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.
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.
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