LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLS FACE MORE COMPETITION, LESS PLAYOFF BERTHS

As our local high school football season gets underway, the De Anza League is expanding with a new team, but fewer play-off berths. Rancho Mirage is joining Twentynine Palms, Yucca Valley, Big Bear, Shadow Hills, Desert Hot Springs and Desert Mirage in a scramble for just two automatic play-off berths as a result of being moved to the six-league CIF-Southern Section’s Northwest Division for 2014-15. With just two at-large bids available in the entire division, the importance of performing well in a seven-team league is at an all-time premium. Last season, three teams from the league, Twentynine Palms, Big Bear and, Shadow Hills earned an automatic berth in the East Valley Division playoffs. Challenging for the league title this season will most likely go through Big Bear, a CIF semifinalist last year who either won or shared the league title for the last four seasons. Shadow Hills finished tied with Twentynine Palms, but entered the playoffs as the league’s No. 2 seed by virtue of a 21-14 win over the Wildcats. The Knights and Wildcats should remain in solid contention for the second automatic playoff spot, if not dark horses to dethrone the Bears.