Playoffs begin Thursday for Crescenta Valley, Arcadia football
Often overlooked in all the magic that was the Crescenta Valley High football team’s championship run a year ago was that the Falcons won a title after they hadn’t even advanced to the playoffs the season prior.
Right now, the Falcons’ sole focus is assuring themselves that they’ll return to the CIF Southern Section Southeast Division playoffs a season after winning a championship.
Clichéd as it may be, plain and simple, the playoffs start for Crescenta Valley and Arcadia on Thursday night as the teams vie for the final automatic playoff spot out of the Pacific League.
“This is gonna be the biggest test for us,” said Crescenta Valley junior safety/quarterback Tyler Hill, whose team must overcome a 34-3 loss to Burroughs on Friday that was its last chance for a repeat as league champion. “Now our playoffs start for us on Thursday. It’s really going to show the character of our team to see if we can put Friday behind us.”
The Falcons (6-3, 4-2 in league) and Apaches (5-4, 4-2) are currently a game behind second-place Burbank (6-3, 5-1), which will face Burroughs (8-1, 6-0), looking to force a share of the league title. Muir (3-6, 3-3) sits in fifth. The Falcons-Apaches victor is guaranteed third place and possibly a tie for second with Burbank. Despite playing in an eight-team league, only three spots are guaranteed and the Pacific League isn’t likely to receive the division’s one at-large berth.
“It’s a playoff situation. It’s a win-or-go-home situation,” said Arcadia Coach Andrew Policky, who previously coached at Hoover. “Our kids are fired up.”
Policky is winless in two meetings as Arcadia’s head coach against Crescenta Valley and was winless in two tries as the Hoover chief. Crescenta Valley has won the last three meetings between the teams, all by at least 16 points. In a league such as the Pacific with such long-standing rivalries, Crescenta Valley-Arcadia is often forgotten in football, though the schools are arguably the most successful across all sports in the league.
“I think, a lot of the years, when they were up or at least among the top teams, we were struggling. Then all of a sudden it turns and we’re up and they’re down,” Falcons Coach Paul Schilling said.
But things are different this year.
“They past two years, they weren’t as good and we just breezed by. But this year, at least from my perspective, they’re a lot better and they’re gonna come out thinking they’re better than us,” Hill said. “This season it does feel more like a rivalry. I think we’re both good teams and we’re playing for our seasons.”
Last season, Crescenta Valley blew out Arcadia, 55-30, but the Falcons’ offense has sputtered against top competition this year.
“We need to not turn the ball over and then just execute offensively,” Schilling said. “We just have not been consistent offensively; when we can, we do well.”
The Falcons’ defense has been strong though. Even in the loss to Burroughs, it allowed just three offensive touchdowns to the best offense in the league.
Arcadia’s offense has been its strength all season, led by quarterback Nico Hillier and receiver Raeshawn Roland. Thus the game could very well come down to CV’s defense versus Arcadia’s offense.
“For us, offensively, I think we need to keep our quarterback on his feet and we’re gonna need to run the ball a little bit,” Policky said.
Turnovers and takeaways should also be key, but the one certainty is that Thursday night’s winner will have another game to play.
“It’s a home game, it’s our senior night,” Schilling said. “We have a lot of motivation.”