Wilcox is projected as a No. 1 seed in the Open Division 1 field.
(Hanson Ma/Prep2Prep)
Prep2Prep CCS Playoff Projections
UPDATED 11/3/2018
This is our final Central Coast Section playoff projection ahead of the seeding meeting on Sunday November 4.
The Open Division went pretty much according to plan with regard to the composition of the final field. Of course, there were some surprises along the way, as Archbishop Mitty,
unranked in the latest Prep2Prep Top 25, knocked off No. 16 Sacred Heart Cathedral to claim the fourth and final automatic bid from the WCAL. Both teams were locks regardless.
Also from the WCAL, St. Ignatius defeated Bellarmine to knock the Bells out of playoff contention and seize the final Open at-large berth. And the wild PCAL-Gabilan Division
wound up with a pair of one-loss teams as Palma and Salinas defeated San Benito and Aptos, respectively, to break the four-way logjam. While that had a bearing on the point totals
of the four automatic qualifiers, it did not affect their playoff status.
In Divisions 4/5, Soledad upset Alisal to claim one of the final available automatic bids in the field as the third-place team from the PCAL-Mission. Mt. Pleasant beat Andrew Hill
to snatch the automatic bid from the BVAL-West Valley and Mountain View hammered Monta Vista to earn the final at-large bid in the field. King City had a shot at an at-large spot,
but lost 19-6 at San Lorenzo Valley to close out the season. Likewise, Jefferson had a theoretical shot but was routed 55-19 by The King's Academy.
Note: Lincoln would have earned a spot in the field, but the Lions do not participate in CCS playoffs because of their commitment to the annual Big Bone Game against
San Jose on Thanksgiving Day.
For the formula used to calculate CCS points, please click
here (PDF).
OPEN DIVISION 1
Wilcox locked up a spot in Division 1 with St. Ignatius' win over Bellarmine. As has been well documented, Division 2 figures to be tougher top to bottom because of the
presence of four WCAL teams, including top-ranked St. Francis.
If our projections stand, there will be two first-round matchups of league rivals. San Benito defeated Salinas 35-28 during the regular season, while Palo Alto got the
better of Milpitas, 41-13.
Wilcox (1,969) is the lowest enrollment school in Division 1.
OPEN DIVISION 2
No major surprises in Division 2, though Mitty moved up with its win over Sacred Heart Cathedral.
The first round is projected to feature a pair of BVAL-WCAL matchups and the WCAL teams will be considered the favorites in both. Serra could wind
up facing St. Francis for the second time in three weeks if it gets past Leland and St. Francis takes care of business against Aragon. Valley Christian
and St. Francis appear to be on a collision course for the Division 2 title.
Leland (1,926) is the highest enrollment school in Division 2.
OPEN DIVISION 3
Aptos may get a chance to avenge one of its two losses with a win and a victory by Palma over St. Ignatius. The draw was not kind to the top-seeded Chieftains, who
will be facing the formidable Wildcats, who come into the playoffs after posting back-to-back shutouts against Archbishop Riordan and Bellarmine.
Pioneer (1,619) is the highest enrollment school in Division 3.
DIVISION 4
Willow Glen went from the bubble to a potential first-round home game with a strong finish, winning five of its final six games. The Rams are shooting for a rematch
with BVAL-Santa Teresa champ Independence, which will be heavily favored against upstart Soledad, which finished 3-7 overall.
Overfelt and Santa Clara are projected for a rematch in the first round. Overfelt won the regular-season matchup 30-0.
Burlingame (1,423) is the smallest school in Division 4.
DIVISION 5
Mt. Pleasant earned a shot at top-seeded and undefeated Carmel by knocking off Andrew Hill for the BVAL-West Valley title. There are two undefeated teams in the upper
half of the draw, but PCAL-Santa Lucia champ Gonzales figures to be in a tough matchup against SCVAL-El Camino tri-champ Saratoga.
Saratoga (1,354) is the largest school in Division 5.
Here's a brief look at the at-large teams that made it based on our CCS point calculations and the first five in each classification that would be left out based on our
projection process:
