The main goal of the competitive equity system that has made its way into California high school sports is the opportunity for all schools to get a shot at a coveted section championship. However, at the end of the day in the Central Coast Section, all five championships were captured by “A” league teams.
Not only that, not a single WCAL team suffered a defeat against a non-league opponent as the four WCAL teams that didn’t capture a CCS title wound up being eliminated by a league rival. Here’s a brief rundown of each playoff division.
Division 1
It was perhaps a bigger struggle than expected, but Serra completed its CCS coronation with a 41-14 win over WCAL rival Archbishop Mitty to capture the Division 1 title. The Padres are now 13-0 overall and can make a claim as one of the best teams in CCS history no matter what happens in the Open championship game December 10 against St. John Bosco.
The game was tied 7-7 at halftime before Danny Niu broke loose for a 61-yard touchdown run that gave Serra a 13-7 lead in the third quarter. A five-yard touchdown run by Joseph Latu extended the cushion to 20-7 late in the third quarter on a drive set up by a 41-yard run by Jaden Green.
Mitty scrapped right back within a minute as quarterback Wills Towers hit Charlie Butler for a 65-yard pass down to the Serra 3, setting up a touchdown run by Danny Scudero to make it 20-14 at the end of the third quarter.
But the Padres erupted for three fourth-quarter touchdowns to put the game out of reach, ending Mitty’s remarkable run. Last season, the Monarchs finished 1-9. But this year’s team caught fire in the playoffs, defeating Saint Francis 42-41 in overtime to reach the title game. The third WCAL team in Division 1 – Sacred Heart Cathedral – also suffered a narrow defeat to a WCAL rival, losing by 3 to Saint Francis.
After defeating three regional powers in Folsom, De La Salle and Central Catholic, Serra won its 10 games against CCS teams by an average score of 39-9 and put up 57 points twice in the Division 1 playoffs.
The Padres will meet St. John Bosco on December 10 for the state championship.
Division 2
As if the Division 1 playoffs didn’t prove the point of WCAL supremacy, the two finalists in Division 2 both came out of the WCAL. And Bellarmine made it a sweep of St. Ignatius, scoring a fourth-quarter touchdown to capture the Division 2 title, 21-14.
Bellarmine forced a key fumble on the SI 32 with just under four minutes remaining in the game and a touchdown run from senior Ben Pfaff with a minute left turned out to be the game winner and the only points scored in the second half.
After SI took an early lead on a 71-yard touchdown pass from sophomore QB Soren Hummel to junior Pierce St. Geme on the third play from scrimmage, the Bells answered with a five-yard run by Jake Hanson to make it 7-7. A second-quarter TD run by senior Nate Escalada was matched by another long catch-and-run from Hummel to St. Geme for an 80-yard score to make it 14-14 heading into the break.
As the No. 2 seed, St. Ignatius took out No. 7 Half Moon Bay and No. 3 Aptos on the way to the championship game. Bellarmine, meanwhile, knocked off No. 4 Menlo-Atherton before upsetting top-seeded Wilcox to reach the final. Despite being the lower seed, the Bells defeated SI 34-14 during the regular season and the teams finished with identical 3-4 records in the WCAL.
Next up for Bellarmine is a matchup with Vanden in the Division 3-A regional final.
Division 3
Menlo made it a sweep of the top 3 divisions for private schools by capturing its first CCS title with a surprisingly one-sided 42-6 win over Hollister. Ty Richardson ran for a pair of scores as Menlo broke open a close game with a 21-point third quarter to take a commanding 35-6 lead into the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Jake Bianchi threw three touchdown passes to three different receivers - Cort Halsey, Robby Enright and Brady Jung. Hollister scored its only points of the game on a 97-yard kickoff return by Isaiah Molina late in the third quarter that made the score 35-6.
Menlo, the No. 3 seed, reached the title game with wins over The King’s Academy and No. 2 Live Oak. After blowing out Burlingame in the first round, Hollister took down No. 1 seed Soquel to reach the championship game.
Next up for Menlo is a matchup with San Marin in the Division 4-A regional final.
Division 4
It wasn’t easy, but Santa Teresa, a representative of the BVAL “A” league, had just enough to get past Branham, 23-15, to capture the CCS Division 4 title. The Bruins scored all 15 of their points in the third quarter, closing the gap to 16-15 on a touchdown run and two-point conversion by star senior quarterback Willy Augenstein, who finished with 168 yards rushing and his 30th rushing touchdown of the season.
Branham appeared to be in position to win in the fourth quarter when Gunnar Paedon intercepted a pass and took it to the Santa Teresa 36, but a key holding penalty negated a would-be touchdown run by Augenstein and the Bruins ultimately turned the ball over on downs.
Santa Teresa then went on an 88-yard drive, culminating in a 2-yard run by Evan Smith to increase the lead to 23-15.
As the only “A” league team in their side of the bracket, the Saints captured the title without facing an “A” league opponent. Santa Teresa finished fourth in the BVAL-Mount Hamilton Division, but lost to the three tri-champions Lincoln, Live Oak and Christopher by a grand total of 12 points during a three-week stretch in October.
Branham, meanwhile, reached the title game by knocking off “A” league foe Mountain View 68-45 in a game in which the Bruins trailed 28-14 at halftime before erupting for 30 third-quarter points. Augenstein ran for six touchdowns in that game.
Next up for Santa Teresa is a matchup with Palo Alto in the Division 6-AA regional final.
Division 5
After opening the season 1-6, Palo Alto has rallied to win its next six games including the Division 5 championship game, 27-24 over Monterey, to make it a clean sweep for “A” league teams in the CCS playoffs.
And the Vikings needed to rally in the championship game itself, erasing a 17-7 early third-quarter deficit. A touchdown run by Jeremiah Madrigal cut the Monterey lead to 17-14. After an end zone interception by Kai Bussey, Palo Alto went on a long drive to take the lead on a 30-yard run by Jack Newman.
Palo Alto extended the lead to 27-17 on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Declan Packer to Leon Unga. The Dores pulled within 27-24 on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Preston White to Levi Elmore, but Palo Alto managed to run off the final three and a half minutes to preserve the victory.
The Vikings, who finished tied for third in the SCVAL-De Anza Division, needed wins in their final two regular-season games over Mountain View and Milpitas just to get into the postseason and as the No. 2 seed in Division 5, knocked off Stevenson and Seaside to get to the championship game. Monterey, meanwhile, had surprisingly little trouble with Pioneer and top-seeded Westmont on the other side of the bracket.
Next up for Palo Alto is a matchup with Santa Teresa in the Division 6-AA regional final.
