PCAL Playoffs

[RLS13]

Playoffs week 1


No RLS or Carmel, but I suppose the Playoffs still have to happen. The really big surprise with regards to PCAL teams was King City being upset by longtime foe Pacific Grove. That loss kept King City out of the playoffs. North Salinas edged Gilroy to claim the 3rd spot in in the Mission and the automatic playoff birth. The Gabilan received the maximum 6 bids to the post season. A couple of thoughts about the CCS playoffs:

• I like the way the CCS does it based on automatic qualifies and points to choose the field. It is not a perfect system, but I think it is better than other sections. I believe that no A league team should ever be placed in DV and I believe no B/C league team should be placed in DI unless they choose to (with the necessary points). Other than that the system works for me.
• What if Salinas (or Los Gatos) were to get through the DI playoffs (and St. Francis) and win the CCS title? Would they be even considered for the automatic Open qualifier? If they beat St. Francis head-to-head? Would it be enough to propel them past DLS and Rocklin?
• Palma losing QB1 at the end of the Salinas game to a broken collar bone is a shame. Kid is a great athlete; I hope he gets better for his baseball season. I would of like to see Palma advance in DII but without him they will be fortunate to get past the first round.

Gabilan-

Fri 11/12 Palo Alto (CA) at Christopher (Gilroy, CA), 7:00pm DIII Playoffs- Christopher beat who the were supposed to beat and lost to the big boys. They had 2 very close games with Live Oak and Hollister. Palo Alto lost big to the good teams and were upset by Homestead. Christopher 24-21

Fri 11/12 Menlo-Atherton (Atherton, CA) at Salinas (CA), 7:00pm D I Playoffs- I like this matchup. High Powered Offense of MA vs that nasty Salinas Defense. Both teams come in on winning streaks. I think Salinas will be able to slow down Menlo Atherton plus at 37 points per game, Salinas offense is pretty good. Salinas 24-16

Fri 11/12 Palma (Salinas, CA) vs St. Ignatius (San Francisco, CA) at Salinas Sports Complex (Salinas, CA), 7:00pm D II Playoffs– Palma QB1 out. Not good, he was a good passer and a great runner, kept that offense moving. Arguably Palma’s best ground threat. With him out I don’t know if Palma can move the ball consistently. SI 21-18

Fri 11/12 Burlingame (CA) at San Benito (Hollister, CA), 7:00pm D II Playoffs – Hollister is a good team on both sides of the ball, and gave Salinas its biggest test in the Gabilan. This team has a very good chance to win the DII title. Hollister 34-24

Fri 11/12 Aptos (CA) at St. Francis (Mountain View, CA), 7:00pm D I Playoffs – Almost feel bad for Aptos, so close to hosting Burlingame in DII instead of going to the top team in NorCal. Aptos wing T could give some frustration to St. Francis, maybe keep the game close for a quarter or 2. But St. Francis will make any necessary adjustment and should win pretty easily. St. Francis 45-14

Sat 11/13 Alisal (Salinas, CA) at Sacred Heart Prep (Atherton, CA), 1:30pm D IV Playoffs- Congrats to Alisal who had a nice win last week to make the playoffs. This team is just to banged up to do much damage. SHP 24-7





Mission

Fri 11/12 Los Altos (CA) at Soquel (CA), 7:00pm D V Playoffs – Soquel had a nice 7 game win streak, and does a great job of exploiting the other teams weakness. They can run and pass well. Not going to blow you out but they will control the game. Soquel 28-14

Fri 11/12 Santa Cruz (CA) at Wilcox (Santa Clara, CA), 7:00pm D II Playoffs - We will find out if Santa Cruz is the real deal or just a product of a “easier” schedule. Wilcox is battle tested. Wilcox will punch SC in the mouth at first, but the Cardinal will bounce back. Santa Cruz 35-21

Sat 11/13 North Salinas (Salinas, CA) at San Mateo (CA), 7:00pm – Great Season for North Salinas, puled out game vs Carmel, Gilroy and Monterey to advance to the Playoffs. Not an overly impressive team. I will take San Mateo 28-24



Cypress

Fri 11/12 Scotts Valley (CA) at Leland (San Jose, CA), 7:00pm D III Playoffs – Like Santa Cruz, we will find out about Scott’s Valley really quick. All year long SV has relied on a great defense and a solid running game. That works vs teams like Pacific Grove and King City. Not sure how it will work vs an a A league (all be it Mt Hamilton). Leland 21-14

Santa Lucia

Fri 11/12 St. Francis (Watsonville, CA) at Cupertino (CA), 7:00pm D V Playoffs – After securing the division title in mid-July, the Sharks take the small but mighty show on the road. Cupertino looks like it was Tri Champion, no really impressive victories. Let’s go St. Francis 28-24



Bonus Picks – Rest off CCS

Division I-

Bellarmine (San Jose, CA) vs Los Gatos (CA)

Valley Christian (San Jose, CA) at Serra [Junipero] (San Mateo, CA)

Division II

Half Moon Bay (CA) at Menlo (Atherton, CA)

Division III

Leigh (San Jose, CA) vs Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco, CA)

Mountain View (CA) at Live Oak (Morgan Hill, CA)

Division IV

Milpitas (CA) at Homestead (Cupertino, CA)

Pioneer (San Jose, CA) at Santa Teresa (San Jose, CA)

Lincoln [Abraham] (San Jose, CA) at Hillsdale (San Mateo, CA)



DV

Hill [Andrew] (San Jose, CA) at Aragon (San Mateo, CA)

 

[aztecpadre]

Playoffs week 1


No RLS or Carmel, but I suppose the Playoffs still have to happen. The really big surprise with regards to PCAL teams was King City being upset by longtime foe Pacific Grove. That loss kept King City out of the playoffs. North Salinas edged Gilroy to claim the 3rd spot in in the Mission and the automatic playoff birth. The Gabilan received the maximum 6 bids to the post season. A couple of thoughts about the CCS playoffs:

• I like the way the CCS does it based on automatic qualifies and points to choose the field. It is not a perfect system, but I think it is better than other sections. I believe that no A league team should ever be placed in DV and I believe no B/C league team should be placed in DI unless they choose to (with the necessary points). Other than that the system works for me.
• What if Salinas (or Los Gatos) were to get through the DI playoffs (and St. Francis) and win the CCS title? Would they be even considered for the automatic Open qualifier? If they beat St. Francis head-to-head? Would it be enough to propel them past DLS and Rocklin?
• Palma losing QB1 at the end of the Salinas game to a broken collar bone is a shame. Kid is a great athlete; I hope he gets better for his baseball season. I would of like to see Palma advance in DII but without him they will be fortunate to get past the first round.

Gabilan-

Fri 11/12 Palo Alto (CA) at Christopher (Gilroy, CA), 7:00pm DIII Playoffs- Christopher beat who the were supposed to beat and lost to the big boys. They had 2 very close games with Live Oak and Hollister. Palo Alto lost big to the good teams and were upset by Homestead. Christopher 24-21

Fri 11/12 Menlo-Atherton (Atherton, CA) at Salinas (CA), 7:00pm D I Playoffs- I like this matchup. High Powered Offense of MA vs that nasty Salinas Defense. Both teams come in on winning streaks. I think Salinas will be able to slow down Menlo Atherton plus at 37 points per game, Salinas offense is pretty good. Salinas 24-16

Fri 11/12 Palma (Salinas, CA) vs St. Ignatius (San Francisco, CA) at Salinas Sports Complex (Salinas, CA), 7:00pm D II Playoffs– Palma QB1 out. Not good, he was a good passer and a great runner, kept that offense moving. Arguably Palma’s best ground threat. With him out I don’t know if Palma can move the ball consistently. SI 21-18

Fri 11/12 Burlingame (CA) at San Benito (Hollister, CA), 7:00pm D II Playoffs – Hollister is a good team on both sides of the ball, and gave Salinas its biggest test in the Gabilan. This team has a very good chance to win the DII title. Hollister 34-24

Fri 11/12 Aptos (CA) at St. Francis (Mountain View, CA), 7:00pm D I Playoffs – Almost feel bad for Aptos, so close to hosting Burlingame in DII instead of going to the top team in NorCal. Aptos wing T could give some frustration to St. Francis, maybe keep the game close for a quarter or 2. But St. Francis will make any necessary adjustment and should win pretty easily. St. Francis 45-14

Sat 11/13 Alisal (Salinas, CA) at Sacred Heart Prep (Atherton, CA), 1:30pm D IV Playoffs- Congrats to Alisal who had a nice win last week to make the playoffs. This team is just to banged up to do much damage. SHP 24-7





Mission

Fri 11/12 Los Altos (CA) at Soquel (CA), 7:00pm D V Playoffs – Soquel had a nice 7 game win streak, and does a great job of exploiting the other teams weakness. They can run and pass well. Not going to blow you out but they will control the game. Soquel 28-14

Fri 11/12 Santa Cruz (CA) at Wilcox (Santa Clara, CA), 7:00pm D II Playoffs - We will find out if Santa Cruz is the real deal or just a product of a “easier” schedule. Wilcox is battle tested. Wilcox will punch SC in the mouth at first, but the Cardinal will bounce back. Santa Cruz 35-21

Sat 11/13 North Salinas (Salinas, CA) at San Mateo (CA), 7:00pm – Great Season for North Salinas, puled out game vs Carmel, Gilroy and Monterey to advance to the Playoffs. Not an overly impressive team. I will take San Mateo 28-24



Cypress

Fri 11/12 Scotts Valley (CA) at Leland (San Jose, CA), 7:00pm D III Playoffs – Like Santa Cruz, we will find out about Scott’s Valley really quick. All year long SV has relied on a great defense and a solid running game. That works vs teams like Pacific Grove and King City. Not sure how it will work vs an a A league (all be it Mt Hamilton). Leland 21-14

Santa Lucia

Fri 11/12 St. Francis (Watsonville, CA) at Cupertino (CA), 7:00pm D V Playoffs – After securing the division title in mid-July, the Sharks take the small but mighty show on the road. Cupertino looks like it was Tri Champion, no really impressive victories. Let’s go St. Francis 28-24



Bonus Picks – Rest off CCS

Division I-

Bellarmine (San Jose, CA) vs Los Gatos (CA)

Valley Christian (San Jose, CA) at Serra [Junipero] (San Mateo, CA)

Division II

Half Moon Bay (CA) at Menlo (Atherton, CA)

Division III

Leigh (San Jose, CA) vs Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco, CA)

Mountain View (CA) at Live Oak (Morgan Hill, CA)

Division IV

Milpitas (CA) at Homestead (Cupertino, CA)

Pioneer (San Jose, CA) at Santa Teresa (San Jose, CA)

Lincoln [Abraham] (San Jose, CA) at Hillsdale (San Mateo, CA)



DV

Hill [Andrew] (San Jose, CA) at Aragon (San Mateo, CA)

Nice post. Well thought out. In the KC vs PG game, I have to believe that KC has to have had some players missing in that game. PG just did not look good at all when I watched them play. Unless they got some players that came in later in the year.

 

[RLS13]

Nice post. Well thought out. In the KC vs PG game, I have to believe that KC has to have had some players missing in that game. PG just did not look good at all when I watched them play. Unless they got some players that came in later in the year.

King City was at full strength, from what I understand, when the game started. But midway through 1st qtr(?) lost starting WR/S and long snapper (all the same kid). Consequently missed 2 extra points on bad snaps, forced to chase those points the rest of the game. Could not convert when needed. PG made the stops when needed. PG starting middle LB was out so they were thin coming in. KC just could not make the big play when necessary.

 

[Cal 14]

• I like the way the CCS does it based on automatic qualifies and points to choose the field. It is not a perfect system, but I think it is better than other sections. I believe that no A league team should ever be placed in DV and I believe no B/C league team should be placed in DI unless they choose to (with the necessary points). Other than that the system works for me.
• What if Salinas (or Los Gatos) were to get through the DI playoffs (and St. Francis) and win the CCS title? Would they be even considered for the automatic Open qualifier? If they beat St. Francis head-to-head? Would it be enough to propel them past DLS and Rocklin?
• Palma losing QB1 at the end of the Salinas game to a broken collar bone is a shame. Kid is a great athlete; I hope he gets better for his baseball season. I would of like to see Palma advance in DII but without him they will be fortunate to get past the first round.

In addition to this, I think they should use the Calpreps average rating of a league/division to determine A, B, and C status. They should use the same criteria that is used for out-of-section teams. If they did this, the Mt. Hamilton wouldn't even be close to A-league status. The current average rating is at - (yes, NEGATIVE) 0.9! That is horrible.

The way the seeds played out, I don't see either public school taking the D-I title. Early scenarios suggested that perhaps Serra could get the 4-seed, which would have meant that someone would only have had to beat one of them in the title game. Now, you've got to go through both and I don't see that happening. A Los Gatos-Serra semifinal could be really interesting, though. Remember that D-I #1 seed Oak Grove once got upset by Watsonville in the playoffs.

Not sure who Palma will peg as their new starting QB, but junior MatthewFuqua is showing to have 5 TDs in 25 passing attempts. That said, he has very few rushing yards. I do think that a full-strength Chieftain team wins this game, but it will be very tough right now.

 

[NorCalSportsFan]

In addition to this, I think they should use the Calpreps average rating of a league/division to determine A, B, and C status. They should use the same criteria that is used for out-of-section teams. If they did this, the Mt. Hamilton wouldn't even be close to A-league status. The current average rating is at - (yes, NEGATIVE) 0.9! That is horrible.

The way the seeds played out, I don't see either public school taking the D-I title. Early scenarios suggested that perhaps Serra could get the 4-seed, which would have meant that someone would only have had to beat one of them in the title game. Now, you've got to go through both and I don't see that happening. A Los Gatos-Serra semifinal could be really interesting, though. Remember that D-I #1 seed Oak Grove once got upset by Watsonville in the playoffs.

Not sure who Palma will peg as their new starting QB, but junior MatthewFuqua is showing to have 5 TDs in 25 passing attempts. That said, he has very few rushing yards. I do think that a full-strength Chieftain team wins this game, but it will be very tough right now.

Fuqua is a very good passer although not mobile as Rossi and not as live an arm. However he is very accurate. Without Rossi's mobility and also loss of center (or at least not 100%) line is diminished. Could be tough game for Palma on offense.

 

[Cal 14]

Hey @NorCalSportsFan, my pressure campaign has worked!

Name to officially change to Hollister

 

[FBAddict]

Hey @NorCalSportsFan, my pressure campaign has worked!

Name to officially change to Hollister

LOL - Good job!!!! BTW, does this mean that they are getting kick back from the other high school in SB county or possibly adding another high school in the county? Anzer is the only other public high school I see in the county but they are in a different school district.

 

[Cal 14]

LOL - Good job!!!! BTW, does this mean that they are getting kick back from the other high school in SB county or possibly adding another high school in the county? Anzer is the only other public high school I see in the county but they are in a different school district.

The original name of the school was (technically) San Benito County High School because Anzar didn't yet exist. It really was the only high school in the county. But, now, there is no reason for that moniker. All of the jerseys always said Hollister anyway. I don't think S.B. showed up on any of them. It was always clear they to me they wanted to be known as Hollister.

 

[NorCalSportsFan]

The original name of the school was (technically) San Benito County High School because Anzar didn't yet exist. It really was the only high school in the county. But, now, there is no reason for that moniker. All of the jerseys always said Hollister anyway. I don't think S.B. showed up on any of them. It was always clear they to me they wanted to be known as Hollister.

Great job! Always been Hollister Haybalers to me and looks like as well to students/players. I've referred to them as San Benito and just didn't sound right. At Palma it was always our rivalry with Hollister at the time. The rivalry preceded the one with Salinas with both the Balers and the Chieftains in the MTAL. Salinas today is probably a bigger rivalry because many of the players from the teams have competed or been teammates in youth leagues, but Hollister is on par or close.

 

[NorCalSportsFan]

By the way, I think the Salinas v Menlo Atherton game is going to be very close. MA may be a tough matchup on line and they have lots of playmakers and good QB. Salinas defense is very good, but they may not have MA's speed. Could be a 20s scoring game. Could be a one turnover determines the game type of game. Was thinking about going but couldn't leave early enough to miss terrible traffic to get there and game is streamed. Looks like all or most of the high profile games are streamed tonight. I had to park in the middle of cow pies on the race track at Rabobank last week at the Palma game. Biggest crowd I have ever seen there. The Pitt is probably going to be at full capacity tonight. That has got to be advantage Cowboys tonight but expect a close one in my opinion. Will be a great sign if Cowboys defense stifles MA and also if Cowboys have some offense.