Prep football mailbag: Section bias against some teams? Jesuit a 4 seed? More cheating?
The Sacramento Bee’s first high school football mailbag was a hit – hard questions with honest answers, including any notion that area programs cheat and the CIF endorses it and why coaches don’t get canned.
This week, Cameron Salerno and I fielded more questions, mostly anonymous as folks don’t want to be tied to anything even remotely touchy, as we bound into the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs:
Answers from Joe Davidson
What’s up with (section commissioner) Mike Garrison and his obvious bias against Placer County schools with all the punishment, or how he went after Casey Taylor (at Capital Christian)? It all seems harsh. Isn’t the section supposed to be for kids and not against them?
Yes, absolutely the section is about kids and good experiences, but it is also about enforcing rules implemented by the section’s member schools. Garrison has history within Placer County, including as principal at Rocklin, so he’s not out to get anyone.
For Rocklin this season, the Thunder earned the top seed in the Division II playoffs but will not be able to host any playoff games as the section deemed the program violated a prior-contact rule. What happened, in brief, was a number of eighth-graders from a feeder school in the district worked out at Rocklin last spring, including coach Jason Adams’ son. Yes, it seems harmless in intent as we would all want kids to keep active, but there are clear rules on this. Adams admitted error and his otherwise good character made this a tough blow for him and the program. There was initial thought that three Rocklin freshmen this season, those in the workouts, would not be allowed to practice or play. Garrison ruled that the three could practice but not play, which is what happened.
In the case of Whitney football, the program was hit with a playoff ban in 2017 after being cited for multiple infractions of contact/practice rules in 2 1/2 years.
As for Del Oro, the Golden Eagles had to painfully forfeit its section title last season due to an ineligible player, a junior varsity call-up who was not supposed to play in varsity games.
Yes, we can see how the punishment comes across as harsh, but it’s a rule voted in on section schools that has to be enforced.
As for Casey Taylor, I believe you are referring to when a Capital Christian player was ejected for his second personal foul against Placer in the section Division III title game last season. Garrison had put the entire section playoff field on notice that sportsmanship issues and ejections would be dealt with harshly, so he urged California’s nine other section commissioners in the meeting to seed CIF NorCal playoff teams to have Capital Christian travel for its NorCal game instead of hosting as a 13-0 team, saying, “I had to make a stand.”
If the section has a sustained-success rule that has moved Del Oro up to D-I, why not move Folsom up to the Open out of D-I or just not allow them to play in this section any more? Why does the CIF allow this cheating to continue?
What cheating? As long as we’ve been at The Bee, since 1988, we have heard every single year for darn near every single sport accusations of rampant wrongdoing and cheating, but never with any evidence beyond, “Well, that’s what I heard.” Incoming freshmen are not transfers and those cleared by the section office to transfer isn’t cheating, and neither is winning.
Yes, Del Oro moved up after going 29-3 this decade in the section playoffs with six section titles. Central Catholic and Bradshaw Christian have also similarly moved up due to criteria section schools wanted.
Folsom has gone 32-2 this decade in the section playoffs with seven titles, but there is no where else to elevate the Bulldogs. The Open Division exists in some sections, but not the Sac-Joaquin. There has been discussion among coaches about a section Open field, but that would have to be voted on.
Two related questions, but with different viewpoints:
▪ Why does the section continue to hate on Jesuit in football? A 4 seed is a joke. Everyone knows it should’ve been higher.
▪ I don’t understand how Jesuit at 5-5 is even in the playoffs while 7-3 teams don’t get in, and they’re a fourth seed? It’s a joke how the section and Bee backs this cheating program.
The section doesn’t “hate” on any teams and and any notion of that comes across as a sophomoric desperate reach. Jesuit went 4-2 in the Delta League, the section’s second best league behind the Sierra Foothill League, and had nonleague losses to SFL heavies Folsom and Granite Bay. The section playoff criteria includes league placement (Jesuit tied for second), strength of league and nonleague. The seeding fits. As for 7-3 teams Laguna Creek and Johansen not getting in, lack of big wins and poor league strength.
And again, the section and The Bee don’t condone program cheating or cover it up. When section programs were hit with sanctions, The Bee was all over it, including Franklin of Stockton.
Bonus: Did the health of Daniel Susac play a role in Jesuit’s seeding?
The section has a lot of criteria, but injuries are not one of them as it would be a nightmare trying to prove such things: “Coach, did you bring the X-rays and MRI charts and a doctor’s note?”
But it is true that Jesuit has soared under a healthy Susac at quarterback, going 5-2.
Answers from Cameron Salerno
If you’re down by 2 in a playoff game and need a kicker to make a field goal to win a game, who are you picking to make it?
It’s very likely one or more games will be decided by a kicker. The one I would trust with the game on the line are Rocklin’s Cole Becker, who leads the section in made field goals with 12. Other kickers of note include Del Oro’s Logan Shepard, Inderkum’s Brandon Berger, Casa Roble’s Jimmy Mersal, Christian Brothers’ Jackson Ryan, Granite Bay’s Justin Sampson and Colfax’s Dylan Garcia.
Who is your coach of the year if the season ended today?
I would go with Rocklin’s Jason Adams or Whitney’s Zach McNally. Both have turned programs which struggled last year into playoff teams. Rocklin went from 2-8 to 7-3 while Whitney went from 0-10 to 4-6. The Bee dug into this Sunday with coaches and players of note.
Who are the biggest dark horses in the playoffs?
In D-l, Del Oro will have a chance to give Oak Ridge a game (if it wins at Turlock in the first round). The Golden Eagles historically have done well in the playoffs, especially when drawing a lower seed.
In D-ll, Granite Bay or Jesuit could make a run. In D-lll, Roseville will have a chance to do something special. And in D-Vl, don’t count out Bear River.