by John Hull, jrhull1004@gmail.com
Former Elk Grove High School linebacker and fullback Lance Briggs will highlight the 2018 class of honorees in the Sac-Joaquin Section's Hall of Fame. Briggs, along with former Philadelphia Phillies' pitcher John Vukovich of Amador H.S., Jesuit H.S. and MLB pitcher J.P. Howell, Laguna Creek H.S. discus thrower Chaniqua Ross and eight others, will be inducted Sunday, Oct. 21 in ceremonies at the Sacramento Hyatt Regency.
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| Lance Briggs, a 7-time All-Pro linebacker with the Chicago Bears, will be added to the Sac-Joaquin Section's Hall of Fame Oct. 21 |
This announcement along with some major changes in prep football playoffs were announced Thursday during the Section's annual Media Day. Will DeBoard, assistant Section commissioner, added that prep basketball playoffs, staged the past two seasons at University of the Pacific in Stockton, will be moved to Sacramento's Golden One Arena.
Those were two of many new nuances that will start with the 2018-2019 sports season, which begins Friday with a full slate of football and volleyball games.
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Athletic Transfers
Click HERE to find out who relocated to
a new high school this season in the Sac-Joaquin Section
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Section officials announced there will be 12-team brackets in Divisions I through VI football playoffs beginning this season. Division VII will be a six-team playoff. In a major change over the playoff system used the past five seasons, only first-place teams are assured of making the post-season. Section officials will use power ratings compiled by Calpreps.com to populate the remaining slots to form the 78-team field.
The 12-team brackets in Divisions I through VI will mean seeds one through four will earn a first-round bye. Conceivably, the first round games (5th seed vs. 12th seed, 6 vs. 11, etc.) will be much more competitive games than what have dampened the opening nights of prep football post-season over the last few years.
The power rating system will take into account strength of schedule, competitive strength of each league and margin of victory for each club. Section officials say that it is possible that powerhouse leagues such as the Sierra Foothill League might place all its teams into the post-season while there will be other leagues that will send only its champion into the playoffs.
In the previous football playoff system, most leagues got first-, second- and third-place teams into the post-season automatically with some of the stronger leagues getting four or even five teams in. The rule that a school must have at least two league wins in order to qualify for the playoffs is now gone.
Other notes from Thursday's Media Day:
- CIF is considering now a proposal that would create a NorCal and a SoCal regional championship in both baseball and softball.
- Both boys and girls wrestling state championships will be held simultaneously Feb. 21-23, 2019 at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield.
- The only change in the '18-'19 playoffs in basketball is that all schools ranked in Maxpreps' Top 15 in their division will qualify. In the past, teams had to finish in the Top-10 or be first, second or third in their league standings.
- Juniors in high school can now play at the junior varsity level of their sport.
- Athletes who transfer to a different high school now must sit out at least 50 percent of the varsity games at their new school. In the past, the "Sit-out period" lasted 30 days which in some sports was more than half of the season.
- Girls Volleyball Foundation Games will be Aug. 20 throughout the Section with gate proceeds going towards the Dale Lacky Scholarship Fund. Last school year 49 student/athletes received $30,500 in scholarships. Local Foundation games include Johnson vs. Sheldon, Sacramento vs. Franklin, Laguna Creek vs. Florin and Kennedy vs. Elk Grove.
- Section officials are scrambling to find sites for both the Masters wrestling championships and the Masters Track and Field Championships. Wrestling championships have traditionally been at the Stockton Arena, but the arena is not available Feb. 15-16. The running track at Elk Grove High School, site of the last several Masters Track and Field Championships, is being replaced.
In the Sports Corner Podcast, SJS Commissioner Mike Garrison talked about the decline in participation in prep football, the need for more game officials and looked ahead to the '18-'19 sports season.
High School Zero Week Football Games - Friday
Sheldon vs. Monterey Trail
Laguna Creek vs. Valley
Elk Grove vs. Inderkum
Florin vs. Rosemont
Christian Brothers vs. Burbank
Pleasant Grove vs. Placer
Franklin vs. McNair
Capital Christian vs. Cosumnes Oaks
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