Oceanside won the regular-season poll and could end up meeting No. 2 Helix in the AA finals at Escondido High in four weeks.
And dust is kicking up in the sand dunes around Glamis as the Imperial Valley girds a for a possible second-round meeting of two area big shots. Brawley (9-1) has a first-round bye in Division IV and awaits the winner of La Jolla (3-7) and favored Imperial (8-2).
Seedings and sites were selected over the weekend and the trend of teams with losing records and no chance to win continues.
Sixty of the 96 teams playing football in the San Diego Section are in the postseason.
Two clubs with winning records, Calexico (8-2) and San Pasqual Academy (6-3) are not in, because of electronic convenience.
Computerized power ratings and strengths of schedule formulas created by MaxPreps and CalPreps eliminated the two teams with winning records. Also missing was the echo of coaches pounding the table and loudly advocating for their squads, a staple of past seeding meetings.
The  trend of bad teams getting to extend their seasons started in 1984, when Bonita Vista and Fallbrook were the first losing squads in the Section’s 25-year history to be accepted into the playoffs.
The Barons were 3-7 in the regular season but the AAA playoffs had been lengthened from 3 to 4 weeks, which meant a need to fill brackets and invite more teams. Vista quickly dispatched Bonita Vista, 40-16. Fallbrook, 4-5 in the regular season, was ousted in the first round, 48-7, by Sweetwater.
MORE DIVISIONS, MORE TEAMS
A fourth playoff division was added in 1993 and a fifth in 2005, which indicated more brackets and more teams. The flood gates had been opened.
The coach of one North County club actually was elated in 2006. His 0-10 squad was given a D-III playoff berth. Playing in the same division with schools of less enrollment San Marcos still was ushered out in the first round, 27-21 by Coronado.
Purists would rather see a shorter playoff season involving winning teams. But playoff games add to revenue streams and “the kids”, as coaches are wont to describe their players,  are said to want to be part of the excitement, blowouts and bad records notwithstanding.
The UT-San Diego poll suspends its weekly voting until after the last game has been played.
1. Oceanside (29) 9-1 290 1
2. Helix 8-1 257 2
3. Mission Hills 8-2 203 3T
4. Cathedral Catholic 8-2 202 3T
5. Olympian 10-0 170 6
6. Poway 8-2 166 5
7. St. Augustine 8-2 110 8
8. Madison 9-1 63 9
9. Eastlake 7-3 48 10
10. La Costa Canyon 7-3 37 7
Place. Team (1st place votes) Record Points Last Week
Points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis
Others receiving votes:
Valhalla (26), Grossmont (8), Brawley (6), Patrick Henry (6).
