Vista Murrieta Denied Berth In CIF State Bowl Game

Vista Murrieta’s football team was undefeated on the field this season. Their big loss came in a CIF conference room Sunday morning.

“It was out of our control,” Vista Murrieta High Athletic Director Ray Moore said. “Why did they state the forfeits wouldn’t make a difference and then in the selection process, it did. I imagine people here are disappointed, but I had told our coaching staff to accept the worst.

“We’re still enjoying this. It was a great run for those kids. They ran the table. What a great win against a fantastic team.”

Instead, Pac-5 champion Bellarmine-San Jose, which lost its only game in double overtime to De La Salle in week one, was picked to go to the Division I game. The Bells will face Rancho Santa Margarita, the Pac-5 CIF champion.

Competition for the bowl bid came down to the Eagles, Vista Murrieta and Bakersfield. While the Pac-5 generally is regarded as the top division in Southern California and, perhaps, the state, Santa Margarita’s status for a berth was less than a lock because it was 12-2, with one of those losses coming to a down Mater Dei team.

Vista Murrieta was undefeated on the field and captured the Inland Division championship Friday against Corona Centennial, but its record was 9-5 because of five forfeit losses due to the use of an ineligible player.

Bakersfield was undefeated but clearly did not play the level of competition faced by Santa Margarita, which beat Bishop Amat, Long Beach Poly, Mission Viejo and San Clemente in the playoffs alone.

“When you consider the criteria the state uses, strength of schedule, no other CIF champion has the strength of schedule we had,” Santa Margarita Head Coach Harry Welch told the Orange County Register. “We’re not 13-0 like Bakersfield, but the level of competition is not the same as ours. Vista Murrieta’s record is 9-5. I felt like our competition level and our win-loss record was in our favor.”

Vista Murrieta which beat the Broncos in the CIF Inland Division finals last year.

This is the final year the state CIF will appoint bowl game participants. Next year, the CIF moves to a Regional Playoff format, which forces the start of the season to a week earlier and could result in a 16-game season for some teams.

The CIF Federated Council voted in April to change the format of the State Championship Football Bowl Games in 2012. The addition calls for the implementation of a Regional Playoff game in each division – Open, Division I, Division II, Division III, and Division IV – north and south.