PLAYOFF PUSH

Almost nothing is guaranteed when the City Section football seeding committee meets in a classroom at Manual Arts High on Saturday morning, not 12 hours after the regular season ends.

Only one thing is certain heading into the final games tonight. Win or lose, Taft and Sylmar will be playing their first round 4-A Division games--and possibly more--at home.

The committee, comprised of one coach from each conference, two members of the Interscholastic Athletic Committee and a representative from the City Section office, will select the top 16 teams for the 4-A playoffs, then select the next 16 for the 3-A.

Teams can request to play in a particular division but the committee does not have to adhere to the recommendation.

The Toreadors and Spartans have clinched conference titles and are guaranteed first-round home games. If Taft (8-0, 6-0 in conference play) defeats El Camino Real tonight, the Toreadors are in good position to become the top-seeded team.

Taft, Westchester and Fremont are the only undefeated teams in the City Section. The Toreadors have played a tougher nonconference schedule and play in a more difficult conference, two of the four criteria the committee uses for seeding.

If Sylmar (8-1, 6-0) beats Reseda tonight, the Spartans will be on the bubble along with Southern Pacific Conference champion San Pedro (8-1, 5-1) to be seeded among the top four teams, which could mean a potential home game in the quarterfinals.

The Spartans are undefeated in the Valley Pac-8 Conference but the Southern Pacific is much stronger and the Pirates are the defending 4-A champions.

The remainder of the 4-A remains hazy--and just got more complicated.

Banning (3-6, 3-3) was forced to forfeit three victories this week and went from a lock in the 4-A to a question mark.

In 1994, the first year under the current system, Carson forfeited games but was still placed in the 4-A playoffs with a 2-8 record. The next season, San Fernando had to forfeit five victories and was left out of the playoffs.

“I’ve been in that position before,” San Fernando Coach Sean Blunt said. “It’s a tough thing to deal with, but they should do to [Banning] what they did to us.”

Only three Northwest Valley Conference teams were selected to the 4-A the past two years, but five could conceivably qualify, with San Fernando and El Camino Real the biggest beneficiaries if the committee leaves Banning out.

Kennedy (6-3, 4-2) and Birmingham (7-2, 4-2) play tonight for second place in the conference and both probably will be selected for the 4-A. San Fernando (5-4, 3-3) probably should beat Cleveland tonight and has played everyone in the conference tough, while a victory over Taft should put the Conquistadores (6-3, 3-3) into the 4-A.

After Sylmar, the rest of the Valley Pac-8 prefers to play in the 3-A. Canoga Park (6-3, 5-1) and Monroe (6-3, 3-3) are certain to get in, and Poly (3-6, 3-3), winless four weeks ago, probably assured itself a place by beating the Vikings last week.

Reseda (3-6, 2-4), Van Nuys (2-7, 2-4), North Hollywood (2-7, 2-4) and Grant (3-6, 1-5) have an outside chance with victories tonight.