Teams not in the West Catholic Athletic League have become sacrificial lambs in the Central Coast Section's Open Division playoffs.
Terra Nova was the top seed in name only in the Open Division after being beaten 26-7 by Valley Christian, seeing its 10-0 season end abruptly for the second straight season in this division.
Mitty blanked Palma 28-0 and Bellarmine ended Wilcox's season 31-19.
If Serra beats Pioneer on Saturday, it will be a clean sweep.
So why force teams into the Open Division?
Just make the Open Division the WCAL playoffs. Because St. Francis and St. Ignatius don't belong in the Division II or III playoffs either -- as evident by their lopsided first-round wins.
At some point, a program is going to say "No thanks."
John Devine has been writing about high school sports in Monterey County since, well, practically since he was an athlete at King City in the days just after leather helmets. In PrepNation, John has even more in-depth analysis of the latest results and news he's brought to you in The Herald and in his weekly videos.
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4 comments:
I would love a response JD..Why dont the WCAL teams belong in the other divisions of the playoffs??
I read your just for though article. I agree that a 2-8 team doesnt belong in the playoffs. But then you argue about the points. If it wasnt for the WCAL getting more points for being a "super League" then you would still see WCAL teams out of the Open and they would be better teams then a 2-8 StI team. You say no team in the WCAL should be below Div 1..Why is that because they are private schools? Just because your in a "super league" doesnt mean you are a super team. You argue about the MTAL being a C league well just because Carmel is a good team it doesnt mean the league is a good league. The MTAL is arguably the worst league in CCS. they definitely deserve a C ranking. If Carmel has a problem with that then they should leave the league. But I dont see them trying to do that.
Plain and Simple CCS playoffs are not a good format. It screws over privates and public schools. A poster on Norcalpreps had a very good proposal for CCS playoffs Ill try to find the link for it and post it on here.
Plain and simple, the public schools in the section need to get better. EBAL public schoolteams compete with the WCAL. No reason a Salinas High (same size and similar demographic) as some of the EBAL schools should be able to compete. It's called coaching and dedication.The WCAL teams in general aren't that loaded with talent. Yes they get a few and some years more than others, but the truth is the level of play in the public schools in CCS has been down. Some teams will cycle up (even Palma has had some down years but should cycl back the next two). Just look at the play of the teams in this area versus other publics and it is clear.
I like Cal14's proposal as well. It protects the small schools and most WCAL would stay in D1 and D2 where the WCALs, large public schools and Palma's will play. No reason Salinas shouldn't be able to compete with the Palo Alto's, Los Gatos...
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