NCS Brackes

[noknight]

Starting to roll out now:

D-V: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB5BRACKET.pdf

D-IV: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB div4bracket.pdf

OK, so I had some right and wrong things in my predictions. Fortuna did indeed get a 3-seed. St. Mary's got a 5 seed (I figure remc will be happy with that). Kind of amazed that they set up the Ft. Bragg/St. Helena rematch in the first round at 8/9 and also an all MCAL game in Justin-Siena/San Marin at 7/10. Couldn't you just bump San Marin up and avoid both?

D-III: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB div3bracket.pdf

Analy gets the 2 over Rancho Cotate. 5-5 BOD gets the 4 seed over Alhambra (should be an interesting 2nd round game). DeAnza falls all the way to a 12 seed. Albany goes and Sonoma Valley gets left out. Amazing - only 4 teams in this bracket with 7 or more wins...

D-II: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB div2bracket.pdf

Holy cow - American gets a 10 seed and a home game vs. Casa Grande. Both Livermore AND Mt. Eden don't get playoff bids (no idea if neither chose to apply). Sets up an interesting potential 2nd round Casa/Miramonte game...

D-I: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB div1bracket.pdf

No real surprises here at all. Monte Vista gets the 4 seed b/c of their win over Pitt (who then gets the 5), so the only head-to-head that doesn't work is Cal/MV (but like I'd said before, somebody had to get seeded below a team that they'd beaten). Antioch gets the 2 over Foothill - what a semifinal game if the seeds all hold!

Now on to the games!

 

[noknight]

Oh, and awful job of spelling "brackets" by me!

 

[northbaybbguru]

D4...
Marin Catholic got a great draw. 1st round bye and then Ft Bragg??? wow...GREAT draw.
I agree with Noknight. Why didn't they switch #9 St Helena and #10 San Marin. 2 first round games against teams in the same league??? Simple fix...stupid committee. MCAL got to be pissed as 1 team going home now. Meanwhile NCL1 happy as hell because 1 team guaranteed advance to the 2nd round.
CN gets JS/San Marin winner in 2nd round? Slightly different than Ft.bragg/St Helena winner for MC...lol
Cakewalk into round 3 for MC. Great 2nd round matchup between JS and CN potentially.

 

[3Yards&ACloudOfDust]

D4...
Marin Catholic got a great draw. 1st round bye and then Ft Bragg??? wow...GREAT draw.
I agree with Noknight. Why didn't they switch #9 St Helena and #10 San Marin. 2 first round games against teams in the same league??? Simple fix...stupid committee. MCAL got to be pissed as 1 team going home now. Meanwhile NCL1 happy as hell because 1 team guaranteed advance to the 2nd round.
CN gets JS/San Marin winner in 2nd round? Slightly different than Ft.bragg/St Helena winner for MC...lol
Cakewalk into round 3 for MC. Great 2nd round matchup between JS and CN potentially.

I agree and the funny thing about it is the NCS will lose money compared to what they could have made if they had scheduled St. Helena @ Justin. We are talking about a ten minute drive, and half of the town would have driven down to Napa for that one. Who ever has to go to Fort Bragg was going to be screwed either way. I hate league rematches in the first round if they can be avoided.
I don't know how happy NCL is. The winner has to play @ MC. I think FB could have beat San Marin anyways.

 

[northbaybbguru]

I agree and the funny thing about it is the NCS will lose money compared to what they could have made if they had scheduled St. Helena @ Justin. We are talking about a ten minute drive, and half of the town would have driven down to Napa for that one. Who ever has to go to Fort Bragg was going to be screwed either way. I hate league rematches in the first round if they can be avoided.
I don't know how happy NCL is. The winner has to play @ MC. I think FB could have beat San Marin anyways.

3yds....
I didn't even think about the St. Helena /JS 10 minute drive angle. You are right!! That place would have been jam packed.... That even makes it even more of a head scratcher move by the committee.

 

[bella123]

I agree and the funny thing about it is the NCS will lose money compared to what they could have made if they had scheduled St. Helena @ Justin. We are talking about a ten minute drive, and half of the town would have driven down to Napa for that one. Who ever has to go to Fort Bragg was going to be screwed either way. I hate league rematches in the first round if they can be avoided.
I don't know how happy NCL is. The winner has to play @ MC. I think FB could have beat San Marin anyways.

Agreed, hate first round remarches. JS / SH would have been a natural move. Also think FB
might beat SM.

MC does get a break with two weeks to work in reolacement QB for Peterson (assuming he is done).

 

[Streak One]

The NCS always has some head scratchers when it comes to brackets. Common sense isn't their strength.

 

[HAS]

Starting to roll out now:

D-V: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB5BRACKET.pdf

D-IV: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB div4bracket.pdf

OK, so I had some right and wrong things in my predictions. Fortuna did indeed get a 3-seed. St. Mary's got a 5 seed (I figure remc will be happy with that). Kind of amazed that they set up the Ft. Bragg/St. Helena rematch in the first round at 8/9 and also an all MCAL game in Justin-Siena/San Marin at 7/10. Couldn't you just bump San Marin up and avoid both?

D-III: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB div3bracket.pdf

Analy gets the 2 over Rancho Cotate. 5-5 BOD gets the 4 seed over Alhambra (should be an interesting 2nd round game). DeAnza falls all the way to a 12 seed. Albany goes and Sonoma Valley gets left out. Amazing - only 4 teams in this bracket with 7 or more wins...

D-II: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB div2bracket.pdf

Holy cow - American gets a 10 seed and a home game vs. Casa Grande. Both Livermore AND Mt. Eden don't get playoff bids (no idea if neither chose to apply). Sets up an interesting potential 2nd round Casa/Miramonte game...

D-I: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB div1bracket.pdf

No real surprises here at all. Monte Vista gets the 4 seed b/c of their win over Pitt (who then gets the 5), so the only head-to-head that doesn't work is Cal/MV (but like I'd said before, somebody had to get seeded below a team that they'd beaten). Antioch gets the 2 over Foothill - what a semifinal game if the seeds all hold!

Now on to the games!

Cal should have been seeded above AV, ?'s about that game plus win over MV. Comparing games gives it to Cal, beat MV, in it with Foothill till end, 17-7 when went for 1st down giving Foothill late TD. Av beaten badly by both.

 

[observer22]

Yeah, but NCS is big on head to head and even though a ref may have apologized to Cal for not stopping the clock, that does not erase the head to head win for AV. Cal may beat them 8 out of 10 times, but not on that night. The Grizz just needs to buckle down and focus on getting the win over Logan this week, and then hope they can improve over the Friday night debacle at DLS.

Cal has not played Logan very often. I remember 2 games between them. The first was a 27-9 win in 2007 in the semi-finals that propelled Cal to their first ever NCS final and a date with DLS at the Coliseum. The only other one I can recall was the NCS semi final at Cal in 2012 that Logan took 40-7 and propelled them to a date with DLS in the finals at Dublin HS. I look for this game to be much closer than those other 2.

 

[HAS]

Yeah, but NCS is big on head to head and even though a ref may have apologized to Cal for not stopping the clock, that does not erase the head to head win for AV. Cal may beat them 8 out of 10 times, but not on that night. The Grizz just needs to buckle down and focus on getting the win over Logan this week, and then hope they can improve over the Friday night debacle at DLS.

Cal has not played Logan very often. I remember 2 games between them. The first was a 27-9 win in 2007 in the semi-finals that propelled Cal to their first ever NCS final and a date with DLS at the Coliseum. The only other one I can recall was the NCS semi final at Cal in 2012 that Logan took 40-7 and propelled them to a date with DLS in the finals at Dublin HS. I look for this game to be much closer than those other 2.

It's done, but Cal didn't get any credit for beating Monte Vista, compare entire records and Cal is just better.

 

[observer22]

It's done, but Cal didn't get any credit for beating Monte Vista, compare entire records and Cal is just better.

I agree. You look at MV's seeding and it's almost as if they beat Cal last week. It makes you wonder if they would have stayed at #4 even if they lost to SRV the other night. They got a lot of credit by beating the 2nd place team from the BVAL Pitt. But the fact that Cal lost to Pitt also weighs into the equation.

If Cal had gotten time called or spiked the ball and beaten AV, then they would have finished alone in 2nd place in the EBAL at 5-1 and problably would have gotten a #5 seed behind #4 Pitt and ahead of the 3rd place BVAL team Freedom. But since Freedom beat AV they got put ahead of both AV and Cal. The AV game was winnable, and that was what cost the Grizz in the seedings this year. The last minute communications issues in that game came back to bite them.

 

[Bubba3000]

It seems to me the biggest winners in the NCS D1 seedings are Antioch and Monte Vista. It seems there's no consequence for MV losing to Cal and if they face Foothill Antioch will do so at home.

 

[TMJA]

D4...
Marin Catholic got a great draw. 1st round bye and then Ft Bragg??? wow...GREAT draw.
I agree with Noknight. Why didn't they switch #9 St Helena and #10 San Marin. 2 first round games against teams in the same league??? Simple fix...stupid committee. MCAL got to be pissed as 1 team going home now. Meanwhile NCL1 happy as hell because 1 team guaranteed advance to the 2nd round.
CN gets JS/San Marin winner in 2nd round? Slightly different than Ft.bragg/St Helena winner for MC...lol
Cakewalk into round 3 for MC. Great 2nd round matchup between JS and CN potentially.

JS is a solid team. They have some good playmakers and some speed. They slowed MC down for a half. I don't think CN will underestimate them. Should be a fun matchup.

 

[observer22]

It seems to me the biggest winners in the NCS D1 seedings are Antioch and Monte Vista. It seems there's no consequence for MV losing to Cal and if they face Foothill Antioch will do so at home.

The Monte Vista thing I understand, only because I have been around awhile and have seen the NCS go overboard in trying to factor in head to head matchups, so someone must have already had it in their mind a few weeks ago that MV would have to be ahead of Pitt. But at least I understand where they were coming from.

The Antioch over Foothill seeding is a little more puzzling. Antioch is a great team and 10-0 is nothing to sneeze at, nor is beating Pitt. But Foothill is also a great team and 10-0.
There are 2 common opponents, San Leandro and Freedom, and both teams won those games easily by similar margins. Exact score differentials when winning by 2 TDs or more meaningless. But Antioch's best win was over Pitt by 2 points, the same team that MV (a team that Foothill beat easily) beat as noted above. That game should have been what also swung the #2 seed to Foothill (Not to mention that Foothill blew them out in the playoffs last year 54-8).

But at least they are #2 & #3 and on the opposite side of the green machine. If both can hold serve and win their quarterfinal games, they will meet in the semifinals which is what everyone wants to see. But this time Foothill would have to travel to Antioch. Should be a good one.

 

[HSfan82]

Agreed, hate first round remarches. JS / SH would have been a natural move. Also think FB
might beat SM.

MC does get a break with two weeks to work in reolacement QB for Peterson (assuming he is done).

What happen to Peterson???

 

[northbaybbguru]

I agree and the funny thing about it is the NCS will lose money compared to what they could have made if they had scheduled St. Helena @ Justin. We are talking about a ten minute drive, and half of the town would have driven down to Napa for that one. Who ever has to go to Fort Bragg was going to be screwed either way. I hate league rematches in the first round if they can be avoided.
I don't know how happy NCL is. The winner has to play @ MC. I think FB could have beat San Marin anyways.

3yds....
I didn't even think about the St. Helena /JS 10 minute drive angle. You are right!! That place would have been jam packed.... That even makes it even more of a head scratcher move by the committee.

JS is a solid team. They have some good playmakers and some speed. They slowed MC down for a half. I don't think CN will underestimate them. Should be a fun matchup.

JS is legit....they stuffed MC for the most part in their game...except when Petersen got loose on 3 HUGE runs/scrambles which were on broken passing plays. JS is not a big play team, they are more 4 and 5 yds and a cloud of dust. And are very methodical. They went toe to toe with MC and actually had a shot of beating them until Petersen stepped up and did his magic.
The seeding gives MC basically a free pass into the 3rd round. A bye for MC is a HUGE break for them as now they get 2 weeks to prep the new starting QB...and then they get an overrated NCL1 team....The other side of the bracket is definitely tougher. With big boy games starting in round 2.....

Its almost like MC had a "friendly" voice on the committee....lol

 

[bella123]

What happen to Peterson???

Leg injury

 

[remc]

Starting to roll out now:

D-V: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB5BRACKET.pdf

D-IV: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB div4bracket.pdf

OK, so I had some right and wrong things in my predictions. Fortuna did indeed get a 3-seed. St. Mary's got a 5 seed (I figure remc will be happy with that). Kind of amazed that they set up the Ft. Bragg/St. Helena rematch in the first round at 8/9 and also an all MCAL game in Justin-Siena/San Marin at 7/10. Couldn't you just bump San Marin up and avoid both?

D-III: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB div3bracket.pdf

Analy gets the 2 over Rancho Cotate. 5-5 BOD gets the 4 seed over Alhambra (should be an interesting 2nd round game). DeAnza falls all the way to a 12 seed. Albany goes and Sonoma Valley gets left out. Amazing - only 4 teams in this bracket with 7 or more wins...

D-II: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB div2bracket.pdf

Holy cow - American gets a 10 seed and a home game vs. Casa Grande. Both Livermore AND Mt. Eden don't get playoff bids (no idea if neither chose to apply). Sets up an interesting potential 2nd round Casa/Miramonte game...

D-I: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB div1bracket.pdf

No real surprises here at all. Monte Vista gets the 4 seed b/c of their win over Pitt (who then gets the 5), so the only head-to-head that doesn't work is Cal/MV (but like I'd said before, somebody had to get seeded below a team that they'd beaten). Antioch gets the 2 over Foothill - what a semifinal game if the seeds all hold!

Now on to the games!

A little surprised SMB got a 5 seed but its not mind boggling.But they obviously felt like I did,their pre season schedule and the fact they won all their other games counted for something in a pretty decent league.All roads lead through Marine Catholic and Cardinal Newman anyway,so lets see what happens

 

[TMJA]

What happen to Peterson???

The indication was that he broke his leg (rumor fir now). Tough on any player in his senior season. That kid is special. I am sure MC has a decent back up QB, but no way you can replace Peterson. The bye week should help them get their next guy ready.

 

[Bubba3000]

The Monte Vista thing I understand, only because I have been around awhile and have seen the NCS go overboard in trying to factor in head to head matchups, so someone must have already had it in their mind a few weeks ago that MV would have to be ahead of Pitt. But at least I understand where they were coming from.

The Antioch over Foothill seeding is a little more puzzling. Antioch is a great team and 10-0 is nothing to sneeze at, nor is beating Pitt. But Foothill is also a great team and 10-0.
There are 2 common opponents, San Leandro and Freedom, and both teams won those games easily by similar margins. Exact score differentials when winning by 2 TDs or more meaningless. But Antioch's best win was over Pitt by 2 points, the same team that MV (a team that Foothill beat easily) beat as noted above. That game should have been what also swung the #2 seed to Foothill (Not to mention that Foothill blew them out in the playoffs last year 54-8).

But at least they are #2 & #3 and on the opposite side of the green machine. If both can hold serve and win their quarterfinal games, they will meet in the semifinals which is what everyone wants to see. But this time Foothill would have to travel to Antioch. Should be a good one.

Your argument is solid except for bringing up a thrashing from last season. Personally, that means nothing to me this year.

 

[TMJA]

3yds....
I didn't even think about the St. Helena /JS 10 minute drive angle. You are right!! That place would have been jam packed.... That even makes it even more of a head scratcher move by the committee.



JS is legit....they stuffed MC for the most part in their game...except when Petersen got loose on 3 HUGE runs/scrambles which were on broken passing plays. JS is not a big play team, they are more 4 and 5 yds and a cloud of dust. And are very methodical. They went toe to toe with MC and actually had a shot of beating them until Petersen stepped up and did his magic.
The seeding gives MC basically a free pass into the 3rd round. A bye for MC is a HUGE break for them as now they get 2 weeks to prep the new starting QB...and then they get an overrated NCL1 team....The other side of the bracket is definitely tougher. With big boy games starting in round 2.....

Its almost like MC had a "friendly" voice on the committee....lol

Agree it is a big break for MC. I attended the Justin MC game. Peterson's runs look like designed runs for the QB. He did have some scrambles, but his long runs looked like they were on run plays. There were a few penalties that nullified some of his other runs. Justin did a good job with pressure, but they did not look super confident. They played most of the game with no safety & looked like they felt they had to stop MC up front. I think if they played again, MC would beat them significant worse. The other side of the ball JS was overwhelmed & overmatched by MC. The 1 seed side of the bracket is easier only in the 2nd round, but much tougher in the semifinals round. Both Moreau and St. Mary's are 4 touchdowns better than Fortuna. Not trying to disrespect Fortuna, but they don't have the athletic of the East Bay teams.

 

[remc]

Starting to roll out now:

D-V: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB5BRACKET.pdf

D-IV: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB div4bracket.pdf

OK, so I had some right and wrong things in my predictions. Fortuna did indeed get a 3-seed. St. Mary's got a 5 seed (I figure remc will be happy with that). Kind of amazed that they set up the Ft. Bragg/St. Helena rematch in the first round at 8/9 and also an all MCAL game in Justin-Siena/San Marin at 7/10. Couldn't you just bump San Marin up and avoid both?

D-III: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB div3bracket.pdf

Analy gets the 2 over Rancho Cotate. 5-5 BOD gets the 4 seed over Alhambra (should be an interesting 2nd round game). DeAnza falls all the way to a 12 seed. Albany goes and Sonoma Valley gets left out. Amazing - only 4 teams in this bracket with 7 or more wins...

D-II: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB div2bracket.pdf

Holy cow - American gets a 10 seed and a home game vs. Casa Grande. Both Livermore AND Mt. Eden don't get playoff bids (no idea if neither chose to apply). Sets up an interesting potential 2nd round Casa/Miramonte game...

D-I: http://cifncs.org/sports/football/files/RESULTS/2015/FB div1bracket.pdf

No real surprises here at all. Monte Vista gets the 4 seed b/c of their win over Pitt (who then gets the 5), so the only head-to-head that doesn't work is Cal/MV (but like I'd said before, somebody had to get seeded below a team that they'd beaten). Antioch gets the 2 over Foothill - what a semifinal game if the seeds all hold!

Now on to the games!

Actually I think Piedmont,Justin,and St.Marys are pretty interchangeable and could have been in any order 5-7

 

[HAS]

I agree. You look at MV's seeding and it's almost as if they beat Cal last week. It makes you wonder if they would have stayed at #4 even if they lost to SRV the other night. They got a lot of credit by beating the 2nd place team from the BVAL Pitt. But the fact that Cal lost to Pitt also weighs into the equation.

If Cal had gotten time called or spiked the ball and beaten AV, then they wCalould have finished alone in 2nd place in the EBAL at 5-1 and problably would have gotten a #5 seed behind #4 Pitt and ahead of the 3rd place BVAL team Freedom. But since Freedom beat AV they got put ahead of both AV and Cal. The AV game was winnable, and that was what cost the Grizz in the seedings this year. The last minute communications issues in that game came back to bite them.

Even with the loss, AV, Cal, and MV at 1-1 would be rated 1. MV 2.Cal 3.AV
another interesting trio is MV, Pitt and Cal at1-1. They'd be rated 1. Pitt, 2. MV, 3. Cal

I still have the feeling Cal just isn't liked.

 

[Bubba3000]

Even with the loss, AV, Cal, and MV at 1-1 would be rated 1. MV 2.Cal 3.AV
another interesting trio is MV, Pitt and Cal at1-1. They'd be rated 1. Pitt, 2. MV, 3. Cal

I still have the feeling Cal just isn't liked.

HAS like you I believe Cal is a better team than AV, they just didn't end up with more points at the end of the game.

 

[northbaybbguru]

Agree it is a big break for MC. I attended the Justin MC game. Peterson's runs look like designed runs for the QB. He did have some scrambles, but his long runs looked like they were on run plays. There were a few penalties that nullified some of his other runs. Justin did a good job with pressure, but they did not look super confident. They played most of the game with no safety & looked like they felt they had to stop MC up front. I think if they played again, MC would beat them significant worse. The other side of the ball JS was overwhelmed & overmatched by MC. The 1 seed side of the bracket is easier only in the 2nd round, but much tougher in the semifinals round. Both Moreau and St. Mary's are 4 touchdowns better than Fortuna. Not trying to disrespect Fortuna, but they don't have the athletic of the East Bay teams.

TMJA...
MC defensive line took it to the O line at JS no doubt. They were in JS backfield all day long and JS QB had no time to pass at all. Don't you think JS didn't respect MC passing game? And that's why they brought the safety up to help stop the run? MC didn't show any kind of a passing game that day. Perhaps the backup is a better pure passer? More accurate? Petersen is definitely a special talent, lightning fast with the ability to extend the play and make something out of nothing with his running ability... Is he definitely out for the ENTIRE playoffs? If they were to make it to the NCS final or beyond would there be a possibility of him playing?

I personally don't know enough about Moreau, SMB or Fortuna to have a take on them. So I will acquiesce to your clearly superior knowledge on the subject.. BUT I will say that every once in awhile a good class goes thru Fortuna and they make some noise in the sections.....

 

[1315]

It's done, but Cal didn't get any credit for beating Monte Vista, compare entire records and Cal is just better.

Cal had the ball with a minute and change to go in regulation up by 7. Bergman + 3 timeouts to allow the Stangs to score and go to OT? That's not a convincing W by the Grizz. And you may be right Cal isn't liked, but getting blown by 56 by the alma mater in perhaps the worst drubbing in school history is not happiness.

 

[MC415]

TMJA...
MC defensive line took it to the O line at JS no doubt. They were in JS backfield all day long and JS QB had no time to pass at all. Don't you think JS didn't respect MC passing game? And that's why they brought the safety up to help stop the run? MC didn't show any kind of a passing game that day. Perhaps the backup is a better pure passer? More accurate? Petersen is definitely a special talent, lightning fast with the ability to extend the play and make something out of nothing with his running ability... Is he definitely out for the ENTIRE playoffs? If they were to make it to the NCS final or beyond would there be a possibility of him playing?

I personally don't know enough about Moreau, SMB or Fortuna to have a take on them. So I will acquiesce to your clearly superior knowledge on the subject.. BUT I will say that every once in awhile a good class goes thru Fortuna and they make some noise in the sections.....

Coach Mo for MC said he thinks it wasn't a break for Petersen and if not broken maybe he's back later on.....no update tho since Saturday night.......no the backup isn't nearly the passer it's a huge drop off

 

[TMJA]

TMJA...
MC defensive line took it to the O line at JS no doubt. They were in JS backfield all day long and JS QB had no time to pass at all. Don't you think JS didn't respect MC passing game? And that's why they brought the safety up to help stop the run? MC didn't show any kind of a passing game that day. Perhaps the backup is a better pure passer? More accurate? Petersen is definitely a special talent, lightning fast with the ability to extend the play and make something out of nothing with his running ability... Is he definitely out for the ENTIRE playoffs? If they were to make it to the NCS final or beyond would there be a possibility of him playing?

I personally don't know enough about Moreau, SMB or Fortuna to have a take on them. So I will acquiesce to your clearly superior knowledge on the subject.. BUT I will say that every once in awhile a good class goes thru Fortuna and they make some noise in the sections.....

NBGurur,
MC seemed to have a breakdown up front in the first half allowing the rush to leak through which seemed to affect the pass, and I thought they did a great job adjusting as the game went on. I have seen MC a few times early in the first half of the year, and Peterson can throw it as good as any around (very impressive passer). I think that is what makes him special above the guys that can just run. Regarding Fortuna... I meant no disrespect. Fortuna does get some tough kids up there and some good classes that can make a run at things. I was generally trying to say the east bay teams are more athletic in comparison to the northern teams most years, and what history has shown. I do think both Fortuna & JS have a solid chance vs CN, but they have to play a great game being physical on both sides of the ball to pull off the upset. JS plays in a league vs MC, so I am sure they won't be intimidated by CN and will play their game. Fortuna obviously has a great team, but I am not sure what teams they play most years on the level of a CN or MC. We will see how big the gap difference is between the teams this year. This is definitely the best D4 playoff bracket I have seen in the NCS. 7 out of the 8 top teams are league champs, and the 9th & 10th seed teams are 9-1 & 8-2. With this type of parity, there is bound to be some upsets.

 

[noknight]

This is definitely the best D4 playoff bracket I have seen in the NCS. 7 out of the 8 top teams are league champs, and the 9th & 10th seed teams are 9-1 & 8-2. With this type of parity, there is bound to be some upsets.

You said it - best D-IV and worst D-III in a long time. It becomes a very different set of brackets if MC/CN stay in D-III instead of D-IV. Imagine these playoffs:

D-III

#16 Terra Linda @ #1 Campo
#9 El Cerrito @ #8 Petaluma
#13 Novato @ #4 Analy
#12 Kennedy @ #5 Rancho Cotate
#15 Piner @ #2 Marin Catholic
#10 Acalanes @ #7 Alhambra
#14 DeAnza @ #3 Cardinal Newman
#11 Eureka @ #6 Bishop O'Dowd

D-IV

#1 Fortuna (bye)
#9 Del Norte @ #8 San Marin
#13 Healdsburg @ #4 Piedmont
#12 Harker @ #5 Justin-Siena
#2 Moreau (bye)
#10 Encinal @ #7 St. Helena
#3 St. Mary's (bye)
#11 Hercules @ #6 Ft. Bragg

It would be very different. I daresay that whoever now comes out of D-IV will likely be very battle tested heading into the state seminfinal game (post NCS), whereas I think Campo isn't likely to be seriously pushed now until the NCS finals.

Also, just now realized that Lower Lake must not have applied, even though they were eligible...

 

[HAS]

Cal had the ball with a minute and change to go in regulation up by 7. Bergman + 3 timeouts to allow the Stangs to score and go to OT? That's not a convincing W by the Grizz. And you may be right Cal isn't liked, but getting blown by 56 by the alma mater in perhaps the worst drubbing in school history is not happiness.

Who said anything about convincing? A win is better than 34-12 loss. DLS has been doing that to everyone lately, at least we had the balls to play them. Might be stupid though, San Ramon would be in the playoffs if they played an easy game instead of DLS.

 

[northbaybbguru]

NBGurur,
MC seemed to have a breakdown up front in the first half allowing the rush to leak through which seemed to affect the pass, and I thought they did a great job adjusting as the game went on. I have seen MC a few times early in the first half of the year, and Peterson can throw it as good as any around (very impressive passer). I think that is what makes him special above the guys that can just run. Regarding Fortuna... I meant no disrespect. Fortuna does get some tough kids up there and some good classes that can make a run at things. I was generally trying to say the east bay teams are more athletic in comparison to the northern teams most years, and what history has shown. I do think both Fortuna & JS have a solid chance vs CN, but they have to play a great game being physical on both sides of the ball to pull off the upset. JS plays in a league vs MC, so I am sure they won't be intimidated by CN and will play their game. Fortuna obviously has a great team, but I am not sure what teams they play most years on the level of a CN or MC. We will see how big the gap difference is between the teams this year. This is definitely the best D4 playoff bracket I have seen in the NCS. 7 out of the 8 top teams are league champs, and the 9th & 10th seed teams are 9-1 & 8-2. With this type of parity, there is bound to be some upsets.

I guarantee JS wont be intimidated, they are a legit program, not the typical 2nd round game for a 2 seed......CN has their work cut out for them and could very easily lose.

And for the rest of you.....

Can we all PLEASE get past this MC/CN D3/D4 crap please???
Cn and MC are in D4 now. lets skip the what ifs...and the what could have beens. The decision has been made. Can we move on please?

And Lower Lake did qualify but I heard thru the grapevine they were extremely dinged up and could barely field a team and the coach thought it best to not apply.

 

[larry legend33]

NBGuru- Agree. Like I said I remember playing DLS.MV, and Pitt in 3A. We weren't bitching. MC has a cake walk and Newman has work cut out for them. JS is a solid program. But its the playoffs and you have to play good teams eventually.

 

[Bubba3000]

Who said anything about convincing? A win is better than 34-12 loss. DLS has been doing that to everyone lately, at least we had the balls to play them. Might be stupid though, San Ramon would be in the playoffs if they played an easy game instead of DLS.

Can't agree more HAS. Any and every team in EBAL not named Livermore or Granada should be playing DLS every year.

 

[observer22]

Who said anything about convincing? A win is better than 34-12 loss. DLS has been doing that to everyone lately, at least we had the balls to play them. Might be stupid though, San Ramon would be in the playoffs if they played an easy game instead of DLS.

True, DLS has been beating the tar out of everyone not named Trinity this year. But it wasn't one of Cal's better efforts against them. Cal had established that they could play with Sparty from '08 to '12 but not lately and this week's game got out of hand early and often.

Not true about SRV. They finished 3-7 overall and 2-4 in league, so even if they had beaten DLS they still would have finsished at 4-6 overall and 2-4 in league and missed the playoffs. At least they had the nads to play them though. So may other teams have dropped them from their schedules the past few years. Only Logan, Cal and SRV from the NCS stepped up this year to take the punches. Foothill, Pitt and MV hope to only see them once in the NCS playoffs if they make it that far, while if Logan, Cal or SRV has a good year they'll face Sparty twice and most likely end up with 2 losses to show for it, but some good experience going up against the best.

 

[noknight]

Can we all PLEASE get past this MC/CN D3/D4 crap please???
Cn and MC are in D4 now. lets skip the what ifs...and the what could have beens. The decision has been made. Can we move on please?

And Lower Lake did qualify but I heard thru the grapevine they were extremely dinged up and could barely field a team and the coach thought it best to not apply.

Sorry - I didn't post that as a whine, rather as an explanation about how/why this was the best D-IV (and the worst D-III) bracket in recent memory. In fact, I even said that I think it will lead to a stronger, more battle-tested D-IV champ that should be well suited for their bowl game. While I don't personally see any first round upsets happening in D-IV, I see lots of VERY interesting round 2 games. That St. Mary's/Moreau rematch should be awesome, I can envision Piedmont beating Fortuna, and as you said, Justin-Siena/CN shouldn't be a cakewalk. Then, a Marin Catholic vs. the Moreau/St. Mary's winner could get real interesting, especially if it's the first significant team MC's new QB faces with a lot on the line. And Piedmont's not going to be intimidated by CN after going toe-to-toe with Mack. Yep, D-IV is going to be fun to watch!

And thanks for the explanation about Lower Lake. I still don't know if Livermore, Mt. Eden, Clear Lake, CSD or St. Vincent applied. All appeared eligible, but none are in the playoffs.

 

[northbaybbguru]

Sorry - I didn't post that as a whine, rather as an explanation about how/why this was the best D-IV (and the worst D-III) bracket in recent memory. In fact, I even said that I think it will lead to a stronger, more battle-tested D-IV champ that should be well suited for their bowl game. While I don't personally see any first round upsets happening in D-IV, I see lots of VERY interesting round 2 games. That St. Mary's/Moreau rematch should be awesome, I can envision Piedmont beating Fortuna, and as you said, Justin-Siena/CN shouldn't be a cakewalk. Then, a Marin Catholic vs. the Moreau/St. Mary's winner could get real interesting, especially if it's the first significant team MC's new QB faces with a lot on the line. And Piedmont's not going to be intimidated by CN after going toe-to-toe with Mack. Yep, D-IV is going to be fun to watch!

And thanks for the explanation about Lower Lake. I still don't know if Livermore, Mt. Eden, Clear Lake, CSD or St. Vincent applied. All appeared eligible, but none are in the playoffs.

I agree with every observation above...

I don't see how the winner of the NCS D4 isn't the norcal rep in the state game. Even with the playin game
the NCS D4 winner has to be the HEAVY favorite.

 

[bella123]

I know St. Vincent did not apply. They were 3-7 but still eligible due to .500 league record. They had low numbers this year and a ton of injuries. The players and staff decided not to apply to the playoffs, which was kind of nice to see and the right move IMO. And as stated I heard the same was true for Lower Lake.

Clear Lake also had low number and tons of injuries. In fact they forfeited last weeks final
game at Middletown due to low numbers. This really sucked as Middletown had a big homecoming celebration planned for the community and for all the first responders.

 

[1tunz1]

I know St. Vincent did not apply. They were 3-7 but still eligible due to .500 league record. They had low numbers this year and a ton of injuries. The players and staff decided not to apply to the playoffs, which was kind of nice to see and the right move IMO. And as stated I heard the same was true for Lower Lake.

Clear Lake also had low number and tons of injuries. In fact they forfeited last weeks final
game at Middletown due to low numbers. This really sucked as Middletown had a big homecoming celebration planned for the community and for all the first responders.

I believe Healdsburg, at 3-7, should've sat out the playoffs too.

 

[USMC#1]

Healdsburg in the playoffs, set to play AT Cardinal Newman when they just got slaughtered by PINER is a huge mistake. This is right along the lines of Analy having to play Elsie Allen. Nothing positive can come out of this game for CN.

 

[mshNASTY]

Can't agree more HAS. Any and every team in EBAL not named Livermore or Granada should be playing DLS every year.

In EBAL both teams need to agree to the DLS opt out game. In Cal and SRV's case they tried to opt out this year but DLS holds all the cards and wanted those games. That's why Foothill played them last year with Kearns and Langley because Sparta wanted the high profile local match up. In the new 10 team EBAL only the "bottom 4" get an opt out, that being Livermore, Granada, Dougherty and Dublin for now. From what I understand SRV is lobbying to be in the bottom 4 because they went 3-7 but I can't confirm that's true.