Muir faces an uphill battle in Central Division playoffs
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Muir is not the only team from the Pacific League in the Central Division playoffs, but the Mustangs are the ones with the best shot at making some noise in the postseason.
I still don’t understand how the Mt. Baldy league gets the top two seeds in the division (Colony is No. 1 and Chaffey, which lost to Colony, 41-20, is No. 2), but that’s the way it is. Colton, the San Andreas League champs, is the No. 3 and Muir, the Pacific League champions, rounds out the Top 4.
The Mustang, led by running back Willie Youngblood and tough defense, are in the upper half of the bracket. They open today against Cajon at home. They have a good chance at getting past the first round, but thing get tougher after that.
A potential second-round match with Moreno Valley looms. The good thing about that matchup is that, thanks to a coin flip, the Mustangs would host the Inland Valley co-champs. The bad thing is that if they beat Moreno Valley, they would be on the road for the semifinals - -- a game that would most likely involve defending division champion Colony.
Colony is the team to beat, and deservedly so. The Titans lost only to undefeated Serrano and Upland and their defense has allowed only six points in the last 14 quarters (and that was to Chaffey four games ago).
Here’s the Central Division bracket for tonight’s first-round games:
Top Bracket: Burbank Burroughs (Pacific 4, 4-6) at Colony (Mt. Baldy 1, 8-2); Arroyo Valley (San Andreas T2, 6-2-1) at Paloma Valley (Sunbelt T1, 7-3); West Valley (Sunbelt T3, 6-4) at Moreno Valley (Inland Valley T1, 8-2); Cajon (San Andreas T2, 4-5) at Muir (Pacific 1, 8-2)
Bottom Bracket: Don Lugo (Mt. Baldy 3, 7-3) at Colton (San Andreas 1, 6-3); Arcadia (Pacific T2, 8-2) at Rancho Verde (Inland Valley T1, 6-4); Canyon Springs (Inland Valley T1, 5-4) at Elsinore (Sunbelt T1, 5-5); Pasadena (Pacific T2, 6-4) at Chaffey (Mt. Baldy 2, 9-1)
-- Jaime Cardenas