To fully understand the new football playoff format, just look at the numbers.
Of six Avocado League teams, three of them are still playing and the six have a combined 39-19 record heading into the third week of the playoffs.
That’s why Poway coach Brandon Harris is not in the least embarrassed as his No. 4-seeded Titans march into the section Division 2 semifinals Friday night at No. 1 University City with a 4-7 overall record.
“The North County is so strong,” said Harris, whose team finished dead last without a win in the Avocado League. “I’d rather have good competition each week. Look at the last two losses — we were a touchdown away against Mission Hills and Torrey Pines.
“The thing is, there are some really good teams in the City — Lincoln beat Mission Hills last week for example — and we know that University City is another one of them. But playing the teams we did week after week toughened us for the playoffs and we’re back 100 percent healthy.
“Another City team, St. Augustine, didn’t win a game all year and they’re a win or two away from going to the state playoffs. That’s why I like this format.”
It would be difficult to imagine that Harris is anything but pleased because in years past, that 3-7 regular season record might not have been good enough to even make the playoffs.
But, after an impressive 28-7 victory over Point Loma at home last week, the Titans roll into the semifinals on a high note.
Poway not only was balanced on both sides of the ball, the Titans’ offense was tough to predict with both the ing and running games enjoying success.
“It’s nice to have a bye in the first round like we did,” Harris said, “but the downside is you’re used to playing every week and not playing kind of throws you off, so it’s a double-edged sword. It took us a while to get going but then we were fine.
“We started moving in the second quarter and were where we wanted to be in the second half. We took a knee from the three-yard line at the end of the game.”
Quarterback Ty Hurst sured 2,000 yards ing on the season when he threw for 186 yards, a large chuck on touchdowns of 86 yards to Jake Davy and 49 yards to Colin McCann.
Junior running back Luke Jorgensen stands just 135 yards from the 1,000-yard rushing mark after gaining 103 yards on 16 carries, two of which went for six points.
Balance came when the Titans defense picked off three es and collected a pair of sacks while limiting Point Loma’s running game to a mere 43 yards. Eli Alsop, Marko Kirovski and Ryan Crafton got the picks while Peter Wiedeman and Justin Julian collected the sacks.
“That’s the best defensive game we’ve played all year — credit D-line coach Brett Williams for that,” said Harris.
The Titans will need to be even sharper this week to advance to the championships as 10-1 University City has outscored its opponents 449-188.
Junior quarterback Quentyn DeMara has eye-popping statistics like a nearly 70 percent completion rate (148 of 214) for 2,490 yards with 33 touchdowns against seven interceptions.
His favorite targets are Dreyden Garner (46 receptions, 920 yards, 12 TDs), Tay Lockett (28-479-10) and Xavier Quintanar (35-455-4).
University City has rushed for 1,936 yards with 6-1, 215-pound senior Nakeem Jones leading the way with 764 yards and seven TDs. But DeMara presents a unique challenge for the Titans in that he has rushed for 483 yards on 59 carries with eight going for six points.
The Centurions’ only loss came four games ago to Scripps Ranch, 31-13, in the game to decide the Eastern League champion. They advanced with a 41-28 romp over Christian.
“This is an interesting matchup,” Harris said. “They have a lot of skilled athletes, so it’s a good challenge. It’s difficult to match game-intensity but last week’s win showed what we’re capable of doing.”
