We will be changing leagues and all 569 high school programs in the CIF Southern section will have a new playoff format for the 2024-2025 season. The playoff matches will be based on computer rankings, football has used for three years and has resulted in more competitive games.
We have played in the Coastal Canyon League since 2014 which has five other schools: Camarillo, Moorpark, Oak Park, and Simi Valley. After the football team had a disappointing season, we will be joining a new league. The teams in the new Channel League will include Buena, Moorpark, Oak Park, Oxnard, Royal, and Ventura. Additionally football will be adding Hueneme and Dos Pueblos to their schedule who are in the Tri-County League. Both of these teams had a combined record of under .500 win percentage. The last time we played Hueneme in football was over 10 years ago.
On January 30 of this year CIF made a huge decision to change the playoff format for all sports to the format that football has been using for the past three years. Teams will no longer be put into playoff divisions based on the results of previous years. Instead, teams will be seeded from one to 32. Computer rankings and current results will be used to make playoff divisions at the end of the season. Athletic director Emmett Furlong said, “There’s a couple reasons that the CIF Southern Section went this route. One is everyone is looking for more competitive equity in determining the playoff divisions after the season. I do not have the numbers with me, but the point differential the last couple years of the football playoffs has been much closer together than previous years. It also has managed to spread out the automatic berths more, which allows for more at large teams to enter the playoffs in each division.”
Senior Jonah Krause said, “I am pleased by the rule change. This will allow teams that might not be the best in the regular season, have a chance to get far in the playoffs.”
