Before Sierra Canyon knew it would get the No. 1 seed in the Southern Section Open Division playoffs on Sunday, head coach Ty Nichols was already explaining what his team expected.
“To win the Open, you have to at least be considered a top-5 team in the nation,” Nichols said earlier this month.
With the playoff pairings now released, Sierra Canyon knows how its playoff road will start. The Trailblazers will host Heritage Christian on Friday and after being tested all season in national showcases, this is where they hope it pays off after losing to Chino Hills in last year’s final.
“We’ve got to win it this year,” senior Terrance McBride said.
Other local teams to receive top-4 playoff seeds in the playoffs are Harvard-Westlake (No. 1 in Division 1A), La Canada (No. 4 in 1A), Knight (No. 3 in 2A) and Holy Martyrs (No. 3 in Division 5AA).
In other Open Division action, Alemany will host Long Beach Poly and Oak Park will travel to No. 4 Bishop Montgomery in Torrance. All games will start at 7 p.m.
Oak Park, along with Heritage Christian, will be making its first trip to the Open Division while Alemany will host a game for the second consecutive year after losing to Inglewood last season.
“2012 was the beginning of the Alemany dynasty and we’ve been building on that,” said Alemany senior Brandon Davis, referring to the team’s state championship run. “We know we’re an Open team so we’re ready to get out there.”
All non-Open Division playoff first-round games will at 7 p.m. Wednesday except for Division 5AA, which will begin Friday.
Division 1
Harvard-Westlake, which reached the Division 4AA semifinals last year, earned the No. 1 seed in Division 1A and opens hosting West Ranch on Wednesday. La Canada, the No. 4 seed, received a first-round bye and will host San Clemente or Downey on Friday.
Chaminade travels to Lakewood Mayfair and Thousand Oaks will travel to Peninsula of Palos Verdes.
In Division 1AA, Village Christian travels to Hart, Calabasas hosts Foothill and Viewpoint goes to Maranatha.
Division 2
2A first-round games: Keppel at Saugus, Simi Valley at Muir
2AA first-round games: Burroughs at St. Joseph of Santa Maria, Whittier at Crescenta Valley, Westlake at Perris, Upland at Valencia, Valley View at Highland, Camarillo at Oaks Christian.
Division 3
3A first-round games: Antelope Valley at Oak Hills, Paraclete at Rialto, Eastside at St. Bonaventure
3AA first-round games: Whittier Christian at Royal, Burbank at La Quinta, St. Francis at La Sierra
The full playoff pairings can be found at SoCalPrepLegends.com
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