65th-rated Monarchs open vs. winless foe

By Nick Pellegrino
Updated: November 8, 2024

2024 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL
CIF-San Diego Section CHampionships

By Nick Pellegrino
ECS Senior writer

FALLBROOK 0 The 2019-20 season — the year before COFID-19 shut down or delayed many sports — was abything but a benchmark for the football teams at Fallberook and Monte Vista high schools.

Both ballcubs posted winless campaigns, with little chance for immediate improvement because of the pandemic.

Five years later, Monte Vista finally turned the corner and posted a 5-5 record, finishing in the middle of the Grossmont Valley League standings.

Fallbrook? The Warriors posted another mark of 0-10.

Still, these two teams will meet in Friday’s (Nov. 7) opening round of the CIF-SAan Diego Section champuonships in a wild Division 5 pairing.

Following a mandate from a CIF coaches committee, all section teams are grouped in a single, giant division, with the top four schools in Open Division play, followed by 12 teams in Division I, a dozen more in Division 2, etc., until 64 teams covering six brackets is completed — a total of 64 teams.

Unfortunately for Monte Vista, the Monarchs finished 65th via a new computer formula utilzing the power ratings from CalPreps.com. Why other serivces like CalHiSports or MaxPreps were ignored was not disclosed by local CIF officials.

Only one difference: Rancho Buena Vista (2-8) elected not to participate in postseason play, so many schools move up one notch.

Thus, Monte Vista was elevated to No. 64, gaining a postseason invitation.

But there’s a rub: three schools that went 0-10 this season are also among the Top 64, gaining playoff berths, too.

The trio includes traditional powers St. Augustine, Mira Mesa.. and winless Fallbrook.

Nevertheless, Monte ista will travel to North County to battle the 5th-seeded Warriors on Friday’s (Nov. 7) Division 5 first-round contest.

It’s worse than it sounds.

Not only did Fallbrook gain a hpme game, so did St. Augustine (hosting La Jolla Country Day at Mesa College) and Mira Mesa (entertaining Sweetwater).

In the 20th Century (23 previous seasons), only two 0-10 clubs gained playoff spots: San Marcos (2006) and Bonita Vista (2017).

(Note: Orange Glen went 0-11 last season, but the losses were the result of forfeits.)

Predictably, both lost.

Can Monte Vista become the first since the 20th Cenutry (lareger schools, not 8-man or schools in the back country) to win on the rosd against a winless opponent?

Stay tuned.

The future?

As for the CIF to allow the coaches committee to change the rules without question, perhaps management needs to overhaul the enitre system. Instead of reinventing the wheel, following systems in other CIF sections (or states) would be advisable.