Pick a card

Barry Faulkner

For the first time in six seasons, releaguing has shuffled the

deck, but the five-team hands it dealt Pacific Coast League and Sea View

League football prognosticators appear no less stacked.

With league play kicking off this week, however, it’s time to put my

cards on the table.

The CIF Southern Section Division VI ballot I turned in this week had

four of five Sea View teams in the Top 10. And the fifth team I would

consider No. 11.

Three schools will earn guaranteed playoff berths and the fourth will, in

all likelihood, receive the division’s lone at-large spot. But one

clearly qualified to compete in the 16-team playoff bracket, will be left

out of the postseason picture.

That team will not be Irvine (3-1-1), which should earn at least a share

of its fourth Sea View crown since joining the circuit in 1992. The

Vaqueros have lost only to Mater Dei and have one of the league’s best

two-way players in Calvary Chapel transfer Keith Short.

Newport Harbor (4-0-1) and Woodbridge (4-1) have received plenty of

preleague hype and both have spent time in the upper half of the Orange

County and Division VI Top 10 polls.

But Harbor’s league-opening clash with Irvine Friday may be its first

test against a playoff-bound opponent and last year’s 1-4 league collapse

after a 5-0 start leaves room for skepticism.

Graduation took the core of Woodbridge’s 1998 CIF Division VI champions,

and I just don’t believe the league’s best player, Shane Harris, has

enough help to defend the league crown the Warriors shared with Irvine

last fall. Still, I’d be surprised if Woodbridge doesn’t make the

playoffs.

PCL import Aliso Niguel (3-2) is the wild card in the equation.

Impressive showings against a rugged preleague slate (hard-fought losses

to San Clemente and Trabuco Hills) has earned the respect of several area

coaches, many of whom tab the Wolverines as the favorite. I, however, am

unconvinced the step up to Sea View circles won’t dilute such optimism.

Laguna Hills (3-2) faces the same adjustment after dominating the PCL

and, having lost its best defensive player (Brandon Lamas) to a

season-ending knee injury, appears to be the postseason discard at this

point.

Bottom line: Irvine wins it, Newport and Woodbridge battle Aliso for the

two remaining guaranteed spots and Aliso edges Laguna Hills to claim the

at-large berth.

As for the PCL, it is easiest to discard first.

Laguna Beach (3-2) likely has its best team in a decade, but injury

problems are eating away at Coach Dave Holland’s already canvas-thin

depth chart. The Artists should have trouble winning more than once.

Estancia (3-2) has the league’s most explosive player in Marshall

Hendricks, but Coach Dave Perkins’ rebuilding project will need another

year of work. Watch out for the Eagles next fall, but don’t expect them

to close this millennium in the playoffs, unless they can finish 5-5 and

seize an at-large bid.

Sea View refugee Corona del Mar (0-5) is due for some good fortune and,

sidelined QB Matt Moore notwithstanding, appears to be getting its

injured players back at the right time. The Sea Kings catch a break by

opening with short-handed Laguna Beach and they don’t play the two

co-favorites until the final two weeks. If they can build some

confidence, in the meantime, anything can happen.

University (2-3) gets one more nonleague tuneup before meeting Costa Mesa

(4-1) in an Oct. 22 showdown which could decide the league title.

Coach Mark Cunningham’s Trojans have easily played the toughest preleague

schedule and have the county’s sixth-rated quarterback (Pat Josten). But

they must play well to deny Coach Jerry Howell’s Mustangs the completion

of their self-described “unfinished business.”

Barring injuries, Mesa has the most talent and should seize its second

outright league crown in school history. If it can avoid the seven

turnovers it committed against Uni last fall, that is.

Thankfully, I now pass the deal to the combatants. It should be fun.