San Diego’s eternal quest for respect from the Southern Section renews this week with opening rounds of the state regional playoffs.
Respect still is to be earned.
Only one of 15 boys teams is seeded higher than its opponent in the six divisions, Open and I-V, brackets for which were announced yesterday by the state CIF office in Sacramento.
El Camino (27-5) is eighth in D-IV and plays host to No. 9 Rancho Mirage (30-1) on Wednesday.
San Diego Section girls fared better.
No. 5 Los Angeles Windward (20-6) will visit No. 4 Mission Hills (28-3) in the Open Division, which begins play Friday.
The Bishop’s is top seed in D-I and will take on No. 16 Westlake Village Oaks Christian (20-8) on Wednesday and No. 7 Torrey Pines (22-8) plays host to 10 Santa Barbara (26-4).
No. 8 Mount Miguel (21-11) entertains No. 9 Crescenta Valley and 7 Westview (25-6) receives 10 Manhattan Beach Mira Costa (22-9) in D-II.
No. 7 Eastlake (26-6) plays host to No. 10 Lake Elsinore Lakeside (25-5) in D-III. No. 8 Poway (19-11) is home to No. 9 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (16-15) in D-IV.
Thirty squads, 15 girls, 15 boys, will be in action this week.
Boys matchups to watch:
OPEN DIVISION
No. 5 seed Foothills Christian (24-4), seventh-ranked in California and 23rd in the country by Max Preps and fifth in the state by Cal-Hi Sports, gets another shot at Santa Ana Mater Dei (27-4), which beat the Knights, 61-53, a couple weeks ago and hasn’t lost a home game in 10 years…Mater Dei, Max Preps’ state No. 4 and U.S. No. 8, and Cal-Hi Sports’ No. 4, is recovering from one of the worst defeats in school history, 102-54, to Chino Hills in the Southern Section semifinals a week ago…the winner will be “rewarded” with another shot at Chino Hills, the No. 1 team in the United States…Foothills lost to the Huskies, 106-86 in December and 85-83 in January and is one of the few to test this squad, which has surpassed 100 points 14 times…Thomas Jefferson of Brooklyn lost a 91-90 decision and Montverde Academy of Florida was edged, 83-82…St. Patrick’s of Elizabeth, N.J., also came close but lost, 66-60, and Torrance Bishop Montgomery fell, 71-67 to Chino Hills…Cathedral (20-6) is seeded seventh and gives the San Diego Section two of the eight Open berths, compared to 4 for the Southern and one each for the Los Angeles City and Central sections…the Dons will make a 140-mile jaunt to Chatsworth and meet No. 2-ranked Sierra Canyon, a ballyhooed club that Max Preps ranks third in the state and seventh in the U.S. and is coming off a 105-83 loss to Chino Hills…the 26-4 Trailblazers defeated tough Redondo Beach Redondo Union, 74-70, and Bishop Montgomery, 78-69, in the Southern playoffs and had losses to national powers Oak Hill Academy of Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, 49-48, and Montverde Academy, 81-67…Cathedral is ranked 28th in the state by Max Preps….
DIVISION III
What am I missing? Kearny (30-3) has been dismissed as a 15 seed..the Komets visit second-ranked Huntington Beach Edison (24-9), which played a predominantly Orange County schedule with no great wins and two bad losses, 83-44 to Santa Ana Mater Dei, and 72-52 to Villa Park. Kearny lost one game by forfeit and another when star player Takoda Browne was absent..the Komets are quick, have a decent big man, defend, and hustle at both ends of the court….
Girls matchups to watch:
OPEN DIVISION
Mission Hills (26-3) and La Jolla Country Day (24-5) are the fourth and sixth seeds, respectively, and San Diego has two teams in the elite division, compared to 4 for the Southern and 1 each for the Los Angeles City and Central sections…’Day, coached by Terry Bamford, who has taken the Torreys to four state championships, opens at Long Beach Poly (25-4)…the Jackrabbits lost, 72-63, to West Hills Chaminade, the No. 1 seed, in the Southern finals but also hold a 50-39 victory over Chaminade…the Poly environment shouldn’t bother the La Jolla team, which has been steeled over the years with big games and intersectional schedules…Mission Hills’ 68-64 win over ‘Day in the San Diego finals elevated the Grizzlies…they have a home game against No. 5 Los Angeles Windward (20-6).
Other pairings:
BOYS
El Camino (27-5) is eighth in D-IV and plays host to No. 9 Rancho Mirage (30-1) on Wednesday.
GIRLS
The Bishop’s is top seed in D-I and will take on No. 16 Westlake Village Oaks Christian (20-8) on Wednesday and No. 7 Torrey Pines (22-8) plays host to 10 Santa Barbara (26-4).
No. 8 Mount Miguel (21-11) entertains No. 9 Crescenta Valley and 7 Westview (25-6) receives 10 Manhattan Beach Mira Costa (22-9) in D-II.
No. 7 Eastlake (26-6) plays host to No. 10 Lake Elsinore Lakeside (25-5) in D-III. No. 8 Poway (19-11) is home to No. 9 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (16-15) in D-IV.
