Welcome to championship weekend or, really, the Déjà vu Bowls.

A high school football season that teased, tempted and tantalized with all sorts of possibilities through 13 weeks, closes with familiar dance partners. Over the next two evenings, two rivalry matchups and one longstanding blood feud will decide three CIF-Southern Section championships.

First up tonight: Oaks Christian, in search of its fifth consecutive Southern Section crown, will take on Tri-Valley League rival Nordhoff for the Northwest Division championship beginning at 7:30 at Newbury Park High.

On Saturday, St. Bonaventure and Hart renew acquaintances for the Northern Division title. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

Santa Clara High, seeking its first CIF-SS crown in 42 years, will take on Frontier League opponent Bishop Diego High for the Mid-Valley Division championship beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Moorpark College.

Been there, done that? It's a common refrain this weekend.

St. Bonaventure and Hart don't compete in the same league, but they've met seven times in the past six years, or enough occasions to form a testy relationship.

Together, the two regional powerhouses have combined to win 13 Southern Section championships in the past 12 years.

St. Bonaventure, seeded No.1 in postseason, has special incentive to relish a matchup with No. 2 Hart in a winner-take-all contest. Hart upset top-seeded St. Bonaventure in last year's playoff quarterfinals, then canceled their regular-season series this season.

"We've been looking forward to playing them again for an entire year," said Seraphs' first-year coach Todd Therrien, who served as the program's defensive coordinator in six previous meetings with the Indians.

"They kicked us out of the playoffs last year, and dropped us from the schedule this year.

"They're a great program that we love to compete against."

Oaks Christian finds itself in wholly familiar territory by taking an unfamiliar route.

Through the previous three seasons, fitted with a star cast that included quarterback Jimmy Clausen and running back Marc Tyler, the Lions roared through the regular season and playoffs undefeated.

This year's edition tasted defeat three times, including a league loss to Oak Park. The Lions entered postseason unseeded.

"There's a certain amount of adversity in every season, even ones where you end up not losing a game," said Oaks Christian coach Bill Redell. "But we've never had to overcome losing games, like we did this year.

"We've got a veteran coaching staff who have been through a lot. There's really not too much they haven't seen. But you've got to credit the kids for handling adversity well. After the loss to Oak Park, they all seemed to step up to a higher level."

The one remaining obstacle, Nordhoff High, has lived up to its own championship dream all season in forging a three-way tie atop the Tri-Valley League standings.

Though the Rangers lost their regular-season game with Oaks Christian, 42-6, this is a program which knows how to challenge Goliath.

Back in 1999, Nordhoff's last appearance in a Southern Section championship game, the Rangers were seemingly outmanned by a stellar St. Bonaventure squad. Nordhoff nearly toppled No. 1 before falling, 22-15.

"We'll make that point with the kids this week," said Nordhoff coach Cliff Farrar. "There are actually a lot of similarities between this team and that team. We've got a strong running game and good defense. We've got a group that had good chemistry and believes in itself. We know it's David with Goliath. Maybe we can find a way to win."

At Santa Clara, the wait might be over.

The Saints forged a mini-dynasty by winning CIF-SS crowns in 1963 and 1965. Ever since then, the program has waited for another championship. And waited, and waited.

Coach Fran Fredette and a gifted cast led by explosive junior running back Cierre Wood have formed the highest scoring team in program history with 482 points through 13 games.

A season ago, the youthful Saints — with eight sophomore starters — reached the quarterfinals before losing a close decision.

"I think our guys saw the possibilities," said Fredette. "They saw how close we were last year, even though we were so inexperienced. They've worked hard to take advantage of this opportunity."

The final step could be a doozy. The last two matchups with league rival Bishop Diego have been heart-stoppers.

On Oct. 26, Wood rushed for 377 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown in the closing moments, to give the Saints a 42-41 victory over Bishop Diego that won the league championship.

THE MATCHUPS

Oaks Christian (10-3) vs. Nordhoff (9-3-1): The team that imposes its style wins.

The explosive and speedy Lions utilize three notable playmakers, with quarterback Chris Potter, running back Malcolm Jones and wide receiver Chris Owusu all destined for collegiate programs.

Potter has thrown for 1,791 yards and run for 849 yards while accounting for 19 touchdowns. Jones has rushed for 1,879 and 24 touchdowns. Owusu, despite missing a chunk of the season with a leg injury, caught 30 passes for 528 yards and five touchdowns.

Oaks Christian has piled up 528 points, including a 34-0 rout of Oak Park in last week's semifinals.

Nordhoff, by contrast, keeps opponents close and beats them late. The Rangers have scored 329 points, with kicker David Brown the notable weapon. Brown has notched 15 field goals and 32 extra points, for 77 points.

The Rangers succeed with a bruising ground game that features Damian Kaiser (1,197 yards, 15 TDs) and Chris Gibson (921 yards, 10 TDs). Starting quarterback Garrett Graham, who has thrown for 996 yards and six touchdowns, is recovering from an ankle injury and may or may not make the start.

Redell said it's Nordhoff's ability to control the clock that most concerns him.

"They run the ball very well," said Redell. "That's always a trademark of the strong Nordhoff teams, and something we can't let them do if we expect to win."

St. Bonaventure (12-1) vs. Hart (12-0-1): The Seraphs only loss came to Southern Section strongboy Crespi.

Hart's only blemish was a tie with Valencia.

Along with success, the two programs each boast star running backs, balanced offenses and aggressive defenses.

Therrien credits Hart's high-tech passing game for changing the way the St. Bonaventure defense does business.

"We had to change our defense after we started playing Hart every year," said Therrien. "Because of the way they throw the football, we had to line up in a 4-3 or 3-4, just to get more athletes on the field who can defend the pass."

The St. Bonaventure coach thinks the changes went through both programs.

"I think we influenced them, too," he said. "They use to go about 70-30 in favor of the pass. Now they're more like 50-50, or even 60-40 with the run."

Since they last met, St. Bonaventure has added ballyhooed running back Darrell Scott, who transferred from Moorpark High after playing in two consecutive CIF-SS title games.

With a decreased work load this year, all designed to keep him fresh at season's end, Scott has rushed for 1,391 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Hart counters with Stanford-bound Delano Howell, who has rushed for 2,159 yards and 28 touchdowns.

The quarterbacks are prolific, too.

Casey Serna, who took over the starting job at midseason, has completed 31 of 53 pass attempts for 493 yards and four touchdowns. The top target is Blayne Lewis with 18 catches for 342 yards and four touchdowns.

Hart quarterback B.R. Holbrook has completed 144 of 238 pass attempts for 2,373 yards and 23 touchdowns.

With such firepower, the pressure falls to the defenses.

St. Bonaventure's unit has bloomed with a return to health, led by linebacker Loren Powell. Hart linebacker Patrick Larimore has committed to UCLA.

Santa Clara (10-1-1) vs. Bishop Diego (11-2-0): Opponents need to stop, or at least slow down Wood, to beat the Saints.

Nobody's done it in the past nine weeks.

Wood is bordering on an unbelievable season in rushing for 2,401 yards on a mere 149 carries while scoring 41 touchdowns. He scored six more touchdowns last week and notched 475 all-purpose yards in a 42-20 victory over Valley Christian in the semifinals.

Santa Clara's defense has been stalwart too, beginning with a ferocious pass rush.

Randi Vines, also the starting quarterback, has notched 10 sacks and Artie Lopez has seven sacks as part of the defense's 57 sacks.

Still, fourth-seeded Bishop Diego may be the only divisional team with the wherewithal to derail the second-seeded Saints.

The Bishop Diego defense has been hot late, with three consecutive shutouts followed by last week's 12-6 win over Paraclete in the semifinals.

The offense thrives behind quarterback Christian Winnewisser, who has thrown for 2,320 yards and 24 touchdowns, and running back Aaron Skinner, who has run for 1,479 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Fredette said his team will have to earn the championship.

"They will throw the ball well, and that's our big weakness," said Fredette. "We knows it's going to be another tough game."