SPORTS NOTEBOOK:
GLENDALE — The following are odds and ends from the local sports scene.
TOP-RANKED TEAMS STILL HAVE SOMETHING TO PROVE
The Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy soccer team entered the week ranked No. 1 in the CIF Southern Section Division II girls’ soccer poll.
It marks the fifth straight week the Tologs (16-2-5) have held that spot, although it remains to be seen if they’ll enter the playoffs as the division’s top seed after tying Louisville on Monday and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame Wednesday.
Crescenta Valley’s girls’ soccer team (16-2-4), likewise, may fall from the No. 8 spot its held for two weeks after suffering its first Pacific League loss on Tuesday at Burbank going into the regular-season finale today against Arcadia. With the league title up for grabs against the archrival Apaches, the Falcons, despite winning the teams’ first encounter, will likely be the underdogs as they’ll play without, arguably, two of the area’s best players, Tori Baldridge, who’s reportedly out for the season with a foot fracture, and Brittany Berger, who received a soft red card on Tuesday and must sit out today’s game.
In boys’ soccer, St. Francis slipped one spot to No. 8 in Division I after losing to Mission League rival Loyola on Feb. 6. The Golden Knights lost to Crespi on Monday, the day the rankings were released.
Heading into the final week of the regular season for basketball, Crescenta Valley’s girls’ squad is back in the polls after a one-week absence, ranked No. 15 in Division I-A. The Falcons (18-8, 10-3) went 3-0 last week. In Division V-AA, Flintridge Prep (13-11, 7-4) is ranked 10th, up one spot from the previous week.
In boys’ basketball, Flintridge Prep, which clinched its second straight Prep League title with a win over Webb on Feb. 3, stayed put at No. 8 in Division V-AA, while Renaissance Academy (9-11) fell three spots to No. 14 in the same poll after a week in which it played no games. St. Francis, which lost twice in Mission League play, slipped one spot to 16th in Division IV-AA.
Crescenta Valley girls’ water polo, which looks to lock up a share of the Pacific League title today against Burbank, stayed at No. 5 in Division IV.
CLEARING UP AT-LARGE ENTRIES
In the Friday edition of last week’s sports section, it was erroneously reported that all boys’ and girls’ basketball teams must have a .500 or better record to apply for an at-large berth into the CIF playoffs.
In fact, basketball is one of the few sports in which that is not true.
That bodes well for teams such as Renaissance Academy in boys’ hoops and Glendale in girls’ hoops.
In the past, a designated number of wins was needed to apply, but as it stands currently, any team can apply for an at-large berth.
As per the CIF, each championship divisional tournament bracket will have 32-team draws, with divisions in which there are more than 32 automatic qualifiers having wild-card games. In divisions in which there are openings in the bracket, at-large entries will fill the openings.
Schools wishing to apply will have to submit a petition by Saturday at 9 a.m. The overall body of a team’s season will be judged, starting with head-to-head competition, the strength of the league that the team participates, overall record, how well a team finishes the season and so on.
REID COACHES NFC TO PRO BOWL VICTORY
Philadelphia Eagles Coach Andy Reid, a former Glendale Community College football player, guided the National Football Conference to a 30-21 victory against the AFC on Sunday in the NFL Pro Bowl in Honolulu.
The NFC scored 13 fourth-quarter points to rally for the victory. Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald was named the game’s most valuable player.
It marked the fourth time that Reid has coached in the Pro Bowl. He improved to 1-1-2.