The inaugural Southern Section flag football playoff seedings were released Saturday morning and a total of 144 teams qualified across five divisions for the single-elimination tournament. The first round begins Tuesday in Divisions 2-5 and Saturday in Division 1. Championship games in all divisions will be played Saturday at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange.
Seeded No. 1 in the 16-team Division 1 bracket is Orange Lutheran, which won its first 18 contests before suffering back-to-back Trinity League losses to Mater Dei and JSerra. The Lancers bounced back to beat Santa Margarita for the second time in their regular-season finale Oct. 10 and will host Eastvale Roosevelt (18-2) in the first round.
Coach Kristen Sherman’s Lancers have defeated every team they have played this fall — including a 54-6 rout of Roosevelt — led by sophomore quarterback Makena Cook, who has thrown for 5,470 yards and 80 touchdowns with only 10 interceptions. The Trinity League co-champions have outscored the opposition 702-179 and hold victories over eight of the teams in the Division 1 playoffs.
“We’ll try to continue to improve and we expect to keep working hard to get better throughout the playoffs,” Sherman said. “I don’t think we overlooked any of those teams we played and we’re not overlooking anyone in the playoffs either. Anyone that’s made D1 is a good football team.”
Newport Harbor enters the postseason on a 21-game winning streak after a convincing victory over rival Corona del Mar in the Battle by the Bay to go unbeaten in the Sunset League. The second-seeded Sailors (22-2) have won every game but one by two touchdowns or more since consecutive losses to Classical Academy and Orange Lutheran in August. They ended last season as the No. 1-ranked team in the country behind quarterback Maia Helmar, who is back as senior captain and had two touchdown passes in the 19-6 win against Corona del Mar to close out the league. Newport Harbor hosts Coastal Canyon League champion Camarillo (19-7) in the first round.
Sunset League runner-up Huntington Beach (19-7) and Trinity League co-champion JSerra (20-6) are the third and fourth seeds and open against Ambassador League champion Western Christian (24-3) and Freeway League winner Anaheim Canyon (16-2), respectively. Western Christian freshman Maya Estrada is among the national leaders in passing yardage with 5,878. Also in the Division 1 field is undefeated Lakewood St. Joseph (21-0), which hosts Corona del Mar in the first round. Riding the arm of Lexi Loya, (71 touchdowns and a 119.5 passer rating), the Jesters will try to prove they deserved a higher seed.
Three Channel League teams also made the top bracket. Winner San Marcos (14-3) travels to Santa Margarita, second-place Dos Pueblos (16-5) hosts South Coast League champion Aliso Niguel, and third-place Ventura — which is led by junior quarterback Ava Ortman, whose 101 scoring passes are the third most in the state — hosts Marmonte League champion Agoura in the first round.
Field size for the postseason will be 40 yards wide by 80 yards long with designated no-run zones five yards from each end zone and five yards from each line to gain. Games will consist of two 20-minute halves with a running clock until the final two minutes of each half. No blocking or moving screens are allowed and the offensive team may not throw more than one forward pass per play. Quarterbacks can run the ball once for every series of downs and players cannot leave their feet to avoid a flag from being pulled. Fumbles are dead when the ball hits the ground, but if caught in the air by either team it can be advanced. There are no kickoffs. On fourth down the offensive team must declare if it is punting or going for a first down, If the offensive team declares a “punt” the defensive team takes possession on its own 20. Players may not hurdle, spin or dive to avoid a flag from being pulled. Such infractions will result in a 10-yard penalty. Touchdowns are worth six points. Extra points will be tried from the five-yard line and two-point plays from the 10-yard line.
Moore League champion Long Beach Poly (17-8) is the top seed in the 32-team Division 2 draw and hosts Hacienda League champion Los Altos in its opener Tuesday. San Juan Hills (12-11), which was first in the Sea View League, is seeded second and takes on Oxnard in the first round. Seeded two through four are Palomares League champion Bonita (14-0), Crestview League co-champion Cypress (19-7) and Pacific Coast League winner Woodbridge (19-6).
Linfield Christian (18-7) is the top seed in Division 3, Rio Hondo League champion La Cañada (12-4) is the top seed in Division 4 and Del Rio League runner-up California (12-9) is No. 1 in Division 5.