Prep column: CIF undertakes Sea Re-View

Barry Faulkner

Now that the Orange County releaguing plan has cleared its final

hurdle -- approval by the CIF Southern Section Council Oct. 8 -- the next

shoe to drop could deliver a swift kick to the Newport Harbor High

football program.

As a leading contributor to the Sea View League’s dominance in CIF

Division VI, the six-team Sea View configuration that adds Foothill to

the existing five members, might find itself in another division when the

Southern Section staff generates playoff groupings for the next four

years sometime in March.

Southern Section Assistant Commissioner Rob Wigod, the section’s

football administrator, said he has already started work aligning

leagues, usually five per division.

He said his charge is to weigh competitive equity, geography and

enrollment equally when grouping leagues together for playoff

competition. He said none of the three criteria, which are also used to

place schools in leagues, will carry more weight than the others. But

principals in Orange County have continually admitted competitive equity

is the leading consideration when weighing relative compatibility and

Wigod came to the section office from Los Alamitos High.

That being said, the Sea View League just might have worn out its

welcome in Division VI, which also includes the Century, Golden West,

Empire and Suburban leagues.

Since the current Division VI was formed before the 1998 football

season, the Sea View has produced all six of the combatants in three

title games.

Newport Harbor and Irvine have squared off each of the last two

seasons, following the 1998 title clash between Woodbridge and then-Sea

View member Santa Margarita.

Further, the last nine Sea View champions have gone on to claim their

respective CIF division title and the last 13 section title games have

included 18 Sea View representatives.

The latter run includes Sea View’s placement in Division V (1994-97),

Division IV (1992-93) and Division VI (1988-91).

The last nine seasons, six teams not from the Sea View League have

opened the division’s playoffs as the top seed, only to face elimination

each time at the hands of a Sea View foe.

Of those teams (La Mirada in 2000, Mayfair in ‘99, Servite in ’96 and

‘95, Canyon Springs in ’93 and Rubidoux in ‘92) only Servite and Canyon

springs reached the title game, before being bested by Sea View

supremacists.

Still, Wigod said, contrary to popular opinion, the Roman numerals

given divisions outside of Division I do not necessarily correspond to a

relative competitive strength of the teams in those divisions. So,

Division III should not be considered to play a brand of football that is

better than, say Division VI.

Rather, the assignment of Roman numerals is made merely for

identification purposes. This, along with its predominant alliance with

leagues also in Orange County, may allow the Sailors and its Sea View

mates to remain in its competitively cozy situation.

A survey of individual leagues sent out in January will give Wigod

additional input. After the initial plan is released to section schools,

appeals may be heard throughout April. The groupings are then scheduled

to be finalized at the April 25 section council meeting.

Despite the aforementioned Sea View dominance, the Division VI

preseason rankings, formulated by the section office, had La Mirada

ranked No. 1. Newport Harbor opened at No. 3 and, remarkably, was the

lone Sea View representative in the top 10.

Newport Harbor (7-0-1) ascended to the No. 1 ranking Monday after

previously top-ranked Foothill fell to El Modena Friday night.

Newport can protect its No. 1 seed by beating Woodbridge Friday to

claim the Sea View crown, then handling nonleague visitor Westchester

Nov. 9.

The only other times Newport opened the postseason as the No. 1 seed,

it went on to claim titles in 1994 and ’99.

The Newport Harbor varsity has company in the unbeaten ranks, as the

Tars’ freshman unit, coached by Joe Urban, is 7-0 and hoping to close out

what would be the school’s first freshman football league championship in

what Urban believes is more than 30 years Thursday afternoon.

Newport, coming off a 49-14 triumph over a Laguna Hills squad

considered to pose the biggest threat in league, hosts Woodbridge in the

Sea View finale at 3:15 p.m.

Success on the freshman level is usually a reliable barometer of how

future varsity teams will do. This makes Estancia Coach Jay Noonan’s

prediction of victory in the next three Battle for the Bell showdowns

with crosstown rival Costa Mesa even more surprising.

Costa Mesa has defeated Estancia the last three years on the freshman

level, 28-20 this fall, 32-6 last year and 42-7 in 1999.