Conditions are finally back to normal in the Central Coast Section, and with 10 semifinal games across five divisions, fans will be thoroughly entertained in every possible manner when teams take the field over the holiday weekend. With games as far north as Burlingame and as far south as Monterey, there will be great quarterbacks, lightning-quick running backs and stellar defenses on display all throughout the region in what should be a weekend of excellent games at every turn.
Division I
No. 4 Salinas (8-3) @ No. 1 Wilcox (11-0), Friday, 7 p.m.
As the lone unbeaten team in the top three divisions, it would be fair to say Wilcox has been the most consistent and dominant team in the entire section. The Chargers seem to find new ways to impress every week, including their most recent performance, a 60-6 win over Piedmont Hills. While the Wilcox offense was expected to score, holding such an electric Pirate team to just one touchdown is a remarkable feat that no opponent had been able to do since 2016.
While the veer offense that Wilcox runs is unique, if there’s a team that’s equipped to stop it, it would have to be Salinas. The Cowboys held Aptos to a season-low 24 points, and while the wing-T isn’t quite the same scheme, both the Mariners and Chargers boast similar explosiveness and big play ability, something that Salinas managed to hold in check during that November 2 meeting with Aptos.
Wilcox’s defense is nails against the run, and even offenses with solid passing attacks have failed to put up more than 21 points against the Chargers, but Salinas’ offense operates on a special level. With five excellent receivers, led by Poe Gaskins, Carl Richardson is over the 3,000-yard mark on the season, and the 287 yards he threw for in a quarterfinal win over San Benito was actually his lowest output in his last three games.
No. 3 Palo Alto (10-1) @ No. 2 Menlo-Atherton (9-2), Saturday, 1 p.m.
Even on a holiday weekend with attention spread all over the map and tons of people out of the area, there’s no quieting the anticipation surrounding the first meeting between the Bears and Vikings since 2007.
Projections had led most to expect that Palo Alto would be hosting this game, but the CCS’ interpretation of the Oakland Athletic League’s bylaws took away points that the Vikings were expected to have from a win over McClymonds, leading to a tiebreaker that ultimately gave M-A the higher seed. This means the game will be played on Saturday afternoon with fans crammed into the intimate Coach Parks Field.
Palo Alto has handled all forms of competition this year, even keeping Wilcox close in a 35-21 defeat, but handling the Bears’ size and depth will be a different type of challenge. The Menlo-Atherton defensive front is so deep that Daniel Heimuli and Noa Ngalu are both able to get regular rest with the pass rush hardly missing a beat. The excess of size that the Bears present opponents is incredibly difficult to match up with.
Perhaps the most exciting duels will be at the wideout positions, as Palo Alto’s mix of Jamir Shepard, Junacio Henley and Damion Richard-Valencia will meet M-A’s lethal combo of Troy Franklin, Jake Wang and Skyler Thomas. Both teams also offer solid slot weapons in Paul Thie for the Vikings and Menlo-Atherton’s Joey Olshausen.
Division II
No. 5 Serra (7-4) @ No. 1 St. Francis (10-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
It’s happening again. For a third straight year, the Lancers and Padres will meet in the playoffs, and unlike the last two years, it’s St. Francis coming in with the regular season victory. That convincing 42-7 win to close the season and seal an outright WCAL title was the first Lancer win in the series since 2015, as Serra had taken four straight meetings between WCAL play and postseason matchups.
With such a tremendous group in the trenches, St. Francis only needed to send four pass rushers during that November 3 victory, allowing the rest of the defense to focus on stopping Serra’s receivers on screen passes and preventing the Padres from creating one-on-one battles in the open field. The adjustments that Serra makes to combat the St. Francis line will make for an interesting tactical matchup. In last week’s 58-14 quarterfinal win over Leland, the Padres stayed on the ground, with Nate Sanchez running for 120 yards, but De La Salle is the only team to have found any success against the Lancers on the ground all year.
No. 3 Mitty (6-5) @ No. 2 Valley Christian (9-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
Considering the way the Warriors rolled to a 27-0 road win when these teams met back on October 19, it would be understandable for fans to gloss over this one, but it should be acknowledged that Mitty won’t quite look the same this time. With quarterback Shamir Bey injured, sophomore Reymello Murphy transitioned from wide receiver to QB, and the Monarchs are 2-1 in his starts.
Mitty undoubtedly has the talent to hang with Valley Christian at the skill positions, but the Warriors have a massive size advantage in the trenches. The Monarch linemen will have to deal with a major obstacle in order to have a shot at pulling off the upset.
Division III
No. 5 Aptos (9-2) @ No. 1 Palma (10-1), Friday, 7 p.m. at Rabobank Stadium
As they had hoped, the Mariners do have a chance to overcome their uncharacteristic loss to Palma in which a pair of two-touchdown leads slipped away on October 26. During last week’s 62-37 win over Terra Nova, chants of “we want Palma” ran out from the Aptos crowd, and it will indeed be Palma that awaits the Mariners on Friday night.
That first meeting, which Palma won 40-35, will be remembered for Marco Pezzini’s game-saving tackle at the goal line, but the two touchdowns over 60 yards put the Chieftains in position to take that game in the first place. Aptos will absolutely have to stop the big plays in order to get revenge, something that the defense struggled with last week. Terra Nova had three touchdowns beyond 40 yards last week, and although they all did come after the Mariners opened up a comfortable lead, it’s still a noticeable problem that will have to be solved.
No. 6 Sacred Heart Cathedral (6-5) @ No. 2 Sacred Heart Prep (10-1), Saturday, 1 p.m.
Don’t be fooled by the similar names, there’s a lot of contrast between the Gators and Fightin’ Irish. SHP likes to run by committee, as Tevita Moimoi isn’t necessarily the lead rusher for the Gators every week. Tommy Barnds, John Willard and quarterback Raymond Price III all run the ball with regularity. The Irish, on the other hand, will almost exclusively hand off to Anthony Heard, save for the occasional jet sweep by LeVar Watkins Jr., the team’s top receiver.
One of the only major similarities outside of the names is that both teams are led by sophomore quarterbacks, with Price at the helm for the Gators and Cian Dowling taking the reins for SHC. While Price is a dual-threat, Dowling tends to stay in the pocket, though he can scramble when needed.
The only common opponent the two teams have is St. Ignatius. The Irish won a 26-21 Bruce-Mahoney thriller on October 5, while SHP beat SI 13-7 in last Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Division IV
No. 5 Carlmont (9-2) @ No. 1 Independence (11-0), Friday, 7 p.m.
It’s no secret that both of these teams will be running the ball. The question is who they choose to send into the teeth of the opposing defense. Jonathan Medina, Dylan Oliver and quarterback Jordan Ausbie all get significant carries for the 76ers, while Carlmont relies on the legs of Julian Morin and Jonaven Kuhn. While Morin is usually the lead rusher, Kuhn’s 122 yards paved the way for a 28-7 win over Willow Glen last week, the Scots’ first playoff victory since 1991.
Independence does have home field and a perfect record, but Carlmont does now have superior results against the lone mutual opponent. Independence only beat Willow Glen by 13 when the two sides met in BVAL Santa Teresa play back on September 21.
No. 3 Overfelt (9-2) @ No. 2 Burlingame (9-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
The theme of run-heavy teams is constant across Division IV, and the ground games will certainly be on display on Friday night when the Panthers try to defend the home field for the final time this season. Lucas Meredith and Curtis Lauti each had just six carries for Burlingame in a quarterfinal win over Mountain View, but the pair combined for 160 yards in a blowout victory.
As for the Royals, Ulysses Alvarado was his usual self in a 50-14 win over Santa Clara, with 181 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries. It’s a game that should go down to the wire and could be decided by one broken tackle.
Division V
No. 4 Gonzales (11-0) vs. No. 1 Carmel (11-0), Saturday, 7 p.m. at Monterey Peninsula College
The former Mission Trail foes will meet Saturday night in what is expected to go down as an offensive shootout. Kai Lee, Rashaan Ward and Dakota Mornhinweg lead a Carmel team that has scored at least 31 points in all but one game this year, while Gilbert Payton Flores’ 2,344 rushing yards make him the top rusher in the entire section by more than 800 yards. It was Payton Flores’ touchdown in the final minute that gave the Spartans a zany 54-49 win over Saratoga in the quarterfinals.
Unlike their counterparts from the northern part of the section, both Carmel and Gonzales were hardly affected by air quality, meaning both have had a nearly full practice schedule to prepare, which should make for a polished game.
No. 3 King’s Academy (9-2) @ No. 2 Monterey (10-1), Saturday, 1 p.m.
No game is getting more overlooked than this one, but it could easily be the most exciting of all the semifinal games. Monterey’s explosiveness should make for a fun contrast with a Knights team that will roll into town with an absolutely lethal rushing attack. The 154 yards that Bralyn Lux racked up on just 10 carries in last week’s 42-6 win over Del Mar was just his third-highest total on the season.
Though more than two months separated the meetings, both teams faced Monte Vista Christian. TKA beat the Mustangs 37-14 back on August 31, while Monterey won a heart-stopping quarterfinal two weeks ago. Josh Elmore found Hendrick Lusk Jr. for the go-ahead 40-yard touchdown pass with 49 seconds left and Evans Charles sealed the 15-10 win for the Toreadores with an interception.
