HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL / CITY SECTION PLAYOFFS : Defending Champions Get Top Seedings

San Pedro High, which defeated Carson on Friday night for its first victory over the Colts since 1968, might have the best team in the City Section with a 9-1 record.

But the Pirates will have to wait at least one more year to see how they stack up. They begin the playoffs Friday night as the top-seeded team in Division 3-A, which is made up of schools that are generally smaller and less competitive than those in 4-A.

Pairings were announced Saturday morning. The playoffs begin with the first round Friday. The 4-A championship is Dec. 11 at El Camino College in Torrance, and the 3-A final is Dec. 10 at a site to be determined.

Two wild-card games will be played Monday to determine at-large entries in 4-A.

San Pedro, which has lost only to Wilmington Banning, probably will move to 4-A next season. But for the moment, Coach Mike Walsh’s team will try to defend the 3-A title. The Pirates play host to Chatsworth in the opener.

Franklin (6-3-1) is seeded second in 3-A, Fremont (8-2) is third and Reseda (7-3) fourth.

In 4-A, defending champion Sylmar (8-1-1) is top seeded for the second year in a row. It earned that position after Woodland Hills Taft suffered its first loss of the season Friday, 19-18, to San Fernando.

Sylmar started the season a disappointing 1-1-1, but rebounded to win its last seven games.

Taft (9-1), which lost to San Pedro in the 3-A championship game last season, is seeded second. Belmont (10-0) is third and Carson (6-4) fourth.

One of the most attractive first-round games features Garfield (9-1) playing host to traditional power Banning (5-5) in a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal, which was won by Garfield.