Red Devils soccer making noise heading towards playoffs
CONCORD, CA (Jan. 26, 2024) — Mt. Diablo High athletics has had a renaissance since the pandemic with several teams earning North Coast Section playoff berths including boys soccer which is headed for post-season play for the third straight year.
Even after two straight NCS berths this season’s Red Devils 8-1-1 overall and 5-0 in the Diablo Athletic League figure to post the school’s first winning record in at least two decades. With eight wins in their first 10 games coach Octavio Guzman’s squad has already racked up as many wins as the five MD teams from 2017-2021 combined.
The Concord school is ranked fourth in NCS D-4 and 17th overall as they look for a strong seed to help them surpass last year’s quarterfinal showing.
Clayton Valley Charter, De La Salle, Northgate and Ygnacio Valley are perennial playoff participants.
The Ugly Eagles are 8-1-2 overall and 4-0 in the Diablo Athletic League with their lone loss to No. 2 NCS ranked Berkeley 1-0. CVCHS is ranked 13th currently in NCS and, like Mt. Diablo, the remainder of their schedule is all DAL games in the 13-team single round robin scheduling format.
De La Salle lost in the Section quarterfinals last year as they failed to defend their 2022 title. The Spartans are 6-2-1 overall and 2-0 in the East Bay Athletic League. Their losses were to the nation’s No 3 and unbeaten Gulliver Prep of Florida and Harvard-Westlake in Southern California.
With a No. 4 NCS ranking in D-I the Concord school hopes to get a high seed and progress towards its 15th Section championship.
The Spartans and sister school Carondelet will conclude the regular season with EBAL playoffs Feb. 6-10.
Ygnacio Valley reached the semi-finals of last year’s D-2 NCS playoffs and yet the Wolves were reclassified to D-3 this season. This should enhance the Wolves post-season prospects. The team is currently 3-3-1 and 3-1-1 in league action.
Concord 4-5, Northgate 3-4-2 and College Park 3-6-1 all need to have strong finishes to get playoff berths.
Jay Bedecarré
Jay Bedecarré is a long-time resident and writer in Concord and Clayton. He began his newspaper writing career while still a senior at Mt. Diablo High School and he has been part of The Pioneer since its inception in 2003. Jay also operates Bay Area Festivals, presenting events around the San Francisco Bay Area including Bay Area KidFest annually in Downtown Concord.