First round played Friday, Nov. 21
Upper bracket: Campbell Hall at No. 1 St. Margaret's, Yucca Valley at Bishop Union, Ontario Christian at Maranatha, Big Bear at No. 4 Santa Paula.
Lower bracket: Kern Valley at No. 3 Aquinas, Brethren Christian at 29 Palms, Desert at Fillmore, Arrowhead Christian at No. 2 Brentwood.
First round played Friday, Nov. 21
Upper bracket: South Torrance at No. 1 Oaks Christian, Cathedral at Pioneer Valley, Bishop Montgomery at Harvard-Westlake; Morro Bay at No. 2 North Torrance.
Lower bracket: Cantwell SH at No. 3 St. Joseph of Santa Maria, El Segundo at Santa Clara, Carpinteria at Verbum Dei, Templeton at Serra.
First round played on Friday, Nov. 21
Upper bracket: Newbury Park at No. 1 St. Bonaventure, Pacifica at Paso Robles, Righetti at Saugus, Santa Barbara at No. 4 Thousand Oaks.
Lower bracket: Westlake at No. 3 Oxnard, Ventura at Valencia, Hart at Atascadero, Camarillo at No. 2 Moorpark.
It was unusual enough that Nordhoff High tried to convert on fourth down on every one of its possessions in Friday's 62-8 loss to Oaks Christian.
But it was even more unusual because of where those fourth-down attempts were coming -- usually deep in Ranger territory.
Here's a list of the fourth-down plays (correcting my story, Nordhoff was 3 of 11, not 3 of 12):
First quarter
4th and 2, Nordhoff 33: Parker Johnsen run for 1 yard. (Oaks scored in five plays)
4th and 18, Nordhoff 12: Drew Rodriguez pass intercepted by Brian Owusu, returned for touchdown.
4th and 13, Nordhoff 43: Incomplete pass. (Oaks did not score on ensuing possession.)
4th and 11, Nordhoff 28: First down on pass interference penalty.
Second quarter
4th and 18, Nordhoff 40: Incomplete pass. (Oaks did not score on ensuing possession.)
4th and 10, Nordhoff 23: Incomplete pass. (Oaks scored in three plays).
4th and 6, Nordhoff 24: First down on pass interference penalty.
Third quarter
4th and 7, Nordhoff 23: Incomplete pass. (Oaks scored in four plays.)
Fourth quarter
4th and 11, Nordhoff 18: Incomplete pass (Oaks scored in four plays.)
4th and 5, Oaks 43: First down on Rodriguez pass to Justin Burgess.
4th and 7, Oaks 16: Rodriguez sacked for 10-yard loss. (Oaks runs out clock and game)
A couple of other elements which contributed to the bizarre nature of the game: After Nordhoff scored its touchdown on a Johnsen run late in the fourth quarter, the entire team came off the bench to congratulate him. And trailing 62-8 with less than five minutes remaining, Nordhoff executed a successful onside kick, which led to the last of those fourth-down attempts.
An hour before Santa Paula's game with Grace Brethren, Cardinal fans had already packed the stands in anticipation of Friday night's game. It's been a few years since Santa Paula has had a chance to win an outright league title and it's evident by the buzz in the stands that fans and students are eager to see if their team can accomplish that goal. Regardless of what happens tonight, fans are excited about seeing their team compete in this year's CIF-SS playoffs.
The Ventura-Santa Barbara game has been moved to Saturday at 4 p.m. at Ventura High's Larrabee Stadium. It will be played before the Citrus Cup game between Ventura College and Moorpark College. Ventura High athletic director Dave Hess said Santa Barbara called and requested the game be moved because Santa Barbara's students were scattered because of the fire.
The St. Bonaventure game against San Marcos remains scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at Larrabee Stadium.
