Chargers’ run at league perfection falls short
Edison High’s run at a perfect Sunset League title ended on Tuesday, and the loss at Los Alamitos was probably a good thing for the boys’ basketball team.
If the Chargers had run the table and gone 10-0 in league, they probably earn a berth into the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs. Going into the final week of the regular season, Edison was one of 20 programs on the Open Division watch list.
The other teams on the list were powerhouse programs Chino Hills, the defending Open Division champion, Chatsworth Sierra Canyon, the Open Division runner-up, and Torrance Bishop Montgomery and Mater Dei, both Open Division semifinalists.
Mission Hills Alemany, La Verne Damien, Eastvale Roosevelt, Santa Margarita, Corona Centennial, Esperanza, Long Beach Poly, Oak Park, Redondo Union, Etiwanda, Northridge Heritage Christian, Santa Monica Crossroads, Cerritos Gahr, Studio City Harvard-Westlake and JSerra are also on the list.
Four of those schools won’t make the 16-team bracket, and the selection committee will most likely leave Edison out after it suffered a 54-47 setback to Los Alamitos. The release of the Open Division teams will be on Friday at 3 p.m.
With the Chargers sharing first with the Griffins, Edison should be heading to the Division 1AA playoffs, increasing their chances at making a run at a third straight section finals appearance.
Whether Edison is the league’s No. 1 or No. 2 entry into the postseason will depend on a coin flip, which Edison Coach Rich Boyce said would probably take place Friday morning. The section releases the playoff pairings on Sunday.
“Probably at Winchell’s [in Fountain Valley],” Boyce said in a text message in regards to the site of the coin flip to determine the league’s top playoff berth between Edison and Los Alamitos.
Last season, Edison was in a coin-flip situation with Newport Harbor for second place in league. Boyce called tails and tails it was, and winning the coin flip helped the Chargers earn the No. 2 seed in the Division 2AA playoffs and reach the championship game.
In the latest Division 1AA poll, the Chargers are ranked No. 15. They have quality wins over JSerra, No. 6 in Division 1A, Santa Monica, No. 16 in Division 1AA, Cerritos Valley Christian, No. 11 in Division 2A, and a quality loss to Alemany, No. 6 in Division 1AA.
The Chargers won at Marina, 64-57, in their regular-season finale, improving to 22-4 overall and 9-1 in league. Their lone loss in league was to Los Alamitos, costing the Chargers an outright league crown, but it will most likely keep them out of the Open Division playoffs.
Edison has split the league crown the last seven times it has won it.
Below are the seasons the Chargers shared first place with another program in league:
2016-17: Edison and Los Alamitos
2014-15: Edison and Los Alamitos
2010-11: Edison and Los Alamitos
2004-05: Edison and Los Alamitos
1991-92: Edison and Marina
1990-91: Edison and Huntington Beach
1988-89: Edison, Huntington Beach and Ocean View
Seahawks finish perfect in league again
Ocean View went into Thursday’s regular-season finale trying to go undefeated in the Golden West League for the second time in as many seasons.
The Seahawks beat Segerstrom, 68-60, and went 10-0, winning their 25th straight game in league.
For the third straight season, the Seahawks placed first in league. They learn on Sunday whom they open the Division 3AA playoffs with in the first round on Wednesday.
CdM claims Pacific Coast League
The CdM boys’ basketball team finished 9-1 in the Pacific Coast League, winning it outright with a 57-36 win against Irvine on Thursday.
Defending champion Northwood lost at home to Beckman, 62-59, and it finished a game back of the Sea Kings.
The league crown marked the Sea Kings’ seventh in 11 seasons under Coach Ryan Schachter. The Sea Kings open the Division 1A playoffs on Wednesday.
Soccer league champions
The CdM and Edison boys’ soccer teams finished atop of their respective leagues, the Sea Kings won the Pacific Coast League and the Chargers the Sunset League.
All they needed to do was tie on the road in their regular-season finales to claim first, and they both prevailed. The Sea Kings wrapped up an 8-0-2 title run with a 2-0 win against Irvine on Thursday, while the Chargers finished 8-2 by edging defending league champion Los Alamitos, 2-1, on Wednesday.
The section playoff pairings for soccer is on Monday. The wild-card round is on Wednesday and the first round is on Friday.
Twitter: @ByDCP
