San Pedro’s No. 1 City seeding draws complaints
The City Section released its Division I football playoff bracket Saturday, and let’s just say not everyone was pleased.
“It’s unfathomable,” said one coach.
“Only in the City,” said another.
San Pedro (9-1), part of a three-way tie for first place in the Marine League, was awarded the No. 1 seed. Garfield (8-2) was No. 2, Narbonne (6-4) No. 3 and Carson (8-2) No. 4. Defending champion Crenshaw (7-3) was No. 5.
“Who’s picking this stuff?” Crenshaw Coach Robert Garrett said. “It’s all political.”
Crenshaw has played in the City final four out of the last five years, winning three times. Crenshaw’s only losses were to non-City powers St. John Bosco, Long Beach Poly and Bakersfield. The committee uses MaxPreps.com power rankings to sort out seedings. Crenshaw was hurt by a weak schedule in the Coliseum League.
“When they put us in a league with Fremont, Manual Arts and Jefferson, it’s better for us not to play them,” Garrett said. “Our rating goes down. It doesn’t do any good to win a City title. It doesn’t do any good to win your league the last five years.”
Narbonne was ranked No. 1 by MaxPreps until San Pedro knocked off Carson, 17-15, on Saturday. Suddenly, the Pirates, who lost to Narbonne, became No. 1.
“I can’t believe it,” Narbonne Coach Manuel Douglas said. “Those people don’t understand that MaxPreps will always rank the team with the best record. They’re 9-1, but what’s that 9-1 compared to our 6-4?”
Another strange seeding involved Venice and Palisades from the Western League. Venice defeated Palisades, but the Gondoliers were seeded No. 12 and Palisades No. 9.
First-round games are set for Friday, with the championship Dec. 6 at the Coliseum.
In Division II, Hamilton (7-3) was seeded No. 1, followed by Eagle Rock (9-1), Sylmar (8-2) and University (4-5). South Gate (6-4) was given No. 5 after three forfeit defeats.
In Division III, Los Angeles (8-2) is No. 1, Bernstein (8-2) No. 2, Monroe (7-3) No. 3 and Hawkins (7-3) No. 4.
Fighting erupts
An altercation in the third quarter of Friday’s Crenshaw-Locke game caused officials to stop the game with Crenshaw ahead, 42-6. City Section Commissioner John Aguirre said officials reported that numerous Locke players came on the field in violation of City Section rules. The incident occurred after an interception by a Crenshaw player near the Locke sideline.
“What happened last night is a travesty for high school athletics,” Garrett said. “We work too hard to deal with that type of violence, especially when adults can’t control their entire team.”
Twitter: LATSondheimer
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