Advertisement

Realignment proved vital for city postseason success

Burroughs High boys’ water polo players David Arakelyan and LJ Burns enjoyed much success this season as the Indians won the CIF Southern Section Division V championship.
(Tim Berger/Staff Photographer)
Share

It can often be tricky or even impossible to track the start of a championship run.

For some teams, it’s a streak midway through the season that provides a jelling point. For others, greatness came right out of the gate, while some squads pieced together improbable postseason runs.

If there was one common thread in what was an exceptional sports year for city high schools, perhaps it’s that just about each team received a boost from the CIF Southern Section office in the form of divisional realignment.

Nearly every single Burbank squad that advanced to the semifinal postseason round or better was the beneficiary of realignment.

The Burbank High football and boys’ basketball, Burroughs boys’ water polo and Providence girls’ volleyball teams all enjoyed remarkable and historic runs this 2016-17 sports season, with each dropping down at least one division.

On one hand, each program received some help, but on the flip side, each squad still had to take advantage of its position.

When the first round of the CIF Southern Section boys’ water polo playoffs kicked off Nov. 8, Burroughs High found itself with a favorable draw.

The Indians were already in the midst of a wonderful season, having tallied a 20-6 record to that point that included a second-place finish in the Pacific League and the program’s first sweep of stalwart Crescenta Valley this century.

Burroughs finished runner-up to Hoover, which was moved up from Division IV with Crescenta Valley into the Division II playoffs.

Burroughs, which won a wild-card match in the 2015 Division IV postseason, was dropped to Division V and seeded third.

“It was a breath of fresh air to be in the playoffs and know you have a chance to do something,” Burroughs Coach Jacob Cook said. “Even my boys told me this when they found out they were being dropped a division. It wasn’t just league this year, but we felt like we had to set a goal to win a CIF championship.”

While Hoover and Crescenta Valley were bounced by the quarterfinal round, Burroughs enjoyed a 5-0 playoff march and captured a momentous victory over San Juan Hills, 12-7, in the Division V title game on Nov. 19 at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine.

The win secured only the school’s second-ever CIF Southern Section title.

“It was an absolutely amazing feeling to be part of a CIF team, a championship team,” Cook said. “It’s an experience that any coach wants for his guys. I felt like we were a good team last year and we put it together and won our school’s second championship.”

Burroughs was made aware of its move between divisions on June 17, 2016, when the Southern Section office released the alignment for all fall sports, including football.

On that day, the Burbank High football team joined archrival Burroughs in dropping from the Central Division (considered Division V by the prep football website calpreps.com) to Division VIII.

While the Indians struggled in 2016, the Bulldogs matched their best league finish under coach Richard Broussard by taking second behind Crescenta Valley, the league champion, and finishing 6-1 in league.

“We always felt like we were a good ball club since I got there in 2009,” said Broussard, who resigned in December and will be an assistant coach with Pasadena City College this fall. “We had made runs in the playoffs and had good teams, but when we played Salesian in the 2014 [Southeast Division second round], I just remember how amazing those guys were.

“So, it was always a matter of bodies for us, since we don’t have big numbers. So, when the brackets were released this year, it was like, ‘Cool, we have a shot.’”

Crescenta Valley, which was placed in Division VI, was ousted in the first round. Unseeded Burbank, though, picked up three postseason victories, including a 44-14 win over third-seeded Don Lugo in the semifinals, to advance to the program’s first-ever championship game.

“We put out good ball clubs, but it was nice to know we could make a run,” said Broussard, whose team also bested second-seeded Northview, 30-27, in the quarterfinals. “When we beat Northview, with a Division I quarterback and receiver, we knew we had a chance to do something.”

Even though Burbank fell at Yorba Linda, 31-21, on Dec. 2 in the title game, the Bulldogs still secured their slice of history.

Providence’s Talia Patterson and her Pioneers advanced to the semifinals of the Division VIII playoffs for the first time in a decade. The Pioneers also qualified for the CIF State Division IV playoffs.
(Tim Berger/Staff Photographer)

Football and boys’ water polo weren’t the only city sports to produce a memorable fall playoff run as Providence girls’ volleyball enjoyed a resurgence as well.

The Pioneers lost in the first round of the Division IV-AA playoffs in 2015 and were moved down one division to Division VIII as the AA and A designations were eliminated.

“I didn’t really know what to expect after we were moved down, but it felt good to be competitive in the playoffs,” Providence Coach James Jimenez said. “The last two years, I felt like I had good teams but we competed against teams in IV-AA and we just couldn’t do anything. We just couldn’t match their talent.”

Providence finished third in the competitive Liberty League behind champion Archer, which advanced to the Division VII quarterfinals.

In Division VIII, the Pioneers picked up three postseason wins, culminating with a come-from-behind 22-25, 26-24, 25-20, 26-24 upset home victory over top-seeded Gladstone in the quarterfinals on Nov. 5.

The win sent Providence to only the program’s second semifinal appearance and first since 2006. Both visits came under the direction of Jimenez.

Though the Pioneers were defeated, 25-18, 23-25, 25-21, 25-19 in the semifinals on Nov. 8 versus Katella in Anaheim, they earned the program’s first berth to the CIF State Division playoffs. The Pioneers lost in the first round of the Division IV postseason.

“It’s been such a long time since we were last in the semifinals that I honestly couldn’t remember what that was like,” Jimenez said. “My hope is that we don’t make it another 10 years before we make it back.”

Perhaps the most unexpected postseason run was delivered by Burbank boys’ basketball, which had its postseason fate, perhaps unknowingly, changed on Oct. 27 when the Southern Section office moved the Bulldogs two divisions down from Division II-AA to Division III-AA.

The year before, Burbank made an impressive drive to the quarterfinals before falling to Mission League powerhouse Loyola, 76-58, in the third round.

“For me, when we went to Division III-AA, I just said, ‘OK, this is what it is’ and we just had to go out and prepare for those games,” Burbank Coach Jamayne Potts said. “It’s not easy regardless of what division you’re in, but as you saw from [2015-2016], I felt like we could compete in Division II-AA and Division III-AA.”

Down two divisions and loaded with several returners, the Bulldogs struggled at first in the Pacific League and finished fourth behind champion Pasadena (lost in Division I-A championship), second-place Muir (lost in Division II-A second round) and No. 3 Crescenta Valley (lost in Division II-AA first round).

In the playoffs, though, unheralded Burbank rallied for 52-50 upset win over No. 2-seeded Crean Lutheran in the quarterfinals on Feb. 21 before toppling No. 3 Rancho Mirage, 76-71, in the semifinals.

The program nearly won its first championship in 91 years if not for a miracle, buzzer-beating game-winning three-pointer from Braelee Albert, which secured a 55-54 overtime championship for Brentwood at Azusa Pacific on March 3.

The loss did not end Burbank’s postseason run, though, as the Bulldogs were awarded the top seed in Southern California in the CIF State Division IV playoffs and picked up two wins before losing to No. 5 Immanuel, 58-57, on March 14 in the regional semifinals.

To every rule, there are exceptions and one such team that actually thrived in spite of being moved up during realignment was the Bellarmine-Jefferson girls’ basketball squad.

The Guards lost the 2015-16 Division VI championship to Price, 62-40, at Godinez High, while they advanced to the CIF State Division V regional semifinals.

This past season, Bell-Jeff moved up a division to V-A for the Southern Section playoffs but was undeterred in defeating Chadwick School, 56-39, on March 4 for the Division V-A title. The Guards then even went a round deeper in the state playoffs before being defeated by Rolling Hills Prep, 68-56, in the Division V regional finals on March 18.

Squads like Bell-Jeff were rare, though, as programs who went up generally suffered.

A Burroughs softball team that won a Pacific League title and made its first semifinal appearance in school history in the Division III playoffs in 2016, won a league title again this past season, but fell in the first round of the Division I playoffs.

Burroughs boys’ volleyball’s 2016 squad won a Pacific League title, lost in the CIF-SS Division II championship, but recovered to the claim the CIF State Southern California Regional Division II title.

The Indians were also moved up to Division I this past season. While Burroughs won another league title, the Indians also had a much shorter playoff run that ended in the second round.

Of course, realignment success also came in small runs.

Burbank baseball, which finished fourth in the Pacific League and lost in the wild-card round of the Division II playoffs in 2016, was dropped down two divisions this season.

The Bulldogs finished third in league in 2017 and then defeated Lancaster, 10-5, in the first round of the Division IV playoffs in the Antelope Valley on May 19.

Though Burbank lost, 6-5, in the second round at home on Tuesday, the Bulldogs still ended the season having advanced past the first round of the playoffs for the first time this century.

As for the debate on the value of realignment, one coach believes the argument is a little overblown.

“I’ve always had the same approach with the division stuff,” Potts said. “There are going to be really good teams in whatever division you’re in. You just accept whatever is given to you and you just go out and play those games.”

andrew.campa@latimes.com

Twitter: @campadresports

Advertisement