PCAL Football_
A quick recap of the PCAL. The Southern CCS is comprised of the PCAL. It is 28 teams from Monterey Santa Cruz and San Benito counties. This year there are 7 teams that comprise the 4 divisions. The Gabilan (A) receives 4 playoff bids, the Mission North(B) 2, the Mission South (B) 2 and the Santa Lucia (C) 1. In most years the 5th place Gabilan team qualifies as an at large team, and my guess so will the best 3rd place team from either the Mission North or Mission South (maybe both?) . PAL-booster and the NASA computer know how CCS at large playoffs are figured out. The League is equity based along with some geography, but this past year there were only a few moves-
2024 Moves
Gabilan (A)- Stayed the same nobody was moved in and nobody moved out.
Mission North (B) – Alisal moved from the Mission South, and Santa Cruz was moved down to Santa Lucia
Mission South (B)- Greenfield was promoted from the Santa Lucia to the Mission South while Alisal was moved up north.
Santa Lucia (C)- Santa Cruz moved in and Greenfield moved out.
Greenfield up and Santa Cuz down make sense. Greenfield won the Santa Lucia league last year and have a had some larger turnouts for their program the past few years. They can compete at the B level. Santa Cruz could barely muster a team last year and had some forfeits. Lots of defects to cross town powerhouse Soquel. Santa Cruz belongs in the C league.
But Carmel, they return most of their weapons from last year including QB, 2WR’s, 1 Athlete and a lineman going to Alabama plus 2 other OL starters. They beat a Gabilan team (Alvarez 35-14) and gave eventual state champion Soquel one of their closest playoff battles. This team should be in the Gabilan. In addition, the 2nd place finisher last year, Alisal, was shipped out and replaced with Greenfield due to geography? Last time I looked Rancho San Juan and North Salinas were way north of Alisal. Carmel admins must have some pictures of somebody…
Gabilan –
This division is up for grabs as I think any of the top 4 teams can take it. Salinas is the reining champion, but Soquel was probably the best team at the end of the season. Monterey has some of the best athletes returning, while Palma no longer plays for Gabilan supremacy but for CCS and state bowl titles. Hollister will be a tough out, I expect Aptos to regress a little bit after legendary coach retired. And Alvarez, well they have over 100 kids in the program
- Salinas- Most people will disagree with me on this and that’s ok. But until they don’t repeat, I am giving the Coach Zenk the benefit of the doubt. He has built one of the top public-school programs in the CCS and he seems to be able to re-load each year. Until beaten they are my choice for #1
- Soquel- With the influx of Santa Cruz talent, Soquel probably had the better team at the end of the year than Salinas. But Salinas won the early league matchup. Coach Lowery had built a powerhouse they have replaced Aptos as the best football in Santa Cruz County. They have the toughest schedule.
- Monterey-They return some of the best skill positions in the Gabilan. They have a chance to do something special here as Coach Besaw has finally brought stability and discipline to this program. Having open enrollment between Marina Seaside and Monterey does not hurt either. Depth up front is their biggest concern.
- Palma- They will be young this year, but could be very dangerous. @NorCalSportsFan can provide a full summary of all Palma football from this year’s 7th graders all the way back to current President Chris Dalman (Class of 88). In all seriousness, Palma seems to have shifted its focus the past few years from Gabilan titles to CCS and potential state bowl game seeds. It worked last year as they were able get a CCS DIII title, NorCal Bowl title and State Bowl title all while finishing in 4th place.
- Hollister-It feels it has been a while since Hollister has really challenged for a division title. They did have a good team in 2021, but the consistency has not been there the past 5-6 years. They had a weird loss to Alvarez last year. This is very large school, and the community is passionate about the team, so there is a chance they will be very good just due the amount of kids playing football. I just don’t see them being better than the 4 schools above them.
- Aptos-Blankenship is a NorCal coaching legend, and his tenure at Aptos will go down in Mainer’s football history. He is now retired. I see Aptos taking a step back this year. Plus the Gabilan is loaded up top that will make wins very difficult under a new regime.
- Alvarez-Hope Springs Eternal on the Alvarez football field. Every year they hope to be better and compete and every year they end up towards the bottom of the Gabilan. Last time they made the playoff they were in the Mission division. A new coach brings new excitement, but unfortunately, I think the results will be close to the same.
