[Photo] Temecula Valley WR Domenic Paris (13) catches a pass during the Golden Bears Week Ten win over Great Oak. Valley News/Rob Davis Photography
— Week 10 has come and gone for area high school football teams, and there was a lot of moving and shaking going on for the postseason. In a must-win matchup, Temecula Valley defeated crosstown rival Great Oak 17-10 in their Big West Conference-Lower Division showdown. With the win, combined with Murrieta Mesa’s victory over King, the Golden Bears (6-4, 3-2) clinched an automatic berth in the CIF Southern Section playoffs, Despite the loss, Great Oak (6-4, 4-1) will share the Big West Conference-Lower Division title with Murrieta Mesa. Both teams have now won their first-ever league championship. Neither team had ever finished in the top spot of the Southwestern League.
The Centennial Huskies claimed their second consecutive league championship with a 42-0 victory over Norco, giving them claim to the first-ever title in the newly created Big West Conference-Upper Division. The Ivy League was fun to sort out, especially with four teams tied for second place. When the dust settled, Orange Vista was the first to four wins, beating Rancho Verde to claim the league title.
Also, let us not forget about the 8-man Majestic League and the two local programs meeting up this past week with a league title on the line. Both Cornerstone Christian and Cal. Lutheran have won three straight games to get to this final matchup, which went the way of Cornerstone.
As for the Week 10 high school football results, and remaining schedules for games involving area teams, view the schedule below.
THURSDAY, OCT. 27
- Big West Conference-Upper Division
– Centennial (9-1, 5-0) – 42, Norco (6-4, 3-2) – 0
– Chaparral (6-4, 4-1) – 26, Roosevelt (5-5, 0-5) – 14
– Murrieta Valley (6-4, 2-3) – 49, Vista Murrieta (5-5, 1-4) – 32
- Big West Conference-Lower Division
– Temecula Valley (6-4, 3-2) – 17, Great Oak (6-4, 4-1) – 10
– Murrieta Mesa (6-4, 4-1) – 49, King (5-5, 2-3) – 19
- Inland Valley League
– Moreno Valley (7-3, 3-1) – 38, Rancho Christian (4-6, 2-3) – 22
- Mountain Pass League
– Liberty (9-1, 4-1) – 42, Tahquitz (7-3, 3-2) – 41
– *San Jacinto (8-2, 5-0) – 62, Perris (6-4, 1-4) – 0
FRIDAY, OCT. 28
- Cottonwood League
– Hamilton (1-8, 1-4) – 40, Vasquez (0-9, 0-5) – 22
– Santa Rosa Academy (9-1, 4-1) – 34, Whittier Christian (6-4, 3-2) – 17
- Inland Valley League
– *Hemet (8-2, 4-0) – 41, Valley View (1-9, 1-3) – 8
- Ivy League
Orange Vista (9-1, 4-1) – 50, Rancho Verde (2-9, 2-3) – 14
Elsinore (7-3, 3-2) – 17, Temescal Canyon (3-7, 2-3) – 9
North (4-6, 3-2) – 49, Heritage (0-10, 0-5) – 28
- Majestic League
– Cornerstone Christian (4-5, 4-0) – 53, Cal Lutheran (5-4, 3-1) – 38
- Manzanita League
– *California Military Institute (2-6, 2-4) – 30, San Jacinto Valley Academy (0-8, 0-5) – 29
– St. Jeanne de Lestonnac (6-2, 5-1) – 32, Silver Valley (4-6, 3-3) – 27
– *Nuview Bridge (3-6, 3-3) – 36, Webb (2-5, 2-4) – 22
- Mesquite League
– Linfield Christian (5-5, 4-1) – 62, Riverside Prep (3-7, 1-4) – 6
- Mountain Pass League
– *West Valley (7-3, 2-3) – 47, Citrus Hill (0-9, 0-4) – 0
Sunbelt League
– Paloma Valley (8-2, 3-0) – 24, Lakeside (3-7, 0-3) – 21
As for the postseason brackets, those were released Sunday, Oct. 30, at www.cifss.org, matching 218 teams in 14 divisional brackets. The result? Take everything you know about the CIF Southern section playoffs and throw it out the window because apparently a team does not need a winning league record anymore to make it to the postseason. A new power ranking has taken over, which started last year, mimicking the San Diego section format. The feedback from coaches is 50/50, as it seems like now the CIF Southern Section offices handed out playoff spots like they were giving out Halloween candy.
For the Valley News Sports Department, insert foot in mouth, we reported last week about a few local teams not making the playoffs. In the past, a team used to have to be in the top 3 of their league standings in order to make it to the playoffs. This year, even a single league win, and a mediocre overall record could be enough, based off of last year’s rankings. This is the second year of competitive equity-based individual school placement based on ratings from the CalPreps website.
Weekly preliminary-round games leading to the divisional championship contests November 25-26 will get underway with first-round contests Friday, Nov. 4. Game times are 7 p.m., however contests may start at another time if mutually agreed upon by both competing schools and approved by the CIF-SS office.
The No. 1-seeded teams include Mater Dei, Serra, Corona del Mar, Camarillo, Villa Park, San Juan Hills, Mayfair, Brentwood, La Quinta/La Quinta, Santa Ana, Capistrano Valley Christian, Lancaster, Bishop Montgomery and Bolsa Grande. How many teams would be included in the Division 1 field was the biggest question throughout the weekend. The decision to have a field of 10 teams in the top division changed the fortunes for a few Inland teams, including Chaparral, who benefited from the decision. Instead of eight teams, like last season, the Pumas are the No. 8 seed in Division 3 and host Thousand Oaks in Friday’s first round. The Pumas would have been the No. 10 seed and started on the road had the Division 1 field been eight teams.
The general consensus that other area media outlets have run into is that the decision takes away a game from a handful of teams, seemingly punishing successful teams while other teams ranked lower are being rewarded. In any case, no matter what the feelings are, first-round games for 11-man teams will be played Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 3-5, 7 p.m. Dates, times and locations are subject to change.
- DIVISION 1
– No local teams
- DIVISION 2
First round
– Murrieta Valley at Bishop Amat
- DIVISION 3
First round
– Thousand Oaks at Chaparral
– Vista Murrieta at Bishop Diego
- DIVISION 4
First round
– *Orange Vista at Cathedral
- DIVISION 5
First round
– Murrieta Mesa at Villa Park
– Temecula Valley at Alemany
– Great Oak at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame
DIVISION 6
First round
– *San Jacinto at Trabuco Hills
DIVISION 7
First round
– Paloma Valley at Palm Springs
DIVISION 8
First round
– *Rancho Verde at Brentwood
– Liberty at Elsinore
– *Hemet at Lakewood
- DIVISION 9
First round
– Burbank Burroughs at Tahquitz
- DIVISION 10
– No local teams
- DIVISION 11
– No local teams
- DIVISION 12
First round
– Linfield Christian at Hueneme
- DIVISION 13
First round
– Santa Rosa Academy at Maranatha
- DIVISION 14
First round
– Temecula Prep at Whittier Christian
– St. Jeanne de Lestonnac at St. Monica
*For the 2022-2023 prep sports season, the Valley News Sports Department will have photographers and game reports for schools and sports inside a limited coverage area due to print space and manpower. Those schools include Great Oak, Temecula Valley, Chaparral, Murrieta Valley, Murrieta Mesa, Vista Murrieta, Linfield Christian, Rancho Christian, Elsinore, Paloma Valley, Liberty, St. Jeanne de Lestonnac, Heritage, Temecula Prep, Hamilton (Anza), Cornerstone Christian, Temescal Canyon, Lakeside and the River Springs Charter Schools (no football programs). Scores and schedules may be posted for other area schools, but full coverage cannot be guaranteed.
All stats, schedules, photos, and scores are supplied by local high school athletic directors, MaxPreps, CIF-SS offices, contributing writers/photographers and countless fans of the games via social media. To submit any additions or corrections to the schedule or stats, please email sports@reedermedia.com.
JP Raineri can be reached by email at jp@reedermedia.com.
