Football: Some early possible playoff issues in the Southern Section

There’s still two weeks to go before playoff pairings are announced in the new Southern Section divisions. We know how many schools are in each division and there will be 16-team brackets. But who gets in?

For Divisions 1, 2 and 3, I asked Eric Maddy of CalPreps.com to speculate. Remember, there’s likely berths if you finish first, second or even third in six-team leagues unless there’s more than 16 that qualify in your division. If that happens, someone gets eliminated. The key is figuring out at-large berths.

In the higher divisions, the priority is a .500 or better overall record, as all teams with .500 or better records will be taken to fill brackets before any with losing records are considered. After that, it comes down to criteria used in the past, such as strength of schedule and head to head.

In Division 1, there’s 18 teams for 16 spots. Only two teams won’t make it. It appears that Servite, Loyola and Alemany may be the three teams battling for two at-large spots.

In Division 2, there’s 18 teams, and it could come down to Camarillo, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and Crespi for the last spot.

In Division 3, it could be a mess. Maddy predicts 15 of the 19 teams will be first or second-place finishers, which means one of the third-place teams might not make it such as San Juan Hills or Atascadero, and don’t expect an at-large berth for any team under .500.

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