Look out for No. 2

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Never mind No. 1 Culver City.

As good as the Centaurs (10-0) have been so far, Southern Section Western Division playoff teams should know they need to watch out for second-seeded Dominguez, too.

The Dons (8-2) have won the division championship each of the last two seasons and were the runners-up in 2004. In my opinion, they are being undersold as the the No. 2 team in the playoff draw released by the section office this weekend.

That’s not to say Dominguez is complaining, just me.

Apparently, the Dons are fine with that -- for now.

‘The way I look at it, you’re the champion until somebody beats you,’ Dominguez co-Coach Keith Donerson said. ‘It’s whoever’s standing at the end that matters. We’re ready, we’re healthy, and we’re peaking at the right time.’

That’s bad news for the rest of the division. But it’s also true.

The Dons’ only losses have been to Corona Centennial -- ranked No. 1 in the Southland by The Times, No. 3 in the state and No. 21 nationally by USA Today -- during Zero Week, and to Redlands East Valley, ranked eighth by The Times and sixth in the state, in their fourth game of the season.

Since then, Dominguez, ranked No. 15 by The Times, has averaged nearly 42 points a game while allowing just over 13.

And besides, the Dons have plenty of motivation to win the title, or to, at least, get to the final again.

‘If we don’t get to the championship game, we’re going to be in trouble,’ Donerson said with a laugh. ‘None of the kids at our school has ever been here when we weren’t in it.’

The Dons will start the playoffs against an opponent, Highland (5-5), that they defeated, 33-15, in the quarterfinals last season.

-- Lauren Peterson