SOUTHERN SECTION FOOTBALL PLAYOFF PAIRINGS : Despite Forfeits, Garden Grove Still Is Seeded Fourth

Only two days after announcing it was forfeiting four games for using an ineligible player, Garden Grove High School was seeded fourth in the Division VII football playoffs Sunday by Southern Section administrators.

The surprising move capped an uneasy 72-hour period for Coach Jeff Buenafe and his players that began Friday when Garden Grove Principal Peggy Mahfood announced the school was forfeiting victories over Kennedy, Bolsa Grande, Santiago and La Quinta.

On Saturday morning, Garden Grove’s playoff hopes were in the hands of eight league principals, who decided to enter the Argonauts as the league’s No. 2 representative in postseason play despite their revised record of 4-6.

“I’m emotionally drained but thankful,” Buenafe said. “I told the team before our game Friday night (against Pacifica) that this might be our last game, so play like it was a CIF (Southern Section) playoff game.”

Garden Grove responded with a 27-14 victory over Pacifica and then awaited the principals’ decision the next day.

Buenafe said he did not know what to expect when he arrived at the Southern Section office for the pairings announcement. Garden Grove had been ranked second in the division behind Rancho Alamitos before the forfeitures.

“I was worried,” he said. “I didn’t know if we were going to be seeded. I didn’t know how much bearing the forfeitures would have on the pairings and seedings.”

League champion Rancho Alamitos was seeded second, Kennedy entered as the league’s No. 3 team and Los Amigos was awarded an at-large berth in the 16-team bracket. Pacifica Coach Bill Craven, whose team finished fifth in the revised league standings, thought the Mariners (6-4 overall) deserved the at-large berth.

“How do you ignore the Garden Grove forfeitures and put them in the playoffs, but at the same time acknowledge them in the final standings?” he asked. “Personally, I don’t know how you ignore a (win)-loss column.

“I thought we would at least get the at-large berth. We beat Los Amigos (9-0) in head-to-head competition, which is supposed to be the first criteria for the selection committee. We’re a good team and deserve to be in the playoffs.”

Three county schools--Huntington Beach (Division II), Corona del Mar (Division IV) and Los Amigos (Division VI)--received at-large berths in the playoffs. Estancia (5-5), vying for a berth in Division VIII, was edged by South Pasadena (6-4).

Huntington Beach Coach George Pascoe was relieved to learn the Oilers’ season would continue, even if it means meeting third-seeded Esperanza (9-1) in the first round.

“It would be pretty hard to keep us out; we’re a pretty good football team,” Pascoe said. “But after last year, I learned to expect anything.”

Last season, Huntington Beach entered its Sunset League finale against Edison in first place. But the Oilers fell to fourth after losing to the Chargers, 21-14, and then losing a coin flip to Marina and Edison for the league’s No. 2 and No. 3 berths.

Huntington Beach had also failed to earn an at-large bid, and it looked as if the Oilers’ chances of gaining an at-large bid this year were slim. Dominguez, the fourth-place team in the San Gabriel Valley League, was considered the favorite. Dominguez entered the final week of play with a 7-2 record.

But when Lynwood upset Downey in the San Gabriel Valley League, it created a three-way tie for second place between Dominguez, Downey and Paramount. Dominguez earned the league’s No. 2 berth, Downey was awarded No. 3 and Paramount was out of the playoffs.

“Some good luck finally came Huntington Beach’s way,” Pascoe said. “We don’t care who we’re playing, we’re just happy to be here.”

Two county schools--Los Alamitos (Division II) and Sunny Hills (Division VIII)--were awarded the top seedings in their divisions, while two others--Irvine (Division IV) and Rancho Alamitos (Division VII)--drew second seedings.

Los Alamitos, the county’s top-ranked team, figures to have the toughest road to the finals. The Griffins were placed in the upper bracket of their division with three other strong passing teams--Hart, Downey and Fountain Valley.

Third-seeded Esperanza was placed in the lower bracket with traditional running teams such as Muir, Servite and Dominguez.

“There’s easily eight teams who could win the division,” Esperanza Coach Gary Meek said. “There are no Alhambras or Schurrs in this division. It looks like there’s a running team bracket and a passing team bracket.”

Barnes warned county fans not to sell Hart short.

“People tend to overlook them for some reason, but they’re better than they’ve been the past two years,” Barnes said.

Rancho Alamitos appeared to have a lock on the top seed in Division VII before the Vaqueros were upset, 18-17, by Los Amigos in their league finale.

“We should still be No. 1,” Rancho Alamitos Coach Mark Miller said. “We have two common opponents with Sunny Hills. We beat Troy and Mission Viejo easily while Sunny Hills tied Troy and struggled to beat Mission Viejo (13-0). You tell me who’s the top seed.”

The most disappointed coach of the day was Newport Harbor’s Jeff Brinkley, who was unhappy with his teams draw in the Division IV playoffs.

Brinkley’s team soundly beat Santa Margarita, 27-16, to finish second in the Sea View League. The Sailors’ reward was a trip to Damien (7-3) in the first round. If Newport Harbor wins, it will likely meet top-seeded Rubidoux in the second round.

Third-place Santa Margarita received a better draw, traveling to Glendora (5-4-1) in the first round. If the Eagles win, they’ll meet the winner of Foothill-Riverside Poly in the second round.

“Why do we draw a 7-3 team and Santa Margarita gets a 5-4-1 team?” Brinkley asked. “This is the third year in a row we’ve been placed under the No. 1 seed. I don’t know where you have to be ranked to get a decent draw in the playoffs anymore.”

Seven county schools qualified for Division IV play and all seven will meet out-of-county schools in the first round. Six county schools qualified for Division VI play and all six will also meet out-of-county schools in the first round.

The upset of the year in the county also had an upsetting effect on the Division VIII pairings. Century’s 21-20 victory over Trabuco Hills turned the 16-team bracket upside down.

Top-seeded La Sierra (9-1) and the second-best team, Trabuco Hills (9-1), are in the upper bracket. But Trabuco Hills was seeded fourth after its loss to Century. Third-seeded Century (5-4-1) and second-seeded San Marino (7-2) are in the lower bracket.

The two hottest teams in the division are La Sierra and Century. La Sierra has won nine in a row since losing its season opener to San Dimas, 7-6. Century has recovered from a 1-4-1 start to win four consecutively.

Mission Viejo (5-5) has the dubious distinction of opening the playoffs against top-seeded Bishop Amat (10-0) in the Division I playoffs. Coach Mike Rush expected the worst.

“We talked about the possibility of drawing Bishop Amat,” he said. “Being a third-place team, that’s what we could expect.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve had a challenge like this. We’ve gone on the road to Canyon Country, (Oceanside) El Camino and (Vista) Rancho Buena Vista in the past and done well.”

Defending Division I champion Mater Dei failed to earn a seed but will play host to Crespi (7-3) at Orange Coast College in the first round.

Orange County Teams in the Playoffs

Games at 7:30 p.m. Friday unless noted

DIVISION I

Encino Crespi (7-3) vs. Mater Dei (8-1-1), Orange Coast College

Mission Viejo (5-5) at La Puente Bishop Amat (10-0)

Redlands (7-3) at Capistrano Valley (6-3-1)

DIVISION II

Arcadia (4-6) vs. Los Alamitos (10-0), Cerritos Gahr HS

El Dorado (8-2) vs. Servite (8-1-1), CS Fullerton

Fountain Valley (6-3-1) at Downey Warren (7-3)

Huntington Beach (6-4) vs. Esperanza (9-1), Valencia HS

Marina (6-3-1) at Crescenta Valley (9-1)

DIVISION IV

Chino (6-3-1) at Irvine (9-1)

Corona del Mar (6-3-1) at West Hills Chaminade (8-2)

Foothill (6-4) vs. Riverside Poly (8-2), UC Riverside

Moreno Valley Canyon Springs (8-2) vs. Orange (6-4), El Modena HS

Newport Harbor (8-2) at La Verne Damien (7-3)

Santa Margarita (8-2) vs. Glendora (5-4-1), Citrus College

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (6-4) vs. El Modena (7-3), Tustin HS

DIVISION VI

Valencia (7-3) at Covina (4-5)

Western (8-2) at El Monte Arroyo (9-1)

Walnut (8-2) vs. Anaheim (8-2), Glover Stadium

DIVISION VII

Buena Park (4-6) at Culver City (6-4)

Kennedy (7-2-1) vs. Inglewood Morningside (5-4), Inglewood Coleman Field

Los Amigos (5-3-2) vs. Azusa (7-3), San Dimas HS

Pomona (4-6) vs. Sunny Hills (8-1-1), Buena Park HS

Santa Maria Righetti (3-6) vs. Rancho Alamitos (8-2), Bolsa Grande HS

Troy (5-4-1) at Garden Grove (4-6)

DIVISION VIII

Laguna Hills (8-2) at Artesia (6-4)

Riverside Notre Dame (6-4) at Trabuco Hills (9-1)

Temple City (5-5) vs. Century (5-4-1), Santa Ana Stadium

DIVISION X

Yucca Valley (6-4) vs. Whittier Christian (7-3), Whittier College

Malibu Kilpatrick (6-4) vs. Brethren Christian (7-3), Artesia HS (Saturday)

DIVISION XI

Southern California Christian (5-5) at Mammoth (6-3)

COMPLETE PAIRINGS: C21