Football Playoff Pairings Won’t Please All Coaches All the Time

In just four days, football coaches from around the county will make their annual pilgrimage to the Southern Section office in Cerritos to learn their fate. Palms will sweat, brows will furrow and teeth will gnash as they nervously brace themselves for that dramatic moment when . . .

Playoff pairings are announced! OK, maybe it doesn’t match the anticipation of Rocky XXXIII. But playoff possibilities are always intriguing.

Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, here’s the Who’s Who of What’s What:

Santa Margarita. Heading into Thursday’s game against Warren, Santa Margarita, which plays a freelance schedule, is 9-0. The Eagles’ schedule was no fruit cup, either. They beat Pasadena and Gahr, both Division II teams, and shut out four other opponents.

The question: In which playoff division will Santa Margarita be placed?

Sure, the Eagles--who advanced to the Division IX title game in 1989, their first year of varsity play--might have a better chance in some piddling division such as VIII or IX. But they are capable of competing on much higher levels.

Division VI is the natural--four of the five leagues are from Orange County.

Interesting note for the money-monger set: Large-school divisions bring larger gate receipts, so Santa Margarita could benefit financially from taking a big leap to the top.

Of course, when you’re a $26 million school such as $anta Margarita, who’s worried about those kinds of details?

“As long as we get into the playoffs, we don’t care,” Athletic Director Rich Schaaf said. “We just want to get in.”

My guess: Santa Margarita will be placed in Division VI and make it to the title game, where the team bus will be picketed by those opposed to parochial schools playing in the same division as public schools.

Costa Mesa. Speaking of just getting in, Mustang Coach Tom Baldwin’s team already has clinched third place in the Pacific Coast League . . . but it’s not guaranteed a playoff spot.

The Pacific Coast is in Division VII, which has six leagues instead of the usual five, and can guarantee berths only to the top two teams in each.

Unless Costa Mesa beats Trabuco Hills Thursday, the Mustangs will have to hope for a wild-card berth.

My guess: Costa Mesa will win but will be denied a wild-card berth nonetheless. Wanting revenge, Baldwin will wait for the Division VII title game, rent the Goodyear blimp and pour 10 tons of melted marshmallow goo on the stadium during halftime.

Buena Park. Buena Park? Yes, the long-time Freeway League cellar-dweller has been resurrected into a playoff-bound team by Coach Marty Luczaj. The Coyotes, led by running back Angel Barrios, play Thursday at Fullerton for the league’s No. 2 spot.

My guess: The (Wile E.) Coyotes will win and then, in a public relations move, change their nickname to Roadrunners.

Mater Dei. The Monarchs must beat St. John Bosco Friday to be guaranteed a playoff spot. If Mater Dei doesn’t make it, the Derek Sparks debate--Will he stay or will he transfer?--will be back in full swing.

My guess: Monarchs win, Sparks stay, Mater Dei administrators do the boogie-woogie.

Valencia. A 23-21 loss to Brea-Olinda Friday stopped the Tigers’ Orange League winning streak at 17. If Brea beats Western this week, Valencia will fail to win the league title for the first time since 1981.

My guess: Valencia Coach Mike Marrujo, famous for downplaying his team’s chances, will enroll in a joint Dale Carnegie-Dick Vitale seminar and, after many hours of practice, learn to shout at his opponents, “We be better than you, baby!”

Santa Ana. At 2-3 going into their Sunset League final Thursday against Westminster, the Saints are out of playoff contention, but a victory would be Coach Dick Hill’s 192nd. That would establish his as Orange County’s winningest football coach.

My guess: Hill gets the victory, the key to the city and a life-time supply of Raisin Bran--his pregame cereal choice for the past few decades.

Corona del Mar. The Sea Kings have managed some impressive turnarounds--in 1989, they entered the playoffs as a wild-card team and won the Division VI title--but with the loss of quarterback Todd Kehrli to a finger injury, the odds are stacked higher than a complete collection of Elvis albums. Corona del Mar has to beat University Thursday to advance as the Sea View League’s No. 3 representative.

My guess: Elvis will return from the dead and sing a rap version of “Love Me Tender” before Corona del Mar wins the Southern Section title this year.

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Trivia question: Which four current Orange County high school coaches were assisted under Dick Hill when he was at Santa Ana Valley in the 1960s and ‘70s?

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Santa Margarita is one of four undefeated county football teams; the others are La Quinta, Esperanza and Tustin.

Their secrets?

At La Quinta, Coach Roger Takahashi--one of the county’s sharpest minds--has a zinger list of plays that keep the opponents guessing and Aztec fans cheering.

Esperanza, traditionally known for its mammoth linemen, features a slightly smaller, slightly quicker package that has proven even more effective.

And at Tustin, running back Ron Goods and fullback Visko Ancich make up one of the best backfield tandems in the county. Goods, a top sprinter, makes cuts like a skier in a giant slalom race, and Ancich plays human battering ram.

Which will go the farthest in the playoffs?

Tustin--the run-and-ram team.

Trivia answer: Mike Rush (Mission Viejo), Gary Meek (Esperanza), Tom Baldwin (Costa Mesa) and Tom Meiss (Orange).

Barbie Ludovise’s column appears Wednesday and Sunday.