SOUTHERN SECTION FOOTBALL PLAYOFF PAIRINGS : Huntington Beach Doesn’t Make ‘In’ List

Huntington Beach High School Coach George Pascoe was expecting to see his team gain the at-large entry in the Division I football playoffs when the pairings were announced Sunday at the Southern Section office.

Instead, it was another day of disappointment. Only two days earlier, Huntington Beach (6-4) lost its share of the Sunset League championship when Edison beat the Oilers, 21-14.

Later that night, administrators from Marina, Edison and Huntington Beach held a coin toss to determine the league’s second- and third-place teams for the playoffs behind league champion Santa Ana. Guess who lost the toss?

“We had a 66 and two-third’s chance of getting into the playoffs with the coin flip,” Pascoe said. “If we win, or Edison wins, we’re in the playoffs. You hate to have your season come down to a coin flip, but I thought we had a great chance of making the playoffs.”

Pascoe still thought Huntington Beach had an excellent chance of earning a berth in the 16-team field as the at-large entry. Instead, Saugus (6-4) of the Golden League earned the at-large bid.

“I felt in my heart we were the best fourth-place team,” he said. “We won six of our last eight games and finished tied for second in the Sunset League. We lost to our league champion (Santa Ana) by two points and shut out Marina.

“I thought it was between us and Servite (6-4) for the at-large berth, and Servite had lost three of its last four games. I got down to the CIF (Southern Section) office at 10:30 and was back in my car at 10:32.

“I told my players I would have a notice posted on my office door at 12:30. I hurried down and put the note up that we didn’t qualify and left. I didn’t want to face the players and see their disappointment.”

Huntington Beach and Servite weren’t the only worthy at-large candidates that failed to gain entry into postseason play. Defending champion Capistrano Valley (5-5) was snubbed in favor of Rio Mesa (7-3) in the Division II playoffs.

Capistrano Valley Coach Eric Patton could sympathize with Pascoe. His team lost its final two South Coast League games and fell from first place to a tie for third with Mission Viejo after a 17-13 loss to Irvine Saturday night.

But four other county schools had their seasons extended by gaining at-large bids in other divisions.

El Dorado (5-5), a fourth-place finisher in the Empire League, was a surprise pick in Division III. The Golden Hawks have lost two consecutive games but Coach Rick Jones noted that his team played seven teams that qualified for the playoffs and beat three of them--Century, Troy and Los Alamitos.

“Emotionally, we felt the season was over when we got beat by Katella Friday night,” Jones said. “But I also felt our strength of schedule would get us in.”

Santa Margarita (6-3-1) gained entry into the Division V playoffs after completing a free-lance schedule. Last year, Santa Margarita advanced to the Division IV semifinals as an at-large entry.

“We’ve gone to the semifinals and the quarterfinals the past two years, but I was still a little nervous that we weren’t going to get in,” Santa Margarita Coach Jim Hartigan said.

Santa Margarita’s three losses were on the road against playoff-bound Valley Christian, University and Rancho Bernardo of the San Diego Section.

University (5-5), a fourth-place finisher in the tough Sea View League, earned an at-large berth in Division VI. Century (7-3), playing only its second season of varsity football, was an at-large entry in Division VII.

Three county schools--Esperanza, Valencia and Calvary Chapel--were seeded first in their divisions.

Esperanza (10-0), which has the longest winning streak (24) in the Southern Section, is the top-seeded team in Division III. The Aztecs, the division’s defending champions, play host to Santa Monica in the first round.

Valencia (10-0) is the top-seeded team in Division VI, where county schools dominate the pairings. Garden Grove (10-0) is seeded second, Tustin (9-1) third and Rancho Alamitos (8-1-1) fourth.

Calvary Chapel is the top-seeded team in Division X and drew a first-round bye with only 12 schools entered in the division.

How Pairings Are Determined

Southern Section football playoff pairings are divided into 10 divisions. There are five leagues in each division, and each league is guaranteed three playoff berths. The exception is in Division VII, where there are six leagues and each is guaranteed two berths.

Leagues are placed in divisions based on the strength of its members’ programs, proximity and success in previous playoff games. A playoff committee determines which leagues should be placed in which division, and the committee reviews the divisions every two years.

* COMPLETE PAIRINGS: C24