As part of the first week of the Central Coast Section playoffs, Prep2Prep will be previewing each playoff bracket, releasing our previews throughout the week. This feature focuses on the Open Division V bracket.
OVERVIEW
The Division V field looks entirely different this year with back-to-back champion Half Moon Bay having moved up to Division III. Undefeated Gilroy holds the top seed and Menlo, the defending runner-up and PAL Ocean champion, is the second seed.
Gilroy went 3-7 in both 2014 and 2015, but reached the Division IV semifinals last year before falling to eventual champion Soledad. Due to schools with larger enrollment taking the bulk of the bids from the section’s “B” and “C” leagues, both are now in Division V. They aren’t the only Division V teams from the southern end of the section. Santa Cruz stunned St. Francis-Watsonville to win the MTAL Coastal title and claim the eighth seed, and Scotts Valley, which finished second to Soledad in the MTAL Mission Trail, is seeded sixth. The Falcons will have a rematch with Soledad in the first round. The Aztecs claimed the first meeting on October 20, 19-3.
The PAL has three teams in the field, with two meeting in the first round as Menlo hosts seventh-seeded Jefferson. The two schools haven’t met since 2012, the last time they were in the same division. Menlo’s defense, led by Cal commit JH Tevis, should be a great matchup for Jefferson RB Angelo Velez, who has 1,525 yards and 22 touchdowns in eight games.
Hillsdale finished second to Menlo in the PAL Ocean and will open the playoffs against Sobrato. Sobrato rattled off eight straight wins en route to the BVAL West Valley title and the fifth seed, but the Bulldogs haven’t faced competition like Hillsdale since two lopsided defeats to open the season. Friday will be a measure of just how far Sobrato has come since those two games. After scoring just six points in those two losses, the offense has scored 394 in the eight wins, including single-game outbursts of 61 and 75.
Click here for the full printable bracket.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Gilroy FB/OLB Joseph Barnes, Gilroy QB Jon Jon Castro, Gilroy QB Brandon Weiler, Gilroy FS/TE Christian Rodriguez, Gilroy DT/G Salvador Zendejas, Gilroy WR Max Pierce, Menlo DE/OL JH Tevis, Menlo RB/DB Aidan Israelski, Menlo QB/OLB Emilio Simbeck, Menlo DL/WR Silas Stewart, Menlo WR/DB David Schmaier
Soledad QB Robbie Santa Ana, Soledad RB/CB Emanuel Ortega, Soledad FS/WR Angel Olivas, Soledad CB/WR Aaron Rodriguez, Hillsdale RB/OLB Nick Hulman, Hillsdale QB Jeremy Teteak, Hillsdale WR/SS Joey Sabel, Hillsdale G/DT C.J. Gingold, Hillsdale WR/RB Quincy Sherman
Sobrato RB/SS Jared Jones, Sobrato QB/FS John Bell, Sobrato WR/FS Ryan Monahan, Sobrato OLB/RB Gabriel Anaya, Scotts Valley TE/OLB Carson Spence, Scotts Valley QB/CB/K Kyle Rajala, Scotts Valley RB/OLB Anthony Locatelli, Scotts Valley RB/SS Ryan Conte
Jefferson HB/DB Angelo Velez, Jefferson WR/DB Daniel Benjamin, Jefferson QB/LB Joaquin Alvarez, Jefferson LB/WR Isaiah Higgins-Areas, Jefferson OL/DL Ulises Ramon, Santa Cruz QB Abram Soriano, Santa Cruz HB/ILB Johnny Soto, Santa Cruz HB/DB Taj Carpenter, Santa Cruz HB/DB Adrian Flores, Santa Cruz LB Anthony Karagiannopoulos
SLEEPER TEAM
Yes, Hillsdale has lost three consecutive games to close the season, but the Fighting Knights pushed Aragon to the brink in one of those. Hillsdale also owns a lopsided win over a Sacred Heart Prep team that squeaked by Menlo and crushed Sobrato. After spending nearly 20 years towards the bottom of the section, Hillsdale is making its third playoff appearance in four years. The program reached the 2015 Division IV title game.
Hillsdale currently boasts one of the top running backs in the division with Nick Hulman leading the single-back offense. Hulman has run for 1635 yards on 227 carries on the season. After getting held under 100 yards in back-to-back games against Menlo and Aragon, Hulman erupted for a career-high 292 yards against King’s Academy, a game that Hillsdale eventually lost 44-43 in overtime.
That being said, Hulman is far from Hillsdale’s only offensive weapon. Jeremy Teteak leads a solid passing game with a cadre of receivers headlined by Joey Sabel and Quincy Sherman. The line doesn’t have one gargantuan figure, but C.J. Gingold is perhaps the most experienced member of a group that’s provided plenty of time and space for Teteak and Hulman to go to work. Hillsdale’s defense showed cracks towards the end of the season, allowing 33 points to Menlo and 44 to King’s Academy after not allowing an opponent beyond 18 points in the first seven games of the season, but Aragon mustered just 15 points in the Battle of the Fleas on October 3.
TITLE GAME PREDICTION
Menlo over Gilroy
