Recently in Rancho Verde High School Category

After how I did last week, picking incorrectly in both semifinals in the Central and Eastern Division, I'm pretty sure no one wants the endorsement of this blog. But they are going to get it.

CENTRAL DIVISION
Colton at Rancho Verde
The Yellowjackets played an instant classic last week to get to their first final in 29 years, outpointing Cajon 42-41 in overtime on Randy Valdez's leaping 35-yard, 3rd-and-20 touchdown reception. But Colton has itself a task in front of it. Rancho Verde seems to be beating all of the ghosts of its previous playoff flameouts into submission, scoring 161 points in three games coming into this one. I think Colton will test the Mustangs for a while, but Rancho Verde is a bit too deep for the Yellowjackets.
Rancho Verde 35, Colton 21

EASTERN DIVISION
Summit at Elsinore
Besides Yucca Valley's first-round victory over Aquinas in the East Valley Division, Elsinore's victory at Kaiser last week might have been the biggest surprise of the playoffs to date. Summit's win at Serrano last week wasn't shocking, but it was an impressive upset. Can Summit hold up to Elsinore's physicality and make some big plays with Devon Blackmon and Montigo Alford. I'm going yes. I'll take the SkyHawks to win the school's first-ever CIF title in any sport.
Summit 28, Elsinore 22

EAST VALLEY DIVISION
Paraclete 35, Sierra Canyon 30

INLAND DIVISION
Vista Murrieta at Corona Centennial
These teams aren't in our coverage area, but this game should be a dandy. The Inland Valley's best pushed these two top seeds hard last week, with Rancho Cucamonga taking Vista Murrieta to overtime before falling 35-28 and Chino Hills entering the fourth quarter only down 28-23 to top-seeded Centennial before losing 42-23. I was at the Chino Hills-Centennial game last week and was extremely impressed by Centennial's fearless, quick-strike offense. They'll be too much for the Broncos in my opinion.
Centennial 48, Vista Murrieta 27

Just got back in town from Thanksgiving and will get these done real quick before heading out to Ramona High School for Cajon-Arlington.

Inland Division

Corona Centennial at Upland
In the battle between defending CIF champions last week, Upland took down Chaparral to help the Baseline League to a 3-0 mark. While that victory was impressive, Centennial is a different, more potent beast. Upland will score some, but not nearly enough to keep up.
Centennial 52, Upland 21

Chino Hills at Etiwanda
Can the Eagles pull off another upset? The Etiwanda defense stepped up huge in the win at Redlands East Valley, but Chino Hills just put up 10 touchdowns on Corona. The Huskies are humming on that side of the ball and should win a shootout.
Chino Hills 45, Etiwanda 35

Rancho Cucamonga at Roosevelt
The Cougars are playoff-savvy and looked good against Murrieta Valley, while Roosevelt had to scratch and claw against Claremont. Look for Rancho to keep the Baseline contingent alive.
Rancho Cucamonga 34, Roosevelt 28

Vista Murrieta 41, Norco 27

Central Division

Rancho Verde at San Gorgonio
Rancho Verde is the top seed in the bracket, but they had to scratch and claw to get past the Spartans in week one. And that's before San G caught fire with its current seven-game win streak. I still like Rancho Verde though.
Rancho Verde 29, San Gorgonio 21

La Quinta at Chino
This is easily the toughest test that 11-0 Chino has had to face this year, as La Quinta is perennially among the top teams in whatever division it is playing in. Chino has been quite the story, but I'm not sure it's fully prepared for this.
La Quinta 28, Chino 22

Cajon at Arlington
The second-hottest team in the county goes against a red-hot player, as the Cowboys' 8-game winning streak will be tested by Arlington and their star RB Superiorr Reid, who has 32 touchdowns. Cajon is good but I like Arlington's smashmouth style.
Arlington 35, Cajon 24

Palm Springs at Colton
While both of these teams put up ridiculous point totals last week, I think we'll see some defense in this one. Both of these teams are stout on that side of the ball, though I feel Palm Springs has a bit more oomph.
Palm Springs 20, Colton 14

Eastern Division

Kaiser at Granite Hills
The Cats have apparently declared war on the city of Apple Valley, as they took out Apple Valley High last week. Granite Hills is scrappy, but they don't have the firepower to challenge Kaiser.
Kaiser 36, Granite Hills 6

Victor Valley at Elsinore
The Jackrabbits resurgence continued last week with another last-minute win, this time against Norte Vista. But Elsinore on the road is a tough task and I'm not sure if the Jackrabbits will be able to wave their magic wand again.
Elsinore 28, Victor Valley 24

Heritage at Summit
Heritage has been impressive this year, running off 11 wins to grab the No. 3 seed. But player for player, Summit might be the most talented team. I like the SkyHawks to come through with a mild upset.
Summit 30, Heritage 27

Serrano at Ridgecrest Burroughs
Going up to Ridgecrest is a tough task for anyone. But if there's any team that can handle it, its' the Diamondbacks. The Serrano D is playing at a high level, which should be the difference.
Serrano 17, Burroughs 9

East Valley Division

Paraclete 42, Grace Brethren 24

St. Margaret's at Big Bear
This has already been played, with St. Margaret's prevailing 17-6.

Twentynine Palms at Sierra Canyon
The Wildcats were impressive in rolling over Sage Hill, but going out to the San Fernando Valley from the High Desert is a lot to ask. Sierra Canyon will pull away late in this one.
Sierra Canyon 34, Twentynine Palms 16

Rubidoux at Yucca Valley
The Trojans pulled off the shocker of the playoffs, heading to San Bernardino and shocking No. 2 Aquinas. Now they face a Rubidoux team that they tied in September. I think Cinderella has another dance after this one.
Yucca Valley 20, Rubidoux 18

The CIF-Southern Section football playoff brackets were released a few hours ago. Definitely some interesting things going on in the pairings. Here are some early observations on the brackets, which can be downloaded from www.cifss.org.

Central Division
- Rancho Cucamonga wasn't done any favors. Although the 9-0-1 Cougars were awarded the No. 1 seed, they got paired up with Colton in the first round. The Yellowjackets may not be as good as they usually are, but that double-wing offense is a headache to defend. Los Osos, on the other hand, got the No. 2 seed and is hosting Elsinore out of the Sunbelt League. If it wins, it'll face the Chino Hills-San Gorgonio winner.

- Chaffey also should be a little perturbed, as the Mt. Baldy League champions get the pleasure of hosting Upland, the third-place team in the Baseline League. It will be tough for the Tigers to match up with that firepower.

- Chino Hills-San G is a rematch of a game played on Oct. 3 at San G, won 42-20 by Chino Hills. Needless to say, tough draw for the Spartans.

- Cajon, the SAL champ, gets wild-card Etiwanda in the first round. The Cowboys were the No. 4 seed but will be tested by an explosive Eagles team. Ayala, the Sierra No. 1 seed, also gets a tough draw by hosting two-time defending division champion Colony.

Eastern Division
- Hesperia has a pretty favorable draw. As expected, the Scorpions got the No. 2 seed in the division behind Citrus Hill and draws Riverside Notre Dame in the first round. It'll get the Silverado at Patriot winner in the quarterfinals if it wins. The other league champion on its side of the bracket - Palm Springs - was 7-3 in a mediocre Desert Valley League.

- Rim of the World has a rough matchup, having to face No. 1 seed Perris Citrus Hill and its star RB Deonte Cooper. Ridgecrest Burroughs wasn't done many favors either, as it hosts Palm Desert - which was ranked near the top of the division rankings all year.

- Kaiser gets Banning in the first round and has a very intriguing second-round matchup if it wins, as it will face the La Quinta at Serrano winner.

East Valley Division
- Aquinas gets the No. 3 seed and hosts Kern Valley in the first round. Should it win, it could have a tasty rematch with Twentynine Palms, which dealt the Falcons their only loss. There's also potential for a Big Bear-Ontario Christian rematch in the second round.

- Arrowhead Christian and Big Bear qualify as at-larges and have tough first round matchups, as the Eagles play at No. 2 seed Brentwood while the Bears head to Santa Paula.

Inland Division
- Miller gets the No. 4 seed and hosts Roosevelt, which is making its first playoff appearance in school history.

- Lots of revenge possibilities. Redlands East Valley is on the same side of the bracket with Redlands, and the Wildcats get a chance to avenge their loss to Corona Santiago in the Inland semifinals a year ago. If Redlands wins at Riverside North and Norco wins at Moreno Valley Rancho Verde, a rematch of their overtime semifinal two years ago would happen.

- Rancho Verde, the No. 2 seed, got a tough first-round matchup with a seasoned Norco squad and isn't done any favors in round two, having to face Redlands or two-time Eastern Division champ North.

- Yucaipa gets the unenviable task of facing Corona Centennial. That could get ugly quick.