ISAAC PLATA (15) of Rancho Alamitos passed for 122 yards and two TDs against Santiago last week. The Vaqueros clinched at least a tie for the Garden Grove League crown (Orange County Tribune photo).

It’s Week 10 for area high school football, which means that about half the teams will be finishing their season on Thursday or Friday, and about half the teams will advance to the CIF-SS playoffs.

There is more than usual uncertainty this fall, as – unlike in other years – there is no polling and ranking and even the divisions are not determined. A formula kept by CalPreps.com will determine which programs are grouped together and how big the brackets are.

Sound confusing? Well, yes. But generally, the teams in the upper half of their league will have a post-season, which means the top three in a six-team league and the top two in a four-team league. There will also be some room for at-large teams, depending on the size of the brackets.

However, some teams have already clinched no worse than a tie for their league’s crowns. They are (along with the teams hoping for an upset that will allow for a tie):

• Garden Grove is 2-0 in the Big 4 League and has locked up at least a co-championship. A win over Segerstrom will make the Argos the sole owner, but a win by the Jaguars could lead to a three-way tie, if Marina beats Katella.
• Rancho Alamitos is 4-0 in the Garden Grove League. Santiago (3-1), which lost narrowly to the Vaqueros last Friday, is hoping that Los Amigos can surprise Rancho Thursday night and create a deadlock at the top.
• Western (4-0 in the Orange League) has a one-game edge on Anaheim (3-1). The Colonists will probably beat winless Century and need Magnolia (2-1) to defeat the Pioneers to change the title picture.
• Edison is 3-1 and second in the Sunset League behind Los Alamitos (4-0). Can Newport Harbor (2-2) knock off the Griffins? Anything’s possible, but that’s not the way to bet.
• On the near-miracle front is the Pac 4 situation, Laguna Beach is 8-1 overall and 2-0 in league. Westminster and Ocean View are 1-1. If Godinez (0-9, 0-2) could somehow ambush the Artists, either the Lions or Seahawks – depending on who wins their game on Friday – would be co-champs with Laguna.

The only certainty is that – barring a tie – the winner of Thursday’s game between Santa Ana (4-0) and Orange (4-0) will take the Orange Coast League title.

Enough speculation. The brackets will be announced Sunday. We’ll post them (for our locals) as soon as they are available.

Here are the games scheduled for this, the final week of the local high school football season for The Tribune’s coverage area. As always, games, opponents, locations, times, etc. are subject to change without notice. Unless otherwise noted, all games are slated to begin at 7 p.m.

THURSDAY

Big 4 League

• Marina (3-6, 1-1) at Katella (4-5, 0-2) at Glover Stadium (La Palma Park)

Empire League

• Pacifica (7-2, 2-2) at Kennedy (4-4., 1-3) at Handel Field (Western HS)

Garden Grove League

• Santiago (7-2, 3-1) at Bolsa Grande (3-6, 0-4)
• Rancho Alamitos (8-1, 4-0) at Los Amigos (4-5, 2-2) at Monsoor Stadium (Garden Grove HS)

Orange Coast League

• Santa Ana (7-1, 4-0) at Orange (6-3, 4-0) at Fred Kelly Stadium (El Modena HS)

FRIDAY

Big 4 League

• Segerstrom (3-6, 1-1) at Garden Grove (7-2, 2-0)

Garden Grove League

• Loara (3-6, 1-3) at La Quinta (3-6, 2-2) at Bolsa Stadium

Orange League

• Magnolia (4-4, 2-1) at Western (6-2, 4-0)

Pac 4 League

• Westminster (7-2, 1-1) at Ocean View (3-6, 1-1)

Sunset League

• Edison (6-3, 1-1) at Huntington Beach (4-5, 1-3)

Saying goodbye to the High 5

Our final rankings of area high school football teams for this season probably look a bit familiar. But there are so many good teams this year we’ve decided to upgrade our system from a High Five to a Super Seven.

Edison, of course, remains on top, followed by Orange in second, Pacifica in third, Garden Grove in fourth, Rancho Alamitos in fifth, Santiago in sixth and Western in seventh. Also getting recognition is Westminster.

The re-tooled Super Seven(s) will return with the start of league play for girls’ and boys’ basketball.

Under the lights Thursday, Friday nights

Some of the top performances from last weekend’s high school football contests:

• Dominic Nguyen of La Quinta had 127 yards rushing against Los Amigos.
• Isaac Plata of Rancho Alamitos passed for 122 yards and two touchdowns against Santiago.
• Anthony Leal of Rancho Alamitos had 117 yards rushing and one TD against Santiago.
• Art Martinez of Santiago rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown against Rancho Alamitos.
• Malachi Bey of Garden Grove rushed for 195 yards and two TDs against Marina.
• Vany Rodriguez of Garden Grove passed for 200 yards against Marina.
• Isaac Delgado of Garden Grove had 11 tackles and an interception against Marina.
• Tyler Gioia of Edison passed for 145 yards and four touchdowns against Fountain Valley.
• Nico Brown of Edison caught three passes for 58 yards and two TDs.
• Troy Fletcher of Edison rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown.
• Zachary Siskowic of Orange passed for 339 yards and six touchdowns against Saddleback
• Kobe Boykin of Orange rushed for 126 yards and two TDs, and caught four passes for 119 yards and three touchdowns against Saddleback.

Volleyball update: Oilers, Vaqs still alive

The CIF-SS girls’ volleyball playoffs will be in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, with Huntington Beach and Rancho Alamitos still involved. Here’s how local teams have done so far.

• Huntington Beach had a bye in the first round, and then defeated Hart High 3-0 in the semifinals of Division 2 on Saturday. The Oilers will host Tesoro at 6 p.m.
• Edison won its Division 3 opener 3-0 over Windward, but lost 3-1 in the second round to Upland.
• La Quinta, Garden Grove and Bolsa Grande all lost their first round contests in Division 6.
• Western defeated New Roads 3-0 in the first round of Division 8, but lost to Santa Clarita Christian 3-0. Rancho Alamitos beat San Luis Obispo Classical 3-1 in the first round, then bested Vista Del Lago 3-1. The Vaqueros will visit Santa Clarita Christian on Wednesday in a quarterfinal contest.

Checking the pulse of the polls

Here are the CIF-SS polls released Monday for boys’ water polo, girls’ tennis and boys’ and girls’ cross country, as involve area schools.

• Girls’ tennis: In Division 1, Huntington Beach was unranked, but received some votes. In Division 4, La Quinta is eighth and Garden Grove 10th. Magnolia received some votes.
• Boys’ water polo: In Division 1, Huntington Beach is tied for first place with Mater Dei. In Division 2, Edison is ninth. In Division 4, Marina is fourth. In Division 5, Westminster is second, Ocean View is seventh and La Quinta is unranked but received some votes.

“Prep Sport Monday” is posted weekly during the local high school athletic season.