Five teams poised for playoffs
While Friday marked the end of the regular season for Imperial Valley football teams, Saturday set the stage for the CIFSan Diego Section playoffs for five local squads.
The playoffs will begin on Friday with each Valley team advancing earning a solid seed in their respective divisions.
Of the five teams that advanced, two earned the No. 1 seed and two earned first-round byes, meaning they’ll open the second round of the playoffs on Nov. 17 at home.
Continuing their seasons next week will be Calexico, Central, Imperial, Southwest and Vincent Memorial highs.
In Div. III, two local teams advanced including Southwest and Imperial highs.
The Eagles earned the No. 1 seed, while the Tigers earned the No. 5 seed.
As the top team, Southwest High earned a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Southwest will play on Nov. 17 at home against the winner of Friday’s game between No. 8 Escondido and No. 9 Mount Miguel.
The Eagles advanced to the Div. IV semifinals last season and are hoping to take it all the way this season.
As the No. 5 seed, the Tigers also will open the playoffs at home on Friday, hosting the 12th-seeded team from Patrick Henry.
The teams head into the playoffs with similar record as the Tigers went 4-6 overall and 2-3 in IVL action to the Patriots’ 3-7 overall mark and 2-2 finish City League standings.
In Div. IV, two local teams advanced to playoff action including Central Union and Calexico High.
The Spartans earned the No. 3 seed in a tourney and a firstround bye.
As a result, the Spartans will open CIF action on Nov. 17 and will face the winner of the Nov. 10 game between No. 6 Kearny and No. 11 Calexico High.
As the higher seed, Kearny will host the Bulldogs on Friday.
Calexico goes into the contest with an overall mark of 2-8 and IVL mark of 1-4, while the hosting Komets are 8-2 overall and finished Central League standings with a 3-1 mark.
Rounding out the five playoff-bound teams from the Valley are the Scots from Vincent Memorial.
The Manzanita League champs earned the No. 1 seed in the eightteam tourney and will host the No. 8 team from Southwest San Diego on Friday in the quarterfinals.
The Scots went 8-2 on the regular season and 3-0 in ML action, while the Raiders went 4-6 overall and 2-1 in Metro-Pacific League standings.