Motto fits perfectly with CIF's recent realignments
Good Afternoon!
T-Minus-177 Days until “The Mid Valley Classic”
And away we go…
The Mid-Valley Division is settled and includes: Mission Valley, Montview, Rio Hondo, Valle Vista, Olympic and the Almont.
Six leagues, 12 automatic playoff bids (First and Second place finishing), and four at large bids.
The Southeast Division will include the Del Rio, Pacific, Hacienda, and Suburban Leagues.
Four leagues, 15 playoff bids. The Del Rio will have three, the other leagues will put four each into the the post season.
The Suburban brings with it; Mayfair, Bellflower, Artesia, La Mirada, Glenn, Cerritos, and Norwalk.
Suburban schools faced played seven games against the Southeast and Mid-Valley in 2009 and went 4-3. La Mirada (13-1 and South Division CIF Champs) was 2-0 victories over Cal and La Serna. Norwalk reached the semis and finished 11-2.
In 2008 Mayfair began the season 0-4 then won nine consecutive games to reach the CIF finals before falling to Laguna Hills.
For a school like Walnut, now in the Hacienda League, it has to feel like Christmas. I’m not saying the Mustangs are aspiring to a fourth place finish, but the last few years they’ve been left on the outside looking in because they were in a five team San Antonio that featured four powerhouses.
The addition of the league from Orange County also provides a competitive balance to many who thought the Southeast was going to be Diamond Ranch’s playground.
Of course the folks doing the most dancing have to be in the Almont and the Olympic. We’ve made the case for the Olympic, as of right now, being an excellent fit for the Mid-Valley more so than it would be for the Northwest.
Whittier Christian is front and center ready to compete beyond league play for another deep title run, while Maranatha has gone mainstream.
Schurr has been major factor the last five years, now the rest of the Almont suddenly is back in the mix for the first time since the San Gabriel run of 2003.
You can make an argument Schurr is a front runner right along with Whittier Christian.
The caveat CIF added though is only first and second place are guaranteed playoff spots. The remaining bids go to the best four teams, this is great work by the governing body.
“I think it’s great,” said San Dimas HC Bill Zernickow. “No more fourth place wild cards.”
The Mid-Valley Division didn’t become unbalanced, it became even more competitive. The list of schools, from one year to the next, with a shot to compete and go deep in the playoffs is huge.
In the Montview you have three solids (Azusa, La Puente, Gladstone) now competing for two spots…not four. In the Valle Vista you have San Dimas, Baldwin Park, Covina, Wilson, and possibly in a very short time Pomona battle for two openings.
In the Mission Valley you can’t just be a third place team, you’re gonna have to beat Arroyo or Rosemead to lock up a playoff birth. After Monrovia in the Rio Hondo it is going to be a mad scramble.
Feeling good, it must be football season
Stay thirsty my friends…
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