Crespi was hit with a dose of déjà vu on Sunday. After starting the season 7-0 for the second year in a row, the Celts - for the second year in a row - were left at home and out of the PAC-5 playoffs.
"We're devastated," said Crespi head coach Jon Mack. "I've never seen an 8-2 team not go."
The Celts finished tied for third in the Serra League with Bishop Amat. However, the Lancers owned the tiebreaker over Crepsi by way of their head-to-head matchup, which automatically makes Crespi the fourth-place team.
Bishop Amat (7-2-1) received one of the two at-large bids. The other came down to Tesoro (7-3) and Crespi with the Titans getting the nod. Football has a "quantitative points system that determines at-large selections," according to the CIF Southern Section.
It's a number system created by the CIF Southern Section Football Coaches Advisory Committee. Teams are judged on five different criteria with a maximum of nine points to be awarded.
When it came down to selecting between Tesoro and Crespi, the Titans were awarded one point because the South Coast League was deemed a stronger league than the Serra by the Coaches Advisory Committee.
Crespi received a point based on their overall win-loss record.
In information obtained from the CIF Southern Section, the determining factor was their strength of schedule, solely based on win-loss percentage of each team's opponents.
Tesoro's opponents had a .650 winning percentage, while Crespi's opponents had a .644 winning percentage, thus giving Tesoro the nod and leaving Crespi "devastated."
St. Bonaventure head coach Todd Therrien was an assistant under Mack during his days running the St. Bonaventure program, but despite his beliefs that Crespi's "one of the most talented teams in the state," he's not shocked his former boss and mentor was left on the outside looking in once again.
"I'm not surprised. They got a formula, all based on numbers," Therrien said. "(You have to) control what you can control. They didn't do that."
The Seraphs (9-1) received the No. 1 seed in the PAC-5. Rounding out the top four seeds, in order, are Mission Viejo (10-0), St. John Bosco (6-4) and Mater Dei (8-2).
Claiming the No. 1 seed is quite the accomplishment for St. Bonaventure who, just a year ago, had their season end in the Northern Division semifinals. But Therrien's not overly excited about it.
"That's cool but that don't mean (anything) after the first round," said Therrien of having the top seed. "Once you get to the second round, every single team could win it."
The Seraphs open the playoffs against the third-place team from the Moore League, Long Beach Cabrillo (3-7). The Jaguars beat out Long Beach Jordan and Long Beach Wilson in a coin toss.
One of the more interesting matchups in the first round is Notre Dame (7-3), the second-place team in the Serra League, hosting Oaks Christian (8-2), the losers of the inaugural Marmonte League Championship Game.
Another interesting matchup will be the second-place team in the South Coast League, El Toro (9-1), taking on the defending PAC-5 champs Santa Margarita (8-2).
Meanwhile, Mack and the Celts will be home watching.
"It's real difficult," Mack said. "Last year was really painful.
"This year, on the field, we were pretty good. It's really disappointing to me."
