Top matchups
Central Coast Section
No. 5 Menlo-Atherton (9-2) at No. 1 St. Francis (10-0) in Division I semifinal, Friday, 7 p.m.: Though separated by less than 12 miles, these powerhouses have played only twice previously, St. Francis winning a CCS playoff game in 1993, M-A beating the Lancers in 1958. Both teams are red hot. St. Francis is having a historic season that includes a victory over De La Salle and a West Catholic Athletic League championship. M-A has won nine in a row since opening the season with losses to Bellarmine and Oregon power Tualatin. The Bears went on the road last week and ended Salinas’ unbeaten season in the first round, winning 35-31 behind 390 yards passing and four touchdowns from Matt MacLeod. St. Francis, on the heels of a dominant win at Serra to claim the WCAL title, was tied 28-28 in the fourth quarter last week against Aptos before finding another gear to win 56-28. Viliami “Juju” Teu leads the Lancers with 1,993 yards and 25 TDs rushing. MacLeod and Teu are among a number of players on both sides who were on the same Pop Warner team. Calpreps.com predicts St. Francis to advance 42-21. — Darren Sabedra
No. 3 Bellarmine (8-3) at No. 2 Serra (9-1) in Division I semifinal, Saturday, 1 p.m.: Rematch of a game Serra won 41-7 on Oct. 2. On that day, the Padres took advantage of their superior size to win the battle in the trenches, opening huge holes for running back Petelo Gi. He ran for 171 yards and three TDs in 12 carries in the victory. Serra led 20-0 at halftime and the momentum didn’t change in the second half. But the Padres also lost their playmaker that afternoon, senior Hassan Mahasin, the reigning Bay Area News Group player of the year who suffered a season-ending knee injury. Serra is still trying to find a rhythm on offense without Mahasin. The Padres had five turnovers last week in the first round against Valley Christian and still advanced 41-30. Dominique Lampkin threw four TD passes and ran for a TD against Valley but also had three interceptions. Serra will need to protect the ball better against Bellarmine, which beat Los Gatos 34-27 in the first round when Thomas Di Vittorio scored on a 94-yard pick-six in the final minute. “The joy of being a Bell is back on campus,” Serra coach Patrick Walsh said Saturday, a day after Bellarmine’s dramatic win. “That was very apparent early in the season, during the season, and particularly last night.” But Calpreps.com’s computer is still taking Serra to move on, 34-21. — Darren Sabedra
No. 4 Menlo (11-0) at No. 1 San Benito (9-1), in Division II semifinal, Friday, 7 p.m.: The Knights have passed every test so far this season, including back-to-back wins over Sacred Heart Prep and Half Moon Bay in their last two games. Now comes the challenge of a road trip to San Benito. It’s likely there will be a big crowd on hand to cheer on the Haybalers, whose only setback was a three-point loss to Salinas in late September. But as good as San Benito has been, it has struggled against South Bay/Peninsula teams. The Haybalers are 3-0 against Santa Teresa, Wilcox and Burlingame, but they won those games by a total of 17 points. Last week, in the first round, San Benito had to go overtime to beat eighth-seeded Burlingame 31-28. This will be a matchup of outstanding quarterbacks. Menlo’s Sergio Beltran broke the CCS regular-season record for passing touchdowns and now has 48 overall after throwing four last week against Half Moon Bay in the first round of the playoffs. He has rushed for 1,018 yards. Tyler Pacheco, who quarterbacks the Haybalers, has some nifty numbers, too. He’s passed for 13 touchdowns and run for 18 more. He has 949 yards rushing. San Benito gets the edge for being at home, but this has the look of a game that could go down to the wire. — Mike Lefkow
No. 7 St. Ignatius (5-6) at No. 3 Wilcox (7-4) in Division II semifinal, Friday, 7 p.m.: Wilcox prepped for games such as this one with a non-league schedule that included losses to Pittsburg and Valley Christian. Now the Chargers are about to find out if those early-season exams will pay off against an opponent coming off a 28-0 win at second-seeded Palma in the first round. Five of the six teams to beat St. Ignatius — St. Francis, Serra, Bellarmine, Sacred Heart Cathedral, St. Mary’s-Stockton — are playing this weekend. Only Valley Christian has been eliminated. For Wilcox to advance, it’ll probably need another big game from running back Luther K. Glenn, who has been right at home in the veer offense, averaging 156.1 yards per game on the ground. He ran for 251 yards and two TDs in a victory last week over Santa Cruz. Glenn isn’t the only contributor for the Chargers. Andrew Palacios has rushed for 737 yards and 10 TDs, and QB Armand Johnson has thrown for 1,260 yards and 14 TDs. Calpreps.com picks Wilcox, 24-21. — Darren Sabedra
North Coast Section
No. 2 Pittsburg (8-1) at No. 1 De La Salle (9-2) in Open Division final, Friday, 7 p.m.: Both easily advanced through the first round of the Open/Division I bracket to set up this championship game, Pittsburg cruising past Amador Valley, De La Salle rolling over James Logan. Neither side will be eliminated Friday. The new NCS format calls for the losing team to slide into the Division I final next week. The opponent will be the winner of Friday’s California-Clayton Valley semifinal game. Pittsburg has lost 31 in a row to DLS, including nine in section finals, since beating the Spartans in an NCS title game 30 years ago. Pittsburg QB Jaden Rashada and WR Rashid Williams, both juniors, are rated four-star prospects by 247Sports. The Pirates average 43.6 points per game. DLS played a challenging non-league schedule, which included a historic loss in September to St. Francis, the Spartans’ first defeat to an opponent from this region since falling to Pittsburg in 1991. DLS also lost in October to St. Frances Academy, a Baltimore power. DB/WR Zeke Berry, RBs Charles Greer and Zeke Barber, and QB Luke Dermon are among the standouts for DLS, which is aiming for its 29th consecutive section title. Calpreps.com’s computer projects DLS to win 44-14. — Darren Sabedra
No. 5 California (8-3) at No. 3 Clayton Valley (8-3) in Open/Division I semifinal, Friday, 7 p.m.: The first time these East Bay Athletic League Mountain Division rivals met, Macray Madruga’s point after following California’s third-quarter touchdown was the difference. It was the only successful conversion in the Grizzlies’ 19-18 win. This game could be just as close, as both teams are playing well. California has won its last two after three straight losses, scoring a combined 97 points. Clayton Valley has won four of five, the one setback being to De La Salle. California will try to ride the arm of quarterback Teddy Booras and the hands of receiver Jake Calcagno. Trevor Rund has rushed for 1,289 yards and 13 TDs, so the Grizzlies can be pretty balanced. The Ugly Eagles average 310.6 yards rushing, led by Rahsaan Woodland with 1,435 yards. QB Brenden Bush is a dual-threat. Expect a few more points than in the first game, especially if the teams can convert their extra points. — Mike Lefkow
No. 4 Campolindo (8-3) at No. 1 San Ramon Valley (8-3) in Division II semifinal, Friday, 7 p.m.: San Ramon Valley is one of the most talented teams in the Bay Area this season, a squad that could compete with all but De La Salle in the Open/Division I. Can Campolindo bring down a team like the Wolves? The Cougars have been very good in the postseason under coach Kevin Macy. They played in three straight state championships from 2014-2016, winning twice. In 2017, they missed making it back to state for a fourth year in a row by one game. San Ramon Valley suffered a blowout loss to De La Salle, but its other defeats were both by seven points to Central Catholic-Modesto and Clayton Valley Charter. The Wolves have stars all over the field, including QB Jack Quigley, wideout Tanner Salisbury and RB Za’Darion Nardi. Up front is lineman Jackson Brown, a Cal commit who recently received an offer from USC. Campolindo has won five in a row after a lackluster 3-3 start. Campo has an improving QB in Dashiell Weaver and a receiver in Robbie Mascheroni who is attracting considerable recruiting attention. But he is questionable Friday because of a hand injury. Another concern is the loss of RB Greg Palamountain, who has a leg injury. — Mike Lefkow
No. 3 Benicia (8-3) at No. 2 Las Lomas (8-3) in Division III semifinal, Friday, 7 p.m.: This will be the third meeting between Las Lomas and Benicia in 2021. They also met in 2018. The home team is 0-3. Las Lomas has handled Benicia in convincing fashion on the road, including a 35-21 victory on Nov. 5. The Knights led 21-14 going into the fourth quarter, then scored twice in four minutes to go ahead 35-14. Benicia cut the lead to 35-21 with about five minutes to go, but there was no more scoring. The Panthers won 13-7 in overtime at Las Lomas during the abbreviated spring season. Las Lomas cruised to a 35-0 triumph at Benicia in 2018. This should be a close encounter. Benicia has star power in wide receivers Croix Stewart (UCLA) and Simeon Harris (Colorado), DE/TE Miles Bailey (Fresno State) and running back Janari Boone. Harris has been injured and there was no word early in the week on whether he would play. Las Lomas isn’t lacking for talent with 6-foot-5 junior QB Michael Wood, running backs Jermaine Land and Frank Payne, and a host of good receivers led by Jabre Bevineau and Dimond Loosli. Both teams run balanced offenses. — Mike Lefkow
Schedule
Central Coast Section
Division I
Semifinals
No. 3 Bellarmine (8-3) at No. 2 Serra (9-1), Saturday, 1 p.m.
No. 5 Menlo-Atherton (9-2) at No. 1 St. Francis (10-0), Friday, 7 p.m.
Division II
Semifinals
No. 7 St. Ignatius (5-6) at No. 3 Wilcox (7-4), Friday, 7 p.m.
No. 4 Menlo School (11-0) at No. 1 San Benito (9-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
Division III
Semifinals
No. 7 Mountain View (6-5) vs. No. 3 Sacred Heart Cathedral (4-7), Saturday at Kezar Stadium, 6 p.m.
No. 4 Christopher (6-5) at No. 1 Leland (9-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
Division IV
Semifinals
No. 3 Sacred Heart Prep (4-7) at No. 2 Hillsdale (9-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
No. 4 Santa Teresa (7-4) at No. 1 Homestead (6-5), Friday, 7 p.m.
Division V
Semifinals
No. 7 St. Francis-Watsonville (8-3) at No. 6 Los Altos (8-3), Friday, 7 p.m.
No. 5 North Salinas (7-3) at No. 1 Aragon (7-4), Friday, 7 p.m.
North Coast Section
Open/Division I
Open final
No. 2 Pittsburg (8-1) at No. 1 De La Salle (9-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
Division I semifinal
No. 5 California (8-3) at No. 3 Clayton Valley (8-3), Friday, 7 p.m.
Note: The loser of the Open Division championship will play the winner of the bottom half of the bracket for the Division I championship in Week 3 of the playoffs.
Division II
Semifinals
No. 4 Campolindo (8-3) at No. 1 San Ramon Valley (8-3), Friday, 7 p.m.
No. 3 Foothill (9-2) at No. 2 Rancho Cotate (10-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
Division III
Semifinals
No. 4 El Cerrito (8-2) at No. 1 Windsor (9-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
No. 3 Benicia (8-3) at No. 2 Las Lomas (8-3), Friday, 7 p.m.
Division IV
Semifinals
No. 4 Tamalpais (7-4) at No. 1 Marin Catholic (10-1), Saturday, 1 p.m.
No. 3 Tennyson (10-0) at No. 2 Cardinal Newman (7-3), Friday, 7 p.m.
Division V
Semifinals
No. 4 St. Bernard’s (6-4) at No. 1 San Marin (10-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
No. 6 Miramonte (6-4) at No. 2 Del Norte (9-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
Division VI
Semifinals
No. 4 Middletown (7-4) at No. 1. Salesian (7-2), Saturday, 1 p.m.
No. 3 Justin-Siena (6-5) vs. No. 2 Arcata (8-2), Friday at McKinleyville HS, 7 p.m.
Division VII
Semifinals
No. 5 Clear Lake (7-3) vs. No. 1 St Vincent de Paul (9-1), Saturday at Yarbrough Field, 1 p.m.
No. 3 Cloverdale (6-4) at No. 2 St Helena (9-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
Oakland Section
Semifinals
Oakland Tech (5-4) at McClymonds (8-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
Castlemont (3-5) at Skyline (5-4), Friday, 7 p.m.
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