Aside from the CIF Central Coast Section, for which playoffs start this weekend, all of Northern California was in postseason action this past week. Because there were few major upsets – which was not surprising considering the caliber of teams we are considering for state bowls – very little changed with regard to our bowl projections.
Reminder that the complete Bowl Game criteria is outlined in the Prep2Prep article Understanding the new Bowl Game format.
Recall that only CIF Section champions can advance as qualifiers for a Northern Regional Bowl Game.
The one exception is the CIF Central Coast Section which has three Open Divisions and has gotten clearance under the CIF State criteria regarding sections with an Open Division to send runners-up in two of its three divisions.
Here’s a quick summary of the big picture in Northern California. Twenty-six berths are allocated among the sections as follows:
Central Coast Section – 5
North Coast Section – 5
Northern Section – 4
Oakland Section – 1
Sac-Joaquin Section – 7
San Francisco Section – 1
*Central Section – 3
(*Central Section will also send 3 teams to the Southern California playoffs).
The top-ranked team among the 26 qualifiers will be sent directly to the state Open championship against the Southern California representative. Furthermore, the best two teams with enrollment of 1,250 or less will participate in the Open Small playoffs.
The remaining teams will be ranked from 1-23 with No. 22 taking on No. 23 in a play-in game to fill out the brackets.
(Other than the Open Division the team mentioned first is projected to host)
Open: De La Salle
The Spartans had a first-round bye in the North Coast Section Division I playoffs and now face California for the second game in a row. De La Salle defeated California, 56-0 on November 6 and will likely have no difficulty capturing the Division I title and advancing straight to the state title game.
Open Small: Central Catholic vs. Marin Catholic
Central Catholic had no problem in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs, defeating El Camino 42-0. The Raiders will be heavy favorites against Christian Brothers, which slipped past Vanden, 27-26.
Marin Catholic had a bye in the NCS Division IV playoffs and now faces Fort Bragg, a 28-21 winner over St. Helena. The Wildcats will likely compete with Palma for the second spot in this game assuming Central Catholic takes care of business.
Marin Catholic seems to have the inside track because Palma has a tougher road in the Central Coast Section playoffs. The Chieftains are slated to face WCAL power Archbishop Riordan in the CCS Open Division 2 semifinals assuming both teams win their first-round games.
I-AA: Folsom vs. Clayton Valley-Concord
Folsom is expected to cruise to the SJS Division I championship game and its first-round 63-0 win over Kennedy did nothing to dispel that notion. The Bulldogs now take on Franklin-Elk Grove, which defeated Turlock, 41-24. Folsom still appears to be on a crash course with Elk Grove for the Division I title.
Meanwhile, Clayton Valley, the heavy favorite in the NCS Division II playoffs, takes on Windsor, which advanced to the second round with a 44-9 win over Pinole Valley.
I-A: Bellarmine-San Jose vs. Grant-Sacramento
Bellarmine remained a viable candidate for this spot after hammering St. Ignatius, 42-6, in the WCAL season finale. The Bells, who host Piedmont Hills in a CCS Open Division 1 first-round matchup, are expected to cruise to the title game, where they will likely take on Milpitas, another bowl game candidate.
As the top seed in the SJS Division II playoffs, Grant does not have to worry about Folsom or Elk Grove. After knocking off Beyer 35-0, the Pacers will be heavily favored to move into the semifinals when they play Granite Bay Friday night.
II-AA: St. Francis-Mountain View vs. Clovis
St. Francis may project to this game for now, but the Lancers will have a lot of work to do to get through the CCS Open 2 Division playoffs. St. Francis stayed alive for a state berth with a hard-fought 36-27 win over Archbishop Riordan. And even though the Lancers won their six league games by a grand total of just 25 points, they have put themselves in a position for a bowl game by capturing a CCS title. League mate Valley Christian figures to provide the stiffest competition for St. Francis.
Clovis earned a first-round bye as the top seed in Central Section Division I. Next up is Edison, a 16-6 winner over Bakersfield.
II-A: Valley Christian-San Jose vs. Archbishop Riordan-San Francisco
Valley Christian’s candidacy took a hit with a surprisingly one-sided 42-21 loss to a motivated Serra squad, whose season is now over. The Warriors face a difficult challenge in the first round of the CCS Open Division 2 playoffs when they entertain perennial power Los Gatos.
Also, Riordan’s seeding in the CCS Open Division 3 playoffs has created an interesting scenario because Palma and Riordan – considered the top two teams in Division 3 – wound up on the same side of the bracket. That means there is no way both teams will be eligible for a bowl game. Riordan opens the playoffs with a trip to Burlingame.
III-AA: Pleasant Valley-Chico vs. Milpitas
Pleasant Valley earned a first-round bye in the Northern Section II playoffs and opens with Eastern/Sac River rival Foothill, a 27-21 winner over Enterprise. Pleasant Valley hammered Foothill, 55-21, during the regular season.
Milpitas earned the No. 2 seed in the CCS Open Division 1 playoffs and has a favorable path to the final. The Trojans open against Alvarez and are expected to cruise to the championship game for a likely matchup against No. 1 Bellarmine.
III-A: Campolindo vs. Hanford
Campolindo opened NCS Division III playoff action with a wild 70-44 win over Ygnacio Valley – it was the sixth time in 11 games the Cougars went over the 40-point mark. Next up is a matchup with league mate Acalanes, which finished sixth in the DFAL. Campo beat Acalanes 49-19 during the regular season.
Hanford, the top seed in the CS Division III playoffs, had a first-round bye and now take on Kingsburg, a 38-26 winner over Madera.
IV-AA: Capital Christian-Sacramento vs. McClymonds
No. 2 seed Capital Christian won its first-round SJS Division V playoff game 49-6 over Highlands. The Cougars are on a collision course with No. 1 seed Sonora, which handled Marysville 39-14 in the first round.
Undefeated McClymonds was off last week and takes on Oakland, which defeated Castlemont 44-31 in the first round of the Oakland Section playoffs. Considering that Mack won its five league games by a combined score of 201-14, there is little reason to expect the Warriors to slip up in the OS playoffs.
IV-A: Lassen-Susanville vs. Sierra-Manteca
We initially had Lathrop in this spot, but the top-seeded Spartans were upset 30-27 by Los Banos in the first round of the SJS Division IV playoffs.
The Lathrop loss opens the door for Sierra-Manteca, the No. 3 seed. We could go with No. 2 seed Calaveras-San Andreas but we like the strength of schedule and competitive experience of Sierra, a team that competes in the Valley Oak League against the likes of Central Catholic and Oakdale. We will obviously monitor this situation closely because Sierra and Calaveras meet in the semifinals Friday night.
Lassen, on the other hand, took care of business in NS Division III as the top-seeded Grizzlies hammered Gridley, 49-16. Lassen now has a higher power ranking than any team left in the CIF-SJS Division IV bracket and is looking like a host rather than traveler if it can win out in the NS Division III playoffs. The Grizzlies meet No. 4 Sutter in the semifinals Friday night.
V-AA: Berean Christian-Walnut Creek vs. Immanuel-Reedley
Berean Christian, the top seed in NCS Division V, had a bye last week and will take on Stellar Prep, which blanked Cloverdale, 35-0 in the opening round.
Immanuel also had a bye and will meet Caruthers in the second round of the CS Division IV playoffs.
V-A: Hilmar vs. Winters
Top-seeded Hilmar punished Mariposa County, 51-22 to earn a date with Ripon Christian in the second round of the SJS Division VI playoffs. Ripon Christian clubbed Golden Sierra, 42-7.
Winters still has the inside track at a bowl berth after a 41-8 win over Esparto in the first round of the NS Division IV playoffs. Next up for the Warriors is a matchup against Williams, which bounced Colusa, 13-0.
VI-AA: Fall River vs. Mission
The No. 2 seed in the NS, Fall River achieved its first objective with a 35-7 win over Modoc. We have the Bulldogs ultimately winning the Division V title over No. 1 Placer, which edged River Valley, 56-41.
Mission has already advanced to the San Francisco Section championship with a 47-0 win over Burton, defeating the Pumas for the second time in a row. Mission faces off against Balboa, a 52-34 winner over Lincoln, for the SFS title.
