The CIF-Southern Section announced the 2019 fall sports division re-alignments on Friday afternoon.
In an effort to level the playing field in football and eliminate the lopsided playoff games amongst the top division, the CIF-SS will combine Division 1 and Division 2 to make a 24-team field.
All 24 schools will play their respective schedules and after the Week 10 games, a Football Selection Committee will choose the top eight schools and place them in Division 1. The selected schools will play in an eight-team playoff bracket with a bye week in between the final regular season game and the first round of playoffs.
The remaining 16 schools will fall to Division 2 and be placed in a 16-team playoff bracket.
As a result of Division 1 having an eight-team playoff format, the creation of a 14th division was necessary.
Valencia, the reigning Foothill League title holders, will be the only Foothill League team vying for a spot in Division 1 after going 7-4 overall last season with three of the four losses coming against fellow Division 1 opponents Sierra Canyon, Calabasas and Mater Dei, which beat Valencia in the first round of playoffs before going on to win a state title.
As a result of the re-alignments and the creation of a 14th Division, all remaining Foothill League teams along with Santa Clarita Christian School and Trinity Classical Academy dropped at least one division each.
Golden Valley football was the biggest school to fall, falling two divisions to Division 6 after going 2-8 overall and with seven of their eight losses coming by double-digits. Saugus was also in Division 4 with the Grizzlies and will begin the 2019 season in Division 5 after defeating Bishop Diego in the first round before falling to Villa Park in the quarterfinals.
Hart slides down one division to Division 4 where Bishop Diego and Villa Park await after going 6-5 overall and 3-2 in Foothill League, falling to Moorpark in the first round of playoffs.
Rounding out the Foothill League teams, Canyon and West Ranch both begin the fall in Division 7 after very contrasting 2018 seasons in Division 6.
West Ranch made school history by starting the season with an eight-game win streak. The Wildcats finished the season with a program-best and school-record nine wins. The Wildcats also got their first-ever playoff win in a road game against Silverado before falling in the second round to Oxnard.
Going winless in league play, the Cowboys won only two games in 2018 and look to turn things around in Division 7.
Santa Clarita Christian School and Trinity Classical Academy each drop a division to Division 13 and the newly formed Division 14, respectively.
Girls Volleyball:
Canyon, Division 4
Golden Valley, Division 5
Hart, Division 1/Division 2
Saugus, Division 3
West Ranch, Division 3
Valencia, Division 3
SCCS, Division 8
Trinity, Division-8
Cross Country:
Canyon, Division 2
Golden Valley, Division 2
Hart, Division 2
Saugus, Division 1
West Ranch, Division 1
Valencia, Division 1
SCCS, Division 5
Trinity, Division 5
Girls Tennis:
Canyon, Division 4
Golden Valley, Division 3
Hart, Division 2
Saugus, Division 3
West Ranch, Division 1
Valencia, Division 2
