It used to be that the final week of the high school football season was not only Rivalry Week, but the pomp and circumstance around those games was a nice kickoff to the postseason.
But when the football and girls’ volleyball seasons — with section, regional and state championships — started running into early- and mid-December, the outcry was enough that the playoffs in those sports were pushed back, which meant the regular season was pushed back a couple of weeks, as well.
Now, Rivalry Week for football is only part of a chaotic weekend of high school sports. The Central Coast Section girls’ volleyball playoffs began this past Saturday, with quarterfinal and semifinal matches Tuesday and Thursday, and championship games Saturday.
On top of volleyball championships and the biggest rivalry games slated for Saturday, the CCS water polo tournaments, boys’ and girls’, begin Saturday.
With a bare bones San Mateo Daily Journal sports department, which does enjoy some time off from time to time, this will be one of the more hectic weeks for Terry Bernal and I. So if we don’t manage to get out to cover your favorite team, apologies in advance. We’re only two people. But you can be assured that we will get all the results into the Daily Journal.
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Looks like Ashlyn Johnson’s reputation preceded her as the senior Hillsdale golfer qualified for an at-large berth to the CCS tournament Tuesday at Rancho Seca Golf Ranch in Monterey.
Johnson, the two-time Daily Journal Girls’ Golfer of the Year, finished second to freshman teammate Kayla Cocoran at the PAL championship last week, carding an 8-over 79 for the worst PAL finish of her career.
Only the Peninsula Athletic League champion gets an automatic berth into the CCS tournament, assuming they are not on a team that was an automatic qualifier. Since Hillsdale did not qualify as a team, only Corcoran received an automatic berth. And the thinking was that the PAL champion would be the only one to qualify because the Poplar Creek Golf Course is not as difficult as other courses around the CCS, it was thought there would be only one qualifier from the PAL.
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Instead, Johnson, a top junior golfer who will play at Division III George Fox University in Oregon next season, qualified for her fourth straight CCS tournament. There were only 17 at-large berths available and Johnson snagged one of them.
She will join Corcoran, along with the Carlmont and Aragon teams, at the tournament.
The Crystal team received an at-large invitation, while Nurva School’s Annabel and Cami Yen both earned individual at-large berths.
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While CCS volleyball ends and water polo begins Saturday, the CCS girls’ tennis team and individual tournaments are still a week and two weeks away, respectively.
But that doesn’t mean there isn’t any playoff tennis this week. The PAL, West Bay Athletic and West Catholic Athletic leagues are holding individual league tournaments this week. The WBAL singles and doubles tournament began Monday, with the championship matches scheduled for Wednesday at Menlo School.
The PAL individual championships begin Tuesday, with the first- and second-round singles matches being played at Carlmont, while the first two rounds of doubles play are happening at San Mateo High School. Both have 1 p.m. starts.
Both singles and doubles then move to San Mateo, with quarterfinal and semifinal matches beginning at 1 p.m. Wednesday, with championship and third-place matches being played Thursday at 3 p.m. — also at San Mateo.
The WCAL tournament begins Thursday at Cuesta Park in Mountain View.
Nathan Mollat is in his 24th year covering high school sports in San Mateo County for the San Mateo Daily Journal. He can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
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