Here are the Orange County teams in the Pac-5 Division:
Esperanza (7-3) – The Aztecs were in a must-win situation against Edison last week, and they came through with a 16-3 victory. That helped create a five-way tie in the Sunset League. With no head-to-head results way to break the tie, school names were placed in a bowl, and Esperanza’s name was drawn first to give the Aztecs the league’s No. 1-representative status and thus a first-round home game against San Clemente. Defense has been their strength, but the Aztecs’ offense has struggled at times. Esperanza has scored only 30 points over the past three games, two of which were losses to Los Alamitos and Newport Harbor. Esperanza can run the ball well, with Jared Moore getting the most carries, but its passing game has not been as effective.
San Clemente (8-2) – The Tritons’ only two losses were to South Coast League rivals Tesoro and Mission Viejo. Quarterback Duke DeLancellotti, running back David Espino and receiver Graham Tenney lead an offense that averaged 31 points a game. San Clemente has victories over Dana Hills, La Habra and 9-1 Santa Fe of Santa Fe Springs. The Tritons finished third in the South Coast League.
Mission Viejo (9-1) – The Diablos are six points away from being 10-0; their loss was to Tesoro, 42-27, in a South Coast League game. They concluded the regular season with a 62-7 victory over Capistrano Valley, and are averaging 45 points a game. Quarterback Allan Bridgford, who committed to Cal, leads the offense which also has running back Jake Marshall and an outstanding corps of receivers that includes Kevin Chandler and Alex Mascarenas. Mission Viejo finished second in the South Coast League.
Servite (7-3) - The Friars finished in a three-way tie, with Mater Dei and Orange Lutheran, for the Trinity League championship. They have played the most-challenging schedule among county football teams. Servite played two Serra League teams, including its league champion Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, which is the division’s No. 2 seed, and Edison. Servite beat Orange Lutheran but lost to Mater Dei in league games. Running back Gregory Portis has been outstanding, and defensive back Bijon Samoodi leads the defense.
Tesoro (10-0) – The Titans won the South Coast League champion by going 5-0 in league for the second year in a row. Their nonleague victories include triumphs over El Dorado and Fountain Valley. Quarterback Robbie Picazo, running back Zach Mithcell and receiver Preston King lead the offense, which is averaging 42 points a game. King also is an outstanding defensive back.
Los Alamitos (8-2) – When the five-way tie in the Sunset League was resolved, Los Alamitos emerged as the league’s No. 3 playoff representative. That guaranteed the Griffins a first-round away game, and it is an interesting matchup – Los Alamitos, coached by John Barnes, against the team his son Brian coaches, Tesoro. Los Alamitos lost two of its final games, to Newport Harbor and to Fountain Valley. The offense is led by quarterback Clark Evans, who has a fine group of receivers led by Darryl Jenkins and Paul Richardson.
Mater Dei (7-3) – The Monarchs lost to Orange Lutheran, 24-21, in the final game of the regular season last week. That put Mater Dei in a three-way tie, with Servite and Lutheran, for the Trinity League championship. The Monarchs’ other losses were to Edison and to Centennial of Corona. Quarterback Matt Barkley has not been spectacular, but good enough. Running back Jaron Hytche has rushed for 22 touchdowns.
Fountain Valley (7-3) – The Barons came out of the Sunset League’s three-way tie as the league’s No. 2 representative. They have a tough first-round foe, Orange Lutheran. Fountain Valley’s losses were to good teams – Tesoro, Edison and Esperanza. Barons running back Kyle Middlebrooks is one of the top offensive weapons in the division.
Orange Lutheran (8-2) – The Lancers finished in a three-way tie for the Trinity League championship, with Mater Dei and Servite. They beat Mater Dei, 24-21, last week when Parker Flynn kicked a 42-yard field goal with two seconds remaining. Kyle Dravis has led the running attack, and became specially valuable when back Exavier Edwards missed time because of mononucleosis. Lutheran’s losses were to Servite and Bishop Amat of La Puente, both Pac-5 playoff teams.
Related posts:
- Pac-5 Division breakdown
- What O.C. team can win the Pac-5?
- Note about sites and times
- Northeast Division pairings
- Southeast Division pairings
- Southwest Division pairings
- East Valley Division pairings
umm we (tesoro) beat mission 31 to 14 not 42 to 27…
This Friday will probably be the best game in tesoro history!
hey hall,
probably right about making “tesoro history” on Friday in round #1, but if I can recall, tesoro doesn’t have much history to start with. I take nothing away from your well deserved run this year and last year to win the south coast, but I recall you were “one & done” last year. It’s nice you use mission viejo as your benchmark of success - thank you! Remember - it’s all about the rings when you speak of football history - how many rings does historic tesoro have???
Pac 5 is the best Division in the country. Just enjoy all the match ups. Too bad they all can’t be on TV. Tons of Div 1 college players and some future NFL players. It doesn’t get any better. Congratulations to all the great coaches and programs in So Cal. Good luck Tritons.
Tim
Letter to writers:
I cant believe there has been no articles written about the ridiculous system used to determine the fate of the the Sunset league playoff reps.
Newport Harbor is the only team in that league that has played well the past three weeks; waxing a weak Esperanza team 35-6 (the 6 pts were scored in 4th quarter on Harbors 3rd team D), crushing Marina (who esperanza beat by 3), and beating Los Al @ Los Al by overcoming a -3 turnover margin and putting together a game winning drive. Newport didn’t punt the entire game by the way.
This was a unique situation with the 5 way tie for first place, so a unique solution should have been implemented. At least let all 5 teams get a chance at applying for the at large bid. If the committee truely believes that esperanza was the best team in the league and Harbor was 5th, then disregard this rant.
It’s a shame that the team playing the best football at the end of the season doesn’t even get a chance to represent the league. Isn’t that why we have a playoff system in HS? Is this the BCS? No wait, if this were the BCS then Harbor would have at the very least been the 3 seed in the Sunset.
I predict that all Sunset teams get beat convincingly in the first round, not because the league is weak, but because Harbor is the only team playing good football at this point in the season.
The only teams that deserved to be left out were Edison and Los Al. They were the only team that had a chance to control their own playoff fate and blew in front of their home crowds. Esperanza and Foutain valley will be wishing that they DIDN’T get randomly selected to the playoffs when they’re getting blown out by their first round opponents.
Magic,
All of this talk about who should be there and who shouldn’t is moot! The real problem is that the Moore League gets to send 4 teams due to their 7 team league! Take perennial heavyweight Poly out of the equation and a sometimes good .500 ball Lakewood team and you have the weakest league in the Pac-5!
Don’t bemoan the system. 5 teams were at 3-2. That’s it! You’re unhappy that there isn’t a system that would have put the Sailors in the playoffs! Boo-Hoo! Are you just going to complain about it or offer a suggestion how to do it better?
Maybe they should use you! You’re Magic, right? Maybe you think a bunch of Newport Beach ersatz football gurus should sit around in a cigar smoke filled room and do it! How about consulting an oracle, or maybe a ouija board?
Wishing ill on some fine Sunset League young men in the playoffs, who have laid it on the line, week after week, in the most consistent, evenly balanced league in the Pac-5 is both mean-spirited and small-minded!
Best wishes to the Sunset , Trinity and South Coast Leagues! Go O.C.!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dear Pac-5 Fan:
Don’t forget that Tesoro won two straight CIF titles in years 4 & 5 of school history. So, in six years of varsity football they have two rings. Not bad for a new school. One down year moving into the South Coast league and then what?!? Two straight years of 5-0!
Mission Viejo is the measuring stick of success in South County so it is sweet for local Titans to have those two straight wins over the Diablos. This year Tesoro completely dominated Mission! Good luck to all OC teams in the playoffs!
magic-
You are spreading bitter all over this site. Would you feel just as bad and make such comments if FV or Los Al or Espy were sitting at home? Those teams played just as hard as NH every week. In fact FV beat NH right? You need to let it go it’s better for your blood pressure.
Playoff Time,
Well said. Don’t forget about that state championship in year 5.