“Their quarterback obviously is a great player,” Brinkley said of senior Clark Evans, who is headed to Colorado. “We’ve got to win out.”
The Sailors have picked up back-to-back league blowout victories, leaving them tied for third in league with Fountain Valley (6-3, 2-2) and Esperanza (6-3, 2-2).
Los Alamitos (8-1, 3-1) and Edison (7-2, 3-1) are in contention for the league title. The teams are ranked No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, in the Pac-5 Division.
Despite the ranking, the Griffins could be looking for the division’s lone at-large berth if Newport Harbor beats them for the second straight year.
Esperanza has a tougher game against Edison at Orange Coast College.
But if the Aztecs win, and Newport Harbor and Fountain Valley win, five teams in the six-team league can finish 3-2.
This is where it gets crazy.
“From our understanding, since we’ve all beaten each other, there would be a coin flip and teams would be eliminated one by one until the league had three teams left,” Brinkley said. “Then head-to-head would be factored into which teams get the league’s Nos. 1, 2 and 3 berths into the playoffs.”
Whether the Sunset League will receive an at-large entry into the playoffs could depend on a team’s overall record, Brinkley said.
The Trinity League, a six-team league, received the at-large entry in each of the first two years of the Pac-5 Division playoffs.
Orange Lutheran (7-2, 3-1) is ranked No. 4, Mater Dei (7-2, 4-0) No. 7, and Servite (6-3, 3-1), tied at No. 10.
St. John Bosco (7-2, 2-2), which fell out of the poll after being ranked No. 8 last week, is also in the picture.
“Our league would have a strong case,” Brinkley said. “Everyone would [finish] 7-3, except Los Alamitos, which would be 8-2. Los Alamitos has a strong case.
"We’ll see how it plays out.”
