Eisenhower Gets No. 1 Seeding : Prep football: Fontana drops to No. 3 after loss, with Bishop Amat in the No. 2 spot in Southern Section Division I playoffs.

Eisenhower High of Rialto, fresh off its 16-7 upset of No. 1-ranked Fontana last Friday, is the top-seeded team in the Southern Section Division I football playoffs, which begin Friday night.

The Eagles (10-0), The Times’ second-ranked team, will play host to Ocean View (5-3-1) Friday night at 7:30.

Fontana (9-1), the defending Division I champion, is seeded third and will play host to Palmdale (4-6). Third-ranked Bishop Amat (8-1) is the No. 2-seeded team and will play visiting Lakewood (5-5).

The seedings mean Fontana could meet Bishop Amat in the semifinals. The Lancers defeated Fontana, 28-27 in overtime, in the second round of the playoffs in 1988.

Wilson of Long Beach (6-3-1), the No. 4 team in the Moore League, received the at-large berth in Division I, edging out Bellflower St. John Bosco (5-4), the No. 4 team in the Angelus League. The teams had not played each other this season. Lakewood, the No. 3 team in the Moore League, was their only common opponent. Lakewood defeated St. John Bosco and lost to Wilson.

However, the main controversy at the pairings meeting Sunday centered on Rancho Santa Margarita, a third-year school. The Eagles (10-0) were eligible to be an at-large entrant in any division because they played a free-lance regular-season schedule. There was speculation they would get a berth in Division VI, which includes many other Orange County schools.

However, Santa Margarita was placed in Division IV and seeded No. 4. The Eagles will play Claremont (5-4-1) at Saddleback College Friday.

“Last year we were in Division IX and this year we move up to Division IV,” said Jim Hartigan, Santa Margarita coach. “It doesn’t make sense to me. I thought we should have been in Division VII, VIII or IX.”

Stan Thomas, Southern Section commissioner, said the seeding committee considered placing Santa Margarita as high as Division III and as low as Division VI.

“I don’t think anybody would be totally happy with any decision we made on this school,” Thomas said. “They’re a freelance team, but their record is impressive.”