In this salute to teams we have categorized as medium or small schools based on competitive equity, enrollment and other factors, it’s a new feature this season pointing the spotlight on two of them each week who just had impressive outings on the football field. Congrats to new school Liberty of Winchester (medium) & St. Vincent de Paul of Petaluma (small).
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Cal-Hi Sports Insider Blog
Quick-hitting, behind-the-scenes news and notes from the CalHiSports.com staff, including previews of upcoming content and events.
Medium/Small School Teams of Week
NFL Cuts Show How Hard It Is To Make A 53-Man Roster
This following list of players released on Tuesday by NFL teams is simply meant as a lesson as to how difficult it is to land on a 53-man roster to start a season. Injuries and other factors can all help limit a player’s development and of course just getting released one time doesn’t mean a player can’t come back at a later time and stick on a different roster for a different team.
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Medium/Small School Teams of Week
In this salute to teams we have categorized as medium or small schools based on competitive equity, enrollment and other factors, it’s a new feature this season pointing the spotlight on two of them each week who just had impressive outings on the football field. Congrats to Ayala of Chino Hills (medium) and Escalon (small).
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Medium/Small School Teams of Week
In this salute to teams we have categorized as medium or small schools based on competitive equity, enrollment and other factors, it’s a new feature this season pointing the spotlight on two of them each week who just recorded big wins on the football field. Congrats to Hanford (medium) and St. Pius X-St. Matthias (small).
Note: We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. After the preseason, all weekly and final state rankings are available only to our Gold Club members. To check out getting a Gold Club membership to see all of those rankings plus all of our updated state football record lists, totally authentic historical features, recruiting player ratings and more, CLICK HERE.
Slide from Hanford football team after it notched win last week vs Bullard. Photo: @FootballHanford.
Medium Schools – Hanford
Although it’s now more of a probability that the Bullpups will be in the same CIF Central Section playoff division as large school heavyweights Liberty of Bakersfield, Central of Fresno and Buchanan of Clovis, they are traditionally considered “medium school” and deserve attention for getting a big win last Friday over Bullard of Fresno.
Bullard came into the game after winning the 2021 Central Section D2 title and losing in a competitive NorCal D2-AA regional final to Central Catholic of Modesto. Hanford was in the section D1 playoffs last year as well and lost in the first round 62-12 to Central. This year, that bracket has been expanded to 12 teams from eight so the odds of the Bullpups being back in D1 instead of D2 where they more naturally belong are quite high, especially after beating Bullard.
A main reason for Hanford’s success last season (7-2) and in the win over the Knights is the play of QB Cayden Muir. The senior who passed for 2,259 yards and 26 TDs started strong by hitting on 23 of 33 passes for 371 yards and three TDs. Two sophomores also stepped up on offense as Albert Richardson rushed for 70 yards on 10 carries and scored twice while Kourdey Glass caught three passes for 125 yards and one score.
Defensively, Hanford’s leaders were senior DB D’Artangian Martin with 11 tackles and one sack and senior LB Brak Hill with 10 tackles and one sack. Head coach Cannon Sanchez’s squad will play this week at 1-0 Buhach Colony of Atwater (CIF Sac-Joaquin Section).
Devah Thomas talks to St. Pius X-St. Matthias players after CIFSS D7 quarterfinal playoff win last season. Photo: Twitter.com.
In the current world of competitive equity, just 10 years ago the thought of a small school like St. Pius X-St. Matthias even being competitive with a traditional CIF L.A. City large school like Banning of Wilmington would have seemed impossible.
St. Pius X-St. Matthias, in fact, only started fielding teams as a small private school in 2017. Head coach Todd Butler had the program at 12-1 by 2019 and now head coach Devah Thomas has them aiming for a high CIF Southern Section playoff placement in Division 6 or even higher.
The Warriors, who still qualify as a small school for state ranking purposes, opened their season against Banning last Friday and throttled the Pilots 41-3.
The team’s ability to strike quickly was on full display vs Banning. In the first quarter, St. Pius X-St. Matthias scored on a 60-yard pass play from Dieter Barr to Jordan Shaw. Banning responded with a field goal, but on the ensuing kickoff it was Deshun Powell who took it back 85 yards for a touchdown. Banning then went three-and-out and on the ensuing punt Shaw grabbed the ball at the 50-yard line and ran it in for another score. Shaw also had a 53-yard TD reception from Barr in the second quarter.
The Warriors will look to improve to 2-0 later this week against Muir of Pasadena. The Mustangs have a lot of talent as usual, but will be trying to bounce back from a 10-0 loss to Northview of Covina.
Boys BB: Major Showcase Schedules
In November, we will begin the release of our preseason 2022-23 Cal-Hi Sports boys basketball state rankings. As a preview to how things could shake out, here is a list of the major 2022-23 tournaments and classics involving California teams that figure to be ranked. The 2022-23 season officially begins November 14. The CIF state basketball championships are scheduled to take place March 10-11, 2023.
Bill Russell & the Greatest of All-Time in every CIF sport
With the death on Sunday at age 88 of NBA icon Bill Russell, the tributes to him include being called perhaps the greatest team sports champion of all-time since he was part of 11 NBA titles for the Boston Celtics. Russell played as a high schooler at McClymonds of Oakland (where one of his teammates was baseball Hall of Famer Frank Robinson). There’s no doubt that Russell would still go down as the greatest basketball player ever who is from a California high school. Here’s a sport-by-sport list of those we would rank No. 1 for each one:
FOR A LOOK AT OUR ALL-TIME 100 GREATEST ATHLETES (MEN) FROM CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOLS, CLICK HERE.
Baseball: Jackie Robinson (Muir, Pasadena)
His number of course is retired throughout every team in Major League Baseball. At the All-Star Game in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago, his widow, Rachel Robinson, was celebrated for her 100th birthday.
Bill Russell is shown showing off many of his NBA championship rings. Photo: SteinerSports.com.
Basketball: Bill Russell (McClymonds, Oakland)
In the announcement by his family upon his death, a reference was made to Bill having won two state championships in high school. It’s a tough time, but we don’t know where that comes from. McClymonds did not win state titles in those early 1950s seasons (the playoffs didn’t exist) and other teams in the state were ranked higher.
Diving: Greg Louganis (Valhalla, El Cajon)
An Olympic champion from 1984 and 1988, Louganis is still generally No. 1 on lists of the greatest divers in U.S. history.
Football: Tom Brady (Serra, San Mateo)
Winner of seven Super Bowls, Brady is beginning his 23rd season in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Bucs. Most of his career, of course, was with the New England Patriots.
Golf: Tiger Woods (Western, Anaheim)
He probably won’t set the record for most major tourney wins, but is easily the most prominent golfer ever from the Golden State.
Soccer: Landon Donovan (Redlands East Valley)
The Major League Soccer MVP Award is named for him (similar to the NBA naming its Finals MVP after Bill Russell).
Swimming: Mark Spitz (Santa Clara)
People forget how good he was in the 1968 Olympics because in 1972 he won seven gold medals.
Tennis: Pete Sampras (Palos Verdes, PV Estates)
He was once in the discussion for greatest ever in his sport, but has been surpassed in recent years by players like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Track & Field: Bob Mathias (Tulare)
After winning the Olympic gold medal in the decathlon a couple of months after graduating from high school in 1948, Mathias returned in 1952 to the Olympics and won the gold again.
Volleyball: Karch Kiraly (Santa Barbara)
This statement would be the same for beach volleyball as well as indoors for USA national teams. That’s how great Karch was.
Water Polo: Tony Azevedo (Wilson, Long Beach)
He went to Olympics five times from 2000 to 2016 and ranks top five in the sport at the Games for all-time goals scored.
Wrestling: Dave Schultz (Palo Alto)
Unfortunately, he’s known for being murdered by an eccentric millionaire in 1996, but Schultz won seven world championships is still regarded as one of the best wrestlers in USA history.
All-State Baseball: Patch List 2
All-State baseball patches for any player named to any of our annual all-state teams can order a souvenir patch with certificate of recognition through our partner at BillyTees.com.
For those just interested in seeing the names of players who are on the Gold Club post for this year’s All-State second and third teams for baseball 2022 without having to sign up as a subscriber, here is a simple alphabetical list. If you want the full presentation and are not Gold Club, please check out getting a membership today.
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All-State Baseball Patch List 1
All-State baseball patches for any player named to any of our annual all-state teams can order a souvenir patch with certificate of recognition through our partner at BillyTees.com.
For those just interested in seeing the names of players who are on the Gold Club post for this year’s All-State Underclass teams for baseball 2022 without having to sign up as a subscriber, here is a simple alphabetical list. If you want the full presentation and are not Gold Club, please check out getting a membership today.
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All-State Softball Patch List 2
All-State softball patches for any player named to any of our annual all-state teams can order a souvenir patch with certificate of recognition through our partner at BillyTees.com.
For those just interested in seeing the names of players who are on the Gold Club post for this year’s All-State second and third teams for softball 2022 without having to sign up as a subscriber, here is a simple alphabetical list. If you want the full presentation and are not Gold Club, please check out getting a membership today.
Read more…
All-State Softball Patch List 1
All-State softball patches for any player named to any of our annual all-state teams can order a souvenir patch with certificate of recognition through our partner at BillyTees.com.
For those just interested in seeing the names of players who are on the Gold Club post for this year’s All-State Underclass Teams for softball 2022 without having to sign up as a subscriber, here is a simple alphabetical list. If you want the full presentation and are not Gold Club, please check out getting a membership today.
Read more…
