Bottom line? Baseline has been vindicated
We all know the Baseline League isn't Inland Division championship material. One collective playoff win in three years is a trend, not a coincidence.
But with three teams in the semifinals its first year in the less competitive Central Division, a Baseline League that used to disappear come playoff time has been vindicated.
There is a lot of glamour that tarnishes the Baseline in some people's eyes, a lot of hype that gives them more reason to dismiss it upon failure. But there is a reason two of the league's quarterbacks will be playing in the Pac-10 next year - they're good - and they're showing it right now. (Get used to it, at least one of next year's glamourous Baseline QB's is Pac-10 caliber)
The Sierra League is solid to be sure. And the Mt. Baldy League deserved credit for producing the Central Division champion the last two years, although it would have been interesting to see Colony navigate a bracket including the Baseline and Sierra Leagues.
It's not fair to say we figured anything out this year about Colony's 2006 and 2007 title teams. The young 2008 Colony team isn't comparable to the last two, evidenced by a third-place finish in a league that went 0-3 this postseason. But the road to the Central Division obviously got tougher with the arrival of the Baseline and Sierra Leagues and the departure of the Inland Valley and Pacific Leagues.
After posting a 3-17 playoff record in the previous five years, the Baseline League has a collective mark of 6-1 in these playoffs - the one being Etiwanda's 28-27 loss to Cajon, the lone non-Baseline team in the semis. Etiwanda's 14-9 win over Corona in 2006 is the lone playoff victory for the Baseline the three years prior to this one.
The poor Inland Valley League, which was moved to the Inland Division, didn't win a single playoff game this season in four tries.
The Sierra League's playoff record doesn't look as shabby as the Baseline's, but there is a good reason for that. It has produced one win each of the last two postseasons in the Inland Division and one of those wins was courtesy of a first-round matchup with a Baseline team. In fact, all six of the Sierra League's playoff wins from 2003-05 came at the expense of the Baseline League.
But now that the two are in a winnable division, the Baseline League has dominated the Sierra League. All three Sierra teams advanced to the quarterfinals but two were knocked out by Baseline teams and the third by Cajon.
The last time a Baseline League team reached a CIF semifinal was Upland in 2004, the only year in the previous five the Baseline League collectively produced more than one playoff victory.
This year, however, one is guaranteed a spot in the Central Division championship game and a Rancho Cucamonga victory over Cajon could make it an all Baseline League final.
The only tangible reason I could consider the Baseline League better this year than the previous five is the two senior Pac-10 QB's reaching the height of their maturity... Rancho Cucamonga having a QB able to harness the team's speed is another and the Los Osos and Rancho defenses have proven more stout than usual. But I don't believe the league as a whole would have done much better in the Inland Division than the teams that won three playoff games the previous five years. However, somebody was going to take advantage of the re-tooled Central Division and the Baseline League deserves credit for being the one to do it.
Comments
Hats off to Los Osos for bringing a good game to Chino Hills Friday night. Everyone in attendance was treated to a spectacular game on both sides of the ball. AJ Johnson ran thru the LO Defense the first half and was limited in the second due to leg cramps. Brehaut finished like he should with a 30 yd rocket for a TD. The game could've gone either way. We hope they win it all! The Huskies are young and will be back next year!
Go Huskies!
Posted by: Red Barron | December 2, 2008 7:57 AM
Clay,
I do have to admit one thing... It appears that the Sierra League really didn't represent, doesn't it? In two out of the three cases, I must agree, but the biggest match-up of the night may have been one banana short of a different story.
While you were across town watching a blow-out, you missed a real nail-biter at Husky Stadium.
The Grizzlies did jump out to an early 7-0 lead, but before the first quarter was over, the Huskies had rallied back to take a 10-7 lead. It was a lead the Huskies would hold on to until there were only 6 seconds left to play in the game.
Going into the halftime break, the Los Osos crowd was stunned to see their great team down, 24-14.
As the Red Barron alluded to, AJ Johnson ran wild in the first half.
We still haven't seen the final numbers, but I'm sure he outpaced Arby Fields who was held to less than 100 yards rushing.
(more to follow)
Posted by: Joe the Plumber | December 2, 2008 2:46 PM
The Husky defense was superb. Much of the 3rd quarter was a series of 3 and outs by both teams.
In the opening offensive series of the 3rd quarter, the Chino Hills crowd gasped when they saw AJ Johnson hop off the field with leg cramps before the huddle even broke.
In the second half, the Huskies defense held tough against a strong Grizzly attack. They made many keys stops, but it seemed that after each of those key stops, Johnson would cramp up again and the CHHS offense was unable to sustain a drive.
There were at least 3 key series that started with Johnson on the trainer's table. And, while the Chino Hills offense was able to sustain decent drives without Johnson, the combination of a pumped up Los Osos defense and Johnson on the sideline, at all the critical moments, proved to be just the right formula for the Grizzly win.
The final three series tell the tail... With the Huskies lead eroding (24-21), the Chino Hill's crowd erupted when Justin Robles delivered a monstrous hit on Brehuat, just one-banana short of a sack. (or would that be one-banana too many?) In any case, Brehuat showed great poise delivering a bullet high and to the back of the end zone. It was there that a leaping Tyler Thomas soared in front of the Los Osos receiver and intercepted what appeared to be the game sealing play for CHHS with less than two minutes left to go.
Once again, with Chino Hills taking over at their own 20, Johnson cramped up for the third time in the half. Perhaps, he too, was also just one banana short (God knows the potassium would have helped with the cramps). In any case, with Johnson once again sidelined, a couple of key time outs, a holding penalty, and a muffed snap, the Huskies, Westley Feer, found himself punting from his own end zone.
Los Osos started its final drive at the 50 and methodically marched it down the field with less than a minute to play in the game. The Chino Hill's defense stood tall though and forced Los Osos into a final shot at the end zone scenario from the 24 yard line and just 13 seconds left in the game.
Brehuat took the snap out of the shotgun and much like the earlier play that ended in a Chino Hills interception, the rush was on. This time it was Brandon Cross delivering the pressure and I'm sure as he wrapped Brehuat around the waist and threw him to the ground he was sure he had a game ending sack. But once again, Brehuat stood composed in the pocket and delivered a 30 yard strike to the same general area as his last attempt, but this time to approximately the one yard line. There was no interception this time, but rather, a good catch by Arby Fields followed by an enormous hit by Thomas and Ifo Ekpre_Olomu. Fields came down with the ball just inside the end zone for the game winning touchdown with just 6 seconds left in the game.
I'll have to say Clay, it was disheartening to see my valiant Huskies go out this way. It was gut-wrenching... Almost enough to bring a big burly plumber to tears.
Posted by: Joe the Plumber | December 2, 2008 2:52 PM
GOOD LUCK BASELINE! GO SCOTS!!! LETS TAKE IT ALL THE WAY! GO U-HIGH!
Posted by: highlander mom | December 2, 2008 9:41 PM
IT'S GREAT TO SEE THE SUCCESS OF THESE THREE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAMS THIS YEAR. I DON'T THINK THE DB HAS DONE ENOUGH TO PUBLICIZE THEIR TEAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND INDIVIDUAL AS WELL. QUIET AS IT'S KEPT THE RANCHO QB HAS HAD AS GOOD A YEAR IF NOT BETTER YEAR THAN THE TWO PAC-10 RECRUITS. THE PAPER NEEDS TO DO BETTER. IT WOULD INCREASE SUBSCRIPTIONS.
Posted by: MARLON JACKSON | December 4, 2008 3:34 PM
ok joe the plumber
first of all that "sack" on richard wasnt a sack, it was a holding call. secondly it was shaun alston with the winning catch, and he didnt even get touched. i'll give credit to the huskies cuz they were good, but not you.
Posted by: osos fan | December 12, 2008 6:38 PM