Recently in Fillmore High School Category

St. Margaret's ruled this division with an iron fist last year, taking out 40% of the De Anza League en route to the division and, eventually, the small-school state title. Can anyone take them out this time around?

No. 1 St. Margaret's 38, Santa Paula 6

Chatsworth Sierra Canyon at Aquinas
This is basically a coinflip, as Sierra Canyon was second in the Alpha League with an 8-2 record while Aquinas won its third straight Christian League title in thrilling fashion over Ontario Christian. It's been a bit of an up-and-down ride for the Falcons thus far this season and I'm not quite sure if they'll be able to outfight Sierra Canyon.
Sierra Canyon 27, Aquinas 20

Los Angeles Brentwood 31, Bishop 14

Yucca Valley at No. 4 Fillmore
Yucca Valley doesn't have a pretty record, but it does have another berth in the East Valley playoffs. The Trojans opened some eyes in the playoffs a year ago, winning their first-round game and giving St. Margaret's a struggle in the second round, but I have a hard time seeing them repeating that trick this year.
Fillmore 33, Yucca Valley 13

Oak Hills at No. 3 Kern Valley
Oak Hills isn't your typical first-year program - or your typical at-large freelance cannon fodder squad. The Bulldogs are 8-2 and have some pretty big wins, so they won't be intimidated by a 9-1 Kern Valley squad. And quite frankly, I think Oak Hills is too young to realize that it shouldn't be doing this well. I smell an "upset".
Oak Hills 38, Kern Valley 27

Newport Beach Sage Hill 23, Simi Valley Grace Brethren 21

Ontario Christian at Twentynine Palms
How quickly can the Knights recover from their heartbreaking loss to Aquinas? That's the million-dollar question for Ontario Christian, as Twentynine Palms has been a Christian League-killer over the past few seasons. The Wildcats are surging, winning six in a row and went to the finals a year ago. I don't see Ontario Christian doing well here.
Twentynine Palms 34, Ontario Christian 13

No. 2 Pasadena Maranatha 40, Lebec Frazier Mountain 7

QUARTERFINALS
St. Margaret's over Sierra Canyon
Brentwood over Fillmore
Oak Hills over Sage Hill
Maranatha over Twentynine Palms

SEMIFINALS
St. Margaret's over Brentwood
Maranatha over Oak Hills

Championship
St. Margaret's over Maranatha

Fun times in the high school ranks, even with some of my picks last week taking a beating. I went 10-6 this week, sweeping the Inland Division and splitting the other three. Oh well.

CENTRAL DIVISION

No. 1 Rancho Cucamonga at No. 4 Cajon
This should be a good one and after going to each campus this week to talk to coaches and players about it, I'm excited. I won't be covering, but Clay Fowler will have a jolly old time at this one. You have two big-play spread teams, with Greg Watson and his cadre of explosive wideouts carrying the torch for Rancho and RB Walter Kazee doing the same for Cajon. I picked Rancho to win the Central title before the playoffs started, and I have to stick with it. We'll see if Cajon burns me again.
Rancho Cucamonga 33, Cajon 28

No. 2 Los Osos at Upland
Now I will be at this game, which should also be a doozy. I guess its redundant to say that a CIF semifinal game should be good, but I really don't care. What I'm looking to see is if Josh Nunes can break the Richard Brehaut jinx. Yes, I know there are plenty of other players (Arby Fields, Davion Fleming, Osahon Irabor to name three) worth mentioning, but Nunes has never beaten Brehaut. Shoot, even the two schools he verbally committed to (Tennessee and then Stanford) lost to Brehaut's school, UCLA. Upland is hoping that Nunes is due. I'm thinking he is.
Upland 34, Los Osos 27

EASTERN DIVISION

Serrano at No. 1 Perris Citrus Hill
This is where I'll be tomorrow night and quite frankly, the more I read up on Citrus Hill, the more I'm blown away. The Hawks have won all of their games by more than 26 points, average over 50 points a game and have a Division I QB in Caleb Herring and a future D-1 RB in junior Deontae Cooper. Serrano won't be intimidated, having played at Upland and Hesperia this season, but the Diamondbacks will have their hands full. Gotta go with the Hawks, though Serrano will keep it close (relatively speaking).
Citrus Hill 41, Serrano 23

Barstow at Silverado
At the very least, the Desert Sky League will get some major street cred. With two teams facing off, the DSL will get one team in the title game, definitely helping it shed the rep of being the "other" High Desert league. As for the game, its a pretty fascinating contrast in styles, with Barstow's double-wing going against Silverado's frenetic no-huddle spread offense. The Aztecs will need to chew clock to keep red-hot Hawk QB Jemeryn Jenkins off the field. They'll have their moments, but Silverado seems to be on a mission.
Silverado 36, Barstow 20

EAST VALLEY DIVISION

No. 1 St. Margaret's 38, Pasadena Maranatha 27

Fillmore at Twentynine Palms
Both of these teams are surprises of sorts. For the host Wildcats, the surprise isn't that they are here, but the way they destroyed Aquinas to get here. Twentynine Palms had defeated the Falcons during the regular season, so a win wasn't shocking, but a 40-0 whitewashing certainly was. The Flashes were more of the conventional surprise, upsetting No. 2-seeded Brentwood to get here. I think the Wildcats, who have scored 103 points in the playoffs so far, continue to roll.
Twentynine Palms 42, Fillmore 17

INLAND DIVISION

No. 1 Corona Centennial 42, Murrieta Valley 13

No. 3 Temecula Chaparral at Norco
These two teams last faced off in the 2006 Inland finals, with Norco placing a 43-0 beating on the Pumas. Chaparral, making its third straight semifinal appearance, its pretty rough on defense, as they beat Redlands East Valley up front in a 20-0 shutout. Norco has made its living on physical play, so this should be a good one, but I feel Chaparral is due.
Chaparral 21, Norco 10

Last week: 10-6. Overall record: 242-60-4.