The La Costa Canyon Mavericks lost their regular-season finale 31-21 to the Torrey Pines Falcons on Friday, Oct. 30.
The home loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Mavericks and left them at 6-4 overall and 2-2 in Avocado West League play, good for third place, according to MaxPreps. Torrey Pines improved to 6-4 on the season with the road win.
The loss does not knock the Mavericks out of the postseason picture. Heading into the Oct. 30 game, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the four-team CIF San Diego Section Open Division field was set: Carlsbad, Mission Hills, Cathedral Catholic and La Costa Canyon. The Mavericks earned their spot by beating Carlsbad the week before.
The section uses MaxPreps rankings to seed its playoff brackets on a 1-through-64 basis. The top four teams qualify for the Open Division. Todd Cassen, the section's assistant commissioner, told the Union-Tribune that coaches recommended the ranking system.
"No system is perfect, but this system works," Cassen said. "And there is transparency. Teams can monitor where they stand, what division they fall into."
Open Division pairings were expected to be announced Sunday, Nov. 1. That bracket will determine whether the Mavericks open the playoffs at home or on the road.
LCC finished the regular season having scored 275 points and allowed 219 across 10 games. The Mavericks went 4-0 away from home and 2-4 at their own stadium.
The Oct. 30 result was the second time LCC fell by a 31-21 score this season. San Clemente beat the Mavericks by the same margin on Sept. 11.
The playoffs are next.
