Sports Briefs: Who's ready for some football?

DOWNEY -- The St. John Bosco football team will kick off their 2016 season when they travel to play St. Xavier at the University of Cincinnati tomorrow at 5 p.m. 

St. Xavier finished last season with an overall record of 7-5 and were 2-1 in the Greater Catholic-South Football Standings. The Bombers were defeated by Colerain 42-14 in their second round playoff game.

The Braves finished last season with an overall record of 13-1 and were 6-0 in Trinity League play. St. John Bosco was defeated by Corona Centennial 62-52 in the C.I.F. southern California championship.

In week two, St. John Bosco will travel to La Mirada to play the Matadores. La Mirada finished last season with an overall record of 13-3 and were 6-0 in Suburban League play. La Mirada is the 2015 C.I.F. Southeast Division champion and defeated Oceanside 36-14 and Campolindo 27-3 in the California state championship bowl game playoff.

The Braves will then host Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas on 9/9 at Long Beach City College. This game will be televised on Fox Sports West. St. John Bosco will travel to Crespi on 9/16 and will then play St. Mary’s on 9/23 at Whittier College. The Braves will take their bye week after the St. Marys’ game and prepare for their Trinity League opener when they host Servite at Cerritos College on 10/7.

St. John Bosco will host Santa Margarita at Cerritos College on 10/14, will host Mater Dei at Cerritos College on 10/21, will travel to Saddleback College to play JSerra on 10/27 and will conclude their regular season schedule when they host Orange Lutheran at Cerritos College on 11/4. 

■ The Downey Calvary Chapel football team will kick off their 2016 season when they travel to Sage Hill of Newport Beach today at 7 p.m. 

DCC finished last season with an overall record of 5-3 and did not participate in postseason play. DCC is currently playing in the 8-Man Freelance League.

DCC did not play Sage Hill last season due to Sage Hill competing in the 11-man Academy League. Sage Hill finished last season with an overall record of 2-8 and were 0-3 in Academy League play. Sage Hill will be competing in the 8-Man Freelance League this season.

DCC will host Lighthouse Christian of Santa Monica next Saturday at 5:00 p.m. Lighthouse Christian finished last season with an overall record of 1-7 and were 1-3 in Omega League play.
The Grizzlies will travel to Milken of Los Angeles on 9/8 for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff. Milken finished last season with an overall record of 5-2 and were 3-1 in the 8-Man Freelance League. DCC will then host Ontario Christian on 9/9 at 7:00 p.m. Ontario Christian finished last season with an overall record of 6-5 and were 3-2 in Ambassador League play. 

The Grizzlies will host Orcutt Academy on 9/17 at 5:00 p.m. Orcutt Academy finished last season with an overall record of 6-4 and were 1-3 in Condor League play. DCC will then play Discovery of Pacoima at El Cariso Park. Discovery finished last season with an overall record of 0-10 and were 0-4 in Valley League play.

DCC will host Faith Baptist of Canoga Park on 10/1. Faith Baptist finished last season with an overall record of 9-3 and were 2-1 in 8-Man Freelance League play. The Grizzlies will then host Lucerne Valley on 10/8 at 5 p.m. Lucerne Valley finished last season with an overall record of 5-5 and were 2-1 in Agape League play.

The Grizzlies will travel to Flintridge Prep of La Canada on 10/14 at 7:00 p.m. Flintridge Prep finished last season with an overall record of 3-8 and were 1-2 in Prep League play. DCC will conclude their regular season when they travel to Chadwick of Palos Verdes Peninsula on 10/22 at 1:00 p.m. Chadwick finished last season with an overall record of 5-4 and were 2-1 in 8-Man Freelance League play. 

■ The California Interscholastic Federation (C.I.F.) has completely changed the 2016 football playoff system. Last season, all six San Gabriel Valley League teams competed in the C.I.F. Southeast Division. This season, S.G.V.L. teams are spread across five different divisions. 

Dominguez and Downey are the only two S.G.V.L. teams who have been placed in Division IV. Paramount is the only team from the San Gabriel Valley League who will be competing in Division VI. Warren will be competing in Division VII, Lynwood will be competing in Division IX and Gahr will be competing in Division X.

In January of this year, “the C.I.F.-Southern Section Council, made up of the sections’ member schools, voted overwhelmingly (74-10) to pass a proposal that would change the make-up of playoff divisions.” 

C.I.F. went on to say that “for decades, the majority of sports placed teams from the same leagues in the same playoff divisions by a points system based on a team’s performance from the previous two years.” Football will now be running their playoff system similar to what basketball has already been doing.

C.I.F. concluded by saying, “while some of the area’s best programs get an opportunity to raise their profile, the new format also gives teams that have struggled in recent years a better chance to qualify for the playoffs and even contend for a championship.”

As a result of these changes in the C.I.F. Football Divisions, Downey and Warren could both be competing for C.I.F. championships in the same year. The difference is they won’t be competing against each other in the same playoff bracket to win.

■The Downey High School football team scrimmaged against Orange Lutheran at Downey last Friday night. Coach Williams believes his team played “ok” but made a lot of “little mistakes,” which is what one would expect when playing so many younger players. 

Williams thought senior quarterback Trevor Hill played really well with his reads and command of the huddle. Hill threw three touchdown passes with only one interception.

Viking running back Emari Demercado was solid running the ball. Demercado had one rushing and one receiving touchdown where he broke eight touchdowns en route to the endzone. Chris Akins and Baraq Ross led the Viking receiving corps with some nice receptions. Carlos Bautista also had an 80 yard catch for a touchdown.

The defense was practicing on their base look. A few defensive line guys didn’t play and Coach Williams thought the defensive played “ok” overall but needed to do a better job wrapping up and tackling. Andrew Vodicka and Malcom Perry were the defense’s leading tacklers.  

The Vikings will travel to San Pedro later today for their much anticipated season opener against the Pirates.