The California Interscholastic Federation released the 15 state postseason high school football brackets Sunday with Northern and Southern Regional Bowls planned for Friday and Saturday. Winners from the north and south will meet Dec. 12 and 13 three locations as the CIF crowns state champions from the Open Division to the 7-AA bracket.
For the first time since 2015, the Open Division champion will be someone other than Mater Dei or St. John Bosco as No. 6
Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita) meets Northern California representative No. 15
De La Salle (Concord).
Santa Margarita earned the SoCal berth with a dominating 45-7 win over No. 2
Centennial (Corona) in the Southern Section Division 1 championship. This is the first Open Division championship game for the Eagles, who previously won a Division II state title in 1997.
De La Salle earned its spot after beating
Pittsburg 24-17 on Nov. 22. The Spartans, who have won six Open Division titles, played in last year's top classification final losing to Mater Dei.
All divisions except the Open Division must win their Regional Bowl in order to advance to the state finals. The Northern and Southern Regional Bowl finalists must be section champions in one of the CIF's 10 sections.
Open Division1-A |
1-AA2-A |
2-AA3-A |
3-AA4-A |
4-AA5-A |
5-AA6-A |
6-AA7-A |
7-AALocations for the CIF finals are as such: Fullerton Union High School District Stadium, Buena Park High School Stadium and Saddleback College.
Trent Mosley leads Santa Margarita into the CIF Open Division final on Dec. 13 against De La Salle as the state released bowl game pairings on Sunday. (PHOTO: Rene Morales)
