It's playoff time in Southern California for the Varsity brackets.

In Varsity Red, which is the league for fully, 100% single-school teams, we're down to the top four after the final games decided who was 1st and who 2nd in the two divisions.

Mira Costa Takes 1st in LA Varsity Red

Last-Second Try Sees LCC by Torrey Pines

So now Mira Costa hosts Torrey Pines, and La Costa Canyon hosts St. John Bosco. The first clash will be a tough one. Torrey Pines is very good, and plays excellent defense. They lost by just the one point to LCC, and would well upend Mira Costa. Meanwhile, Costa's power in open field - their rucks, phase play, and mauling - are very solid, and they've got a gem in Jonah Tavai at No. 8. Torrey Pines has their own gems, including their clutch player Blake Richards-Smith at No. 8 or lock. This promises to be a game that comes down to the wire.

La Costa Canyon is probably favored over Bosco. While Bosco can test you in tight, it's out wide that La Costa Canyon shines. The Mavericks won't need anywhere near 50% of possession to score enough points. With some smart goalkicking and smooth ball-handling out wide (Justin Petersen and Sean Lumkong plus others such as Carron Castro) they can find the tries.

In Varsity White, which is made up of teams with at least 75% of their players from a single school, the first round of playoffs have produced semifinalists for us. Los Alamitos takes on San Pasqual, while Wilson plays University City.

SoCal Varsity White QFs Latest

These teams are all evenly-matched, and it's going to be touch to pick winners. Wilson has been able to escape difficult situations before, thanks in part to the leadership of Graeme Tanaka and the try-scoring touch of Shawn Wilson, and has shown some resiliency. That will be crucial against a University City, led by Patrick Madden, that can find points when needed.

Los Al v San Pasqual appears on the surface to be a meeting of an athletic, organic team against a more polished outfit. That's a generalization - Los Al is well coached and San Pasqual can improvise, but there it is anyway. Los Al will hit you hard, and Joey Noble was taken to the game quickly and keeps scoring tries. San Pasqual has a center of their own, Cole Hardan, who scores tries. The battle between these two might be the story of the game.

See all of our Southern California coverage here.