Division I at a Glance

Defending champion: La Puente Bishop Amat, top-seeded.

Top teams: Bishop Amat (10-0), Rialto Eisenhower (10-0), Long Beach Poly (9-1), Quartz Hill (10-0).

Dark horse: Fontana. The Steelers won the title in 1989, the last time they were in the championship game. The No. 2 team from the Citrus Belt League was to meet Antelope Valley in the opener, but the Lopes were booted from the playoffs for using an ineligible player. Instead, Fontana will play Burroughs Ridgecrest. A victory would put the Steelers against defending champion Bishop Amat in the second round.

Top players: Steve Bodnar (Mater Dei), running back/free safety; Jerry Becallos (Santa Fe Springs St. Paul), quarterback; Geoff Buffum (San Clemente), quarterback; Sepher Fallah (Capistrano Valley), wide receiver; Marlon Farlow (Eisenhower), running back; John Flynn (Mater Dei), quarterback; Derrick Ford (Mater Dei), defensive end/tight end; James Free (Bishop Amat), quarterback; Sam Gaines (Capistrano Valley), quarterback; Dan Geiss (Capistrano Valley), running back; Kadar Hamilton (Los Angeles Loyola), running back; Ryan Klaasen (San Clemente), linebacker; Morris Lueeano (St. Paul), running back; Dylan Newman (San Clemente), wide receiver/defensive back; Brad Norris (Quartz Hill), quarterback; Gabe Payne (Capistrano Valley), wide receiver; Jason Reynolds (St. Paul), defensive back; Levi Roquemore (Capistrano Valley), linebacker; Michael-John Rzeznik (Mater Dei), wide receiver/strong safety; Troy Searcy (Quartz Hills), wide receiver; Rodney Sermons (Bishop Amat), running back; Glenn Thompkins (Eisenhower), quarterback; Bobby Thompson (Loyola), quarterback; Allen Vaughan (San Clemente), running back/defensive back.

Best draw: Eisenhower (10-0). Toughest obstacle in the road to the final is third-seeded Quartz Hill, and the Rebels haven’t played as tough a schedule as second-seeded Eisenhower.

Worst draw: Mater Dei (9-1). The Del Rey League has four representatives in the 16-team draw, including no-slouch St. Paul, the Monarchs’ first-round opponent. Assuming Mater Dei wins, the Monarchs would still face Bishop Amat for a shot at a championship slot.

Notes: Eisenhower, runner-up to 1991 champion Mater Dei, got into the nasty habit of sending previously undefeated teams home with a loss this season. The Eagles did it to Newhall Hart--Eisenhower won, 15-14, in its closest game of the season--the third-seeded Division II team; Long Beach Poly, seeded fourth in Division I; Moreno Valley Canyon Springs, top-seeded in Division IV; and Pasadena Muir, the No. 1 team from the Pacific League (Division II). . . . San Clemente is making its first playoff appearance since 1979, when the Tritons lost the title game to Esperanza, 14-7. Ryan Klaasen has missed the last two games because of a hamstring injury and is questionable at linebacker, a position further weakened by the recent injury to Scott Kerns. . . . Mater Dei hasn’t lost since the second week of the season, when Esperanza stunned the Monarchs, then top-ranked. Mater Dei outscored its opponents, 83-0, in its last two games, and shut out Servite, 21-0, in its season opener. . . . Capistrano Valley has averaged 36.3 points a game in its last three contests and has given up a total of six. For the season, the Cougars, 13-10 losers to Redlands in last year’s first round, averaged 21.8 points a game and gave up 9.4.