Los Osos holds key to Baseline League playoff scenario
The Baseline League, which produced four playoff teams each of the last two seasons, won't have that luxury given its move from the CIF-SS Central Division to an Inland Division void of wild-card berths.
Rancho Cucamonga, the No. 3 team in the division, is undefeated in league with only a Thursday game against Glendora between it and a second outright Baseline League title in three years. Upland and Etiwanda will claim the final two playoff spots with victories this week over Los Osos and Alta Loma, respectively. If Los Osos can knock off defending CIF champion Upland Friday, all bets are off.
A Los Osos win on Friday would create a three-way tie for second to be broken by a coin flip. Los Osos has four losses on the season but a win over Upland is certainly a reasonable possibility.
Consider that Los Osos dropped an early-season game to Vista Muerrieta, the second-ranked team in the Inland Division, and two of the Grizzlies' other losses came in overtime, one to Rancho Cucamonga, the other in triple OT to Redlands. The loss that will ultimately cost Los Osos a playoff berth if it can't defeat Upland Friday was a 44-31 defeat at the hands of Etiwanda two weeks ago.
Of course, Etiwanda wasn't feeling too comfortable either after it lost control of its destiny via a defeat at the hands of Rancho Cucamonga last Thursday. All the Eagles can do is take care of business against winless Alta Loma on Wednesday and cheer on Upland.
"Who wants to leave their season up to a quarter?" Etiwanda coach Steve Bryce said.
About Clay
Clay Fowler has been covering high school sports for six years in California and Texas. He was born in Dallas, attended the University of Texas and worked in Central Texas before joining the Daily Bulletin staff in 2006.
Email Clay here
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