Aragon, Jefferson football teams in playoff mode

While the Grizzlies may have been one of the best programs in the 1970s and 1980s, the new millennium has not been kind to the Daly City squad. Jefferson has made the playoffs just two times since 2001, advancing to the CCS Division III semifinals in 2010 and not again until 2017. The Grizzlies finished in a first-place tie with Mills atop the Lake Division in 2019, but lost the league’s automatic bid to the Vikings because of the head-to-head tiebreaker in which Mills beat Jefferson.

The meetings between the Dons and the Grizzlies have been few and far between over the last two decades, as well. When Jefferson beat Aragon 12-7 during the pandemic-altered 2021 spring season, it was the Grizzlies’ first win over the Dons in four tries.

This year, however, they both have one thing in common: they’re in the running for a playoff spot and they’ll meet at 7 p.m. Friday in Daly City in what could be an elimination game in the Daily Journal’s Game of the Week.

Because the playoffs have already begun in the Ocean Division.

Menlo School is clearly the class of the Ocean — and it could be argued the best team in the entire PAL. So barring a catastrophe, the Knights will claim the division’s automatic berth into the CCS playoffs.

But it’s not unheard of for the Ocean’s second- and third-place teams to advance to CCS and that’s what Aragon and Jefferson — along with Capuchino and Hillsdale — are battling for.

“After the game last week against Menlo (a 48-7 loss)… I told the kids, ‘That’s in the rearview mirror. The postseason starts now,” said Aragon head coach Steve Sell. “We either have to go 3-for-3 or 2-for-3 (the rest of the season).

“Every game (for us now) is a toss-up.”

Aragon (1-1 PAL Ocean, 4-3 overall) saw its four-game winning streak snapped last week against high-flying Menlo School. Jefferson, on the other hand, got into the Ocean Division column last week, with a 24-13 win over Carlmont. The Grizzlies had the unenviable task of opening Ocean play against Menlo and followed that with a 41-38 loss to Capuchino two weeks ago that now has Jefferson (1-2, 3-3) playing catch-up.

“We’ve had our backs against the wall (since opening league play 0-2),” said Jefferson head coach Sergio Portela Jr.

The thought that another loss could put the Grizzlies’ postseason chances on thin ice is not lost on Portela.

“We’ve been in playoff mode,” Portela said. “I’m hoping three teams will come out (of the Ocean Division). That’s part of why it’s fun. You’re not just competing for a league championship. Everyone understands, you get into the dance (the playoffs), it a whole new ball game.”

While these teams have been mostly separated from one other in league play — Jefferson did play a Bay Division schedule in 2002 and again in 2011 — this may the most even game between these teams since 2001.

“These teams are pretty darn even,” Sell said. “Jefferson has some outstanding athletes. You see how fast they are. They’re physical.”

When teams are evenly matched, the game is usually decided by the team that wins the cliché wars: who takes care of the ball, who can run the ball and who can stop the run. While usually coach-speak, those football adages take on added meaning Friday night with rain in the forecast.

“We have to play mistake-free football. Winning the line of scrimmage is important and not turning the ball over,” Portela said.

There is an actual word that more easily sums up the difference between winning and losing — in any sport.

“At this point, it’s (about) execution. Kids will get fired up and emotion is great. But there is no substitution for executing,” Sell said. “Like a lot of high school teams, (our success or failure) depends on which version of Aragon shows up. When we are playing consistently and not battling ourselves, I think we’re a team that can score and move the ball and stop people (defensively).

“And the reality is, when two pretty equal teams with good athletes play each other, you can execute well and still not win the game.”