California state high school football matchups: Did CIF get the choices right?
Serra becomes the first CCS team selected for the state Open championship game, but was De La Salle the better choice?
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Serra picked to be NorCal Open rep
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Congratulations to Serra, but the explanation that SF beat DLS, and Serra beat SF while omitting that SF whipped Serra soundly the first time and DLS didn't get a second chance like Serra did brings a smile to my face. I understand the DLS fatigue, so I'll be behind Serra all the way. If Mahasin was available I'd be more ok with it.California state high school football matchups: Did CIF get the choices right?
Serra becomes the first CCS team selected for the state Open championship game, but was De La Salle the better choice?
Little known fact in case the media doesn’t catch it or report it in the next 2 weeks. Tom Brady, yes that Tom Brady, Barry Bonds, Lynn Swan and Jim Fregosi all went to Serra Hjgh.California state high school football matchups: Did CIF get the choices right?
Serra becomes the first CCS team selected for the state Open championship game, but was De La Salle the better choice?
That's Lynn Swann with 2 "n's" both names. Also Tom Scott drafted by the Detroit Lions, but opted for the Canadian Football League where he played 10 seasons being selected All League 5 of them & in the Canadian League Hall of Fame, Jesse Frietas Jr. QB who set records at San Diego State and played breifly for the San Diego Chargers behind Dan Fouts of St. Ignatius.
* Swann, Scott and Freitas were all on the '69 team ranked #1 in NorCal [3 future pro's]. Swann & Scott both went to the CA state track meet with Swann in the long jump [won state] and Scott in the then 100 yard sprint.
** Tom Scott still holds the Serra record for most yards in pass receptions in a game - 8 passes for 257 yards vs St. Francis some 50 years ago..... Amazing!
This is not a little known fact. Many times in various contexts these well-known Serra athletes have been noted, and no doubt in the state bowl game they will be again.
One Bay Area scribe has described this year's Serra unit as "rag tag." Interesting analysis. The Padres suited up nearly 100 guys Friday night at Westmont. They seemed properly dressed and organized. And, somehow, against the odds, they won.
Here's a little known fact: A Serra football varsity last went unbeaten in 1954 when the Padres did not have a true home field or a proper practice field at their original campus adjacent to the Hillsborough border. They went 9-0 under the guidance of Coach Jesse Freitas. Their star running back was Jim Jackson. Their star LB was Bob Lotti. They beat Bellarmine for the first time, 13-12. They defeated Marin Catholic, St. Mary's (B), Riordan and St. Elizabeth's for the old CAL title. Times have changed.
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IMO they got this selection right.
We have to use the data we have. Doesn’t matter that Serra lost to SF by a larger deficit than DLS. The fact is, they also have a W over that same team and DLS does not.
What DLS might have done in a rematch is immaterial. Because they didn’t get one. Serra did and won it.
Also, DLS had a 2nd loss. Serra didn’t. Sure it was to a Nat’l power, but still another loss. And not a close loss.
Serra’s resume was better thus the Open bid earned.
Now I just hope they can somehow give MD a game.
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A mulligan is a mulligan.A do over doesnt make your resume better.But Ive got no problem with Serra in the Open.But if the roles were reversed you'd be srceaming bloody murder.Thats why people didnt want a DLS/SF playoff rematch.DLS has wins over the SJS D! Champ(Folsom)theSDS Champ(Cathedral Catholic)and the NCSD! Champ(Pittsburg). Serra beat SF in a rematch.By any OBJECTIVE measure DLS has the better resume.And I know you dont like DLS,so you'll justify it any way you can.And I get the DLS fatigue,and the desire to see someone in the OPEN besides DLS.THats also the "data we have".I guess scheduling doesnt matter either? Ridiculous to hold the ST Frances MD loss against DLS. Having said that,I got no issue with Serra in the OPEN,its just that it wasnt based on a superior resume,it was based on DLS fatigue.
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Once again CCS booster lazily punishing teams that schedule up. W/L must take precedence. And no, Serra is not somehow going to give MD a game.
Serra’s resume is nowhere near better. They barely beat A SF team that didn’t even have their best player on the field the last 5 mins of the game. Does it really matter who goes to the open? Nobody want to see DLS vs Folsom again. So I think they should of just gave the open to Folsom and let us see DLS vs Serra. And to hope they can somehow give MD a game all depends on what you consider a game. If they can keep it within 4-5 td’s I would call it a good showing. You can load that team with all the best players in the WCAL and they won’t be inside 2 td’s. MHO.
It’s one thing to pick Serra, it’s another to make a statement saying it’s based off DLS having a “2nd loss”.
So to clarify your post above, you’d have selected DLS if they didn’t have a second loss? Next year the Spartans should drop their top-notch schedule and victories over 3 teams who are all still playing this coming weekend, and instead schedule teams like Half Moon Bay (that’s Serra’s impressive Non League win that you seem to value over DLS’ second loss , to SF Maryland who just beat IMG)
Personally I would have preferred to see DLS vs Mater Dei as I just think they match up a bit better than Serra.
The game I would have liked to see most is Serra vs DLS and if not then Serra vs Folsom. Early on many fans werre disappointed with the cancelation of the Serra-Pitt game which would have helped Serra's resume IF they won.
Calpreps has DLS showing a slightly stronger schedule, however their opponents W/L record for DLS is 99/42 while Serra's is 77/59 which is quite a disparity. The margins of victory along with points allowed etc. all seem to favor the Spartans as well. So on paper DLS would seem to have the edge, but then again CalPreps computer projected St. Francis to win over Serra a 2nd time by 10-points.
The game I would have liked to see most is Serra vs DLS and if not then Serra vs Folsom. Early on many fans werre disappointed with the cancelation of the Serra-Pitt game which would have helped Serra's resume IF they won.
Calpreps has DLS showing a slightly stronger schedule, however their opponents W/L record for DLS is 99/42 while Serra's is 77/59 which is quite a disparity. The margins of victory along with points allowed etc. all seem to favor the Spartans as well. So on paper DLS would seem to have the edge, but then again CalPreps computer projected St. Francis to win over Serra a 2nd time by 10-points.
Here's the Calpreps projection:
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA) 48, [2021] Serra [Junipero] (San Mateo, CA) 3
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA) 48, [2021] Serra [Junipero] (San Mateo, CA) 3
He is saying DLS has a second loss. And you can't just say "well it was against a great team!" That lacks context.
They were never in the game and got the brakes blown off them. That means something.
That, taken into account with Serra beating SF, who beat DLS, propelled Serra to the OPEN. Live with it.
Four more notable Padres: Danny Frisella, Gregg Jefferies, David Bakhtiari and John Robinson.
David Bakhtiari, Matt Dickerson and John Robinson (former USC and Rams coach), too.
Not surprising - I'm guessing the score will be higher. Walsh and company will have to bring their AAA+++++ game! If lower ranked teams, like VC, can throw 30 on Serra, MD will be that much more successful high scores. Off the cuff guess - MD 56 ~ JS 10 - and maybe JS will get another junk time TD.
Serra was solid on run defense last Friday night. But other scores throughout the season suggest Serra might be vulnerable to a good passing attack. Against MD, Serra must be stellar on both pass and rush defense. And that is not giving any consideration of Serra's ability to move the ball against Mater Dei's defense.
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Mater Dei collects an incredible amount of talent. It is a mismatch for almost any high school team.
The game that still astounds me was MD's season opener with Duncanville, TX. The game was pretty much over in the first quarter with an ending score of 45-3. I knew MD was good this year but figured Duncanville was having a down year. No, Duncanville is still going strong in the Texas 6A play-offs with MD being their only loss this season. Duncanville is rated #7 in the country by CalPreps.
Speaking of Calpreps data, MD has SOS rating of 73.5 which is an AVERAGE of 8th in the nation. Wins of #2x2, #3, #4, #7, #14, #33, #46, #120, #194 and #2911 with an average score of 46-13 make a powerful statement.
No, as I said in two posts now, my main reasoning for Serra was they own a win over the team both they and DLS lost to. That’s a separator. The 2nd loss is just another piece of criteria to consider.
Everything matters.
As for your comments about DLS dropping their “top notch” schedule — whatever.
I mean, no team should get rewarded just for scheduling. The results still matter.
There are inherent risks of scheduling up. If you win, you get a huge bump. But there’s greater risk of losing.
There are risks of not scheduling up. Go undefeated and play nobody and you could get edged out by a team that scheduled up yet performed just as well or better.
That‘s why 2008 Grant Union beat out DLS. That’s why 2006 DLS beat out Grant Union. That’s why DLS beat out Folsom every year Folsom went undefeated.
In this instance, DLS didn’t play an especially competitive game against SFA. They were down 28 when SFA put it on cruise control.
Had DLS won that game or had the game been competitive and closely contested, it would surely be a very positive factor to weigh against the win Serra has over SF that DLS doesn’t have. But that didn’t happen. Simply scheduling the game doesn’t provide the necessary kick to overcome.
Suppose Folsom only had the one loss to DLS this season. Would you be arguing for them to go Open over Serra right now simply because they scheduled a “top notch“ opponent in DLS that Serra didn’t? I very much doubt it.
Folsom played a non-competitive game against DLS and wouldn’t be deserving over a 1-loss Serra who had a better W on their resume.
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I fear this is not going to be much of a contest. MD at at least 5 TD’S. I think DLS would have better better choice for both teams. MD has too much speed and talent.
I’m not sure I’ve come across someone with a bigger loser mentality. I would never ever ever never tell my players “ it’s better to take the easy road”. I’m sorry I can’t rap me head around your thinking. Please tell me your not a mentor of any kind to kids. This is the mentality that Folsom has had for years. NOT a good look.
In 2008 Grant also Had 2 wins over state Champs, one from Utah and another one, So Grant actually had a Really good Argument in 2008 and the committee made the right choice….
The OOS Loss had nothing to do with this, it was Simply the Fact DLS lost for the first time in 30 years to a Nor Cal Team that put Serra in….
Because if DLS had Pulled that game out against SF, DLS would be in the Open and it wouldn’t even be a discussion…. No one would be lobbying for Serra or Anyone else and the SFA loss would be meaningless…..
The Committee saw a crack and kicked the door open to let someone else in….
What’s a shame is One Team is being penalized for playing a great schedule and the other team is being rewarded for playing a Garbage Schedule….
This is a Poor Decision anyway you Slice it…. Your Reward for Beating 3 Section Champs by 3 TD’s Each???…. A Chance to possibly play 2 of Them Again…. All because you had 1- 3 point loss to a Nor Cal Team….
There is no Justification for Serra to be in The Open…. Serra Recently Lost To A Nor Cal Team By 23 Points…. How Could They Possibly Be “The Best Team In Nor Cal”???…..
The way the current landscape is and has been in SoCal/Trinity the past 7 years or so, nobody from NorCal is going to seriously compete with them. Hell, nobody IN SoCal outside of Centennial-Corona is competing with the top Trinity teams.
99% of all HS programs in America aren’t competing with them. Unless you’ve got a National top 10 team, fuggedaboutit.
Having said that, earning an appearance in the Open game is an accomplishment. Serra has earned it. They deserve the opportunity.
It shouldn’t be about who we think matches up better. It should be about which team earned it most.
Not only that, Serra showed themselves capable of competing with SF as well as DLS did. So perhaps they’ll compete with MD as well as DLS would have.
They do present some challenges DLS couldn’t, such as gifted dual threat QB.
Whichever team got the bid was going to be a sacrificial lamb regardless. The last 3 games DLS played in the Open was decided by an average of 22 points. Over 3 TD’s.
If Serra loses by 4 or 5 TD’s instead, does it really matter?
You’re missing my point.
Grant Union is an example of scheduling up that worked out. However just scheduling the games wasn’t enough.
Had they lost to Alta or Highland, even close losses, and it likely wouldn’t have been enough to overcome DLS for Open. But those wins were enough to counter DLS’ resume.
Where are the Spartans big wins to counter Serra’s win over a team that defeated DLS? The best win they’ve got is over Cathedral who isn’t definitively better or worse than SF.
One team is an 11-1 section champ and the other is a 10-2 section champ. The extra loss and severity of it absolutely should factor in somewhere.
Had DLS won that game it surely would have boosted their resume (and likely vaulted them into Open), so why shouldn’t the non-competitive loss be an additional separator between two deserving section champs?
It shouldn’t only work in one-direction. It makes no sense to consider the game as a win-win situation where losing in a non-competitive fashion somehow makes it not count.
In the end, Serra has the best W — a W that happens to be over a team that beat DLS.
That’s separator 1. The next separator is a 2nd loss. A non-competitive loss.
You can disagree all you want. But these aren’t unreasonable separators and are typically and widely used across a myriad of examples.
Does. Not. Matter.
Furthermore, I sure hope you and those sharing this limited type of thinking aren’t those crying Argentina over Cincinnati (and the Boise’s, UCF’s, TCU’s, and Baylor’s before them) getting bypassed for blueblood college programs. Because that’d make you a gigantic hypocrite.
History and name recognition absolutely should not factor in at all. Only what occurred on the field during the relevant season at hand.
I’ll bet dollars to donuts if you didn’t know which team was which and were presented with Team A’s resume and Team B’s resume — your opinion(s) would often differ. But knowing the names of the teams involved clouds your judgement.
I rest my case.
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Is this about sending the best team or best optics for a team? The CIF and their playoff system are idiotic
I’ll end my participation in arguing this one singular point by simply saying, Serra got in. DLS didn’t. That’s the reality. Some agree, some don’t. The rest of this is just smoke-filled coffeehouse crap.
As you were gentlemen.
As you were gentlemen.
DLS is only the best team by your own subjective opinion. They aren’t by others subjective opinion. They also aren’t conclusively better by the collection of on-field result measurements.
But have fun crying over something that is far from fact.
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