Tyler Swortfiguer (left) and Josh McCreath were senior leaders at Ripon, which lost its only game of the season in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs to Central Catholic of Modesto but got a head-to-head win in September over Escalon.
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Open Division: Not that it matters much at this point of the season when the state bowl games are set, but the top 10 teams that would be ranked by CalHiSports.com for the CIF Open Division in Northern California would be:
1. De La Salle (Concord); 2. Folsom; 3. Granite Bay; 4. Marin Catholic (Kentfield); 5. Oakdale; 6. Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills); 7. Franklin (Elk Grove); 8. Elk Grove; 9. St. Ignatius (San Francisco); 10. Bellarmine (San Jose).
With assistance from Harold Abend and Paul Muyskens, here are the Week 16 rankings for each of Northern California’s CIF bowl game divisions (previous ranking in parentheses; after games of Saturday, Dec. 8):
DIVISION I NORTH
1. (1) De La Salle (Concord) 14-0
2. (2) Folsom 14-1
3. (3) Granite Bay 12-3
4. (8) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 12-2
5. (6) Franklin (Elk Grove) 12-1
6. (7) Elk Grove 12-2
7. (4) St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 10-4
8. (5) Bellarmine (San Jose) 11-2
9. (9) Luther Burbank (Sacramento) 12-1
10. (10) Del Oro (Loomis) 7-6
11. (11) James Logan (Union City) 12-2
12. (12) Buhach Colony (Atwater) 10-3
13. (13) Serra (San Mateo) 9-3
14. (14) California (San Ramon) 9-3
15. (15) Freedom (Oakley) 9-3
Drops: None.
Bubble Teams: Amador Valley (Pleasanton) 8-5, Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 8-4, Downey (Modesto) 10-2, Grant (Sacramento) 5-6, Lincoln (Stockton) 8-4, Oak Grove (San Jose) 10-1, Palma (Salinas) 8-3, Palo Alto 8-3, Pittsburg 8-4, Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 7-5, San Ramon Valley (Danville) 6-6, St. Mary’s (Stockton) 9-3.
Teams that could move up with a De La Salle win in the CIF state finals: California (in front of San Mateo Serra), St. Mary’s of Stockton (ahead of Buhach Colony).
Teams that could move up with a Granite Bay win in the CIF state finals: Pittsburg (would still have to behind California and Freedom but all three could move up in front of Buhach Colony and Serra); Downey of Modesto (ahead of Freedom), St. Ignatius (ahead of Elk Grove, a move that also would be dependent on Marin Catholic winning state crown).
Bubble teams with strongest arguments to move up in next week’s final rankings: St. Mary’s of Stockton (playoff loss to Del Oro with just an eight-point loss to De La Salle); Pittsburg (1-point win vs Granite Bay with 1-point loss to Freedom and playoff loss to De La Salle).
DIVISION II NORTH
1. (2) Oakdale 14-1
2. (1) Clayton Valley (Concord) 12-2
3. (3) St. Francis (Mountain View) 8-5
4. (5) Vista del Lago (Folsom) 11-2*
5. (4) Rancho Cotate (Rohnert Park) 12-1
6. (6) Inderkum (Sacramento) 10-3
7. (7) Northgate (Walnut Creek) 9-3
8. (9) American Canyon 11-2
9. (8) Enterprise (Redding) 9-3
10. (10) Cosumnes Oaks (Elk Grove) 9-3
*Default win not included.
Drops: None.
Bubble Teams: Casa Grande (Petaluma) 7-4, Chico 8-4, Concord 10-3, Foothill (Palo Cedro) 8-4, Lincoln (San Francisco) 9-1, Newark Memorial (Newark) 9-3, Paradise 8-4, San Benito (Hollister) 8-5, Sierra (Manteca) 10-2, Wilcox (Santa Clara) 8-5.
Teams that could move up with an Oakdale win in the CIF state finals: Vista del Lago (ahead of St. Francis), American Canyon (ahead of Northgate), Cosumnes Oaks (ahead of Enterprise).
Bubble teams with strongest arguments to move up in next week’s final rankings: Concord (playoff loss to Clayton Valley with wins over Amador Valley and Casa Grante), Paradise (1-pt loss to Enterprise in section final with 1-pt win over Enterprise from earlier in season).
DIVISION III NORTH
1. (1) Marin Catholic (Kentfield) 14-1
2. (2) El Cerrito 13-1
3. (4) Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) 11-2
4. (3) Sutter 13-1
5. (5) Sacred Heart Prep (Atherton) 12-1
6. (6) Valley Christian (San Jose) 7-6
7. (7) Escalon 11-3
8. (8) Placer (Auburn) 11-1
9. (9) Analy (Sebastopol) 12-1
10. (10) Los Banos 11-2
Drops: None.
Bubble Teams: Arcata 11-2, Aptos 10-3, Argonaut (Jackson) 11-1, Campolindo (Moraga) 10-2, Carmel 9-2, Center (Antelope) 10-3, Justin-Siena (Napa) 11-2*, Menlo School (Atherton) 10-3, Ripon 11-1, San Marin (Novato) 7-7, Seaside 11-1, Sobrato (Morgan Hill) 8-4, Soquel 9-3, West Valley (Cottonwood) 11-2.
Teams that could move up with a Marin Catholic win in the CIF state finals: Analy (ahead of Placer), Campolindo (ahead of Los Banos).
Bubble teams with strongest arguments to move up in next week’s final rankings: Ripon (head-to-head win over Escalon with playoff loss to Central Catholic), Menlo School (two of its losses to Sacred Heart Prep with win over previously unbeaten Seaside), Campolindo (losses to Analy and El Cerrito with El Cerrito loss by just 1 pt).
DIVISION IV NORTH
1. (1) Central Catholic (Modesto) 13-2
2. (2) McClymonds (Oakland) 9-4
3. (3) Ferndale 12-1
4. (4) Brookside Christian (Stockton) 10-2
5. (5) Capital Christian (Sacramento) 10-2
6. (6) Le Grand 11-2
7. (NR) Valley Christian (Dublin) 8-3
8. (7) St. Vincent de Paul (Petaluma) 10-3
9. (8) California School for the Deaf (Fremont) 10-2
10. (9) Portola 10-1*
*Indicates one default win not included.
Drops: Previous No. 10 Willows (making room for Valley Christian of Dublin).
Bubble Teams: Chester 9-2*, Foresthill 10-2, Hamilton (Hamilton City) 9-4, Maxwell 8-3, Pierce (Arbuckle) 11-1, Ripon Christian 9-3, St. Bernard’s (Eureka) 7-5, Tomales 6-5, Waterford 9-3, Willows 9-4.
*Default win not included.
Teams that could move up with a Central Catholic win in the CIF state finals: LeGrand (ahead of Capital Christian).
Bubble teams with strongest arguments to move up in next week’s final rankings: Pierce (playoff loss to Willows but beat Willows earlier in season), Foresthill (playoff loss to Brookside Christian but win over Ripon Christian).
Comments or corrections? Email markjtennis@gmail.com.
CalHiSports.com 
Carl F Merritt
December 11, 2012
In the D1 teams with the strongest argument to move up in next week’s rankings please also consider Downey of Modesto based on their 45-42 win over Central Catholic which is in the D4 state bowl game and has a great chance of winning it all. Also, in the SJS D1 playoffs they and Oak Ridge were the only teams to score at least 20 points against Granite Bay.
EHS4life
December 12, 2012
@marktennis are you going to come out with predictions for the bowl games
marktennis52
December 12, 2012
Yes, they will be out Thursday morning.
Oakdale Fan
December 12, 2012
Memo to Clayton Valley coaching staff: celebrations should occur after victories and not before defeats. It’s one thing for your team to be fired up and excited before a game, but another thing to allow them to prance in front of the opponent’s grandstand, pound their chests and flap their arms. It was both disrespectful and unsportsmanlike… Whatever the desired intent/purpose, it was a bad idea, but gave the boo-birds a place to roost.
EHS4life
December 12, 2012
thanks mark
Pirate Boy the II
December 12, 2012
I am cheering for Oakdale Saturday from a Pirate fan ! Ball control, squib kick, no turnovers, and play like warriors !
Ripon fan
December 13, 2012
Ripon High’s only loss was to Central Catholic, 40-21 in the Sac-Joaquin Div IV semifinals. Of Central Catholic’s four section wins, their closest game came from Ripon High. Ripon High was also the only team to actually lead CC at halftime in the playoffs, up 21-17. In contrast, CC had a running clock against Escalon in the fourth quarter. And of course, Ripon beat Escalon during the season.
But for luck of the draw, we could have very well have seen a CC/Ripon section final…
jimerpop
December 15, 2012
I’m from Escalon and I agree with Ripon fan. Ripon deserves a lot more respect. They beat Escalon and it wasn’t even close. They would beat most of the teams up there if not all. Central Catholic just didn’t belong in these lower brackets. Ripon came the closest to beating them.
John
December 16, 2012
Jimer what are you talking about????????