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State bowl selection day is Sunday; here are the contenders

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Sunday is bowl selection day for high school football teams in California. Any school that wins a section championship is bowl-eligible. The 10 section commissioners will choose five schools from Southern California and five from Northern California to play in games on Dec.18 and 19 at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

Here’s the rundown on who’s likely to be in the mix with one weekend to play, along with their rankings by Calpreps.com and CalHiSports.com. The CalHiSports rankings are updated as of Dec. 9.

Open Division South

CalHi: Westlake Village Oaks Christian, Huntington Beach Edison, Los Angeles Crenshaw, Oceanside, Anaheim Servite.

Calpreps: Edison, Servite, Oaks Christian, Vista Murrieta, Westlake, Crenshaw.

The only real candidates are the Edison-Servite Pac-5 winner, Crenshaw and Oaks Christian. Edison seems the likely choice with a victory Saturday based on strength of schedule and winning the Pac-5 Division, the toughest in California. If Servite wins, that could produce a real debate among the Friars, Crenshaw and a victorious Oaks Christian.

Oaks Christian has a win over a state champion from Washington, Sammamish Skyline, the 4A champion. Crenshaw beat five Southern Section teams to start the season. Servite has a loss to Edison but played what is regarded as the toughest schedule.

Open Division North

CalHi: Concord De La Salle, Rocklin, Grass Valley Nevada Union, Loomis Del Oro, San Jose Bellarmine Prep.

Calpreps: Bellarmine Prep, De La Salle, Rocklin, Loomis Del Oro, Sacramento Inderkum.

With Sacramento Grant losing, De La Salle is a slam dunk here, assuming they win Saturday over Pittsburg in the NCS Division I game. De La Salle has lost twice to out-of-state teams ranked in the top six in the nation, so being “a two-loss team” shouldn’t matter. Bellarmine Prep (CCS Open champion) may be nearly as good, but a 34-12 loss to Stockton St. Mary’s is likely to keep them out of the open game.

Division I South

CalHi: Edison, Oceanside, Vista Murrieta, Fresno Bullard, Temecula Chaparral, Chula Vista Eastlake.

Calpreps: Edison, Vista Murrieta, Oceanside, Chaparral, Eastlake, Bullard.

Edison may land here, but if the Chargers go to the open game or lose to Servite, this berth probably comes down to Vista Murrieta or Oceanside, assuming both win Friday.

Division I North

CalHi: De La Salle, Grass Valley Nevada Union, Bellarmine Prep, Elk Grove Monterey Trail, Pittsburg.

Calpreps: Bellarmine Prep, De La Salle, Grass Valley Nevada Union, Elk Grove Monterey Trail, Pittsburg.

Assuming DLS goes to the Open game, this berth comes down to Bellarmine Prep and the winner of Saturday’s Nevada Union-Monterey Trail game (SJS Division I). Bellarmine Prep has played a much stronger schedule, but its one loss was a big one to a Sac-Joaquin Section team.

Division II South

CalHi: Crenshaw, Servite, Westlake, Moorpark, Alemany, San Diego Mission Bay.

Calpreps: Servite, Westlake, Crenshaw, Moorpark, San Diego Cathedral.

Crenshaw probably lands here, though Servite and the Moorpark-Westlake Northern Division winner will be in the mix depending on how things fall in the Open.

Division II North

CalHi: Rocklin, Loomis Del Oro, Sacramento Inderkum, Alameda Encinal, Fair Oaks Del Campo.

Calpreps: Rocklin, Loomis Del Oro, Inderkum, Fair Oaks Del Campo, Eureka.

Rocklin plays Del-Oro Friday (SJS Division II), and the winner of that game should get the berth.

Division III South

CalHi: Oaks Christian, Gardena Serra, Kern County Taft, Corcoran.

Calpreps: Oaks Christian, Serra, San Diego Parker, Taft, St. Margaret’s.

The Oaks Christian-Serra winner likely goes here. If Oaks Christian is picked for the Open Division, well then it gets interesting. There are Small School teams that could end up here.

Division III North

CalHi: Kentfield Marin Catholic, Carmel, Seaside, Susanville Lassen.

Calpreps: Modesto Christian, Carmel, Kentfield Marin Catholic, Seaside.

Modesto Christian is a definite for Small Schools berth if it becomes bowl eligible, but it could be bumped up to this spot in Division III. Otherwise, Division III is wide open. Carmel is unbeaten, but Marin Catholic has played a stronger schedule with one loss by one point.

Small Schools South

CalHi: San Diego Parker, St. Margaret’s, Rio Hondo Prep, Linfield Christian (no others eligible)

Calpreps: Parker, St. Margaret’s, Linfield Christian, Rio Hondo Prep (no others eligible)

Parker beat St. Margaret’s head to head, so a win in the San Diego Division IV final on Friday gets them this berth. An upset loss would give St. Margaret’s a potential return trip to Carson.

Small Schools North

CalHi: Modesto Christian, Sacramento Capital Christian, Portola, Sacramento Bradshaw Christian

Calpreps: Modesto Christian, Sacramento Capital Christian, Portola, Sacramento Bradshaw Christian

If Modesto Christian is moved into the Division III slot, then it’s wide open for the Small Schools choice.

Eric Maddy contributed to this story.

rric.sondheimer@latimes.com

Twitter.com/LATSondheimer

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