By Tim Peterson
I’m still trying to figure out this realignment thing for football. I’ve been able to coddle together some information but it’s a work in progress. By all accounts these two conferences are set in stone.
Metro Alliance Conference
Top Tier: Schurr, El Rancho, Bell Gardens, El Monte
2nd Tier: South El Monte, Montebello, San Gabriel, Alhambra
Bottom Tier: Mt. View, Keppel, Arroyo, Rosemead
Rio-Pacific Conference
Arroyo League – Muir, Burbank, La Canada, Monrovia
Boulder League – South Pasadena, Crescenta Valley, Burroughs, Pasadena, Gabrielino, San Marino
Crest League – Arcadia, Hoover, Glendale, Temple City, Marshall, Blair.
Note: It’s not confirmed yet if Blair and or Marshall will field a team for 2026.
Playoffs: Two teams will qualify for the playoffs in the Arroyo League, three teams will qualify in the Boulder League and three teams will qualify in the Crest League. However the number for the Crest is subject to change depending on the number of teams in the league.
Please feel free to send me any other new leagues, conferences, playoff qualifications or other football information in the area as I try to wrap my head around this.
Where have you gone Mission Valley, Rio Hondo, Almont? The SGV turns its lonely eyes to you.
La Canada head coach Dave Avramovich once called the Rio Hondo League the “Ivy League of the SGV”…great line.
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It’s been a tough off season for Maranatha. First they lose a D1 quarterback in Cooper Berry to Cathedral and now head coach Rand Holdren leaves for Village Christian. I’m sure the Minutemen will be fine but that’s a couple hard gut punches to absorb. Once they hire a new head coach and figure out the quarterback situation they need to find a couple of big linemen as well.
Coincidence: Former Village Christian head coach Richard Broussard left to become the offensive coordinator at…you got it, Cathedral. I’m sure Berry will make the transition a little easier.
Quarterback Cade Burbidge transferred to Charter Oak from Bonita but the Bearcats are going to be ok. Isaiah Guerrero transferred in from Los Osos and has been killing it at the 3rd and Long Tournament at Baldwin Park.
Speaking of quarterbacks who are killing it Lequand “Jack Jack” Jackson has been doing so for Baldwin Park. Jackson, a lefty who transferred from Upland, looks like a lineman but can sling it down the field and can pull it down and run it as well. At 6’0″ and 220 pounds there aren’t many cornerbacks that are going to want to get in front of him.
“Not many linemen either,” said Baldwin Park head coach Robert Maxie.
Last year as a junior Jackson threw for 1,912 yards and ran for 425. He’s going to be a load for opposing defenses.
Jesse Saucedo, who injured his ACL last season while playing for Monrovia, has since transferred to St. Paul and is already throwing for St. Paul at the 3rd and Long Tourney. St. Paul head coach Austin Montoya is going to have some decisions to make. Saucedo is one of three quality quarterbacks that Montoya currently has in the fold. It’s a problem…but a good one to have.
Muir quarterback Trey Gamble, the 2025 Mid Valley Sports MVP, has graduated but Arthur Moreno has stepped in and has been impressive in the spring. He looks like the guy that is set to lead the Mustangs into the ’26 campaign.
I’m sure Moreno is going to thrive in the Arroyo League of the Rio-Pacific Conference. Uhh…checking notes…Arroyo, yeah…Rio-Pacific, right. Ok, yeah got it.
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at tim.midvalleysports@gmail.com or Twitter (X) @tspeterson40. Facebook-Tim Peterson.
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These are football only divisions, all the other sports will have their own league breakdowns.
SoCal and Peterson- respect your commentary, but I will add this unfortunate suggestion. MV lost by about 30 runs in two games versus league opponent SEM! Then SEM , who should be playing pretty quality teams in first round of CIF playoffs, loses first round game to a good team in decent division. While they become out of the playoffs MV goes to ?? “D who cares” and makes the finals? Then I hear lots of preaching about their best team ever (very few went that far)?
Hey SoCal! Is it because (El Monte in top tier) football is the deciding factor? T=
@SoCal… In EM s case , it is the need for a 4th team in upper division that creates problem. Somebody has to go up – likely a miniscule difference between EM and SEM over past two years ; both belong in middle grouping but then the larger math doesn’t work. You are correct they are overmatched in that league .
@SoCal,
I would suggest going back to the SGVN archives and looking up the Foothill releaguing articles that Fred Robledo wrote about a year ago that go into great detail. This idea was championed by the Muir AD and followed by many.
The Conferences will be together and the leagues will be separated by sport using the appropriate CIF ranking from the previous year. For football, the hsratings.com (formerly CalPreps) metric is used and for other sports the Massey ratings are used.
These football leagues make a ton of sense for the Metro Alliance using last year’s data.
Tier 1
Schurr- D-7 playoffs
El Rancho- D-10 playoffs
El Monte- D-11 quarterfinals
Bell Gardens- D-11 playoffs
Tier 2
Montebello- D-13 Finals
SEM- D-14 Champions
Alhambra- D-14 quarterfinals
San Gabriel- missed D-14 playoffs with 7-3 record
Tier 3
Rosemead- Missed D-14 playoffs with 5-5 record
Arroyo- Missed D-14 with 5-5 record
Mt. View- Missed D-14 with 4-6 record
Keppel- Missed D-14 with 0-10 record
Divisions are decided after the playoffs so just because someone wins a CIF championship, it does not mean they are better than a team that lost in the first or 2nd round of a higher division. Example, EM beat SEM 38-21 and Schurr beat Montebello 42-7.
@ SoCal /Tim
The problem is using only the last two years in the formulation . I believe that they should use a sliding scale over past 4 years ; maybe 40-30-20-10 to create their power rating …..
There are some inequities sometimes because of need for a sixth team : El Monte and Gabrielino stand out . These teams are up against it and will do well just to win one league game next year .
The Gab/ Arroyo situation is the most glaring . Gab has its first winning season in over a decade , but flames out late and in playoffs . The move to a league composed of all Pacific/ Rio Hondo teams and are 20 point underdogs in all these matchups ; no more MVL cupcakes . Meanwhile Arroyo who had won MVL on the regular for a decade makes horrible coaching hires to see program largely disintegrated, only to be rescued by being placed in lowest rung of SGV ! Imagine only having to beat Keppel and Mt View to make the playoffs lol…. And Rosemead ( just hired 0-10 coach) is their other rival !! Arbitrary compliance to numbers and the need for six team leagues create inequities .
In the other district , Cerritos moving to the upper league is the question mark… they will find life much different than 605 league ; maybe have a chance vs LaMirada
I hear Marshall will field a team ( of sorts ) , but Blair will not .
The high school sports organizations such as CIF have dug their own graves by jacking prices and adding fees to ticket purchases. This has led many casual fans to throw in the towel and simply stay away. The response to this decline in revenue is now going to be even higher, often ridiculous prices to attend a local sports event.
What to do? I whole-heartedly suggest attending community college sporting events. You’ll find the prices very reasonable, and the level of competition outstanding. On top of that, there is the novelty of having a box office that accepts American currency for admission. Imagine that!
How can El Monte be in the top tier? Baseball won one game in three years, basketball did not even win a game this year, girl’s volleyball and girl’s basketball are terrible. They are no athletes on campus with the beating that they been taking the last 5 years. Arroyo was CIF champion in boy’s basketball, SEM was in the finals in baseball along with Mt View. SEM just won cif and was in the state finals. How did they put these leagues together? Please explain!!!
From T. Peterson: These realignments are for football only. Arroyo missed the playoffs last year while El Monte won the league. Two years ago Arroyo was knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. Baseball, basketball and all other sports were not considered for this realignment. It was for football only and based on the last two years only. It’s my understanding that baseball, basketball and all other sports for that matter are not yet confirmed. If you look at the four teams in the bottom tier- Arroyo, Keppel, Mt. View and Rosemead – they have all struggled in football the last two years. That being said I agree that Arroyo is too low but it will be evaluated every two years and is subject to change.
Not sure what the conference name is.
Gateway League:
1. Downey
2. La Serna
3. Mayfair
4. Warren
5. La Mirada
6. Cerritos
Mid-Cities League
1. Norwalk
2. Paramount
3. Cal High
4. Gahr
5. Santa Fe
6. Bellflower
605 League
1. Lynwood
2. Artesia
3. Whittier
4. Pioneer
5. Firebaugh
6. John Glenn
From T. Peterson: Thanks Coach
CIFSS will charge 25 dollars a game plus 5 dollar process fee per ticket based on new charges being asked around the country. 30 dollars being charged for Jr. High basketball games on the east coast. Rumor but it certainly is possible.
I can’t tell you how excited I am about these new conferences and leagues, because I’m not in the least aroused by this nonsense. CIF should butt out of what happens before the playoffs, let teams play whoever they want, and then use their all-powerful software to figure playoff divisions and brackets. It’s in the nature of overgrown organizations to want control over everything, and the mess it has created is proof that it’s time to shrink the tumor that is the CIFSS.