Fryer breaks down Week 9's impact

Some teams clinched playoff berths. Some even clinched league championships. Some teams were eliminated from playoff contention.

But there remain all sorts of scenarios in most leagues. Only games next week, the final week of the regular season, will settle this.

The CIF-Southern Section will release its playoff seedings and first-round pairings in all 13 11-man football divisions on Nov. 16.

To qualify for the playoffs, a team needs to finish second or higher in a four-team league, third or higher in a five- or six-team league, and fourth or higher in seven- and eight team leagues.

Teams that don’t receive automatic playoff berths can qualify for a division’s at-large berth if the teams finish .500 or better. The only county division without an at-large berth is the Southern, which has a membership composed of the Garden Grove, Golden West, Orange Coast, Pacific Coast and Suburban leagues.

A quick look at the playoff picture, without going through the dozens of possibilities (which are covered in Carlos Arias' detailed breakdown of each teams' playoff chances):

Academy League- St. Margaret’s is in. Shocked, aren’t you? Brethren Christian and Sage Hill are in contention for the league’s other playoff berth.

Century League- Only Brea Olinda and El Modena have been eliminated. Tustin clinches a playoff berth if it beats El Modena today. Canyon, El Dorado and Villa Park are the other playoff candidates.

Empire League- Cypress has clinched at least a share of the league championship. Valencia and Pacifica clinched the league’s other two playoff berths.

Freeway League- La Habra clinched at a share of the league championship. Fullerton, Sunny Hills and Troy are vying for the other two playoff berths.

Garden Grove League- Los Amigos is at least a league co-champion. Garden Grove and Santiago clinched the other two playoff berths.

Golden West League- Westminster clinched at least a share of the league title. Santa Ana, Segerstrom and Orange are battling for the other two playoff berths.

Orange League- Western clinched at share of the league championship. Santa Ana Valley, Magnolia and Anaheim are in the running for the remaining two playoff berths.

Orange Coast League- Costa Mesa and Laguna Beach are going to the playoffs. Their game next week determines the league champion. The third spot is up for grabs.

Olympic League- Whittier Christian, the county’s only team in this group, is a playoff team if it beats Village Christian of Sun Valley next week.

Pacific Coast League- Laguna Hills clinched the league championship. Corona del Mar has clinched a playoff berth. The final spot will be taken by either Beckman, Irvine or University.

San Joaquin League- Saddleback Valley Christian is the county’s only team that clinched sole possession of a league title. Fairmont Prep would clinch a playoff berth by beating Animo Leadership of Inglewood today.

Sea View League- Foothill has clinched a share of the league championship. Trabuco Hills has secured a playoff berth. Huntington Beach and El Toro, with Woodbridge a darkhorse, are competing for the final berth.

South Coast League- Tesoro has clinched a share of the league title, and Mission Viejo clinched a playoff berth. San Clemente takes the third and final berth if it beats winless Aliso Niguel next week.

Sunset League- A very complicated league, because five teams are within one game of each other, and there are so many possibilities hanging on next week’s results.

Trinity League - Mater Dei has clinched a share of the league championship. Servite, Orange Lutheran and St. John Bosco are in the running for the second and third playoff berths. Next week’s Servite-Bosco and Lutheran-Mater Dei games are huge.

And so are so many other games next week. The final week of the regular season always is the most dramatic one of any football season. That will be the case again, this season.

Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com