Mission Viejo quarterback Allan Bridgford committed to Cal this morning.

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Santa Margarita boys basketball player Zack Zaragoza signed a letter of intent with Northern Arizona, his father Tino reported via email. Zaragoza, a 6-foot-5 guard, averaged 14 points for the Eagles. He scored 19 when the Eagles beat Bishop Montgomery of Torrance in the CIF Southern California Regionals Division III final, and scored 13 in their victory over Sacramento in the CIF State Division III championship game. Zaragoza, a very good outside shooter, was All-Orange County third team this past season.

– Steve Fryer

Well, information I got from two very-reputable people, people who would know, has been refuted by Orange Lutheran, which told me today the Loftuses say they have not been at Servite this week. Again, it is hoped that the Loftuses, fine young men who are going to be succesful whatever happens and wherever they go, get to participate fully in interscholastic athletics in the 2008-09 school year.

 – Steve Fryer

Crean Lutheran, a new private school in Irvine, hired Aaron Meschuk as its first football coach.

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The CIF-Southern Section Pac-5 and Southwest Division football championship games will be played at Angel Stadium this year. No CIF-SS football finals will be at Home Depot Center in Carson this year, although CIF State Championship Bowl Games will.

– Steve Fryer

Former El Modena and St. Margaret’s football coach Jason Hitchens signed a contract this afternoon that makes him football coach at Corona del Mar.

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The CIF State office announced today that the CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games will be played at Home Depot Center in Carson this year and in 2009. The first two state bowl games were played there in 2006 and ‘07.

– Steve Fryer

The Century League’s proposal that would split private and public schools into separate CIF-Southern Section playoff divisions can be found at the CIF-SS website, cifss.org. That proposal goes up for a vote before the CIF-SS Council on Thursday (4-24).

The proposal includes what the private-school football playoff brackets would have been if the split had been in place for the 2007 football season. In the proposal’s list of teams that would have received automatic berths into the private-school playoffs, the word “berths” is spelled “births.” Twice.

The Century League folks first tried to get this proposal in place for the 2008-09 school year, then changed that to the 2010-11 school year. They did not consult with legal experts to see how the proposal would withstand legal challenges; CIF State legal counsel say that it likely would not hold up in court. And now they have a couple of glaring spelling errors for all to see at the Council meeting.

What kind of grade would such a report receive, if turned in by a student at a Century League school?

– Steve Fryer

From what I know, this is not some heavy-duty recruiting violation. It is a technicality tucked into the very long, legalistic Rule 207, regarding transfer eligibility, in the CIF-Southern Section Blue Book. I am certain the CIF-SS office thoroughly made sure the rule was violated. But I compare it to a car or truck without license plates on the front of the vehicle. That’s a violation, sure, but it’s not like going 55 mph in a school zone at 8 a.m.

The Loftus boys are good guys, from a good family. They and Orange Lutheran still can prove to the CIF-SS office that their transfer was not done solely for athletic reasons, although that won’t be easy.

 A strong point for them: the Loftus boys went to Salem Lutheran School from kindergarten through eighth grade, and Orange Lutheran, where so many of their K-8 friends are, thus is the best fit for them.

– Steve Fryer

By STEVE FRYER
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