City Coaches Trust Fate to Tiebreaker

Steve Landress, a man given to unconventional stances, has decided to play it by the book if his Cleveland High football team finishes the season in a tie for third place in the West Valley League.

Cleveland (3-5, 2-4 in league play) will meet Canoga Park (1-7, 1-5) Friday in the final week of the regular season for City Section teams. Cleveland can clinch a berth in the 4-A Division playoffs with a win, but a Canoga Park victory would force the teams to meet Monday at a neutral site in a California tiebreaker.

Landress and Hunter Coach Rudy Lugo discussed the possibility of awarding the playoff berth to the winner of Friday’s game, following the lead of their North Valley League counterparts. Coach Bob Francola of Kennedy and Chatsworth’s Myron Gibford agreed to let their head-to-head match-up serve as a tiebreaker. Chatsworth (3-4-1, 2-4) defeated Kennedy (3-6, 2-4) last week, 20-7, and will advance to the playoffs if the teams tie for third.

But Landress wants to use the tiebreaker even though he faults its structure, which calls for each team to run four plays from the 50-yard line. The team with the most points or yardage wins.

“Getting your team together and running eight plays . . . it’s not football but I guess it’s better than a coin flip,” Landress said. “Why not just play chess?”

Granada Hills (9-0, 5-1) and San Fernando (5-4, 5-1) of the North Valley League already have clinched berths. El Camino Real (4-4, 3-3) and Taft (4-4, 3-3) have secured berths and will meet for the West Valley title.

In the 3-A Division, Reseda (5-1-2) and Van Nuys (4-4, 4-2) have clinched berths and will play for the Mid-Valley League title. Grant (8-1, 5-1) and Sylmar (6-2, 4-2) have earned the East Valley’s two playoff berths.