But first, here’s my prediction for the playoff cast. I will do this every week, and yes, it will change just like the weather.
Almont League
Champ: Schurr
2nd: San Gabriel
Mission Valley League
Champ: Arroyo
2nd: Rosemead
Rio Hondo League
Champ: Monrovia
2nd: San Marino
Valle Vista League
Champ: Baldwin Park
2nd: San Dimas
Montview League
Champ: Azusa
2nd: Workman
Olympic League
Champ: Valley Christian
2nd: Whittier Christian
At-large berths:
Covina (Valle Vista)
La Canada (Rio Hondo)
La Puente (Montview)
Wilson (Valle Vista)
Olympic League: I’m starting to see a problem develop for the Olympic League. While I don’t doubt the league is one of the strongest in the division, I don’t see where the third-place team will be able to accumulate enough points to qualify using CIF’s at-large formula. None of the teams play inter-division games during the nonleague, therefore they can’t acquire points in big head-to-head games. The league will have to earn praise from CIF for being one of the division’s top, if not the top, leagues. I could be totally over-thinking this, but I’m pretty sure the Olympic is only going to get its top-two teams in, unless the league does something to really distinguish itself during the nonleague. I guess the only thing that could be possible is if for some reason Valley Christian finishes third, CIF could view its daunting nonleague schedule as some sort of evidence to overweight the league’s overall strength rating. So let’s say Covina, Wilson, Village Christian and La Puente are vying for at-large berths. The Covina-Wilson winner will get the nod, narrowing it to Village Christian, Covina-Wilson winner and La Puente. Then the La Puente-Wilson winner will get the nod, narrowing it to Village Christian vs. the La Puente-Wilson winner, at which point CIF will have to determine who had the stronger league. Get it? That’s why nonleague is going to count HUGE!
El Monte at Covina: The Lions had better take care of business here. They’ve already got one inter-division loss against La Puente and can’t afford another. With a win, Covina can pretty much lock up its insurance contract if it for some reason doesn’t finish 1-2 in the Valle Vista and needs help from CIF to get in the dance.
Northview at La Puente: Just remember what The Fat Man said on Fred’s blog about driving by Northview practice one day a couple weeks ago. They looked surprisingly good … from the angle from inside my car. Anyway, the Vikes showed they’re no pushover by taking El Rancho to the brink. Now, they can help themselves by getting a big inter-division win over a team that could very likely be looking for some at-large love come Noviembre.
Arroyo at Montebello: There’s two things going on here. Let’s start with Montebello. The Oilers CANNOT afford two losses to Mission Valley League teams. Then again, if you can’t beat Rosemead, what makes you think you can beat Arroyo. The second thing is Arroyo needs to do everything it can to make the MVL look like the best league in the division so that it can secure a doable first-round playoff matchup … assuming the Knights win the league.
Alhambra at Temple City: Talk about two teams that desperately need this game. Both teams aren’t looking like league champs currently, but could be third-place teams in November and in need of some formula help. An inter-division can go a long, long way in doing that.