CIF Football Playoff Pairings: 1st Round
DIV 1
Santa Margarita (7-3) at Sierra Canyon (10-0)
DIV 2
Downey (9-1) at San Juan Hills (1-9)
Damien (8-2) at Vista Murrieta (7-3)
DIV 3
Murrieta Mesa (7-3) at Bishop Amat (6-4)
Mira Costa (6-4) at Chino Hills (7-3)
DIV 4
Muir (9-1) at Charter Oak (9-1)
Western (6-4) at Cathedral (5-5)
DIV 5
Etiwanda (5-5) at St. Paul (3-7)
Bonita (6-4) at Northview (8-2)
Lakewood (6-4) at La Serna (7-3)
Rio Hondo Prep (10-0) at Thousand Oaks (8-2)
DIV 6
Lancaster (8-2) at Burbank (8-2)
Alta Loma (8-2) at St. Pius/ St. Matthias (4-6)
Los Altos (10-0) at Upland (2-8)
DIV 7
Mayfair (4-6) at Hart (7-3)
La Canada (9-1) at West Covina (7-3)
Schurr (7-3) at Saugus (8-2)
DIV 8
Beckman (7-3) at La Mirada (4-6)
DIV 9
Norwalk (10-0) at Warren (3-7)
Chino (5-5) at Valley Christian (7-3)
San Dimas (5-5) at Rowland (10-0)
DIV 10
Pasadena (6-4) at Santa Monica (6-4)
El Rancho (6-4) at Pacifica/GG (7-3)
Hillcrest (5-5) at Monrovia (7-3)
DIV 11
El Monte (8-2) at St. Anthony (3-7)
Western Christian (10-0) at Bell Gardens (7-3)
Maranatha (7-3) at Baldwin Park (5-5)
Diamond Bar (3-7) at Palmdale (5-5)
San Marcos (4-6) at South Pasadena (6-4)
DIV 12
Nogales (7-3) at Bellflower (6-4)
Ganesha (8-2) at Colton (5-5)
DIV 13
La Puente (7-3) at Kaiser (4-5)
Wilson HH (5-5) at Linfield Christian (4-6)
Montebello (4-6) at Rancho Alamitos (6-4)
DIV 14
Channel Islands (3-7) at South El Monte (6-4)
Bassett (6-3-1) at Alhambra (5-5)
Gabrielino (7-3) at Trinity Classic Academy (5-4)
Godinez (5-5) at Pioneer (4-6)
Note: “Game Night” with key local games and predictions will be posted soon.
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@ Good Ones: I’m cautiously optimistic about the construction project along the Fourth Street side of the AHS campus. However, I will truly believe it only when it’s finished.
If the new Fourth Street facilities actually materialize, my hunch is that most, if not all, of the football and soccer action will take place there in the future. I don’t see the school district pouring a lot of additional money into improving the football facility at Moor Field.
By the way, didn’t Pioneer beat San Gabriel for the Division 14 championship last season? I know that’s the lowest division in the Southern Section, but any kind of title is better than nothing. Also, Cal High is currently having a decent season by Cal standards.
I appreciate your sense of humor, though, and I agree with you that new facilities aren’t everything. But, they are certainly welcome at a place that has been aging like AHS.
@ NWO: Those were rented bleachers that were always taken down shortly after the end of each football season. Since the 1960’s, the bleachers on both sides at Moor Field have been rentals.
My understanding is that those bleachers are owned by the company which sets up the stands along the Rose Parade route in Pasadena. From the end of football season, there have been either no stands at Moor Field for the rest of the school year or dinky ones that have gotten put up for sports like soccer.
And of course, AHS played its varsity football home games at ELAC from around 1982 until ’98 due to the dire conditions at Moor Field.
Did Alhambra hang on to the huge set of bleachers that used to sit on the visitors side of Moor Field? Keppel’s was pretty monstrous also.
I wouldn’t get too excited about new athletic facilities Ron: look at what new digs have done for Pioneer and Cal High…they are now worse! Best bet would be to get with MVS Pulitzer-level writer George Hernandez. This fellow knows a thing or two about developing a winning culture that can be felt just by stepping onto a campus. Before contacting Hernandez, try getting the players to sit in the front of their classrooms; that’s a tip I gleaned from George’s recent La Serna posting, and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t sound like the way to get at least 3 more wins per season.
I think it is bizarre that teams are tied to divisions rather than league places being tied to divisions. In the Rio Hondo League
#1 – South Pasadena – Division 11
#2 – La Canada – Division 7
#3 – Monrovia – Division 10.
Now I don’t care about any of these teams, this is just an example, but wouldn’t it make more sense to say Rio Hondo #1 – Division 7, Rio Hondo #2 – Division 10, Rio Hondo #3 – Division 11?
As it is teams are put into playoff divisions based on their track record from previous seasons, which doesn’t make sense in high school, where fortunes can rise or fall so quickly.
Talk about an interesting use of simile.
@ Good Ones: Of course, CIF’s creation of Division 14 was mainly about the revenue stream. I made a post on that topic some time ago; the gist of it was that CIF is raking in money from 18 extra postseason games, starting with the first round and ending with the state championship game.
As for Alhambra, we’ve had several difficult seasons recently, and we bottomed out with consecutive 1-9 performances on the field the past two years. Going 5-5 so far this season has been a big improvement, although we would’ve liked to do better; we came very close in three of the games we lost.
I think the longer-term outlook for the AHS football program is positive.
We have a fair number of players returning, including some starters, and we’ll have some talent coming up from the frosh-soph team. Our coaching staff, which is mostly young and largely made up of AHS grads, should continue to improve with experience.
In addition, we are finally getting new athletic facilities built on the Alhambra High campus, which include an all-weather track and an artificial playing surface. We’ve only had to wait decades for these improvements.
I don’t buy Vrooman’s notion that CIF deems it “appropriate” to have a D14. Everyone from the suits in Los Alamitos to the janitors at the high schools knows D14 is there to score some bucks off gullible parents who, quite naturally, feel their offspring is God’s gift to the universe. But I do stand in amazement at Ron’s unwavering positive outlook for Alhambra football; it’s like a man whose head is clamped into the guillotine fixture, with the blade dropping, still believing things can turn out well.
@El Rancho Vs Mark Kepple.
Damn, El Rancho sleeps in your head dude. Did a Ranch guy steal your girl?
Damn
Lakewood, LB Millikan, Aliso Niguel, Loyola,
St Paul, Thousand Oaks, Etiwanda, Torrance etc
Is La Serna in the D1 playoffs or D5?
@Just Sayin
That’s right. La Serna has so much clout we just tell CIF how to make our playoff bracket and wham bam, quicker than you can score a TD against El Rancho, it’s done.
It’s good to be the King!
#LSKingdom
@ Good Ones: Oh my; we have schools swimming in sewage. You get an A for imagery.
I don’t like the idea of having a Division 14, either, but if CIF finds it appropriate to give Alhambra a playoff berth, then we might as well take it. I see it as an opportunity to win now and build for next year at the same time.
By the way, San Gabriel got stiffed, unless I’m missing something.
Anyone take a good look at the D5 brackets?!! While all the big boys are beating the snot out of each other in the top bracket, La Serna looks to skip their way into the Final. And don’t come on here and say, that RHP will not be a cake walk…don’t be surprised when you see all that frosting come off of RHP!
El Monte going from #1 seed in D12 to #16 in D11, and why are they still ranked ahead of schools that beat them. No idea how CIF comes up with these BS ranking! Imagine working hard having a great season, winning league and get rewarded with a road game in the first round vs #1 seed. At the very least you can keep your BS seeding and Division placement but give the league champs their home games…..
Downey @ San Juan Hills
R t deserve tough draw
It’s not the good Pacifica from Oxnard, it’s the one from the OC. With El Rancho’s easy draw if they don’t win their double digit bottom feeder division, the FBI should investigate them for throwing games like those NBA guys.
Smart move by El Rancho to drop down to Mark Keppel’s league next year, should be a great rivalry.
From T. Peterson: No, they won’t be in the same league as Keppel. It’s a realignment. Keppel will be moving out of that league. I’ll keep you updated.
Whats great about watching a bunch of entitled kids from all over the country play a game. For them and their parents it’s all about the cash. What high school is promising the most NIL money then which D1 college. High school is conrolled by pi.ps.
Any one know where San Gabriel will be playing?
El Rancho was penciled in to be the top seed in d11. The fact that they let cheating schools in like San Juan Hills and 2-8 Upland High team in is a crime. Somebody’s getting paid. Cheating pays in CIF High School football.
El Rancho got a tough draw, that Pacifica team is solid not sure how they managed to be as low as D10.
Schurr division 7 and montebello division 13??? How?
Starting at the top, Santa Margarita at Sierra Canyon is going to be GREAT. In D2, I don’t understand how a 1-9 San Juan Hills is pitted against a 9-1 team (Downey). Skipping to D4, Muir at Charter Oak is going to be massive. The three area matchups in D5 are great, and it will be even better if Lakewood eliminates La Serna on night one. In D6, I think we can all agree that we want Los Altos to beat Upland and make round two…but this is a tough one. D7 looks just right for a quick Schurr exit versus Saugus, while I’m pulling for Rowland to roll San Dimas in D9
El Rancho may be stopped in the first round versus Pacifica of Garden Grove, while Montebello will DEFINITELY have a somber ride home after being trounced by Rancho Alamitos. Last, and most positively least, we have South El Monte, Alhambra and Pioneer all treading water to stay afloat in the pool of sewage that is D14.