Kennedy and El Camino Real Will Break Tie--3 Days Later

After El Camino Real High and Kennedy High played to a 22-22 tie Friday night, leaving them tied in the North Valley League at 4-2-1, both teams expected to advance to the City Section 4-A Division playoffs with automatic bids as second-place finishers.

But San Fernando’s unexpected 19-18 victory over Taft put the Tigers, at 5-2, alone in second place, and when City playoff brackets were announced Saturday, El Camino Real and Kennedy learned they must meet in a tiebreaker at 3 p.m. Monday at Birmingham High. The winner advances; the loser’s season is over.

Kennedy Coach Bob Francola said if the Golden Cougars and Conquistadores had played the tiebreaker immediately after Friday’s game, both teams would have been selected as at-large teams.

“We didn’t have a crystal ball for San Fernando,” he said. “We even had differing reports on the score (San Fernando-Taft), and we didn’t want to play and risk injury unless it was absolutely necessary. This just means the best 16 teams won’t be there next Friday.”

In the tiebreaker, El Camino Real and Kennedy will alternate on 16 plays, starting at the 50-yard line. The team that advances the ball farthest or outscores the other will be declared the winner.

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Glendale, which finished in a three-way tie for the third playoff berth in the Pacific League, lost a coin toss to Pasadena, meaning the Bulldogs qualify for postseason play and the Dynamiters will have to wait until today for a possible Division II at-large bid.

Crespi (6-4, 3-2 in league play), which finished tied for second with St. Paul and Loyola in the Division I Del Rey League, won the coin flip for position and will be seeded in the playoffs as a second-place team.

A coin toss also resulted in Ventura (8-2, 6-1) being seeded No. 1 in the Channel League, followed by Buena (7-3, 6-1) and Santa Barbara (8-2, 6-1). Those teams finished tied for first in the Division III league.

Glendale Coach Don Shoemaker said the Pacific League held coin tosses for each of the possible tie scenarios during the week. Glendale finished tied with Pasadena and Arcadia for third place in the league. Shoemaker said the Dynamiters (6-4, 2-3) have petitioned for the lone at-large bid in Division II.

At-large bids, as well as playoff pairings, will be released today.