To get a sense of the wide-open nature of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs, the top seed comes in with a total of four losses. And its opponent in the first round made it to the playoffs essentially on a technicality.
That is not meant to imply a lack of quality in Division I, however, as five of the eight teams are ranked in the Prep2Prep CCS Top 25. Whenever you have a bracket with three teams from the MBL-Gabilan Division - Salinas, San Benito and Alvarez - and two more from the BVAL-Mount Hamilton (Piedmont Hills, you know you are in for a quality tournament.
Here's a look at the first-round matchups:
No. 8 Menlo-Atherton at No. 1 Salinas, Friday (7 pm)
The Bears made it into the tournament after the CCS ruled that Menlo could not claim a CCS bonus point for defeating Mission-SF, the apparent champions of the Academic Athletic League. Mission went undefeated through its league schedule, but because the AAL does not recognize a league champ until Thanksgiving, Menlo lost out to Menlo-Atherton by a half a point for the final automatic berth from the PAL-Bay Division.
As a result, M-A gets an opportunity for its first win of the season over a ranked opponent, having previously lost to Campolindo (35-3), Los Gatos (35-7), Monterey (37-14), Burlingame (35-14) and Sacred Heart Prep (31-21). The Bears are primarily a running team led by the sophomore duo of Stavro Papadakis(534 yards rushing, 4 TDs) and Jordan Mims (546, 1).
Meanwhile, the high-flying Cowboys have knocked off perennial powers Carmel (61-29) and San Benito (17-14), in addition to wins over Top 25 teams Monterey (28-21) and Alvarez (56-29). Even some of the Cowboys' losses have been impressive, including a last-drive, six-point loss at undefeated Sacred Heart Prep and a tough loss at Palma.
Salinas, which averages over 33 points per game, is led by running back Bruce Leighton (979 yards rushing, 8 TDs) and quarterback Zach McDermott (1,571 yards passing, 12 TDs).
PREDICTION: Salinas 44, Menlo-Atherton 17
No. 5 Fremont at No. 4 Piedmont Hills, Friday (7 pm)
Fremont may have suffered a bit of a letdown in its season finale, suffering its first loss after reeling off nine wins to open the campaign. Among those victories was an impressive takedown of SCVAL power Wilcox, 35-19, in which impressive sophomore quarterback Phillip Tran tossed five touchdown passes.
Tran, who finished with 2,035 yards passing and 23 touchdowns against only two interceptions, has several targets including junior Jordan Hendy (37 catches, 610 yards, 9 TDs) and senior Michael Valles (35, 537, 7).
Piedmont Hills counters with a high-powered offense of its own, orchestrated by junior quarterback Marcus Romero, who threw for 2,334 yards and 25 touchdowns. Senior Aaron Tillak hauled in 49 passes for 881 yards and 10 touchdowns, while senior Joel De Guzman led the running game with 782 yards and 10 TDs.
PREDICTION: Piedmont Hills 30, Fremont 24
No. 6 Silver Creek at No. 3 San Benito, Friday (7 pm)
The host Haybalers have been masters of the postseason and appear to be lined up for another run.
San Benito comes in on a three-game winning streak, including a 17-13 win over Palma, the Chieftains' only loss. A rematch with Alvarez in the semifinals would be enticing for the Balers, who feature a multi-faceted rushing attack led by junior RJ Clark (409 yards rushing, 8 TDs) and senior Chris Blake (422, 4).
Silver Creek has had an outstanding season, finishing just a game out of first place in the BVAL-Santa Teresa Division. The Raiders' two losses came by a total of four points.
PREDICTION: San Benito 34, Silver Creek 6
No. 7 Santa Teresa at No. 2 Alvarez, Friday (7 pm)
Despite losing four of their last five games, the visiting Saints nabbed the final at-large playoff berth along with Mt. Pleasant.
At times, Santa Teresa has struggled offensively and may find the going tough against an Alvarez defense that features tackling machine Rene Chavez (team-high 81 tackles). Offensively, the Eagles rely heavily on dual-threat senior quarterback Edric Gamble (1,137 yards rushing, 15 TDs, 600 yards passing, 8 TDs).
PREDICTION: Alvarez 27, Santa Teresa 13
