Ten CIF commissioners will convene today at the Home Depot Center in Carson (Calif.) to select the 10 teams to participate in the 2010 California Bowl Championships.
It will be the best from the North versus the best from the South.
The topic, though maddening, stirs plenty of emotion and debate, much like the BCS. That's probably good for the CIF.
Here is one-man's view on the whole mess with great help all season from MaxPreps' computer wizard Ned Freeman, MaxPreps senior writer Kevin Askeland and Mark Tennis at calhisports.com, who have all been unraveling this mountain of result and comparative scores throughout the season.
First, here are last week's California Bowl rankings based on the MaxPreps computer rankings,
provided by Freeman. I have updated the records, kept last week's actual rating score and then added results from the final week of playoffs played the last two days, if applicable.
For up-to-date rankings, CLICK HERE.
Southern California Division I
1. Mission Viejo, 13-1, 69.6 - lost to No. 3 Servite 41-27
2.
Centennial (Corona), 14-0, 68.4 - defeated No. 6 Vista Murrieta 45-21
3.
Servite (Anaheim), 14-0, 67.7 - defeated No. 1 Mission Viejo 41-27
4.
Westlake (Westlake Village), 12-2, 61.1 - lost to No. 5 Oaks Christian 29-28
5.
Oaks Christian (Westlake Village), 12-2, 56.0 - defeated No. 4 Westlake 29-28
6.
Vista Murrieta (Murrieta), 12-2, 55.4 - lost to No. 2 Centennial 45-21
7.
Clovis West (Fresno), 12-1, 53.0 - defeated No. 9 Bakersfield 20-10
8.
Vista, 12-1, 52.0 - did not play
9.
Bakersfield, 10-3, 49.4 - lost to No. 7 Clovis West 20-10
10.
Crenshaw (Los Angeles), 12-2, 48.1 - defeated No. 11 Carson 45-7
11.
Carson, 11-3, 44.5 - lost to No. 10 Crenshaw 45-7
Servite will definitely be in a Bowl game, but will it be Open or Division I?
Photo by Louis Lopez
1.
De La Salle (Concord), 13-0, 65.6 - defeated No. 3 California 49-21
2.
Palo Alto (Palo Alto), 13-0, 57.6 - did not play
3.
California (San Ramon), 12-2, 52.3 - lost to No. 1 De La Salle 49-21
4.
Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove), 13-1, 50.3 - did not play
5.
Piedmont Hills (San Jose), 11-2, 33.9 - did not play
Southern California Division II1.
Serra (Gardena), 14-0, 57.1 - defeated No. 3 Arroyo Grande 35-10
2.
Oceanside, 10-3, 56.6 - defeated Mission Hills 47-10
3.
Arroyo Grande, 11-3, 49.7 - lost to No. 1 Serra 35-10
4.
Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley), 13-1, 46.6 - lost to No. 13 Colton 17-7
5.
West Covina, 13-1, 43.8 - defeated No. 7 Bonita 37-33
6.
La Habra, 11-3, 43.1 - defeated No. 9 Tustin 35-26
7.
Bonita (La Verne), 12-2, 42.6 - lost to No. 5 West Covina 37-33
8.
Kingsburg, 12-1, 41.9 - defeated Porterville 26-21
9.
Tustin, 12-2, 40.1 - lost to La Habra 35-26
10.
Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), 8-5, 39.7 - did not play
Northern California Division II1.
Folsom, 13-1, 62.5 - did not play
2.
Concord, 13-1, 39.3 - defeated No. 6 Rancho Cotate 40-37
3.
Paradise, 11-1, 39.2 - did not play
4.
Del Oro (Loomis), 10-4, 37.9 - did not play
5.
Willow Glen (San Jose), 11-2, 33.1 - did not play
6.
Rancho Cotate (Rohnert Park), 12-2, 32.9 - lost to No. 6 Rancho Cotate 40-37
7.
McClymonds (Oakland), 12-0, 29.6 - did not play
8.
Washington (San Francisco), 10-2, -3.4 - did not play
Northern California Division III1.
Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa), 11-3, 34.3 - defeated No. 3 Encinal 35-7
2.
Escalon, 13-1, 34.0 - did not play
3.
Encinal (Alameda), 12-2, 30.8 - lost to No. 1 Cardinal Newman 35-7
4.
Lassen (Susanville), 10-2, 29.7 - did not play
5.
Salesian (Richmond), 11-2, 29.4 - defeated Middletown 28-21 (OT)
6.
Sacred Heart Prep (Atherton), 11-2, 29.0 - did not play
7.
Terra Nova (Pacifica), 9-4, 25.3 - did not play
Southern California Division III 1.
Madison (San Diego), 12-1, 45.7 - did not play
2.
Lompoc, 11-3, 38.7 - defeated South 20-14
3.
Washington Union (Fresno), 11-2, 36.6 - defeated Coalinga 48-21
4.
South (Torrance), 12-2, 32.2 - lost to No. 2 Lompoc 20-14
5.
Bishop's (La Jolla), 13-0, 31.2 - defeated Parker 20-9
6.
Monrovia, 12-2, 30.5 - defeated No. 9 Whittier Christian 38-8
7.
Paraclete (Lancaster), 13-1, 29.1 - defeated Sierra Canyon 14-7
8.
Coalinga, 10-3, 28.3 - lost to No. 3 Washington Union 48-21
9.
Whittier Christian (La Habra), 12-2, 27.2 - lost to No. 6 Monrovia 38-8
10.
Bishop, 13-1, 23.1 - defeated Boron 30-22
11.
Garden Grove, 13-1, 19.4 - defeated Beckman 31-30
Southern California Small Schools
1.
Sierra
Canyon (Chatsworth), 12-2, 25.9 - lost to Paraclete 14-7
2.
Boron, 12-2, 20.2 - lost to Bishop 30-22
3.
Parker
(San Diego), 6-7, 14.1 - lost to Bishop's 20-9
4.
View
Park (Los Angeles), 12-1, -1.8 - defeated Animo South 28-18
Northern California Small Schools1.
Middletown, 12-2, 23.5 - lost to Salesian 28-21 (OT)
2.
Brookside Christian (Stockton), 12-0, 18.6 - did not play
3.
Le Grand, 10-2, 12.4 - did not play
4.
Durham, 10-2, 9.6 - did not play
5,
Maxwell, 12-1, 4.7 - did not play
6.
Hoopa Valley (Hoopa), 8-1, 3.5 - did not play
Based on that information, this is who we think the committee should pick, and ultimately will choose.
Open Division North - De La Salle. Absolutely no debate here. The Spartans are ranked as high as No. 4 nationally and are the only school to be selected into the bowl series the first four years.
Who will the committee pick? De La Salle.
South - Servite. Besides being the defending D2 champs, having won 26 straight games and also earning national rankings, the Friars won the Southern Section's Pac-5 division - arguably the toughest tournament in the country. They've earned the right.
Who will the committee pick? Servite.
Division I North - Palo Alto. A previous bowl competitor, the Vikings went undefeated, swept three high-powered West Catholic Athletic League teams in the Central Coast Section's Open Division and possess up to six Division I players.
Who will committee pick? Palo Alto.
South - Centennial (Corona). It would be fantastic if there could be a playoff between Centennial and Servite for the Open spot, because Centennial may just be the best team in Southern California. But by not competing in the Pac-5 tournament - no fault of its own - Centennial must "drop" to Division I.
Who will committee pick? Centennial.
Division IINorth - Another no brainer. Folsom. In truth, Folsom could give De La Salle a run at the Open spot, but with a single loss, then it's really not a huge debate.
Who will committee pick? Folsom.
South - Serra-Gardena. The defending Division III champs are ranked in every national Top 25 poll and for good reason. They could probably contend with Centennial and Servite for the Open spot, but will fit nicely here. This could turn out to be the game of the tournament.
Who will committee pick? Serra.
Division IIINorth - The team playing the best right now from the north is Cardinal Newman. The Cardinals, a two-time bowl participant, has won six straight by a margin of 297-103. They've beaten three straight one-loss teams by at least three touchdowns each.
Who will committee pick? Escalon. And, frankly, it's hard to argue. It has two less losses than Newman and has a considerable edge in the one common opponent: Central Catholic. Newman beat Catholic 24-21 to open the season. Escalon prevailed 28-0.
South - Madison vaulted right to the top with a stunning 40-14 win over previous No. 1 Valley Center in the San Diego Section finals.
Who will the committee pick? Madison, though it might be nice to see a first entry from the Central Section, Washington Union.
Small SchoolNorth - Brookside Christian pretty much earned a lock with Middletown's heartbreaking overtime loss to Division III power Salesian in the NCS finals.
Who will the committee pick? Brookside Christian.
South - Bishop's is the pick. Because less than three small-school enrollment schools actually won a section crown - just one, actually, View Park - small-enrollment Div. III teams can be considered and at 13-0 Bishop's fits the bill.
Who will the committee pick? Bishop's.
The announcement will break just past noon, according to CIF officials. Check back to MaxPreps.com to get the picks and the reactions from them.
