Francola All Smiles After Kennedy Gets No. 2 Seeding

Kennedy High Coach Bob Francola walked out of the City Section football seeding meeting Tuesday night with a bundle of paper under one arm and a handful of pencils in the opposite hand.

Included in the mass of paper was the schematic of the seedings for the first round of the 4-A Division playoffs, which open Nov. 22.

On his face, Francola wore a smile.

Kennedy, seeking its first City title, was seeded second to Dorsey.

“I’m proud of that,” Francola said. “I think the kids will be proud of that too. Now we need to play some games and prove we deserve to be in the finals.”

Kennedy, which can clinch the West Valley League title outright with a victory over Cleveland on Friday, is 8-1, 6-0 in league play. The Golden Cougars open the first round against either Belmont, Eagle Rock or Wilson, which are deadlocked at 3-3 in the Northeastern League.

For the first time, seedings were made according to a team’s record and strength of schedule rather than its position in any league standings.

Fourth-seeded San Fernando (8-1, 5-1), which lost only to Kennedy, will open against Birmingham (7-1, 5-1).

Banning (8-1, 5-1), whose lone loss came as a result of a highly publicized forfeit to Dorsey, is seeded third and opens against Poly (7-2, 5-1).

Most coaches felt that there was no preeminent 4-A favorite for the first time in years.

“It’s as wide-open as it’s been in years,” Dorsey Coach Paul Knox said. “There are four or five teams that can win it. It’s much more even.”

Dorsey, the 1990 4-A champion, leads the Pacific League with a record of 6-1-1, 5-0-1. The Dons open with Westchester (5-4, 3-3).

Fifth-seeded Sylmar (7-1, 6-0) will open against Venice (5-4, 4-2).

Granada Hills (5-3, 4-2), which made the field as an at-large team, opens with Lincoln (7-2, 5-1), the Northeastern League champion.

In the 3-A, Chatsworth (5-4, 3-3) will open against Van Nuys (4-4, 3-3). Reseda (4-4, 3-3) will open with Los Angeles (5-3-1, 3-2-1).

Crenshaw (5-4, 4-2), which defeated Kennedy in nonleague play, was granted the top seeding and will open against the loser of Friday’s game between Hamilton and Palisades.

Grant and Canoga Park, both 2-4 in league play, meet Friday to determine their first-round fate. The winner will face San Pedro (6-3, 3-3).

The Grant-Canoga Park loser will play second-seeded Huntington Park (8-0-1, 6-0-1).