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 VIII

Defending champion: Lake Elsinore Temescal Canyon, a 34-21 winner over La Mirada.

Seeded teams: 1. Aliso Niguel (10-0), 2. Rancho Alamitos (10-0), 3. Laguna Hills (9-1), 4. West Covina South Hills (10-0).

Dark horse: Covina (8-2), last year’s Division VII champion, has lost only to fourth-seeded South Hills, 35-13, and second-seeded Rancho Alamitos, 33-29.

Notes: Only two leagues remain from last year’s Division VIII playoffs, the Pacific Coast and Suburban. The Garden Grove and Freeway Leagues moved down a division to VIII. The Sunkist League, which featured Temescal Canyon, moved up to Division VII. . . . Pomona Ganesha, Aliso Niguel’s first-round opponent, is a deceiving 5-5. One of Ganesha’s losses was 37-34 to Chino Hills Ayala, the fourth-seeded team in Division II. Aliso Niguel, in only its third season of varsity football, has reached the playoffs twice. The Wolverines are led on offense by running back Scott Nemeth, who started the first three games at quarterback. Nemeth has rushed for 872 yards and 15 touchdowns. Quarterback Wes Thomas, a converted receiver, has passed for 1,038 yards and 12 touchdowns in seven games. Receiver John Hefty has only caught five passes but he’s returned two kickoffs and a punt for touchdowns. Nose tackle Dave Seale has done everything for Aliso Niguel’s defense. He has seven sacks, 15 tackles for losses, three forced fumbles and two blocked kicks and a safety. . . . Steve Burt, who serves as Aliso Niguel’s sports information director and follows the Division VIII teams closely, ranks Pacifica eighth in the division. Pacifica, which finished fourth in the Garden Grove League and was given an at-large berth, lost three games by a total of nine points. Pacifica opens against second-seeded Laguna Hills. . . . Second-seeded Rancho Alamitos finished 4-6-1 last year and lost in the first round of the Division VII playoffs. The Vaqueros have not been to a Southern Section final since 1993, when they lost to Manhattan Beach Mira Costa. Rancho Alamitos has defeated five of the 15 other teams in the Division VIII bracket--Pacifica, Los Amigos, Santiago, Troy and Covina. . . . Three of the top four rushers in Orange County will compete in the Division VIII playoffs. Laguna Hills junior Michael Jones (2,063 yards) and Rancho Alamitos senior Leo Kosi (1,878 yards) are first and second and Troy senior Kyion Grayes (1,554 yards) is fourth. . . . Los Amigos running back Najja Kee, who has rushed for 1,189 yards, missed Friday’s game against Santiago with a sprained ankle but is expected to play Friday against Troy. Levertis Riley filled in for Kee and ran for 202 yards in 17 carries.