Section to Hear Proposals

A proposal that would expand the Southern Section football playoffs from 10 to 11 divisions and affect many Orange County teams will be presented Thursday at the section’s general council meeting.

Bill Brand, principal of Trabuco Hills High School, chaired the committee that is recommending:

- The South Coast League be elevated from Division II to Division I. The addition of Mater Dei, the defending Division I champion, to the league dictated the move.

- The Sunset League, whose schools have experienced dwindling enrollment over the past five years, be dropped from Division I to Division II. League members Edison and Fountain Valley dominated the division in the 1980s.

- The Empire League, which advanced Los Alamitos and Esperanza to the Division III title game last fall, be moved to Division II.

- The Arrowhead League, which previously had problems competing against larger private schools, be moved into the newly created Division XI with members of the Desert Mountain and Tri-County leagues.

- The Sea View League, which expands to an eight-team league in the fall with the addition of Santa Margarita and Irvine, be moved from Division VI to Division IV. The committee had originally planned to move the league into Division III, but Tustin principal Duffy Clark successfully appealed that no league had ever jumped three divisions in grouping revisions.

“Playoff groupings for football are always a delicate issue, but I don’t think there are too many people unhappy with the proposal,” Brand said. “Every division (with the exception of the newly formed Division XI) has five leagues and is guaranteed its top three finishers will get into the playoffs.

“In some instances, there will be increased travel for county schools, but I think for the most part, there is equity in the football playoffs with this proposal, and that was the most important criteria in forming the divisions.”

Notes

The football playoff groupings:

Division I: Citrus Belt, Del Rey, Golden, Moore and South Coast.

Division II: Empire, Foothill, Pacific, San Gabriel Valley and Sunset.

Division III: Almont, Bay, Channel, Marmonte and Sierra.

Division IV: Baseline, Century, Ivy, Mission and Sea View.

Division V: Desert Valleys, Hacienda, Mountain View, San Andreas and Sunbelt.

Division VI: Miramonte, Mission Valley, Orange, Valle Vista and Whitmont.

Division VII: Freeway, Garden Grove, Montview, Northern and Ocean.

Division VIII: Camino Real, Pacific Coast, Rio Hondo, Suburban and Sunkist.

Division IX: Frontier, Los Padres, Pioneer, Skyline and Tri-Valley.

Division X: Alpha, De Anza, High Desert, Olympic and Santa Fe.

Division XI: Arrowhead, Desert Mountain and Tri-County.