Football: What now?

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The 10 California Interscholastic Federation commissioners face an unenviable task Sunday when they meet to decide the Southern California representatives for the five state championship bowl games.

First, let’s get the easy picks out of the way: Gardena Serra in Division III, San Diego Parker in the Small-Schools Division and Oceanside in Division I.

That leaves Crenshaw, Servite and Westlake for two spots. As much as I respect Crenshaw, the top-ranked team in the Southland for most of the season according to The Times, I believe Servite should get the nod in the Open Division game. The Friars (13-1) beat the only team that beat them--Edison--and defeated Mission Viejo, Mater Dei, Crespi and Long Beach Poly twice. That’s a heck of a run.

Crenshaw (14-0) beat Lakewood and Norco, teams that had great seasons and reached the semifinals of their respective playoff divisions, but the Cougars didn’t face the stiffest competition once they reached the City Section portion of their schedule. Dorsey was decent and Narbonne was a worthy opponent, but that was about it.

Westlake? The unbeaten Warriors (14-0) knocked off St. Bonaventure and Moorpark twice, but they might sufffer from too-little-too-late syndrome since they didn’t generate much buzz until the last month or so and played a pretty lackluster nonleague schedule.

So I believe Servite should get the Open Division nod and Crenshaw should be the Division II representative. The picks will be announced at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

--Ben Bolch