Mater Dei to Open Against St. John Bosco

Santa Ana Mater Dei, the defending Division I champion and winner of 24 consecutive games, is the top-seeded team in the Southern Section football playoffs that begin this week.

Playoff pairings for 12 divisions were made Sunday at the Southern Section offices in Cerritos. Championship games will be played Dec. 12 and 13.

Mater Dei (10-0), the South Coast League champion, will open defense of its title against No. 16 St. John Bosco (4-6).

Moore League champion Long Beach Poly (10-0) is the No. 2-seeded team and will play No. 15 Fountain Valley (7-3) in the first round.

Both the third- and fourth-seeded teams come from the Del Rey League, with champion Loyola (10-0) opening against Long Beach Millikan 6-4) and runner-up La Puente Bishop Amat (9-1) taking on Lakewood (5-5).

Most playoff games are scheduled for Friday, but the Division II opener between No. 1 Peninsula (10-0) and No. 16 Canyon Country Canyon (6-4) will be played Thursday to accommodate Fox Sports West 2.