At-large team at odds with playoff call
Santa Margarita sent to Division IV
ARTESIA - Santa Margarita coach Jim Hartigan looked at the bracket sheet with more than just a little bit of disbelief.
"I'm very disappointed,” said Harigan, after his undefeated Eagles team was placed in division IV for the 1990 CIF Southern Section football playoffs. “We were a division IX team last year and to go from IX to IV in one year is hard to explain."
Santa Margarita played a freelance schedule this season and qualified for the playoffs as an at-large team. Because it didn't play in a league, however, the Southern Section at-large advisory committee was free to place the school in any of the 10 playoff divisions.
The committee made the Eagles the fourth seed in division IV, pitting them against teams from the Ivy, Baseline, Whitmont, Sierra and Valle Vista Leagues. Santa Margarita will play host to Claremont Friday at Saddleback College.
Hartigan said the seed didn't help much.
"I'd rather be unseeded in a lower division, than a seeded one in this one," Hartigan said.
Hartigan said he could have understood if the committee placed him in division VI, which is composed mostly of county schools, or division III, which has two county leagues and a Catholic league among its members.
The Eagles will be the only Orange County team in division IV, however, and Hartigan feels that could have been a factor in the decision.
Santa Margarita was involved in a protracted battle with Orange County public schools last spring over its request for placement in a county league.
That placement request was vigorously opposed by county principals and led to two CIF state hearings before Santa Margarita was eventually placed in the Angelus League and allowed to play a freelance schedule in football.
Hartigan said CIF might have been trying to avoid problems with county schools by placing his team in a non-county division.
CIF administrator Bill Clark said that was never discussed, however, and said the committee felt division IV was the most compatible with Santa Margarita.
“The committee considered Santa Margarita for most of the divisions," Clark said. "They looked at all the teams asking for at-large bids to find out which divisions had the strongest applicants and then went back and placed Santa Margarita."
Clark said only one other school (Whittier at 5-5) petitioned for the division IV at-large bid and that the schools involved weren't significantly larger in attendance than Santa Margarita.
Claremont coach Bob Baiz was also surprised by the placement.
"I had no inclination we would get them," Baiz said. “This is the first time in 30 years we ever got someone outside our division."
Baiz said the Wolfpack (5-4-1) played Santa Margarita during a summer passing league this year. "We played them in the summer, but I don't think we kept film, don't think we kept stats and don't think we really cared."
Santa Margarita's placement was the biggest question answered Sunday when the pairings were released, but not the only one.
A total of 35 county schools were accepted into the playoffs and will be involved in 30 games this weekend when the first rounds are played.
Esperanza (III), Tustin (VI) and Whittier Christian (IX), which went 10-0 during the regular season, were rewarded with No. 1 seeds in their divisions.
Other county teams given seeds included Edison (fourth) in division I; Mission Viejo (second) and El Toro (fourth) in division II; and La Quinta (second), Sunny Hills (third) and Brea-Olinda (fourth) in division VI.
Eisenhower (10-0), which on Friday upset Fontana, the nation's third-ranked team according to USA Today, earned the top seed in division I and will play Ocean View (5-3-1) on Friday.
Ocean View coach Howard Isom wasn't happy with the first round, but tried to look at the bright side.
"If we get past them we have a pretty good draw," said Isom. "That word (if) is pretty big right now though and getting bigger all the time."
Edison (9-1), which won the Sunset League title, will play Rubidoux (4-6) at Orange Coast College on Friday. Westminster is also home, playing host to Canyon of Santa Clarita (9-1). Mater Dei (5-5) is the fourth county school in division I and plays Long Beach Poly at Veterans Stadium.
El Toro (9-1) and Capistrano Valley (8-2) drew long road trips: for their first-round games in division II. Capistrano Valley plays Channel League champion Ventura (7-2-1) on Friday at Ventura High. Buena (5-5), which also uses Ventura High as a home site, will play host to El Toro on Saturday.
Mission Viejo (9-1) drew a home game against Arcadia (5-5), but where home is, hasn't been decided yet. Laguna Hills has use of Mission Viejo's stadium Friday, which could force the Diablos into another stadium or force them to play on Saturday night.
Irvine (6-4), which had hoped to receive the at-large berth in division II was passed over in favor of Camarillo. Clark said the committee chose Camarillo on the basis of a stronger record (7-3) and strength at the end of the season. Camarillo was 3-0 in its last three games while Irvine was 2-3.
Undefeated Esperanza (10-0) drew the top seed in division III and will play host to Alhambra (46) on Friday. The Aztecs also have stadium problems, however. They share Bradford Stadium with Valencia and the Tigers also drew a home game in division VI. The decision on which team will get the stadium isn't expected until today.
Villa Park (6-4), which plays host to Loara on Friday, also is without a stadium. The Spartans use Fred Kelly Stadium at El Modena High, but El Modena (7-3) has the stadium on Friday for its first round game against Culver City (64).
Los Alamitos' (6-4) drew a road trip against Hart (7-3) at College of the Canyon on Friday. Orange (5-41) is also on the road, playing at St. Paul (5-3-2).
Four county matchups highlight the division VI pairings. Tustin (10-0) drew the top seed and plays host to Bassett (5-4-1) of the Montview League on Friday. Bassett finished fourth in the Montview League and earned the at-large berth over La Habra and Garden Grove.
La Quinta (10-0) is seeded second and plays host to surprising Buena Park (5-5) Friday at Bolsa Grande. The Coyotes are making their first playoff appearance since 1981.
Sunny Hills (7-3) plays host to Savanna (6-2-2) at Buena Park High, Corona del Mar (5-4-1) travels to Brea-Olinda (7-2-1) and Pacifica (7-3) takes on Fullerton (8-2) in the other games pitting county schools.
Rancho Alamitos (8-2) which had hoped to earn one of the seeded spots until it was upset by Pacifica, 21-20, Friday night is on the road. The Vaqueros will play Pomona (55), probably at Mt. San Antonio College.
Laguna Hills (8-1-1) is the county's top team in division VII and will play host to St. Monica (6-4) Friday at Mission Viejo High.
Costa Mesa and Trabuco Hills, which finished second and third to Laguna Hills in the Pacific Coast League, face stiff competition and long trips in the first round, however.
Trabuco Hills made the playoffs as an at-large team, after finishing third with a 4-5-1 record. The Southern Section didn't do the Mustangs, who are two-time defending division VIII champions any favors in the draw, however, pitting them against top-seed and undefeated Serra (8-0) in Gardena.
"I may not be at the dance with the prettiest girl, but at least I'm at the dance," Barnett said.
Costa Mesa coach Tom Baldwin wasn't as philosophical about his first-round opponent, Arroyo Grande.
Baldwin said the Coyotes (6-4) were being forced to travel more than 100 miles to play one of the top two teams in the divisions.
“We really got jobbed by CIF," said Baldwin, looking at the pairing sheet. “We finished second in the league, but have to play the best or second best team in the division. Arroyo Grande (8-1) was ranked No. 1 most of the year until they lost to Lompoc last week. We shouldn't have to play a seed, the at-large teams should play them."
By David Osterman
Monday, November 12, 1990
The Orange County Register - D20
