CCS football playoffs: Did the seeding system work? What are the top storylines?

Mitty coach Danny Sullivan, a former Los Gatos star, faces his alma mater in Round 1. How did three-win Mountain View get in? Wilcox might be primed for another deep run.

Fun matchup: Mitty at Los Gatos

It had to happen this way. It had to be Archbishop Mitty coach Danny Sullivan, a former Los Gatos star quarterback and assistant coach, going against his alma mater in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs.

Sunday, when Sullivan arrived at the section seeding meeting, the first person he saw was Los Gatos coach Mark Krail.

They already knew the matchup was a reality, having calculated the points the CCS uses to seed teams.

“We just started laughing,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan led Los Gatos to a CCS championship in 2005 under then coach-Butch Cattolico before moving on to Arizona State. He returned to Los Gatos to coach under Cattolico and later Krail, winning a CCS title with both.

The matchup Friday night won’t be the first time Sullivan has coached against Los Gatos. He also did it when he was the coach at Palo Alto.

“I think any chance someone gets an opportunity to kind of be back where the nostalgia and the memories come back is pretty special,” Sullivan said Sunday. “But having done it a couple of years ago I think is helpful for me. I can really focus on the game.”

Sullivan had some lean seasons as a coach but turned things around this year, going from one win last fall to seven and a spot in the division reserved for the section’s top eight teams.

Krail is happy for Sullivan.

“His first two years there were rough, obviously, but to his credit and the kids’ credit, they hung in there well and had a really nice year,” Krail said. “They’re a nice football team. It’s going to be a lot of fun. They’ve got some really talented players on both sides of the ball.”

— Darren Sabedra

Is Wilcox ready to repeat?

Wilcox went down this path last season. The Chargers lost to Los Gatos in league play, were placed in Division II and went on to capture section and regional championships before narrowly losing in a state final.

Is the Santa Clara school ready for a sequel?

Wilcox lost to Los Gatos again during the regular season, an outcome that put the Chargers back in Division II.

Seeded No. 1, Wilcox has a good shot at another long run. The Chargers open the playoffs Thursday at home against Lincoln-San Jose.

“We are excited,” Wilcox coach Paul Rosa said in a text Sunday. “I think it’s a really competitive bracket and (there) are a lot of good teams that can win it. Should be fun.”

— Joseph Dycus

Is the system fair to league champs?

While Wilcox has a good shot in Division II, Los Gatos will have to win a division that includes the section’s top teams (ie Serra, St. Francis and others) to reach a regional.

Is that fair?

“I’ve said this to anybody that will listen,” Los Gatos coach Mark Krail said. “In our case, and certainly in Wilcox’s case in the past, if you win your league, then, man, go play the big boys because you’ve had a championship to celebrate and you’ve had a great year to talk about.

“The ones I feel bad for are the teams that don’t win their league and then by virtue of the point system they end up in Division I. That’s tough. It was Half Moon Bay a couple of years ago. Palma this year. Wilcox was half a point from that. That part rubs me the wrong way. It’s nice to go to your banquet and have something to celebrate, right? If you won your league, that’s something to celebrate.”

— Darren Sabedra

Unlucky No. 8 seeds

In the CCS, sometimes losing has its advantages, winning its disadvantages.

That was clear again Sunday.

The CCS uses a competitive equity model for its football playoffs, ranking the teams that qualify from 1 to 40. The top eight teams are placed in Division I, the next eight in Division II and down the line.

As always, it’s a smoother path to be No. 9 in those rankings than No. 8, No. 17 over No. 16, No. 25 over No. 24 and No. 33 over No. 32.

Who are the unlucky eighth seeds?

Palma (Division I), Lincoln-San Jose (Division II), Terra Nova (Division III) and Overfelt (Division IV).

And the fortunate No. 1 seeds?

Wilcox (Division II), Soquel (Division III), Sequoia (Division IV) and Westmont (Division V).

Palma went 8-2 and played a tough non-league schedule, with wins against Sacred Heart Cathedral and Soquel.

The Salinas school’s reward?

A trip Saturday to No. 1 overall seed Serra.

CCS commissioner Dave Grissom said the margin between receiving a No. 8 seed or the No. 1 seed in the next division is often a point or less.

“There have been years when you’ve had to have a tie-breaker between an eight and a one seed,” Grissom said. “That did not happen this year.”

Last month, after his team’s loss to Sacred Heart Prep, Half Moon Bay coach Keith Holden made it clear how he felt about the system.

“I hate to say this, but I will say it because it’s totally true: when it comes to playoffs and how they seed you, losing actually helps you — and that’s sad,” Holden said. “Sacred Heart Prep, they won state last year. But they won state because they were a pretty low seed.”

— Joseph Dycus

Mountain View: Three wins are enough

You might be wondering how Mountain View, which finished 3-7 overall and 1-4 in its league, had enough power points to qualify for the playoffs.

Here is how (using the CCS points system):

Each team gets two points per win. That’s six points.

Each team gets a point for playing “A” league teams. Mountain View played eight. That’s eight points.

Each team gets 0.5 points for playing “B” league teams. Mountain View played two. That’s one point.

Each team gets one point for playing a league champion. Mountain View played three (The King’s Academy, Sacred Heart Prep and Los Gatos). That’s three points.

Each team gets 1.5 points for playing a team ranked in calpreps.com’s Top 100 at 8 a.m. on the day of the seeding meeting. Mountain View played two (Los Gatos and Sacred Heart Prep). That’s three points.

Each team gets one point for playing teams ranked No. 101-150 on calpreps.com at 8 a.m. on the day of the seeding meeting. Mountain View played two (Mitty and Wilcox). That’s two points.

Mountain View’s total: 23 points.

That was enough to get the Spartans the No. 2 seed in Division IV and a home game Friday night against seventh-seeded Homestead (4-6).

— Darren Sabedra

Lower-league dilemma: What about us?

Rancho San Juan was one of the teams that, if the CCS had a few more slots available, likely would have been in.

The new Salinas school is only in its third season of varsity football, so the current seniors got their introduction to this level in the spring season post-COVID as sophomores. Now, as seniors, they had a sensational season, going 8-2 and beating SCVAL/PAL Lake champion Woodside in non-league play.

But in the PCAL Cypress, only the league champion qualified. Rancho San Juan lost twice, leaving the Trailblazers in the fight for one of the five at-large spots. Rancho San Juan head coach Troy Emrey said he had a feeling the news out of Sunday wasn’t going to be positive for them, but finding out they missed the playoffs still left him disappointed for his seniors.

“I felt like they deserve to have a playoff path and play a game,” Emrey said. “I don’t think there are many teams in the state of California that won eight games and didn’t go to the playoffs. It sucks to be a part of that exclusive group instead of the exclusive group going to the playoffs.”

While he isn’t exactly sure the best way to make it happen — more teams in the divisions that already exist? Adding another division entirely? — Emrey believes the CCS should make the playoffs more accessible and add some extra spots. Whether they win every playoff game or lose in the first round, just making the playoffs at all mean so much to schools like his.

“The kids want nothing more than to keep playing,” Emrey said. “They were all bummed when they got the news today. Having the opportunity to be in the same tournament as teams all the way from Sacramento to San Diego, competing for the same trophy, it’s a cool thing for them.

“It’s great for the student body as well, [and] helps us continue to build our school culture. The ability to participate in something like this does wonders for a school and a program.”

— Alex Simon