CCS Play-off look halfway through season

[PALbooster]

As CCS teams have hit the halfway mark in the regular season the play-off picture begins to take shape. This year the CCS has reduced the number of at-large berths from seven to five as the Mt. Hamilton League was awarded two more automatic play-off spots in taking in Christopher and Gilroy and going from 24 teams to 26 and adding an additional B league. The projections are based on the team with higher Calpreps points winning in head-to-head match-ups for the remaining unplayed games.

Division I

8. Sacred Heart Cathedral 6-4 66 vs 1. Serra 10-0 85
5. Sacred Heart Prep 9-1 72.5 vs 4. Wilcox 10-0 73
6. St Francis 6-4 70.5 vs 3. Salinas 10-0 75.5
7. Los Gatos 7-3 67 vs 2. Mitty 9-1 75.5

It is highly likely that seven spots will go to the top three WCAL teams (Currently projected to be Serra, Mitty and St. Francis), The top two teams in the Deanza (Wilcox and Los Gatos) and the Gabilan (Salinas) and PAL-Bay champions (Sacred Heart Prep). The final team will be a close race between the PAL-Bay runner -up (Half Moon Bay), and Gabilan (either Palma or Aptos) runner-up or the fourth place WCAL team (Sacred Heart Cathedral).

Division 2 – Will likely consist of the remaining 2-3 WCAL teams, 2-3 Gabilan, 2 PAL Bay teams the winner of the Mt. Hamilton league, and possibly the third place Deanza team.

8. Hollister 5-5 52.5 vs 1. Half Moon Bay 9-1 64
5. Bellarmine 4-6 56.5 vs 4. Aptos 7-3 57.5
6 Christopher 10-0 55 vs 3. Menlo Atherton 5-5 61
7. Riordan 4-6 54 vs 2. Palma 8-2 64

Division 3

8. Kings Academy 8-2 41 vs 1. Mountain View 5-5 52
5. Burlingame 4-6 43 vs 4. Soquel 9-1 47
6. Aragon 4-6 41.5 vs 3. Menlo School 5-5 47.5
7. Santa Teresa 6-4 41.5 vs 2. Lincoln 9.1 48.5

Division 4

8. Monterey 7-3 31 vs 1. Westmont 10-0 41
5. Sequoia 9-1 37 vs 4. Homestead 4-6 38
6. St. Francis (W) 10-0 34.5 vs 3. Pioneer 9-1 38.5
7. Hillsdale 703 33.5 vs 2. Live Oak 6-4 39.5

Division 5

8. Woodside 7-3 20 vs 1. Seaside 6-4 30
5. Capuchino 7-3 26.5 vs 4. Overfelt 8-2 27.5
6. Greenfield 7-3 20.5 vs 3. Branham 8-2 28
7. Willow Glen 8-2 20.5 vs 2. Rancho San Juan 9-1 29.5

A leagues 4 automatic spots

WCAL – Serra will be a 30 point plus favorite in its remaining five games and should coast to a WCAL championship and the top seed in the CCS play-offs. Six teams from the WCAL will make the play-offs. With the awarding off all the bonus points to WCAL teams it is almost a mathematical certainty that the fifth and sixth place teams will take two of the five section at-large berths. The race for second through sixth should be highly competitive. Currently Mitty, St. Francis and Sacred Heart Cathedral are projected to get the other three automatic berths with Bellarmine and Riordan getting the two at-large play-off spots. Saint Ignatius and Valley Christian are the only 0-2 teams after two weeks of league play.

DeAnza – Wilcox had an impressive pre-season schedule going 4-0 with a couple of notable wins. The rest the league went 6-14 and just 2-9 against other CCS A teams. The title will be decided on October 21st when Wilcox travels to Los Gatos. Both of these teams should make the D1 play-offs. Mountain View and Homestead are projected for the final two automatic spots Homestead had a big 14-10 win over Palo Alto this week. The fifth place finisher between Palo Alto and Milpitas will have an outside shot for an at-large berth.

PAL-Bay- Half Moon Bay handed Menlo-Atherton their first league since 2017 in a 22-21 win. Sacred Heart Prep is favored to win the PAL-Bay Championship in a three way race with Half Moon Bay and Menlo-Atherton. The PAL- Bay winner will likely be in the D1 play-offs with the second place team being on the bubble for being the 8th team. Menlo School is a slight favorite to grab the last automatic spot over Aragon and Burlingame. In other league action, Burlingame beat Aragon 14-10 on a 29 yard TD pass with 8 seconds left. The 5th place finisher in the Bay is highly likely to get an at-large spot with the last place team being in contention for the final at-large berth.

Gabilan – Salinas looks like a strong favorite to win the league with Palma and Aptos fighting it out for second place. The second place finisher will be on the bubble for reaching the D1 play-offs. While Hollister does not look as strong as in prior years they should get the last automatic spot. There is a big drop between the top four teams and the bottom three. It is unlikely that the fifth place team from this league will get an at-large spot given their poor non-league records.

Mt. Hamilton - A very competitive race between the top four teams (Christopher, Live Oak, Lincoln and Santa Teresa). All four should get the automatic berths. The two teams currently ranked the highest, Christopher and Lincoln are both undefeated and play next week. Leland will have a chance for an at-large berth as a fifth place finisher. Oak Grove seems to be the weakest team in the league and destined for 6th place. This league really struggled in non-league play going 2-5 against other CCS A teams and mainly playing B and C teams in pre-season. The top team from this league will likely only be a bottom seed in D2 or a high seed in D3 for the play-offs.

B Leagues – Two Automatic Spots except for Mission 3 and Cypress 1

El Camino – Kings Academy looks like the favorite with Sequoia currently projected to get the second automatic spot. Sequoia held off a spirited challenge from Los Altos. With the score tied at 14 and under two minutes to play Sequoia forced a fumble on the one yard line and after punting – won the game on a 60 yard pick six with just seconds to go in the game. Santa Clara will likely challenge Sequoia for the second spot.

Ocean – It should be a tight four team race between Capuchino, Carlmont, Terra Nova and Hillsdale for the two automatic spots. On the first night of league play Capuchino nipped Carlmont 27-25 while Terra Nova beat Hillsdale 27-14. The third place team will be on the bubble for an at-large berth. Terra Nova is a slight favorite over Capuchino at this point for the league championship.

Mission – Soquel is the current favorite, but Monterey will have a good chance for the league championship as well. This league gets three automatic berths and Seaside will be favored to hold off Scotts Valley for the third spot.

Cypress – Only one automatic bid here in what should be a very competitive race between St. Francis of Watsonville (5-0), Rancho San Juan (5-0) and Soledad (5-1). The second place finisher has a very good chance at an at-large bid due to their strong pre-league record.

Foothill – One of the two new Blossom Valley B leagues. Currently Pioneer and Branham are projected to be the two qualifiers from this league although Gilroy should pose a strong challenge for a play-off spot.

Valley – Westmont (5-0) and Overfelt (4-1) are projected to make the play-offs. Leigh is off to an 0-5 start but played a much harder schedule and could challenge for a play-off spot.

C Leagues – One spot

PAL Lake – Very competitive race between Woodside and El Camino with Woodside being a slight favorite.

Santa Lucia – Another race that figures to be competitive between Greenfield and Stevenson.

West Valley – This league should come down to a week 10 showdown between Willow Glenn and Del Mar with Willow Glen currently being a slight favorite to prevail. Mt. Pleasant is also in the mix.

 

[FBAddict]

Just thinking about you and your amazing CCS summary work last week! Glad you are here for another year!

 

[QPRTrinity]

so this is how CIF is organized up north eh? It's not just the entire SF Bay Area all in one section like we do here in LA/OC/IE?

So if I'm understanding your analysis, CIF CCS is silicon Valley, and then CIF NC is the east bay area, and then CIF SJS is Sacramento and Central Valley huh. Should all just be combined into one big section.

 

[MTsince2004]

so this is how CIF is organized up north eh? It's not just the entire SF Bay Area all in one section like we do here in LA/OC/IE?

So if I'm understanding your analysis, CIF CCS is silicon Valley, and then CIF NC is the east bay area, and then CIF SJS is Sacramento and Central Valley huh. Should all just be combined into one big section.

Nobody wants to deal with the traffic. It's a pain just to go from Elk Grove to Granite Bay on a Friday night. Heading to the Bay Area on the regular would be too much for the NorCal mindset to handle.

 

[colhenrylives]

As CCS teams have hit the halfway mark in the regular season the play-off picture begins to take shape. This year the CCS has reduced the number of at-large berths from seven to five as the Mt. Hamilton League was awarded two more automatic play-off spots in taking in Christopher and Gilroy and going from 24 teams to 26 and adding an additional B league. The projections are based on the team with higher Calpreps points winning in head-to-head match-ups for the remaining unplayed games.

Division I

8. Sacred Heart Cathedral 6-4 66 vs 1. Serra 10-0 85
5. Sacred Heart Prep 9-1 72.5 vs 4. Wilcox 10-0 73
6. St Francis 6-4 70.5 vs 3. Salinas 10-0 75.5
7. Los Gatos 7-3 67 vs 2. Mitty 9-1 75.5

It is highly likely that seven spots will go to the top three WCAL teams (Currently projected to be Serra, Mitty and St. Francis), The top two teams in the Deanza (Wilcox and Los Gatos) and the Gabilan (Salinas) and PAL-Bay champions (Sacred Heart Prep). The final team will be a close race between the PAL-Bay runner -up (Half Moon Bay), and Gabilan (either Palma or Aptos) runner-up or the fourth place WCAL team (Sacred Heart Cathedral).

Division 2 – Will likely consist of the remaining 2-3 WCAL teams, 2-3 Gabilan, 2 PAL Bay teams the winner of the Mt. Hamilton league, and possibly the third place Deanza team.

8. Hollister 5-5 52.5 vs 1. Palma 8-2 64
5. Bellarmine 4-6 56.5 vs 4. Aptos 7-3 57.5
6 Christopher 10-0 55 vs 3. Menlo Atherton 5-5 61
7. Riordan 4-6 54 vs 2. Half Moon Bay 9-1 63

Division 3

8. Santa Teresa 6-4 41.5 vs 1. Mountain View 5-5 52
5. Burlingame 4-6 43 vs 4. Soquel 9-1 47
6. Aragon 4-6 42.5 vs 3. Menlo School 5-5 47.5
7. Kings Academy 8-2 42 vs 2. Lincoln 9.1 48.5

Division 4

8. Monterey 7-3 31 vs 1. Westmont 10-0 41
5. Sequoia 9-1 37 vs 4. Homestead 4-6 38
6. St. Francis (W) 10-0 34.5 vs 3. Pioneer 9-1 38.5
7. Hillsdale 703 33.5 vs 2. Live Oak 6-4 39.5

Division 5

8. Woodside 7-3 20 vs 1. Rancho San Juan 9-1 29.5
5. Capuchino 7-3 26.5 vs 4. Overfelt 8-2 27.5
6. Greenfield 7-3 20.5 vs 3. Branham 8-2 28
7. Willow Glen 8-2 20.5 vs 2. Seaside 6-4 29

A leagues 4 automatic spots

WCAL – Serra will be a 30 point plus favorite in its remaining five games and should coast to a WCAL championship and the top seed in the CCS play-offs. Six teams from the WCAL will make the play-offs. With the awarding off all the bonus points to WCAL teams it is almost a mathematical certainty that the fifth and sixth place teams will take two of the five section at-large berths. The race for second through sixth should be highly competitive. Currently Mitty, St. Francis and Sacred Heart Cathedral are projected to get the other three automatic berths with Bellarmine and Riordan getting the two at-large play-off spots. Saint Ignatius and Valley Christian are the only 0-2 teams after two weeks of league play.

DeAnza – Wilcox had an impressive pre-season schedule going 4-0 with a couple of notable wins. The rest the league went 6-14 and just 2-9 against other CCS A teams. The title will be decided on October 21st when Wilcox travels to Los Gatos. Both of these teams should make the D1 play-offs. Mountain View and Homestead are projected for the final two automatic spots Homestead had a big 14-10 win over Palo Alto this week. The fifth place finisher between Palo Alto and Milpitas will have an outside shot for an at-large berth.

PAL-Bay- Half Moon Bay handed Menlo-Atherton their first league since 2017 in a 22-21 win. Sacred Heart Prep is favored to win the PAL-Bay Championship in a three way race with Half Moon Bay and Menlo-Atherton. The PAL- Bay winner will likely be in the D1 play-offs with the second place team being on the bubble for being the 8th team. Menlo School is a slight favorite to grab the last automatic spot over Aragon and Burlingame. In other league action, Burlingame beat Aragon 14-10 on a 29 yard TD pass with 8 seconds left. The 5th place finisher in the Bay is highly likely to get an at-large spot with the last place team being in contention for the final at-large berth.

Gabilan – Salinas looks like a strong favorite to win the league with Palma and Aptos fighting it out for second place. The second place finisher will be on the bubble for reaching the D1 play-offs. While Hollister does not look as strong as in prior years they should get the last automatic spot. There is a big drop between the top four teams and the bottom three. It is unlikely that the fifth place team from this league will get an at-large spot given their poor non-league records.

Mt. Hamilton - A very competitive race between the top four teams (Christopher, Live Oak, Lincoln and Santa Teresa). All four should get the automatic berths. The two teams currently ranked the highest, Christopher and Lincoln are both undefeated and play next week. Leland will have a chance for an at-large berth as a fifth place finisher. Oak Grove seems to be the weakest team in the league and destined for 6th place. This league really struggled in non-league play going 2-5 against other CCS A teams and mainly playing B and C teams in pre-season. The top team from this league will likely only be a bottom seed in D2 or a high seed in D3 for the play-offs.

B Leagues – Two Automatic Spots except for Mission 3 and Cypress 1

El Camino – Kings Academy looks like the favorite with Sequoia currently projected to get the second automatic spot. Sequoia held off a spirited challenge from Los Altos. With the score tied at 14 and under two minutes to play Sequoia forced a fumble on the one yard line and after punting – won the game on a 60 yard pick six with just seconds to go in the game. Santa Clara will likely challenge Sequoia for the second spot.

Ocean – It should be a tight four team race between Capuchino, Carlmont, Terra Nova and Hillsdale for the two automatic spots. On the first night of league play Capuchino nipped Carlmont 27-25 while Hillsdale beat Terra Nova 27-14. The third place team will be on the bubble for an at-large berth. Hillsdale is a slight favorite over Capuchino at this point for the league championship.

Mission – Soquel is the current favorite, but Monterey will have a good chance for the league championship as well. This league gets three automatic berths and Seaside will be favored to hold off Scotts Valley for the third spot.

Cypress – Only one automatic bid here in what should be a very competitive race between St. Francis of Watsonville (5-0), Rancho San Juan (5-0) and Soledad (5-1). The second place finisher has a very good chance at an at-large bid due to their strong pre-league record.

Foothill – One of the two new Blossom Valley B leagues. Currently Pioneer and Branham are projected to be the two qualifiers from this league although Gilroy should pose a strong challenge for a play-off spot.

Valley – Westmont (5-0) and Overfelt (4-1) are projected to make the play-offs. Leigh is off to an 0-5 start but played a much harder schedule and could challenge for a play-off spot.

C Leagues – One spot

PAL Lake – Very competitive race between Woodside and El Camino with Woodside being a slight favorite.

Santa Lucia – Another race that figures to be competitive between Greenfield and Stevenson.

West Valley – This league should come down to a week 10 showdown between Willow Glenn and Del Mar with Willow Glen currently being a slight favorite to prevail. Mt. Pleasant is also in the mix.

TN vs. Hillsdale was actually reversed. TN won.

 

[PALbooster]

TN vs. Hillsdale was actually reversed. TN won.

thanks - score was reported differently from different sources - will make changes

 

[FBAddict]

thanks - score was reported differently from different sources - will make changes

I had to take a second look this score as well - Today's Merc news reports a Hillsdale win while Calpreps/Maxpreps reports a Terra Nova win.

 

[colhenrylives]

I had to take a second look this score as well - Today's Merc news reports a Hillsdale win while Calpreps/Maxpreps reports a Terra Nova win.

It was reported incorrectly at first. Media generally went with wrong score early. It was corrected very late Friday..

 

[dcpanda]

so this is how CIF is organized up north eh? It's not just the entire SF Bay Area all in one section like we do here in LA/OC/IE?

So if I'm understanding your analysis, CIF CCS is silicon Valley, and then CIF NC is the east bay area, and then CIF SJS is Sacramento and Central Valley huh. Should all just be combined into one big section.

CCS stretches from SF to King City. I’ve only known Silicon Valley as running from San Jose to Menlo Park.

 

[Cal 14]

There should be a rule that if no one from your division can qualify for either D-I or D-II, you can't be considered an A league. The fact that Christopher can jump ship from the PCAL-GB, where they would be battling for 4th place, into the MHAL, where they are an instant contender, speaks volumes.

 

[TripleOptionFB19]

There should be a rule that if no one from your division can qualify for either D-I or D-II, you can't be considered an A league. The fact that Christopher can jump ship from the PCAL-GB, where they would be battling for 4th place, into the MHAL, where they are an instant contender, speaks volumes.

I get what you're saying but then How do WCAL teams get to play in D3? SHP A league school won a CCS and State Championship in D4 last year. Where is the fairness in that? Some A leagues are better than others. A 4th Place SEC school goes to any other Powers 5 and the are instant contender?

 

[Cal 14]

I get what you're saying but then How do WCAL teams get to play in D3? SHP A league school won a CCS and State Championship in D4 last year. Where is the fairness in that? Some A leagues are better than others. A 4th Place SEC school goes to any other Powers 5 and the are instant contender?

The WCAL teams that play in D-III are the 5th and 6th place teams. The 1st and 2nd place teams in the MHAL can't even break the top 16 in the section. Yes, some A leagues are better than others, but the MHAL is worse than all of the others... by a lot.

B- and C-league teams get the benefit of weaker league competition. Their path into the playoffs are relatively easier and we haven't had lower-division-only brackets for about 30 years. I think it's time to get over that.

The CCS playoffs are somewhat similar to the NCAA D-I basketball playoffs where someone like San Jose St. may win the Mountain West tournament, but then are fed to the 3rd place ACC team. No one is guaranteed a shot to advance just by making the playoffs.

 

[Scoop and Score]

There should be a rule that if no one from your division can qualify for either D-I or D-II, you can't be considered an A league. The fact that Christopher can jump ship from the PCAL-GB, where they would be battling for 4th place, into the MHAL, where they are an instant contender, speaks volumes.

They “jumped ship” because of geographical location as did Gilroy.

 

[Cal 14]

They “jumped ship” because of geographical location as did Gilroy.

Gilroy had been a part of the PCAL, TCAL, and MBL before that for well over 30 years (probably over 40). What, they suddenly realized they were located in Santa Clara County? TCAL stood for Tri-County Athletic League (Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Clara counties).

For that matter, Live Oak (Morgan Hill) had been part of the MBL since the early 80s, too.

With the construction of Sobrato and Christopher schools, the talent pools got split and they no longer could compete against Salinas, Palma, and Hollister. Live Oak jumped pretty much right after Sobrato opened, but Gilroy (to their credit) tried to stick it out for a while. It's been clear over the last several years that the programs had no future of success in the PCAL, so they left.

 

[RLS13]

Gilroy had been a part of the PCAL, TCAL, and MBL before that for well over 30 years (probably over 40). What, they suddenly realized they were located in Santa Clara County? TCAL stood for Tri-County Athletic League (Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Clara counties).

For that matter, Live Oak (Morgan Hill) had been part of the MBL since the early 80s, too.

With the construction of Sobrato and Christopher schools, the talent pools got split and they no longer could compete against Salinas, Palma, and Hollister. Live Oak jumped pretty much right after Sobrato opened, but Gilroy (to their credit) tried to stick it out for a while. It's been clear over the last several years that the programs had no future of success in the PCAL, so they left.

Be careful about chiming in on topics about which you have no clue.

Cal while I agree with that Gilroy and Live Oak before, both had long and sometimes successful runs with the Monterey area leagues, once the PCAL went to an equity format in all sports it made sense for them to move north geographically.

With he increase in schools in the south bay, Sobrato, Christopher et.. they are bit a closer than some of the Salinas Valley schools. Maybe if the MBL or TCAL were still intact they stay, but having to go to King City on a Tuesday for a volleyball game does not make sense.

As far as football I agree that the MHAL is not an A league/division. They should combine with the PCAL (for football only) and make a 7-8 team A league the rest of the BVAL and PCAL can be B and C leagues based on geography.

 

[Cal 14]

Cal while I agree with that Gilroy and Live Oak before, both had long and sometimes successful runs with the Monterey area leagues, once the PCAL went to an equity format in all sports it made sense for them to move north geographically.

With he increase in schools in the south bay, Sobrato, Christopher et.. they are bit a closer than some of the Salinas Valley schools. Maybe if the MBL or TCAL were still intact they stay, but having to go to King City on a Tuesday for a volleyball game does not make sense.

As far as football I agree that the MHAL is not an A league/division. They should combine with the PCAL (for football only) and make a 7-8 team A league the rest of the BVAL and PCAL can be B and C leagues based on geography.

If Live Oak, Sobrato, Christopher, and Gilroy could compete, they wouldn't be driving to south Monterey County.

Live Oak left long before the PCAL was created. Can you believe it's been 17 years already? They left literally the year Sobrato joined their first league.

No one in the MHAL can consistently compete with Salinas, Palma, Hollister, and Aptos, so combining with those schools would introduce the same problems the Gilroy and Morgan Hill schools had in the first place. Even amongst the PCAL, having more than 6 teams in the Gabilan is stupid.

 

[PAL Booster]

The only two changes to the field from this weeks action were Soledad based on their victory over San Juan Hills is now projected into the last at-large spot and St. Ignatius is now favored over Riordan to capture 6th place and an At-Large berth from the WCAL.

Division I


8. Sacred Heart Cathedral 6-4 66 vs 1. Serra 10-0 85
5. Sacred Heart Prep 9-1 72.5 vs 4. St Francis 6-4 73
6. Wilcox 10-0 71 vs 3. Salinas 10-0 74
7. Los Gatos 7-3 67 vs 2. Mitty 9-1 75.5

Only change from last week was St. Francis jumped from 6th seed to 4th and Wilcox went from 4th to 6th.

Division 2

8. Menlo 5-5 49.5 vs 1. Palma 8-2 63.5
5. Lincoln 10-0 56 vs 4. Bellarmine 4-6 60.5
6 Aptos 7-3 55.5 vs 3. Menlo Atherton 5-5 62.5
7. St. Ignatius 3-7 55.5 vs 2. Half Moon Bay 9-1 61

Menlo-Atherton and Half Moon Bay switched places between the #2 and #3 seeds. Bellarmine jumped from #5 to #4. Lincoln replaced Christopher in D2 with their win over Christopher. Aptos went from #4 to #6. St. Ignatius replaced Riordan as the final WCAL wild card and Menlo replaced Hollister as the #8 seed in D2.

Division 3

8. Kings Academy 8-2 41 vs 1. Hollister 5-5 49.5
5. Homestead 5-5 45 vs 4. Burlingame 4-6 45
6. Mountain View 4-6 45vs 3. Christopher 9-1 46
7. Aragon 4-6 43.5 vs 2. Soquel 9-1 49

Division 4

8. St. Francis (W) 10-0 32.5 vs 1. Santa Teresa 6-4 40.5
5. Sequoia 9-1 36 vs 4. Terra Nova8-2 36.5
6. Pioneer 9-1 35.5 vs 3. Live Oak 6-4 37.5
7. Branham 8-2 34 vs 2. Westmont 10-0 40.5

Division 5

8. Woodside 7-3 20 vs 1. Monterey 7-3 32
5. Seaside 6-4 25 vs 4. Capuchino 7-3 26.5
6. Greenfield 7-3 20.5 vs 3. Overfelt 8-2 28.5
7. Willow Glen 8-2 20.5 vs 2. Soledad 8-2 31

A leagues 4 automatic spots

WCAL – No surprises in week 6. By virtue of the size of the Saint Ignatius 24-0 win over Valley Christian they jumped Riordan in the Calpreps rankings for the sixth position in the WCAL. This will likely be settled on the field in week 10 when SI plays Riordan. Week 7 games features Mitty at Bellarmine and SHC and SI playing in their annual Bruce Mahoney game.

DeAnza – Slight upset with Homestead beating Mountain View. After Two weeks Wilcox, Los Gatos and homestead are 2-0. Mountain View, Palo Alto and Milpitas are all 0-2. Winner of the round robin of the bottom three teams will get the fourth automatic spot.

PAL-Bay- Sacred Heart Prep handed Half Moon Bay their first loss 17-7. SHP is still favored to win the league over Menlo-Atherton and Half Moon Bay. With Menlo slightly favored over Burlingame for the final spot. All six teams in this league are likely to make the play-offs.

Gabilan – No surprises in week 6. All teams in the league lost points as Aptos moved outside of the state’s top 150 teams. Week 7 features Salinas playing at Aptos.

Mt. Hamilton - In a battle of the league’s top two ranked teams Lincoln beat Christopher 27-17 and is now favored to win the league. Week 7 should feature competitive match-ups with Live Oak playing at Santa Teresa and Leland going to Christopher.

B Leagues – Two Automatic Spots except for Mission 3 and Cypress 1

El Camino – No surprises here as Sequoia and Kings Academy both had easy victories and will be heavily favored to take the leagues two play-off spots. No chance for a wild card from this league.

Ocean – Terra Nova, Capuchino and San Mateo are all 2-0 while Hillsdale, Carlmont and Jefferson are all 0-2 after two weeks of league play. Terra Nova travels to Capuchino in week 7 in a big ocean league match up.

Mission – Monterey and Soquel are the leagues remaining undefeated teams and face off this week with Monterey traveling to Soquel. Seaside continues to have the inside track to the leagues third automatic spot.

Cypress – In a dog fight among Soledad, Rancho San Juan and St. Francis of Watsonville – Soledad held off Rancho San Juan in week 6 17-14. This week Rancho San Juan travels to St. Francis of Watsonville. This league only gets one bid, but the second place team should get the section’s final at-large spot.
Foothill – One of the two new Blossom Valley B leagues. Pioneer and Branham continue to be projected as the two qualifiers from this league. Branham had a big statement win beating Gilroy 35-0 in week 6.

Valley – Westmont (5-0) and Overfelt (4-1) continue to be projected to make the play-offs. Overfelt edged Leigh 16-14 over the league’s third ranked team.

C Leagues – One spot

PAL Lake – In a contest between the league’s two unbeaten teams, Woodside edged El Camino 41-32 and now only needs to win two of its remaining three games against the leagues bottom ranked teams to clinch the league's sole play-off berth

Santa Lucia – No changes as the top two teams Greenfield and Stevenson continue to be undefeated in league.

West Valley – The three top teams Del Mar, Willow Glen and Mt. Pleasant are all 3-0 in league and don’t play each other in week 7. All should go to 4-0 next week. The winner of this round robin will win the league.

 

[colhenrylives]

Another outstanding effort. Nothing new there.

 

[JMicahB]

Woodside beat Mills already in the PAL Lake.

 

[PAL Booster]

Woodside beat Mills already in the PAL Lake.

thank s- good catch - it has been corrected

 

[PAL Booster]

Aptos win over Salinas had the biggest impact on changing the play-off projections. The only change to the field this week is San Mateo replacing Capuchino as the #2 team from the Ocean as they are slightly ahead in the Calprep rankings. The only other changes in the projections were Live Oak’s slight upset over Santa Teresa 14-7 in OT and Branham being projected ahead of Pioneer to win their league.

Division I

Aptos’ reward for their upset win is to put them in the 8 seed of the Division I play-offs in place of Sacred Heart Cathedral who moves down to Division 2. A lot of games still between top 10 teams in the CCS will potentially change the seedings. This week Wilcox plays at Los Gatos and Aptos travels to Palma. Later in the year Mitty plays St. Francis, Palma plays Salinas and Menlo-Atherton plays Sacred Heart Prep.

8. Aptos 9-1 68.5 (6 in division 2) vs 1. Serra 10-0 85.5 (1)
5. Wilcox 10-0 70 (6) vs 4. Sacred Heart Prep 9-1 73.5 (5)
6. Salinas 9-1 69.5 (3) vs 3. St Francis 6-4 74 (4)
7. Los Gatos 7-3 69 (7) vs 2. Mitty 9-1 75.5 (2)

Division 2

8. Christopher 9-1 51.5 (#3 in Div. 3) vs 1. Sacred Heart Cathedral 6-4 65 (8 in Div. 1)
5. Bellarmine 4-6 58.5 (4) vs 4. Half Moon Bay 9-1 60 (2)
6 Lincoln 10-0 57 (5) vs 3. Menlo Atherton 5-5 61 (3)
7. St. Ignatius 3-7 55.5 (7) vs 2. Palma 7-3 63.5 (1)

Division 3

8. Kings Academy 8-2 41 (8) vs 1. Soquel 9-1 51 (2)
5. Live Oak 7-3 44.5 (#3 in Div 4) vs 4. Mountain View 4-6 46 (6)
6. Homestead 5-5 43 (5) vs 3. Menlo 5-5 47.5 (#8 in Div. 2)
7. Burlingame 4-6 43 (4) vs 2. Hollister 5-5 48.5 (1)

Division 4

8. Santa Teresa 5-5 32.5 (1) vs 1. Westmont 10-0 41 (2)
5. Branham 9-1 36 (7) vs 4. Terra Nova 8-2 37.5 (4)
6. Sequoia 9-1 35 (5) vs 3. St. Francis (W) 10-0 40.5 (8)
7. Soledad 8-2 33 (#2 in Div 5) vs 2. Aragon 4-6 40.5 (#7 in Div. 3)

Division 5

8. Willow Glen 8-2 19.5 (7) vs 1. Pioneer 8-2 28.5 (#6 in Div 4)
5. Seaside 6-4 26 (5) vs 4. Overfelt 8-2 27.5 (3)
6. Greenfield 7-3 20.5 (6) vs 3. Monterey 7-3 28 (2)
7. Woodside 7-3 20 (8) vs 2. San Mateo 6-4 28 (replaces Capuchino #4 in Div 5)

A leagues 4 automatic spots

WCAL – All games went as projected with no upsets. The only surprise was how close the St. Francis game was against Valley Christian (21-14). This week Bellarmine travels to Kezar to play Sacred Heart Prep with the winner likely to gain the fourth automatic bid with the loser getting an at-large play-off berth. Key future match-ups are mainly in week 10 where Mitty and St. Francis are projected to paly for second place and Riordan and Saint Ignatius are projected to play for 6th place and an at-large play-off berth.

DeAnza – The league championship will be on the line in week 8 as Wilcox travels to Los Gatos. The two teams are in a dead heat in the Calprep rankings (Los Gatos 30 vs Wilcox 29.8). Regardless of this outcome both teams will still be favored to be in the DI playoffs. Palo Alto (at Mountain View) and Milpitas (hosting Homestead) need to win to maintain a chance at the play-offs. Mountain View and Homestead clinch play-off spots with a win.

PAL-Bay- No surprises last week and Sacred Heart Prep (at Aragon), Menlo-Atherton (hosting Menlo School) and Half Moon Bay (hosting Burlingame) should all be double digit favorites. There will be a number of key games in week 9.

Gabilan – The big upset of the week was Aptos 44-41win over Salinas. Aptos travels to Salinas this week with a chance to take sole passion of first place in the Gabilan . Salinas and Palma will play later in the year. Hollister clinches a play-off berth if they win while hosting Santa Cruz this week.

Mt. Hamilton - The league’s two remaining unbeaten teams square off this week as Live Oak travels to Lincoln who will be a strong favorite. Christopher travels to Santa Teresa while the leagues two winless teams Leland and Oak Grove play each other needing a win to maintain a chance to reach the play-offs

B Leagues – Two Automatic Spots except for Mission 3 and Cypress 1

El Camino – Kings Academy (hosting Los Altos) and Sequoia (hosting Santa Clara) can each clinch a pay-off berth with wins this week ahead of their week 9 showdown for the league championship. Both will be heavy favorites.

Ocean – Still a highly competitive race. Terra Nova down Capuchnio 14-6 despite being outgained by over 100 yards. Terra Nova can clinch a play-off spot by beating San Mateo at home this week where they will be a slight favorite. San Mateo will host Capuchino in week 9. Whoever finishes third is unlikely to get a play-off spot.

Mission – Soquel took control of the league race with a convincing 42-14 win over previously unbeaten Monterey and clinched a play-off berth. Soquel only needs wins over winless North Salinas and Monte Vista Christian to win the league title. There is still a three way battle between Monterey, Seaside and Scotts Valley for the final two play-off spots from this league with Monterey and Seaside being slight favorites to get these spots.

Cypress – St. Francis 48-26 win over San Juan Hills brings them to 7-0 on the season and likely sets up a week 10 championship game at Soeldad who is also undefeated in league (and is 7-1). The loser will likely get an at-large spot. King City is still in the race with one league loss but will need upset wins over St. Francis and Soledad to reach the play-offs.

Foothill – Branham and Pioneer are the leagues two undefeated teams and will be heavily favored in their games over the next two weeks. Both should go into their week 10 match-up undefeated in league and having clinched the leagues two play-off berths. Branham has moved a few points ahead of Pioneer in the Cal Prep rankings and I adjusted this in projecting out the rest of the season.

Valley – Overfelt travels to Westmont this week with Westmont favored and the winner should end up as league champion. The loser will still be favored to get the league’s second play-off berth ahead of Sobrato and Gunderson.

C Leagues – One spot

PAL Lake – Woodside needs just one win over the league’s two winless teams (Lynbrook or Saratoga) to clinch the league tile and the lone play-off berth

Santa Lucia – The leagues two unbeaten teams play this week as Greenfield travels to Stevenson. Both teams still have to play one loss Gonzales to determine the league champion.

West Valley – The three top teams Del Mar, Willow Glen and Mt. Pleasant are all 4-0 in league. This week Mt. Pleasant travels to Del Mar in a big game. Willow Glen plays Mt. Pleasant in week 9 and Del Mar in week 10.