High school football >> NCS playoff schedule
Wolves will face Pitt in first round of Open Division
SAN RAMON >> The challenge was obvious Sunday.
From the moment the results unfolded Friday night, the three-member North Coast Section football selection panel knew that arranging the teams behind top-seed De La Salle in the four-team Open Division would be anything but a slam dunk.
But after pouring through a season’s worth of data and debating the matter in the section’s San Ramon offices, the committee made its choice: No. 1 De La Salle, No. 2 Pittsburg, No. 3 San Ramon Valley and No. 4 Clayton Valley Charter.
De La Salle will play host to Clayton Valley on Nov. 17, the same school the Spartans defeated in the first round of the Open last season. On Nov. 18, San Ramon Valley will travel to Pittsburg.
The winners will meet for the championship two weeks later, with both finalists expected to move on to the state playoffs.
Liberty and Freedom were seeded Nos. 1 and 2 in Division I, Campolindo drew the top seed in Division II and Marin Catholic, Cardinal Newman, Rancho Cotate and Bishop O’Dowd were the top four seeds in a highly-competitive Division III.
Why San Ramon and not Clayton Valley at No. 3 in the Open?
“What the panel felt, although it was extremely difficult — we went around and around on this; there was a lot of conversation — but ultimately the strength of schedule is slightly better for San Ramon Valley in the view of the panel vs. Clayton Valley,” said North Coast Section commissioner Gil Lemmon, who does not have a vote. “The bottom line is that we have panel members that are making decisions based on the information. They don’t have a dog in the fight. They’re not biased for one team or another.”
The difference between a No. 3 and No. 4 seed in the NCS Open is obvious. Who wants to play De La Salle in the first round?
Clayton Valley coach Tim Murphy entered the weekend thinking that his young team was headed for Division I. But after Freedom, a projected Open team, lost to Liberty, Pittsburg won a tight game against an Antioch team that Clayton Valley blew out and De La Salle routed San Ramon Valley, Murphy knew the table had been rearranged.
He said late Friday night that he wanted the No. 3 seed. But before the matchups were announced Sunday, he told his wife that No. 4 seemed more likely.
“It’s tough because we’re young, but I know our seniors are excited,” Murphy said. “It’s one of those things. These seniors kind of struggled as freshmen. We kind of assumed through this whole year that going D1 would be a pretty dang big accomplishment. Win a league championship again and go D1, hopefully win a ring for those guys for an NCS championship.
“But with that loss by Freedom, I understand why the committee had to do what they did. They had to put Freedom behind Liberty, and they’re not going to put Liberty in the Open. It is what it is. I am excited. I like playing De La Salle. It’s always a clean game.”
The committee reminded each other several times during the meeting that comparative scores between Pittsburg and Antioch and Clayton Valley and Antioch are irrelevant. A win is a win, in the committee’s view. The committee also did not put San Ramon in the No. 3 spot to avoid a rematch between San Ramon and De La Salle.
“Nothing was ever said that we have to put this team here because we don’t want them to play in the first round,” said Don Nelson, a committee member. “Not at all.”
Liberty and Freedom have opening-round byes in Division I, which will not send its champion to the state playoffs because it will be displaced by the Open runner-up. Last season, Freedom moved on to the regionals after losing to De La Salle in the Open final. NCS Division I champion Monte Vista did not advance.
Antioch is the No. 3 seed in Division I, followed by San Leandro and Foothill.
Division III is so stacked that Bishop O’Dowd, a defending state champion, and Acalanes, which played competitively against Clayton Valley, could meet in the quarterfinals.
O’Dowd coach Napoleon Kaufman figured his team would be seeded No. 1 or 2.
“I am in shock,” Kaufman said. “It’s unbelievable to me.”