HS BASE: Five burning questions for the playoffs

ONE -- Is one year a long time for Chatsworth to go without a winning a City title?

Yes. The Chancellors lost in the semifinals last season, and that was not good enough for a program that had won seven City championships over the previous 10 years (nine titles overall), including back-to-back national championships in 2003 and 2004. With defending City champion El Camino Real in a down year, Chatsworth does not have as many challengers from the San Fernando Valley - significant because the Valley has produced the past 18 City champions and 37 of the last 38.

TWO - Except for Crescenta Valley winning the Div. I championship in 1998, none of the other local programs participating in this year's Div. II playoffs (Alemany, Chaminade, Crescenta Valley, Harvard-Westlake, Notre Dame and xxxSt. Francis) have ever won a section title. Can someone - anyone - step up?

No. The top teams in the bracket, particularly No. 1 Cypress and No. 2 Arcadia, are too good. Alemany is too streaky; Chaminade lacks power hitters; Crescenta Valley looked really bad Friday in a 8-1 loss to Arcadia for the league title; Harvard-Westlake has gone more than 100 years without winning one; Notre Dame does not have the pitching depth; and undermanned St. Francis is too much of a long shot.

THREE - Is there a team that probably won't win a title but is the most fun to watch?

Yes. It's Valencia. The Vikings have 39 home runs, tops in the Southern Section, so they're always a quick three-run homer away from being back in the game. A.J. Balta is having an out-of-this-world sophomore season with 11 home runs, and junior Trey Williams has nine, including several tape-measure shots.

FOUR - Div. V hopeful Montclair Prep is 6-0 in championship games but has not reached a final since 1991. Is this the year of the Mounties?

No. With UCLA-bound left-hander Max Fried among the Southern Section's top pitchers in any division, unseeded Montclair Prep has a decent chance. But at some point the Mounties must get past defending champion and top-seed Woodcrest Christian - the opponent that eliminated them in the semifinals last season -- and that's no picnic.

FIVE: Of the locals in the smallest divisions, anyone worth keeping an eye on?

No. None have enough pitching. Then again, you never know, because in Div. VI and Div. VII, routine fly balls and easy grounders can sometimes be an adventure.