Fryer on football: Flips add twist to postseason
Winning coin flips can be as important as winning a game.
Here is why: When two teams meet after the first round of the playoffs, the team with the fewest number of home playoff games at that point of the playoffs is the home team. If they have played the same number of home playoff games, then a coin flip determines the home team.
So, Santa Margarita losing the coin flip to Long Beach Poly that determined the home game in that Pac-5 second-round game was important – how important, we won't know, of course, until around 10 p.m. on Friday.
El Toro won a coin flip to get a second-round home game Friday against Yorba Linda in the Southwest Division. Brea Olinda won a clip to get the home game Friday against La Habra, eliminating the significant home-field advantage La Habra has when it plays at its on-campus stadium.
FLYING WITH LO
Whether or not it should be classified as an upset is worthy of debate. Either way, Huntington Beach's 31-21 victory over Loyola of Los Angeles this past Friday was the biggest victory in the school's football program in decades.
That it was on a long road trip, to Los Angeles Valley College in Van Nuys, makes it even more impressive.
Huntington Beach football has made a steady climb since Eric Lo became coach there in 2007, even when the Oilers were moved up from the Sea View to the Sunset League a couple of years ago.
Last season, the Oilers missed the playoffs by one game. This season, Huntington Beach has risen to the county top 10 and to the second round of the Pac-5 Division. Lo is a leading candidate for county coach of the year.
GAME OF THE WEEK
It is the second round, so of course there are some great games out there.
The best of the bunch looks like Santa Margarita vs. Long Beach Poly, a Pac-5 game Friday at 7 p.m. at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. Both are ranked in the California top 25 by calhisports.com, with Long Beach Poly at No. 9 and Santa Margarita at No. 20.
Poly again is loaded with college prospects – five Jackrabbits have committed to Arizona State alone – and that is a 10-1 team, too, which has lost only to Mission Viejo.
Santa Margarita (9-2) has a couple of future collegians like USC-bound lineman Max Tuerk, but many of the Eagles' top players are juniors. It should be a splendid game.
BEST LEAGUES
Which leagues did best in the first round of the playoffs?
The Pacific Coast, South Coast and Trinity League went undefeated in the first round, at 3-0 each. The Century and Empire leagues went 3-1.
Only one county league went without a first-round playoff victory, the Orange League, which was 0-3.
