Division V at a Glance

Defending champion: Norco. Two-time defending division champion, now in Division IV.

Top teams: Newport Harbor (10-0), Savanna (8-2), Servite (8-2), Foothill (6-4).

Dark horse: Valencia (4-5-1). Under Coach Mike Marrujo, the Tigers have won section titles in 1987, ’91 and ’92. This season, they closed the season with three consecutive victories to finish second.

Top players: Ismail Abdullah, El Dorado, RB; David Bedard, Servite, RB; Dean Chambers, Western, QB; Glen Giesen, Sunny Hills, OL; John Giordani, Newport Harbor, QB; Jamie Hanaway, El Toro, RB; Brian Hogan, Corona del Mar, RB; Adam Hoover, Canyon, QB; Leonard Ibarra, Westminster, RB; Greg Jacobs, Canyon, WR; Bill Johns, Newport Harbor, DL; Daven King, Savanna, RB; Jeremy Klemp, Savanna, QB; Tyler Lang, Foothill, QB; Charlie Marino, Kennedy, RB; Darin Martineau, Kennedy, LB; Sean McMahon, Villa Park, QB; Jerome Owens, Brea-Olinda, RB; Jeff Renaud, Sunny Hills, WR; Joe Secoda, Valencia, QB/DB; Rhett Shepard, Valencia, DB; Ruben Vaughan, Foothill, DE; Danny Verino, Saddleback, RB; Stan Villenueva, Century, QB; Brian Wilson, El Toro, QB.

Best draw: Savanna (8-2). The Rebels, who won the Division VI title last season, won’t have to play a league champion until the semifinals.

Worst draw: Century (6-4). The Centurions shared the Empire League title with El Dorado but face Brea-Olinda in the first round with top-seeded Newport Harbor looming in the quarterfinals.

Notes: Friday, Brea-Olinda missed an Orange League title by inches, so now it has to play a league champion in the first round. Trailing, 10-7, with less than three minutes remaining, Brea-Olinda (7-2-1) was driving and faced a fourth and three but was stopped inches short of a first down near the Valencia 40. If the Wildcats had kicked a tying field goal, it would have shared the league title with Savanna . . . Newport Harbor will try to equal the school record for victories in a season. In 1992, under Coach Jeff Brinkley, the Sailors finished 11-3 but lost in the Division IV championship game to Irvine . . . Foothill and Coach Tom Meiss are 0-6 against Sea View League teams in the last two seasons, but the fourth-seeded Knights won’t meet a Sea View opponent unless they reach the semifinals. Foothill plays Kennedy (7-3) in the first round, and the Fighting Irish were ranked as high as second in Division V this season but have lost their last two games . . . Villa Park (9-1) will be a stronger title contender if running back Franklin Haynes returns. Haynes, a sophomore who led the team in rushing, was suspended indefinitely two weeks ago, but Spartan Coach Pat Mahoney said the school will announce this week if Haynes will be eligible to play Friday against Corona del Mar (5-5) . . . Corona del Mar features one of the county’s top running backs, Hogan, who has rushed for 1,391 yards. Owens of Brea-Olinda (1,077) is the division’s only other 1,000-yard rusher. Servite running back Bedard has scored 23 touchdowns, fourth best in the county . . . Four of the division’s quarterbacks are rated in the top 10 in the county: Savanna’s Klemp, Western’s Chambers, Villa Park’s McMahon, and Servite’s Martin.