Editor's note: Sac-Joaquin Section assistant commissioner John Williams is a former sports writer. Every year he supplies the media with a boatload of interesting notes, tidbits and morsels. Rather than pick and choose we have decided to grace the readers with all of Williams' wisdom.
2008 SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
Fast Facts
* This year marks the 37th year of Sac-Joaquin Section football playoffs.
* 130 championships have been won since the playoffs began in 1971.
* Until 1984, playoffs were designated as Class A (small schools), Class AA (medium schools) and Class AAA (large schools). Those designations changed to Roman numerals (I, II, III, etc.) in 1985. A fifth division was added in 2002. Divisions VI and VII were added in 2006.
* In Year One (1971), the only championship offered was Class A with four teams, three games, one championship and no neutral sites. This year, the Section will offer seven championship divisions with 58 teams, 51 games and five neutral site contests.
* Official name for this year’s playoffs is: CIF Sac-Joaquin Section/Les Schwab Tires Football Championships Presented by Farmers Insurance.
* All seven eventual Section champions become eligible for participation in the CIF State Football Bowl Game Championships to be played on December 19 and 20 at Home Depot Center in Carson. Section Commissioners will select five north and five south teams to compete in four divisional championship games based on enrollment plus an open division championship.
* Five teams (Grant, Casa Roble, Whitney, Escalon and Big Valley Christian) enter the playoffs with perfect records. If history tells us anything, at least one of these five will win a championship, as there has been at least one unbeaten team in the Section for 13 of the past 15 years.
* Two teams enter the playoffs with a sub. 500 record – Monterey Trail (3-7) and Foothill (2-8). Only twice before (1993 and 2002) had a team finished with a record as low as 3-7 and Foothill’s 2-8 record is the first in known Section history that a team has qualified for the playoffs with only two victories. In the past 16 seasons, 18 teams have made the playoffs with sub-.500 records.
* Seven other teams finished at 5-5. They are Grace Davis, Oak Ridge, Woodcreek, Bethel, Waterford, Capital Christian and Brookside Christian. At least one of them will get a victory as Oak Ridge hosts Woodcreek in the first round.
* Nine of the 58 teams in the playoffs have never won a playoff game, and seven of those nine – Monterey Trail, McNair, Woodcreek, Rosemont, Sierra, Waterford and Big Valley Christian – are in the playoffs for the first time. The other two non-winners include Laguna Creek (0-5) and Bradshaw Christian (0-1).
* 36 of the 58 teams in this year’s playoffs qualified for the playoffs last year. Twelve of the 14 finalists return as well as all seven Section champions – Napa, Granite Bay, Rodriguez, Oakdale, Central Catholic, Lindhurst and Vacaville Christian.
* Three leagues used the 13-point system to separate three-way ties – CCC, DRL and SVC.
* Central Catholic has won 27 straight playoff games, a Section record. Lindhurst has won five straight.
* Central Catholic aims for an eighth straight championship this year, and hopes to win for the 11th straight time they have qualified for the playoffs. The Raiders were D4 champions in 1997-99, missed the playoffs in 2000, won a D3 title in 2001 and D5 championships in 2002-07.
* Seven of the top 10 winningest playoff teams – No. 1 Central Catholic (40), Grant (36), Nevada Union (32), Escalon (32), Merced (24), Lincoln-S (24) and Tracy (21) – qualified for this year’s playoffs and will jockey for all-time victory supremacy.
* Extending consecutive playoff appearances are No. 1 Grant (18), Calaveras and Colfax (12), Escalon (11) and Granite Bay (10).
First round pairings
Opponents with the most combined playoff experience – Calaveras (38) at Escalon (44) have combined for a whopping 82 playoff games. The two have met seven times in the playoffs, with Escalon holding a 5-2 edge. Calaveras won the first two games in 1971 and 1991, but the Cougars have won the last five (1993, ’98, ’99, 2002 and ’03).
78 games – Vacaville (28) at Nevada Union (50)
78 games – Granite Bay (23) at Grant (55)
75 games – Grace Davis (33) at Lincoln-S (42)
Opponents with the least combined playoff experience – Bradshaw Christian (1) at Big Valley Christian (0), Monterey Trail (0) at Laguna Creek (5) and McNair (0) at Johansen (5).
Rematches from 2007 – Burbank-Christian Brothers, Colfax-Oakdale and Patterson-Argonaut. For Colfax-Oakdale, this is the third year in a row (and fifth time in the past seven years) the two have met in the playoffs, with Colfax winning the first three meetings before Oakdale prevailed 31-28 last year on its way to the Section title.
Best Combined Regular Season Record: 19-1, Granite Bay (9-1) at Grant (10-0).
18-2, Folsom at Napa; 17-2, Bradshaw Christian at Big Valley Christian; 17-3, Del Campo at Vanden, Rio Americano at Inderkum, Calaveras at Escalon and Hilmar at Modesto Christian.
Worst Combined Regular Season Record: 10-10, Woodcreek (5-5) at Oak Ridge (5-5) and Monterey Trail (3-7) at Laguna Creek (7-3).
Championship Game Schedule
* Division VII final will be played at a hosted site on Friday, November 28.
* Division II final will be played at Folsom High School on Friday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m.
* Division IV final will be played at UOP on Friday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m.
* Division VI final will be played at a hosted site on Friday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m.
* Division III final will be played at Oakmont High School on Saturday, December 6 at 1:00 p.m.
* Division V final will be played at UOP on Saturday, December 6 at 1:00 p.m.
* Division I final will be played at UOP on Saturday, December 13 at 1:00 p.m.
DIVISION I NOTES
* Welcome: Monterey Trail and McNair. Both teams are making their playoff debuts.
* Welcome back: Fairfield. The Falcons return to the playoffs for the first time since losing the 2001 Section championship to Elk Grove.
* Fairfield at Pleasant Grove: Fairfield, as noted above, is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2001, while Pleasant Grove, DRL winners, prepare for its second playoff appearance. They split a pair of games last year.
* Vacaville at Nevada Union: This duo has combined for 78 playoff games, yet they are playing each other for only the second time. Vacaville beat Nevada Union 28-16 in 2006. Nevada Union has compiled a 21-8 playoff mark and three titles since 1993, but the Miners missed the playoffs last year after eight straight appearances. Vacaville, meanwhile, had won its last five before losing to Elk Grove in last year’s second round.
* Folsom at Napa: Napa is the defending Division I champion, and the Indians have won nine of their last 13 playoff games dating to 2003 with seven straight appearances. Folsom, meanwhile, has had no playoff success since the Tom Doherty-led Bulldogs won its second straight title in 1990. Folsom returned to the playoffs in 1994, ’95 and 2006 without a playoff win.
* Monterey Trail at Laguna Creek: Someone is bound to win. Laguna Creek has made five previous trips to the playoffs and has come up empty each time. Monterey Trail, meanwhile, is making its first playoff appearance.
* Tracy at Merced: These two have combined for 73 playoff games and four Section titles. They have met in the playoffs three times with Tracy winning in 1980 and ’86, and Merced winning in 1989. Merced has been to seven Section finals, winning twice. The Bears lost in the 2006 finals. Tracy was once one of the premier football programs in the Section, but the Bulldogs had fallen on hard times before ending an 11-year absence last year with its first playoff appearance in 11 years.
* McNair at Johansen: Johansen has not won a playoff game since 1996 and is 2-3 lifetime. McNair, a third-year school, is in the playoffs for the first time.
* Los Banos at St. Mary’s: Los Banos is in the playoffs for the first time since 1998 and is making its Division I debut. St. Mary’s, meanwhile, is in the playoffs for the seventh straight year, and in that time, the Rams won a 2004 title and lost in the 2007 finals. The Rams are 11-4 since 2003.
* Grace Davis at Lincoln-S: Grace Davis has been to the playoffs 20 times since 1980 but it has not won any Section titles and has lost its last five playoff games. Lincoln-S is in the playoffs for the ninth straight year, which includes a 2000 championship and a 14-7 record since 2000.
DIVISION II
* Welcome: Woodcreek and Rosemont. Both teams are making their playoff debuts.
* Woodcreek at Oak Ridge: This is a matchup of a perennial power against a team with no playoff experience. Oak Ridge won nine straight playoff games and three straight titles from 2002 through 2004 but missed the playoffs in 2005 and lost first-round games in 2006 and ’07. The Trojans have played 35 postseason games while Woodcreek is playing its first. Both teams are 5-5.
* Granite Bay at Grant: It only seems that Grant is in the playoffs every year. The Pacers will improve their record for consecutive playoff appearances to 18 when it plays host to Granite Bay in a Division II opener. Grant, second all-time in victories (36) and first in games played (55), is making its 26th appearance in the playoffs in the past 29 years. In the last 17 years, the Pacers have compiled a 28-12 record with five Section titles. Meanwhile, Granite Bay is making its 10th straight playoff appearance. The Grizzlies have never lost a first-round game and have won three Section titles including last year’s championship.
* Rosemont at Roseville: Rosemont is making its playoff debut and Roseville is trying to win its first playoff game since 1991. The Tigers of Roseville have lost six straight playoff games.
* Burbank at Christian Brothers: This is a rematch from last year’s opening round that Burbank won 22-20. The Titans are making their fourth straight playoff appearance. The Falcons, meanwhile, have not won a playoff game since losing the 1986 Section championship, a string of eight straight losses.
DIVISION III
* Welcome back: Rio Americano. Rio Americano is making its first postseason appearance since 1998. The other seven teams in this division are returning from last year.
* Bethel at Casa Roble: Bethel is making its eighth straight playoff appearance and reached last year’s championship game before losing to Rodriguez. Casa Roble is only 1-7 in eight playoff games, its only win a 24-12 verdict over Bethel in 2006.
* Rodriguez at Woodland: Rodriguez is the Division III defending champions, while Woodland is seeking to snap a four-game playoff losing streak.
* Del Campo at Vanden: Del Campo has won four of its last five playoff games while Vanden has lost its last four and nine of 10.
* Rio Americano at Inderkum: Rio Americano is in the playoffs for the first time in a decade and hasn’t won a playoff game since 1994. Inderkum has split a pair of playoff games in each of the past two years.
DIVISION IV
* Welcome: Sierra. Sierra is making its first postseason appearance.
* Welcome back: Dixon. The Rams return to the playoffs for the first time since 1999.
* Bear River at Dixon: Bear River is making its fifth straight playoff appearance and has been to the playoffs 12 times since 1991, winning 12 of 22 games and one title, 1994. Dixon has not been to the playoffs since 1999 and has won only one playoff game (1997) since winning its second title in 1974.
* Colfax at Oakdale: Much tradition will be in play when these two meet for the fifth time since 2002. One or the other (or both) has been to the Section finals in every year since 1999 except 2005. They are a combined 4-5 in finals during that stretch with Colfax winning three times and Oakdale winning it all last year. Since 2000, Colfax has compiled a 14-5 playoff mark. Oakdale is 14-7 since 1996. The two have combined for 63 playoff games and six championships.
* Rio Linda at Sierra: Rio Linda is making its seventh straight playoff appearance while Sierra is making its first appearance. The Knights are 7-7 since 1998 with a title in 2004.
* Foothill at Whitney: Foothill enters this contest as the only known team to qualify for the playoffs with only two victories on the season. Meanwhile, Whitney is a perfect 10-0 with a loss in last year’s Section finals in its first playoff appearance. Foothill has lost 13 of its last 15 playoff games.
DIVISION V
* Calaveras at Escalon: Calaveras is a regular in the playoffs with 24 appearances (12 straight) and a 14-24 record. They have yet to win a championship, despite seven trips to the finals. Escalon has compiled a 28-6 playoff record dating back to 1993. The Cougars have played in 10 Section title games, winning six, since 1993. However, for the Cougars to reach another Section final, they will probably have to get by Central Catholic in the semifinals. These two have combined for 82 postseason games, and they are no strangers, as they have hooked up seven times. Calaveras won the first two but Escalon has won the last five.
* Summerville at Central Catholic: Opposites attract. Summerville has won just one playoff game (2001) and has not been in the playoffs since that time. Central Catholic has been the dominant football program in the Sac-Joaquin Section over the past 11 years, winning 10 Section titles and holding a 27-game playoff winning streak.
* Patterson at Argonaut: This is a rematch from last year’s first round game won by Patterson 31-14. Argonaut is making its sixth straight postseason appearance and won the Division IV title in 2004. Patterson has made the playoffs each year since 2005 and made it to the finals last year, losing to Central Catholic.
* Hilmar at Modesto Christian: Hilmar has won four Section titles but none since 1989. The Yellowjackets did reach the Section finals in both 2003 and ’05 but lost both times to Escalon. Modesto Christian has compiled an 8-5 record with three title game losses since 2003.
DIVISION VI
* Welcome: Waterford. Waterford is making its first postseason appearance.
* Mariposa and Marysville draw first round byes. Mariposa won the Southern League with a 9-1 mark and is seeking its second Section title. Marysville has not been to the playoffs since 2003 and has not won a playoff game since 2001. They are the winners of the GEL.
* Waterford at Lindhurst: Waterford is making its first playoff appearance while Lindhurst is the two-time champions of this division. This is Lindhurst’s seventh straight playoff appearance.
* Capital Christian at Le Grand: Capital Christian made it to the Section finals last year in its first playoff appearance. Le Grand has been to the playoffs 10 times, but has won games in the playoffs only twice. Both times they made it to the Section finals but lost.
DIVISION VII
* Welcome: Big Valley Christian. Big Valley Christian is making its first postseason appearance.
* Bradshaw Christian at Big Valley Christian: Neither team has ever won a Section playoff game. Bradshaw lost its only game in 2007. Big Valley is making its debut.
* Brookside Christian at Vacaville Christian: Brookside has lost four of five past playoff games, while Vacaville Christian is the defending champion.
For match-ups and other SJS information go to the Sac-Joaquin Section website.
