The CIF-SS football playoffs moved into their first-round stage across Divisions 2-14, but Division 1 teams had first-round byes and were set to begin play the next week. In a postseason defined by volume as much as drama, the opening update was less about one headline result and more about the full sweep of scores across the section.
The Division 1 field contained eight teams, which is why there were no first-round games listed in that bracket. Instead, the focus was on the teams that did take the field across the lower divisions, where one result after another shaped the early playoff picture.
Division 1 waits, while the brackets below it get moving
That structure matters because the absence of Division 1 games is not a gap in coverage; it is simply how the bracket is set up. Those eight teams earned byes, leaving the first-round slate to Divisions 2-14 and giving the section a wide spread of results to sort through.
Among the winners were Chaparral, Orange, Notre Dame/SO, Capistrano Valley, Rancho Cucamonga, Crean Lutheran, San Juan Hills, Tustin, Inglewood and Huntington Beach. The scores continued to pile up with Palos Verdes, Serra, Chaminade, Corona del Mar, Pacifica/Oxnard, Bishop Amat, La Serna, Valencia, San Jacinto and St. Bonaventure all advancing as the bracket widened.
Scores that shaped the opening round
The list of results was extensive and included Apple Valley, Villa Park, Newport Harbor, El Modena, Great Oak, Bonita, Murrieta Valley, Crespi, Edison, Oak Hills, Poly/LB, Norco, Culver City, Chino Hills and Dana Hills. Westlake, Cajon, Victor Valley, Downey, Newbury Park, Cathedral, Cypress, La Habra, Etiwanda and King also moved on.
Other first-round winners included Alta Loma, Quartz Hill, Hart, Muir, Hillcrest, Moorpark, Trabuco Hills, Aquinas, Salesian, Charter Oak, Vista del Lago, Agoura, Torrance, Temecula Valley, Oaks Christian, Simi Valley, El Dorado, St. Francis, Valley View, Calabasas and Glendora. Laguna Beach, Lancaster, Foothill, Hesperia, Beaumont, Brea Olinda, Paraclete and Summit were also part of the opening-round haul.
The remainder of the bracket produced further winners in Baldwin Park, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Fullerton, Paramount, San Dimas, St. Monica Prep, Los Altos, La Mirada, Paloma Valley, Desert Christian Academy, Laguna Hills, Citrus Valley, Saugus, Oak Park, Serrano, Millikan, La Canada, Barstow, Pacifica/GG, Segerstrom, South Pasadena, Fillmore, Irvine, El Rancho, Canyon/A, Rio Hondo Prep, Harvard-Westlake, Santiago/GC, Elsinore, Santa Monica, Portola, Rancho Verde, La Quinta, Bellflower, Valley Christian/Cerritos and a final tight finish between two teams decided by a 37-35 score.
For now, the key takeaway is simple: Division 1 is still to come, and the rest of the section has already been forced into playoff mode. The next round will bring the eight Division 1 teams into the picture, but this first update has already shown how deep and competitive the CIF Southern Section field is from top to bottom.
