OCVarsity breaks down the Pac-5 Division playoff bracket:
Top four seeds: No. 1 Centennial of Corona; 2. St. John Bosco 3. Oaks Christian of Westlake Village 4. Serra of Gardena
Championship game: Dec. 5 at Angel Stadium
Last year’s champion: Centennial, def. St. John Bosco, 48-41
THE TEAMS
(listed in order of how they appear on the bracket)
Centennial of Corona (10-0): Big VIII League-champion Huskies’ average margin of victory is 44 points, including a 21-point win over Orange Lutheran.
Chaminade of West Hills (7-3): Eagles, at-large entrant from the Mission League, beat Pac-5 playoff teams St. Bonaventure, Loyola and fourth-seeded Serra; now takes on biggest challenge in road game at top-seeded Centennial.
St. Bonaventure of Ventura (7-3): Seraphs, who play host to Orange Lutheran, finished second in four-team Marmonte League, beat Westlake and Moorpark in final two weeks of regular season.
Orange Lutheran (5-5): Lancers, who play at St. Bonaventure lost their final two regular-season games, by 19 points to St. John Bosco and by five to JSerra; winning the three-way coin flip against JSerra and Servite gave the Lancers another chance.
Mater Dei (8-2): Monarchs, who finished second in the Trinity League and play host to Lakewood, regained momentum last week with 45-14 win over Santa Margarita.
Lakewood (4-6): Lancers, Moore League’s No. 2 team and Mater Dei’s first-round opponent, are coached by Jimmy Nolan who played at Mater Dei in the ‘90s, later coached at Laguna Beach.
Serra of Gardena (8-2): The Mission League co-champion (with Bishop Amat) Cavaliers, are led by senior running back Khalil Tate, who committed to Arizona and is averating 178 rushing yards a game and 10 yards a carry.
Westlake (7-3): At-large team from the Marmonte League beat Santa Margarita, 21-14, in September; had won six in a row before back-to-back, season-ending losses to St. Bonaventure and Oaks Christian and now plays fourth-seeded Serra.
Oaks Christian (10-0): Marmonte League champion Lions are averaging 50 points a game with an average margin of victory of 33 points; running back Gil’Scott Jackson is averaging 143 yards a game and 10 yards a carry and quarterback Matt Corrall has torwn for 26 touchdowns,
Long Beach Jordan (3-7): The Panthers, the No. 3 team from the Moore League and Oak Christian’s first-round opponent, goes into the playoffs off of back-to-back losses by 44 points to Long Beach Poly and Lakewood by 31.
Bishop Amat of La Puente (8-2): Lancers shared Mission League championship with Serra, in nonleague games beat Servite by 18 points and lost to Mater Dei by three.
Norco (8-2): Cougars, No. 2 team from the Big VIII league, had won six in a row before 67-20 loss to league-champion Centennial in regular-season finales.
Long Beach Wilson (9-1): The Bruins became the No. 1 playoff representative from the Moore League after Long Beach Poly forfeited three league wins.
Loyola of Los Angeles (8-2): Cubs, the No. 3 team from the Mission League, are led by junior running back Drake Beasley who is averaging 156 rushing yards a game and 7 yards a carry.
St. John Bosco (10-0): Trinity League-champion Braves, outstanding in every part of the game, are averaging 59 points a game and are coming off of a 70-7 win over Servite.
Corona (6-4): Cougars, No. 3 team from the Big VIII league, are led by quarterback Jake Sparks, averaging 231 passing yards a game with 18 touchdowns.
