County Teams Will Get a Good Look at One Another

Something old, something new.

Hey, we know it’s a cliche, but placing teams in regional brackets for easier travel has added a new dimension to the CIF Southern Section basketball playoffs.

Now, just about every first-round game pits one Orange County team against another. The region I bracket in Division I-A, for example, looks like a replay of the South Coast League season, with top-seeded Mater Dei (25-2), Dana Hills (15-12), San Clemente (17-8) and Mission Viejo (16-10) taking part. But some things never change. Mater Dei will be seeking its sixth consecutive section title.

The county has produced several other highly seeded teams. Sonora (23-3) is seeded No. 3 in Division II-A, the top team in its Region III bracket, which counts all eight teams from Orange County. But in a departure from total regionalism, Brea Olinda (23-3) is seeded fourth atop a Division II-A bracket that includes seven teams from the Inland Empire.

Southern Section officials say that as many as 75% of the teams were bracketed based on their localities.

Brethren Christian opens the playoffs Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. by hosting Burbank Providence (13-9) in a Division IV-A wild card game.

All other first-round games will be Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

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

DIVISION II-AA

Defending champion: Santa Margarita.

Top teams: Woodbridge (22-3); Compton (21-5); Villa Park (20-4); San Bernardino Cajon (23-3).

Dark horse: Inglewood (17-7). The Sentinels would have won Division II-A last season had it not been for Compton Dominguez, which handed them three of their four losses.

Top players: Jason Botts (Paso Robles); Chris Burgess (Woodbridge); Eric Chenowith (Villa Park); John Elsaesser (Los Amigos); Brian Krauss (Orange); Scott Smith (Santa Maria Righetti); Deaundra Tanner (Inglewood); Jeffrey Trepagnier (Compton); Lucine “Juni” Williams (Burbank);

Notes: Woodbridge heads up Region I, which is all county teams. Those who have the best chance to upset the Warriors are El Dorado and Cypress, though Orange can play the kind of slow-tempo style that can frustrate Burgess and his teammates. Warrior Coach John Halagan said his Sea View champions better not spend too much time savoring their first outright league title since 1988. “Obviously we have a good team,” Halagan said. “But we better make sure we take care of what we have to do. And you better respect your opponents or you can be gone quickly.” . . . Best news for Woodbridge: No Compton Dominguez (Division II-A) until the state playoffs, and no Riverside North, which moved to Division I--A. North had knocked Woodbridge out of the playoffs in the quarterfinals the past two seasons. . . . Burgess completed a stellar senior year, averaging 23.2 points and 11.7 rebounds. . . . Loara, which plays the Warriors in the first round, lost to Woodbridge in the first game of the season 78-46. Loara Coach Ed Prange has no illusions about the rematch. “Our mind set is to have fun, and enjoy the competition and playoff atmosphere,” he said. . . . Villa Park is the top-seeded team in Region III, which includes North Torrance, El Monte, Inglewood and Beverly Hills. But Spartan Coach Kevin Reynolds isn’t complaining. “I knew Woodbridge would stay [in Orange County] but they deserved to stay,” he said. “I know nothing about these other schools; I’ve got some work to do.” Chenowith (20 points, 16.2 rebounds) is probably tired of hearing he’s the county’s second best center. If he is to get another shot at Burgess, their teams would have to reach the finals. . . . Compton Coach Rob Palmer was one of the more unhappy coaches regarding the section’s attempt to regionalize the playoffs. “The whole thing bothers me,” said Palmer, looking at his bracket, which includes Valencia, Santa Barbara San Marcos, Ventura and Santa Maria Righetti. “If this is regionalization, when was the last time Compton was next door to Santa Barbara?” Compton is a definite title threat. The Tarbabes defeated Dominguez, 57-56, and since their 56-52 loss to Torrance Bishop Montgomery, have won their last seven. Trepagnier (19.1 points) is Compton’s star, but point guard Deandre Moore (14.1 points, 8.1 assists) runs the show. . . . Cajon established its credentials when it took out defending champion Fontana in two separate tournament games. Cajon scored a season-high 123 points against Yucaipa. . . . Tom Gorrell, the Times Orange County’s coach of the year last season, might have done an even better job this season, guiding Cypress to the Empire League title with only three seniors on the roster. . . . Los Amigos, which opens against Cypress, will need the 6-6 Elsaesser (10.0) to raise his play to go deep into the playoffs. . . . Krauss (17.5) leads Orange in scoring but 6-4 senior center Juan Dotson (13.5 points, 7.5 rebounds) may hold the key to the Panthers’ playoff hopes. . . . Two of the best non-county players are Inglewood’s Tanner (24 points, 7.6 rebounds), a 6-3 senior guard, and Burbank’s Williams (18.2), a 6-0 junior guard. . . . Besides the 6-5 Botts (17.2 points, 8.2. rebounds), Paso Robles has another post player who can cause problems for opponents in 6-7 junior forward Ray Robins (17.1 points, 7.2 rebounds). . . . Righetti did not fare well in early games against county teams, losing tournament matchups to Santa Margarita, 66-40, and San Clemente, 75-50.