Final thoughts: I lost my connection at Las Lomas but I’m now back in the office. A few additional notes. Berean Christian, always a good Class A team, kicks off the playoffs on Tuesday against No. 4 St. Vincent-Petaluma. The Eagles are seeded fifth but the game will be played at Heather Farm Park in Walnut Creek since Berean won the BCL East. Also in Class A, St. Patrick-St. Vincent got the No. 1 seed and will host No. 8 Salesian on Tuesday.

The only real drama of the day was who would get the No. 1 seed in 3A and the committee went with Freedom based on the strength of the BVAL. The Falcons’ loss to Clayton Valley didn’t hurt them at all and in fact it could be a big help in terms of refocusing the team.

One scheduling note. The Berkeley/Granada game is still up in the air in terms of host site because Berkeley has not received confirmation that it can use Levine-Fricke Field at Cal just yet. If it can’t, the game will likely be moved to Granada. Livermore, which was going to use Granada as a host site against Clayton Valley, will now use Robertson Park in Livermore to host on Tuesday. Game time has not yet been determined.   

11 a.m.: The schedule is set. James Logan, with its lighted field, is likely going to host a 7 p.m. game against Alameda. Cal goes to College Park since the Falcons are a league champ. Otherwise, it sets up just the way you would think. Tuesday at 5 p.m. for everyone else.

10:55 a.m.: The committee is debating the merits of both Washington and Pinole Valley. Pinole has beaten a league champ (Maria Carrillo) and that’s the deciding factor. PV is No. 15. Washington is 16. Alright, gotta go get quotes! 

10:55 a.m.: At this point, it really doesn’t matter who goes 15 or 16. They get No. 1 Freedom or No. 1A Castro Valley.  

10:55 a.m.: San Ramon Valley is in at No. 13. Carondelet falls at No. 14. 

10:55 a.m.: Clark Conover just offered up his field for Livermore. What a guy. Looks like CV/Livermore will be played at Granada. Alameda is No. 12. 

10:50 a.m.: Clayton Valley gets No. 11 based on having beaten Freedom. Neither Clayton nor Livermore can host, which will be an issue soon. 

10:45 a.m.: College Park is going to host that game against Cal. AHS, I’m glad someone thinks so. As we sit here, it’s getting hot in the W Creek. Ick.

10:45 a.m.: Granada is No. 9. Boy, you don’t want to see the Mats in the first round. College Park slots in at No. 10. That came down to their head-to-head matchup at the Livermore Stampede. I was at that game and Granada was the better team that day. Probably a good decision. 

10:45 a.m.: The 3A committee is considering something that all coaches like to hear. They’re taking into consideration potential matchups and trying to avoid league teams playing each other. And just like that, Berkeley is the No. 8 seed. 

10:40 a.m.: As we deliberate, my first impression of the 2A field. I think it came out just about right. There are a few very interesting matchups. Piedmont at Alhambra could be a great game. So could Kennedy at Campo. And then there’s the requisite DFAL matchup between Acalanes and Lomas. The Knights couldn’t have been happy to see that considering their struggles with the Dons this year. 

10:40 a.m.: California is No. 7. That seemed to come out of nowhere but the strength of the EBAL made the difference. 

10:40 a.m.: Livermore is No. 6. Of those teams that they considered, I like that choice. I think it’s spot on. Still a debate going on for Berkeley and College Park. 

10:35 a.m.: James Logan is in at No. 5. Probably a good deal for the Colts I think. The debate for No. 6 is going to be between College Park, Livermore and Berkeley. 

10:35 a.m.: The meeting has slowed as the committee deliberates over No. 3. And we have a No. 3. It’s Foothill. No. 4 is Deer Valley.

10:30 a.m.: A couple teams just got called on the carpet for ranking Castro Valley No. 4. We have a nomination for Freedom in the 1 hole. There it is. Freedom is Numero Uno. The committee based it on strength of league essentially. Castro Valley is No. 2. 

10:30 a.m.: Freedom and Castro Valley are the teams in  the discussion for the No. 1 seed in 3A. Tough call for the committee.

10:25 a.m.: I misspoke. Washington is in the final spot. Newark is out. The seeds are yet to be determined but the field is set. 

10:25 a.m.: 2A is seeded and you can see them below. 3A just seeded Washington over Newark Memorial for the last spot. 

10:15 a.m.: 2A is done. Albany is No. 1. I’ll have that up in a second.

9:50 a.m.: Carondelet is up now and coach LaShawn Wells knows that his a team squarely on the bubble. Cal High is the final team to speak. 

9:50 a.m.: Foothill coach Matt Sweeney pushes for a top 4 spot. Freedom’s Jeff Jonas is now up. Freedom is 11-2 against teams in the room. That loss to Clayton Valley probably edges the Falcons out of the top spot I think. Jonas does push for the spot though, which is definitely OK.  

9:50 a.m.: Castro Valley coach Melanie Alkire is up and the Trojans are on a 17-game win streak. She didn’t come out and push for No. 1, which is what you do when the numbers say you should get the spot. Washington’s Randy Andrade is up. 

9:45 a.m.: Reno LaSala from College Park is up. He brings up the classic DFAL argument, they’ve only played four teams in this room because of the league. He’s of the opinion the Falcons are in the middle of the pack which I think is accurate. 

9:45 a.m.: Logan is pushing for a 2 or a 3 seed. Very short speech from Teri Johnson. Clayton coach Jen Arnold played six degrees of Castro Valley, saying the Eagles beat Alameda, who beat CV. Berkeley’s next. 

9:40 a.m.: Livermore’s Bill Keller is up and he points out that four of their losses came against Sheldon-Sacramento (Stampede champ and nationally ranked team) and Foothill. That’s a lot of firepower to go up against. Kudos to the Cowboys for taking on that schedule. 

9:35 a.m.: Gabe Adami is doing the presentation for San Ramon Valley. Only one 10-run rule game in the EBAL this year. Good point Coach Adami. SRV is pushing for a spot between 7 and 10.

9:30 a.m.: I took a stroll down to the 2A meeting and the speeches are over. That’s right. OVER. There are 12 teams there, so everyone’s getting in. Both Albany and BOD are pushing hard for No. 1. BOD does have that head-to-head win over Albany and that’s what coach Mike Bannister stressed. Speeches are underway here in the 3A meeting. Franny Dillard of Granada is up.

9:25 a.m.: One of the committee members just asked the 3A coaches to total their record against the teams in the room before making their presentation. Math at 9:30 a.m. That’s rough. 

9:20 a.m.: Newark Memorial is in the house. I just introduced myself to the room and got a laugh. Glad I’m still good at something. 

9:20 a.m.: My old athletic trainer Stan Nakahara is on the committee! Sweet. Stan is an AD at Piedmont now and, way back in 2002, he put my arm back together after a torn rotator cuff. Good to see him. 

9:15 a.m.: Ooh baby we’re underway. Suzie Woodall, a commish from Marin, is running the show. Deer Valley volleyball coach Lou Panzella just showed up. Celebrities abound here at Las Lomas this morning. 

9:10 a.m.: My eyesight is crappy these days. The board has some tiny writing. Way to go coaches. There are 17 teams on the board and they’ll vie for 16 spots in the 3A field. So, at least there will be a little drama.

9:05 a.m.: A quick review of who’s here shows that everyone who you thought would be here is here. As Mike predicted, Arroyo is not here. In the 2A field, Encinal was not there yet when I walked out of the room. I haven’t looked to see if the Jets qualified but I know Coach Holgerson was not in the room. 

9:05 a.m.: I’m officially stealing Mike Bower’s template for seeds. Mike, I’ll repay you later. I’ll keep it on the bottom of the post so as we find out seeds, I’ll fill it out. Scroll down to see it.  

9 a.m.: The 2A meeting is getting ready to get started and a good friend, Granada’s Clark Conover, is on the seeding committee. In case anyone’s interested, Granada needs a girls tennis coach. 

8:52 a.m.: I know you all love me out there but head on over to the baseball blog over at Prep Corner, where Michael Bower is blogging live from here on the Las Lomas campus.

The masses are assembled here at Las Lomas HS and I’ve taken a spot in the back corner of the 3A meeting. Notable news so far this morning I suppose is that Livermore did not bring an application to host, meaning the Cowboys will be road warriors for the postseason. Anyway, I’ll be bouncing back and forth between meetings so bear with me. Sit back and enjoy.

NCS 3-A East Bay

First-round matchups (all games start at 5 except the Logan/Alameda game since Logan has lights)

(16) Washington vs. (1) Freedom at Freedom

(9) Granada vs. (8) Berkeley at Grove Park, Berkeley

(13) San Ramon Valley vs. (4) Deer Valley at Deer Valley

(12) Alameda vs. (5) James Logan at Logan

(15) Pinole Valley vs. (2) Castro Valley at Castro Valley

(10) College Park vs. (7) California at College Park (league champ)

(14) Carondelet vs. (3) Foothill at Foothill

(11) Clayton Valley vs. (6) Livermore at Granada (neither team applied to host)

NCS 2-A East Bay

First-round matchups(9) Las Lomas vs. (8) Acalanes  (Winner vs. (1) Albany)

(12) De Anza vs. (5) Heritage  (Winner vs. (4) Moreau Catholic)

(10) Kennedy-Richmond vs. (7) Campolindo  (Winner vs. (2) Bishop O’Dowd)

(11) Piedmont vs. (6) Alhambra  (Winner vs. (3) Concord)