The Southern Section football playoffs provide a...

The Southern Section football playoffs provide a smorgasbord for county high school football fans, with 22 first-round games scheduled Friday night and three more Saturday.

Mater Dei, the county’s top-ranked team, is the top-seeded team in Division I. The Monarchs (10-0) open the playoffs Friday at Santa Ana Stadium against Long Beach Jordan (5-5), a team they beat, 37-0, in the second week of the season.

The county’s other undefeated teams--Aliso Niguel and Rancho Alamitos--are ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in Division VIII. In Division V, which has only county teams, Servite (9-1) is seeded No. 1 and Santa Margarita (9-1) is No. 2. In Division X, Orange Lutheran (9-1) is seeded second behind Frontier League champion Ojai Nordhoff (9-0-1).

Here’s a division-by-division look at the playoffs:

Division V

Defending champion: El Toro, a 27-17 winner over Servite.

Seeded teams: 1. Servite (9-1), 2. Santa Margarita (9-1), 3. Tustin (9-1), 4. Newport Harbor (9-1).

Dark horse: The Irvine-Loara winner. This first-round game features a Loara offense that has scored fewer than 22 points only once and averaged 41 points since scoring a season-low 14 against El Dorado five games ago. Irvine is up one week, down the next, but if the Vaqueros are the team that nearly upset Mater Dei (losing, 35-30), or the team that beat El Toro, 37-28, on Saturday, they can probably beat anyone in the division.

Notes: The second round could provide a rematch of last year’s championship game if top-seeded Servite and at-large El Toro get past their first-round opponents. . . . Servite has nonleague victories over Esperanza, Irvine, Santa Margarita and Fountain Valley. . . . Santa Margarita Coach Jim Hartigan was pleased to be in the bracket opposite Servite: “One of the toughest things about football is playing someone you’ve already played.” However, second-seeded Santa Margarita’s first-round opponent is El Modena (4-6), which it beat, 32-3, in Week 4. If Hartigan is a little edgy about playing El Modena again, consider this: Three coaches for the Vanguards were once on the Santa Margarita staff: head Coach Steve Howard, offensive line coach Brett Kohurst and defensive backs coach Tom Inglima. Hartigan said he will have to sell the Vanguards as a credible opponent to his players again: “You have to refocus, remind them that what was accomplished in the regular season is in the past. We’ve gone into the playoffs as a third-place team and beaten a league champion, so I’m well aware of what can happen.” And El Modena obviously knows plenty about the Eagles. The Vanguards have scored 15 points or fewer their last three games, and have won two in a row. Although Santa Margarita’s Sea View League title was its first, the Eagles were 10-0 in 1990, but were not part of a league. They finished 12-1. . . . Valencia (7-3) enters with three shutouts in its last five games, and has given up 26 points during that span. Four of the Tigers’ victories have been by shutout. The defense is anchored by tackle Mauricio Arguello, end Brandon Blackley and inside linebacker Luke Spathes. Valencia Coach Mike Marrujo made a good point in trying to assess the playoffs: “The other thing you have to take into consideration is that report cards just came out and eligibility [kicked] in on Monday.” Tustin Coach Myron Miller agreed: “We didn’t lose anybody, thank goodness, but somebody will.” . . . Miller, in his seventh season as a head coach, has never had a team win 10 games. Even when his team at Costa Mesa reached the section final, it was 9-3. The Tillers are 9-1, “and we’re going to do everything we can to win that first playoff game,” he said. Tustin won only one game in 1994. Miller took over the next season, and now the Tillers are the division’s third-seeded team. Miller admitted Tustin probably shouldn’t be the seeded third, but fourth-seeded Newport Harbor should be. “I thought the fairest way to seed the top four teams was to cross-bracket the No. 3 and 4 teams,” Miller said. By doing so, the first- and second-place teams from the Golden West and Sea View leagues can’t meet their league rivals until the final. The Tillers could have three rushers surpass 1,000 yards after this game, DeShaun Foster (1,365), Brandon Lambert (1,006) and Greg Carnal (947). Quarterback Todd Scott has thrown for 945 yards. . . . Irvine Coach Terry Henigan, whose team beat El Toro in the final game to get the league’s final automatic playoff berth, said Sunday: “Yesterday at this time, I felt I’d be golfing today. If we had lost last night, I don’t think we would have gotten the wild card.” . . . Newport Harbor’s offensive balance this season is apparent: Josiah Fredriksen has thrown 22 touchdown passes and only three interceptions, and Ray Ohrel has rushed for 1,570 yards and 24 touchdowns. The Sailors are averaging 41.4 points and giving up 13.1. . . . El Dorado, after losing its first five games, has won five in a row. . . . Western, which won its first 12 games last season, has won three in a row to salvage a 5-5 season. . . . El Toro (5-5) is averaging 30 points, but giving up 22.1. Irvine (6-4) is averaging 29.9, but giving up 25.3. League champion Santa Margarita is averaging 32.8, giving up 14.8. . . . El Toro has won four section titles (1983, ‘86, ‘87, ‘95), more than any team in the division. Servite (1960, ‘82, ‘83), Irvine (1991, ‘92, ‘93) and Valencia (1987, ‘91, ‘92) have won three each.