It’s going to take some getting used to when we look at CIF state football championships going forward and it’s going to take some different thinking: you have to get away from enrollment-based playoffs, as well as losing records making the postseason.
The point of the CIF division championships is to match like versus like and this year is probably as good as CIF is going to get. Of the 15 state championship games, three were decided by one score or less and six of the 15 had spreads of 20 points or less. There were five, certifiable blowouts, games that were decided by 30 points or more, but CIF did its best to keep games close.
So I cut some slack to the Righetti player who was complaining about his team’s loss to SHP in the 5-A title game, a 16-0 SHP win, as he was walking out the stadium.
“They cheated. They’re a Division 3 team and we’re Division 5.”
I know he didn’t mean “cheated” in the strictest sense, and to be accurate, SHP won the CCS Division 4 title, not Division 3.
But if we used the old way of thinking, there is no way SHP and Righetti should have been matched up in the first place. Righetti is a school of 2,300, compared to about 600 for SHP.
But the new way, involving algorithms and power points, says these two teams were the perfect matchup for the Division 5-A state title.
And it’s really hard to argue. True, SHP came away with the shutout victory, but Righetti hung tough throughout the game, giving itself a chance to win until the very end.
And really, that’s all anyone can ask for — a chance.
***
Most teams are less than 10 games into their basketball schedule and league play is still about a month away, but you can already see some trends developing.
Such as the Burlingame squad, which features what will be one of the top front courts in the Central Coast Section and is off to a 6-1 start after capturing the championship in dominating fashion in the Jim Soden Tournament hosted by Terra Nova. The Panthers beat Woodside Priory (71-38) in the first round and Capuchino in the semifinals (55-35). In the title game, Burlingame knocked off CCS power Menlo School, 50-33.
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Sophomore Elana Weisman, a 6-1 center, and junior Ava Uhrich, a 6-0 forward, will give teams fits this season. The pair average a double-double during the tournament, with Weisman averaging 21.3 points and 10.3 rebounds in three games. Uhrich was 15.7 and 10.7.
But the Panthers are also proving to be more than just a 1-2 punch. Rylie Coleman and Michelle Moshkovoy are emerging as that third option all good teams need. The two traded off supporting roles at Terra Nova. Against Priory, Coleman scored 12 points. In the semifinals against Cap, Moshkovoy had 10 and, in the championship game, Coleman chipped in 11 points.
In a non-league, 66-49 win over Westmoor before the tournament, Coleman and Moshkovoy combined for 15 points.
***
Meanwhile, on the girls’ soccer front, the two Redwood City schools — Woodside and Sequoia — are off to a combined 10-0 start, having outscored the opposition, 43-2.
In fact, the six-team PAL Bay Division, as a whole, is dominating the competition. In addition to Woodside and Sequoia being undefeated, Menlo-Atherton is off to a 4-1-1 start; Aragon is 3-1 to start the season and Burlingame has only one loss as well, having outscored three teams 12-3.
Hillsdale is off to a 2-3-2 start, but have played a rugged non-league schedule.
***
Aesop Winston Jr., a 2014 Serra graduate, made his NFL debut with the New Orleans Saints Sunday, making one catch for 5 yards in the Saints’ 30-9 win over the New York Jets. He also returned four punts, averaging 13.5 yards.
After Serra, Winston spent two seasons at City College of San Francisco before wrapping up his college career at Washington state in 2019 — playing with former Terra Nova standout Anthony Gordon at both stops. At “City,” which won the CCCAA state championship this past weekend, Winston had 134 catches for 2,157 yards and 24 touchdowns. In his two seasons in “The Palouse,” Winston had 137 catches for 1,624 yards and 19 touchdowns.
He signed a contract with the Los Angeles Rams in the 2020 offseason, but was cut during training camp. He signed with the Saints in May.
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