PAGE 11 Eagles deserve recognition

Here are some random thoughts as you prepare for your weekend activities.

• The Lodi City Council should recognize the Elliot Christian High boys basketball team, coach Jason Hitt and his assistant coaches for their very successful season.

The Eagles finished with a 29-5 record that included winning the Central California Athletic Alliance and Sac-Joaquin Section Division V titles. Elliot earned the No. 2 spot in the CIF NorCal D-V playoffs, hosting three games before losing a gut-wrenching 69-64 NorCal title game to No. 1 St. Francis one week ago today. That loss kept Elliot from playing for the state title game, which is being played at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento this weekend.

No Lodi area high school boys or girls basketball team — private or public — has played for a NorCal title. The only other area school that has found success in the NorCal playoffs is Liberty Ranch, reaching the second round of the NorCal D-IV playoffs twice this decade.

If Elliot had reached the state title game, and won, then the Eagle players and coaches would deserve the keys to the city of Lodi. Nonetheless, the council should recognize them. If not, donate a part of their stipend to purchase two tickets for each player and coaches for a Sacramento Kings home game this or next season. There are only five Kings home games left this season.

• Lodi and Tokay and the rest of the Tri-City Athletic League don’t want the Modesto Christian boys and girls basketball programs in the league, and vice-versa for the next league realignment cycle 2018-22.

Yet, eight of the nine Sac-Joaquin Section league realignment committee voted by an 8-1 margin in moving the small-school power house into the TCAL for hoops earlier this month. The lone vote against it was Lodi High Athletic Director Erin Aitken, who was on the committee.

For the last four months, Modesto Christian fought to stay out of the TCAL during the five public meetings, stating the league is not strong enough for its hoop programs.

At the last meeting on March 9, Modesto Christian Athletic Director Greg Pearce, who wanted his hoops program go into the Valley Oak League, changed his tune. He pushed for MC to remain in the Modesto Metro Conference that has been revamped for the next cycle that includes four of the seven Modesto high schools in Modesto, Downey, Enochs and Gregori, plus Turlock and Pitman. This would’ve been an ideal situation, and Aitken favored the idea.

According to Will DeBoard, the section’s director of communications, the ballots have been sent to all 192 schools in the section. Next month,