{"id":8715946,"date":"2023-01-13T13:00:24","date_gmt":"2023-01-13T21:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/?p=8715946&preview=true&preview_id=8715946"},"modified":"2023-01-13T14:43:37","modified_gmt":"2023-01-13T22:43:37","slug":"sabedra-more-smart-changes-coming-to-a-bay-area-high-school-football-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2023\/01\/13\/sabedra-more-smart-changes-coming-to-a-bay-area-high-school-football-league\/","title":{"rendered":"Sabedra: More smart changes coming to a prominent Bay Area high school football league"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paul Rosa coaches football at Wilcox High. His teams have been among the Central Coast Section\u2019s best since he took over the Santa Clara school\u2019s program in 2015.<\/p>\n

Given the success, Rosa could keep his ideas to himself and toot his horn about all the one-sided victories that his teams have piled up.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not him.<\/p>\n

Rosa doesn\u2019t like showing up for league games knowing the outcome before a ball is snapped. He wants his kids to play competitive games, not blowout after blowout.<\/p>\n

So Rosa made a proposal to tweak his league, which underwent a major overhaul last year when the league that Wilcox had called home for years \u2013 the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League \u2013 merged with the Peninsula Athletic League.<\/p>\n

The merger was done to help programs at levels lower than Wilcox plays.<\/p>\n

It evened the playing field for the likes of Monta Vista, Saratoga, Mills and South San Francisco, creating a division for the so-called little guys, programs that in some cases were barely hanging on.<\/p>\n

But there was still a problem.<\/p>\n

The merged league\u2019s two \u201cA\u201d divisions were top-heavy, particularly the one that included Wilcox, Los Gatos, Homestead, Palo Alto, Mountain View and Milpitas.<\/p>\n

Wilcox\u2019s four league victories were by an average of 34.3 points. Los Gatos won its five league games by an average of 39.8.<\/p>\n

Rosa introduced a proposal to help resolve the issue, and that plan will be implemented next season, the last of a two-year commitment made by the SCVAL and PAL when they joined forces.<\/p>\n

One can only hope the merger extends beyond 2023.<\/p>\n

Under Rosa\u2019s proposal, the merged league of five divisions will put its best teams in the top grouping. It will be categorized as \u201cA+\u201d and automatically send five of its six teams to the CCS playoffs.<\/p>\n

The league\u2019s second division will be classified as \u201cA-\u201d and automatically send three of its six teams to the playoffs.<\/p>\n

The league\u2019s two six-team \u201cB\u201d divisions \u2013 one categorized as \u201cB+\u201d and the other as \u201cB-\u201d \u2013 will each receive two automatic playoff spots.<\/p>\n

The league\u2019s remaining nine teams will be placed in a \u201cC\u201d division, with only the champion automatically advancing to the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody wants to play competitive games during the season, I think,\u201d Rosa said on Thursday. \u201cNo matter if you\u2019re really good or really bad, you just like to be in competitive games, and we just weren\u2019t in those.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re really having five divisions, that\u2019s the whole reason why we merged, to try to have apples with apples, oranges with oranges. I think this is the way it should have been done and most people agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter what you do, there\u2019s always going to be somebody that\u2019s upset because it was better the other way for them. You\u2019re never going to get everybody perfect, but I think this gets the most people happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Los Gatos coach Mark Krail agreed.<\/p>\n

“It’s the best system possible,” he said. “My biggest thing philosophically — and I don’t know that everybody agrees — is that when you’re building a program or running a program, you always strive to get better and to play the best competition that you can.<\/p>\n

“I am speaking obviously from a vantage point of being pretty blessed in terms of numbers and the support that we have. But even in my days at Pioneer and Santa Clara, our goal was to make it to the top division and play with the best teams. That certainly hasn’t changed.”<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how the divisions will be aligned:<\/p>\n

PAL Bay (A+)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Burlingame, Los Gatos, Menlo-Atherton, Mountain View, Sacred Heart Prep, Wilcox<\/p>\n

PAL De Anza (A-)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Half Moon Bay, Homestead, Menlo School, Palo Alto, Hillsdale, The King\u2019s Academy<\/p>\n

PAL Ocean (B+)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aragon, Capuchino, Terra Nova, Milpitas, San Mateo, Sequoia<\/p>\n

PAL El Camino (B-)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Carlmont, El Camino, Fremont-Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Santa Clara, Woodside<\/p>\n

PAL Lake (C)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cupertino, Gunn, Jefferson, Lynbrook, MacDonald, Mills, Monta Vista, Saratoga, South San Francisco<\/p>\n

(MacDonald, a new public school in Santa Clara, is starting varsity football in the fall)<\/p>\n

The teams weren\u2019t positioned without thought and data.<\/p>\n

One could certainly argue that Mountain View and to a lesser extent Burlingame could have landed in the \u201cA-\u201d division and Half Moon Bay, Menlo School or Palo Alto could have been included with the \u201cA+\u201d teams.<\/p>\n

Last season, Mountain View lost to Sacred Heart Prep 41-7, Wilcox 44-14 and Los Gatos 56-0. The Spartans finished 1-4 in league play and 4-8 overall.<\/p>\n

But Mountain View coach Tim Lugo explained that it wasn\u2019t last year\u2019s results that factored into the decision, except for final calpreps.com computer ratings.<\/p>\n

A program\u2019s number of juniors and sophomores and returning varsity and all-league players were part of the criteria the committee used to determine where teams were placed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s designed to look ahead to next year,\u201d Lugo said. \u201cNumbers aren\u2019t everything. We have the freedom to (counter), \u2018I don\u2019t care what those numbers say. That team\u2019s an \u2018A\u2019 and they\u2019re not a \u2018B.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s kind of how we came to where we\u2019re at. Let\u2019s face it. The top four in the league were easy. Us, Burlingame, Half Moon Bay, Menlo, Palo Alto, you could probably throw all of us in a hat and pick two and we\u2019re all basically the same school. My problem is I have the most returning all-leaguers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lugo said if he could make one change, it would be to include measurables for returning linemen.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll my returning guys are skill players,\u201d he said. \u201cMy linemen are not. But I am OK with our placement. I am on the committee. I understand what we\u2019re doing. I am not going to appeal it. We\u2019ll go compete and do the best we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

The good news for Mountain View: With all but one team in the division automatically qualifying for the playoffs \u2013 and the sixth team potentially advancing as an at-large \u2013 the Spartans have a decent shot to reach the postseason.<\/p>\n

CCS playoff changes<\/h3>\n

There are still administrative steps to clear before they become official. But the CCS is moving toward two noteworthy changes to its football playoffs.<\/p>\n

Teams from \u201cA\u201d leagues will not be allowed to drop below Division III and Division I will be modeled after the North Coast Section\u2019s top division.<\/p>\n

In the NCS, the top two seeds are placed in one half of the eight-team bracket, setting up a path for them to meet in Week 2 of the playoffs for the Open title and a berth in a regional game.<\/p>\n

The loser of the Open game plays the team that advances in the other half of the bracket for the Division I title in Week 3 of the playoffs, with the winner advancing to a regional.<\/p>\n

The NCS model is a creative way to send two Division I teams to the state playoffs, one devised after the California Interscholastic Federation mandated that only section champions can move on.<\/p>\n

Last fall, No. 1 De La Salle beat No. 8 James Logan and No. 2 Pittsburg defeated No. 7 Antioch in the first round. The following week, De La Salle beat Pittsburg for the NCS Open title. A week later, Pittsburg defeated No. 3 Clayton Valley for the section’s Division I title.<\/p>\n

De La Salle and Pittsburg went on to capture regional championships.<\/p>\n