It’s regional championship weekend in high school football.
Twelve teams from the Bay Area News Group’s coverage area will be in action Friday and Saturday, aiming to add more hardware to the trophy case while securing a spot in next week’s state championship games.
The Bay Area News Group’s Christian Babcock, Nathan Canilao, Mike Lefkow and Darren Sabedra make their picks for the 10 games that include at least one team that this news organization covers.
All in fun, as always.
The heavyweight matchups include Archbishop Riordan at Folsom, Central East-Fresno at Pittsburg and Serra at St. Mary’s-Stockton.
The lineup also features Monte Vista at St. Ignatius and El Cerrito at Menlo-Atherton.
Babcock went 9-2 last week to stretch his lead over Sabedra in the season standings to five games. The team of Lefkow and Glenn Reeves trails Babcock by 12 games. Canilao is 18 games back.
In this week’s video podcast, the guys rehash last weekend’s section championships, including Pittsburg’s domination of Cardinal Newman and the strategy Serra employed to beat Los Gatos. They also look ahead to this weekend’s matchups.
Be sure to check out the video below.
On to the picks …
DIVISION 1-AA
North: Archbishop Riordan (12-0) at Folsom (12-1), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Babcock: Riordan
Canilao: Folsom
Lefkow: Folsom
Sabedra: Riordan
DIVISION 1-A
North: Central East-Fresno (11-1) at Pittsburg (11-2), Saturday, 6 p.m.
Babcock: Pittsburg
Canilao: Pittsburg
Lefkow: Pittsburg
Sabedra: Pittsburg
DIVISION 2-AA
North: Serra (8-5) at St. Mary’s-Stockton (11-2), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Babcock: Serra
Canilao: Serra
Lefkow: Serra
Sabedra: Serra
DIVISION 3-AA
North: Monte Vista (8-5) at St. Ignatius (7-6), Friday, 7 p.m.
Babcock: St. Ignatius
Canilao: Monte Vista
Lefkow: St. Ignatius
Sabedra: St. Ignatius
DIVISION 3-A
North: Roseville (11-2) at McClymonds (10-2), Saturday, 6 p.m.
Babcock: McClymonds
Canilao: McClymonds
Lefkow: McClymonds
Sabedra: McClymonds
DIVISION 4-A
North: El Cerrito (11-2) at Menlo-Atherton (7-6), Saturday, 6 p.m.
Babcock: El Cerrito
Canilao: El Cerrito
Lefkow: El Cerrito
Sabedra: El Cerrito
DIVISION 5-AA
North: Bishop O’Dowd (9-4) at Chico (11-2), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Babcock: Bishop O’Dowd
Canilao: Bishop O’Dowd
Lefkow: Bishop O’Dowd
Sabedra: Bishop O’Dowd
DIVISION 5-A
North: Miramonte (8-5) at Calaveras (11-2), Saturday, 6 p.m.
Babcock: Miramonte
Canilao: Miramonte
Lefkow: Calaveras
Sabedra: Miramonte
DIVISION 6-AA
North: Gridley (13-0) at Lincoln-San Jose (7-5), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Babcock: Lincoln-SJ
Canilao: Lincoln-SJ
Lefkow: Lincoln-SJ
Sabedra: Lincoln-SJ
DIVISION 7-A
North: Piedmont Hills (10-3) at Balboa (10-2), Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
Babcock: Balboa
Canilao: Piedmont Hills
Lefkow: Piedmont Hills
Sabedra: Piedmont Hills
Week 14 results
CCS playoffs
Friday
Division I final
No. 2 Serra 28, No. 3 Los Gatos 21
Babcock: Serra (W)
Canilao: Serra (W)
Lefkow: Los Gatos (L)
Sabedra: Serra (W)
NCS playoffs
Friday
Division I final
No. 2 Pittsburg 42, No. 3 Cardinal Newman 17
Babcock: Pittsburg (W)
Canilao: Pittsburg (W)
Lefkow: Pittsburg (W)
Sabedra: Pittsburg (W)
Division II final
No. 2 Monte Vista 24, No. 4 Clayton Valley Charter 10
Babcock: Clayton Valley (L)
Canilao: Clayton Valley (L)
Lefkow: Clayton Valley (L)
Sabedra: Clayton Valley (L)
Division III final
No. 3 El Cerrito 32, No. 5 Ukiah 21
Babcock: El Cerrito (W)
Canilao: El Cerrito (W)
Lefkow: El Cerrito (W)
Sabedra: El Cerrito (W)
Division VII final
No. 1 Middletown 37, No. 2 Piedmont 23
Babcock: Middletown (W)
Canilao: Piedmont (L)
Lefkow: Middletown (W)
Sabedra: Piedmont (L)
CCS playoffs
Saturday
Division II final
No. 1 St. Ignatius 24, No. 2 Sacred Heart Cathedral 21
Babcock: St. Ignatius (W)
Canilao: Sacred Heart Cathedral (L)
Lefkow: St. Ignatius (W)
Sabedra: St. Ignatius (W)
Division III final
No. 3 Menlo-Atherton 31, No. 8 San Mateo 21
Babcock: Menlo-Atherton (W)
Canilao: San Mateo (L)
Lefkow: Menlo-Atherton (W)
Sabedra: Menlo-Atherton (W)
Division IV final
No. 3 Lincoln-San Jose 49, No. 1 Branham 21
Babcock: Lincoln-San Jose (W)
Canilao: Lincoln-San Jose (W)
Lefkow: Branham (L)
Sabedra: Lincoln-San Jose (W)
Division V final
No. 1 Piedmont Hills 31, No. 2 Sobrato 30, OT
Babcock: Piedmont Hills (W)
Canilao: Piedmont Hills (W)
Lefkow: Sobrato (L)
Sabedra: Piedmont Hills (W)
NCS playoffs
Division IV final
No. 3 Miramonte 28, No. 1 Hayward 21
Babcock: Hayward (L)
Canilao: Hayward (L)
Lefkow: Hayward (L)
Sabedra: Hayward (L)
Division VI final
No. 3 Bishop O’Dowd 59, No. 4 Fortuna 21
Babcock: Bishop O’Dowd (W)
Canilao: Bishop O’Dowd (W)
Lefkow: Bishop O’Dowd (W)
Sabedra: Bishop O’Dowd (W)
WEEK 14 STANDINGS
Babcock: 9-2
Sabedra: 8-3
Canilao: 6-5
Lefkow: 6-6
SEASON STANDINGS
Babcock: 164-48
Sabedra: 159-53
Lefkow/Reeves: 152-60
Canilao: 146-66
SECTION WINNERS
Results from our picks before the playoffs to win each CCS, NCS division:
Sabedra: 10-4 (6-0 in CCS, 4-4 in NCS)
Babcock: 5-9 (2-4 in CCS, 3-5 in NCS)
Morris (NCS)/Lefkow (CCS): 5-9 (1-5 in CCS, 4-4 in NCS)