CIF Southern Section 2019 Division 10 football bracket, quarterfinals preview
The CIF Southern Section Division 10 football quarterfinals kick off Friday, Nov. 15. Here’s a look at the matchups:
Crescenta Valley vs. Eisenhower
After knocking off Muir late in league play, undefeated Crescenta Valley is the clear favorite to win Division 10 and complete the dream season, although there are a number of teams left in the field with very solid chances of knocking them off. Eisenhower isn’t one of those teams, but an upset would be far from impossible. The Eagles are 7-4, with all four losses coming to very legitimate competition, but no wins over anyone half as good as Crescenta Valley.
Eisenhower is capable of scoring on Crescenta Valley’s strong defense. The question is whether or not they’ll be able to hold them off much on the other end. The odds are pretty bad, but an upset is definitely not impossible, and if they pull it off, they have a great chance at shocking the whole division.
Norte Vista vs. Simi Valley
Norte Vista is 10-1, but curiously, their best game of the season may be that one loss. Hanging around and only losing 16-12 against Temecula Valley is a feat that very few teams in this field would be likely to pull off. Everything else has been a lopsided win against overmatched opponents, although Moreno Valley and Hillcrest were solid competition.
Coming into last week against Western, Simi Valley was a bit of an underdog, and their narrow 37-32 victory should provide good experience against a Braves squad that will be heavily favored over them. But not so heavily that the Pioneers shouldn’t be given a shot. Behind QB Travis Throckmorton, RB Elijah Leiva, and numerous other offensive forces, pulling off an upset is far from out of the question for Simi Valley, even though the odds are significantly against them.
Orange vs. J.W. North
This is a battle between two 10-1 Division 10 heavyweights who each have one respectable loss and a lot of wins against overmatched opponents. Orange nearly pulled off the comeback of the decade against Yorba Linda before league play started and lost in double-overtime. Other than that, their season has been saturated with laughably lopsided blowouts. J.W. North lost early on to Servite, which means nothing, but they haven’t faced any other teams on Orange’s level.
Orange has a small but definite edge in a game that could go either way. The Panthers playmaking core of dual-threat QB Daylen Pedroza, RB/SB Issac Galvan, and WR/RB Andrew Aguilar has been uncontainable by every single team they’ve seen besides Yorba Linda, and they’ve been equally dominant on the other end. But like J.W. North, they haven’t had opportunities to prove themselves against strong lower-division teams. Whoever wins this game has a real shot at winning it all.
Segerstrom vs. Katella
Rarely (or never) do Division 10 games make it this high on the countdown. But one, it’s the playoffs, and two, both of these contenders are 10-1 with their only losses both coming narrowly to Marina. If that doesn’t bode for a great game, I’m not sure what does.
Katella has clocked a bunch of inferior opponents, with good wins coming against Valencia (Placentia), Esperanza, and last week, Summit. Segerstrom is in a similar boat with a fairly easy schedule besides a nice win against El Modena. It’s anyone’s game.
