Football: State changes state bowl selection process

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The California Interscholastic Federation has changed the way it selects teams for the State Championship Football Bowl Games, switching to mostly competitive equity instead of enrollment, and the Southern Section is the one section in Southern California that could be hurt.

Here’s the the link to the new alignment. There are five bowl games _ Open, Division I, II, III and IV. Nothing changes in Open or Division IV (500 or below enrollment).

Schools still must win a section championship to be eligible.

Making up the South in Division I will be the Pac-5, Northern, Inland, City Section Division I, San Diego Section Division I and Central Section Division I. Last season, Anaheim Servite from the Pac-5 played in Division II. Crenshaw, the City champion, made it to the Open even though it was Division II. It puts virtually all the top programs in Division I.

In Division II, the Southern Section doesn’t seem as strong, with the eligible divisions the Southeast, Eastern, Western, Southwest and Central. The Western could be the strongest from the Southern Section, as it includes the Mission League, led by Gardena Serra.

Division III is even weaker for the Southern Section, with champions from the Northwest, Northeast, East Valley, Southern and Mid-Valley.

Westlake Village Oaks Christian, Serra and Ventura St. Bonaventure have represented the Southern Section in Division III bowl games, and all have been moved out of the division.

‘This new system for selection is the result of meetings with the section commissioners and input from the State CIF Football Advisory Committee,’ said Executive Director Marie Ishida in a news release.

So this fall, if Westlake wins the Northern Division and Long Beach Poly wins the Pac-5 and Crenshaw wins the City, one will end up in the Open Bowl, another in Division I and another will be left out.

The Southern Section got shafted in this shakeup, but the Southern Section did it on its own. It chose where to place its schools.

-- Eric Sondheimer