SAN FRANCISCO >> The football regular season created more questions than answers, more frustration than celebration — similar to what Palma High endured the year before.

But the playoffs aren’t just a second season for the Chieftains, it’s a clean slate, a revival of sorts for a program that has made a record 40 straight trips to the Central Coast Section tournament.

“We went into this thinking we have an opportunity,” Palma coach Jeff Carnazzo said. “We liked how we practiced all week long. Our kids were ecstatic after the game.”

The defending CCS Division III and State Division 4A champions opened the Division II playoffs Friday by going on the road and rallying for a 28-19 win over No. 4 seed Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco.

The win moves the Chieftains into the semifinals, where they’ll face No. 6 seed Menlo — upset winners over Christopher — likely next Saturday afternoon at Menlo’s Atherton campus.

“I have not seen any film of Menlo all year,” Carnazzo said. “So, I have no idea what we’re up against. It has been at least five years since we’ve faced them.”

The last time the two teams met was in 2017 with Palma prevailing 29-14 in a nonleague game in Atherton. It will be the Chieftains’ first Saturday afternoon game since winning the state title last December in Pasadena.

Dating back to last season, the No. 5 seeded Chieftains (6-5) have won six straight playoff games — being the lower seed in three of those games.

Members of the West Catholic Athletic League, Sacred Heart Cathedral (4-7) has now dropped five straight games to Palma — the first four being nonleague games

“We were missing our defensive coordinator for personal reasons and scrambling a little on the sidelines in the first half,” Carnazzo said. “Our assistants did a great job in piecing things together.”

The Chieftains’ defense stepped up in the second half in shutting out the Fightin’ Irish, while Carnazzo reached into his bag of tricks on a play he has been toying with in practice for two months.

“I’ve been saving it,” Carnazzo said. “It’s a play we’ve been working on now for awhile. Coach Amaral got in my ear and said ‘run it.’ It was a turning point in the game.”

Carnazzo called for a double pass, where quarterback Patrick Driscoll tossed a pass behind the line of scrimmage to receiver Dean Silacci, who uncorked a 40-yard touchdown pass to Aidan Williams to put Palma up 21-19 in the third quarter.

The Chieftains defense, anchored by linebackers Caden Scherer and Alfredo Novoa and defensive end Xavier Reinhardt, kept Sacred Heart Cathedral from establishing any continuity on offense in the second half.

“We challenged them at halftime,” Carnazzo said. “We have to pursue the ball and breakdown and make tackles. We did a nice job in pass coverage. Dominic Chaidez and Weldon Chisum did a great job in coverage. The defense played really well.”

The Chieftains began to impose their will on offense with Eli Dukes running behind an offensive line that has matured in the second half of the season.

Dukes, who had a 65-yard touchdown run in the first half, added an 11-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to put Palma up by nine late in the game.

“We took care of the ball, ran it effectively — with all our running backs,” Carnazzo said.

“Our offensive line established themselves in the second half.”

Carnazzo called the first half one of the strangest 24 minutes he’s been a part of as the offense ran just nine plays.

Of those nine plays, two were touchdowns as Driscoll connected with Lucas Milburn on a 60-yard touchdown pass to give Palma a brief 14-13 lead.

Carnazzo, who holds the county record for wins as a football coach with 214, called a play in the first quarter.

The big play involved both teams turning the ball over on the same play as a turning point.

“Eli (Dukes) stripped the ball and runs 85 yards before someone comes up from behind and knocks it out of his hands,” Carnazzo said.

“But it put them back at the 5-yard line. It flipped the field. If they had scored, it’s a different game.”