Two Winless Teams Earn Los Angeles City Section Playoff Berths

The CIF Los Angeles City Section football playoffs begin this week with 56 teams across four divisions. Among them are Gardena and Westchester, each entering at 0-10 after receiving an at-large berth. Their inclusion has prompted questions about how playoff places are awarded when teams with winning records are left out.

Gardena is scheduled to host Jefferson on Friday in Division II. The school plays in the Marine League, whose opponents include Carson, Narbonne, Banning and San Pedro. Gardena’s season included a 47-32 loss to Narbonne on October 8, one of its more productive offensive performances.

Westchester is scheduled to play Rancho Dominguez Prep in Division III. Its Western League schedule included Fairfax, Hamilton, Venice, University and Palisades. Westchester scored one touchdown in league play, against Hamilton on October 9. Both teams allowed at least 35 points in their league losses.

The City Section relies on computer ratings when choosing selections and seeds, factoring in strength of schedule and opponents’ quality. That method can place a winless team that faced strong competition ahead of a team with multiple wins against weaker opponents. The system is intended to account for the difficulty of a team’s schedule, but the two berths have renewed debate over whether that approach produces fair playoff fields.