Football:
I’ll concede that I don’t possess the same math skills as Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting, but there are a number of WTF matchups in the first round of the CIF-SS playoffs.
And there is no greater example than Division 3.
To start, undefeated Charter Oak (10-0) and 9-1 Pasadena both open the postseason on the road.
In that same bracket, Ayala (8-2) travels to top-seeded Corona del Mar (7-3).
The icing on the D-3 monstrosity is that while COHS and PHS travel, Upland, who finished 6-4, gets a first-round home game.
Northview (8-2), the reigning D-10 champs, moved up four divisions to D-6, and they’ll travel to Ramona.
Apparently winning the VVL didn’t do the Vikings any favors.
Another head scratcher is the draw that Claremont got.
The San Antonio League champs, who went 7-2, have to travel 60 miles to Newhall and battle a Hart (4-6) program that finished fourth in the Foothill League.
In Division 10, Rio Hondo Prep (8-1), who lost one game all season, heads to Norwalk (9-1), while La Salle (5-5) and Muir (4-6) got first-round home games.
Maranatha (9-0-1) faces fellow Cottonwood League competitor, Santa Rosa Academy (9-1), for the second time in three weeks.
The Minutemen handed the Rangers their only loss of the regular season.
In that same D-13 bracket, Azusa (9-1) has to travel to 5-5 Jurupa Valley.
The Aztecs won their first nine games and outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 396-55.
Perhaps the most glaring absence from the playoffs is Bonita.
The Bearcats (6-4) had victories over the San Antonio (Claremont) and Valle Vista (Northview) league champions.
And BHS lost to the Rio Hondo League champs (Monrovia) by one point, and undefeated Charter Oak by a field goal.
The only local showdown is in Division 9.
West Covina (5-5), the San Antonio League’s second-place team, heads to SDHS (6-4), who finished in a three-way tie for second with Diamond Ranch and Los Altos.
The Saints, Panthers and Conquerors all went 1-2 in Valle Vista League play.
Good luck and good health to all of our local programs.
CIF-SS Playoff Schedule:
Division 2:
Oaks Christian (7-3) at Rancho Cucamonga (8-2)
Division 3:
Ayala (8-2) at Corona del Mar (7-3)
Charter Oak (10-0) at Yorba Linda (10-0)
Pasadena (9-1) at El Modena (10-0)
Tesoro (6-4) at Upland (6-4)
Division 5:
St. Francis (7-3) at Silverado (8-2)
Yucaipa (6-4) at Etiwanda (5-5)
Division 6:
Northview (8-2) at Ramona (9-1)
Division 7:
Glendora (4-6) at Mayfair (6-4)
Claremont (7-2) at Hart (4-6)
Division 8:
Northwood (9-1) at Monrovia (8-2)
Division 9:
West Covina (5-5) at San Dimas (6-4)
Division 10:
Sunny Hills (3-7) at La Salle (5-5)
Rio Hondo Prep (8-1) at Norwalk (9-1)
Tustin (3-7) at Muir (4-6)
Covina (6-4) at Cantwell Sacred Heart (9-1)
Division 11:
La Canada (6-4) at Campbell Hall (8-2)
Division 13:
Santa Rosa Academy (9-1) at Maranatha (9-0-1)
Azusa (9-1) at Jurupa Valley (5-5)
Division 14:
Duarte (5-5) at Bolsa Grande (5-5)
Lynwood (6-4) vs Gladstone (7-3) at Citrus College
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