Everyone has a different way of judging the games, and it doesn't always include a close score. Take a look at this list of the top five games of the CIF-SS playoffs involving Orange County teams and let us know what you think.

1. The Los Alamitos-Tesoro game -- John Barnes coaching Los Alamitos, and his son Brian Barnes coaching Tesoro. Anita Barnes, wife of one coach and mother of another, did the pregame coin toss. She spent several minutes practicing how to toss a coin, over in a corner of the end zone (by the way, Los Alamitos won the coin toss).

2. Tesoro 42, Orange Lutheran 14. Lutheran was considered to be the best defensive team in Orange County, but Tesoro just rolled through the Lancers. The Titans had a 28-0 lead at halftime, and a 35-0 lead early in the third quarter. Tesoro truly was the best team in Orange County in 2008.

3. Laguna Hills 17, Artesia of Lakewood 9. That was a first-round game in the Southern Division. Laguna Hills went into the playoffs undefeated and was the division's top-seeded team. Artesia was the No. 4 team from the Suburban League. But Laguna Hills had a bye week before the playoffs -- a rare event -- so it was interesting to see how Laguna Hills would fare against Artesia, which was 7-3 and a good team for a No. 4. The Hawks won, 17-9, and that showed they could handle a challenge with poise. That victory re-established momentum for Laguna Hills, which then rolled to a 41-7 victory over Santiago in the second round, and 42-8 over Norwalk in the semifinals.

4. St. Margaret's 17, Yucca Valley 6. St. Margaret's coach Harry Welch said that Yucca Valley would be the Tartans' toughest challenge of 2008, and with Yucca Valley the home team it would be a long bus ride. It sounded a bit like coach-speak, because St. Margaret's really had not been challenged much all year. But Yucca Valley did give St. Margaret's a tough game. Good teams win close games, especially away games.

5. Tustin 63, Cayon 28. The Tillers had beaten Canyon, 42-13, in a Century League game. While it was not shocking that Tustin won again, it was a bit of a surprise to see the Tillers dominate Canyon in a playoff game. There have been many Tustin teams that have run the double-wing offense well during Coach Myron Miller's tenure. This year's Tillers might do it better than any of them.

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