Warrior defenders swarm an Independence High School player in a game played earlier this season. Warrior fans are hoping
the Warrior defense can shut down West High Friday night, November 7, at Coy Burnett Field. A Warrior win could net a
potential #7 or #8 seed and a home field advantage in round one of the post-season playoffs. Photo by The Bakersfield Californian.
Posted by thswarriors.com on November 4, 2014 Playoff Brackets To Be Released This Weekend
Warriors Aiming For #7 or #8 Seed
One thing is for sure Friday night against West High of Bakersfield, win or lose, the Warriors will be back in the post-season playoffs again.
Tehachapi will be entering the playoffs for the 19th straight season in 2014. The challenge the past few years has been the promotion to Division II,
where larger high schools and private schools provide a higher level of competition.
Tehachapi currently has a 5-4 record, with a chance to improve to 6-4 with a win over West High Friday night. A victory might give the Warriors a chance
to host a first round game. But the road to a Division II title for the 2014 Warriors will be challenging considering the powerful teams that exist in the DII bracket.
This will be the fifth straight year that the Warriors have competed at the Division II level, a "reward" for dominating the South Sequoia League
and winning Division III championships (the Warriors competed in the playoffs at the Division III level from 2004 through 2009).
In 2010, the Warriors ran the table with four straight wins to capture a CIF title, sealing their place at the DII level.
It's been tough sailing for the Warriors ever since ...
Last year the Warriors defeated North in the first round, but were vanished from the tournament by eventual DII champion Garces in the second round.
In 2012, the Warriors were upset in the first round at home against West High. In 2011, the Warriors defeated Sunnyside-Fresno in round one,
but lost to Garces in the second round.
El Diamante-Visalia is the defending DII champion. The Miners moved up to Division I this year because of their "success" at the DII level.
In 2014, there will be a maximum of 14 teams participating in the Division II tournament --- with no guarantee all will participate.
Lemoore, Ridgeview, and Dinuba appear to be the favorites for the number #1 seed, depending on how things go Friday night.
Another darkhorse for a top seed is San Joaquin Memorial at 7-2 for the season --- a member of the tough County/Metro Conference.
High seeds are important in the playoffs because it provides a home field advantage for the highest seeded team in each game.
Here are some of the teams looking for high seeds #1-8 in the tournament:
Lemoore (9-0; 5-0 in WYL) ... plays Hanford (9-0; 5-0 in WYL) this week.
Ridgeview (8-1; 4-0 in SYL) ... at Independence this week.
Dinuba (8-1; 3-0 in CSL) ... plays Exeter this week.
San Joaquin Memorial-Fresno (7-2; 2-2 in CMAC) ... plays Sanger this week.
Sanger (6-3; 3-1 in CMAC) ... at San Joaquin Memorial this week.
Independence (6-3; 3-1 in SYL) ... plays Ridgeview this week.
Tehachapi (5-4; 2-2 in SYL) ... plays West High this week.
Tulare Union (5-4; 3-1 in EYL) ... plays Tulare Western this week.
Sunnyside-Fresno (5-4; 3-1 in NYL) ... at Reedley this week.
Other DII schools include Kingsburg (4-5); Redwood-Visalia (4-5); Porterville (3-6); West High (2-7); and Garces (1-8).
Central Section Commissioner Jim Crichlow and company will do all the seedings this Saturday at the CIF offices in Porterville.
When records are identical, or things get a little tough, there are several key factors to consider:
* Head-to-head competition
* Record vs common opponents
* Record vs league champions
* Record vs playoff teams in same division
* Overall record
* Strength of schedule
The criteria are listed by priority of importance. Many years ago the coaches in the Central Section approved this criteria as the method to seed teams into the playoffs.
The coaches, not the CIF Commissioners. As it is each year, the seedings are always controversial.
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