FROM CIF STATE OFFICIAL RELEASE

CARSON, Calif. – With the 2007 CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games presented by Farmers Insurance set to take place Saturday, December 15, 2007, at Home Depot Center in Carson, the six participating teams have been selected, CIF Executive Director Marie M. Ishida announced Sunday.

Below are the six schools which have been selected to participate in the 2007 CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games presented by Farmers Insurance.

“I was impressed with the selection committee, added Event Director Ken Gunn. “They showed depth of knowledge, thorough evaluation of all potential entrants and worked exceptionally well together.”

DIVISION I: DE LA SALLE, CONCORD vs. CENTENNIAL, CORONA

De La Salle High School (12-0) was the Class 4A East Bay Champion from the North Coast Section. The Spartans are coached by Bob Ladouceur. They will face Centennial High School (13-1, 4-0) which was the Inland Division Champion from the Southern Section. The Huskies, who plays in the Mountain View League, is coached by Matt Logan.

De La Salle has been ranked number 1, in multiple polls, in Northern California for most of the season. Nine of their 12 games were against teams who advanced to their Section playoffs. They were dominating throughout the North Coast Section playoffs, recording shutouts in two of their last three games.

Centennial of Corona has been ranked near the top virtually all season. Their one loss was to Mater Dei who was ranked #1 in the state at the time they played. The Huskies’ victory over Pac-5 Division finalist Crespi weighed heavily in their selection. Nine of their opponents (eight victories) reached at least the quarterfinals of their respective Section playoffs.

DIVISION II: NOVATO vs. OCEANSIDE

Novato High School (13-0, 8-0) was the Class 2A Champion from the North Coast Section. The Hornets, who play in the Marin Athletic League, are coached by Travis Brackett. They will face Oceanside High School (11-1, 4-0) who was the Division II Champion from the San Diego Section. The Pirates, who play in the Avocado League, are coached by John Carroll.

Novato was victorious over previously undefeated Del Norte and Las Lomas in the North Coast Section semifinals and finals, respectively. The Hornets are 35-3 over the last three seasons and are currently riding a 25-game win streak. Seven of their 13 wins were against teams that reached the NCS playoffs.

Oceanside lost its first game of the year to Helix High School, a Division II Section semifinalist. They also defeated Rancho Buena Vista who was the Division I runner-up in San Diego. Seven of their nine regular season games were against Division I opponents. The Pirates have won four straight Section championships.

DIVISION III: CENTRAL CATHOLIC, MODESTO vs. ST. BONAVENTURE, VENTURA

Central Catholic High School of Modesto (11-1-1, 5-0) was the Division V Champion from the Sac-Joaquin Section. The Raiders, who play in the Western Athletic League, are coached by Mike Glines. They will face St. Bonaventure High School of Ventura (13-1, 5-0) which was the Northern Division Champion from the Southern Section. The Seraphs, who play in the Channel League, are coached by Todd Therrien.

Central Catholic’s lone loss was to St. Mary’s of Stockton, a team that reached the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I finals, while its tie was to 2006 state finals participant Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa, who also reached its Section final (NCS). The Raiders had the strongest strength of schedule of qualifying teams and regularly played and defeated schools with significantly larger enrollment.

St. Bonaventure was rewarded for its strength of schedule with its only loss coming to Crespi, a finalist in the Pac-5 Division, arguably the Southern Section’s toughest. The Seraphs defeated Hart High School (Division I enrollment) to win the Northern Division crown and also defeated Oaks Christian, another state qualifying team and a victor in the 2006 state bowl game.

“The Selection Committee made a commitment to a complete process during which all 47 schools were presented by their respective commissioner and discussed thoroughly, said Ishida.” I applaud the other 41 Section champions for their performances this season.”

All three state football championship games will be played Saturday, December 15, at Home Depot Center in Carson. The Division III game will begin at 11:30 am, followed by Division II at 3:30 pm and Division I at 7:30 pm.

All games will be broadcast live on FSN Prime Ticket (Southern California) and FSN Bay Area (Northern California), with the lone exception being the Division III game which will be shown live on FSN Bay Area Plus, available on satellite or digital cable.

Live audio and written play-by-play also will be available on the internet for all three games. Please visit www.kbcsports.com to listen in to all the action, and www.cifstate.org for written play-by-play.

To be eligible for the state championship bowl games, teams must have been their respective CIF Section Champion. There were a total of 47 Section Champions – 23 from Northern California and 24 from Southern California. A complete list of all eligible schools is on the final page of this release. The breakdown of teams eligible for consideration:

Division                        NorCal                         SoCal

I                                   7                                  7

II                                  7                                  9

III                                9                                  8

Guidelines, all weighted equally, used to select the teams included won-loss record, strength of schedule, head-to-head competition and common opponents. Various rankings and media reports also were used as informational sources in the selection process. Margin of victory or anticipated fan support were not factors in team selection.

In addition to the three state football championship games, other ancillary gameday events include the California State High School Cheerleading and Dance Championships as well as a High School Football Coaches Clinic featuring Dick Tomey, third-year head coach at San Jose State University. Please visit www.cifstate.org for more information on how to register for either of these events.

Tickets for the 2007 CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games presented by Farmers Insurance are now available at the Home Depot Center Box Office, local TicketMaster outlets or ticketmaster.com. Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for high school students (with a valid ASB card), seniors (60+) and children. All tickets are for general admission seating and are valid for all three games.