High school football playoff seedings announced
The computer rankings have spoken and area high school football teams must now accept their collective fates.
In a year when the difference between a few percentage points could decide being a high seed with home-field advantage in one division and a low seed with a difficult road schedule, the dust of 11 challenging weeks has finally settled.
In Division I, Liberty (7-2), which captured its fourth straight Southwest Yosemite League title with a victory over Bakersfield High on Friday, garnered enough ratings points to earn the No. 4 seed and will host No. 5 Clovis (7-3). Since there are only eight teams in D-I, the teams will take a week off and play Nov. 12 in the quarterfinals.
Garces (6-3), the SWYL runner-up, is the No. 7 seed and will travel to No. 2 Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial (8-0) after a bye this coming Friday. The game is a rematch of a Week 4 meeting, with the Panthers posting a 34-10 win.
A rejuvenated Bakersfield High squad (3-5), which opened the season 0-3 and battled through a bout with COVID-19 and a coaching change early in the season, finds itself as the No. 2 seed in Division II.
The Drillers will play No. 15 Tulare Western (6-4) at Griffith Field on Friday at 7 p.m.
Centennial (6-3), fresh off a 27-14 victory over Frontier, is the No. 3 seed and will host undefeated No. 14 Wasco (9-0), the South Sequoia League champions.
The Titans (4-2), which missed three games with health and safety protocols late in the season, are the No. 6 seed and will host No. 11 Sanger (5-5) on Friday.
In Division III, South Yosemite League champion Bakersfield Christian (7-3) was awarded the No. 7 seed and will host No. 10 Stockdale (4-5), which opened the season 4-0 before losing its final five games.
No. 12 Kennedy (8-2), the SSL runner-up, will open play at No. 5 Fresno-Washington Union (5-3), the North Sequoia League champion.
In Division IV, Southeast Yosemite League champion Foothill (8-1) is the No. 5 seed after clinching its first league title since 1981. The Trojans will host No. 12 West (6-3), which lost three of its last four games after starting the season 5-0.
No. 6 Independence (4-6), which closed the regular season with four wins in its last five games, will host No. 11 Fowler, with
No. 8 Highland (7-3) has a home game against No. 9 Porterville (4-5). No. 15 Tehachapi (4-5) travels to play High Desert League champion No. 2 Bishop (8-1).
Boron and Shafter each received home games in Division V. The No. 4 Bobcats (4-4) play No. 13 Orosi (7-3), with the No. 5 Generals (5-5) matching up with No. 12 Riverdale (4-2).
No. 9 Chavez (3-6), No. 10 North (3-5) and No. 15 Ridgeview (1-7) will all open postseason play on the road.
Taft (4-4) received the top seed in Division VI and was given a bye in the Nov. 12 quarterfinal round. No. 5 Delano (3-6) will entertain No. 12 Farmersville (4-5), with No. 7 East (3-7) playing a home game against No. 10 Orange Cove (4-6). No. 9 Kern Valley (4-2) plays at No. 8 Lindsay (3-7).