Reporter, coach pick through the Southwest Division, and more

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Because of some paperwork snafu with a transfer, Diamond Bar had to forfeit five of its victories, including two league wins. Instead of a 7-3 record and a berth in the Southwest Division playoffs, the Panthers finished with a record of 2-8 and left out of the playoffs.

When I asked DR Coach Roddy Layton if he wanted to help me handicap the Southwest Division, he jumped at the opportunity. At first I was just going to let him make picks and break down the games, but why let him have all the fun?

Coach Layton and I will go head-to-head prognosticating games. Our picks for the first round are almost identical. The Coach and I have a difference of opinion in the Bellflower vs El Toro game. He is picking the Buccaneers to win, while I am going with the Chargers. But we are in agreement in every other game.

So, I can tell already this is going to come down to the championship game.

Coach Layton’s picks (his comments are in parenthesis):

El Dorado over Rowland (Easy first victory of many this playoff season)
Bellflower over El Toro (Too much speed)
Foothill over Bonita (Missed the playoffs last two years because of a coin toss, but will still be home for Thanksgiving. Sorry Bonita, but good luck.)
South Hills over La Mirada (SH started off slow but now is on track. Should at least get to the semis)
Trabuco Hills over Brea Olinda (Just seems right)
Mayfair over Wilson (Sorry SGV but it will be an early exit for Wilson. If Tim Gilmore gets free he can make this game interesting.)
Canyon over West Covina (Well-balanced team)
Charter Oak over Norwalk (Best team in the San Gabriel Valley and at home)

My picks [My comments are in brackets]:

El Dorado over Rowland [The ‘D’ in ElDo stands for Defense]
El Toro over Bellflower [Colleague Dan Arritt graduated from El Toro. That’s my reasoning]
Foothill over Bonita [The Knights are my dark-horse pick of the division]
South Hills over La Mirada [This is a tough draw for SH, but they should still win]
Trabuco Hills over Brea Olinda [The Mustangs should easily gallop their way to the semis]
Mayfair over Wilson [Don’t take this personally, but Wilson is lucky to even be in the playoffs]
Canyon over West Covina [I say Canyon wins, but I won’t be surprised if WestCo pulls off the upset]
Charter Oak over Norwalk [Charter Oak’s offense is getting all the pub, but watch out for their defense]

Extra picks. Like I said, Coach Layton is having fun making predictions. The Southwest Division wasn’t enough for him so he made a couple of extra selections.

Colony over Burroughs (looking to get back into the CIF Championship)
Corona Centinnial over Carter (Easy one to pick)
Miller over Damien
Chaparal over Los Osos (Game of the week! Two even matched teams)
Oaks Christian over San Dimas (San Dimmers have had a good season, but have they haven’t played this good of an opponent and won. Oaks not as good as they were, and are beatable if the Saints play a great game.)
Glendora over Upland (Two good teams too bad they have to match up this early.)
Norco over Ayala (I have watched the Cougars in the Norco LA Fitness. Way too strong and disciplined)
Duarte over Cerritos Valley (Coach Hudson might be controversial, but his players are performing for him and his style)
Baldwin Park over Compton Centinel (Coach Heggins will have his team in the second round)
In the game of the week, Orange Lutheran over Mission Viejo (Two well-coached team, but slight edge to OLU)

Just for fun, I’ll go head to with Coach in ‘the Game of the Week’ because while I like OLU, I think Mission Viejo is going to man-up for this game. No way do Bob Johnson and the Diablos simply allow their season to end on a two-game losing streak.

Let us know what you think of our picks and feel free to join in on the fun by making your own.

-- Jaime Cardenas

-- Image from http://www.averyjproductions.com/