The CIF Southern Section Division 1 football bracket is the toughest in the country, and it’s not even close. I don’t know much about football in a state like Maine, but I have to imagine those scrubs can’t compete with the talent in Southern California.

Once again, Poly High School’s football team got stuck in Division 1 after the CIF-SS crunched the numbers in the competitive equity formula. To be honest, I’m not sure how they come up with the results. I’m not a numbers guy and I don’t really understand Microsoft Excel at all, but Poly continues to be thrown into the mix and I’m guessing it’s based on reputation.

Times have changed in the southern section though, and St. John Bosco and Mater Dei are the new perennial powerhouses. They’ve matched up in the last two Division 1 football championships and I have a hunch that they’ll make it three in a row this season. I mean it only makes sense because they grab talent from all over Southern California. U.S. dollars are a crazy thing and you can go anywhere in these new Teslas – even space.

It might be a good time to think about making a change though. I have an idea for my good friend Rob Wigod and the rest of the CIF-SS. Apparently, Bosco and Mater Dei like to play each other a lot, so we should just let them. Give them their own division and let them play a best-of-9 series to see who reigns supreme. That way, us regular folk can just go about our day.

But the more I think about it, the more I love seeing our boys compete at the highest level. Schools like Bosco and Mater Dei bring the best out of high school sports fans in Long Beach. When Poly plays Mater Dei in the playoffs, there is no separation between Moore League schools. It becomes Long Beach vs. Mater Dei. Long Beach vs. Bosco. Long Beach vs. Orange County.

So, I’m glad Poly is back in Division 1 with the elites. Long Beach doesn’t back down and if you do, I hope you go to Mater Dei. Because you deserve it.