Orange County Football Teams Advance To CIF-SS Championships

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — It's CIF-SS Football Championship time again in Orange County. This year has been a wild season across the county, from San Clemente forced to forfeit their right to play, to teams battling over championship game locations. One thing is for sure, it's about to get even more interesting.

On Saturday, Division 4 #4 San Juan Hills Stallions (10-3) will do battle against Loyola Cubs of Los Angeles (6-6) at 7 p.m. Loyola High School's Smith Field stadium will be the site of the CIF Southern Section final game.

According to coach Robert Frith, who toured the facility with Loyola Athletics personnel, the location "may not be up to CIF-SS standards," the OC Register reported. Problems, in Frith's eyes, stemmed from whether the stadium was up to CIF standards and if using the weight room as a locker room is conducive to game day preparation.

On Tuesday morning, Loyola High School Athletics made the announcement that Smith Field will host the game.

No better place for some Saturday Night CHAMPIONSHIP Football.

Loyola’s Smith Field will be the site of the 2019 #CIFSSFootball Finals! #C4L pic.twitter.com/oVoWCTkTMl
— Loyola High School Athletics (@LoyolaAthletics) November 26, 2019

San Juan Hills High School defensive end Tyler Wegis recently committed to play at Utah, signing his letter of intent this fall. According to the LA Times, it was a long haul to make his decision, but in the end, "they just made me feel like family," Wegis said. "We were just like, 'It's time to hop on.' It's crazy, and I'm just so blessed to be wanted by such a top-tier program."

San Juan Hills football receives its introduction as a Division 4 finalist at the CIF-SS Football Championship Luncheon in Long Beach. Stallions take on Loyola on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. @sjhhsathletics @sjhhsfootball @sjhhsboosters @CapoDispatch pic.twitter.com/wDMT3vZMF6 — SouthOCsports (@SouthOCsports) November 25, 2019

Elsewhere in Orange County CIF Southern Section Football Championships:

On Friday, Division 3 Corona Del Mar Sea Kings (#1 at 13-0) will meet with the Grace Brethren Lancers of Simi Valley (#2 at 12-1) at Newport Harbor High School Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Division 7 teams #4 Cypress Centurions (13-0) will take on the #3 Temecula Valley Golden Bears (11-2) at home, Friday at Western High School's Handel Stadium in Anaheim at 7 p.m.

Senior running back Isaac Hurtado will be the one to watch, with 42 touchdowns and 2,516 yards rushing, according to the Los Angeles Times.

On Saturday, Division 1 #1 team Mater Dei of Santa Ana (12-0) will compete against #2 St. John Bosco (11-1) at Cerritos College at 7:30 p.m. This after the Monarchs knocked out Mission Viejo with a 49-24 win last week.

Further south, Division 2 San Clemente Tritons were removed from the playoffs in 2019 after a player was declared ineligible.

After taking to the courts in protest, the Southern Section ruling was upheld, due to improperly filled out paperwork, the LA Times reported. Chaminade of West Hills will play in the Division 2 semifinals on Friday, as San Clemente was forced to forfeit every game the player participated in due to the "CIF undue influence rule."

The Chaminade Eagles will play in the championship game vs. Sierra Canyon Trailblazers on Friday at 7 p.m. in Chatsworth.