Area squads in state of change after playoff realignment

With the start of the winter sports season fast approaching, the CIF Southern Section office released its 2016-2017 playoff groupings for boys’ and girls’ basketball and soccer and girls’ water polo, which brought about several notable changes.

The postseason realignment was based on a formula that consisted of playoff performance, wins and strength of schedule, which left a few coaches unhappy.

In boys’ basketball, Rio Hondo League champion La Cañada concluded the 2015-16 regular season ranked No. 1 in Division IV-AA.

The Spartans, who finished 26-4 and were defeated in the quarterfinal round, took the elevator nearly to the penthouse as they were moved into Division I-A, the second-highest division in the sport behind only I-AA.

“It’s kind of ridiculous,” La Cañada Coach Tom Hofman said. “They’re trying to be fair and there’s no good system, but in trying to even the playing field, there are teams like us who get run over. What have we accomplished to be moved up so far?”

La Cañada is the lone squad from the Rio Hondo League to make the jump.

“We’ve done it the right way and done it well for years and now we’re getting swept up into this,” Hofman said. “We’re not a Division I-A team. We’re a mid-sized public school that doesn’t recruit and now we’re in a field full of schools that do that.”

As the Spartans took a trip up, both Burroughs and Crescenta Valley went down.

Each squad was ranked in the top 15 of Division I-A last year, but both have been reassigned one division lower to II-AA.

Burbank, which made an impressive run to the quarterfinals in Division II-AA last year, drops down to Division III-AA and joins Glendale and St. Francis, while Hoover is alone in Division III-A.

Bellarmine-Jefferson and Flintridge Prep are situated in Division IV-AA, while Providence is in Division V-AA, Lycee International is in V-A and Glendale Adventist Academy and St. Monica Academy reside in Division VI, the final of 11 divisions.

Perhaps the only advantage La Cañada has over the rest of the area’s teams are its odds of reaching the postseason. The Spartans are one of 33 schools in their division, which will have 22 teams qualify to the postseason. That means about 67% of the schools will advance to the postseason out of Division I-A.

Those percentages generally, but not always, drop per division with Glendale’s chances in Division III-AA of 49% worse than La Cañada, but much better than Glendale Adventist or St. Monica Academy (31%) in Division VI.

In girls’ basketball, the good times may be over for Pacific League champion Burroughs and reigning Division I-A titlist Crescenta Valley.

Both squads have been bumped up to Division I-AA, arguably the most elite division in the country.

“I would never trade what we’ve been able to accomplish at other levels to get here,” Burroughs Coach Vicky Oganyan said. “In terms of good or bad, all I can say is it is what it is. You can’t change what happened, you just have to deal with it.”

Burroughs and Crescenta Valley will be in the same 44-school playoff grouping with traditional powers such as Long Beach Poly, Troy, Mater Dei, Chaminade and Brea Olinda.

If there’s a positive, it’s that it’s nearly impossible to not make the postseason as the playoff bracket will include at least 41 teams.

Fresh off a run to a Division III-A title game appearance, La Cañada jumped up a few divisions to I-A.

Burbank and Glendale are now Pacific League and Division II-A foes, while Flintridge Sacred HeartAcademy is in Division III-AA.

Division V-AA champion Flintridge Prep is also going up and will have to prove its mettle in Division III-A, while steady Providence is in Division IV-A.

Hoover and St. Monica are now in Division V-AA, while Division VI finalist Bell-Jeff was bumped up into Division V-A along with Holy Family.

Glendale Adventist and Lycee International might very well meet in the postseason as both are now part of Division VI..

St. Francis soccer remained in Division I and, using the CIF scoring system, is the 13th-best program in the Southern Section.

As for the Pacific League in regards to boys’ soccer, the league will be sliced up when it comes to the playoffs as Crescenta Valley and Burroughs are in Division III, Glendale and Hoover sit in Division IV and Burbank now resides in Division V.

Flintridge Prep and La Cañada found postseason success last year in Division VI and will remain there, while Bell-Jeff and Providence are set to compete in Division VII.

In girls’ soccer, the debate as to which area school is queen can begin after Flintridge Sacred Heart was dropped from Division I to Division III and joins Crescenta Valley, Flintridge Prep and La Cañada.

Burroughs and Burbank are both in Division IV, while Glendale is in Division V along with Hoover.

Glendale Adventist, Holy Family, Providence and St. Monica Academy are in Division VII.

In girls’ water polo, Pacific League champion Crescenta Valley and Rio Hondo League co-champion La Cañada are now part of the same division as both moved up from Division IV and V, respectively, to Division II.

Flintridge Sacred Heart and Burroughs are now members of Division V, while Flintridge Prep and Glendale are together in Division VI and Burbank and Hoover will compete in Division VII.