The CIF-Southern Section playoff pairings for boys soccer were released Saturday morning and 11 area teams will have a shot at capturing a title.
The road to a CIF-SS title is tough, but it’s a feat last accomplished by a local team in 2020 when Oak Hills hoisted the Division 5 championship plaque, while Victor Valley reached the Division 6 title game last season.
The Jackrabbits are among the teams that qualified for the playoffs and are now up two divisions this season. Victor Valley begins the Division 4 playoffs with a road game against Patriot.
Victor Valley ended the season in second place in the Desert Sky League standings.
Meanwhile, Granite Hills, the league champions, will begin Division 3 action at home in the only all-local showdown. The Cougars host Sultana in a rematch from when the teams met on Dec. 7 that ended in a 1-1 tie.
Hesperia and Oak Hills receive two of the tougher draws in the area.
The Scorpions, which ended in third place in the Mojave River League standings, begin the Division 1 playoffs on the road against Valencia.
In Division 2 action, Oak Hills, which captured the MRL title, opens the playoffs with a home game against Roosevelt.
Two area teams received playoff berths as wildcard teams, looking to crack the final bracket of 32 teams.
The wildcard round is scheduled for Monday afternoon, while the first round is set for Wednesday. Here’s a look at the local action.
Division 1
Hesperia (8-16-1, 5-4-1 MRL) at Valencia (15-4-4)
Division 2
Oak Hills (18-3-2, 9-1 MRL) vs. Roosevelt (8-10-4)
Division 3
Sultana (14-8-5, 6-3-1 MRL) at Granite Hills (9-2-8, 5-0-3 DSL)
Adelanto (11-11-5, 3-1-4 DSL) at South Hills (8-4-3)
Division 4
Victor Valley (10-6-3, 5-1-2 DSL) at Patriot (13-7-4)
Division 5
University Prep (13-5-3, 7-1 CVL) vs. Vista Del Lago (4-10-5)
Riverside Prep (5-3, 11-9-1 CVL) at Orange Vista (9-2-3)
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Division 7
Cobalt Institute of Math and Science (6-2, 11-7 CVL) vs. WC-P (Compton Early College/Waldorf)
Lucerne Valley (12-6-1, 9-1 AL) vs. WC-I (Cornerstone Christian/Heritage)
WC-N — Academy of Careers & Exploration (8-11-3, 6-3-1 AL) vs. Norton Science (13-9-2), winner plays Vasquez in WC-O game on Wednesday
WC-U — Excelsior (9-10-1, 7-3 AL) vs. Cal Lutheran (8-7-1), game is on Wednesday
PLAYERS TO WATCH
The High Desert is loaded with talented soccer players across the board. Using stats on MaxPreps.com and provided to the Daily Press, here’s a list of players to keep an eye on during the postseason.
Division 1
Jorge Negrete, Hesperia, senior — 9 goals and 5 assists
Jared Miranda, Hesperia, senior — 6 goals and 2 assists
Chris Palacios, Hesperia, sophom*ore — 4 goals and 4 assists
Luca Fragoso Hesperia, senior — 2 goals and 10 assists
Division 2
Edgar Alvarez, Oak Hills, senior — no stats available
D’Angelo Martinez, Oak Hills, junior — no stats available
Jordan Guerrero, Oak Hills, senior — no stats available
Tauj Richardson, Oak Hills, senior — no stats available
Raul Becerra, Oak Hills, junior — no stats available
Division 3
Julian Valdez, Adelanto, senior — 30 goals and 4 assists
David Barajas, Adelanto, senior — 11 goals and 11 assists
Rodrigo Orozco, Adelanto, sophom*ore — 5 goals and 5 assists
Ivan Gil, Adelanto, senior — 119 saves
Acxel Jimenez, Granite Hills, freshman — 9 goals and 10 assists
Erick Valdovinos, Granite Hills, junior — 11 goals and 3 assists
Nathan Rodriguez, Granite Hills, junior — 10 goals and 2 assists
Abel Benitez, Granite Hills, sophom*ore — no stats available
Kavi Cruz, Granite Hills, junior — 1 goal and 4 assists
Giovanni Vitela, Sultana, senior — 9 goals and 5 assists
Jared Hernandez, Sultana, freshman — 8 goals and 3 assists
Edgar Melesio, Sultana, junior — 6 goals and 2 assists
Andrew Loza, Sultana, freshman — 5 goals and 5 assists
Hayden Millard, Sultana, junior — 13 clean sheets
Division 4
Osmin Carranza, Victor Valley, senior — 5 goals and 2 assists
Dante Celis, Victor Valley, senior — 2 goals and 2 assists
Emmanuel Lopez, Victor Valley, senior — 5 clean sheets
Candelario Castillo, Victor Valley, senior — no stats available
Division 5
Miguel Rodriguez, Riverside Prep, sophom*ore — 25 goals and 5 assists
Salvador Villalobos, Riverside Prep, freshman — 10 goals and 1 assist
Riley Vejar, Riverside Prep, sophom*ore — 6 goals and 2 assists
Leonardo Morales, Riverside Prep, junior — 2 goals and 11 assists
Yahir Martinez, University Prep, senior — 10 goals and 2 assists
Alonso Lopez, University Prep, senior — 9 goals and 9 assists
Rafa Carvallo, University Prep, sophom*ore — 7 goals and 3 assists
Joshua Barron, University Prep, senior — 6 goals and 4 assists
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Division 7
Alexis Rosales, ACE, sophom*ore — 20 goals and 12 assists
Emmanuel Reyes, ACE, sophom*ore — 9 goals and 9 assists
Ivan Contreras, ACE, senior — 7 goals and 6 assists
Adrian Gonzales, CIMS, junior — 20 goals
Daniel Lopez, CIMS, senior — 13 goals
Cesar Gonzales, CIMS, senior — 7 goals
Brayden Gilford, Excelsior, junior — 14 goals and 6 assists
Jiovanie Gaytan, Excelsior, sophom*ore — 7 goals and 10 assists
Isaac Muniz, Excelsior, sophom*ore — 7 goals and 5 assists
Geovanni Godoy, Lucerne Valley, junior — 18 goals and 9 assists
Jacob Palmerin, Lucerne Valley, junior — 14 goals and 4 assists
Osmar Hernandez, Lucerne Valley, sophom*ore — 13 goals and 7 assists
Angel Montero, Lucerne Valley, senior — 96 saves, 7 goals and 7 assists
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Prep Boys Soccer: CIF-SS playoff schedules, local players to watch
