By Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com
CARSON, Calif. - It was just your live run-of-the-mill reality selection show on Fox Sports Network on Sunday but to Centennial-Corona football coach Matt Logan it played out much different.
"It was just an hour, but it seemed like three," he said. "Frankly I was to the point I just wanted to know. I didn't even care what the answer was."
But when the Huskies were among the six teams selected to play in Saturday's CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games, Logan admitted he cared all along.
In one of the two tightest debates of the day, Centennial, the nation's third-ranked team, edged No. 17 and Los Angeles City Champion Birmingham-Lake Balboa and seventh-ranked and Southern Section Pac-5 winner Long Beach Poly for the Division I Southern California berth.
Centennial (13-1) takes on No. 6 De La Salle-Concord (12-0), the Northern California pick, in Saturday's 7:30 p.m. game at the Home Depot Center in Carson.
The other games are San Diego Section champion Oceanside (12-1) against North Coast Section representative Novato (13-0) in Division II (3:30 p.m.) and Southern Section winner St. Bonaventure-Ventura (13-1) versus Sac-Joaquin Section champ Central Catholic-Modesto (13-1) in Division III (11:30 a.m.). .
"It was a great relief and a great honor to be selected," Logan said. "There are a lot of teams that didn't get in. It's not a perfect system and I feel very badly for those teams and coaches that weren't picked. But when you're selected it feels very nice. It's going to be quite an experience to be playing the most storied football program in high school sports."
The teams were selected by the 10 commissioners of the CIF, the state's high school governing board. The commissioners gathered at the Home Depot Center at 10 a.m. and finished with their selections in about 3« hours.
The two most debated divisions, according to Event Director Ken Gunn, were Division I South and Division II North. Commissioners were asked to pick using four criteria: win-loss record, strength of schedule, head-to-head, and common opponents.
Gunn said Division I was difficult because that the three nationally-ranked teams had identical 13-1 records and played rigorous schedules. Ultimately it came down to head-to-head and common opponents.
Poly was eliminated because Birmingham defeated the Jackrabbits in September. Birmingham and Centennial didn't play but had a single common opponent, Crespi-Encino. Centennial defeated Crespi (41-20) and Birmingham lost to the Celts (20-6).
"That's what it appeared to come down to," Gunn said.
Birmingham thought the common opponent might have become something of a wash because on Saturday Crespi lost to Long Beach Poly in the Pac-5 championship game. Birmingham defeated Poly 20-7 on Sept. 7.
Birmingham star running back Milton Knox, who finished as Los Angeles City's All-Time leading rusher at 6,495 career yards rushing and 103 touchdowns, tried to take the disappointing news in stride.
"There's nothing we can do, it was out of our hands," he said. "We tried our best. We gave it our all. To be considered one of the greatest teams in city history is something to be proud of."
According to Gunn, the Division II North debate took the longest to unravel.
It came down to Novato, undefeated Northern Section squad Foothill-Palo Cedro (12-0) and Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV champion Oakdale (12-1). Foothill, which hasn't played a game for a month because Northern Section's playoff games end so early, was considered one of its area's best in two decades.
An unbeaten record and slightly stronger schedule for Novato probably proved decisive, Gunn said.
"(Novato) beat a couple of undefeated teams in its section playoffs and that was very impressive," Gunn said. "They've won 13 straight games this year, 25 overall and seven of the 13 wins came against playoff teams. There were two great teams there. The committee had a lot of problems separating them. It wasn't what either team did wrong. They both did everything right."
Novato just missed being picked last year when it put up bigger numbers (margin of victory isn't considered, Gunn said).
Novato coach Travis Brackett spent Sunday at a team barbecue at a player's home. The Hornets did the same thing last year but the call was bad news.
This time Brackett got good news in the early afternoon but kept it from his players.
"I was sworn to secrecy (by the CIF) until 3 p.m. so I told the kids we'd be getting a call then," Brackett said.
When the call didn't come he started to let the kids down slowly. "I told them how proud I was of them for all they've done all season and particularly Friday's game (a 34-21 win over previously unbeaten Las Lomas-Walnut Creek). I then told them I'd be most proud to be coaching them in the state championship game."
The leisurely barbecue turned into a Metallica concert.
"It was like a mosh pit," Brackett said. "The kids, the parents, the families all got jacked. There was a lot of yelling and hugging and craziness. It's one of those moments you'll never forget."
Like Logan, Brackett said he was sympathetic for the teams not selected.
He and the Hornets had a unique perspective though. They knew exactly how the other unselected teams felt.
"I'm sure those kids from Foothill and Oakdale deserved it every bit as much as we did," Brackett said. "We just got picked. We're all champions. We're just lucky enough to get to play another week."
As tired and worn down as the Hornets are, Brackett said: "Oh, I'm sure we have one left in the tank. To be honest, with this group, we could play two or three more if they wanted us to."
Knox, of course, wanted to play just one more week for the Patriots. He's committed next season to play at UCLA.
Even though disappointed, Knox was able to see through a larger scope.
"We wish Centennial nothing but the best," he said. "We'll be rooting for them and hope they represent Southern California well."
NOTES: The other four spots were pretty much forgone conclusions. . Oceanside, though the first non-Southern Section team to represent Southern California, was an obvious pick based on its fourth straight San Diego Section crown and that other top D-II Southern Section squads (Crespi, Mater Dei-Santa Ana, Orange Lutheran and Servite-Anaheim) were all eliminated in the Pac-5 Tournament. . De La Salle is the only team to return to the state bowl game. The Spartans hope to erase a 27-13 loss to Canyon-Canyon Country in last year's title game at the Home Depot Center. This is the second year the CIF has had State Bowl Games. California was the last state in the union not to have some form of a state football championship. . All games will be broadcast live on FSN Prime Ticket (Southern California) and FSN Bay Area (Northern California), with the lone exception being the Division III game which will be shown live on FSN Bay Area Plus, available on satellite or digital cable. . Live audio and written play-by-play also will be available on the internet for all three games. Please visit www.kbcsports.com to listen in to all the action, and www.cifstate.org for written play-by-play. . There were 47 teams - all section champions - considered for the six spots, 23 from Northern California. . In addition to the three state football championship games, other ancillary gameday events include the California State High School Cheerleading and Dance Championships as well as a High School Football Coaches Clinic featuring San Jose State coach Dick Tomey. Please visit www.cifstate.org for more information on how to register for either of these events. . Tickets for the 2007 CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games presented by Farmers Insurance are now available at the Home Depot Center Box Office, local TicketMaster outlets or ticketmaster.com. Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for high school students (with a valid ASB card), seniors (60+) and children. All tickets are for general admission seating and are valid for all three games.
E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com.
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