Normally, it’s a slam dunk.
In a typical football season, De La Salle receives Northern California’s spot in the state Open Division championship game and everyone else from the region falls in line behind the Spartans.
But the choice isn’t clear-cut this season. When California Interscholastic Federation officials meet Sunday to choose teams for the Open and regional championship games, De La Salle will be near the top of the board.
But so will Serra, fresh off its 16-12 victory Friday night over St. Francis in the Central Coast Section Division I title game.
Had St. Francis won, the CIF’s decision would have been a no-brainer. St. Francis would have gotten the nod because it beat De La Salle in September and would have been undefeated.
But now the CIF must decide between De La Salle, the North Coast Section’s Open Division champion, and Serra.
Mater Dei, which beat Servite for the Southern Section Division I title on Friday, will be the Southern California representative in the state Open game on Dec. 11 at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. The Monarchs are ranked No. 1 in the nation and mired in controversy after the Orange County Register’s report this week about a violent hazing incident within the program this year.
De La Salle is 10-2, with victories over Sac-Joaquin Section Division I champion Folsom on the road and Pittsburg in the NCS Open final. The Spartans lost at St. Francis 31-28 in September and at home to national powerhouse St. Frances Academy of Baltimore 42-28 in early October.
Serra is 11-1, with a narrow victory over St. Francis at a neutral site and a 44-21 loss at home to St. Francis three weeks ago.
In the latest Calpreps.com computer rankings, De La Salle is up to No. 7 in the state, with only Southern California teams ahead of the Spartans. Serra is the second-highest NorCal team, at No. 13.
Serra coach Patrick Walsh, asked after the game Friday night where he thinks his team will end up, said, “I have no idea. I want to celebrate tonight’s victory. If they put us in a regional game, those games are so fun. That’d be great. If we play for the Open Division championship, which is the biggest stage in all of California, we’ll take that, too.
“These things are out of my control. You know me, back in the day, I used to try to control everything. But now I just take a deep breath, I enjoy each moment with these boys and these wonderful families, being the head coach at Serra, and that’s what I am going to do tonight.”
Gunshots pause Serra-St. Francis game
A thrilling CCS Division I final between Serra and St. Francis on Friday night at Westmont High in Campbell was delayed for about half an hour late in the fourth quarter after gunshots were fired in the parking lot. According to the police, two people were wounded.
Here is some of what the teams’ coaches said:
St. Francis coach Greg Calcagno: “After COVID and everything, it’s just one more thing to add to the list, right? Obviously, our guys being safe is the most important thing. Everybody was safe and people didn’t panic, which is great. It could have been a real disaster. But calmer heads prevailed and at the end of the day, we’re playing a football game. We don’t want anybody to get hurt. I thought everybody did a great job.”
Walsh: “I did not (hear gunshots). It was a very loud crowd. I just saw a bunch of people laying on the ground. … Once I realized everyone was safe and it was safe to play football, it was time to hunker down and think about football.”
NCS Division III final
Windsor 38, Benicia 14
Windsor broke open a scoreless game with 24 points over a 10-minute stretch of the second quarter and beat Benicia 38-14 in the North Coast Section Division III championship game Friday night.
Damian Escarcega scored on two touchdown runs and Chase Vehmeyer threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Nicholas Faaghara to account for most of the damage.
Windsor (11-1) now waits to find out who it will play next weekend in the CIF NorCal championships. At stake will be a berth in a state title game.
Benicia finished the season 8-4. The Panthers finished in a three-way tie with Las Lomas and Campolindo for first in the Foothill Division.
Benicia coach Craig Holden said Windsor used a couple of big plays to set up the scoring outburst in the second quarter.
“We couldn’t convert and they did,” Holden said. “Their quarterback (Vehmeyer) is a good athlete, and he kept us off-balance.”
Holden said he was pleased with the season overall.
“We were co-champs of the league and made it to the section championship,” he said. “We had a great year. Now we’ll work to get better next year.”
Correspondent Mike Lefkow contributed to this report.
Source: www.mercurynews.com