CIF Southern Section football semifinal playoff score projections

One-third of Friday's 27 Southern Section playoff games are projected to be decided by a field goal or less.

Thumbnail image of this articles writer: Mitch Stephens

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One of the most watched 11-man football brackets in the country are those of the California Interscholastic Federation's Southern Section.

There is the mass quantity of it all — 14 divisions — many of which started with 16 teams.

But certainly there is the quality, led by its top bracket of the competitive equity tournament, which features four of the top 30-ranked teams in the country, including No. 1 Mater Dei and No. 2 St. John Bosco.

Now that the tournament is down to the semifinals and the last two weeks, competition figures to be utterly fierce. The games should be ultra tight.

To prove that point, the MaxPreps computer rankings and system projects scores for every game in the country and a look at the 27 games scheduled for Friday reveals that one-third of Southern Section's game will be decided by a field goal or less, including five games projected by a single point. Fifteen of the 27 are projected to be decided by a touchdown or less.

The biggest point differential among two games in 13 divisions is ironically enough in Division 1, with a combined margin of 39. That's largely because no team has come within two touchdowns of Mater Dei all season and it is projected to win Friday by 25 points.

The closest of the two-game divisions is Division 9, with a projected three-point spread between two games. Divisions 7 (7 points) and Divisions 3 and 4 (eight each) aren't far behind.

It should be noted that only one semifinal game in Division 2 will be played, as the second game San Clemente versus Chaminade (West Hills) was ruled a forfeit. The Southern Section determined San Clemente used an ineligible players earlier in the season and was disqualified. Chaminade advanced directly into the section finals Nov. 29.

All 27 of these semifinal games are all scheduled for Friday and these projected scores are calculated entirely by a computer which ranks every team throughout the country throughout the season. Check back to see how the computer fared.
La Habra quarter Ryan Zanelli leads his team into D3 semifinal action Friday against Grace Brethren.
Photo by Rich Lawce
La Habra quarter Ryan Zanelli leads his team into D3 semifinal action Friday against Grace Brethren.
Division 1
Projected winner (score): Mater Dei 46-21

Projected winner (score): St. John Bosco 42-28

Division 2
Projected winner (score): Sierra Canyon 28-26

Division 3
Projected winner (score): Corona del Mar 38-31

Grace Brethren (Simi Valley) vs. La Habra at Royal (Simi Valley)
Projected winner (score): Grace Brethren 31-30

Division 4
Projected winner (score): Camarillo 28-21

Projected winner (score): San Juan Hills 28-27

Division 5
Paramount vs. Aquinas (San Bernardino) at Citrus College
Projected winner (score): Glendora 28-14

Projected winner (score): St. Paul 34-33

Division 6
La Serna (Whittier) vs. San Jacinto at California (Whittier)
Projected winner (score): La Serna 31-20

Projected winner (score): Pacifica 42-26

Division 7
Serrano (Phelan) vs. Cypress at Western (Anaheim)
Projected winner (score): Serrano 28-24

Projected winner (score): Temecula Valley 31-28

Division 8
Projected winner (score): Santa Barbara 26-19

Projected winner (score): Sunny Hills 35-31

Division 9
Projected winner (score): Highland 31-30

Projected winner (score): North 30-28

Division 10
Projected winner (score): Crescenta Valley 31-17

Projected winner (score): Orange 38-28

Division 11
Projected winner (score): Hemet 21-20

Projected winner (score): Muir 31-14

Division 12
Projected winner (score): Adelanto 28-14

Projected winner (score): El Monte 35-31

Division 13
Projected winner (score): Alhambra 31-21

Inglewood vs. Esperanza (Anaheim) at Yorba Linda
Projected winner (score): Inglewood 38-22

Division 14
South (Torrance) vs. Loara (Anaheim) at Glover Stadium
Projected winner (score): South 24-14

Projected winner (score): St. Pius X-Matthias 30-28