Now that Southern and City Section finals have been decided, the silly season can begin in earnest, and a cannon blast was delivered in South Orange County on Tuesday when Mike Jacot stepped down after seven seasons at Santa Margarita.
As a private school in the Trinity League, Santa Margarita is one of the most attractive positions available in the Southland. Other notable schools looking to fill positions are Encino Crespi and Los Angeles Loyola, both in the Serra League. All three schools are in the Pac-5 Division.
Santa Margarita is so attractive that athletic director Richard Schaaf had 10 applications within 10 hours of the news becoming public, including one from out of state and another from a major college assistant. He says the the school will just take a wait-and-see approach to consider who applies.
“We're just going to open it up," Schaaf said. "We'd like to have someone by the end of January.”
The Orange County Register reported that Mission Viejo Coach Bob Johnson said, “Sure, I'd take a look at it” when asked by a reporter if he would consider applying. However, Johnson also said he loves Mission Viejo, where his program reached the Pac-5 semifinals this season before losing its first game, to Servite, 19-18. He has not yet beaten a Pac-5 opponent in three playoff tries, including a loss to Santa Margarita in 2006 when Jacot's team reached the semifinals.
Jacot, who has been retained as a strength and conditioning coach, says next year's senior class will be one of the school's strongest. And, to further up the ante in competition for students, Santa Margarita is near completion on an $8 million, 39,000 square foot athletic complex on campus that is part of a multiphase development program that includes laboratories, ministry offices, a performing arts center and the already-completed aquatics facility.
Jacot, only the school's second coach, cited personal reasons for his decision. He had succeeded the highly successful Jim Hartigan, who led the program to a 1997 Southern Section Division V title with former Heisman winner and Bengals' quarterback Carson Palmer before going to Fresno Clovis West. Jacot guided the program through its transition into Division I competition; in seven seasons, his program went 38-38.
Before the season began Santa Margarita suffered a devastating injury when its best player, junior Logan Sweet, suffered a torn ACL. The Eagles never really recovered. They failed to win a league game for the first time, and lost to upstart San Juan Capistrano JSerra, which is now coached by Hartigan and is competing for many of the same athletes as Santa Margarita.
“My priorities in life are faith, family, work and play, and being a high school football coach at Santa Margarita allowed those four priorities to coincide as one,” Jacot said. “I couldn't have been more fortunate. The last couple of years, those priorities started to get a little out of whack. I had to reflect, and if I'm going to try to do XYZ at Santa Margarita and give it what it deserves, then these other areas in my life are probably going to suffer because of it, and I'm not at the point in my life where I can comfortably say I can balance those out. I have to make sure my family is intact and happy; this was not an overnight decision.”
New look at Crespi
Over at Crespi, Jeremiah Ross also departed after five seasons, though the L.A. Daily News reported his exit was forced. Ross was 39-21; the Celts finished 5-5 this season but lost their final three games and missed the Pac-5 playoffs. Crespi has an extraordinary tradition, much like Loyola, and there will be a lot of interest in that position as well.
Other openings
Among other football coaching positions available around the Southland, Andy Boynton was fired at Hemet after going 2-8 in his 14th season. . . Palisades coach Kelly Loftus resigned after his team went 1-9. . . . Marina coach Dan Petrone has resigned after going 1-9. . . . Aliso Niguel coach Jeff Veeder has resigned after going 2-8. . . Riverside North coach Scott Pearne has resigned after going 3-7. . . . Riverside Patriot coach Kevin Corridan has resigned after going 4-6.
Was Crenshaw the deserving choice?
The Crenshaw-Concord De La Salle matchup in the California State Open Bowl is certainly attractive, but here's a question: Did City Section champion Crenshaw deserve to be the South's representative instead of Southern Section Pac-5 champion Anaheim Servite? Based on criteria and precedent, maybe not.
Criteria, supposedly all of equal value, to determine who is selected for all bowl games are: Section champion, overall record (advantage Crenshaw), head-to-head, record vs. common opponents and strength of schedule (advantage Servite).
All things being equal, one would certainly go with the undefeated team. Servite had a loss but it was avenged; its strength of schedule was significantly tougher than Crenshaw's, and you'd have trouble finding anyone knowledgeable who thinks Crenshaw's 14-0 record is more impressive than Servite's 13-1 record. That was all part of the discussion among the 10 state commissioners who determined that Crenshaw would receive the coveted Open berth.
“The task is to pick the best team for the game,” said Ken Gunn, event director for the bowl games. “When you're talking about the Open game, you're talking about the best team from the North vs. the best team from the South.”
As long as that's what it was, because criteria didn't seem to be the prevailing factor in pairing Crenshaw (14-0) against Concord De La Salle (12-2) in the Open Bowl and pitting Servite (13-1) against Rocklin (14-0) in the Division II Bowl.
In fact, according to the computer-based Freeman Ratings used by MaxPreps, which remove human subjectivity from the equation, the top five teams in the state are Servite (a 68.3 rating), Huntington Beach Edison (65.9), Mission Viejo (63.6), Westlake Village Westlake (61.6) and Crenshaw (58.3). The idea behind the rating is to credit quantity and quality of victories.
By comparison, De La Salle (56.9) is ranked No. 9 by MaxPreps, and its strength of schedule is 31.6; Rocklin is No. 10.
Consider the Southern Section's other Division II team that also won a section championship, Westlake (14-0). It had the same record as Crenshaw and a better strength of schedule. Crenshaw's SOS was 25.7 compared to Westlake's 31.9. Servite's was a state-best 48.2.
“Our kids feel sleighted, they beat the Nos. 5 and 7 teams in the state when they played them,” said Westlake Coach Jim Benkert. “To me, our strength of schedule was heads and tails above them (Crenshaw).”
However, Benkert isn't saying he believes his team deserved to be in the Open Division Bowl.
Westlake won the Northern Division title with its second victory of the season over Moorpark (currently ranked No. 8 by MaxPreps) and also owns a victory over Ventura St. Bonaventure (No. 19). Crenshaw's three best victories are against Lakewood (No. 11), Norco (No. 25) and Harbor City Narbonne (No. 59). Yet Westlake wasn't a significant part of the conversation for either the Open or Division II games.
“I really don't have a problem with Crenshaw being the Open team because I've heard they have the best athletes, and if they believe they were the best team that's OK,” Benkert said. “But I would have had a problem if Servite was the Open team and Crenshaw had been the Division II team.”
The problem, of course, is that no one came out and said Crenshaw was selected because it was a better team than Servite.
According to a comment in The Los Angeles Times by State Commissioner Marie Ishida, Crenshaw was selected because it was unbeaten and had played a difficult schedule outside the City Section. Yet that is an argument that doesn't hold against Westlake, and the decision seems contradictory I the case of Servite: Playing a tough schedule and proving you belong in the Open game is rewarded only if you win every game. If that's the case, where is Servite's incentive to play a similarly difficult schedule next season?
Championship redux
Inclement weather closed the gap in the Southern Section finals as seven games were decided by a touchdown or less.
Here's how it shook out around the Southland:
City I: No. 1 Crenshaw beat No. 11 Harbor City Narbonne, 34-14.
City II: No. 4 Los Angeles Hamilton beat No. 3 Woodland Hills El Camino Real, 67-42.
Central: Upland beat No. 4 Los Osos, 19-7.
Eastern: Palm Springs beat No. 2 Phelan Serrano, 24-14.
East Valley: No. 1 St. Margaret's beat Ontario Christian, 12-6.
Inland: Temecula Chaparral beat No. 2 Vista Murrieta, 13-7.
Mid-Valley: No. 2 San Dimas beat No. 1 Monrovia, 12-7.
Northeast: No. 2 Temecula Linfield Christian beat No. 1 Arcadia Rio Hondo Prep, 9-6
Northern: No. 2 Westlake Village Westlake beat No. 4 Moorpark, 14-10.
Northwest: No. 2 Gardena Serra beat No. 1 Westlake Village Oaks Christian, 42-41, in OT
Pac-5: No. 3 Servite beat No. 1 Huntington Beach Edison, 16-6.
Southeast: No. 1 Covina Charter Oak beat Pomona Diamond Ranch, 21-0.
Southern: No. 2 La Mirada beat No. 1 Garden Grove, 49-27
Southwest: No. 1 La Habra beat No. 3 Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills, 21-0.
Western: No. 1 Manhattan Beach Mira Costa beat No. 3 Mission Hills Alemany, 24-21
Servite players dump on head coach Troy Taylor after knocking off Edison in the Pac-5 final.
<center>Photo by Heston Quan</center>
Chaparral, Upland and Palm Springs didn't even win league titles this season, but each won a Southern Section title by defeating a seeded team.
It was also a good weekend for teams that were getting a second chance at their opponents: Chaparral had lost to Vista Murrieta in a Southwestern League game, 32-13; San Dimas had lost a nonleague game to top-seeded Monrovia, 36-17; Servite had lost to Edison, 23-9, in a nonleague game.
However, it wasn't all good for those getting second opportunities: St. Margaret's had previously defeated Ontario Christian in a nonleague game, 42-0; Upland had beaten Los Osos, 17-7, in a Baseline League game; Westlake had beaten Moorpark in the Marmonte League finale, 38-14; and Charter Oak had defeated Diamond Ranch, 12-0, in a Miramonte League game.
St. Margaret's won its fourth consecutive title and gave Coach Harry Welch his eighth overall (he had five with Canyon Country Canyon); La Habra won its third in a row, and Charter Oak won its second in a row and provided a fifth title for Coach Lou Farrar as Adam Muema rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns.
La Habra's “elite” status
Fans of football are looking at the State Bowl Championship games this weekend, but there's plenty of teams who did not get the nod to continue who had extraordinary seasons.
One of those was La Habra, which won its third consecutive Southwest title with a 21-0 victory over Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills. Quarterback Cody Clements passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, although Josh Quezada was the workhorse rushing for 151 yards in swamp-like conditions at Angel Stadium. The question was broached afterward if La Habra had become one of the elite programs in Orange County, and Trabuco Hills Coach Jason Negro seemed to think so.
“I'm going to put their program in the top 5 in Orange County,” Negro said. “Edison, Servite, Mater Dei, maybe Orange Lutheran. It's going to rotate from time to time, but there's no doubt they're one of the elite programs in this county. They're a special group over there.”
It's high praise, but Mazzotta himself thinks that might be jumping the gun. There's still more work to do in the nonleague portion of the schedule to ascend to the likes of the best that the Pac-5 has to offer.
“We definitely have more work to do,” Mazzotta said. “It's foolish to think we might be in the elite elite level. I don't think we have the kind of depth and that kind of stuff to go in with the bigger teams, but for our level, we've done a pretty nice job, the kids have really responded and worked really hard. We're constantly trying to measure ourselves.”
For the past two seasons La Habra has played Pac-5 stalwarts Los Alamitos and San Clemente. The Highlanders are going to step it up even more next season: They will play Orange Lutheran and Bellflower St. John Bosco in 2010.
“I have to thank John Barnes and the Los Alamitos program for teaching us a lesson,” Mazzotta said. “We learned in our losses to Los Al, San Clemente, a lot about the Pac-5 and how good teams do it, how hard they play. That's one of the big things, sometimes player-for-player there's not that much difference, they just play harder. I don't think we would've reached our level if we hadn't played those teams. We kept getting better and better because we did stretch ourselves.”
Easing into it
Although many programs benefit from playing a higher level of competition, the traditionally solid programs that Westlake lined up this season weren't as good as they had been in the past. That might have been a blessing in disguise. With a young team it seemed to work to the Warriors' advantage because they gained confidence and learned how to win, something that helped them when they had their showdown with Moorpark in the final game of the Marmonte League (as well as the final) and Ventura St. Bonaventure in the semifinals.
Benkert said he didn't expect his team to have the kind of season it did. They arrived a year ahead of schedule, although he says Westlake had the advantage of having an experienced offensive line this season to shoulder the inexperience elsewhere; next season the offensive line will be the question mark but many of the skill players will return, including quarterback Nick Isham.
Marmonte madness
After some discussion as to how to deal with having a 10-team league, the Marmonte League has finally settled: Nine league games and one nonleague game.
The new-look Marmonte League kicks off with a classic: Oaks Christian and St. Bonaventure, the two powerhouses added to what was then an eight-team league, will play in the league opener.
Time to rethink seeded team benefits
The Southern Section needs to reexamine the playoff rewards for its seeded teams. St. Margaret's was the top-seeded team in its division, but its reward? It traveled more than 300 miles to play a semifinal, and also was on the road in the section finals against Ontario Christian. Playing a final on the road isn't such a big deal if it's a neutral site, but the Tartans were actually playing at Ontario Christian. Mira Costa had to win its Western Division title in a game hosted by Alemany (although a neutral site).
It would be far better for the Southern Section to take a page from the City Section (and how many times have you ever read that sentence before?) and reward higher seeded teams with home games throughout the playoffs.
Too often, the reward of being “seeded” higher is a first-round home game, but oftentimes the first-round game is a gimme; it may not work that way all the time, but a team should have an option of declaring which round it wants to use its home game (first or second) or derive a greater benefit such as playing at home throughout. It is an issue in every sport, not just football. I'm surprised this format has been allowed to exist so long.
Russell Otis update
Russell Otis won't be retried by the L.A. County district attorney's office on the felony charge that he met with a minor for a lewd purpose. The former Compton Dominguez boys' basketball coach could have faced up to three years if convicted; last month a jury deadlocked 10-2 in favor of conviction. Prosecutors alleged that Otis met one of his players, then 16, and offered him $1,500 cash if he would let the coach sexually arouse him.
A deputy district attorney said the office elected not to retry the coach because a more severe sentence likely would not have resulted from a felony conviction.
Otis was convicted of misdemeanor child-molesting charges for sending text messages, and was acquitted of grand theft and forgery stemming from $15,000 in sponsorship money from Nike that was earmarked for the school but deposited into his personal account.
Because of the misdemeanor, Otis, 47, must register as a sex offender and is barred from coaching and teaching minors. Sentencing is expected on Jan. 6; he faces a maximum one-year sentence in county jail.
Martin Henderson began covering Southland preps in 1993 for the Los Angeles Times. He contributes to the Orange County Register, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and San Bernardino Sun, and offers up motorsports opinions at Racescribe.com. You can reach him at southlandpreps@yahoo.com.
