It was at some point in the second half of the Half Moon Bay-Sacred Heart Prep boys’ Northern California championship game Tuesday night in Atherton, it might have been coming out of a timeout or the beginning of the fourth quarter, but a slight smile crept across my face.
The standing-room only crowd at SHP’s McGanney Sports Center was at full throat as the SHP fans began chanting, “Let’s Go Gators!,” only to be followed by the HMB fans chanting, “Let’s Go Cougars!”
Back and forth a couple times and I couldn’t help but think, “This is what high school athletics is all about.” Packed house, engaged fans, regional championship on the line and most important of all, a great game.
Again, Half Moon Bay fans proved they are among the best in San Mateo County. Not only do they show up at home, but they show out on the road as well — they are among the best traveling fan base around. The visiting spectator and student fan sections were basically filled by Cougar backers about a half hour before opening tip.
Granted, it was easy for Half Moon Bay fans to make the relatively short trip over the hill, as opposed as going to Eureka or Fresno.
Credit to the SHP fans and students, as well, as they did their part in packing the gym and making it an environment that was a credit to education-based athletics.
Even better was that the cheering never became nasty. I didn’t hear any derogatory speech by either fan base and the eruption of noise after every made basket, regardless of team, sometimes made my hair stand on end.
Now, the Gators will head to Sacramento to play in the home of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings at Golden One Center. And as is usually the case, the cavernous arena will not have the same feeling as the tight confines of SHP’s campus gym. While there is something to be said about playing a state championship game on an NBA court, it certainly won’t have the same atmosphere.
Which is a shame. Even if everybody who was at Tuesday’s game showed up in Sacramento, it would hardly make a dent in a 17,000-seat arena.
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Like its soccer counterparts, Central Coast Section basketball proved to be among the elite sections in Northern California as five CCS boys’ teams and three girls’ teams played played in regional championship games, with two — the Sacred Heart Prep boys and the Valley Christian girls — advancing to the Division IV and Division III state championship games, respectively.
The CCS was guaranteed at least two teams into the state finals as Sacred Heart Prep battled Half Moon Bay for the boys’ spot, while the Menlo-Atherton girls’ took on Valley.
The King’s Academy boys squad, the No. 9 seed in Division I, fell to No. 3 Folsom 78-68 to deny the Knights a second straight state finals appearance.
They lost the Division III crown a year ago.
The Priory boys, the defending Division IV state champion, saw its bid for a spot in the DIII final fall short in a 73-65 loss to No. 3 Cornerstone Christian-Antioch.
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And in the Open Division final, second-seeded Salesian-Richmond, ranked No. 28 in the nation by MaxPreps.com, beat top-seeded and 25th-ranked Riordan, 59-54.
On the girls’ side, Mitty, ranked No. 2 in the nation, won its sixth straight Nor Cal championship, as the top-seeded Monarchs cruised to a 71-42 win over No. 2 Clovis West. Mitty will face the top-ranked team in the country, Ontario Christian, for the title of best girls’ basketball team in the state and a mythical national title.
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There have been some comings and goings in PAL football for the upcoming season.
Sources say that former Sacred Heart Cathedral head coach, Antoine Evans, has been hired as the new coach at Carlmont, replacing Eric Rado.
Evans, a longtime coach in the San Francisco area, was the defensive coordinator for the Irish when they won the 2021 CCS Division III and state Division 4-A championships. But head coach Barry McLaughlin stepped down after the championship and Evans was named his replacement, beginning the 2022 season.
Evans’ Irish teams went a combined 8-20 in West Catholic Athletic League play and 16-29 overall. SHC advanced to the CCS Division II title game before falling to archrival St. Ignatius, 24-21.
On the other end of that coin, former Serra assistant coach and athletic director, Darius Bell, has been named the new head coach at Cathedral.
Meanwhile, King’s Academy has an opening after Dante Perez left at the beginning of February to take over at his alma mater Valley Christian, where longtime head man Mike Machado stepped down after a 29-year career.
Perez spent four years at King’s, going 18-3 in PAL play and 27-15 overall.
Perez graduated from Valley Christian in 2006, where he was a two-year starting quarterback.
The other change came at Wilcox, where Paul Rosa stepped down after 11 seasons leading the Chargers. He was replaced by his top assistant, Conor Dunn.
Wilcox won two CCS titles, two Northern California crowns and the 2018 Division 3-A state championship.
Nathan Mollat has been covering high school sports in San Mateo County for the San Mateo Daily Journal since 2001. He can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com.
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