CIF-SS playoff rules send undefeated Orange and Huntington Beach teams on the road
Despite perfect regular-season records, rating systems force both teams to play away in the first round, while last-place La Habra hosts.
By Lucas Sheridan ·
Two Orange County football teams entered the CIF Southern Section playoffs with perfect 10-0 records and no home games.
The section’s bracketing system, which relies on ratings from HSratings.com, places Huntington Beach and Orange in Division 2. Under current rules, the team with the higher rating in a division hosts the first-round match. Because both teams finished near the bottom of their division’s seedings, they must travel for their opening games.
Orange, ranked No. 16 in Division 2, faces Chaparral of Temecula, the division’s No. 1 seed. Huntington Beach, seeded No. 14, plays at Inglewood, the No. 3 team. Both opponents are located outside the immediate local area, requiring road trips for teams that dominated their respective leagues during the regular season.
The rating system also affected La Habra, which finished 0-5 in the Bravo League and placed last. La Habra is seeded No. 6 in Division 4, which grants it a home game against Etiwanda in the first round. This outcome contrasts sharply with the schedules of the undefeated teams in the county.
Robert Pedroza, the Orange head coach, acknowledged the difficulty of the situation. “Does it (stink) not getting a home game?,” he said. “Yeah, it does. But being in Division 2 is a huge honor for our program.”
The composition of Division 1 drew additional scrutiny this week. CIF-SS assistant commissioner Joe Hoggatt decided to limit the top division to eight teams after weighing the impact on other brackets. The top eight teams in the final HSratings.com rankings secured spots in that group. Santa Margarita, the No. 1 team, will host San Clemente in the quarterfinals on Nov. 13.
At-large selections for Division 1 also raised questions among local coaches. Servite and JSerra, both Trinity League teams with 4-6 records, were eligible for at-large berths but were passed over. The three available spots went to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, Chaminade, and Tustin, all with records of .500 or better. Local pollsters noted that Tustin, ranked No. 16 in the county, was selected over higher-ranked teams from the same region.
The final brackets released Sunday reflect these mechanical decisions. The system prioritized specific rating thresholds and record minimums over league standing or local polling. The result is a field where undefeated league champions must travel, while a team that lost all five league games plays in front of its own fans.
