The highest ranked teams to lose in section playoff openers were No. 14 Napa and No. 17 Roseville, but you can’t call either loss an upset. The only newcomer is Inderkum of Sacramento, which is playing No. 3 Sacramento in a Division II quarterfinal.
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Some of the first round matchups in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs last Thursday and Friday were expected to be blowouts, but some of them were hard to stomach, especially Loomis Del Oro’s 79-0 romp past Laguna Creek in Division II, Folsom winning 78-6 over Kennedy of Sacramento in Division I and Stockton St. Mary’s beating Modesto 64-7 also in D1.
Still, there were a handful of matchups in which the higher-seeded team won.
In Division I, No. 9 Sheldon of Sacramento ventured to Napa Memorial Stadium and beat host and No. 8 seed Napa 37-28 while No. 11 seed Cosumnes Oaks topped No. 6 Davis 28-26. And in Division II, No. 10 seed Vacaville beat No. 7 Roseville 52-20.
None of those results could really be called upsets. In the Cal-Hi Sports’ section rankings, Vacaville already was in front of Roseville, Sheldon was only a couple of spots lower than Napa and it was the same for Cosumnes Oaks compared to Davis.
What the first round really accomplishes is that it helps build momentum toward expected matchups between top teams in the semifinals and finals. Next week’s D1 semifinals could see our section No. 1, St. Mary’s, play No. 4 Oak Ridge with No. 2 Folsom meeting No. 5 Elk Grove. And in D2, the semis could pit No. 3 Sacramento vs. No. 12 Central Catholic and No. 6 Del Oro vs. No. 7 Antelope.
There’s a good chance, though, that one or two of those projected matchups may not happen. In the playoffs, now that the first round is out of the way, upsets do happen.
Vacaville’s Mike Papadopolous has had a lot of experience guiding deep playoff runs for his teams. Photo: Mark Tennis.
(After games of Saturday, Nov. 12)
(Previous ranking in parentheses)
1. (1) St. Mary’s (Stockton) 10-1
2. (2) Folsom 10-1
3. (3) Sacramento 10-1
4. (4) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 9-2
5. (5) Elk Grove 10-1
6. (6) Del Oro (Loomis) 9-2
7. (7) Antelope 11-0
8. (8) Turlock 9-2
9. (9) Manteca 10-1
10. (10) Sonora 11-0
11. (11) Oakdale 9-2
12. (12) Central Catholic (Modesto) 8-3
13. (13) Pitman (Turlock) 10-1
14. (15) Jesuit (Carmichael) 8-3
15. (18) Sheldon (Sacramento) 8-3
16. (14) Napa 7-4*
17. (16) Vacaville 8-3
18. (19) Grant (Sacramento) 8-3
19. (17) Roseville 9-2*
20. (21) Cosumnes Oaks (Elk Grove) 8-3
21. (23) American Canyon 10-1
22. (25) Christian Brothers (Sacramento) 9-2
23. (20) Davis 5-6*
24. (NR) Inderkum (Sacramento) 9-2
25. (24) Monterey Trail (Elk Grove) 5-6*
*Season complete.
Dropped Out:
Previous No. 22 Tracy.
