 schools in the Middle sized school category...and the remaining 8 in the Large school group. Among the Small schools, Carmel and Gonzalez stand out (ranked in the top 11 on your list). Good coaches. 4 of the Middle sized schools in the top 11. Good coaches.

Issue for small schools is that in today's declining participation having enough players becomes a major issue. How about PG? 22 of their 24 varsity players this season were seniors. Will they have a varsity and JV team next year? Will they even have enough for a varsity team?

Going to be interesting next year especially if participation continues to decline. Similarly interesting to see if the decision makers in the PCAL can get equity more correct than they have so far.

So in other words, blow everything up because it doesn’t work for Carmel.

 

[NorCalSportsFan]

The alignment as is this year seemed fine. They just need to figure out who the bottom two teams in the Gab should be or reduce the number in Gab to 7 from 8 and have some flexability as far as the bottom two and also roster numbers if less than 35 on varsity. I think 6 in the Gab is a last resort, but teams like Carmel should still qualify if they have the team and numbers. It's reasonable to move Carmel down to the next highest league if they can't get reasonable numbers but they should be up when they do if they dominate their next lower division.

 

[831ccschamp]

I think it’s kinda crazy that Milpitas has a higher enrollment than the population of Caruthers.

 

[LeeCorso1234]

I think it’s kinda crazy that Milpitas has a higher enrollment than the population of Caruthers.

Parity at its best!

 

[SpeedCity51]

The alignment as is this year seemed fine. They just need to figure out who the bottom two teams in the Gab should be or reduce the number in Gab to 7 from 8 and have some flexability as far as the bottom two and also roster numbers if less than 35 on varsity. I think 6 in the Gab is a last resort, but teams like Carmel should still qualify if they have the team and numbers. It's reasonable to move Carmel down to the next highest league if they can't get reasonable numbers but they should be up when they do if they dominate their next lower division.

I don’t understand why a 6 team Gabilan should be considered a “last resort”, other then that 4 of the 30 schools don’t like it.

 

[colhenrylives]

Parity at its best!

AYSO rules

 

[PALbooster]

Serra and Milpitas are the last two teams playing on Saturday. Both will seek to become the first school in the section to claim two state bowl victories. Currently Palo Alto, Wilcox, St. Francis, Menlo-Atherton, Serra, and Miplitas are the only CCS teams with bowl wins. Milpitas is a 1 point favorite at home against Resada and Serra is a 10 point underdog playing at Corona Del Mar in Cerritos.

The only change in the top 10 this week was Los Gatos dropping below Menlo
CCS Top 10
Rank School Last week NorCal State
1 Serra 1 2 12
2 Valley Christian 2 6 27
3 Wilcox 3 15 68
4 Saint Ignatius 4 18 75
5 Menlo-Atherton 6 29 101
6 Los Gatos 5 31105
7 Half Moon Bay 7 37 118
8 St. Francis 8 20 126
9 Mitty 9 51 161
10 Sacred Heart Prep 10 58 179

 

[PALbooster]

Final CCS Top 10
Rank School Last week NorCal State
1 Serra 1 2 11
2 Valley Christian 2 5 26
3 Wilcox 3 16 64
4 Saint Ignatius 4 18 73
5 Los Gatos 6 27 97
6 Menlo-Atherton 5 29 101
7 Half Moon Bay 7 38 120
8 St. Francis 8 40 124
9 Mitty 9 51 158
10 Sacred Heart Prep 10 57 175

Only Change was Flip flop between Los Gatos and MA for 5th and 6th.

Four teams cracked the top 10 that were not in the pre-season top 10; Los Gatos, Saint Ignatius, Half Moon Bay and Sacred Heart Prep. Serra was not #1 ranked in any pre-season CCS polls.

Surprise teams for 2019 with memorable seasons were Serra, SI, Los Gatos, Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz. Milpitas went on an 8 game run to end the season after a 1-6 start and was the only CCS state bowl winner and became the first team in the section to win a second state bowl game.

Final League Rankings Cal Preps

1. WCAL 29.2
2. Deanza 14.7
3. Bay 12.8
4. Gabilan 1.3
5. Ocean 0.7
6. Mt. Hamilton -5.5
7. Santa Teresa -8.2
8. Cypress -11.5
9. Mission -13.2
10. El Camino -24.1
11. Lake -26.4
12. West Valley -36.8
13. Santa Lucia -39.5

WCAL - Main stories here SI being a tri-champion and Serra ending up as the top team in the CCS and being ranked #2 in Norcal and #11 in the state. Both surpassed pre-season expections.

VC Started the season as the consensus favorite. Hard to call their season a disappointment after finishing 11-2 and finishing #2 in the CCS, #5 in Norcal and #26 in the state, but two shut out losses to Serra will sting. They had solid victories over Wilcox and St.Ignatius. Interested to hear how VC fans perceive the season given such high expectations.

Mitty had a third year starter at QB but didn't show a signature win. Riordan showed promise this year but double OT lose to Bellarmine kept them out of the play-offs. Not much for St. Francis, Sacred Heart Cathedral or Bellarmine to be excited about from their 2019 campaigns. On the whole, the league had a ho-hum 21-16 record against non-league opponents and went 7-6 in the play-offs with three of the losses coming to other WCAL teams.

Deanza - Wilcox had a solid season winning the league title and avenging last year's section final loss to MA with an overtime win. They finished as the section's #3 ranked team. Los Gatos and Milpitas won section championships with Milpitas winning their NorCal regional game and state bowl game. Palo Alto scored a first round play-off upset over Palma. Mountain View cracked the top half of the league standings for the first time in years. The Deanza went 28-14 in non-league games including a 10-4 play-off record.

Bay - Menlo-Atherton won the league but were not nearly as dominant as a year ago. Kings Academy won their second consecutive section championship and SHP had perhaps the league's best win with an upset of Saint Ignatius (and most surprising loss in a 40-0 shellacking at the hands of HMB). Terra Nova made a section final and Burlingame made it to the second round of the play-offs. The league went 24-17 in non-league games and went 7-5 in the play-offs.

Gabilan - a really down yea for the Gabilan that saw them finish just barley above the B league Ocean in Section rankings. Salinas won the league and was the highest rated team in the section at #15. Palma was the only other top 20 team finishing at #16. The league went a dismal 13-20 against non-league opponents and an anemic 2-5 in the play-offs without a play-off win against a non-league A opponent. Is this just a down year for the Gabilan or will this be the league's future?

Mt. Hamilton - Finished below the B league Ocean in league standings. This league has been down the last few years. Oak Grove rallied from a slow season start to win the league and finish #12 in the section. The league went 14-19 in their non-league play and finished 4-4 in the play-offs with Oak Grove and Leland advancing to section finals.

Ocean - Top ranked B league. Half Moon Bay had a stellar season ending up ranked #7 in the section and convincingly beat 3 PAL-Bay play off teams by a combined score of 124-33. Hillsdale and San Mateo also had very strong years. The league went 22-12 in non-league games and went 1-3 in the play-offs.

Santa Teresa - Branham, Overfelt and Silver Creek tied for the league championship with Branham making a section final. The league went 17-10 against non-league opponents and went 2-2 in the play-offs.

Cyprus - After losing to two lowly rated teams in the pre-season and the last place team in the Cyprus league, Santa Cruz won a league and section championship. Soquel also made the play-offs and the league which is supposed to be the weaker PCAL B league was ranked higher than the Mission League. Cyprus teams went 20-12 in non-league games and 3-3 in the play-offs.

Mission - While league play was exciting and there was a three way tie for the championship among Alisal, Seaside and Monte Vista Christian. The league finished lower than the Cypress, went 13-17 in non-league games and bombed it the play-offs going 0-3.

El Camino - Almost played down to a C league level. Saratoga and Homestead were co-champs and Gunn finished 8-2 for one of their best sesons in years. The league went 16-15 against non-league teams and 0-2 in the play-offs.

PAL-Lake - Mills and Jefferson tied for the league championship with Mills going to the play-offs. It was Mills first winning team of the decade. The Lake went 9-21 in non-league game sand 0-1 in the play-offs.

West Valley - Mount Pleasant went through the league unscathed in a league that went 5-21 in non-league action adn 0-1 in the play-offs.

Santa Lucia - Pacific Grove won the weakest ranked league in the section which went 6-21 in non-league play and 0-1 in the play-offs.

 

[LLCCS]

Surprise teams for 2019 with memorable seasons were Serra, SI, Los Gatos, Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz. Milpitas went on an 8 game run to end the season after a 1-6 start and was the only CCS state bowl winner and became the first team in the section to win a second state bowl game.

We ought to certainly commend Serra, SI, Los Gatos, and especially HMB & Santa Cruz. Incredible seasons for those programs. I wouldn't call those first 4 "Surprise Teams", however, that is something that can be debated-- again, all the teams mentioned above had respectable seasons that their program should be proud of. Hats off to a well-coached HMB that rightfully deserves their name mentioned amongst the elite in the section because they undoubtedly are amongst the elite. Santa Cruz was certainly a "surprise" team who kept on winning. Congrats to Coach Trumbull for a season that is certainly overdue.

I would like to recognize 3 more schools in CCS who were legitimate Surprise teams from this season that should go recognized:

1) (Henry M.) Gunn High School -- Gunn was ranked 87th after the 2017 season in Tony Kelly's final season as the Head Coach of Gunn HS. Enter Jason Miller and you might be talking about not only THEE Surprise team of the season but also Jason Miller as Coach of the Year for 2019. Miller inherited a program ranked 87th and took them to 79th with a 4-5 record-- 4 wins with a roster so small that they forfeited a game at one point in the 2018 season. From their 79th ranked (Calpreps) finish, they would go on to rattle off 8 wins for the 2019 season -- one particular upset win 35-21 over offensive juggernaut and CIFCCS D4 qualifier Saratoga HS. Heading into Year 3 of the Jason Miller era and I don't know a middle or low tier public school program that wants to play Gunn and their lethal Double Wing attack.

2) Soquel High School -- Soquel finished the 2017 season ranked 85th in CCS under Brad Tompkins who returned 1/2 his starting core from the 2016 season. Soquel reaches into their alumni network and unearths former SJSU Spartan and Rex Ryan journeyman Dwight Lowery to come back home and bring the program back to its respectable stature. In 2018, Dwight and his staff managed to elevate the program to a 7-3 record in his first season-- falling just short of a CCS playoff berth. In Lowery's 2nd season, the Soquel program jumps to a 30th overall ranking in CCS including a CCS playoff appearance in 2019. We may not hear about schools like Soquel much on here but we got to pay respect and recognize real. Lowery and the Soquel program are trending upwards and we should look to expect him to continue building an impressive resume at Soquel for the unforeseeable future.

3) Branham High School -- Branham is a unique situation from the previous 2. Branham has consistently been a middle-of-the-road B-league program for the better part of the last decade. In 2017, they finished 7-4 in the Santa Teresa Division in Nick Gardiner's final season as Head Coach which included a 30-7 loss to Alisal HS resulting in a 50th rank in CCS. In 2018, Branham takes a subtle step back under a VERY young first-year Head Coach Stephen Johnson with a 5-5 record and 52nd ranking in CCS that included a team that only returned 10 starters from the 2017 season. In 2019, Branham would go on to win 11 games (Quality wins include Santa Teresa [28-7], Overfelt [48-8], Monta Vista Christian [40-13], & Carmel [55-20]) including coming up short in OT 26-27 to Milpitas (2019 CIF 5-A State Champion) in the CCS D4 Championship game that really could have gone either way. This would result in Branham finishing the season 17th in CCS for the 2019 season.

Ironically, all three programs have each of their Head Coaches finishing only their 2nd season at the helm of their respective programs and have their teams trending sharply upwards going into 2020.

I would love to hear other's opinions, reservations, and justifications on who they thought were the surprise teams of the 2019 season in CCS. I don't mind if you do not agree either. That's what is great about FORUMS!

 

[colhenrylives]

We ought to certainly commend Serra, SI, Los Gatos, and especially HMB & Santa Cruz. Incredible seasons for those programs. I wouldn't call those first 4 "Surprise Teams", however, that is something that can be debated-- again, all the teams mentioned above had respectable seasons that their program should be proud of. Hats off to a well-coached HMB that rightfully deserves their name mentioned amongst the elite in the section because they undoubtedly are amongst the elite. Santa Cruz was certainly a "surprise" team who kept on winning. Congrats to Coach Trumbull for a season that is certainly overdue.

I would like to recognize 3 more schools in CCS who were legitimate Surprise teams from this season that should go recognized:

1) (Henry M.) Gunn High School -- Gunn was ranked 87th after the 2017 season in Tony Kelly's final season as the Head Coach of Gunn HS. Enter Jason Miller and you might be talking about not only THEE Surprise team of the season but also Jason Miller as Coach of the Year for 2019. Miller inherited a program ranked 87th and took them to 79th with a 4-5 record-- 4 wins with a roster so small that they forfeited a game at one point in the 2018 season. From their 79th ranked (Calpreps) finish, they would go on to rattle off 8 wins for the 2019 season -- one particular upset win 35-21 over offensive juggernaut and CIFCCS D4 qualifier Saratoga HS. Heading into Year 3 of the Jason Miller era and I don't know a middle or low tier public school program that wants to play Gunn and their lethal Double Wing attack.

2) Soquel High School -- Soquel finished the 2017 season ranked 85th in CCS under Brad Tompkins who returned 1/2 his starting core from the 2016 season. Soquel reaches into their alumni network and unearths former SJSU Spartan and Rex Ryan journeyman Dwight Lowery to come back home and bring the program back to its respectable stature. In 2018, Dwight and his staff managed to elevate the program to a 7-3 record in his first season-- falling just short of a CCS playoff berth. In Lowery's 2nd season, the Soquel program jumps to a 30th overall ranking in CCS including a CCS playoff appearance in 2019. We may not hear about schools like Soquel much on here but we got to pay respect and recognize real. Lowery and the Soquel program are trending upwards and we should look to expect him to continue building an impressive resume at Soquel for the unforeseeable future.

3) Branham High School -- Branham is a unique situation from the previous 2. Branham has consistently been a middle-of-the-road B-league program for the better part of the last decade. In 2017, they finished 7-4 in the Santa Teresa Division in Nick Gardiner's final season as Head Coach which included a 30-7 loss to Alisal HS resulting in a 50th rank in CCS. In 2018, Branham takes a subtle step back under a VERY young first-year Head Coach Stephen Johnson with a 5-5 record and 52nd ranking in CCS that included a team that only returned 10 starters from the 2017 season. In 2019, Branham would go on to win 11 games (Quality wins include Santa Teresa [28-7], Overfelt [48-8], Monta Vista Christian [40-13], & Carmel [55-20]) including coming up short in OT 26-27 to Milpitas (2019 CIF 5-A State Champion) in the CCS D4 Championship game that really could have gone either way. This would result in Branham finishing the season 17th in CCS for the 2019 season.

Ironically, all three programs have each of their Head Coaches finishing only their 2nd season at the helm of their respective programs and have their teams trending sharply upwards going into 2020.

I would love to hear other's opinions, reservations, and justifications on who they thought were the surprise teams of the 2019 season in CCS. I don't mind if you do not agree either. That's what is great about FORUMS!

Very good summation of successful teams in the B and C categories. CCS public school football overall has been trending down for years as a variety of negative factors conspire to nibble away. The impact of demographic changes throughout Silicon Valley and its environs, the allure and influence of the WCAL and other private/parochials in the area and a dearth of quality coaches due to high housing costs, among other concerns, is huge. Any public school coach who can elevate and maintain a reasonably strong and consistent football program at even a very modest level deserves kudos.