The North Coast Section seeding meetings took place on Sunday morning, and the playoff brackets were released on Sunday afternoon. We take a very quick look at the recent results which likely influenced the seedings. Later in the week, we will provide a detailed breakdown of each division.
OPEN
The four teams here were pretty straight-forward after Liberty beat Freedom on Friday night. The seeding ended up being De La Salle, Pittsburg, San Ramon Valley, and Clayton Valley, in that order. This means that Clayton Valley will play at De La Salle in the Open semifinals for the second straight year.
It seems like Clayton Valley’s placement in a league full of teams from lower divisions hampers the Ugly Eagles when comparing resumes with these other teams. They did play a couple of strong out-of-state opponents, but those are hard to compare with local Division I programs. Meanwhile, San Ramon Valley routed all EBAL competition, and Pittsburg had big wins over Serra and Vacaville during non-league play before going unbeaten in the BVAL.
San Ramon Valley’s 45-0 win over Foothill likely played a decent hand in the Wolves’ ability to keep the three seed, along with a 37-6 win over California.
For full bracket, click here.
DIVISION I
Liberty became a virtual lock for the top seed when the Lions beat Freedom. San Leandro’s season-opening win over Foothill held up over the course of the year, and did indeed set the pecking order for the seeding, as the Pirates got the four seed over the Falcons. Those teams could potentially meet again in the quarterfinals, and Foothill would love to have a healthy Ben Wooldridge on the field for all four quarters this time.
If Heritage can beat Monte Vista in the first round, in the eight versus nine game, it would set up a Heritage at Liberty game in the quarterfinals, which would mark the first time in the history of the Liberty Union High School District that any of its three schools would meet in the football playoffs.
Only 14 teams applied for this division, meaning that Liberty and Freedom both have first round byes.
For full bracket, click here.
DIVISION II
Campolindo, Granada, and Northgate took the top three seeds, as expected. Livermore was a minor surprise for the four seed, as the committee obviously gave the Cowboys credit for playing in the Division I-heavy EBAL.
After that, it was decided that the NBL would be lumped together, literally sweeping the 5 through 10 seeds, pushing the three WACC-Shoreline teams down towards the bottom. Windsor’s 29-0 win over Ukiah on Friday carried the most weight among the NBL teams, giving the Jaguars the fifth seed, one spot above the Wildcats, who had the highest finish in the NBL among Division II teams.
Hayward’s win over Alameda lumped together the three Shoreline teams, but in the 12 through 14 seeds. The order here was always going to be unclear. Mt. Eden got 12, with a win over Hayward and a close loss to Alameda, while Alameda got 13 with a close win over Mt. Eden and the loss to Hayward. Redwood and Washington rounded out the field in the final two seeds.
For full bracket, click here.
DIVISION III
It was a bit of a surprise to see defending champ Bishop O’Dowd pushed down to the four seed, with losses to Division I teams Freedom and De La Salle, plus a big win over San Leandro, but that placement did clear the way for Cardinal Newman and Rancho Cotate to potentially settle their score in the semifinals, while another semifinal could feature a rematch of last year’s title game between Marin Catholic and O’Dowd.
Eureka’s big win over James Logan seemed to carry a lot of weight, while Miramonte’s three-point loss to five seed Acalanes did not carry weight, as the Matadors were dropped to the eight seed behind WACC-Shoreline champion Encinal. There were few surprises in the rest of the seeding.
De Anza’s win over Hercules in the final week got the Dons into the field, knocking out Tennyson. Kennedy-Fremont also stayed in the field, as the 15 seed.
For full bracket, click here.
DIVISION IV
St. Bernard’s was always a lock for the top seed. Moreau Catholic’s loss to Logan on Friday dropped the Mariners all the way to the five seed, allowing Fortuna to move up into the top four. If the Huskies can play according to seed, Humboldt County would be thrilled to see a Fortuna-St. Bernard’s semifinal game.
Hercules’ loss to De Anza in the last week, surprisingly, had little or no effect on the Titans’ seeding, as they stayed in front of San Marin and Saint Mary’s to get the seven seed. However, the Ygnacio Valley team they face in the first round will be a difficult opener, especially considering the Warriors beat the De Anza team which just beat Hercules.
Sonoma Valley’s win over El Molino on Friday set the order of the 14 and 15 seeds. St. Bernard’s has a first round bye, with 15 teams in the field.
For full bracket, click here.
DIVISION V
The top four teams have byes here, and there were little surprises and no games in the final week that affected the seeds.
A minor surprise was seeing Clear Lake seeded ahead of Arcata, as the teams had one common opponent – Fort Bragg – and Arcata’s win over the Timberwolves was more decisive than the Cardinals’ victory.
Stellar Prep and Cloverdale meeting in the eight versus nine game is a rematch from the regular season, a game won by Stellar Prep.
For full bracket, click here.
