Linfield Christian High School: November 2010 Archives

As I alluded to in my picks yesterday, the site of tomorrow's East Valley Division playoff game between Linfield Christian and Big Bear has been moved to Lucerne Valley High School. It was moved from the original site of Big Bear Middle School because of the threat of significant snow and high winds.

"Lucerne Valley has a permanent press box and we don't, so we decided to make the change," Big Bear coach/athletic director Dave Griffiths said. "We use scissor lifts and with the winds of 50-60 mph which may come, we didn't want to take that risk. Plus, we didn't want Linfield to be stuck up here because their buses aren't meant for snow at all."

The 1 p.m. time for the game remains as originally scheduled.

Last but not least is the East Valley. Let them play in the snow is all I have to say leading in.

No. 1 Paraclete 30, Desert Hot Springs 20

Notre Dame 23, Grace Brethren 21

Linfield Christian at Big Bear
Snow or no snow, this should be a fun one on Saturday. The Bears have their option offense working at a level that hasn't been seen since the days of Kriss Proctor, as Zakk Planz has Big Bear executing at a high level. Linfield Christian has playoff experience, winning the Northeast Division last year, but I don't see their move up being as smooth as St. Margaret's was.
Big Bear 28, Linfield Christian 18

No. 4 St. Margaret's 27, Campbell Hall 21

No. 3 Sierra Canyon 38, Bishop Diego 14

Sage Hill at Twentynine Palms
The key question in this game is Twentynine Palms' resiliency. The Wildcats had a chance for their fourth straight De Anza League title slip out of their grasp last week with a loss to Big Bear at home and now face a Sage Hill team with an effective running attack. 29 Palms is capable of a run, making the East Valley finals two years ago, but I see this run ending sooner rather than later.
Sage Hill 20, Twentynine Palms 14

Brentwood 28, Rubidoux 26

Yucca Valley at No. 2 Aquinas
The Falcons are the hottest team in the division to date, winning nine in a row thanks to the efforts of a balanced rushing attack led by junior RB Burrell Handy. Yucca Valley profitted from a credible nonleague schedule and a tough league to make it into the playoffs, but this is a tough haul for the Trojans, as the Falcons are clicking on all cylinders.
Aquinas 35, Yucca Valley 12

This league's two guaranteed playoff spots are already clinched, as are the seedings, so besides Ontario Christian having faint at-large chances, this is boring as heck. Just to warn ya.

1. Aquinas (8-1, 4-0): Has clinched a playoff spot and the No. 1 seed out of the Ambassador League regardless of what it does Friday against Western Christian.

2. Linfield Christian (5-4, 3-1): Has clinched a playoff spot and the No. 2 seed out of the Ambassador League regardless of what it does Friday against Calvary Murrieta due to its head-to-head tiebreaker advantages over Ontario Christian and Western Christian.

3. Ontario Christian (3-6, 2-2): The Knights are eliminated from automatic playoff consideration because Linfield Christian owns the head-to-head tiebreaker. The only shot Ontario Christian has is to beat Arrowhead Christian Friday and hope that making the East Valley championship game last year holds weight in the at-large selection process.

4. Western Christian (3-6, 2-2): The Lancers are eliminated from automatic playoff consideration because Linfield Christian owns the head-to-head tiebreaker. A win over Aquinas could look good for an at-large selection, but it likely wouldn't be enough.

5. Arrowhead Christian (3-6, 1-3): Eliminated from playoff consideration.

6. Calvary Murrieta (1-8, 0-4): Eliminated from playoff consideration.