Football teams set to battle for position in semifinals
By CALIFORNIAN STAFF REPORT
Spots in the final four of each Central Section football playoff division are on the line tonight across the Valley, including a championship-worthy battle in Division I.
Defending Division I champion and No. 5-seed Bakersfield (9-2) visits No. 4 Fresno-Central (9-2) in a matchup of teams that were state-ranked early in the season before each suffering two league losses. The winner will face the winner of No. 8 Liberty at No. 1 Clovis.
In the other half of the Division I bracket, it's No. 6 Fresno-Edison (8-3) at No. 3 Frontier (7-3), which comes in with a five-game winning streak; the winner of that will face either No. 10 Fresno-Bullard or No. 2 Clovis North.
Three top seeds from Kern County begin their playoff runs tonight.
In Division II, Garces (9-1) faces Kingsburg, which has a pedigree that doesn't fit its No. 8 seed. The Vikings are 9-2 and have won three straight section titles, one in Division IV and two in D-III. Also in Division II, No. 11 West (5-6), fresh off an upset at Tehachapi, hits the road again to face No. 3 Lemoore.
The top seed in D-III, Ridgeview, will face Delano, and the winner will form an all-Kern semifinal with the winner of No. 5 South at No. 4 Independence.
In Division IV, Wasco, the section's only unbeaten team, takes on No. 8 Arvin in a rematch of a South Sequoia League game the Tigers won 56-28. Two other SSL teams sports No. 3 seeds: Bakersfield Christian (8-2) will face Fowler in Division IV, while Shafter (6-4) plays host to Corcoran in Division V.
All games start at 7 p.m.
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