The stage is set for a dramatic finish to the section high school football playoffs.
Four championship games involving teams from the Bay Area News Group’s coverage area will be played Friday, five Saturday.
The winners will advance to NorCal regional title games next weekend. Matchups will be announced Sunday.
Headliners this weekend include Los Gatos and St. Francis meeting for the Central Coast Section Division I title at San Jose City College and San Ramon Valley facing Pittsburg for the North Coast Section Division I crown at Diablo Valley College.
Both of those games are Friday night.
The weekend will also include a rivalry game in the East Bay between Acalanes and Campolindo for the NCS Division III championship on Friday at Las Lomas and Wilcox playing Palma for the CCS Division II title on Saturday at SJCC.
The championship matchups, as always, are filled with many storylines. Here are the top ones:
LG VS. ST. FRANCIS: THE HISTORICAL STAKES
When Los Gatos beat Wilcox for the CCS Division I title last season, the Wildcats pulled even with St. Francis for the most football championships in section history, at 16 apiece.
The tie will be broken Friday.
Los Gatos is aiming to duplicate what Oak Grove accomplished in 2015: Beat three West Catholic Athletic League teams to win a CCS title. The Wildcats reached the final by winning road games against Serra and Archbishop Riordan.
St. Francis, which last won a section title in 2014, is trying to avoid a second championship game loss in as many weeks. The Lancers fell to St. Ignatius in the Open Division final on Friday.
PITT VS. SRV: DIVISION I REMATCH
Last season, Pittsburg made no secret that it was disappointed about being seeded behind San Ramon Valley in the NCS’s Open/Division I bracket.
The Pirates used that motivation to beat the Wolves in the Division I final after the second-seeded Danville school narrowly lost to De La Salle in the Open title game the previous week.
So who has the motivation now?
Pittsburg was seeded second in the Open/Division I tournament, lost to De La Salle 10-7 in the Open final on Friday and will now play SRV for Division I crown.
WILCOX: FORGET THE SEEDS
Seeding and records indicate that second-seeded Wilcox should have the edge when it plays No. 7 seed Palma for the CCS Division II championship on Saturday.
But history leans Palma.
In 16 previous appearances in a CCS final, the longtime Salinas powerhouse has won 12 championships, including last season’s Division III title.
Wilcox has come up short in 10 of its 13 CCS championship games, including twice last season when the Chargers were routed by Serra in the Open final and Los Gatos a week later in the Division I title game.
The Santa Clara school, which lost its starting quarterback to injury a few weeks ago, is 10-2 this season, highlighted by a 19-14 victory at Los Gatos on Nov. 1 that propelled the Chargers to a league championship.
Palma is 7-5.
CAMPO VS. ACALANES: ENOUGH SAID
Maybe there won’t be a need to plant a team flag at midfield after this game, as Campo did when it won at Acalanes last season and Acalanes did when it won at Campo on Nov. 1.
But the stakes are plenty juicy.
Campo has had the upper-hand in this rivalry between Lamorinda schools, winning 13 of the past 16 meetings, but Acalanes is a defending NCS, NorCal and state champion.
The Dons followed their NCS Division IV championship last season – the program’s first section crown at any level – by capturing 3-AA regional and state titles.
Campo knows the championship feeling. The Cougars have won seven NCS titles, most recently in 2021, and two state championships in their storied history.
Plus, as always under longtime coach Kevin Macy, Campo has gotten hot at the right time.
In other words, Friday’s game qualifies as must-see.
WHERE’S DLS, ST. IGNATIUS?
By winning Open Division section titles last weekend, De La Salle and St. Ignatius have this weekend off.
NCS Open champion DLS is a lock to play next in the Open Division state title game on Dec. 14. The opponent will be Mater Dei-Santa Ana or St. John Bosco-Bellflower.
CCS Open champ SI will return to action next weekend in a NorCal game.
Given that their resume includes a 28-10 loss to San Ramon Valley, the Wildcats are probably looking at being placed in the 1-A or 2-AA regional game.
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After the Open, the next tier is 1-AA.
BY THE NUMBERS
1 – NCS titles Amador Valley and Moreau Catholic will have won if they prevail this weekend. AV is in the Division II final, Moreau is playing for the Division VII crown.
4 – Consecutive losses for Sequoia to open this season before the Ravens won seven of their next eight to reach the CCS Division V final against Leland on Saturday at MacDonald High.
6 – The amount of times San Ramon Valley has played Pittsburg since 2008. Pittsburg is 5-1 in those games.
8 – Victories by Sacred Heart Prep against Burlingame in 13 meetings since 2010. The Peninsula teams play for the CCS Division IV title on Saturday at San Jose City College.
52 – The number of years it has been since Leland became the CCS’s first football champion, beating Archbishop Riordan 41-16 to cap a 13-0 season. Leland will be aiming for its fifth section championship on Saturday.