Local duo will open at home

Corona del Mar High, with the most regular-season wins in the last 20 years of Sea Kings football, is the No. 2 seed in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division playoffs that begin Friday.

The Sea Kings (8-2), who finished second in the Pacific Coast League to Laguna Hills, the top seed in the division, will play host to La Mirada (4-6), at Newport Harbor High.

Costa Mesa (5-5) the Orange Coast League champion for the second straight season, will play host to Garden Grove League tri-champion Santiago (8-2), Friday at Estancia High.

CdM, ranked No. 2 in the final division poll Nov. 10, held its seed, even though it was not a league champion.

Costa Mesa, the outright league champion this season after sharing the title in 2007, earned a home game, but will face a Santiago squad that was ranked No. 6 in the final division poll.

The Cavaliers shared the league crown with Los Amigos and Garden Grove to repeat as Garden Grove champions.

La Mirada won its last three games to join a three-way tie for second in the Suburban League and came out with the league’s No. 3 playoff designation.

Should CdM win, it would be favored against either Santa Ana or Laguna Beach in the Nov. 28 quarterfinals. Suburban League champion Mayfair (7-3) would be a likely semifinal foe for the Sea Kings, under first-year coach Jason Hitchens.

Should Costa Mesa, coached by Jeremy Osso, win, it would likely face Laguna Hills in the quarterfinals.

CdM has won one playoff game (2005) since the Sea Kings went to the Division V semifinals in 1995. The Sea Kings won section titles in 1988 and 1989.

Costa Mesa, which fell to Pacifica, 34-0, in last year’s first round, has not won a playoff game since 1997.

The Mustangs and Santiago share one similar opponent. Costa Mesa topped Godinez, 27-14, on Oct. 23, while Santiago hammered the Grizzlies, 61-0, in its season opener.

CdM has outscored opponents, 288-140 this season, while La Mirada has been outscored, 272-217.