HS Section Playoffs

[SuperHornet]

Anyone following their local HS Section Playoffs (or however your state organizes your schools)? We just had our first round in Divisions I-VI. Division VII will join in next week, because they only have eight qualifying schools, vice 12 for all the other divisions here in NorCal. (SoCal goes clear out to Division XII, so I have no idea how they reconcile that when we get to the North-vs.-South bowls.)

There are always questions regarding playoff selection, and there are many with our local Sac-Joaquin Section. Across the divisions, many four-win teams got in, and even one three-win team (I think all of those are already out, having lost in the first round), whereas some five-win teams were told to stay home. Our cross-town rivals was one of those. They finished 5-5, but I think the deciding factor, SOS aside, were the fact that they finished on a five-game losing streak and the fact that as a D-II school, based on school size, they lost to a D-IV school that DID make the playoffs.) Another interesting factor in our Section is the presence of mixed leagues; our Tri-City Athletic League, serving Lodi, Stockton, and Tracy, is mainly a D-II league, but contains two D-I teams. Under the rules, if a D-II school wins the league, they can be elevated to D-I for the playoffs (this happened this with Stockton-St. Mary's, and with several other schools across the divisions).

The good news is that my school DID earn a 9 seed, and got the nominal upset on the road against a school that was in our league when my mom and my step-dad attended our school. #9 Lodi High beat #8 Modesto-Downey. The dubious "reward" is a trip to #1 Modesto-Central Catholic. For the last two decades or more, Central Catholic has been one of the best teams regionally. I may or may not be overstating this, but I would equate it to Sac State at Notre Dame (something that was a Hornet team goal during the mid-to-late '90s, but never materialized).

Any of you guys get a scary playoff matchup like that? That's the nature of the playoffs, of course. And it leaves open the possibility of the huge upset, however unlikely. That's what I like about real playoffs; it makes it more fun than the "keep little guy out because it's OBVIOUS that the game will be a slaughter" mentality. And I hope that you guys see a similar thing going on in your area.

[CAA Flagship]

Anyone following their local HS Section Playoffs

Yes. The Todd Fraziers lost to the Mike Trouts 58-0. Any other questions?

[SuperHornet]

Anyone following their local HS Section Playoffs

Yes. The Todd Fraziers lost to the Mike Trouts 58-0. Any other questions?