There are always a handful of head-scratchers when the CIF Southern Section unveils the playoff pairings the Sunday after the regular season ends.

The most notable surprise this season was when St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy with its 1-9 record was awarded an at-large playoff spot in the Division 8 playoffs.

The logic behind the decision was simple. There were no at-large candidates with a record of .500 or better in the Division 8 field, so rather than give teams bye weeks, St. Pius X was given a playoff spot due its CalPreps rating.

“I was laying down at home and they said we got in. I didn’t expect it,” St. Pius X coach Devah Thomas said. “I already had to go back to work at the school for open house and my coaches met me there. We’ve been grinding ever since.”

The decision to have a 1-9 team in the playoffs drew criticism from media and caused a lot of discussion online about whether the Warriors deserved a chance to compete for a championship.

“I’m not worried about what people on the outside say,” Thomas said. “I’m worried about the people that are with us. It’s us versus the world.”

The St. Pius X players were not ashamed of their 1-9 record, but have used it as a chip on their shoulder and wanted to show everyone that they were worthy of competing for a championship.

“We were a little surprised to get in but we were excited to show everyone that we belonged in the playoffs with these other teams,” junior captain Jaylen Stokes said.

St. Pius X has definitely proved it belongs in the playoffs and has beaten Cypress, Segerstrom and Salesian en route to its third championship appearance since 2019.

The Warriors play in the very competitive Angelus League with teams that reached the playoffs in higher divisions like St. Paul, Cathedral and St. Francis.

St. Pius X challenged itself in nonleague play and suffered close losses to top teams like Carson, Trabuco Hills and Newbury Park.

Carson is playing for the City Section Open Division championship this week and undefeated Newbury Park is playing for the CIF-SS Division 2 championship.

“We are very battle-tested and we’ve played some of the best teams,” Thomas said. “Newbury Park is a great team and they would tell you that they respect us.”

St. Pius X reached the Division 7 championship in 2021 in Thomas’ first season and has won playoff games in every season since.

This season has been especially challenging considering St. Pius X has only two seniors on its roster and only 30 players total.

“They just know that they have to grow up and they’ve been maturing every week,” Thomas said. “This is a team that’s been through real adversity and never gave up. The guys that have stayed are strong. They have grit, grind and loyalty.”

“At the beginning of the year, we were a very immature team,” Stokes said. “As the season went on we showed that we can grow and stick together.”

The Warriors will host Serrano in the championship game Friday.

Serrano has a good rushing attack with quarterback Isaiah Romo and running back Trevor Mcsween.

St. Pius X has a strong defense led by Geremya Hood, Marcus Ball and Gregory Taylor.

CalPreps projects St. Pius X to lose the game and gives the Warriors a 38 percent chance to win.

Projections don’t matter to the Warriors. They were also projected to lose their semifinal game to Salesian last week.

“We have felt doubted. We have been picked to lose before and just have to keep proving all the naysayers wrong,” Stokes said.