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 Cypress or Mission (maybe both?) . PAL-booster and the NASA computer know how CCS at large playoffs are figured out.
Predicted order of Finish-
Gabilan(A): Salinas has been the class of the PCAL Gabilan for the past 5 years (excluding covid). I am not picking against them until they lose. They did lose a lot of playmakers to graduation, but they have built a strong program and will easily re-load. Palma looks to challenge this year as they have the arguably the best playmaker in the league, but their lack of depth may hurt them. As always Aptos and Hollister will be tough outs. Monterey, new to the Gabilan this year, may have the fastest and most athletic team but lack some depth upfront. Look for them to challenge the top 4. Soquel has built a fantastic program; I just don’t know if they have the depth to compete with, the upper echelon of the Gabilan. And Alverez, mostly due to enrollment, (+/- 2200) and a victory vs Alisal last year, will continue to battle for 5th spot in the Gabilan.
Mission South (B): I wish RLS and Gonzales were here, then we could have the old MTAL! Carmel has steadily been improving since Covid and have 2 of the better playmakers in the league and some depth on the OL and DL. If they can get consistent QB play, this is their league to lose. Soledad had a great team last year and will look to be equally as good or better this year. Alisal, comes down from the Gabilan and with their physical ground and pound attack, will be a very tough out for everyone. Rancho San Juan has built a nice program, but they lost a lot last year, it will be fun to see how they respond. I wanted to rank KC higher, but I just don’t see them being better than the top 4. North Salinas needs to be consistent, 2 winless seasons in 3 years is tough. But that 1 year they made it to the semifinals of DIV. I was going to Pick North Salinas 7, but then I realized PG was in the league. So, they must be 7th. Truth is pacific Grove maybe the sleeper team of this league, as they had a much larger than anticipated turn out and for some reason that town produces some great athletes. Do not be surprised if they challenge in this league.
Sant Lucia (C): RLS will look to become back-to-back league champions for the first time in the history of the program. Usually when you win an equity title you get moved up. And I am a little surprised RLS stayed down, and North Monterey County stayed up. RLS will have to replace some key skilled players as well as deal with some old south county rivals. Greenfield continues to see numbers increase and that is good for this program, they will challenge RLS for the title. Gonzales continues to rebuild its program, I know every school went through COVID, but some programs did better than others. Gonzales did not do well. Look for SLV to continue to rebuild its once proud program. I see Marina, Harbor and Pajaro battling out for last place as the programs continue to search for stability.
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 Cypress or Mission (maybe both?) . PAL-booster and the NASA computer know how CCS at large playoffs are figured out.
Predicted order of Finish-
Gabilan(A): Salinas has been the class of the PCAL Gabilan for the past 5 years (excluding covid). I am not picking against them until they lose. They did lose a lot of playmakers to graduation, but they have built a strong program and will easily re-load. Palma looks to challenge this year as they have the arguably the best playmaker in the league, but their lack of depth may hurt them. As always Aptos and Hollister will be tough outs. Monterey, new to the Gabilan this year, may have the fastest and most athletic team but lack some depth upfront. Look for them to challenge the top 4. Soquel has built a fantastic program; I just don’t know if they have the depth to compete with, the upper echelon of the Gabilan. And Alverez, mostly due to enrollment, (+/- 2200) and a victory vs Alisal last year, will continue to battle for 5th spot in the Gabilan.
- Salinas (CA)
- Palma (Salinas, CA)
- Aptos (CA)
- Hollister (CA)
- Monterey (CA)
- Soquel (CA)
- Alverez (CA)
- Scotts Valley (CA)
- Seaside (CA)
- St. Francis (Watsonville, CA)
- Monte Vista Christian (Watsonville, CA)
- Santa Cruz (CA)
- Watsonville (CA)
- North Monterey County (Castroville, CA)
Mission South (B): I wish RLS and Gonzales were here, then we could have the old MTAL! Carmel has steadily been improving since Covid and have 2 of the better playmakers in the league and some depth on the OL and DL. If they can get consistent QB play, this is their league to lose. Soledad had a great team last year and will look to be equally as good or better this year. Alisal, comes down from the Gabilan and with their physical ground and pound attack, will be a very tough out for everyone. Rancho San Juan has built a nice program, but they lost a lot last year, it will be fun to see how they respond. I wanted to rank KC higher, but I just don’t see them being better than the top 4. North Salinas needs to be consistent, 2 winless seasons in 3 years is tough. But that 1 year they made it to the semifinals of DIV. I was going to Pick North Salinas 7, but then I realized PG was in the league. So, they must be 7th. Truth is pacific Grove maybe the sleeper team of this league, as they had a much larger than anticipated turn out and for some reason that town produces some great athletes. Do not be surprised if they challenge in this league.
- Carmel (CA)
- Soledad (CA)
- Alisal (Salinas, CA)
- Rancho San Juan (Salinas, CA)
- King City (CA)
- North Salinas (Salinas, CA)
- Pacific Grove (CA)
Sant Lucia (C): RLS will look to become back-to-back league champions for the first time in the history of the program. Usually when you win an equity title you get moved up. And I am a little surprised RLS stayed down, and North Monterey County stayed up. RLS will have to replace some key skilled players as well as deal with some old south county rivals. Greenfield continues to see numbers increase and that is good for this program, they will challenge RLS for the title. Gonzales continues to rebuild its program, I know every school went through COVID, but some programs did better than others. Gonzales did not do well. Look for SLV to continue to rebuild its once proud program. I see Marina, Harbor and Pajaro battling out for last place as the programs continue to search for stability.
- RLS (Pebble Beach, CA)
- Greenfield (CA)
- Gonzales (CA)
- San Lorenzo Valley (Felton, CA)
- Marina (CA)
- Harbor (Santa Cruz, CA)
- Pajaro Valley (Watsonville, CA)
