Junipero Serra football locked up the No. 1 seed in the Central Coast Section (CCS) Open/Division I playoffs and will host No. 8 Palma at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14.
Serra Athletics announced the seeding on X on Sunday, Nov. 8.
The East Bay Times published the full bracket the same day.
The Padres enter the postseason 9-1 overall and 7-0 in the West Catholic Athletic League, according to the league’s final standings. Their only loss came in the season opener against De La Salle, by 10 points, according to Serra’s schedule. Serra outscored its seven WCAL opponents 298-74.
Serra capped the regular season with a 42-0 rout of rival St. Francis on senior day Nov. 7. Charlie Walsh scored three first-half touchdowns, including a 79-yard run on a fake punt, the East Bay Times reported.
Head coach Patrick Walsh clinched his 11th WCAL crown since taking over in 2001. Serra won three WCAL titles before he arrived, according to the school’s championship history.
The Padres’ first-round opponent brings its own momentum. Palma (8-2) claimed its second straight Gabilan Division championship with a 28-21 win over Soquel, according to the Monterey Herald. The Chieftains needed a fourth-quarter score to win after Soquel erased their 21-point advantage.
Winners of Serra-Palma and Bellarmine-St. Ignatius meet for the Open title in the second round. The loser then plays the survivor of the other four teams for the Division I title in the third round, according to the East Bay Times.
Three other first-round matchups round out the bracket: No. 7 Bellarmine (6-4) at No. 2 St. Ignatius (8-2) on Friday; No. 6 St. Francis (3-7) at No. 3 Archbishop Riordan (7-3) on Saturday at 1 p.m.; and No. 5 Los Gatos (9-1) vs. No. 4 Sacred Heart Cathedral (5-5) at City College of San Francisco on Saturday at 1 p.m., according to the league-linked bracket.
Kickoff for Serra-Palma is 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at Serra’s campus on West 20th Avenue in San Mateo.
