CIF Playoffs Are Here!

Rahshaun Haylock



1st Round of Playoffs Podcast

(CBS)- The CIF came up with this crazy idea.  They put 16 teams in a bracket.  The winner would advance to the next round, until you get to the win and there's only one team left.  That team will be declared the champion.  I believe it's called a playoff.  What's even more bizarre is they've been doing this for years! 
 
Playoffs? 
 
The best remaining teams will settle it on the field.
 
Unlike our FBS counterparts, high school football, here in Southern California,  does have a playoff.  It's that time of year, and what an exciting time it is.  The deeper we get into November and December the higher the stakes.  
 
Tonight, the CIF Southern Section playoffs get under way.  The marquee game on this Thursday night is Crespi of the Serra League taking on Sunset League champ, Los Alamitos.  To think, this game, which has the makings of a phenomenal first round matchup, wouldn't even take place had it not been for what's simply being known as "The Play." 
 
In football's version of a buzzer beater, Celts quarterback Kenny Stenhouse checked down to wide receiver Mike Davison as time expired with Crespi deadlocked 28-28 with Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and a playoff berth on the line.  What happened after that checkdown is one for the ages.  Both teams entered the game with 1-2 records in league play and the winner clinched 3rd place in league, guaranteeing the final playoff spot. 
 
Once Davison had the ball, he pumped faked, and then decided to take off up the sideline.  Davison ran into traffic and then cut against the grain towards midfileld.  That's where Davison ran into trouble.  As defenders appeared and Davison on the verge of going down, he saw his teammate, running back , Terrance Williams to his left.  As Davison was on his way to meet the turf, he pitched to Williams.  The junior running back took it up the sideline.  He broke a tackle, stiff armed one, and shed another as he dove into the endozone for the game winning touchdown and a playoff berth for head coach Jon Mack in his first season as Crespi head coach.  Crespi wins 34-28. 
 
The drama has already begun.  That was only to get into the playoffs.  To stay in the PAC-5, the Celts may have to come up with more heroics.  
 
Over the next month, coaches, players and fans will hang onto every down, every play, and every play call as the wave of emotions start to flow.  Its Playoff Time! The time of the year where some dreams come true, while most fade away. 
 
Over the course of the next month, 15 schools will be able to call themselves Southern Section champions, while three schools will claim City Section supremacy. 
 
There are the feel good stories, such as Buena Park making their first playoff appearance since 2001.  There's the story of Monrovia.  After 10 defeats in Section Finals, can the Wildcats not only get the Final but actually win it this time.  There are also the streaks.  La Habra has won three consecutive section championships.  Can Frank Mazzota's bunch make it four in a row?  Can Los Alamitos, led the all-time winningest coach in Orange County, John Barnes, get out of the first round for the first time since 2001?  Of course all eyes will be on who can come out of the PAC-5?  Is there any team bold enough to get in the way of a Crenshaw/Carson matchup in the Coliseum on December 11th. 
 
So many storylines.  So many games.  So much talent.  So many more big plays to take place over the next month.  So many questions.  The one answer we know is: it will be fun!  Will you be there? 
 

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