High School Football

Central Section football playoff seeds have Buchanan atop D-I; Bullard, Dos Palos in D-II

The chase for Central Section football championships is now set after playoff pairings were released Saturday afternoon.

As expected, Buchanan is the top seed in Division I and will face Tri-River Athletic Conference rival Clovis North on Nov. 12. The teams met in the TRAC finale, with the Bears rolling to a 33-14 victory.

All other divisions begin play Nov. 5.

Other D-I opening matchups include No. 3 Central hosting No. 6 Hanford; No. 5 Clovis traveling to face No. 4 Liberty-Bakersfield and No. 2 San Joaquin Memorial hosting No. 7 Garces.

Absent from D-I are Bullard, Clovis West and Clovis East.

Seedings are set by performance and strength of schedule, with the top eight teams playing in Division I and the others added in seeding order to the remaining playoff divisions. (In other words, the top seed in D-II is the No. 9 overall seed and so on.)

That is where the Knights come in, as the top seed in Division II.

Among the other notable teams is Dos Palos.

The Broncos went 10-0 while winning the East Sierra League title and earned the 13th seed in D-II and an opener at No. 4 Kingsburg on Nov. 5. Also put in D-II were Clovis West, Clovis East and Bakersfield.

North Yosemite League champion Sunnyside is the eighth seed in D-III and will host No. 9 Firebaugh. Central Valley Christian is the top seed.

Central Section playoffs

Games at 7 p.m.

Division I

Nov. 12

No. 8 Clovis North at No. 1 Buchanan

No. 5 Clovis at No. 4 Liberty-Bakersfield

No. 6 Hanford at No. 3 Central

No. 7 Garces at No. 2 San Joaquin Memorial

Division II

Nov. 5

No. 16 St. Joseph at No. 1 Bullard

No. 9 Clovis West at No. 8 Clovis East

No. 12 Redwood at No. 5 Mission Oak

No. 13 Dos Palos at No. 4 Kingsburg

No. 14 Wasco at No. 3 Centennial

No. 11 Sanger at No. 6 Frontier

No. 10 Mission Prep at No. 7 Lemoore

No. 15 Tulare Western at No. 2 Bakersfield

Division III

Nov. 4

No. 11 Paso Robles at No. 6 Tulare Union, 6 p.m.

Nov. 5

No. 16 El Diamante at No. 1 Central Valley Christian

No. 9 Firebaugh at No. 8 Sunnyside

No. 12 Kennedy at No. 5 Washington Union

No. 13 Madera at No. 4 Arroyo Grande

No. 14 Edison at No. 3 Dinuba

No. 10 Stockdale at No. 7 Bakersfield Christian

No. 15 Reedley at No. 2 Strathmore

Division IV

Nov. 5

No. 16 Mt. Whitney at No. 1 Nipomo

No 9 Porterville at No. 8 Highland

No. 12 West at No. 5 Foothill

No. 13 Mendota at No. 4 Madera South

No. 14 Monache at No. 3 Exeter

No. 11 Fowler at No. 6 Independence

No. 10 Corcoran at No. 7 Roosevelt

No. 15 Tehachapi at No. 2 Bishop

Division V

Nov. 5

No. 16 Kerman at No. 1 Immanuel

No. 9 Chavez at No. 8 Liberty-Madera Ranchos

No. 12 Riverdale at No. 5 Shafter

No. 13 Orosi at No. 4 Boron

No. 14 Atascadero at No. 3 Righetti

No. 11 McLane at No. 6 Coalinga

No. 10 North at No. 7 Templeton

No. 15 Ridgeview at No. 2 San Luis Obispo

Division VI

Nov. 5

No. 1 Taft, bye

No. 2 Morro Bay, bye

No. 3 Pioneer Valley, bye

No. 9 Kern Valley at No. 8 Lindsay

No. 12 Farmersville at No. 5 Delano

No. 13 Torres at No. 4 Woodlake

No. 11 Chowchilla at No. 6 Caruthers

No. 10 Orange Cove at No. 7 East Bakersfield

This story was originally published October 30, 2021 at 2:35 PM.

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Anthony Galaviz
The Fresno Bee
Anthony Galaviz writes about sports for The Fresno Bee. He covers the Las Vegas Raiders, high schools, boxing, MMA and junior colleges. He’s been with The Bee since 1997 and attended Fresno City College before graduating from Fresno State with a major in journalism and a minor in criminology. Support my work with a digital subscription
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