SAN JOSE >> Perfection was rewarded this time for Carmel High, which was awarded the top seed into the Central Coast Section Division III football playoffs.

The Padres were one of eight teams from Monterey County to earn a spot among the five divisions, which included defending State Division 4A champion Palma, which was seeded No. 7 into the Division II tournament.

Carmel, which won a CCS Division IV title in 2009, will open the tournament Friday, hosting No. 8 San Mateo (8-2) at 7 p.m. at Monterey Península College.

Owners of a school record 22-game regular season winning streak, the Padres are one of three teams in the CCS that didn’t lose a regular season game, joining Willow Glen of San Jose, which is the No. 2 seed in Division III and Gunn of Palo Alto, which is the No. 5 seed in Division V.

“The difference between us this year and last is just two spots,” Carmel coach Golden Anderson said. “The seedings don’t matter like they used to because of the system. Circumstances put us here more than anything.”

Anderson was referring to the CCS changing its playoff system to where no “B” league team could be put in the Open or Division II, regardless of points, while no “A” league team could be dropped to Division V. Leagues are classified A-C, with A being the most competitive. Points are awarded based on record and strength of schedule.

Last year Carmel’s reward for a 10-0 season saw them placed in Division II, where its season came to an end in the opening round to eventual State Division 4AA champion Soquel — which was seeded No. 6 this year in the Open/Division I bracket.

“There are a lot of B League champion teams in our bracket and a lot of successful A League teams,” Anderson said. “We have our work cut out for us. The experience gathered from last year is we didn’t play well enough to win.”

Among the teams in Division III is Hollister (4-6), which despite going 1-5 in the Gabilan Division, was seeded No. 4 and will host No. 5 Capuchino of San Bruno (8-2) on Friday at 7 p.m.

Salinas, which is making its 16th straight postseason appearance, earned the No. 8 seed in the Open Division/Division I bracket and will visit top-seed St. Ignatius of San Francisco on Friday at 7 p.m.

Having shared the West Catholic Athletic League title with St. Francis of Mountain View, the Wildcats are 8-2 overall, the same record as Salinas, which for the first time in seven years, isn’t going into the playoffs as a league champion.

“I don’t care who we play,” said Salinas coach Steve Zenk, who notched his 100th win last Friday. “I have never been to St. Ignatius, never even scouted a game there or watched film of them. With a new coach, that makes it even more interesting.”

A common opponent is Valley Christian of San Jose, which St. Ignatius defeated 20-13, while Salinas registered a 24-7 win back on Sept. 6.

“There were 10 or 12 teams in the section that I thought were pretty comparable,” Zenk said. “It’s not like it has been the last couple of years where one program was a notch above everyone.”

Monterey was awarded the No. 5 seed in Division II and will be on the road Friday in a rematch of a Week 2 battle with No. 4 seed Menlo-Atherton.

The Toreadores (6-4), who closed the season going 3-1 and finished third in the Pacific Coast Athletic League’s Gabilan Division, will be seeking redemption after being humbled 28-7 by Menlo-Atherton back on Sept. 6.

A historic postseason run continues for Palma (5-5), which will be making its 40th straight playoff appearance. The Chieftains are seeded No. 7 and will travel Friday to face No. 2 Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco in Division II at 7 p.m.

“We had a series of nonleague games with them in the past,” Palma coach Jeff Carnazzo said. “So, there is some familiarity with them. Kezar Stadium is a historic venue. It’s a battled tested program in the West Catholic Athletic League.”

The Chieftains, who closed the season with a win over Alvarez to secure a playoff spot, faced eight teams this past season that are in the postseason, including three league champions and Yuma Catholic, which is state-ranked in Arizona.

“We’re battle tested as well,” Carnazzo said. “We’re jelling at the right time. The sophomores are growing up. Last year was a great ride, one that I’ll never forget. But this is completely different. I have not even thought about last year.”

The reward for capturing the program’s first league title outright in 25 years for North County (7-3) was a No. 7 seed in Division IV and a road game Friday at 7 p.m. against No. 2 Branham of San Jose (7-3).

“We won our league and we got a road game,” North County coach Juan Cuevas said. “Hey, we are blessed to have at least one more week of practice. It’s all positive being able to do something we have not been able to do in a long time.”

The Condors will be making their first postseason appearance in 10 years. A perennial postseason team, one of Branham’s wins this year came on a Hail Mary pass as time expired in a 19-13 decision over Soledad.

Joining North County in Division IV will be North Salinas (7-3), which was seeded No. 5 and will visit No. 4 Burlingame (6-4) on Friday at 7 p.m.

The Vikings, who had a bye last week and finished second in the Mission Division South, are making their second straight playoff appearance for the first time since 2007-2008.

Defending CCS Division III finalist and Mission Division North runner-up Alisal (5-5) was seeded No. 2 in the Division V playoffs and will host a postseason game for the first time since 2019 when it faces No. 7 Overfelt of San Jose (5-5) on Friday.

Having gone on the road to win two playoff games last year to reach the section finals, the Trojans will have an opportunity to host two games this fall.

Santa Lucia Division champion Stevenson (7-2) is back in the postseason after a year’s absence as the No. 7 seed in Division V and will visit No. 3 Leland (7-3) on Friday — just its third Friday night game this year.

Visit https://www.montereyherald.com/2024/11/10/high-school-football-playoffs-county-pairings/ to see the complete pairings.