SALINAS >> It’s all but a formality as changes are coming again to the Pacific Coast Athletic League for football in 2025.

The league is split into four divisions based on level of competition with the Gabilan Division being the most competitive. It is classified as an A league. The Mission Divisions North and South are B leagues. The Santa Lucia Division is a C league.

By a 25-1 vote, Alisal, Carmel and North Salinas are all being bumped up from the Mission to the Gabilan Division this coming fall, with Alvarez dropping to the Mission Division South.

Barring a last second change of heart by the PCAL’s Board of Managers — which has already submitted schedules to the coaches for the 2025 football season — the Gabilan Division will now consist of nine schools, with four automatic playoff qualifiers.

The Mission Division South and North will be two six-team divisions, with two automatic playoff teams.The Santa Lucia Division becomes a seven-team division.

Santa Lucia Division champion Stevenson is moving up to the Mission Division South this fall, while Seaside and Rancho San Juan are dropping to the Santa Lucia. Seaside was a member of the Gabilan Division just three years ago.

“We could have used another year in the Mission,” Alisal coach Francisco Estrada said. “But I said when I took the job our goal was to get back into this league. If it came sooner, we welcome it.”

The one thing Alisal, Carmel and North Salinas have in common is all three teams have been to the postseason in each of the past two years.

“It was bound to happen at some point,” North Salinas coach Ben Ceralde said. “I will take the challenge. But in this division, the physicality is different. Depth becomes a concern.”

The only school that voted against the changes was Carmel, which completed a historic season this past fall by going 15-0 and winning a State Division 5AA title.

“We don’t have any concerns about being in the Gabilan,” Carmel coach and athletic director Golden Anderson said. “The reason we voted no is because we felt the smaller divisions purposed for two ‘A’ leagues was more aligned.”

Anderson was speaking about one of the early proposals by the committee that had two Gabilan Divisions, that would have been six-team divisions.

Because that did not pass through the Central Coast Section because of the amount of automatic playoff teams requested, a handful of more proposals were put on the table before this one stuck.

“We’re not protesting,” Anderson said. “If we disagree, we’re not afraid to say it. We’re ready to move on. We feel we’re one of the top programs. Varsity wise, we’ll be fine.”

All three teams have spent time in the Gabilan Division in the past. Alisal went 1-5 in 2022 in the Gabilan, while North Salinas was winless in its last appearance in 2017.

“Honestly, I was hoping for one more year in the Mission to solidify things and have an actual program that rolls through,” Ceralde said. “I knew it was bound to happen. We’ve made the playoffs in the Mission the last two years.”

The Padres only appearance in the Gabilan Division came in 2019, when they went 3-4, with one of those wins being a forfeit.

“We believe school size does matter,” Anderson said. “With our enrollment, we feel it’s critical that kids play multiple sports. That’s why we don’t have a year-round football program.”

Carmel will be one of the smallest public schools in the CCS playing in an A league with just over 700 kids. By comparison, Hollister has over 3,000 kids, with Salinas is hovering around 3,000.“We are not disputing we don’t belong in the Gabilan,” Anderson said. “Our vote ‘no’ was because of how large the league is.”

Of course, the last time Carmel was bumped to the Gabilan Division, its numbers crumbled to where it was forced to field just a freshman team with no JV program.

“We will likely have to bring some sophomores up that might not be fully ready because of the lack of depth,” Anderson said.

Ceralde echoed similar sentiments.

“I will probably prepare for the worst and bring kids up for depth,” Ceralde said. “We didn’t have a lot of depth on our line last year. It’s going to be more of a grind this fall.”

Carmel and North Salinas will be the only programs in the Gabilan Division that don’t have a freshman program. Alisal intends to bring freshman football back this fall.

“I won’t shy away from the challenge,” Estrada said. “We’re not looking at this as a learning year. Every single week will be a playoff game. We’re making it about us.”

Alvarez, which hasn’t sniffed the playoffs since 2015, will become an instant contender in the Mission Division South, especially with the return of all-county tailback Roman Garcia.

The Eagles finished 3-7 last year and were the only team in the Gabilan Division not to make the playoffs, despite beating Hollister.

“It’s hard to build a program in the Gabilan Division,” Alvarez coach Ben Newman said. “If this had been done a couple of years ago, things might be different.”

As it is, Newman believes this will be a short-term move, with the intention of returning to the Gabilan once his program is on solid footing. Interest has increased since his arrival last April to where he hopes to field a freshman program.

“I’m not OK with just trying to make the playoffs,” Newman said. “I want to win. But we have to learn how to win first. My goal is to be down two years and back up.”

Expected to contend in the Mission Division South with Alvarez is King City, whose top two players last fall were both sophomores, including 1,000-yard tailback Carson Tidwell.

“I’m happy with the league getting two automatic qualifiers,” King City coach Mac Villanueva said. “I don’t like the fact that our byes have to come in the first three weeks of the season.”

Because both Mission Divisions are six-team leagues, they will play three cross-over games against each other, meaning all byes have to come in the first three weeks.

“Because this has come down so late, I’m still looking for a game,” Villanueva said. “I’d prefer to play in Week 1. What I don’t like is the lack of continuity each year with the changes.”

With Alisal moving up and Seaside moving down, the Mission Division North has added San Lorenzo Valley. Ironically, three of the four schools that moved up divisions did not win titles last year.

“I don’t like the constant change,” North County coach Juan Cuevas said. “Truthfully, why can’t we give these leagues three years. It’s tough coming up with a non-league schedule.

Despite winning the Mission Division North last fall, the Condors’ first title since 2004, it was not bumped to the Gabilan, although they were under consideration.

“The reality is there isn’t nine A-league teams in the PCAL,” Cuevas said. “There just isn’t. Yet, we keep putting a team (teams) in there. We almost got put in there. We’ve had one good year. We’re still building this program.”

Cuevas, who has seen improvement in the win column in each of his four seasons at North County, doesn’t understand why he can’t make up his own preseason schedule.

“Why do I have to play three crossovers?” Cuevas said. “Why can’t I make my preseason schedule? Does any other sport to this? As a coach, we should have an opinion on these decisions.”