Prep news, notes: Girls playoff brackets hold steady while upsets abound in boys D-I, D-II
The girls’ races have pretty much gone as projected by seedings in the Sac-Joaquin Section basketball playoffs, but this doesn’t mean that upsets won’t happen.
In Divisions I, II, III, V and VI, the top four seeds are left standing, each in the semifinals, with Tuesday night winners advancing to Friday and Saturday finals at Golden 1 Center.
Top-seeded Folsom is 24-2 and has won 16 consecutive games behind balanced scoring, defense and depth and its 1-2 punch of post Kamryn Mafua and shooting guard Charlotte Climenhage. Folsom welcomes No. 4 McClatchy (25-5), led by its 1-2 punch of guard Tamaria Rumph and skilled post Nina Cain.
Second-seeded St. Mary’s of Stockton, winners of a record 21 section championships and eight in D-I, hosts No. 3 Antelope, led by forward Mary Carter.
In D-II, top-seeded Christian Brothers (28-2) and its 1-2-3 punch of Jada Hunter, Kaia Foster and Aleyah Harmon hosts No. 4 Woodcreek (24-4). In the other semifinal, No. 2 Vista del Lago (24-6) hosts No. 3 Whitney (17-11).
The only speed bump spotted in the girls brackets was in D-IV, where three of the top four seeds are left, headed by Colfax, which seeks its third title since 2018 and 12th overall since 1983. The party crasher has been No. 10-seeded Escalon, fresh off a 48-46 upset of No. 2 Calaveras and now ready for No. 3 Riverbank.
Colfax and star senior Maycee Heimann hosts No. 4 Marysville after beating the Indians twice in Pioneer Valley League play.
Upsets, scoring outbursts among boys
In the boys basketball races? Speed bumps here, there, and everywhere.
Three of the top four seeds are left in D-I, setting up intriguing semifinals at home sites on Wednesday with the winners heading to Golden 1 for the title on Saturday.
The sprint to the finals include No. 2-seeded Inderkum (27-2) welcoming Northern California No. 1-ranked Modesto Christian (24-6), which has no NorCal or section losses this season but somehow wound up with just the No. 3 seed in this tournament.
In its quest to reach its first section final since opening in Natomas in 2004, Inderkum won its 20th consecutive game by topping Laguna Creek 69-55 behind guard leaders such as Jermaine Haliburton and Jalen Glenn and shooter Rohan Singh-Sheemar, who has made 12 3-pointers in his last two games.
Weston Ranch has turned the D-I bracket upside down otherwise as the No. 8 seed as coach Nicholas Podesta has his upstart Cougars of Stockton rolling and confident. Weston Ranch opened the playoffs with a 63-55 victory over Grant, then stunned top-seeded Folsom — The Bee’s top-ranked team the second half of the season — with a 64-58 victory as Elijah Mobley scored 25 points.
Winners of 19 consecutive games after losing nine of their first 10, Weston Ranch (21-9) now plays at No. 4 Jesuit in the Marauders’ gym. This excites the Cougars because they will be tasked with dealing with the best 3-point shooting team in all of these playoffs and with the chore of keeping up with Stanford-bound guard Andrej Stojakovic.
Jesuit junior guard Kevin Haupt is coming off a 28-point game, including a lot of 3-pointers, for Jesuit in a 79-64 victory over No. 5 Capital Christian. The 25-4 Marauders have complementary pieces such as Reid Jones, Owen Ubaldo, Cole Epperson, Ahjani Lewis, Nat Brown and others for coach Tim Kelly.
Folsom isn’t done just yet. Fresh off winning his 500th career game before the Weston Ranch setback, Bulldogs coach Mike Wall can win his 501st in the NorCal D-I playoffs. Folsom likely will be picked for that bracket as an at-large, and so, too, could Capital Christian and Laguna Creek. All NorCal brackets will be released Sunday afternoon.
In D-II, only top-seeded Rio Americano (25-4) is left as a higher seed. The Raiders under coach Chris Jones and Capital Athletic League MVP Luke Mason will host No. 13 Granite Bay, which, like last season, is making another playoff charge under coach Jason Sitterud and star guard Yaqub Mir.
In the other semifinal, No. 7 Whitney (19-10) and coach Nick French, fresh off a 58-45 victory over an Atwater team that came in at 29-0, visits No. 7 Ponderosa in Shingle Springs. Ponderosa (22-8) has played like a team with unfinished business as coach Clark Woods and company vowed to last longer this season after the Bruins’ 27-0 season was derailed in a playoff opener in 2022.
The top four seeds are left in D-III, including top-seeded Vanden (21-9) hosting No. 4 Central Catholic of Modesto (21-9) in one semifinal and No. 2 Sacramento (22-8) preparing for No. 3 Placer (25-5) in the other.
Sacramento is a young team led by alum coach Matt Johnson and senior do-it-all star Mike Wilson. Placer is also as storied as they come. This is the final playoff run for beloved coach Mark Lee, and he has a scorer to lean on in Garrett Dutro, who dropped in 46 points to power the Hillmen past Kimball of Tracy 88-59. The 6-foot-5 Dutro bettered the school record of 41 points previously held by Gary Just in 1970 and Jimmy Carroll in 1993.
The top four seeds held true in D-IV, headed by top-seeded Union Mine of El Dorado (25-5), led by star guard Mason Mottashed. UM hosts No. 4 Calaveras while No. 3 Marysville visits No. 2 Venture Academy.
Marysville is led by the 1-2 scoring punch of Amrin Mann and Joshua Brown.
The top seeds also held up in D-V and VI, led by top seeds Fortune Early College and former Sacramento High championship coach Derek Swafford in D-V and No. 1 Stone Ridge Christian in D-VI.
Football All-Metro guys on the go
Two Bee All-Metro skill-player stars are on the move.
Folsom quarterback Austin Mack gave a verbal commitment to attend Washington on full scholarship and then reclassified as a 2023 graduate instead of his age-group 2024 graduation in an effort to accelerate his learning curve.
This means the 6-6 Mack will graduate early from Folsom and enroll at Washington for the fall semester.
Christian Brothers’ two-time Bee first-team All-Metro receiver Phillip Bell has transferred to Bishop Alemenay High in Mission Hills, where he will play his junior and senior seasons.
The 6-2 target already has received recruiting interest from national champion Georgia and a host of others.
▪ The Cal-Hi Sports All-State Elite team is a hard group to make, given the amount of schools in this state and the talent.
But two big talents in the trenches from the Sacramento region made the list: Grant’s Alani Noa, a 6-3, 310-pounder headed to USC, and Elk Grove’s Simi Pale, a 6-4, 320-pounder off to Stanford.
Sac-Joaquin Section Basketball playoffs
Girls semifinals
Tuesday, 7 p.m.
Listed by seedings
Division I
No. 4 McClatchy at No. 1 Folsom
No. 3 Antelope at No. 2 St. Mary’s
Division II
No. 4 Woodcreek at No. 1 Christian Brothers
No. 3 Whitney at No. 2 Vista del Lago
Division III
No. 4 Kimball at No. 1 Vanden
No. 3 East Union at No. 2 Lincoln
Division IV
No. 4 Marysville at No. 1 Colfax
No. 10 Escalon at No. 3 Riverbank
Division V
No. 4 Big Valley at No. 1 Bret Harte
No. 3 Bear River at No. 2 Valley Christian
Division VI
No. 5 Sac Adventist at No. 1 Faith Christian
No. 3 Forest Lake Christian at No. 2 Foresthill
Boys semifinals
Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Listed by seedings
Division I
No. 8 Weston Ranch at No. 4 Jesuit
No. 3 Modesto Christian at No. 2 Inderkum
Division II
No. 13 Granite Bay at No. 1 Rio Americano
No. 7 Whitney at No. 6 Ponderosa
Division III
No. 4 Central Catholic at No. 1 Vanden
No. 3 Placer at No. 2 Sacramento
Division IV
No. 4 Calaveras at No. 1 Union Mine
No. 3 Marysville at No. 2 Venture Academy
Division V
No. 5 Woodland Christian at No. 1 Fortune
No. 3 Vacaville Christian at No. 2 Ripon Christian
Division VI
No. 4 Sac Waldorf at No. 1 Stone Ridge
No. 3 Valley Christian at No. 2 Turlock Christian
Sac-Joaquin Section Soccer playoffs
Girls finals
All games at Cosumnes River College
Division I
Feb. 23:
No. 8 McClatchy vs. No. 3 Franklin, 5 p.m.
Division II
Feb. 22:
No. 3 Del Oro vs. No. 1 St. Francis, 5 p.m.
Division III
Feb. 21:
No. 1 Christian Brothers vs. No. 3 Vista del Lago, 5 p.m.
Division IV
Feb. 20:
No. 1 Placer vs. No. 2 West Park, 5 p.m.
Division V
No. 1 Colfax def. No. 2 Sutter 6-0
Division VI
No. 1 Stone Ridge def. No. 3 Summerville, penalty kicks
Boys soccer
All games at Cosumnes River College
Division I
Feb. 23:
No. 1 Davis vs. No. 2 Whitney, 7 p.m.
Division II
Feb. 22:
No. 1 Rio Americano vs. No. 3 Jesuit, 7 p.m.
Division III
Feb. 21:
No. 1 Lincoln vs. No. 2 Golden Valley, 7 p.m.
Division IV
Feb. 20:
No. 1 Livingston vs. No. 3 Kimball
Division V
No. 4 Venture def. No. 2 Riverbank 3-1
Division VI
No. 1 Denair def. No. 2 Esparto 0