LAKE COUNTY — Three teams in the playoffs, three home games Friday night, and three chances to earn a sectional championship even if they’re not the top dogs in their respective divisions.
The Upper Lake Cougars, Clear Lake Cardinals and Middletown Mustangs all made the postseason cut Sunday when the North Coast Section released its playoff brackets in divisions 1-7 and in the eight-man tournament, which the Cougars will be part of as the No. 3 seed. Middletown is the No. 4 seed in Division 6. and Clear Lake is the No. 4 seed in Division 7.
First-round games are this weekend, the semifinals are the weekend of Nov. 19-20 and the championship round is Nov. 26-27.
Middletown last won a sectional pennant in 2018, Clear Lake in 1998, and Upper Lake in 1992. All three teams take their first stop toward a NCS title beginning Friday night when Upper Lake (6-2) hosts Cornerstone Christian (5-3), Clear Lake is home against Hoopa Valley (4-4), and Middletown hosts Pinole Valley (3-6), a team it beat 40-6 in a first-round playoff game in 2019 at Bill Foltmer Field. Games at all three venues kick off at 7 p.m.
Upper Lake
While Upper Lake head coach Vince Moran was hoping for a No. 2 seed in the eight-football bracket, the Cougars drew the No. 3 seed among the six teams that qualified for postseason play. Undefeated NCL IV champion Branson School of Ross (8-0), a 32-30 winner at Calistoga in its regular-season finale, is the No. 1 seed while NCL IV runner-up Stuart Hall of San Francisco (4-3) is the No. 2 seed.
“I was a little disappointed not getting two,” Moran said. “But we have to go through all those teams to get through to the championship anyway. We’re in the playoffs, so I’m not complaining.”
The No. 3 seeding could still work to the Cougars’ favor especially if they win their first two games and No. 1 Branson is upset in the semifinals, possibly by Calistoga.
“We could end up with Calistoga at home,” Moran said.
Rounding out the playoff field is Upper Lake, No. 4 Calistoga (5-2), No. 5 South Fork (5-4) and No. 6 Cornerstone Christian.
Branson School and Stuart Hall both have first-round byes this weekend and will host semifinal-round games the weekend of Nov. 19-20. Branson draws the first-round winner between South Fork at Calistoga while Stuart Hall hosts the Cornerstone Christian at Upper Lake winner.
Clear Lake
Despite a disappointing 26-12 home loss to Clear Lake on Friday, the Cardinals’ second straight setback in NCL I action, head coach Mark Cory’s squad still came away with the No. 4 seed in the eight-team Division 7 playoffs.
“Happy to be at home and happy not to be traveling to Hoopa,” Cory said the four-plus-hour road trip the Cardinals avoided.
“I don’t know much about the teams on the back end of it,” Cory said of the seedings. “I know some played in tough conferences. It’s hard to gauge those teams.”
The Cardinals draw a fifth-seeded Hoopa Valley team that upset Arcata, the No. 2 seed in the Division 6 playoffs, 18-0 in the Humboldt-Del Norte Little Four finale for both teams Friday in Arcata.
Atop the Division 7 seedings is St. Vincent of Petaluma (8-1), which earned a share of the North Bay League Redwood League title this season along with Montgomery High School and Santa Rosa High School. NCL I champion St. Helena (8-1) is the No. 2 seed, Cloverdale (5-4) is No. 3, Berean Christian of Walnut Creek (4-5) is No. 6, McKinleyville (5-5) is No. 7, and St. Patrick-St. Vincent of Vallejo (4-6) is No. 8.
In addition to Hoopa at Clear Lake, other first-round games have St. Patrick-St.Vincent at St. Vincent, McKinleyville at St. Helena, and Berean Christian at Cloverdale.
The Clear Lake-Hoopa winner plays the St. Vincent vs. St. Patrick-St. Vincent winner in the semifinals the weekend of Nov. 19-20 at the home site of the highest surviving seed.
Middletown
If the No. 4-seeded Middletown Mustangs can get past No. 5 Pinole Valley in their playoff opener, they’ll meet an old nemesis, No. 1 seed Salesian of Richmond, in the Division 6 semifinals on Nov. 20 at Salesian High School at 1 p.m.
“Things couldn’t worked out any better for us as far as the seeding goes,” Middletown head coach Bill Foltmer said. “We could have ended up on the road, instead we’re at home where we have a winnable game.”
If the Mustangs do beat Pinole Valley, they’re back on the road against Salesian, a team they have met in a handful times in the postseason. Among the more memorable playoff meetings was the Mustangs’ 28-14 upset win over the No. 1-seeded Pride in the Division 5 championship game three years ago. In 2010, Salesian beat Middletown 28-21 in an overtime thriller to capture the Division 4 title.
No. 1 Salesian (7-2) has a first-round bye before taking on the Middletown-Pinole Valley winner.
Rounding out the Division 6 field is No. 2 Arcata (7-3), No. 3 Justin-Siena (5-5), Middletown, Pinole Valley, No. 6 St. Mary’s (3-6) and No. 7 San Lorenzo (3-6).
Other first-round games besides Pinole Valley at Middletown are San Lorenzo at Arcata, and St. Mary’s at Justin-Siena.
Foltmer said Justin-Siena is a team to keep an eye on because of its tough season schedule.
“They play against those big Napa (County) schools,” Foltmer said.
