PCAL Playoffs week 2

[RLS13]

PCAL Playoffs CCS Semi-Finals

Not a bad week for the PCAL in the first round of the CCS playoffs. Most games went as predicted even if they were not what I had hoped. Gabilan went 3-1 and the Mission, an impressive 3-0. Unfortunately, the Cypress and Santa Lucia went a combined 0-3. The PCAL will have at least 1 team playing for a CCS title (DIII) next week.

Salinas got on SHP early with their offense and were able to hang on with a late defensive stop. Palma was completely overmatched by the Serra machine. This sets up a great semifinal match between Serra and Salinas. I do not think that that Salinas wins this game. Serra is just bigger, faster and stronger on both sides of the ball. That being said, Salinas has a chance, albeit a small one. The Cowboys offense is arguably the best in the CCS outside of Serra and probably the best passing team Serra played. Salinas has 2 DI receivers on the outside and they have found a running back in a young Sophomore. Their QB1 is very smart and has a great knowledge of this offense, he does not make many mistakes. Salinas will score some points on Serra. I just don’t think they will be able slow down Serra enough. Salinas will have to play a near perfect game on both sides of the ball and hope Serra makes some mistakes. Aptos had an easy win over Christopher and will now face Saint Ignatius in DII. SI has a played much better defense lately, but Aptos runs that wing T so well. This should be a very close, entertaining game. Hollister had a nice “upset” of Burlingame and will now face Soquel in a DIII semifinal game.

Soquel had a nice win over Terra Nova, Hollister will be a tougher opponent, and according to Cal preps favored. But I think Soquel is the better team this year. They are very well balanced and very disciplined. Both Monterey and Seaside had great showings in DV. Monterey upset Pioneer while Seaside had an easy victory over Woodside. Seaside will next travel to Palo Alto (they do not belong in DV). While Monterey will make the trek to #1 seed Westmont. It would be awesome to play a “Battle of the Bay” part II for the DV championship!!

The Cypress and Santa Lucia reps all lost this past weekend to cap their seasons. Soledad got behind early to Live Oak and could not do anything until it was too late. St Francis kept it close with Santa Teresa until the 4th qtr. But the undersized and undermanned Sharks could not keep up. And finally, one of the greatest seasons in RLS football came to an end. The 7th seed Pirates played hard, and they played well, but they could not hang with A division Palo Alto for all 4 Qtrs. However, they will be hanging a banner this winter in the gym. Congratulations RLS on a fantastic season!!!

Gabilan Playoffs:

Fri 11/18 Hollister (CA) at Soquel (CA), 7:00pm :CCS D III Playoffs- Hollister had a great win over Burlingame last weekend. But Soquel has been so consistent this year, I just can’t pick against them. Soquel 28-14

Fri 11/18 Aptos (CA) at St. Ignatius (San Francisco, CA), 7:00pm: CCS DIV II Playoffs- Can SI slow down the Aptos wing T, and if they do can they score enough points? Going with the locals here. Aptos scores enough. Aptos 27-24

Sat 11/19 Salinas (CA) at Serra (San Mateo, CA), 1:00pm CCS I Playoffs – I am rooting for Salinas here. But to me, Serra is starting to trend to that Mater Dai St. Johns model of High school football. It makes it really difficult to pick against. Salinas keeps it close for a while. Serra 35-24

Mission Playoffs

Fri 11/18 Seaside (CA) at Palo Alto (CA), 7:00pm CCS V Playoffs- It would be awesome if Seaside could beat Palo Alto to set ups a Mission League DV title. The only problem is that Palo Alto is a really good program, that had a bad year, that is playing in a division it does not belong in. Palo Alto 34-21

Fri 11/18 Monterey (CA) at Westmont (Campbell, CA), 7:00pm- CCS DIV V Playoffs -If the Monterey Team that played last week shows up, then Monterey wins, easily. I the team that gave up 51 to Carmel shows up, it will be a long night. Monterey has been playing inspired ball the last 2 weeks, I say they keep it going. Monterey 35-20


CCS Bonus Picks

DI-

Mitty (San Jose, CA) at St. Francis (Mountain View, CA) -Mitty

DII-

Bellarmine (San Jose, CA) at Wilcox [Adrian] (Santa Clara, CA) - Wilcox

DIII

Menlo (Atherton, CA) at Live Oak (Morgan Hill, CA) -Menlo

DIV

Santa Teresa (San Jose, CA) at Sequoia (Redwood City, CA) – Santa Teresa

Branham (San Jose, CA) at Mountain View (CA)- Mountain View

 

[Cal 14]

Hollister has been up and down, but mostly a defensive team. I'm not sure you can ignore how badly Palma smashed Soquel. I think that a lot of their success is based on their schedule.

Aptos has had a number of meetings with St. Ignatius in the playoffs, all of them toughly contested.

I've already covered Salinas-Serra elsewhere.

Palo Alto has been a tough team to pin this season. Seaside has a legit chance here, but I think they'll need a quick start.

Westmont is 10-1, but their schedule has been terrible. Monterey should take this.

Mitty beat Los Gatos, but they seem kind of soft. I think St. Francis overpowers them... again.

Bellarmine has been another team that's been tough to figure. Nice win over Menlo-Atherton, but they also basically played a baseball game against Riordan. Wilcox is good, but perhaps not as good as last year.

How embarassing would it be for the MHAL if tri-champion Live Oak were to lose to the 4th place PAL-BD team? The other two tri-champs have already been blown out by real A-league teams.

Santa Teresa is a lot more battle-tested (as much as you can call that, being the #4 team in the MHAL). Sequoia is another 10-1 team that is a product of their schedule.

Branham probably bought themselves a ticket to the MHAL with their 10-1 season and have a legit shot to knock off 5th place DAL team, Mountain View.

 

[FBAddict]

Hollister has been up and down, but mostly a defensive team. I'm not sure you can ignore how badly Palma smashed Soquel. I think that a lot of their success is based on their schedule.

Aptos has had a number of meetings with St. Ignatius in the playoffs, all of them toughly contested.

I've already covered Salinas-Serra elsewhere.

Palo Alto has been a tough team to pin this season. Seaside has a legit chance here, but I think they'll need a quick start.

Westmont is 10-1, but their schedule has been terrible. Monterey should take this.

Mitty beat Los Gatos, but they seem kind of soft. I think St. Francis overpowers them... again.

Bellarmine has been another team that's been tough to figure. Nice win over Menlo-Atherton, but they also basically played a baseball game against Riordan. Wilcox is good, but perhaps not as good as last year.

How embarassing would it be for the MHAL if tri-champion Live Oak were to lose to the 4th place PAL-BD team? The other two tri-champs have already been blown out by real A-league teams.

Santa Teresa is a lot more battle-tested (as much as you can call that, being the #4 team in the MHAL). Sequoia is another 10-1 team that is a product of their schedule.

Branham probably bought themselves a ticket to the MHAL with their 10-1 season and have a legit shot to knock off 5th place DAL team, Mountain View.

Cal - your moniker image finally came home!!!! It's been fun watching your board interaction regarding Salinas - Good luck this weekend!!!!

 

[Cal 14]

Cal - your moniker image finally came home!!!! It's been fun watching your board interaction regarding Salinas - Good luck this weekend!!!!

Thanks, Addict!

I typically pride myself in remaining fairly objective, sometimes prompting others to incorrectly guess where my loyalties lie, but this is a pretty momentous moment (plus, I just really like that pic I took of the stadium with the lighting strike 😋) . I felt I needed to represent a little this time.

Even so, I think my evaluations of the match-up are fairly objective. I don't think I've sugar-coated anything and have simply challenged a lot of assumptions. That sometimes stirs some feathers. But it is hard to have discussions with those who argue with vagueness.

I do believe that Salinas is the #2 team in the CCS and is the last hope to defeat the Padres, but I think we all understand that Serra poses a great challenge for almost anyone. To think that that team has so many juniors... maybe that's why Rollinson is hanging up the whistle after this year... doesn't want to face the Padres in 2023! 😜

 

[colhenrylives]

A quick note: St. Francis, with a schedule much tougher than Salinas', is lurking. They haven't lost since their contest with Serra two months ago. They have gotten back to their traditional emphasis on a running attack behind their massive OL. If they defeat Mitty (again) and Serra gets past Salinas, a rematch would be interesting, role reversal from 2021. Like Salinas Saturday, SF might have a reasonable shot at the Padres. Maybe not a great shot, but a chance nonetheless.

 

[Cal 14]

A quick note: St. Francis, with a schedule much tougher than Salinas', is lurking. They haven't lost since their contest with Serra two months ago. They have gotten back to their traditional emphasis on a running attack behind their massive OL. If they defeat Mitty (again) and Serra gets past Salinas, a rematch would be interesting, role reversal from 2021. Like Salinas Saturday, SF might have a reasonable shot at the Padres. Maybe not a great shot, but a chance nonetheless.

I'm not sure one-dimensional teams can win at this level anymore. I believe this is why DLS is struggling now.

Even with this "change", their result against Sacred Heart Cathedral was essentially the same as in the first meeting. They're still basically the same team.

 

[NorCalSportsFan]

DLS even with their current team plays at a very high level. They destroyed a pretty god Clayton Valley Charter team with their one dimensional offense. Yes....agree at the highest level like against a couple of the Trinity League teams, and maybe a few other socal teams and maybe another few norcal teams this year.