Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now
Dan Albano’s first reactions to the opening round of the CIF-SS football playoffs:
And then there was one: Orange County schools went a combined 1-6 in Division 2 with only San Juan Hills advancing with a 13-10 victory against Tustin.
Orange represented itself well in a 56-35 loss at top-seeded Chaparral. The Panthers (10-1) were young, explosive and are worth keeping close tabs on.
Senior-heavy Tustin, Crean Lutheran and Huntington Beach will look different next season.
Another nail-biter for Irvine: Has any Orange County football team played more one-point games than Irvine? The Vaqueros lost at Fillmore 20-19 in Division 8 for their fourth game decided by one point.
Irvine (6-5) lost to Segerstrom 21-20 in the Foxtrot League and edged Beckman 28-27 and El Toro 7-6.
Top-seeded Segerstrom will play at Fillmore in the quarterfinals.
Upset of the night: Ocean View upset top-seeded Lawndale 34-28 in Division 9 for its 10th consecutive victory. Coach Daniel Hernandez has done an outstanding job for the Sigma League champion.
The only team to beat Ocean View? Fountain Valley. The Barons beat La Salle 41-21 in Division 9.
Ocean View and Fountain Valley could meet in the semifinals.
Northwood makes most of opportunity: The Timberwolves received an at-large berth in Division 9 after a forfeit by Pacifica boosted their overall record to the critical .500 threshold. On Friday, Northwood edged host Liberty 16-15 to reach the quarterfinals.
University ends another drought: University ended the longest active playoff drought in Orange County by making the playoffs for the first time since 2015. On Friday, the Trojans beat Twentynine Palms 50-33 in Division 13 for their first playoff win since 2007.