Talk about a loaded division in the making. Could D5 be one of the more competitive divisions top to bottom when it comes playoff time? Also add in D4 teams. Whew it’s going to be a fun watch!
SJS Division 5
- Thread starter NorcalFBDude
- Start date
Escalon and no other team! I saw them in scrimmage against Gregori. Escalon is Escalon plus this year! Their QB seriously looks like s lineman. I think they could win any division up to D3. With Manteca locked into D2. In my opinion they are just that good. No one in those lower divisions can stop their running game. And they have a good passing game. The kid that took over for Mark is killing it. Big shoes to fill. Mark most wins in SJS. Coach Al tied him I believe.
Escalon should have beat a really good Buchanan team. I believe they lost 41-40, they should be 2-0, and run the table through season. They are similar to Oakdale and CC, and will likely be bumped up to a higher Division, possibly D2 or D3. No way they stay D4 or D5 this post season. They can still compete in the higher division and win, they are that good this year.
I like bold early-season predictions.
I don't pay a lot of attention to the lower divisions for the most part since Monterey Trail is always D1-D2 (locked into D1 now). If nothing else, you have given me a focal point. Right or wrong, your post gives me something to reflect upon as the season progresses. Thanks.
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Wait they could bump them up to D4, D3, D2 for this postseason? I thought they were locked into D5 for this year. Regardless I do agree they could compete in 2,3,4.
Outside of Bakersfield Liberty and maybe Clovis West, the Central Section may be a bit down this year. Salinas has a game with Clovis which may further help gauge where the section is. The Cowboys should win it, but they did not fare very well at all in their last two meetings with the Cougars.
That said, a D-V team nearly taking out a D-I team is pretty big news. Buchanan isn't some obscure team without a history of success. Looking at the rest of Escalon's schedule, if they handle the next two games, I don't see anyone else challenging them for the rest of the regular season. For the postseason, I don't think there is a mechanism to move any team higher than 1 division higher than the league traditional placement. That should mean D-II and D-III are probably out of the question.
I just noticed last night that Sutter had jumped from the NS to the SJS. D-VI seems to be way too low of a placement for them. That's no ordinary small school.
That said, a D-V team nearly taking out a D-I team is pretty big news. Buchanan isn't some obscure team without a history of success. Looking at the rest of Escalon's schedule, if they handle the next two games, I don't see anyone else challenging them for the rest of the regular season. For the postseason, I don't think there is a mechanism to move any team higher than 1 division higher than the league traditional placement. That should mean D-II and D-III are probably out of the question.
I just noticed last night that Sutter had jumped from the NS to the SJS. D-VI seems to be way too low of a placement for them. That's no ordinary small school.
Escalon has 829 students and is headed next year to D3. They honestly belong in VOL at this point in their success as a State Championship caliber team year after year for a small school and have phenomenal local support.
Sutter (great support) has 749 students and belongs in D4, not D6. They stepped into the Sac-Joaquin section in the Pioner Valley with Colfax who is also now D6? Sutter is the highest ranked team in the PV and should dominate D6.
Sutter (great support) has 749 students and belongs in D4, not D6. They stepped into the Sac-Joaquin section in the Pioner Valley with Colfax who is also now D6? Sutter is the highest ranked team in the PV and should dominate D6.
So does that mean Escalon will be in the D4 playoffs this year? Because they are slated D5, idk that the section is going to bump them 2 divisions up 2 D3 next year. Also isn’t the PVL a D5 league? So doesn’t the winner play in D5 playoffs?
Leagues can have multiple divisions play in same league. Example VOL D3 league by enrollment has Central Catholic who now from their success is D1. Escalon is D5 this year. If they win Section, they will be moved up to D4, perhaps with no guarantee D3.
Actually by enrollment the VOL is D4. But designated as D3. Before the pushing up the winner of VOL played D3 the other playoff teams played D4. But now they could have a playoff team in D1,D2,D3 and D4.
Now on the moving Escolon to VOL is a good call. During lock down year they made their own league with them joining some VOL teams. If you added Hilmar in exchange for Kimball would make VOL by far the toughest medium school football in SJS! Oh wait it already is! Anyone know of a tougher one? Escalon my number 5 favorite high school team. Great atmosphere at home games. Good old Friday night lights!
Now on the moving Escolon to VOL is a good call. During lock down year they made their own league with them joining some VOL teams. If you added Hilmar in exchange for Kimball would make VOL by far the toughest medium school football in SJS! Oh wait it already is! Anyone know of a tougher one? Escalon my number 5 favorite high school team. Great atmosphere at home games. Good old Friday night lights!
This was last season breakdown.
80 teams will qualify for the playoffs. Those 80 teams will be divided into seven divisions. The six largest divisions (D1, D2, D3, D4, D5 and D6) will have brackets of 12 teams each. D7 will have a eight team bracket. The 12 schools with the largest enrollments will be Division I. The next 12 schools will be Division II. The next 12 schools will be Division III. The next 12 schools will be Division IV. The next 12 schools will be Division V. The next 12 schools will be Division VI. The smallest 8 schools will be in Division VII. * NOTE: Del Oro must be no lower than Division I. **NOTE: Vacaville, Tracy, Whitney, Elk Grove, St. Mary’s and Central Catholic must be no lower than Division II. *** NOTE: Christian Brothers, Manteca, Oakdale and Sacramento must be no lower than Division III. ****NOTE: Kimball, Sierra, El Camino, Rio Linda, Placer and Weston Ranch must be no lower than Division IV. ***** NOTE: Hilmar, Natomas, Mesa Verde and Ripon must be no lower than Division V. ****** NOTE: Argonaut, Bradshaw Christian, Modesto Christian and Summerville must be no lower than Division VI
80 teams will qualify for the playoffs. Those 80 teams will be divided into seven divisions. The six largest divisions (D1, D2, D3, D4, D5 and D6) will have brackets of 12 teams each. D7 will have a eight team bracket. The 12 schools with the largest enrollments will be Division I. The next 12 schools will be Division II. The next 12 schools will be Division III. The next 12 schools will be Division IV. The next 12 schools will be Division V. The next 12 schools will be Division VI. The smallest 8 schools will be in Division VII. * NOTE: Del Oro must be no lower than Division I. **NOTE: Vacaville, Tracy, Whitney, Elk Grove, St. Mary’s and Central Catholic must be no lower than Division II. *** NOTE: Christian Brothers, Manteca, Oakdale and Sacramento must be no lower than Division III. ****NOTE: Kimball, Sierra, El Camino, Rio Linda, Placer and Weston Ranch must be no lower than Division IV. ***** NOTE: Hilmar, Natomas, Mesa Verde and Ripon must be no lower than Division V. ****** NOTE: Argonaut, Bradshaw Christian, Modesto Christian and Summerville must be no lower than Division VI
That was an impressive performance. Super impressive. It's too bad they didn't manage to win it,
Agreed. Way too low. IDC about enrollment. Sutter is a proven juggernaut. Perhaps being in the SJS might change that a bit, but I don't suspect it will.
Is there any chance Sutter and Escalon can end up in the same postseason bracket? That'd be a great match up to see.
This year they are locked into D5. Most likely moved up next year. But , they can be moved up for state bowl games. But I would fact check me. I am the victim of a public school education.
On the moved up thing. In my opinion CC should only be D2. And Oakdale and Manteca should both be in D3. That is where they are most competitive. And both Hilmar and Escolon should be D4. I am only familiar with football in the southern part of SJS. But Sutter moving to SJS is good fit. I have talked to a couple of Sutter parents. They played Oakdale in playoffs. I compare them to Placer. And they are D4 D3 line. So Sutter should be around there.
Central Catholic being moved to D1 is pretty justified. Last season's playoffs proved that. Monterey Trail moved down to D2 in a statistical fluke, then rolled their side of the bracket. MT never should have been there. Central Catholic has been bullying their way up the ladder for a while. When they beat MT, it made it clear that they needed to step up to the next rung immediately.
Besides, D2 is way too competitive. Too many schools are locked into that division and can't push down to D3. Decent teams are getting squeezed out of the playoffs while much lower-rated teams are making it into the D1 and D3 brackets. As an example, last year Laguna Creek beat McClatchy head to head and was rated higher, but McClatchy went to the playoffs in D1 and LC was not even close to getting into D2. Stagg finished 2nd in their league, beat Chavez head-to-head, and were higher rated, but Chavez went to the playoffs in D1 and Stagg stayed home. Cosumnes Oaks had a big win over Capital Christian, was rated ahead of both LC and Stagg, but didn't make it into D2. Had MT and CC been locked into D1, as they are now, then COHS and Stagg would have been in the playoffs in a wide-open D2 field.
Does the section take calpreps rating into consideration to much? Should they go back to strictly enrollment based playoffs? Separate public and private? Take a regular season game out and make it 16 team brackets for playoffs? Is it time for Super leagues and get rid of the geographically centered leagues. I’m just throwing things at the wall here.
There probably needs to be a bit of a re-do, yes. However, I'm not sure how much they are going to change the playoff format in this realignment cycle. They changed it back in 2009, then tweaked it along the way. It wasn't until 2018 that they made more significant changes with that realignment. They might not do much this time, but then really take it apart in the next cycle. Who knows? It's an interesting thought. I'll check in with a couple AD's and get their take.
Update: There is active discussion about how the divisions will work for the playoffs. Too early to say what the changes might be, but they are looking to address many of the issues alluded to. Whether this results in minor tweaks or a major overhaul is still to be determined.
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