Division V

Defending champion: Santa Margarita, a 38-0 winner over Newport Harbor.

Seeded teams: 1. Santa Margarita (10-0), 2. Tustin (10-0), 3. Brea Olinda (9-1), 4. Kennedy (7-3).

Dark horse: Woodbridge (7-1-2) wouldn’t play Tustin until the semifinals or Santa Margarita until the finals. Woodbridge plays good defense and, if its conservative approach prevents the turnovers that plagued it in its 40-7 loss to Santa Margarita, the Warriors could be a factor. Said Santa Margarita Coach Jim Hartigan: “I wouldn’t be surprised to see Woodbridge in the semifinals.”

Notes: The prevailing feeling, even among coaches in the playoffs, is that Santa Margarita and Tustin are the only teams that can win the title. El Modena Coach Steve Howard says among those two, the Eagles are the team to beat: “Santa Margarita has more of a total package. Tustin has an incredible offense, but Santa Margarita’s offense is just as potent and they have better special teams and defense.” Tustin beat El Modena, 49-19; Santa Margarita beat El Modena a week later, 49-15, using its second-string quarterback, Greg Orlando. Starter Carson Palmer has thrown for 19 touchdowns and one interception. He missed two full games and parts of others because of a stress fracture in his foot. Orlando completed 24 of 40 passes for 470 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. He has also caught five touchdowns passes and rushed for five touchdowns. . . . Tustin’s DeShaun Foster leads the Tillers’ incredible offense. He set a county single-season record for touchdowns rushing (43) and scoring (260 points). . . . One reason for Tustin’s success has been its depth. The Tillers have only one player, offense guard and defensive nose tackle Derrick Johnson, who never comes off the field. Three others play both ways, Foster (safety), Julius Williams (wingback, cornerback) and Joey Gibson (split end, linebacker), but they’re able to pick up breathers along the way. . . . El Dorado (8-2) is playing Foothill (5-5) for the first time for the right to face Tustin in the second round. . . . Santa Margarita is top-seeded and playing the at-large team, Katella (6-4). Tustin is second-seeded and playing the third-place team from the Orange League, Valencia, which has a worse record (3-6-1). But even the lowliest of teams can have something going for them. “[Coach Mike] Marrujo never had a team that couldn’t play defense,” said Myron Miller, Tustin’s coach. Valencia surrendered more than 20 points only three times, including twice in the first three weeks. . . . “If we’re not successful,” Miller said, “it’s not going to be because of the draw.” Tustin is giddy because Newport Harbor (8-2) and Servite (5-5) are on the Santa Margarita side of the bracket. “We scouted Servite five games,” Miller said, “and each game, two more players showed up [after injuries]. And anybody who would bet against [Newport Harbor Coach] Jeff Brinkley hasn’t watched Orange County football. He does more with less than anybody in the county.” . . . Servite, the top-seeded team last year, will be bolstered by the return of quarterback Ryan Garko, who was injured in the first series of a 7-6 loss to Esperanza in Game One, and right tackle Jesse Day (6-3, 285). “I feel better now than I did for the second game of the year,” said Coach Larry Toner, whose team lost three of the next four games. “Esperanza beat us to death. It didn’t help us not having the pieces of the puzzle. Things got better when the key pieces came back.” Servite’s five losses were to the county’s best teams: No. 5 Esperanza, No. 2 Santa Margarita, No. 10 Fountain Valley, No. 1 Mater Dei, No. 3 Tustin. . . . The Servite-Savanna winner plays Santa Margarita in the second round. Newport Harbor has the best record among teams in fourth-seeded Kennedy’s bracket. The Eagles could play two teams they have already beaten, Servite and Newport Harbor. That didn’t go over well with Hartigan. “People say we’ve already beaten them, but they’re going to have a chance to learn something from the first game,” he said. “There’s a certain motivation playing a team a second time.” . . . Newport Harbor reached the section finals last season. It has the second-leading rusher in the division, Brett Baker (1,418 yards). Foster (2,355 yards) and Wolfsberger (1,392) are first and third. The fourth-leading rusher is junior Francis Johnson (1,398) of at-large Katella. . . . Had El Modena (4-6) beaten Canyon, it might have finished first in the Century League. Had it finished first, it would have played Newport Harbor. Instead, Villa Park (6-3-1) plays the Sailors and El Modena plays third-seeded Brea Olinda (9-1). “If anything good can come out of losing to Canyon, this was it,” Vanguards Coach Steve Howard said. “I thought we got a good draw. Not to take anything a way from Brea, but Newport Harbor is pretty salty.” . . . The favorite, undoubtedly, is Santa Margarita. “With Santa Margarita’s speed, experience and success, no one can say they can beat Santa Margarita,” Toner said.