Playoff football matchups released: Here’s where Merced-area teams will be playing.
With the regular season wrapped up on Friday, the focus for Merced-area high school football team shifts to the playoffs.
The Sac-Joaquin Section released the playoff matchups on Sunday afternoon with 11 area teams qualifying for the SJS playoffs. Dos Palos and Chowchilla will also compete in the Central Section playoffs.
Merced (6-4) defeated Golden Valley (8-2) 31-6 on Friday to extend its streak against the Cougars to 17 consecutive wins. The Bears earned the No. 5 seed and will host No. 12 Ceres on Friday at Cathie Hostetler Stadium.
Golden Valley is the No. 9 seed and will travel to No. 8 Woodcreek.
The top four seeds in Division III are No. 1 Placer, No. 2 Patterson, No. 3 Grant and No. 4 Capital Christian. Those four teams receive a bye in the opening round.
Fresh off a 31-25 win over Atwater in the Bloss Bowl, Buhach Colony received the No. 9 seed in Division IV and will open at No. 8 Los Banos (8-2), which won the Western Athletic Conference after defeated Pacheco in the Crosstown Class on Friday night.
The top four seeds in Division IV are No. 1 Vanden, No. 2 Casa Roble, No. 3 West Park and No. 4 Kimball.
Pacheco (6-4) is the No. 12 seed in Division V and will open against No. 5 Escalon on Friday with the winner moving on to play No. 4 Hilmar (7-3) in the quarterfinals.
The other top seeds in Division V are No. 1 Sutter, No. 2 Sonora and No. 3 Liberty Ranch.
Delhi is the only Merced County team in the Division VI field and the No. 12 Hawks will play No. 5 Bradshaw Christian in the first round.
Division VII should be interesting with Stone Ridge Christian, Mariposa, Le Grand and Gustine all in the field.
The eight-team playoff doesn’t kickoff until Nov. 11 with No. 4 Stone Ridge (8-2) traveling to No. 5 Mariposa (7-3). Stone Ridge Christian isn’t eligible to host a playoff game due to a settlement with the section on its involvement with club football.
Le Grand is the No. 2 seed and will host No. 7 Delta. Gustine is the No. 6 seed and will travel to No. 3 Woodland Christian.
Ripon Christian is the No. 1 seed in Division VII.
In the Central Section, Dos Palos (5-5) earned the No. 3 seed in Division V and will host No. 14 West Bakersfield.
Chowchilla (5-5) is the No. 7 seed in Division VI and will host No. 10 Riverdale.
