Prep Review : With Only a Week Left, the Football Playoff Picture Is Far From Clear

High school football’s regular season is almost over. Time once again to find out which teams will get a chance to participate in that coveted second season, the playoffs. Three teams qualify from each league. With 1 regular-season game remaining, some teams are in, some out, and some are still on the bubble. Here’s a look at each league:

ANGELUS LEAGUE

The playoff picture here is clear--as mud. Four teams in this 5-team league--Bishop Amat, Mater Dei, St. Paul and Servite--are tied at 2-1. Things should straighten out this week, with Bishop Amat playing St. Paul and Mater Dei playing Servite. The only given is that Bishop Montgomery (0-4) will not make the playoffs.

After this week, 2 teams--barring any ties--will be 3-1, and 2 will be 2-2. First place will go to the team with a 3-1 record and the best record in head-to-head competition. That same criteria will be used between the 2-2 teams to determine third place.

St. Paul was ranked fourth in the Southern Section Division I before 10th-ranked Mater Dei upset the Swordsmen, 25-15, Thursday, so Mater Dei will win the league’s No. 1 spot if it can beat seventh-ranked Servite and St. Paul defeats Bishop Amat. But if the Monarchs win, and Bishop Amat beats St. Paul, Bishop Amat would be the top league representative because it defeated Mater Dei. If Servite beats Mater Dei, and Bishop Amat beats St. Paul, Servite would take first place, having beaten Bishop Amat earlier. If St. Paul beats Bishop Amat, it would be first if it tied with Servite, but second if it tied for the league title with Mater Dei.

CENTURY LEAGUE

Ah, simplicity. Santa Ana (4-0) has a lock on the league title and a playoff berth. The Saints should beat Santa Ana Valley (2-2), but even if they lose, they still take first. If the Saints lose, they would have the same record as the winner of the El Modena--Foothill game Friday. The Saints have beaten both teams. Foothill and El Modena are tied for second at 3-1, so Friday’s game will decide second and third place.

EMPIRE LEAGUE

Los Alamitos (4-0) is the league’s only undefeated team. The Griffins, the No. 2-ranked team in the Southern Section Division III, will be the league’s No. 1 representative, even if it somehow loses to Cypress (0-2-2). El Dorado (3-1) moved to second place with a victory over Katella (2-2) last week and is assured of being the league’s No. 2 representative. El Dorado cannot be No. 1 because it lost to Los Alamitos.

The battle is for the third spot. Katella plays Loara (1-2-1), with the winner gaining a playoff berth.

FREEWAY LEAGUE

La Habra (3-0-1) is assured of a playoff berth. If La Habra defeats Buena Park, which hasn’t won a league game in 5 years, the Highlanders win the league title for the fifth time in 6 years. If second-place Sunny Hills (3-1) defeats Troy (2-2) this week, Sunny Hills would be 4-1 and assured of second place. If Troy wins, the teams tie for second or third at 3-2 and Troy would go to the playoffs having defeated Sunny Hills.

The teams would be tied for third if Fullerton (2-1-1) defeats Sonora (1-3). That would put Fullerton (3-1-1) in second, a half-game ahead of Sunny Hills and Troy.

GARDEN GROVE LEAGUE

Pacifica (6-0), alone atop the league standings, meets La Quinta (4-2) in its last game of the regular season. If Pacifica is upset by Rancho Alamitos (1-5) and Kennedy (5-1) wins, the teams would tie for first at 6-1, but Pacifica would win be No. 1 because it defeated Kennedy.

Pacifica and Kennedy will make the playoffs. La Quinta, in third place, has a tough task ahead. The Aztecs must beat Pacifica to clinch the third playoff berth, or hope that fourth-place Los Amigos (3-2-1) loses to Bolsa Grande (2-4). If Los Amigos wins and La Quinta loses, Los Amigos moves into the third playoff berth.

ORANGE LEAGUE

Valencia (4-0), Western (3-1), and Anaheim (3-1) are all going to the playoffs. The only question is which team will occupy which place in the standings. The teams could even share the league title. If that happens, the standings would be determined by a coin flip.

Valencia and Western go head-to-head in the last game. If Western wins, both teams would be 4-1. Anaheim should defeat Savanna (0-4) and end the regular season at 4-1. Hence, the coin flip. Magnolia (1-3) is fourth and out of the playoff picture.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Woodbridge (4-0) and Trabuco Hills (3-1) play Friday for the No. 1 playoff spot. If Trabuco Hills loses, it would be tied with the winner of the Costa Mesa-Laguna Beach game at 3-2. Trabuco Hills goes as the No. 3 team if tied with Laguna Beach, the No. 2 team if tied with Costa Mesa. The loser of the Costa Mesa--Laguna Beach game is out of the playoffs.

SEA VIEW LEAGUE

OK, two’s company, three’s a crowd, but what is six? Complicated. No team is out of the playoff picture in the Sea View League and 5 of 6 teams have played to ties, further complicating matters.

Corona del Mar (2-0-2) apparently will go to the playoffs no matter what. A victory this week against Newport Harbor (2-2-0) would clinch the league title. If Corona del Mar loses and Saddleback (2-1-1) defeats Estancia (1-2-1), however, Saddleback moves into first and Corona del Mar takes second. If both Corona del Mar and Saddleback win, they finish first and second, respectively.

For the sake of sanity, let’s assume Corona del Mar defeats Newport Harbor . If Estancia beats Saddleback, and Tustin (1-2-1) beats University (1-2-1), Estancia, Tustin and Saddleback would be tied at 2-2-1. But Saddleback has lost to both Tustin and Estancia, so Saddleback would be out of the picture.

That leaves Tustin and Estancia, teams that played to a tie in the regular season. A coin toss would determine which teams finishes second and which one finishes third.

If Saddleback loses to Estancia and Tustin loses to University, Estancia would be second and Saddleback third in the league. If there is a tie? Ask your sister.

SOUTH COAST LEAGUE

Mission Viejo, 4-0 and ranked No. 1 in the Orange County Sportswriters’ Assn. poll, has a lock on the league title, regardless of what happens against Dana Hills this week. The only team with no hope for a playoff berth is last-place San Clemente (0-4). Irvine, Capistrano Valley, El Toro and Dana Hills are all tied for second at 2-2.

Dana Hills has to beat Mission Viejo to have any chance. If Capistrano Valley beats San Clemente, it would win a playoff berth along with the winner of the Irvine-El Toro game. Both winners would have 3-2 records. Capistrano Valley would place second because it defeated El Toro and Irvine this season. The loser of the Irvine-El Toro game does not go to the playoffs.

SUNSET LEAGUE

Fountain Valley, ranked second in the county, has clinched the league title. The Barons (4-0) would be the league’s No. 1 team even if they lose to Huntington Beach (1-3) this week. Edison and Westminster, both 3-1, also will make the playoff. They play each other Thursday to decide second and third place.

Notes

Esperanza High School’s streak of 13 consecutive appearances in the football playoffs is over. The Aztecs had the second-longest string in Orange County. Servite has qualified 16 consecutive years. . . . The Southern Section will announce playoff pairings in girls’ tennis, water polo and girls’ volleyball this afternoon. . . . Former La Habra High School football standout Chuck Weatherspoon, the only California player on the University of Houston football roster, has carried 79 times for 812 yards and 8 touchdowns this season. He is averaging 10.3 yards per carry. In Houston’s 66-15 victory over Texas Saturday, Weatherspoon rushed 11 times for 218 yards and scored on a 60-yard run. He also recovered a fumbled punt in the end zone for a touchdown.

Ron Suttle scored 4 goals, including his 100th this season, to lead Woodbridge past Trabuco Hills in overtime, 14-10, in a Pacific Coast League water polo match Wednesday. The victory puts the Warriors--in only their second varsity season of water polo--in third place in the league and guarantees them a spot in the 3-A playoffs.