Ripon Christian football playoff eligible after agreement with Sac-Joaquin Section
The Ripon Christian football team is entering the 2022 season with playoff aspirations once again.
The Knights originally were banned last summer from postseason competition in 2021 and 2022 as a result of participation in a club football league during the COVID-19 pandemic. The football team also was placed on three years of probation. Stone Ridge Christian of Merced and Capital Christian of Sacramento also received similar sanctions from the section.
Things changed in the offseason, however, as Ripon Christian and the Sac-Joaquin Section came to an agreement during winter that lifted the ban, allowing the Knights to be eligible for the playoffs if they qualify with enough wins during the season. This would have been the second and final season of the playoff ban. The probation will remain in place.
Stone Ridge Christian and Capital Christian’s playoff bans also were cut to just one year this offseason.
“It was an agreement that we came to, to allow them back into the playoffs just not hosting for one year,” Sac-Joaquin Section Commissioner Mike Garrison said of the agreement with Ripon Christian. “We’re happy to have Ripon Christian back participating.”
While all three schools are eligible for the playoffs this fall, should they qualify, they will not be able to host games due to the probation. Ripon Christian last season was projected to finish as a first or second seed in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII postseason, meaning it would have hosted for at least the quarterfinals and semifinals if all things were normal.
“We are happy we were able to work with the section to make sure the kids can participate in the postseason.” said Ripon Christian coach Phil Grams.
It is a resolution that has been a long time coming for the Knights. In November, a temporary restraining order was granted against the section’s summer 2021 ruling, meaning Ripon Christian would have been able to participate in the playoffs last season. A week later, the section’s original ruling was upheld and the Knights were, once again, officially unable to participate in the postseason.
Those on Ripon Christian’s side upheld that the Knights Outdoor Fitness and Skillz Academy club football team, which played five games in the Petaluma-based California Association of Private Sports (CAPS) league, had no affiliation with the private school. The section saw things differently, thus including the school in the sanctions with Stone Ridge, Capital Christian and Vacaville Christian.
To be legal within section rules, club football teams must rent the facilities and equipment they use and cannot be associated with their school, which makes club football rare.
After finishing third in the Southern League with a 7-3 overall record and 4-2 record against league opponents, Ripon Christian returns a lot of its offensive production from last season. Quarterback Trey Fasani, who passed for more than 1,000 yards, leading rusher Grant Sonke and leading receiver Griffin De Abreu are all back looking to finish as one of the top teams in the Southern League.
