Folsom boys basketball team to host El Cerrito in loaded NorCal Open Division
The joy of winning championship games at Sleep Train Arena lasted but a few hours.
Now the real grind starts for nine boys and 11 girls basketball programs in the area that now match wits against those from different sections, some near, some very far away, in the CIF Northern California Regional tournaments that start this week in seven divisions.
Coming off of a stirring 50-49, down-to-the-wire Sac-Joaquin Section Division I title finish over Sheldon, Folsom settled for a No. 4 seed in the prestigious and hugely competitive Open Division boys bracket. How stacked is the field?
Folsom (27-4) on Friday will host No. 5 El Cerrito (29-3), which has won 12 consecutive games, last losing a nonleague game at Sheldon on the final play, 62-61.
Should Folsom survive that opener, it likely will draw state No. 1 Bishop O’Dowd (24-4), which is unbeaten in California and has lost only to national powers. Folsom is the third area team to represent the section in the Open in the three years since the division was created to help balance the powerhouse programs dotted in different divisions. Sheldon in 2013 and Capital Christian in 2014 reached the NorCal Open final at Sleep Train.
Said Folsom coach Mike Wall: “We’re gritty. We know how to win. It’s a special group that plays great together. The Open is a real bear. It’s really, really, really good.”
Folsom coaches were perplexed as to how the Bulldogs did not earn the No. 3 seed that went to Moreau Catholic, which lost to O’Dowd in the North Coast Section D-III final. Bay Area section commissioners who lobby for their schools have long viewed their brand of ball as superior to Sacramento’s, though section champions generally earn higher seedings than runners-up.
Said Wall on Saturday night, “We need to do a better job of defining what is an Open school and what’s not in the rules.”
All section semifinalists advance to the NorCal field, and section runners-up drew favorable draws. Sheldon (21-7) is the No. 2 seed in the D-I field, opposite De La Salle (26-4), which lost on two missed free throws with half a second remaining to Monte Vista of Danville in the North Coast Section D-I final on Saturday. Monte Vista is the No. 2 Open seed.
Sheldon and De La Salle have opening-round byes. Sheldon coach Joey Rollings, with no seniors in the starting lineup, was delighted with his team’s effort against Folsom and likes his team’s chances to return to Sleep Train on March 21 for the NorCal final.
“I like it a lot,” he said of his team’s outlook. “Folsom made it to the state finals last year (in D-II), and we’re young. We’re all juniors and sophomores. We got a lot to learn right now, but you know, it’s all (a bonus) right now.
“We’re excited about what’s coming up next. We’d like to make the NorCal finals, and maybe state finals. So we’re looking ahead to big things.”
Sacramento (26-5) had a 17-game winning streak halted in a 49-46 last-play loss to Modesto Christian in the D-II section final yet emerged as the top seed in the NorCal D- II bracket. Modesto Christian (28-3), the seventh Open seed, opens at Monte Vista (27-3).
“We’re not done yet,” Sacramento coach Derek Swafford said. “We can still win this thing.”
A year after reaching the NorCal Open final, the Capital Christian boys, winners of the D-IV section title, drew a No. 4 seed. The Cougars (23-8) open against Lassen (20-7) on Wednesday.
“We think we can make a real run at the state championship,” Capital Christian coach Devon Jones said. “We’re getting better.”
In boys D-VI, Sacramento Country Day (26-4), with four prolific freshmen, earned a No. 2 seed and will open against visiting California School for the Deaf (19-11) on Wednesday.
For the girls, McClatchy (23-7) earned the No. 1 seed in D-I after falling to national power and Open top seed St. Mary’s of Stockton in the section championship game.
Oak Ridge, which lost to McClatchy in the section semifinals, received the No. 2 D-I seed. McClatchy and Oak Ridge (25-4) have opening byes.
Bradshaw Christian (23-9) won the section D-IV title, beating Brookside Christian of Stockton as Erika Bean scored 29 points, thus earning the No. 3 seed in the NorCal bracket and an opening bye.
Capital Christian (17-11), fresh off its first D-V section title, received a No. 6 seed in the NorCal field and opens at home Wednesday against Weed (23-6) in a doubleheader with the Capital boys.
Two-time defending D-VI section champion Valley Christian Academy of Roseville (25-3), seeded fourth, opens against Round Valley in Covelo (17-11).
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS
BOYS
OPEN DIVISION
Friday, 7 p.m.
No. 8 Saint Francis at No. 1 Bishop O’Dowd
No. 5 El Cerrito at No. 4 Folsom
No. 6 Serra at No. 3 Moreau Catholic
No. 7 Modesto Christian at No. 2 Monte Vista
DIVISION I
Wednesday, 7 p.m.
No. 9 Washington at No. 8 McClymonds
No. 12 Freedom at No. 5 Bellarmine
No. 11 Fremont at No. 6 Pleasant Grove
No. 10 Salinas at No. 7 Berkeley
Byes: No. 1 De La Salle, No. 2 Sheldon,
No. 3 San Ramon Valley, No. 4 Woodcreek.
DIVISION II
Wednesday, 7 p.m.
No. 9 San Marin at No. 8 Los Altos
No. 10 Pleasant Valley at No. 7 Las Lomas
Byes: No. 1 Sacramento, No. 2 Archbishop Mitty, No. 3 Montgomery, No. 4 St. Mary’s, No. 5 Dublin, No. 6 Cosumnes Oaks.
DIVISION III
Wednesday, 7 p.m.
No. 9 Aptos at No. 8 Weston Ranch
No. 12 Encinal at No. 5 Mission
No. 13 Manteca at No. 4 Foothill
No. 11 Albany at No. 6 Riordan
No. 10 Vanden at No. 7 Sacred Heart Cathedral
Byes: No. 1 Drake, No. 2 Campolindo,
No. 3 Sierra.
DIVISION IV
Wednesday, 7 p.m.
No. 9 Anderson at No. 8 Liberty Ranch
No. 12 West Campus at No. 5 Palma
No. 13 Lassen at No. 4 Capital Christian
No. 14 Mesa Verde at No. 3 Sacred Heart Prep
No. 11 Saint Mary’s at No. 6 Santa Cruz
No. 10 St. Patrick/St. Vincent’s
at No. 7 Half Moon Bay
Byes: No. 1 Marin Catholic,
No. 2 Cardinal Newman.
DIVISION V
Wednesday, 7 p.m.
No. 9 Forest Lake Christian at No. 8 Hamilton
No. 12 Mariposa County at No. 5 Woodside Priory
Byes: No. 1 Stuart Hall, No. 4 Brookside Christian.
DIVISION VI
No. 8 Anderson Valley at No. 1 Liberty Christian
No. 5 Valley Christian Academy
at No. 4 Archbishop Hanna
No. 6 Paradise at No. 3 St. Bernard’s
No. 7 California School for the Deaf
at No. 2 Sacramento Country Day
GIRLS
OPEN DIVISION
Friday, 7 p.m.
No. 8 Modesto Christian
at No. 1 St. Mary’s-Stockton
No. 5 Saint Mary’s-Berkeley
at No. 4 Sacred Heart Cathedral
No. 6 St. Ignatius at No. 3 Salesian
No. 7 Pinewood at No. 2 Miramonte
DIVISION I
Wednesday, 7 p.m.
No. 9 Clayton Valley Charter at No. 8 Davis
No. 12 Lowell at No. 5 Pittsburg
No. 13 Oakland at No. 4 Palo Alto
No. 14 Lincoln at No. 3 Berkeley
No. 11 Menlo-Atherton at No. 6 James Logan
No. 10 Oakland Tech at No. 7 North Salinas
Byes: No. 1 McClatchy, No. 2 Oak Ridge
DIVISION II
Wednesday, 7 p.m.
No. 9 Pleasant Valley at No. 8 Del Oro
No. 11 Novato at No. 6 Antelope
No. 10 Windsor at No. 7 Presentation
Byes: No. 1 Dublin, No. 2 Carondelet,
No. 3 Mitty, No. 4 Kimball, No. 5 Saint Francis.
DIVISION III
Wednesday, 7 p.m.
No. 9 Hillsdale at No. 8 Moreau Catholic
No. 12 Florin at No. 5 Shasta
No. 10 Patterson at No. 7 Branham
No. 11 Eureka at No. 6 Rio Linda
Byes: No. 1 Vanden, No. 2 Bishop O’Dowd,
No. 3 Valley Christian
DIVISION IV
Wednesday, 7 p.m.
No. 9 Anderson at No. 8 Notre Dame
No. 12 Dixon at No. 5 Menlo School
No. 13 Justin-Siena at No. 4 Brookside Christian
No. 11 West Campus at No. 6 Piedmont
No. 10 Arcata at No. 7 Central Valley
DIVISION V
Wednesday, 7 p.m.
No. 9 San Domenico at No. 8 Ripon Christian
No. 12 Notre Dame at No. 5 University
No. 13 Argonaut at No. 4 Durham
No. 11 Weed at No. 6 Capital Christian
No. 10 Woodland Christian at No. 7 St. Francis
Byes: No. 1 Eastside Prep, No. 2 Valley Christian, No. 3 St. Joseph-Notre Dame
DIVISION VI
Wednesday, 7 p.m.
No. 8 Tulelake at No. 1 St. Bernard’s
No. 5 Round Valley
at No. 4 Valley Christian Academy
No. 6 Turlock Christian at No. 3 Ferndale
No. 7 Cornerstone Christian at No. 2 Fall River
Byes: No. 1 Cardinal Newman, No. 2 Scotts Valley, No. 3 Bradshaw Christian.
This story was originally published March 8, 2015 at 7:50 PM.