Football: Crespi should have been at-large entrant
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Sometimes the formulas used by the Southern Section playoff selection committee don’t add up. Just look at how Crespi lost out to Newport Harbor in the Pac-5 Division.
The committee determines at-large entrants based on 1) record, 2) strength of schedule, 3) head-to-head results, 4) strength of league and 5) record versus common opponent.
So let’s break down Newport Harbor’s 3-2 victory over Crespi:
1) Record. Crespi finished 5-5 and Newport Harbor 6-4. One point for Newport Harbor. But consider this: Newport Harbor’s four losses came by a combined 81 points. The Sailors suffered a 34-point defeat against Dana Hills and a 28-point setback against Edison. Crespi? The Celts lost five games by 21 points, including a one-point overtime loss to St. Bonaventure and a two-point loss on a late field goal against Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. I think the point here really should go to Crespi.
2) Strength of schedule. Crespi’s opponents went a combined 58-42 while Newport Harbor’s opponents went 57-43. Two points for Crespi even though it was pretty much a push.
3) Head-to-head results. The teams did not play each other. No points for either team.
4) Strength of league. The Football Coaches Advisory Committee ranked the Sunset League ahead of the Serra League (it actually had the Serra ranked third behind the Sunset and Trinity leagues), but for my money I’d take the Serra League. There are no Marinas in the Serra League and the Serra went 20-8 against nonleague opponents versus the Sunset’s 22-8 nonleague record. Serra League teams had victories over St. Bonaventure, Alemany and Mira Costa while the Sunset League teams beat Servite, Dana Hills and Mira Costa. Pretty much a push even though Newport Harbor was awarded one point here.
5) Record versus common opponent. This was the killer for Crespi. The Celts lost to Loyola, 41-37, on Friday while Newport Harbor defeated Loyola, 28-14, on Sept. 17. One point for Newport Harbor. But consider the circumstances surrounding each game: Newport Harbor defeated Loyola at home at a time when the Cubs were six days removed from the season-ending loss of standout running back Anthony Barr. Cubs Coach Jeff Kearin, who would resign only a few weeks after the Newport Harbor game, conceded to The Times’ Eric Sondheimer that ‘I wasn’t being as attentive to the program as I should be.’ Loyola had more than a month to regroup with its new coaching staff and had nothing to lose when it played Crespi in a home game for the Cubs.
My conclusion? Even though it was thisclose, I would have gone with Crespi over Newport Harbor.
--Ben Bolch