SLO County football playoff brackets released. Here’s who got a good seed — and who didn’t
Seven San Luis Obispo County high school football teams have advanced to the CIF Central Section playoffs, with four playing in the same division.
And as usual, the seedings and division placements will be ripe for debate among local fans, with some schools drawing tough matchups.
The first round is set for Friday. Here’s a look at the matchups.
CIF Central Section high school football playoff brackets
Ocean League champ Atascadero (10-0, 6-0) and Mission Prep (7-3, 5-2), which finished third in the Mountain League, both earned byes in the first round of the Division 3 tournament, with the Royals earning the No. 1 seed and the Greyhounds No. 2.
Joining them in that bracket are No. 10 Templeton (5-5, 2-4), which travels to No. 7 Washington Union (3-7, 1-4) of Fresno, the fourth-place team from the Tri-County-Kings Canyon League.
Also in Division 3 is No. 11 Nipomo (4-6, 2-5), which plays at No. 6 Mt. Whitney (7-3, 5-0), the champion of the East Yosemite League.
If Templeton wins, the Eagles would get to stay local next week, playing at Atascadero.
As the top two seeds, if Mission Prep and Atascadero win out, they would play each other for the Division 3 championship.
2023 CIF Central Section Football Championships Division III
Other area teams weren’t as fortunate with their draws.
Arroyo Grande won the Mountain League with an undefeated 7-0 record, going 9-1 overall.
That success, however, vaulted the Eagles into Division 1 as a No. 10 seed, sending them on the road to No. 7 Central (7-3, 3-2) of Fresno, which finished second in the Tri-River League.
2023 CIF Central Section Football Championships Division I
San Luis Obispo also pulled a tough seed, landing at No. 13 in Division 2 despite finishing second to Atascadero in the Ocean League.
That earned the Tigers (7-3, 5-1) a road trip to No. 4 Tulare Union (6-4, 2-3), which finished fifth in the West Yosemite League.
2023 CIF Central Section Football Championships Division II
Only one team will play at home in the first round, and that’s Morro Bay (5-5, 2-4), which finished in a tie for fourth place in the Ocean League but nevertheless landed a No. 4 seed in Division 5.
The Pirates will host East Bakersfield (3-7, 1-3), who were the fourth-place team in the South Yosemite-Mountain League.
2023 CIF Central Section Football Championships Division V
After the first round, the quarterfinals will be played next Thursday due to the Veterans Day holiday on Friday, Nov. 10.
