And the winner is ... the Central Division

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Since nobody in the Introverted Empire helped me decide which Inland Division quarterfinal to attend tonight, I’m not going to watch any. So there. Instead, I’m parked here on the sideline at Colton High, waiting for the third-seeded Yellowjackets to face off against Rancho Verde in a Central Division quarterfinal.

The first thing Rancho Verde boys’ Athletic Director Kevin Stipp said to me was, ‘What are you doing here?’ Rather than explain the perceived lack of gratitude at my presence in the Inland Empire this fall, I just said this game had the two best teams in the Central Division, so I might as well watch the championship game two weeks early.

Being a former tight end, I also appreciate a good matchup in the trenches, and this game should have a good tussle between USC-bound offensive left tackle Tyron Smith of Rancho Verde and UCLA-bound defensive end Damien Holmes of Colton. I must not be alone because Gary P. from wearesc.com just walked past me. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pete Carroll here either. I’d say Karl Dorrell would be here too, but I’ve never seen Karl at a high school game before.

One other aspect that makes this game interesting is the polar-opposite offensive systems each team employs. Rancho Verde features a spread offense with lots of passing plays. Colton uses the tightly packed double wing and usually throws very few passes. Stipp confirmed that Rancho Verde’s best receiver, Andrew Bouvay, broke his ankle three weeks against Norco and is done for the season. Good thing the Mustangs have depth at that position.

-- Dan Arritt