HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREVIEW : New Playoff System Makes City Wide Open

If Kennedy High has a season in 1994 like it did in ‘93, the Golden Cougars will be in the playoffs instead of in the bleachers, thanks to a new playoff system.

Last season, Kennedy tied East Valley League champion Sylmar in the opening week, destroyed Crenshaw, an eventual City Section 4-A Division semifinalist, 55-12, and lost only two Northwest Valley Conference games.

But in the final week, the Golden Cougars tied El Camino Real, 22-22, leaving the teams tied for third place in the North Valley League with 4-2-1 conference records. Because only the league’s top two teams received automatic playoff bids, Kennedy and El Camino Real played a tiebreaker for an at-large berth in the 4-A playoffs.

Kennedy’s situation was one reason the City changed the playoff system.

Under the new system, schools will not be classified as 3-A or 4-A until the conclusion of the regular season.

Teams with the best record in each of the City’s six conferences will gain automatic berths in the 4-A bracket. A committee of coaches and administrators will select 10 teams in the bracket based on record, strength of schedule and perceived power. The committee will select the next-best 16 teams for the 3-A bracket.

If the new system had been in place a year ago, Kennedy Coach Bob Francola said, the Golden Cougars’ strength of schedule would have earned Kennedy a playoff berth.

“I think they have the right basic philosophy now,” Francola said. “The best 32 teams at the end should be the ones playing. It makes much more sense. Nobody knows how good anybody is at the beginning of the season but they should at the end.”

Under the old system, teams were assigned to a 3-A or 4-A league within each conference before the season started, based on recent performance. At the end of the regular season, sixteen teams from each division advanced to the playoffs.

But the system hurt schools such as Kennedy. The Golden Cougars last year defeated the three 3-A teams in their conference by a combined score of 114-12. Two of those teams, Reseda and Chatsworth, advanced to the 3-A playoffs.

The North Valley League--Taft, Kennedy, Granada Hills, San Fernando and El Camino Real--could benefit from the new rules. All but El Camino Real appear certain to earn a playoff berth.

In the West Valley, Chatsworth, Cleveland and newcomer Birmingham all have reasonable shots at gaining a 3-A berth.

Under this plan--which still allows for two league champions--it is possible that a conference could qualify all its teams for postseason play. But a league champion is not guaranteed a playoff berth.

Most Northwest Valley coaches welcome the new system, although some have spotted a few kinks.

Granada Hills has been a traditional 4-A school, having lost only five conference games in eight years before 1993.

“There’s going to be a real fine line with No. 16 in the 4-A and No. 1 in the 3-A,” Granada Hills Coach Tom Harp said.

“I know I’d like to play for the City championship but I think there can only be one of them. Being in the 3-A wouldn’t mean as much for us.”

Some schools downplay potential postseason problems. Bob Ganssle, first-year co-coach at El Camino Real is more concerned with the regular season. Only two starters return from last year’s team.

“It might be interesting at the end of the year with all the variables,” Ganssle said. “But now I’m just concerned about winning as many games as we can.”

Friday: Channel and Frontier leagues.

Northwest Valley Conference at a Glance

North Valley League

1993 STANDINGS OVERALL LEAGUE PROJECTED FINISH Taft 10-2 6-1 Taft San Fernando 7-4 5-2 Kennedy El Camino Real 7-3-1 4-2-1 Granada Hills Kennedy 5-3-2 4-2-1 San Fernando Granada Hills 3-7 3-4 El Camino Real

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West Valley League

1993 STANDINGS OVERALL LEAGUE PROJECTED FINISH Reseda 9-4 4-3 Chatsworth Chatsworth 3-8 1-6 Birmingham Cleveland 1-9 0-7 Cleveland

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Player School Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Courtney Blunt Birmingham TB/CB 6-0 170 Sr. Jerry Brown Taft TB/DB 5-11 190 Sr. Eric Carpenter Granada Hills WR/DB 6-1 185 Sr. Dion Gaston Taft FB/DE 6-1 240 Sr. Jeff Macrea El Camino Real TE/LB 6-1 230 Jr. Dan McMullen Kennedy QB 6-4 195 Sr. DaShon Polk Taft TE/FS 6-3 215 Sr. Marvin Powell Birmingham FB/LB 6-3 218 Sr. Antwan Smith Kennedy TB 5-10 170 Jr. Damion Thompson Kennedy TE/LB 6-0 220 Jr.