After much anticipation, the CIF State Tournament brackets were released on Saturday night, and as usual, there were more than a few surprises. Now that some time has been allowed for the dust to settle, here’s a look at a few of the more interesting moves.
There are no sacrificial lambs in the Open Division
With just five Open Division teams in Northern California and six in Southern California, the committee opted not to fill up the field to its entirety. While there are certainly at least 16 high-caliber teams, if not far more, the Sierra Canyon's and Mater Dei's of the world stand above and beyond those outside of the top 11 or so. All of the teams in the Open Division were selected because they have a legitimate shot not only to compete, but to win.
Pump the brakes on the Central Section
Clovis West was rumored as a potential Open Division team, but after losing to San Joaquin Memorial in the Central Section Open Division Championship, they got knocked down to the eighth seed. Collectively, the Central Section teams were given lower seeds than in past years.
Piedmont got the short end of the stick
It seems that past Division I, there are more and more head-scratching decisions, and Piedmont’s position as the 13 seed in Division II is one of the most inexplicable of all. The Highlanders’ losses came to Bishop O’Dowd (twice), Branson and San Leandro (twice), and it seemed that a home game was in the works for the NCS Division IV champions. Instead, they’re packing their bags and heading to Stockton to take on a Weston Ranch team that should make for a phenomenal match-up, but one that should likely be in the East Bay rather than the Central Valley.
In addition to being a section champion, Piedmont is 47 spots ahead of the Cougars in MaxPreps’ rankings, and has a similar gap ahead of third-seeded Sacred Heart Prep and fifth-seeded Oakland Tech, both teams that did not win section titles. Piedmont also has a comfortable 16-point win over NCS Division 2 runner-up Alameda, yet the Hornets are just one spot behind.
Watch out for Foothill in Division III
A Northern Section Division III championship loss was a humbling experience for Foothill-Palo Cedro, and the Cougars won’t get to play in front of their raucous fans as a result. Still, watch out for them in Division III as the 11th seed. One of the most prolific offenses around, Foothill will travel to defensive-minded Palma on Tuesday night to open the tournament.
Competitive equity has its faults, but Division V looks like it should
With a mix of small towns and schools that haven’t experienced much success at this level, fixing Division V was one of the biggest reasons competitive equity became a necessity. The system clearly still has its flaws, which CIF commissioner Ron Nocetti hopes to work out, but it’s clear that the right teams are set up in Division V.
