CIF Playoff Preview, 2nd Round
Full Slate of Games for Riverside Teams
DIVISION 13
Arlington (3-8, 3rd River Valley) vs. Heritage Christian (5-5, 3rd Olympic)
Congrats to 1st Year Head Coach Kevin Argumosa at Arlington, First, he got Arlington to the playoffs for the first time since 2017, and then, he won a first-round match-up over Cerritos, 22-20. The last time the Lions had made it out of the first round, was back in 2012, under then-coach Pat McCarthy. The last CIF Title for Arlington came back in 1990, when Danny Arellano led them to the Division 4 crown 10-6 over Baldwin Park, and they won an Eastern Division title in 1981 under Rich Dischinger, 23-8 over Rubidoux. They haven't been to a CIF Semi Final since the 1990s, which would be the case, if they can upend Heritage Christian, out of the Olympic League.
The Warriors haven't beaten a team above Division 13 all season, but do have a 19-7 win over Chatsworth in Week 3, out of the City Section. Heritage Christian's best season in recent history, was back in 2018, where they ran the table through the regular season, at 10-0, before falling to Brea-Olinda in the first round of the Division 9 playoffs, 38-9. The two highest rated teams the Warriors have played on the season were Valley Christian (8.8) who lost at Ramona, in the first round of Division 8, and Village Christian (5.1) that knocked off Cantwell-Sacred Heart in the first round, and travels to 29 Palms on Friday for a Division 11 Second Rounder. The Warriors lost both those games by a combined score of 115-59 in Weeks 9 and 10. They won a tight first-round match-up with Bassett, at home last week, which earned them the bus trip from Northridge to Riverside this week.
The Lions, for their part, came to life late in the season, winning two of their last three games, to earn the automatic qualifier berth, as the third-place team out of the River Valley, in their first year in the league. The Lions' best win came against Division 12 Hillcrest (-1.6) and their second win came against Division 14 La Sierra (-32.1). They did play Division 6 Norte Vista (29.9) and Division 8 Ramona (25.8) as part of their league schedule, and played both D12 Poly (6.0) and D10 Corona (8.4) on their non-league slate. Should be a good match-up with the Warriors, out of the Olympic. The Lions were able to run the ball for 351 yards against Cerritos, and that was their formula, as they elevated themselves into 3rd place during River Valley league play. Arlington's last Home Playoff game came in 2012, in a 2nd Round loss to Heritage, so they'll be looking to reverse that trend. Their last playoff win at home, came on November 19th of 2010 against Montclair.
DIVISION 11
Riverside Poly (7-4, 2nd Inland Valley) vs. Northwood (6-5, 1st Pacific Valley)
The Bears knocked off Baldwin Park decisively in the first round, 49-22, dealing the Braves their first loss on the season. Now they move on against Northwood, a league champion, that knocked off Big Bear in the first round, at home. The Timberwolves best win, other than Big Bear, was over Division 12 Woodbridge (-7.5) in league play. It will be the second straight week that the T-Wolves will take on a team named the Bears. Poly hadn't been past the first round since their run to the 2014 Inland Division Final, under Dennis Brown. Brown also got the Bears to the 2nd Round in the Central Division, in 2013. Prior to that, the last time Poly had advanced past the first round was back in 2007.
Before their first round upset of Baldwin, Park, Poly's best two wins on the season, had been against Division 12 teams Hillcrest (-1.6). They also took win over Division 12 Moreno Valley (-1.9) and Lakeside (-2.1). Their highest rated opponents on the season were D8 Ramona (25.8) and D9 ML King (16.6). Their other three wins came against two D13 teams, and a D14. Their offense seems to have found it's rhythm at the right time, as Junior QB Will Cloak IV threw for 270 yards last week, and the running game was good for 192 yards against Baldwin Park. Senior WR Bailey Brown (8-85) and Junior TE Ethan Jackson (7-97) combined for 15 catches and 182 yards, while Senior RB Angel Sanchez accounted for 3 TD on the ground. The defense held the explosive Braves' offense to 243 yards and forced two turnovers. Poly ran 69 plays to just 43 for Baldwin Park, and chewed the clock, holding the ball for nearly 30 of the game's 48 minutes.
Northwood ran the ball well against Big Bear, running up a 28-7 lead into the Fourth Quarter. Big Bear was able to run the ball for nearly 300 yards against the T-Wolves, but Northwood went 4 for 4 on 4th down conversions, and were able to hold off the Bears, despite running six less plays on the game. They ran up 329 yards, 267 of them coming on the ground, so we may see a smash-mouth, ball-control contest on Friday night at King HS (where Poly plays their home games).
DIVISION 8
Ramona (10-1, 2nd River Valley) vs. Serrano (8-3, 3rd Mojave River)
Already a topsy-turvy world in Division 8, where top-seeded Muir was ousted in the first round, making this second-rounder all the more delicious, as the winner will take on the winner of First Round road dogs, Highland & California. In fact, Ramona was the only home team at the top of the bracket to win it's opening game. For that, they get a trip out to Phelan, to take on the Diamondbacks.
Ramona seems to have rightened the ship, after their Week 8 thumping at the hands of Division 6 Norte Vista. Since that game, their only loss on the season, they've won three straight, but a combined score of 136-69. Serrano (21.6) will be the second highest rated team the Rams have faced on the season, behind only Norte Vista (29.9). Their two best wins on the season, aside from their playoff win over Valley Christian (8.8) were over D9 King (16.6) and D10 Corona (8.4).
Last week, the Rams tore it up on the ground, rolling up 240 yards (188 of them by Beau Bruins), as they rolled up a 42-0 lead before calling off the dogs early in the 4th Quarter. The Rams' offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage against a fairly decent Valley Christian defense. Junior QB Nathan Johnson threw for 121 yards and a TD, but wasn't called upon to throw much after the end of the first half. He did throw for 320 yards over the last two weeks of the regular season. The Rams defense did manage to force three turnovers, and throttled an offense that averaged over forty points per game on the regular season.
Serrano was one of two Mojave River teams that won in the first week of playoff action, Apple Valley was the other, upending top-seed Citrus Valley, in Division 3. Serrano shut down Temescal Canyon's rushing attack, holding the Titans to 11 yards, while running up 273 of their own. On the season, the D-Backs allowed just 17.9 points per game, but 128 of those came in their three losses. In their eight wins, their opponents scored just under nine points per game. They also forced 23 turnovers, led by Senior FS Tanner Chaffee's six interceptions. Their best win of the year, aside from Temescal Canyon (13.9) was against D8 Highland (25) in Week 3. In league play, they battled both D3 Apple Valley (45.4) and D3 Oak Hills (38.5) by a combined score of 97-20. In Week 2, they played D7 Alta Loma (25.0) losing 31-20. The rest of their wins came against teams in D11 through D14.
The Serrano defense against Beau Bruins and the Rams' offensive line should be intriguing match-up for this Division 8 second-rounder. This one could come down to the arm of Nathan Johnson for Ramona, as well as how well their defense can play against the Diamondbacks' ground game. During the season, Coach Casey Maholchic utilized the running back by-committee approach, but in the win over Temescal Canyon, it was Rigo Cabral that toted the ball 42 times for 190 yards and 2 TD. Tanner Chaffee, filling at QB for leading rusher Payton Cornell, rushed for 79 yards on 7 carries. The front seven for Ramona will have a tough assignment, but having played teams like Arlington, Norte Vista and Patriot, they should be prepared. Throw in earlier games against Poly and Corona, they'll have played their share of teams that likes to run it up on the ground.
DIVISION 6
Norte Vista (10-0, 1st River Valley) vs. Temecula Valley (8-3, 4rd Southwestern)
The Braves emerged from a tough assignment, having to go on the road, and play an undefeated league champion in Round 1. They won a 27-25 thriller against a tough Monrovia squad. The four games at the top of the Division 6 bracket split evenly between road and home teams. The Golden Bears were one of the home teams that won. The other, was top seed Camarillo.
Temecula Valley had to surge late, winning close games against D9 Murrieta Mesa (10.9) and D7 Great Oak (22.4), to even get into the playoffs. Their experience in the gauntlet that is the Southwestern League, could help them in this contest, matching two of the top coaches in the Inland Empire, Temecula Valley's Bert Esposito, and No Vi's Ken Batdorf. In addition to the win over Great Oak, the Golden Bears have wins over D9 Colony (16.0) and Redlands East Valley (7.3). They also logged an impressive win over D8 Elsinore (22.2) in Week 1.
The Golden Bears' offense is a balanced attack, that can run and throw the ball, averaging over 300 yards per game, despite their touch schedule, particularly in league. They amassed almost 400 yards in their first round win over North Torrance, and more or less, controlled the game from the outset. The Temecula Valley passing game, paired against Defensive Andy Martinez's squad could be an alluring playoff match-up. Precision against Speed. The Braves took on an explosive Monrovia attack last week, and held their own. But the Golden Bears do come in fairly battle-tested.
On offense, the Braves run the ball. That's what they do, to the tune of nearly 500 yards per game. They rolled up 465 yards last week on a league champion, in the first round. You can't really stop Norte Vista, but Temecula Valley has played enough teams that use the ground attack, to try and devise a strategy that at least muster's some resistance. Their defense is led by Junior LB Luis Valencia, who had 67 rushing yards and 2 TD against the Saxons. He'll match up with the two-headed monster that keys the Braves' rushing attack, the Thunder & Lightning combo of Eddie Allain (2,011 yards 22TD) and Jessie Carvajal (1,331 yards 10 TD). In addition to combining for over 400 rushing yards against Monrovia, they had nearly 20 tackles between them.
The Braves' best win before Monrovia (21.6), was their Week 8 pasting of D8 Ramona (25.8). They also shut out D9 Claremont (15.1) in Week 1. The Braves' defense allowed just 31 points in nine regular season games, before their playoff win over the Wildcats. One factor could be that the Braves' best defenders play both ways, and perhaps the Golden Bears depth could help mitigate some of that defensive prowess. All in all, however, a great showcase for the Inland Empire, with a couple of League Champs from 2019, vying to reach the D6 Semi Finals.
DIVISION 5
John W. North (11-0, 1st Sunbelt) vs. Oaks Christian (5-6, 2nd Marmonte)
The Lions and Huskies were both home teams that won in the first round. Three of four home teams won at the bottom of the bracket, with Beaumont breaking up the chalk party, with their thrilling win over San Jacinto. John W. North dominated the second half against Capo Valley in their match-up last week, while Oaks Christian was able to hold off a game Pacifica squad.
For the Lions, seven of their ten season opponents were between Division 2 and Division 6. They also played a highly rated Valor Christian (59.5) team out of the Denver area, and Birmingham (11.6) out of the City Section. Their best win, came over D5 Westlake (25.9) and they also knocked off D6 Camarillo (25.9). They also hung in against D4 Damien, while losing 28-23, and the Lions also have three losses to D2 teams Alemany (64.7), Sierra Canyon (61.6), and St. Bonaventure (50.5). The Lions started the year with five losses, so they've won five of their last six, and four of their last five to secure the automatic qualifier berth out of the Marmonte. Over their last six games, they're averaging over 30 points, and just over 300 yards per game, with a nearly even split of rushing and passing yards. They'll match up with a North defense, anchored by the linebacking corps of Tupou, Tupou and Toki. But the big news of the Capo Valley match-up might have been the play of the J Dub Defensive Line, which really matured over the course of the year, with two first-time varsity starters, and the defensive backfield, which met the challenge of the Cougars' passing attack.
The Huskies took on a high-powered Capo Valley offense, and after a first half that foreshadowed a potential shootout, with JW North leading 28-21, they shut out the high-powered Cougars 20-0 in the second half, even after Capo Valley recovered an onside kick coming out of the half. They rolled up over 300 yards on the ground, and played the second half without their starting QB Jaidyn Gamble. Also, they achieved most of this offensive explosion without their stat WR Ashar Granger for most of the game. The high-powered unit for the Lions might very well be their defense, which recorded 25 sacks and forced 28 turnovers on the season.
The Huskies' two best wins on the season came against D5 Summit (32.5), who won their first-round game against El Toro when Head Coach Nick Matheny elected to go for two and the win, rather than play for OT, and D8 Orange Vista (13.1). They beat a team in the first round who played a gauntlet of a schedule, so they should be well-prepared for Oaks Christian in Round 2 at home. The Huskies are looking to maintain their undefeated season, while vying for their first CIF Title since 2007, which is the last time they reached the CIF Semi Finals. They won their 2006 CIF Title, running the table to go 14-0. The key for the Huskies could be the offensive line, which has been a fantastic unit all season, despite the loss of bookends Austin Barry (Arizona State) and Jaydin Johnson (RCC). They pave the way for Venasio Mika'ele (1,236 yards and 20 TD) and change-of-pace back Ahson Elliot (563 yards 12 TD).
Oaks Christian finds itself in Division 5, after spending the greater part of the decade in the upper part of the playoffs. They've played in one of the top two divisions every year from 2012 to 2019. They reached the D1 Semi Finals in 2018 and won a CIF D2 Title in 2017. Can they score the win, which could lead them further in their playoff run, or can the Huskies hold serve at home, in Round 2, and leep their hopes for a historic season, and their first CIF Title since 2007 alive? OP Vaipulu recorded his first playoff win as a Head Coach last week, and you get the distinct feeling that he's not ready to be done. His one-game-at-a-time philosophy gets a stiff test this week at Third & Chicago.