Vista Murrieta’s roof began sagging weeks ago

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You could definitely see the collapse coming. The weight on the shoulders of Vista Murrieta began showing during Week 8, when its Southwestern League game against Chaparral was postponed several times because of wildfires in the area.

The Broncos won that game, 21-20, but only because Chaparral quarterback Tyler Hansen dropped a two-point conversion in the final minute. The real tell-tell sign came two weeks later, however, when Vista Murrieta slipped past league doormat Great Oak, 28-21.

Still, the Rhodes Scholars who comprise the Southern Section Inland Division rankings continued to vote the Broncos as the second-best team in the division, one spot better than Redlands East Valley.

I first voiced my concern with their rankings back on Oct. 3, and that was just based on the strength of each team’s victories to that point. I dug a little deeper in my Inland Division preview, when it became obvious the Southern Section leaned on their rankings to seed Vista Murrieta second and REV third, despite the Broncos’ unimpressive wins down the stretch.

Redlands East Valley, by the way, will play Corona Santiago in a semifinal Friday night at Yucaipa after blasting Norco, 38-7. That will be another indication of how much better REV was than Vista Murrieta this season.

-- Dan Arritt

-- Image from artnet.com