Foothill of Pleasanton joins the top five and Antioch joins the top 10, but otherwise there are few changes in this week’s honor roll. There also is one significant newcomer with Moreau Catholic taking the spot vacated by Rancho Cotate.
Note: For this week’s Gold Club post highlighting the State Top 25 overall rankings, CLICK HERE.
The CIF North Coast Section playoffs will have a very different flavor this year with the announcement last week that Marin Catholic has joined Cardinal Newman with each now opting to play in their enrollment (Division IV) for this year’s playoffs, and Miramonte deciding to go to its enrollment (Division III) based on the new CIF Bowl Game structure this season.
“The petitions have been received and once they are reviewed it will be official and I’ll post them on the web site,” NCS Associate Commissioner Karen Smith said on Monday morning.
The moves have real implications since Marin Catholic and Cardinal Newman have been in the thick of the Division III race every year since the NCS changed its football playoff structure in 2008, with Newman playing one year in Division II when it won the 2008 title.
Marin Catholic head coach Mazi Moayed has gone 12-1, 13-1, 14-2, 12-1 and 10-4 in his first five seasons. Photo: Bill Schneider/VarsityPix.
Miramonte, on the other hand, has been a Division II contender and won the 2013 championship.
All that jockeying is now out the window with the new playoff system that makes playing up to get on the old “board” unnecessary.
“For state bowl games we were previously classified as Division III,” Marin Catholic head coach Mazi Moayed said. “Now, with every team that wins a section championship advancing to a bowl game our goal is to get to the new Small School Open game and playing up didn’t make sense. Plus, our traditional rivals like Cardinal Newman are in D4.”
Serra gets a victory of sorts in suspension reductions
After losing all of its appeals, the sports programs at Serra of San Mateo earned a victory last week when a mediator got the CIF Central Coast Section and the school to agree that the playoff ban on the football team would be reduced from two years to one year, and probationary status for all other sports will be lifted by October.
According to a release last week by the CCS: “Serra’s school-wide athletics program is now considered to be in good standing.”
It all started back in December when Serra forfeited a consolation Open Division game with Milpitas out of concern for its players playing in what it felt was a meaningless game. The CCC has since done away with the consolation games.
(Previous ranking in parentheses)
(Through games of Saturday, Sept. 19)
One of the top players for St. Francis of Mountain View is senior RB Lutoviko Ahoia. Photo: Harold Abend.
1. (1) De La Salle (Concord) 3-1
2. (2) Bellarmine (San Jose) 3-0
3. (3) Clayton Valley (Concord) 3-1
4. (4) Serra (San Mateo) 2-1
5. (6) Foothill (Pleasanton) 4-0
6. (7) Monte Vista (Danville) 3-0
7. (5) Valley Christian (San Jose) 3-0
8. (8) Pittsburg 2-1
9. (10) St. Francis (Mountain View) 3-0
10. (11) Antioch 4-0
11. (9) Campolindo (Moraga) 3-1
12. (12) Freedom (Oakley) 3-1
13. (13) Palma (Salinas) 2-1
14. (14) Marin Catholic (Kentfield) 3-1
15. (15) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 3-0
16. (16) Archbishop Riordan (SF) 2-0
17. (17) James Logan (Union City) 3-1
18. (18) San Ramon Valley (Danville) 1-2
19. (19) California (San Ramon) 2-1
20. (20) Milpitas 1-2
21. (22) Miramonte (Orinda) 4-0
22. (21) Sacred Heart Prep (Atherton) 1-2
23. (23) Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) 1-2
24. (25) Amador Valley (Pleasanton) 2-1
25. (NR) Moreau Catholic (Hayward) 4-0
Dropped Out:
Previous No. 24 Rancho Cotate (Rohnert Park).
Teams On the Bubble
(Alphabetical order)
Analy (Sebastopol) 4-0, Aptos 1-2, Burlingame 3-0, Concord 3-1, Half Moon Bay 3-0, Liberty (Brentwood) 2-2, Los Gatos 0-2, McClymonds (Oakland) 3-0, Menlo School (Atherton) 2-1, Oak Grove (San Jose) 0-2, Palo Alto 1-2, Piedmont 3-1, Rancho Cotate (Rohnert Park) 2-1, San Benito (Hollister) 3-0, San Marin (Novato) 3-1, Wilcox (Santa Clara) 2-0, Windsor 2-1.
Harold Abend is the associate editor of CalHiSports.com and the vice president of the California Prep Sportswriters Association. He can be reached at marketingharoldabend@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @HaroldAbend
2 Comments
I would have Antioch ahead of Valley Christian based on common matchup. Both faced Milpitas and VC pulled out a win in final minute, while Antioch cruised to win. VC probably ranked to high and Antioch probably needs to move up. They have a RB that no team with exception of DLS can most likely contain.
Hi Mark,
We appreciate all the time and effort you put into these rankings. Miramonte has decided not to rescind it’s 2013 petition in Div II and will remain in the NCS Div II playoffs this year.