SAN JOSE >> Only two high school football teams from Santa Cruz County — Soquel and Aptos — made it into the Central Coast Section playoffs, and both compete in the Gabilan Division, the top tier of Pacific Coast Athletic League.

A pair of solid, local teams were unable to secure at-large berths: St. Francis (7-3), which tied for second place in the PCAL’s ‘B’ rated Mission North Division, and San Lorenzo Valley (9-1), which took second in the PCAL’s ‘C’ rated Santa Lucia Division.

Soquel (8-2), the unbeaten Gabilan champion, earned the No. 6 seed in the prestigious Open/Division I bracket and opens at No. 3 Archbishop Riordan (6-4) in San Francisco, 1 p.m.

“I think it’s a tremendous honor, and, again, it shows what we’ve done with this program,” said Knights coach Dwight Lowery on Friday. “The kids in this program, and the buy-in, and the community, and everything like that. To me, it’s more of a testament to that. Obviously, there’s going to be challenges and things of that nature, but it’s something that’s special for us.”The Crusaders, led by quarterback Michael Mitchell Jr., running back Jeremiah Jones, and receiver Cynai Thomas, took third place in the West Catholic Athletic League.

If the Knights win their quarterfinal, they’ll face either No. 5 Los Gatos (8-2) or No. 4 Junipero Serra (5-5) in the D-I semifinals on either Nov. 22 or 23.

The semifinal winner will face the Open Division runner-up on either Nov. 29 or 30 for the right to be crowned D-I champion.

In the Open Division semifinals on Friday, No. 8 Salinas (8-2) plays at No. 1 St. Ignatius (8-2) of San Francisco, and No. 7 Valley Christian (5-5) plays at No. 2 Saint Francis (8-2) of Mountain View.

Aptos (5-5), which tied for fourth place in the Gabilan, was given the No. 7 seed in Division III and opens at No. 2 Willow Glen (10-0) in the quarterfinals on Friday 7 p.m.

The unbeaten Rams, led by running back Aiden Akery, took first place in the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s B-rated Santa Teresa/Valley Division.

“We think we have the ability to do something,” Mariners coach Zach Hewett said Friday. “Division III, Division IV is a good place for us right now.”

If the Mariners pull an upset in the quarterfinals, they’ll face either No. 3 Palo Alto (5-5) or No. 6 Half Moon Bay (8-2) in the semifinals on either Nov. 22 or 23.

In the quarterfinals on the other side of the bracket, No. 5 Capuchino (8-2) plays at No. 4 Hollister (4-6), and No. 8 San Mateo (8-2) plays No. 1 Carmel (10-0) at Monterey Peninsula College.

The D-III final will be held either Nov. 29 or 30.