The Sporting Tribune Southern Section Division 1 Playoff Preview

The Bracket:

The high school regular season is over! Now the California Interscholastic Federation postseason brackets begin! The Southern Section, which makes up Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Gabriel Valley, and some parts of San Bernardino County, is the biggest competitive region in the state- one of the biggest sections in the country. There are 14 different brackets representing different levels of play. The Division 1 playoff features eight of the best teams in the country, highlighted by previous national champions St. John Bosco, Santa Margarita, Mater Dei, and Sierra Canyon. There are treasures of Division 1 talent playing in this playoff. I can't wait to break it all down. Those four matchups are scheduled for Friday, Nov. 13, one week after the other Southern Section divisions begin postseason play. Here's an early preview. 

The Favorite: 

Santa Margarita:  (10-0) (5-0) 1 Trinity: CA MaxPreps Ranking 2

 Last year's unlikely Division I champions are coming in as the favourites in this year's playoffs. No surprise: the Eagles currently rank No. 1 in the nation by the USA Today Super 25. Former NFL QB Carson Palmer has done a terrific job elevating this program. The Eagles finished the Trinity League gauntlet unbeaten and enter the playoffs with a perfect 10-0 record.  It's the first time since 2011 that a team not named St.John Bosco or Mater Dei has won the Trinity League. 

The Eagles have won 16 straight dating back to last season. They have four wins against the current division 1 field. Palmer's son, Fletcher, has done a tremendous job stabilising the offense, throwing for 1500 yards and 11 touchdowns. The team's strength is on defence, where it has one of the best units in high school football history. The Eagles have allowed 7.7 points per game and 3.56 yards per play this season and held opponents to less than 100 rushing yards in every contest. They also forced opponents to turn the ball over 20 times. Santa Margarita has elite talent, but they also play as a unified unit. Freshman Aydan Steen is a future All-American who leads the Eagles in tackles (74) and sacks (8).  USC commit Isaiah Vandermade is a monster on both sides of the trenches. Grant Mosley, the brother of USC transfer Trent Mosley, is an elite playmaker in the slot and on the outside.  Even with all the talent in this playoff division, it will be hard to take down the Eagles. 

Contenders:

Sierra Canyon: (10-0) (5-0) 1 Mission League CA MaxPreps ranking 1 

The Trailblazers finished the season 10-0 and blazed through Mission League play. Their closest league game was decided by 41 points. Sierra Canyon's best win came against Division qualifier Orange Lutheran (28-10) back in September. Although they are talented, they are the least battle-tested team in the Division. Can they get it done against California's best?  Sierra Canyon averaged 44 points per game while allowing only 6.1. The Trailblazers have the most seniors committed to division 1 schools at 9. They have the best D-Line trio in the country:  four-star D-linemen Marcus Fakatou (Texas), Kasi Curry (Ohio State), and Stephen Harrison (undecided).  Opposing teams only average 2.0 yards per rush because they can't get past that wall.  

 The Trailblazers have stars in the secondary, starting with Strong safety Myles Baker (UCLA) and shutdown corner Duvay Williams (CAL). California commit Jaxsen Stokes controls the run game, and senior quarterback Demarco Hernandez does a good job managing the game and avoiding turnovers. Sierra Canyon has not faced as many tests as other teams in the field, but they have the greatest collection of talent. A potential semifinal game with Mater Dei will be a must-watch. 

Mater Dei (8-2) (4-1) Trinity League #2 CA Ranking 

The Monarchs have been the class of CA high school football for decades. The Monarchs' two losses came against Santa Margarita and Bishop Gorman of Nevada.  They have wins against three teams in the field (St.John Bosco, Centennial, Orange Lutheran) while adding two wins against two out-of-state powers (Valor Christian (Denver, CO) and American Fork (Orem, UT). Freshman sensation Paytyn "Ace" Guess has gotten comfortable during Trinity League play. He threw for 246 yards and 5 touchdowns in a comeback win against St.John Bosco. Wide Receiver Gavin Honore has 583 receiving yards on the season.  The Monarchs' secondary features three blue-chip recruits: Danny Lang (USC), Troy Bolton (2028 undecided) and junior safety Ace Leutuele, who recently got an offer from Georgia.  The Monrachs will face Centennial in the first round who they narrowly beat 10-9.  Mater Dei will have to rely on its elite defence and hope its freshman QB can keep making plays on the biggest stage. 

St.John Bosco (7-3) (3-2) (Trinity League number 3) (MaxPreps rating (6)

The Braves are looking for their first CIF Division 1 title since 2022. That's a long drought considering the talent and success coach Jason Negro has developed in Bellflower. The Braves' success starts with junior 4-star QB Koa Malau'ulu; he has thrown for 2123 yards and 25 touchdowns. He has help from speedster running back Maliq Allen, who has rushed for 1063 yards and 16 touchdowns this season.  The Braves also have 4.3-speed junior DJ Tubbs, who has 683 yards and 6 touchdowns on the outside. They generally have one of the more explosive offences in the Division. They face a familiar Trinity League foe, Orange Lutheran who they beat 28-14 on Oct. 9. 

Potential Cinderellas: 

Corona Centennial: (7-3) Big West North Champions (5-0)  MaxPreps CA ranking (5)

The Huskies are the one team outside the top four that I can see making a run here.  All three of their losses (Mater Dei, Santa Margarita, De La Salle) have come from a combined four points. Corona dominated league play averaging 51 points per contest. Senior quarterback (Hawaii commit) is a creative playmaker with his arm and his legs. Jefferson has thrown for 2250 yards 18 touchdowns while adding 555 yards on the ground with six scores.  Jefferson has USC commit Quentin Hale to throw to. Hale has 62 catches and 872 yards on the season. Hale is the most dangerous playmaker in this Division; his matchup with future Trojan Danny Lang will be a must-watch. Granted, you face a freshman QB in the first round. They could beat a talented Sierra Canyon team that lacks top Division 1 playoff experience. 

Orange Lutheran (5-5) (2-3) 4th in Trinity Maxpreps California Rank 11th

The Lancers make the Division 1 playoffs with a .500 record due to surviving one of the toughest schedules in the country. They have lost back to back games against Santa Margarita and Mater Dei. This team is battle-tested. They beat Basha, one of Arizona's best, and they only loss to Central (Miami) by one. Wide Receiver ASU commit Nico Bland and future Texas offensive tackle Lucas Rhoa are blue chip talents. They have players to hang around these big games. They are (0-4) against this year's field. The offence is good enough to hang around St. John's, and they are the most likely team to pull off an upset in the first round. 

Prediction: Santa Margarita 17-13 over Sierra Canyon! Carson Palmer's Santa Margarita Eagles will repeat as Division 1 champions. They have one of the best defenses in CA HS history. Fletcher Palmer is talented enough to keep the offense sustainable. We have already seen them beat four of the programs in this bracket.