The final piece of the puzzle fell into place for the new football divisions in the North Coast Section, when St. Bernard's-Eureka won its appeal on Monday to return to Division VI classification for the 2019 season.
The Crusaders had been classified in Division V due to competitive equity bylaws, but lost in the quarterfinals of the Division IV playoffs last season, and return just 15 players from last year's program, across all levels. Had they stayed in the Division V bracket, that would have meant being in the same playoff classification as fellow HDN-Big 4 schools such as Eureka and Fortuna, both schools of much larger enrollment and both teams which reached section title games last year, in Division III and Division IV, respectively.
"I appreciate the committee listening to President Shanahan's concerns and getting this decision right for the kids," said St. Bernard's coach Matt Tomlin. "Division VI is a perfect fit for our school and program, and we look forward to competing against traditionally great small school programs like Middletown, Fort Bragg and others."
Indeed, Division VI will feature last year's Division V champion, Middletown, along with a Moreau Catholic team which went unbeaten during the regular season and reached the Division IV title game, where it lost to Fortuna. Kennedy-Richmond is another program expected to contend in that classification.
There was just one team which petitioned to a higher division after the initial divisions were released, and that was Bishop O'Dowd. The Dragons petitioned to move up to Division III, after originally being placed in Division IV. That leaves programs such as Cardinal Newman and Marin Catholic as early favorites in Division IV, while O'Dowd, Rancho Cotate and Las Lomas will have targets on their back at the Division III level.
Moving St. Bernard's down to Division VI also adds slightly more balance to the divisions, which will feature eight-team playoff brackets, down from 16. Division V had been the largest classification with 18 teams, but will now drop to 17 teams while Division VI will increase to 14 teams. Division I now has the fewest number of teams, with 13, but also includes powerhouses such as De La Salle, Liberty, Pittsburg and San Ramon Valley.
Check back soon for a closer look at each new playoff division and what we can expect in the 2019 season.
