In an instant, the 212 teams that competed in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section high school football playoffs have been halved. The same goes for the LA City Section, down from 48 teams to 24, along with the eight Open Division teams that had a first-round bye.
All 14 divisions in the Southern Section and all four divisions in the City Section will take the field for the quarterfinals this Friday night.
One of the biggest storylines in Division 1 of the Southern Section is whether anyone can challenge top-seeded Mater Dei. Sierra Canyon will have another shot at the Monarchs after last year’s 42-14 loss in the D1 semifinals.
While all Division 1 matchups are worth following, one stands out: Corona Centennial at Mission Viejo.
Here are the most compelling quarterfinal matchups this Friday night.
1. Centennial (8-2) at Mission Viejo (10-0), D1
Call it the Southern California public school Superbowl.
2. Newbury Park (11-0) at San Clemente (6-5), D2
When Newbury Park visits San Clemente, a Division 1 playoff club the previous season, it will go up against the biggest challenge of the season.
Matai Tagoa’i, an LB for San Clemente (USC), and Brady Smigiel, a quarterback for Newbury Park (a Florida State commit).
3. La Habra (10-1) at Simi Valley (10-1), D3
Just two losses between the two programs heading into this quarterfinal. Simi Valley has a little more star power in QB Tagg Harrison and RB Brice Hawkins. La Habra does everything by committee.
This is one of the best coaching matchups of any quarterfinal in any division: Jim Benkert vs. Frank Mazzotta.
4. Culver City (8-3) at Apple Valley (7-3), D4
Culver City’s Seth Shigg had more than 450 all-purpose yards and five TDs (throwing three) in round one. Now, he’ll be on the road at Apple Valley where it will be cold and AV likes to play physical smashmouth football.
Something’s gotta give.
5. Muir (9-2) at St. Francis (4-7), D6
A local showdown, per se. The two school are separated by just 2.5 half miles. St. Francis has a healthy John Sanders and veteran coach in Dean Herrington with a second chance at football after earning a playoff berth out of the Angelus League.
Muir has to standout junior tailbacks in Alijah Parker and Zion McDonald. They’ve combined for more than 1,500 yards and 20 TDs.
6. Dorsey (7-3) at Narbonne (8-2), CITY OPEN
The score might not be close, but the interest in this game is high because it will be Narbonne’s first game since September 27 after all the other teams in the Marine League boycotted the Gauchos.
7. Gardena (7-3) at Birmingham (5-4), CITY OPEN
Birmingham begins the journey for a fifth straight Open Division City title after starting this season 0-4 before rolling through the West Valley League and allowing just 14 points in its last 14 games.
