No Powerhouses Among the Orange County Teams

The challenge awaits.

For the first time in a while there are not a slew of elite county teams throughout the brackets.

Top-seeded Ocean View has a realistic shot at winning the Southern Section Division III-AA title. Santa Margarita and Brea Olinda could make deep playoff runs in Division II-AA. Laguna Beach and Calvary Chapel may make noise in Division IV-AA.

After that, in a season of good, but not great teams, the county isn’t likely to fare well.

Six-time defending champion Mater Dei is considered a longshot to reach the Division I-A finals. Los Alamitos, Century, Newport Harbor and Capistrano Valley will be underdogs in Division I-AA.

Pacifica has an outside chance of reaching the championship final in Division II-A, but Sonora, Servite, El Modena and La Habra all wound up in champion Compton Dominguez’s bracket.

Calvary Chapel and Laguna Beach will probably butt heads trying to reach the Division IV-AA title games. Estancia will have a difficult time making headway in Division III-A.

Then again, only two section titles were won last year by county teams--Mater Dei and Woodbridge.

This year, however, there are fewer expectations.

Then again, this just may be the year there are more surprises.

DIVISION I-AA

Defending champion: Long Beach Poly.

Top teams: Artesia (25-1); Poly (21-6); Etiwanda (20-6); Simi Valley (22-5).

Dark horse: Chino Hills Ayala (20-6). The Bulldogs have won three consecutive Sierra League championships but are looking for their first section title. This could be their season.

Top players: Richard Anderson (Poly), Julius Barnes (Rowland), Josh Garrett (Capistrano Valley), Mark Hull (Hoover), Matt Jameson (Newport Harbor), Roderick Johnson (Moreno Valley Canyon Springs), Jason Kapono (Artesia), Matt Komer (Los Alamitos), Corey Landrum (Etiwanda), Terrail Zoller (Century).

Notes: There are five county teams in this division. . . . Top-seeded Artesia won its 23rd league title in school history. Last year, the Pioneers were in Division II-A, losing the championship to Compton Dominguez, 63-59. Artesia last won a section title in 1995 while in Division III-AA. The Pioneers have one of the strongest starting lineups in the playoffs, featuring 6-8 junior guard/forward Kapono (22.1 points), 6-7 freshman forward/center Jack Martinez (19.8), 6-1 senior guard James Murdock (18.3) and 6-7 senior forward Jamal O’Quinn (18.9). “We have a lot of different guys we can go to,” assistant coach Jeff Day said, “and the great thing is they all get along together.” . . . Capistrano Valley Coach Brian Mulligan, whose team tied Mater Dei for the South Coast League title, still can’t believe his Cougars were upset by Mission Viejo in the last game of the regular season, denying them the championship outright. “What bugs me is even with a tie [Mater Dei] can claim a seventh straight championship,” said Mulligan, whose won his first. “But it was still a breakthrough season for us. We were picked to finish fourth or fifth. The kids know they are headed in the right direction now.” Capistrano Valley is led by 6-9 senior center Garrett (12.5 points, 9.4 rebounds) and 6-3 junior guard Mike Stowell (16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds). . . . Newport Harbor, which has a difficult first-round game against Ayala, has beaten Santa Margarita and Ocean View. Both have been ranked No. 1 in the county this season. . . . Two of Bellflower’s five losses were to Artesia. The only way they would face the Pioneers again is if they reach the semifinals. . . . Bell Gardens meets Long Beach Poly in the first round led by two small but talented senior guards: Deshawn White (5-11) averages 17 points and Eric Pineda (5-8) averages 16. . . . Canyon Springs has a budding star in 6-7 junior forward/center Johnson (18 points, 11 rebounds). . . . Century Coach Greg Coombs was not disappointed with his team’s second-place finish in the Empire League. “There were five teams in that league with 14 or more wins. I think it might have been the best league in the county.” Coombs will depend on 6-2 senior forward Zoller (18.5 points, 9 rebounds) and 6-9 junior center Mike Zepeda (14.5 points, 10.5 rebounds). . . . El Toro is led by 6-1 guard Mark Wulfemeyer (21.7 points). . . . Etiwanda is another team that strikes fear with its athleticism. The Eagles are paced by 6-4 senior forward Landrum (15.8 points, 6.2 rebounds) and 6-3 senior guard Gary Colbert (13.9 points, 5.6 rebounds). . . . Glendale Hoover opponents must watch out for 6-6 senior forward Mark Hull (27.7 points, 13.3 rebounds) and 6-6 junior forward Zareh Avedian (11.8 points, 11.3 rebounds). . . . Can Long Beach Poly repeat? Coach Ron Palmer thinks so. “We have had some dramatic improvements from our role players,” he said, “and we’re playing some of our best basketball now.” The Jackrabbits will still need big performances from the 6-9 senior forward/center Anderson (19 points, 14 rebounds) and 6-3 senior guard/forward Mike McIntyre (14 points, 5 rebounds).