scibca february 1 poll

We're a little late with this one, but then so was the CIF Southern Section's fax service. There aren't many changes in this poll at the upper divisions, but we are just blown away by some of the selections in Divisions III, IV and V. We're going to reserve comment, but how does a team which is ranked at 9-10 or even 13-10 rank as high as number 3, 4 or 5. Are the pickings really that slim? Well, they must be.

The SCIBCA Poll is really not a "poll" in any real sense of the word. What it is, instead, is a committee of coaches, one who chairs the group and one each in the five major divisions (I through V) and each of these coaches is responsible for selecting the various rankings for the teams in their divisions. How do they make the selections? No one, except other committee members really knows for sure, but it's supposed to be based on overall and league records and the strengths of the teams. Is it really? Well, it couldn't possibly be if you really looked at the actual records of these teams.

So what is the "Poll" used for? Well, during the season, it's really not "used" for anything. It's published from time to time in the various local papers and perhaps, for those teams listed, it boosts their collective egos.

After the season though, specifically on or about February 13 this year, it will be used to determine seedings for the playoffs. So it can be considered important. One would think then that accuracy would (or should) matter to the selectors of the rankings. Maybe it does, and as we say, in the Division I and II rankings, it probably shows, but when you get to the smaller divisions, it's pretty hard to discern much consistency.

Anyway, enough carping and criticizing. Here's the poll as of February 1, 1999

Division IAA 1. Artesia 2. Long Beach Poly 3. FCapistrano Valley 4. Long Beach Jordan 5. Fontana 6. Upland 7. Ontario 8. Ayala 9. Redlands 10. Eisenhower	Division IA 1. Glendora 2. Simi Valley 3. Mater Dei 4. Pacific 5. Santa Barbara 6. J.W. North 7. Loara 8. Moreno Valley 9. Villa Park 10. Katella
Division IIAA 1. Dominguez 2. Compton 3. Redondo Union 4. Rancho Verde 5. Brea Olinda 6. Newport Harbor 7. Tustin 8. Sonora 9. La Serna 10. Elsinore	Division IIA 1. Inglewood 2. Santa Margarita 3. Muir 4. Pacifica 5. Ocean View 6. Mayfair 7. Newbury Park 8. Dos Pueblos 9. Temple City 10. Central Union
Division IIIAA 1. Bishop Montgomery 2. San Dimas 3. Alemany 4. Gladstone 5. La Quinta (Garden Grove) 6. Brawley 7. Chaparral 8. South Hills 9. Servite 10. Santa Paula	Division IIIA 1. Chaminade 2. Corona del Mar 3. Harvard-Westlake 4. Nordhoff 5. Estancia 6. Morningside 7. Northview 8. St. Francis 9. Banning 10. Bassett
Division IV AA 1. Laguna Beach 2. Crespi 3. St. Bernard 4. Twentynine Palms 5. St. Paul 6. Marshall 7. La Salle 8. Rosamond 9. Valley Christian 10. Centennial (Compton)	Division VA 1. Crossroads 2. Verbum Dei 3. St. Joseph Santa Maria 4. St. Monica 5. Maranatha 6. Mojave 7. Calvary Chapel Santa Ana 8. St. Bonaventure 9. Brentwood 10. Whittier
Division VAA 1. Pasadena Poly 2. Pacific Hills 3. Santa Clara 4. Calvary Chapel Downey 5. Campbell Hall 6. St. Anthony 7. Chadwicik 8. Milken Community 9. Lone Pine 10. Apple Valley Christian	Division VA 1. Price 2. Antelope Valley Christian 3. Laguna Blanca 4. Rolling Hills Prep 5. Rio Hondo Prep 6. Orangewood Academy 7. Pilgrim 8. Heritage 9. Desert Christian 10. Bethel Christian