LAKE COUNTY — The Clear Lake Cardinals and Lower Lake Trojans open at home this weekend as the North Coast Section football playoffs kick off around the north state.
Clear Lake (9-0-1), the undefeated North Central League I South champion, pulled down the No. 4 seed on Sunday during the Class A at-large and seeding meeting in Walnut Creek. Lower Lake (6-3-1), the NCL I North champion, drew the No. 5 seed in the 2A at-large and seeding meeting.
Lower Lake hosts No. 4 seed Terra Linda High School of Novato on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Gordon Sadler Field. Clear Lake draws No. 5 seed King”s Academy of Sunnyvale on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Don Owens Stadium in Lakeport.
In the 2A field, Novato (10-0) is the No. 1 seed, Healdsburg (9-1) is No. 2 an Del Norte (9-0) is No. 3. After No. 4 Terra Linda (5-5) and No. 5 Lower Lake are No. 6 Fortuna (9-1) and No. 7 Analy. There is no eighth team in the field and as a result Novato receives a first-round bye.
Other first-round games have Analy at Healdsburg on Friday at 7 p.m. and Fortuna at Del Norte on Saturday at 7 p.m.
In the Class A field, the No. 1 seed is St. Patrick/St. Vincent of Vallejo, the undefeated Bayshore Athletic League champion at 10-0. Ferndale (9-1), whose only loss came to St. Patrick/St. Vincent, is No. 2, and Salesian (9-1) of Richmond is No. 3. After No. 4 Clear and No. 5 King”s Academy are No. 6 Justin-Siena (6-4) of Napa, No. 7 Sacred Heart Prep (8-2) and No. 8 Cloverdale (7-3).
In other first-round games, Cloverdale plays at St. Patrick-St. Vincent on Friday at 7 p.m., Ferndale hosts Sacred Heart Prep on Saturday at 1 p.m., and Salesian hosts Justin-Siena on Saturday at 1 p.m.
First-round winners in both the A and 2A playoffs advance to the semifinal round the weekend of Nov. 23-24. The championship round is the weekend of Dec. 7-8.
Lower Lake hasn”t appeared in the playoffs since 1995 and the Trojans last won a sectional title in 1988, when they beat Clear Lake in the Class A finals. Their last playoff victory was in 1992.
Clear Lake”s last appearance in the Class A playoffs was 2005, when the Cardinals beat Kelseyville in a first-round game before losing to Salesian in the semifinals. Clear Lake won its first and only Class A title in 1998.
