Interesting read:
San Bernardino received a point for having the better overall record. The Cardinals also got a point for strength against common opponents. They beat Vista del Lago, a team that beat the Lions. What put Cathedral City over the top is their strength of schedule, which gave them two points and therefore a 3-2 win over San Bernardino. Though some may feel the Lions didn't play a tough enough non-league schedule, their losses all came against playoff teams - Shadow Hills, Vista del Lago, Palm Desert, Palm Springs and La Quinta. A few of those teams are capable of making a deep CIF run. Against Adelanto, the Lions won points for the better league and the better overall record. Adelanto won two points for the stronger strength of schedule. But since Cathedral City won two categories, that broke the tie. As a result, the Lions got in this year with a lesser overall record. Last year, their strength of schedule wasn't as good and the DVL's standing in the Central Division wasn't as good as it is this year in the Eastern Division. There also wasn't a second at-large bid last year. Sometimes it comes down to those little details. While it didn't work out for Cathedral City last year, it managed to this time around.
For the first time since 2001, Cathedral City's football team made the CIF Southern Section playoffs this year, snagging an at-large bid with a 5-5 record. The Lions were 8-2 last season, yet somehow failed to earn an at-large berth. Instead, Arlington (3-7) was selected based upon a point system for selecting the team most worthy of an at-large selection. When Cathedral City was selected this year, despite a less impressive résumé than a year ago, it certainly turned a few heads. Even head coach Richard Lee wasn't sure his squad would get in after what happened in 2013. So how exactly did Cathedral City get in this year? For starters, the Desert Valley League changed divisions this year - from Central to Eastern - and there happened to be two at-large bids available this year. That certainly helped. Apple Valley, the fourth place team in the Mojave River League, got the other at-large berth and will play La Quinta on Friday.
One other thing that helped the Lions was having the tiebreaker over Xavier Prep for fourth place in the DVL. If the Saints would have made the playoffs by virtue of the coin flip versus the point system in bylaw 5.0, section 5.2 of the DVL constitution, then Palm Desert would have been the fourth place DVL team and Cathedral City would not have been eligible. A coach familiar with the breakdown said it came down to Cathedral City, San Bernardino (7-3) - the fourth place team from the Mountain Valley League - and Adelanto (4-6), the fourth place team from the Desert Sky League.
Here's how the teams are scored:
Head-to-head competition (4 points)
Overall strength of league (1 point)
Overall win-loss record (1 point)
Strength against common opponents (1 point)
Strength of schedule (2 points)
Cathedral City and San Bernardino didn't play each other, so no points were awarded for head-to-head competition. One coach familiar with the process said that the DVL is considered a stronger league than Mountain Valley, so the Lions got a point there. San Bernardino received a point for having the better overall record. The Cardinals also got a point for strength against common opponents. They beat Vista del Lago, a team that beat the Lions. What put Cathedral City over the top is their strength of schedule, which gave them two points and therefore a 3-2 win over San Bernardino.
Cathedral City Lions
San Bernardino received a point for having the better overall record. The Cardinals also got a point for strength against common opponents. They beat Vista del Lago, a team that beat the Lions. What put Cathedral City over the top is their strength of schedule, which gave them two points and therefore a 3-2 win over San Bernardino. Though some may feel the Lions didn't play a tough enough non-league schedule, their losses all came against playoff teams - Shadow Hills, Vista del Lago, Palm Desert, Palm Springs and La Quinta. A few of those teams are capable of making a deep CIF run. Against Adelanto, the Lions won points for the better league and the better overall record. Adelanto won two points for the stronger strength of schedule. But since Cathedral City won two categories, that broke the tie. As a result, the Lions got in this year with a lesser overall record. Last year, their strength of schedule wasn't as good and the DVL's standing in the Central Division wasn't as good as it is this year in the Eastern Division. There also wasn't a second at-large bid last year. Sometimes it comes down to those little details. While it didn't work out for Cathedral City last year, it managed to this time around.
For the first time since 2001, Cathedral City's football team made the CIF Southern Section playoffs this year, snagging an at-large bid with a 5-5 record. The Lions were 8-2 last season, yet somehow failed to earn an at-large berth. Instead, Arlington (3-7) was selected based upon a point system for selecting the team most worthy of an at-large selection. When Cathedral City was selected this year, despite a less impressive résumé than a year ago, it certainly turned a few heads. Even head coach Richard Lee wasn't sure his squad would get in after what happened in 2013. So how exactly did Cathedral City get in this year? For starters, the Desert Valley League changed divisions this year - from Central to Eastern - and there happened to be two at-large bids available this year. That certainly helped. Apple Valley, the fourth place team in the Mojave River League, got the other at-large berth and will play La Quinta on Friday.
One other thing that helped the Lions was having the tiebreaker over Xavier Prep for fourth place in the DVL. If the Saints would have made the playoffs by virtue of the coin flip versus the point system in bylaw 5.0, section 5.2 of the DVL constitution, then Palm Desert would have been the fourth place DVL team and Cathedral City would not have been eligible. A coach familiar with the breakdown said it came down to Cathedral City, San Bernardino (7-3) - the fourth place team from the Mountain Valley League - and Adelanto (4-6), the fourth place team from the Desert Sky League.
Here's how the teams are scored:
Head-to-head competition (4 points)
Overall strength of league (1 point)
Overall win-loss record (1 point)
Strength against common opponents (1 point)
Strength of schedule (2 points)
Cathedral City and San Bernardino didn't play each other, so no points were awarded for head-to-head competition. One coach familiar with the process said that the DVL is considered a stronger league than Mountain Valley, so the Lions got a point there. San Bernardino received a point for having the better overall record. The Cardinals also got a point for strength against common opponents. They beat Vista del Lago, a team that beat the Lions. What put Cathedral City over the top is their strength of schedule, which gave them two points and therefore a 3-2 win over San Bernardino.
Cathedral City Lions
