DLS having an impact on CCS seedings

For the most part, the point system used to seed teams in the Central Coast Section football playoffs is a good one.

It takes the human element out of the equation, replacing it with a complex point system that aims to reward teams for winning and strength of schedule.

But the system isn’t perfect. Barring something unforeseen, St. Francis will be seeded third in the section’s Open Division II bracket when the matchups are made official Sunday morning, behind top seed Serra and second seed Aragon and just ahead of fourth seed Valley Christian.

St. Francis has had a good season. Won seven games. Went 5-2 in its league. Played competitively for a half against De La Salle. Overcame a three-touchdown deficit Friday against Serra before losing by 10.

But it finished a game behind Valley Christian in the WCAL standings, lost to Valley Christian on the field and has one fewer overall win than Valley Christian.

So why is Valley Christian going to be seeded behind St. Francis?

Would you believe that part of it has to do with East Bay Athletic League and, by extension, the governing body that oversees the EBAL, the North Coast Section. Backstory:

In 2012, the EBAL’s principals voted to give De La Salle’s football team, which had gone 28-0 as a league member to that point, winning by an average of 34.6 points per game, the league’s No. 1 spot in the NCS playoffs every season no what matter what unfolded on the field.

De La Salle would play a handful of EBAL opponents — the others play eight — and not receive a league championship banner. The banner would go to the top team among the group that played a complete league schedule.

But De La Salle would be recognized as the champion in terms of NCS playoff placement.

That decision affects St. Francis and Valley Christian because in the CCS’s point system, teams are given an extra point for playing opponents that win a league championship.

The CCS asked the NCS about De La Salle. The NCS said De La Salle is a league champion. End of discussion.

St. Francis will get a league championship point for playing De La Salle and one more for playing Oak Grove, also a league champ.

Valley Christian got no such points from its nonleague opponents.

Plus, St. Francis played three “A” league teams in its nonleague schedule, worth an additional three points.

Valley Christian played only two nonleague “A” teams because a third opponent, Pleasant Valley-Chico, won just four regular-season games. In the CCS point system, out-of-section teams must win at least seven regular-season games to be considered an “A” team. Pleasant Valley dropped to B status, giving Valley Christian only a half point for that contest instead of one.

Final tally: Valley Christian has two more points than St. Francis for winning one more game. But St. Francis has 2.5 more points than Valley Christian for playing league champs Oak Grove and De La Salle and three “A” teams in nonleague play.