INLAND FIELDHOUSE

Riverside Poly senior Kyle Avery (No. 7) is an offensive threat for typically counter-attacking Bears.

Riverside North head coach Tad Barton seemed reluctant to say much about how good the Huskies were last season. In fact, it proved impossible to get a decent quote out him or his charges, and they kept a tight ship until sinking in the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 playoffs. Are the fixes in place for a return voyage to the postseason, or is the IVL in for another perfect storm of qualification?

Riverside North (17-4-1, 9-0-1) may have enjoyed its best season in more than 10 years, its first league title and the success of NCAA Division I midfielder (Miguel ‘Mike’ Chavez), but it was hard to tell.

MoVal Rancho Verde (17-9-2, 5-3-2) lasted longer than any IVL team, playing into the D2 quarterfinals on the back of a confident, willing side and an impassioned, media-savvy coach.

Riverside Poly (12-7-7, 3-3-4) dealt with less drama than previous seasons but had a rather unremarkable season marked by a first-round playoff exit. Correlation or causation?

MoVal Valley View (16-8-1, 4-5-1) lost three of its last four games to fall our of postseason contention. It wasn’t a surprising end to such an uneven year.

Riverside Arlington (7-9-5, 3-5-2) struggled to get the mixture right, but still had playoff hopes until the final day of the season.

MoVal Canyon Springs (2-17-3, 0-8-2) played a lot of game to come away with only nine points. Nowhere to go but up.

PROJECTED ORDER OF FINISH:
MoVal Rancho Verde
Riverside Arlington
Riverside Poly
Riverside North
MoVal Valley View
MoVal Canyon Springs

PLAYERS TO WATCH:
F Kyle Avery, Sr., Riverside Poly
D/MF Omar Caballero, Sr., MoVal Ranco Verde
MF Dilan Cortes, Sr., Riverside Arlington
MF/D Marc Garcia, Sr., Riverside Poly
F Marco Gutierrez, Sr., Riverside North
D Alan Lara, Sr., Riverside North
MF/F Alfredo Moriera, Jr., MoVal Rancho Verde
MF Leonardo Rodriguez, Sr., Riverside Arlington
F Tony Vallejo, Sr., MoVal Valley View

PROMINENT GAMES:
Dec. 10 — MoVal Rancho Verde at Temecula Great Oak, 5 p.m.
Jan. 4 — La Quinta at MoVal Valley View, 3:15 p.m.
Jan. 12 — Riverside Poly at Riverside Arlington, 5:15 p.m.
Jan. 19 — MoVal Rancho Verde at Riverside Poly, 3:15 p.m.
Feb. 11 — Riverside Poly at Riverside North, 5:15 p.m.