Josh Rosen and St. John Bosco will face a Long Beach Poly team that pulled off a shocker against Mission Viejo last week.
Photo by Ted Aguirre
Semifinal action during postseason play begins this weekend in Southern California. Here is a breakdown of some of the more interesting divisions from the region and some all-important playoff insight.
See the
Southern Section score projections and the
California Bowl Game Rankings.
Southern Section Pac-5 Division
Chase Forrest has taken over atquarterback and has kept Mater Dei'sseason alive.
Photo by Heston Quan
A classic case of one team that's supposed to be in this situation and another that essentially has had no business making it this far in the playoffs. Let's talk about what we expected first: St. John Bosco (8-4) has taken care of its responsibilities behind the play of
Josh Rosen. The sophomore quarterback is completing close to 60 percent of his passes during the postseason and has thrown four touchdowns as well. Long Beach Poly (9-3), on the other hand, surprised many with last week's 21-16 upset victory over Mission Viejo. The Jackrabbits seemingly have all the momentum they need to pull off another improbable win this time around. Or will this be the week that the glass slipper falls off the foot of Cinderella?
St. Bonaventure (Ventura) vs. Mater Dei (Santa Ana): Ricky Town is a sophomore, however, the quarterback has played with the poise of an upperclassman for St. Bonaventure (11-1). Never was that more evident than last week when Town guided the Seraphs to 14 points with less than four minutes left on the fourth quarter clock in a 27-21 overtime win against Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita).
Chase Forrest has assumed the starter's job for Mater Dei (10-2) and the junior quarterback has flourished in the new role. He is completing close to 70 percent of his passes in two games. Also worth mentioning is his eight touchdowns to one interception.
Southern Section Inland Division
Vista Murrieta beat up Norco in the playoffs and has a shot at the Open Division bowl bid.
Photo by John Downey
This showdown features some of the top secondary players in the Golden State, most likely the best on the West Coast, and perhaps the country.
Su'a Cravens is the key for the Vista Murrieta (12-0). The senior defensive back and USC commit is a game-changer and will likely be the difference between winning and losing for the Broncos. Rancho Cucamonga (10-2) counters with talented tandem of
Tahaan Goodman and
Chris Hawkins. The senior defensive backs have been known to shut down more than a few receiving corps this season and it would not be a surprise to see them accomplish the feat this week.
Centennial (Corona) vs. Upland: Robert Webber has silenced his many skeptics, most of whom said that he was not ready to be the starting signal-caller, by playing well for Centennial (11-1) in a pair of playoff games thus far. The junior quarterback has completed more than 65 percent of his passes for 578 yards and eight touchdowns in those postseason games. Webber will be the focus of Upland (12-0) and its standout on the defensive side of the ball,
Joe Mathis. The 6-foot-4 and 250-pound senior is one of the nation's top unsigned players at defensive end and has more than 25 scholarship offers on the table, several of which are from the country's powerhouse programs.
Southern Section Western Division
Serra and Chaminade could meet up in theWestern Division title game in a rematchsituation.
Photo by Ian Tennant
Feed the ball to
Lavon Coleman, that's the game plan for Lompoc (12-0). The strategy, after all, has worked out particularly well for the Braves considering the senior running back and Washington commit has gained more than eight yards per carry this season. In order for Serra (10-2) to prevail, the Cavaliers must keep Coleman on the sidelines and
Jalen Greene appears capable of making that scenario happen. The junior quarterback has completed 65 percent of his passes for more than 2,000 yards with 19 touchdowns. He has rushed for eight scores too.
Chaminade (West Hills) vs. Cathedral (Los Angeles): These programs
met earlier in the month on Nov. 2, and Cathedral (10-2) figures to have revenge on its mind after losing by 32 points in the first encounter.
Hayden Rettig did not forget the setback either. The senior quarterback and LSU commit appears to be as focused as ever. If there's one thing Chaminade (11-1) does well, it's run the ball with
Terrell Newby. The senior running back is needs 92 yards to break the 2,000-yard plateau this season. A threat to score every time he touches the ball, Newby also has 42 touchdowns on the ground.
Southern Section Southwest Division
Edison got past Valencia in the playoffs and could meet up with undefeated Tustin.
Photo by Terry Jack
A running back-by-committee approach has worked for Edison (11-1) this season.
Marquis Ross leads the team in rushing with more than 700 yards.
Donald Rice and
Elijah Herrera, however, have proven they can get the job done when given the opportunity. As
Jack Gilchrist goes, so does Foothill (10-2). The senior quarterback has accounted for more than 2,600 all-purpose yards and 29 touchdowns. Stop him, you stop the Knights.
Tustin vs. Villa Park: Winning postseason games by an average of 30 points has proven that Tustin (12-0) is a force to be reckoned with. One has to wonder how the Tillers will respond when faced with a bit of adversity, however.
Meki Tafuna and Villa Park (11-1) could be the team to test Tustin. The senior running back has gained 1,046 yards rushing and found the end zone 20 times.
Southern Section Northern Division
Atascadero brings a two-headed rushing attack into its contest with Torrance West.
Photo by Sal Curiel
and
Izaiah Cooks have both rushed for more than 700
yards for Atascadero (6-6). If the coaching staff for West (9-3) can’t
figure out a way to stop the running back tandem, it could be a
particularly long game.
Palos Verdes (Palos Verdes Estates) at Valencia: Palos Verdes (9-3) will certainly have its hands full with Valencia (9-3) and
Sean Murphy. The senior quarterback has been about as hot as they come and completed more than 60 percent of his passes for 3,559 yards in the air. He also has 35 touchdowns.
Southern Section Central Division
Rancho Verde and its defense bring plenty of playoff experience into their matchup with Paloma Valley.
Photo by Rob Carmell
Coach Pete Duffy and Rancho Verde (9-3) have been here before. This
group is a battle-tested bunch and Paloma Valley (9-3) could be in
trouble.
Kaiser (Fontana) at Heritage (Romoland): Jamal Morrow has rushed for more than 2,000 yards this season for Heritage (11-1). The defense for Kaiser (11-1) will be focused on stopping the senior running back.
Los Angeles City Section Division I
Troy Williams and Narbonne are heavy favorites to win the LA City Section's Division I title.
Photo by Louis Lopez
We've said all along that
Troy Williams and Narbonne (12-0) were the team to beat in this tournament. Nothing has changed. Expect the senior quarterback and Washington commit to go out and handle business this week. Carson (6-6) did, however, pose a threat to the Gauchos back on Oct. 5 when they narrowly lost, 26-20.
Crenshaw (Los Angeles) vs. Venice (Los Angeles): If anyone has the chance to making things interesting against Narbonne, perhaps it's Crenshaw (11-1). Led by senior wide receiver and UCLA commit
Mossi Johnson, the Cougars must first defeat Venice (10-2). The Gondoliers are no slouch. They have played one of the toughest schedules around and will be prepared for the moment.
Sean Ceglinsky has covered prep and college sports in Southern California for the better part of the past 15-plus years. Follow him on twitter:
@SeanCeglinsky
