The CIF Southern Section released the Pac-5 Divison football pairings earlier today and at least one of the first-round match-ups probably startled a lot of folks as they glanced at the pairings sheets:
Poly vs. Mater Dei.
Wow!
How did two of the most high-profile programs in the United States, with records of 9-1 (Poly) and 8-2 (Mater Dei), end up having to hook up in the first round (with the No. 1 seed, unbeaten Notre Dame, likely awaiting the winner)?
The reasons, it would seem, are three-fold:
1. Mater Dei, with both of its losses in the Trinity League and (after tie-breakers) the league's No. 4 seed, got into the 16-team field as the division's only wild-card selection. Traditionally, the wild-card teams are matched against league champions.
2. Both the Trinity and Moore (Poly's league) had four representatives and teams from within the lsame eague have to be placed within the bracket so that they couldn't face one another until any earlier than a semifinal.
3. The Southern Section's football advisory committee obviously considered the Jackrabbits the "weakest" of the five leagues' top seeds. Why? Probably because the perception rates fifth among the leagues in terms of overall strength (probably true) and that the Jackrabbits' non-conference schedule wasn't as strong as it's been in recent seasons.
One thing is certain: there should be a pretty hefty crowd showing up at Veterans Stadium Friday night.
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