As most of you might have guessed I am a sports fan. That is the main reason for doing what I do here.
Let’s go back to Saturday.
What an eventful day it was in sports. A sports fans dream mainly on the National Level and in some ways the local level.
The National Level was the NFL playoffs. The second game had a field goal win it as time ran out and it was almost boring compared to what happened in the first game in which the final was 45-44.
On the local level it was mainly about Santa Rosa. During the afternoon, the Boys had one of their biggest wins of year by defeating Cardinal Newman for third place in the Sonoma County Classic and later that day the Girls had a good win. Throw in a win by the Montgomery Boys that will have an effect come playoff times.
With all that good stuff, I missed most of it. Believe it or not, sometimes life happens besides sports. I know, I know, not likely but it does.
One thing I did get to work on this weekend is the first basketball rankings of the season which will be presented to you now.
This wasn’t an easy task. No. 1 seems to be clear cut, but after that parity has hit the local basketball scene and the guess is the task won’t get any easier as we go.
A public service note: records are unofficial.
BOYS
No. 1 Montgomery (8-4)…When the Vikings lost the second round game of the National Prep Tournament and with the schedule they had coming up, there was a chance that the Vikings would be No. 1 and not have a.500 record. That didn’t happen and they ended a tough week with a 57-42 win over College Park in a game between the two highest rank NCS Division 2 teams, a game that will look very good on the Vikings resume when a No. 1 seed is being decided for the playoffs. That they survived the pre-league part of that schedule over .500, says something about how good this team is.
No. 2 Casa Grande (7-5)…The Gauchos had the toughest schedule in the area this side of Montgomery. One loss was to a very good Fairfield team, who they battled to the end. All of its losses have been to at least a .500 team except for San Marin, who has dropped three straight to fall under .500,
No. 3 Willits (11-2)…This was one of the tough choices. The Wolverines haven’t played as tough of schedule as any of the teams here, but are 2-0 against NBL teams. They also have most back from last year’s 21-6 team and are the favorite in the NCL I race.
No. 4 Analy (6-5)…They have had better teams in recent years, but a tough schedule and a win over Cardinal Newman combined with a loss to Casa Grande puts them here.
No. 5 Ukiah (8-3)…Example of trying to sort things out. The Wildcats record is a half game better than Maria Carrillo so they edge them out for this spot.
No. 6 Maria Carrillo (8-4)…AJ John is going to a Division 1 school and can take over a game at any time.
No. 7 Cardinal Newman (6-6)…They have had a season like Back to the Future. Early in the season they had a four game streak of games decided by four points or less in which they went 1-3. Last weekend in the last two games of the Sonoma County Classic, they dropped both games by one point.
No. 8 Santa Rosa (7-4)…The win over Cardinal Newman was there first since January 28th, 2005 or fifteen games. The Panthers are here because the Cardinal Newman win over Santa Rosa was bigger than the Santa Rosa win over Cardinal Newman. Bad break. First league game is against Montgomery.
No. 9 Piner (6-6)…Tough schedule with two impressive wins, including one over Windsor. Won last two games of Sonoma County Classic to get to .500.
No. 10 Windsor (8-4)…Impressive record, not such an impressive schedule. They have one win over an over .500 team. Best game was a one point loss to Washington.
Keep An Eye On: Clear Lake, Cloverdale, Elsie Allen
SCL Begins on Tuesday.
NBL Begins on Wednesday including No. 2 Casa Grande at No. 6 Maria Carrillo and No. 7 Cardinal Newman at No. 5 Ukiah
Willits opens league play at Clear Lake on Tuesday and with a home game against Cloverdale on Friday.
GIRLS
No. 1 Santa Rosa (9-1)…Has a big chunk of the team that finished last year as the YSN No. 1 team. The one loss was disappointing, but six of the last seven wins are teams over .500. The last was over Clayton Valley, who has a double digit win over Montgomery and over 20 points wins over Maria Carrillo and Sonoma Valley.
No. 2 Windsor (9-2)…Not a team to overlook. The two losses were both to Division 1 teams who have a combined record of 17-9. Also have a 12 point win over Casa Grande.
No. 3 Casa Grande (6-4)…Two of the losses shouldn’t count. One is to 12-0 Miramonte who is ranked No. 8 in the Country. The other is to Valley Christian who is 56-7 over the last two seasons and 9-2 this year. Best win is over Northgate who is 11-2 and has wins over Analy, Montgomery and Sonoma Valley.
No. 4 Cardinal Newman (7-5)…Has been traveling a lot and has played teams from other state and actually other countries. Hard to know what kind of competition they have played. Do know that they have beaten one team that has a better record than .500. Also know they have a lot of players back from last year’s 16-9 team.
No.5 Ukiah (5-4)…Started 0-3 and then defeated Petaluma and Montgomery. Only loss since then was to the No. 14 team in the nation. Petaluma and Montgomery are the only teams they have defeated that are only .500.
No. 6 Petaluma (7-5)…The Trojans started 4-1 before losing to Ukiah and Maria Carrillo. They just finished 3rd place in a tournament mostly Division 1 and 2 teams. The defending Sonoma County League championship is favored to repeat.
No. 7 Montgomery (6-5)…A team that won the NBL Post Season Tournament and four of the last five was hit by graduation. It wouldn’t be a normal NBL year if Montgomery isn’t in the championship conversation.
No. 8 Middletown (9-3)…Three losses are to teams with a combined record of 20-6. This program has come a long way. In a three year span ending in 2012 they went 14-48.
No. 9 St. Vincent (6-4)…All losses to either Division 1 or 2 teams. They are trying to hit the twenty win mark for the third straight season.
No. 10 Sonoma Valley (5-8)…Schedule gets them on the list despite the record. All the losses are two teams over .500, most of them well over .500. For example: Napa 14-0, Northgate 11-3, Arcata 9-2 and Justin Siena 9-3.
Keep An Eye On: Kelseyville and Sonoma Academy
NBL begins on Tuesday including No. 7 Montgomery at No. 1 Santa Rosa and No. 5 Ukiah at No. 4 Cardinal Newman.
SCL begins on Wednesday including No. 6 Petaluma at No. 10 Sonoma Valley.
NCL II has begun. On Monday Sonoma Academy is at No. 9 St. Vincent.
My email address is jacpasquini@comcast.net