Football: Serra League intrigue

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There’s still two more weeks of nonleague action for the five schools that make up the Serra League, and that’s good, because I am still unable to come up with even a guess as to which three teams will end up making the Pac-5 Division playoffs.

All five are ranked in The Times’ top 25. Loyola, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and Encino Crespi are 4-0. Alemany and Bishop Amat are 3-1.

Many people are speculating that Bishop Amat is likely to be one of the two schools not to make the playoffs. I don’t know what evidence has come forward to indicate that.

The simple fact is teams need to win at least two league games to earn a playoff spot, and that might not be enough if there’s a tie involved.

The coaches are terrific, the fans are loyal, the players are talented. It’s going to come down to matchups. There are teams with speed and athleticism, such as Crespi and Alemany. There are teams that execute, such as Loyola and Notre Dame. And there are teams that have athletes who love to perform under pressure, such as Bishop Amat.

So let’s see what transpires over the next two weeks, and then the real action begins. It’s going to be a wild, exciting time, with showdowns every week.

-- Eric Sondheimer