There Are No Surprises in Division I Playoffs

The Southern Section Division I football playoffs have gone according to form, with top-seeded and defending champion Santa Ana Mater Dei playing fourth-seeded La Puente Bishop Amat on Friday in one semifinal at Citrus College and No. 2-seeded Long Beach Poly playing No. 3 Loyola on Saturday at East Los Angeles College.

Mater Dei is coming off a 40-23 quarterfinal victory over Los Alamitos. Bishop Amat defeated Eisenhower, 19-14.

“We’re going to have to slow [Mater Dei] down and keep the ball away from them,” Bishop Amat Coach Tom Salter said. “Special teams and field position could really come into play if we’re able to control things and shorten the field the way we want to.”

Loyola faces an offense that features several game-breakers, including running backs Herman Ho-Ching and Larry Croom, quarterback Chris Lewis and wide receiver Kareem Kelly.

“We can’t match up with them speed-wise,” Loyola Coach Steve Grady said. “To win, we have to limit their output of big plays. You can’t load up to stop them from doing one thing because they can beat you anywhere.

“On offense, we’re not in Poly’s league, but I think we’re pretty solid. We don’t score as many points because we take some time to score. We’re going to need to do that against them.”

*

When Redondo Union lost to rival Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, 31-20, in its Ocean League finale on Nov. 14, the Seahawks believed their season was over.

But after gaining an at-large berth in the Division IX playoffs and winning its first two playoff games, Redondo Union is in the semifinals for the first time since 1942.

The Seahawks’ opponent Friday: Mira Costa. The game will be played at El Camino College and will be televised by Fox Sports West 2.

Redondo began its improbable playoff run by upsetting three-time defending champion Atascadero, 32-29. The Seahawks defeated Duarte, 31-6, to advance to the semifinals.

*

Final matches in the girls’ tennis individual championships will be played Friday at the Irvine Tennis Club.