CIF-Southern Section Pairings: OC Notes

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>10 Team Division 1: </strong>It was announced minutes before the CIF-SS playoff pairings were revealed that Division 1 would feature 10 teams rather than eight. This threw a monkey wrench in everybody's predictions entering Sunday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The only explanation that makes sense for a 10-team Division 1 is that CIF wanted to get the Trinity League out of Division 2. CIF will not have an at-large team be the No. 1 seed in any Division. JSerra was ranked No. 9 and earned an automatic bid from the Trinity League and could have been the top seed in Division 2. CIF decided against that and to let the Trinity League teams battle it out in Division 1.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Trickle Down Effect: </strong>The 10-team Division 1 drastically changed where some teams would have been placed in the pairings. The best example is San Clemente, who would have been a high-seed in Division 3 if Division 1 was eight teams. Now, the Tritons are a lower seed in Division 2 and have to go on the road to face a tough Chaminade team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Troy was expected to be a top seed in the Division 8 bracket if Division 1 featured eight teams. Now Troy has to go on the road to play King of Riverside in Division 7.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/mikehuntley63/status/1586770019714625536?s=20u0026t=c9-CiD6fJEbESoJnEWj98Q","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/mikehuntley63/status/1586770019714625536?s=20&amp;t=c9-CiD6fJEbESoJnEWj98Q </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>OC Matchups:</strong> There will be five games between county teams in round one - JSerra vs. Santa Margarita and Orange Lutheran vs. Edison in Division 1; Huntington Beach vs. Orange in Division 6; Aliso Niguel vs. Crean Lutheran in Division 8 and St. Margaret's vs. Segerstrom in Division 11.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cream of the crop: </strong>Seven county teams were awarded the top seed in their respective divisions: Mater Dei (Division 1), Corona del Mar (Division 3), Villa Park (Division 5), San Juan Hills (Division 6), Santa Ana (Division 10), Capistrano Valley Christian (Division 11) and Bolsa Grande (Division 14).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/mikehuntley63/status/1586772242360258560?s=20u0026t=c9-CiD6fJEbESoJnEWj98Q","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/mikehuntley63/status/1586772242360258560?s=20&amp;t=c9-CiD6fJEbESoJnEWj98Q </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tough draw: </strong>I generally roll my eyes when people complain about their team having a tough path to a CIF championship. These teams are in the playoffs for a reason and everyone is going to have to beat a tough team eventually.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That being said, it's incredibly brutal for Yorba Linda to have to play another undefeated team in Charter Oak in round one of the Division 3 playoffs.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Home cookin': </strong>Dana Hills will host Baldwin Park in the Division 10 playoffs despite being an at-large team from the Pacific Coast League.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Dolphins have not had a home playoff game since 2013. Dana Hills has not won a playoff game since 2009 when the Dolphins beat Orange Lutheran in the Pac 5 playoffs. That was back when a public school beating a good Trinity League team wasn't unheard of.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No snubs: </strong>No at-large team in the county with a .500 or better record missed the playoffs. Some 4-6 teams (Capo Valley, Fountain Valley, Loara) may feel they were snubbed, but they all had one close game where if they had won, they would have made the playoffs.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Servite was the highest-rated team on CalPreps to not make the playoffs. The Friars had a 1-9 record with a win over a La Mirada team that missed the playoffs. Servite did not belong in the playoffs, but neither did 2-7 Alemany, who made the Division 5 playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Looking ahead: </strong>There are some fun potential matchups in round two between county teams. We might get Orange vs. San Juan Hills in Division 6, Western and Troy in Division 7, a rematch between Sunny Hills and Sonora in Division 10, and Bolsa Grande vs. Whittier Christian in Division 14.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->