A new start for local football teams

Mojave River League champion Hesperia took the No. 2 overall seed in the CIF-Southern Section Eastern Division playoff bracket released on Sunday.

The undefeated Scorpions (10-0, 4-0 MRL) will host Notre Dame/Riverside, which finished fourth in the Mountain Pass League, on Friday.

“The playoffs is a totally different animal,” Hesperia head coach Robert Kistner said. “You see someone you haven’t seen before and some you have. ... This is the beginning of the CIF and everybody’s got a chance to get to the championship.”

If the Scorpions advance to the second round, they could face Silverado, which shared the Desert Sky League title with Barstow and Burroughs. The Hawks travel to Patriot on Friday for the first round. Patriot, the No. 2 seed from the Sunkist League, beat Victor Valley 27-14 during the regular season.

Although the Hawks’ record is 3-7 overall, they fought through an extremely tough non-league schedule. The combined record of Silverado’s first six opponents was 49-10-1.

“If we win on Friday, I would like to think the schedule helped us,” Silverado head coach Carl Posey said. “I think we definitely expect to make some noise.”

Barstow (7-3, 3-1 DSL) is on the same side of the bracket as Hesperia and Silverado, and takes on the Mountain Pass League’s San Jacinto on the road.

On the other side of the bracket, Serrano (7-3, 3-1 MRL) hosts La Quinta, which took second in the Desert Valley League, while Rim of the World takes on No. 1-seeded Citrus Hill. Burroughs, the top seed from the DSL, will play against Palm Desert.

Silver Valley faces Webb in the first round of the Northeast Division as the No. 2 seed from the Desert Mountain League.

All the games are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, but game times are subject to change. Look for updates in the Daily Press and right here at HighDesertVarsity.com.