Four MCAL champions face tough roads in NCS Division I brackets

PREP PLAYOFFS

Branson’s Kaden Fortune (12) guards Redwood’s Semetri Carr (2) during their MCAL boys basketball final at Redwood in Larkspur on Friday. Redwood beat Branson. SHERRY LAVARS — MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL

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By Ian Ross

iross@marinij.com

The four freshly minted MCAL champions were rewarded with spots in the North Coast Section Division I postseason brackets on Sunday. That honor also comes with a caveat — much harder roads to try and advance to the NorCal playoffs.

Redwood High claimed three MCAL pennants on Friday and Saturday with both basketball teams and the boys soccer program celebrating victories. The Tam High girls soccer team prevented the Giants from sweeping all four titles.

All four programs open with home games on Tuesday or Wednesday but only the Redwood boys basketball team, which is seeded No. 2, would be guaranteed another home game with a victory.

Redwood hosts a basketball doubleheader on Tuesday with the sixth-seeded girls (20-8) facing No. 11 Freedom (19-6) at 5:30 p.m. followed by the boys (19-6) against No. 15 Montgomery (18-9).

The Redwood boys soccer team (8-2-5) is seeded ninth and hosts No. 8 Acalanes (13-4-3) on Ghilotti Field by virtue of being a postseason champion. The Tam girls (13-4-6) are seeded fifth and host No. 12 Northgate (8-3-5) at 3 p.m. on Wednesday.

Marin’s other D-I teams are Archie Williams, seeded 10th in boys basketball; Redwood, seeded sixth in girls soccer; and San Marin, seeded seventh in girls basketball. The Peregrine Falcons and Redwood could face each other in an MCAL boys basketball championship game rematch in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Boys basketball

Marin teams are poised for success in the D-III bracket with Branson (17-10) seeded first and San Domenico (20-7) seeded second, setting up a possible finals showdown between the two programs. San Rafael (No. 5) and San Marin (No. 9) are also in the D-III bracket. All four teams open play on Tuesday. Branson is playing at Novato High and San Rafael is hosting at Terra Linda High with both games slated for 7 p.m. starts.

Marin Catholic (No. 11) and Terra Linda (No. 13) both qualified in the D-II bracket and play road games on Wednesday. Marin has no teams in the Divisions IV through VI brackets.

Girls basketball

Marin Catholic is the only team in the county in the D-II bracket and is seeded highly enough to make a run. The No. 3 Wildcats (17-11) host No. 14 Mt. Diablo (14-12) at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

No. 4 Branson and No. 8 San Domenico are both set to host D-III games on Tuesday. The Panthers face No. 9 Benicia and the Bulls face Antioch in the first game of a Branson doubleheader at Novato High.

Four Marin teams made the cut in D-IV, led by No. 9 Archie Williams. Marin Academy (No. 10), Tam (No. 11), and Novato (No. 13) are also in the field. All four teams hit the road for games on Wednesday.

Girls soccer

Marin Academy and Branson drew the top two seeds in D-II, as expected. MA (17-2-1) has to hit the road for a game against No. 16 Salesian (12-1-1) while Branson (17-5-2) drew a tough assignment and hosts No. 15 Cardinal Newman (7-10-1) — a team accustomed to making deep postseason runs.

D-II also features one of the two all-Marin matchups in the first round as No. 12 Terra Linda faces No. 5 Marin Catholic at 3 p.m. Tuesday in Kentfield — a rematch of last week’s MCAL first-round playoff game. MC won that game 2-0 but could be without two of its top players this time around.

Archie Williams (No. 5) is the only Marin team in the D-III bracket and plays a home game on Wednesday. Likewise, San Rafael (No. 6) is the only county representative in D-IV and hosts the first game of a doubleheader on Wednesday.

Boys soccer

The D-II bracket features a pair of teams coming off finals appearances in Archie Williams (No. 4) and Marin Academy (No. 11). Both teams open on the road Tuesday against Piner and Mt. Eden, respectively.

Tam is seeded fourth in D-III and opens with a home game against Benicia on Tuesday. Terra Linda (No. 6) hosts San Marin (No. 11) at 3 p.m. Tuesday in the other all-Marin match of the first round. The teams battled to a 1-1 tie on Jan. 29.

San Rafael (No. 4) and Marin Catholic (No. 5) are both in the D-IV bracket and would meet in a quarterfinal on Saturday if they both advance. Branson is the No. 7 seed in D-IV. All three teams host games on Wednesday.