Ramona High’s varsity football team is 1-8.

There was a time when the Bulldog players would be hoping for a win in the season finale Friday against Fallbrook before handing in their gear for the season.

In fact, when the section was first formed in 1960, teams that lost just one game all season were sometimes omitted from the playoffs. Only the league champions advanced and if two unbeaten teams played on the final day, too bad for the loser.

Systems have evolved, the number of playoff divisions increased as did the number of playoff teams, with the coaches getting together and arguing their case to be included. Chaos often followed.

That didn’t satisfy a lot of coaches and deserving teams were still left out.

Power ratings were introduced with the section determining the criteria for making the playoffs, with less and less coaching input.

This season the CIF San Diego Section is trying a different route, using CalPrep/MaxPreps Power Ratings almost exclusively, even though those organizations will not reveal their criteria for selection.

Ramona, currently No. 41 out of 64, will be in the playoffs, but it will take until after Fridays finale at winless Fallbrook to know where.

Head football coach Damon Baldwin, in his 20th season, has seen all of the various attempts at an equitable system and as a member of the 8-person Football Advisory Committee, he is 100 percent in favor of this one.

“We’ve talked about it for 20 years and I like this,” said Baldwin. “You are seeded into the playoffs based on how you did this season, which wasn’t the case before when it was how you did over the last two or three years.

“No one knew where they would land in the selection this year, only that the top 64 teams would be considered. The lone exception is if a league champion is not one of the top 64 by the end of the year, they will take the place of the 64th team as long as that team isn’t a league champion.

“It obviously isn’t just your record. While we’re 1-8, we played in what we believe is the best league in the section, the Palomar League. Some teams didn’t play as difficult a schedule and this system rewards you for playing stronger teams.

“Hey, St. Augustine (No. 35) is 0-9 but they played an extremely tough schedule and they’ll be rewarded.”

The Saints are almost certain to advance while Kearny (6-3) sits at No. 64, the last playoff spot, and will need a win or some help just to advance.

The CalPrep/MaxPreps system gives a number to the strength of every opponent and while head-to-head wins are still a major factor, every school has a rating number based on their record and their opponents’ strength.

A week before the playoffs begin, Lincoln is the No. 1-ranked San Diego team (No. 11 in the state) with a rating of 59.8 (based primarily on its record, strength of opponents plus lesser criteria like wins-losses at home versus on the road) and a 38.2 strength of schedule.

At the opposite end, Mountain Empire (1-8) has a minus 75.30 rating with a minus 44.4 strength of schedule.

Ramona is a minus 4.8 overall but has a strong strength of schedule 13.8.

The top four teams after the last game will be in the Open Division. Division 1 will have the next 12 (5-16), followed by Division 2 (17-28), Division 3 (29-40), Division 4 (41-52) and Division 5 (53-64).

Every section champion is assured a state playoff berth, although not necessarily in the division in which they played.

So, at No. 41 Ramona sits as the top team in Division 4, which would earn the Bulldogs a first round bye. But, should teams now ahead of them falter next week, and the Bulldogs win, Ramona could move up into Division 3.

In years past, the odds of Ramona even making playoffs at 1-8 were astronomically slim.

“We were very young at the start of the season, and we lost four key players to injury, three of them starters,” said Baldwin. “We played six or seven Top 10 teams and until the injuries hit, we were in all those games.

“In the past, when the season started, we’d have been in Division 1 and had no chance (to make the playoffs). We’ll either be at the bottom of Division 3 or the top of Division 4, which is where a school of our size belongs this season.

“Starting fresh each year lands you in the playoffs where you belong. Teams that play up against stronger opponents will be rewarded, especially if they win. Isn’t that the way it should be?”

Like before, the Bulldogs don’t know for sure where they’ll land, but at least unlike previous seasons, they’re certain they’re playing.