Cate earned a first-round bye in CIF’s 8-Man Division 1 playoff. Pictured here is Ryder Dinning.
Cate’s second-ranked 8-man football team received a first-round bye in CIF while Laguna Blanca received an at-large bid to the Division-1 postseason as playoff brackets were released on Monday morning.
Cate (9-0) and No. 1 Mojave (9-0) earned a free pass into the second round for dominating undefeated seasons. The Rams will face the winner between Orcutt Academy and San Jacinto Valley Academy. Orcutt is a familiar Condor League foe that Cate demolished 50-12 in early October.
Laguna Blanca (6-2) finished third in the super-strong Condor League, from which all five teams made the D1 playoff. Villanova earned an at-large despite going 0-4 in league.
The Owls are hosting Lucerne Valley on Saturday at 1 p.m. on campus in Hope Ranch. Laguna, ranked No. 6 in the division, began the season 6-0 until falling to No. 4 Thacher and No. 2 Cate in the final two weeks of the regular season.
Lucerne Valley went 5-4 during the regular season and finished second to Upland Christian Academy in the Agape League.
