Prep Rally: High school football playoff pairings are here

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. The playoff pairings for football have been released. The playoffs start this week.

Let the drama begin

Los Alamitos quarterback Malachi Nelson rolls away from Santa Margarita defender.

(Craig Weston)

The Southern Section released its 14 football playoff divisions on Sunday morning. While the drama was focused on how many teams would make Division 1 (10 were selected), there’s probably little drama on which teams will make the Nov. 25 final at the Rose Bowl. That’s because Mater Dei (10-0) and St. John Bosco (9-1) have been dominant all season.

Here’s the link to complete pairings.

There is excitement in other divisions. Division 2 is loaded with four Mission League teams, including No. 1 Gardena Serra, but the best opener has Warren playing at Sierra Canyon. All six Mission teams made the playoffs and get to host openers.

In Division 3, 10-0 Charter Oak is playing at 10-0 Yorba Linda. When have two 10-0 teams ever played in a playoff opener? This is the result of the Southern Section playoff format in its second year that waits until all games are finished to place teams in divisions based on CalPreps power rankings.

Next week, Los Alamitos will play Long Beach Poly and Mission Viejo will take on Corona Centennial in the Division 1 openers that are almost like a semifinal game for public schools. The winners will likely play Mater Dei and St. John Bosco, respectively.

The City Section playoffs get under way this week in Division I, II and III. San Pedro (10-0) received the top seed for the Open Division. Here’s the link for City Section pairings.

Football rewind

San Pedro finished unbeaten for the first time in the regular season since 2011 by grinding out a 14-7 victory over rival Banning to go to 10-0. Here’s the report.

Venice routed Palisades to win the Western League title. Here’s the report.

Delon Thompson rushed for 230 yards to lead St. Bonaventure past Oaks Christian to win the Marmonte League title. Here’s the report.

Jaden Rattay of Los Angeles Lincoln finished the regular season with seven interceptions.

Here’s the final top 25 regular-season rankings by The Times.

Here’s the final regular-season rankings by CalPreps for the Southern Section.

Jazz and football

Harvard-Westlake 280-pound lineman Kai Faucher is also a baritone saxophone player. He’s headed to Brown.

(Faucher family)

Kai Faucher, 6 feet 6 and 280 pounds, is pulling off the rarest of doubles. On Friday nights, he’s a standout offensive and defensive lineman for Harvard-Westlake. Three or four times a year, he’s also playing baritone saxophone at school concerts.

“Kai stands out in any crowd,” said Terry Barnum, head of athletics at Harvard-Westlake. “He looks like the other students, just three times bigger. We order an extra big chair for him.”

Committed to Brown for football, Faucher has made jazz part of his life since his seventh-grade band teacher suggested he switch from symphony to jazz because “you’re too good.”

“It was more improvisational nature than classical music, so I got into it playing various acts,” he said. “I fell in love with music.”

As much as five hours a week, he’ll practice his music at home in preparation for concerts, where he joins 19 other band members as the solo saxophone player. He’s prepping for a December concert. The discipline learned from football helps with music, such as staying focused in keeping perfect time when he’s about to enter with his saxophone.

Here’s his story.

History is made

Football officials Kim Bly, LaQuica Hawkins, Crystal Nichols, Zina Jones and Connie Wells pose for a photo Friday night.

(Nick Koza)

As the shrimp fried rice arrived at their table Wednesday, they bowed their heads, clasping their hands as Crystal Nichols began a prayer.

She said her blessings for the food, for the gathering of five women who would make history in black-and-white-striped uniforms on the football field Friday night.

There was Connie Wells, wearing a blazer, the voice of reason. There was LaQuica Hawkins, wearing all black, the stoic umpire. Zina Jones and Kim Bly, both authoritative yet calm, hadn’t yet arrived. And there was Nichols, sporting bright pink nails and a mixed-red dress and take-charge white hat.

The first all-female crew — and all Black women — to ever officiate a City Section football game.

“That we will be blessed on that football field, that we will show the universe that we have good karma and good spirit to make this happen,” Nichols continued in prayer. “And we’re going to be the Fabulous Five from this point on.”

Here’s their story.

Hollywood story

Senior quarterback Aldo Infante never played football before this season. He has led Hollywood to a playoff spot. Hollywood was 0-8 last season.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Aldo Infante looks up from the Hollywood High football field and sees history: The Roosevelt Hotel, the El Capitan Theatre, the Hollywood sign, the school‘s auditorium.

“I know this is where everyone wants to come,” he said. “People come for opportunities. A lot of superstars, actors, comedians, came here and accomplished their dreams.”

Infante has lived in Hollywood most of his life and is starring in a sports fable that’s even more far-fetched than Eli Manning’s portrayal of the mythical Chad Powers.

Somehow, some way, in his senior year of high school, with no previous experience playing any team sport, Infante, at quarterback, led Hollywood to a 5-4 record. Last season, the Sheiks went 0-8.

How someone 6 feet 2 and 205 pounds went unnoticed walking around campus and wasn’t recruited to play any sport until he showed up for football tryouts at a park last summer is simply not believable. But it happened.

Here’s his amazing story.

Honoring brother

Hollywood linebacker Steven Leon.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Hollywood High’s football team has gone from winless in 2021 to playoff bound with five victories in 2022, and one of the key players has been linebacker Steven Leon, a team captain who has overcome a family tragedy that tested his beliefs.

In May 2021, two gunmen opened fire during a Mother’s Day party, killing Leon’s 29-year-old brother, Alfonso Leon Jr., and wounding three others.

“He taught me everything about football,” Leon said. “He wasn’t here to see me play.”

Every game, Leon thinks of his brother.

When Leon was playing last season and the Sheiks went 0-8, quitting was never considered. He kept fighting and honoring his brother. Now the Sheiks, under first-year coach Alastair Jones, went 5-4.

He’s having fun again, and football has helped him move forward with his life.

Tennis

Westlake doubles teams swept Marmonte League tourney: Ariana Liu and Allison Lian and Alex Marco and Danica Backes-Jedzejek.

(Westlake)

Westlake, ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section in girls’ tennis, advanced both of its doubles teams to the individual competition after they swept the Marmonte League tournament.

The team of Ariana Liu and Allison Lian won the tournament. Teammates Alex Marco and Danica Backes-Jedzejek were runner-up.

Palisades won its 29th City Section girls’ tennis championship. Here’s the report.

Golf

The Southern Section girls’ team championships in golf will take place Monday and Tuesday around the Southland.

Division 1 is at the Huntington Club on Monday, Division 3 at Los Serranos and Division 4 at El Prado. Division 2 is Tuesday at Soule Park.

The individual championship will take place Thursday at Western Hills Country Club.

Girls’ volleyball

The Mira Costa girls’ volleyball team celebrates their five-set win over Redondo Union on Sept. 27, 2022.

(Luca Evans / Los Angeles Times)

The tradition started at the very beginning of the season, warming up in Hawaii, as Mira Costa coach Cam Green looked up from the bench.

Out of the blue, over the loudspeakers, Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” started blasting. And in a high-pressure situation, Green saw his team start singing, laughing and dancing.

“I thought, ‘We’re going to win this match,’ ” Green said.

The Mustangs did, beating Sierra Canyon to win the Ann Kang Invitational, never looking back in making “About Damn Time” the theme of their season. They’ve played it after every win since, and there have been quite a few — 36, to be exact, after a 3-2 (25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 22-25, 15-11) victory over Mater Dei in the last round of pool play Saturday night to clinch a berth in the Southern Section Division 1 finals.

Funny how life works. The team Mira Costa will play for the title? Sierra Canyon, where “It’s About Damn Time” first began. It will be Saturday at Cerritos College.

Here’s the finals schedule for the Southern Section.

The City Section finals will take place Friday at Cal State Northridge. The semifinals are Tuesday. Here’s the link to the schedule.

Notes . . .

Basketball player Jack Turner of St. John Bosco has committed to Loyola University in Chicago. . . .

Bella Adishian of Harvard-Westlake has committed to Cal for women’s beach volleyball. . . .

Madi Bogan of Orange Lutheran has committed to Westmont for women’s basketball. . . .

El Camino Real pitcher Tyler Sileo has committed to George Fox University. . . .

JSerra is seeded No. 1 for the Southern Section water polo playoffs. Here’s the link to pairings. . . .

Long jumper Sade Falese of Mayfair has committed to Cornell for women’s track.

From the archives: Tetairoa McMillan

Servite receiver Tetairoa McMillan celebrates with teammate Josiah Laban after scoring a touchdown against Bishop Amat on Sept. 9.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Last season’s top wide receiver in Southern California, Tetairoa McMillan, is already making an impact during his freshman season at Arizona.

The former Servite star has 31 receptions for 532 yards and six touchdowns in eight games.

McMillan helped Servite reach the Division 1 final as a senior. He’s been destined for greatness.

Here’s a story from 2021 about McMillan’s talent level. Here’s a story from 2019.

Recommendations

From the Washington Post, a story on the difficulty in hiring sports officials.

From Football Scoop, a story on clarifications from NCAA on schools dealing with NIL deals.

From the San Jose Mercury News, a story on a high school football coach and athletic director being suspended for two games after beating a team 84-0.

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