IE Varsity’s previews of top CIF Southern Section football playoff openers
There are 48 CIF Southern Section football playoff openers involving Inland teams this week.
Nine of those games are showdowns between area teams. Here is a closer look at each of the those games.
FRIDAY'
DIVISION 2
No. 16 Rancho Cucamonga (6-4) at No. 1 Murrieta Valley (8-2), 7 p.m.
IE Varsity info: This marks the fourth meeting between these programs over the past two seasons. Rancho Cucamonga won last year's season opener (29-27), but Murrieta Valley avenged the loss in the Division 2 quarterfinals (53-52, 2 OT) and won this year's opener (35-19). Rancho Cucamonga finished third in the Baseline League. Jacob Chambers has passed for 1,386 yards and 15 touchdowns in eight games, and Cameron Sermons has hauled in 29 passes for 657 yards and six scores. Kal-El Togafau leads the Cougars on defense with seven sacks. Murrieta Valley finished second in the Big West Conference-North standings. Bear Bachmeier returned to action in Week 9 and has thrown for 543 yards and six touchdowns in two games. Dorian Hoze leads the ground attack with 1,352 yards and 18 touchdowns. Isaiah Ayers had 10 tackles for the Nighthawks in that season-opening win.
Prediction: Murrieta Valley
DIVISION 3
No. 10 Cajon (8-2) at No. 7 Chino Hills (7-3), 7 p.m.
IE Varsity info: Cajon finished second in the Citrus Belt League standings this season. Evan Powell has passed for 2,206 yards and 28 touchdowns, and Brandon Rivers has rushed for 1,197 yards and 10 scores. DJ Littles leads the Cowboys' receivers with 41 catches for 716 yards and seven touchdowns. Taylor Johnson leads Cajon's defense with 146 tackles. Chino Hills snapped a two-year playoff drought by finishing second in the Baseline League. Alex Medyn has thrown for 2,073 yards and 16 touchdowns and added 11 scores on the ground. Cameron Bateman has caught 47 passes for 851 yards and nine TDs. Joshua Baker leads the Huskies on defense with 84 tackles, and Connor Dakovich has 13 sacks.
Prediction:
DIVISION 6
No. 13 Ontario Christian (6-4) at No. 4 Murrieta Mesa (6-4), 7 p.m.
IE Varsity info: Ontario Christian finished in a tie for second place in the Ironwood League standings. Daniel Mielke II has passed for 1,794 yards and 21 touchdowns, and Zander Lewis has rushed for an area-best 1,786 yards and scored 14 total touchdowns. Logan Escoto leads the Knights on defense with 81 tackles. Murrieta Mesa started the season 1-4 but won five in a row to claim the Big West Conference-South title. Artyon Celestine leads the ground attack with 1,085 yards and nine touchdowns. Deshawn Reid leads the Rams on defense with 83 tackles, and Isaiah Casillas has 30 tackles for loss, including 7 1/2 sacks.
Prediction: Murrieta Mesa
DIVISION 7
No. 13 King (7-3) at No. 4 Vista del Lago (8-2), 7 p.m.
IE Varsity info: King finished in a three-way tie for second place in the Big West Conference-South standings. Derek Conn started the season as the Wolves' quarterback and returned last week after a spell at receiver. The all-around standout has 968 yards of total offense this season. Brian Robinson leads the ground attack with 880 yards and six touchdowns. Kaleo Browne has 89 tackles, and Andrew Dixon has registered 14 sacks. Vista del Lago finished third in its debut season in the Ivy League. Josiah Dupree-Boyd has passed for 1,852 yards and 23 touchdowns. Fabian Bolanos has racked up 1,251 yards from scrimmage and scored 20 total touchdowns for the Ravens. Devan Walker leads the defense with 84 tackles.
Prediction:
DIVISION 8
No. 12 Rancho Christian (8-1-1) at No. 5 Hemet (9-1), 7 p.m.
IE Varsity info: This will be the fourth meeting in two seasons between these programs. Hemet won twice last season, and Rancho Christian rallied for a 31-28 victory last week with Lola Carson kicking the game-winning field goal. Emiliano Villarreal has passed for 1,739 yards and 20 touchdowns in five games with Rancho Christian. Will Ford leads the ground attack with 1,443 yards, and Kamryn Jones has caught 40 passes for 771 yards and eight touchdowns in three games. Matthew Narcisse leads the defense with seven interceptions. Hemet's offense is led by Draven Lopez, who has passed for 1,314 yards and 18 TDs over the past five games. Kee-Esoul Pitchford and Tyler Trout are the leading receivers for the Bulldogs. Russel Huser is averaging 10 tackles per game.
Prediction: Rancho Christian
DIVISION 10
No. 11 Moreno Valley (8-2) at No. 6 Valley View (6-4), 7 p.m.
IE Varsity info: Moreno Valley captured the Inland Valley League title and brings a six-game winning streak into the playoffs. Syree Matthews has passed for 1,061 yards and eight touchdowns and rushed for 951 yards and 14 scores. Trevon Williams had added 1,111 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Malele Vaiolo leads the Vikings on defense with 101 tackles. Valley View finished in a three-way tie for third place in the Sunbelt League and won the tiebreaker to secure an automatic playoff berth. The Eagles are led on offense by quarterback Jesse Vega. Iren Neri leads the defense with 52 tackles, and Elijah Buelna has registered a team-high 13 sacks. This is the 23rd time these programs have played but the first time in the playoffs. Valley View has a 13-9 edge in the series, but Moreno Valley has won nine of the past 12 meetings.
Prediction: Valley View
DIVISION 12
No. 12 Eisenhower (2-7) at No. 5 Chaffey (4-5), 7 p.m.
IE Varsity info: Eisenhower finished second in the Sunkist League standings, Brayden Wann has passed for 1,627 yards and 17 touchdowns, Jordan Houston leads the ground attack with 646 yards and five scores. Andrew Cruz leads the Eagles on defense with 64 tackles. Chaffey finished second in the Gano League to secure the program's first playoff berth since 2019. Alexis Almeida has rushed for 695 yards and three touchdowns, and Rayvon Adams has added 538 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground in five games. Angel Anaya leads the Tigers on defense with 62 tackles.
Prediction:
No. 14 Banning (9-1) at No. 3 Canyon Springs (8-2), 7 p.m.
IE Varsity info: Banning won the Sun Valley League title and brings a five-game winning streak into the playoffs. Jacob Anzaldua has passed for 2,103 yards and 30 touchdowns, and Jmari Garlington has caught 40 passes for 829 yards and 11 touchdowns. Marquis Stewart-Vaughn has a team-high four interceptions for the Broncos. Canyon Springs finished second in the Inland Valley League standings. Angel Robles has thrown for 2,142 yards and 32 touchdowns, and Andre Larry leads the ground attack with 1,088 yards and 20 touchdowns. Cameron Holzendorf and Aaron Triplett have combined to catch 23 touchdown passes.
Prediction: Canyon Springs
No. 7 Cal Lutheran (8-1) at No. 2 California School for the Deaf-Riverside (8-0), 7 p.m.
IE Varsity info: Cal Lutheran has won six straight games and captured the Majestic League title. Colton McGee has passed for 1,013 yards and 18 touchdowns and added 796 yards and 19 scores on the ground. Aiden Boehm has racked up 1,016 yards from scrimmage and scored 23 touchdowns. Jonas Vogel leads the C-Hawks on defense with 10 sacks. CSDR has won 17 straight games dating back to last season, and the Cubs are seeking their third consecutive section title. Kaden Adams has thrown for 1,051 yards and 20 touchdowns. Gio Visco has tallied 1,002 total yards from scrimmage and scored 20 total touchdowns. The teams met in the playoffs last year, with CSDR winning 72-26.
