LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The CIF Southern Section’s eight-team Open Division playoff bracket was unveiled Saturday at the section’s office in Los Alamitos.
During the first four seasons of the Open Division, a 16-team bracket was employed.
The change to an eight-team field was made, in very large part, to increase the strength of Division I (which was strengthened even more so in that it was consolidated from I-AA and I-A brackets).
Are you curious how the 2018 Open field might have presented itself in its previous 16-team parameter?
OK, here you go . . .
Here is a 16-team bracket I assembled, with the eight teams chosen by the Open Division Committee (caveat: I’ve been a member from Day 1) joined by the eight teams I would have included to fill out the bracket.
I’ve kept the first four seeds that we selected Saturday morning but, because of multiple teams from three leagues (three each from the Trinity and Baseline, and two from the Mission).
A “true seeded bracket” teams from the same league can’t be allowed to meet until the semifinals, in case of three same-league entries, or in the final with two teams from the same league in the field.
Listed below this “mock bracket” are the four squads I would have had as my top seed in Division I in this scenario:
Mock Open Division 16-team Bracket
Upper Bracket
No. 1 Bishop Montgomery (25-0) vs. Corona Centennial (19-10)
St. John Bosco (21-6) vs. Crespi (25-2)
Sierra Canyon (21-3) vs. Damien (22-6)
No. 4 Rancho Christian (26-2) vs. Long Beach Poly (19-7)
Lower Bracket
No. 3 Mater Dei (20-6) vs. Harvard-Westlake (21-5)
Oak Park (20-6) vs. Chino Hills (16-11)
Santa Margarita (20-6) vs. Pasadena (20-6)
No. 2 Etiwanda (27-1) vs. Cajon (21-6)
Mock Top 4 Division I seeds
- JSerra; 2. Eastvale Roosevelt; 3. Alemany; 4. JW North.
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