The show will go on for the Ripon Christian and Weston Ranch boys basketball tonight amid coronavirus concerns.
They are competing in the final round of the CIF Northern California Regional playoffs and taking their acts on the road. Division VI No. 2 seed Ripon Christian (25-7) heads to No. 1 Weed (23-4), a mere 300-mile jaunt to Siskiyou County, with hopes of returning home with a fourth NorCal title. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30.
“We hope to  have a few (fans),” RC coach Mark Hofman said. “We have our diehards and usually travel well, but five hours away on a weeknight might be tough.”
Weston Ranch (23-12), seeded fourth, travels to Vallejo where it meets a familiar foe in No. 2 St. Patrick-St. Vincent (25-10) in the Division II regional final beginning at 7. The winner earns a spot in the state championship on Saturday at Golden 1 Center.
The head coaches of both local teams said Monday night that there have been no discussions of possible cancellations of their respective games.
In recent days, San Francisco-based Archbishop Riordan (Division I boys) and Lincoln (Division IV boys) along with Menlo-Atherton (Division I girls) withdrew from NorCals — and thus end their seasons — because of coronavirus cases in their communities. School and district administrator responded by shutting down campuses and student activities. Sheldon of Elk Grove, the consensus top team in this half of the state, had its Open Division game canceled on Saturday, but it's now back on for tonight and hosted by opposing Dublin.
“We're good to go,” Weston Ranch coach Chris Teevan said as his team gathered for practice on Monday.
Hofman said the same but is bracing for the alternative.
“We're just hoping we don't get that random tweet from somebody and it gets called off,” he said.
His Knights plan on leaving for Weed at 10 this morning.
They know very little of their upcoming opponent but got acquainted with one of its rivals in the NorCal Division VI semifinals this past Saturday. Ripon Christian broke away late for a 70-49 win over No. 3 Fall River, which split its four games against Weed this season. Weed triumphed in the latest showdown, 49-47, for its first Northern Section title in 31 years.
The Cougars' two wins over Fall River were by a combined five points, while the losses — both in Shasta Cascade League play — ended in 10- and eight-point margins.
That means little to Hofman and his team, as they expect to see Weed at its best on its home floor. Ripon Christian has steamrolled through the postseason so far, but Hofman said its NorCal semifinal with Fall River was more competitive than the final score.
“I thought they played really well in the first half,” Hofman said. “Weed is comporable, so we better come in ready to play and execute.
“They have some height, so I don't know if we'll be able to dominate the boards like we have been,” Hofman added. “And they have some athletic guards, so I expect it'll be a good game. When you get to this point in the playoffs you don't know these teams as well. You can get film and advice, but it's not the same thing as playing a local team.”
Weed has also been dominant in the NorCal tournament, trouncing South Fork 54-35 and Ferndale, 55-32. Brothers Dallas and Grant Lane, both listed at 6 feet, 5 inches, will look to match Ripon Christian's 6-4, 220-pound Braden Van Groningen and 6-7 Reed Van der Hoek in the post. Jivarqua Jordan-Foster, Tripp Rodriguez and Donoven LaFortune are Weed's main threats in the backcourt and wings.
Hofman said that getting his team out of its comfort zone may do it some good. Two years ago, the then-top-seeded Knights struggled to get shots to drop in its own gym in the final-round loss to Sacramento Adventist — the same team they had defeated for the Sac-Joaquin Section's Division VI title.
Juniors Will Gilbert and Van Groningen, along with senior Jacob Van Groningen, were part of that playoff run in 2017-18 and they don't want to miss out on this opportunity to gain a NorCal title of their own.
Coach Hofman (1988) and his assistants Mark Vos (1988) and Jason Hofman (1994) have all win NorCal and state championships as players for Ripon Christian. There is no state final in Division VI, however.
“The boys are getting tired of hearing the stories,” Mark Hofman said. “They want their own banner.”
While Ripon Christian has a deep history in the small-school divisions, Weston Ranch is making history playing against the big boys.
An Open Division qualifier a season ago, the Cougars are now in the NorCal finals for the first time in program history. The SJS Division I semifinalists have found different ways to win in their run through the competitive Division II NorCal gauntlet, outlasting Piedmont 79-74 in overtime, upending Oakland Tech 63-50 and edging out fellow Stockton powerhouse St. Mary's 57-55 as both squads sputtered offensively in the final 2 minutes.
“We're just so versatile,” Teevan said. “It's more about what we can do possession by possession rather than keeping the score at a certain range.”
Weston Ranch previously downed St. Patrick-St. Vincent 61-54 in the Crush in the Valley showcase event held at Solano College on Jan. 25. In that game, Donjaé Lindsey led four Cougars in double figures with four points and they were without freshman phenom Kodey Weary (broken wrist). Leading the Bruins were 6-foot-11 center Dishon Jackson (18 points, seven rebounds), athletic 6-4 wing Jaden Alexander (13 points, nine rebounds) and fourth-year starting guard Jalen Scott (nine points).
“I thought we played really sloppy that game but still found a way to win,” Teevan said. “Besides that, there aren't any patterns we picked up that we expect to see this time. It's a brand-new game.”
The Bruins' big three is a handful for anyone.
Jackson boasts a four-star rating by Scout.com, Scott was part of SPSV's Division IV state championship team as a freshman and Alexander is averaging 26.3 points in the NorCal playoffs. Scott also hit the game-winning shot in the Bruins' thrilling 58-57 opening-round win over San Ramon Valley.
St. Patrick-St. Vincent followed with less-dramatic wins over De Anza 85-66 and Sacred Heaert Prep, 56-43.
Tonight, SPSV will host for the seventh time in eight postseason games — their North Coast Section Division III championship win over Branson took place at Marin College.
“They're gym is really small, just like Manteca's,” Teevan said, referencing a VOL rival. “Many people in this group has played in tough environments. Last year we were at De La Salle (for the first round of the Open Division) and we didn't play our first home game until league this year. I tell our guys they've been built for this.”