Break up the PAL!

And the PAL is leaving little doubt as the five teams have combined to outscore their opponents 341-116, which is an average score of 42.6-14. SHP have been absolutely St. Francis-like when it comes to defense as the Gators has held their opponents to one touchdown each. Burlingame has allowed 19 points through a pair of playoff games, while King’s Academy, in its second year under Pete Lavorato, has given up a total of 20.

Through the luck of the draw, the PAL avoided any of top schools from the WCAL as St. Francis, Valley Christian, Mitty and Serra were all slotted into the Open Division II. SHP dispatched the fifth- and sixth-place teams from the WCAL — S.I. And SHC — in the Open Division III bracket, but it wasn’t easy.

“All the power WCAL schools are sitting in Division II,” said Aragon head coach Steve Sell, who crafted the current CCS playoff format. “Division II has become the old Open Division (that was used from 2004 to 2014).”

As long as teams can avoid the Open Division II, the PAL has a chance to do damage in the other four brackets. Since the inception of the this playoff format in 2016, including this season, the PAL has had 10 teams make the finals. When CCS adopted this playoff format, Sell believed the PAL was poised to have a team in the Division IV and/or Division V championship game every year. He theorizes that because the Bay Division is comprised of only six teams, compared to other “A”-division leagues that go eight deep, the Ocean Division champ is the seventh-best team from the PAL.

“While the other ‘B’ [divisions] are sending their ninth- or 10th-best team (from that power league),” Sell said. “Nobody has the depth we have (as a league).”

Having teams in back-to-back Open Division III title games, along with M-A in the Open Division I title for the second time in three years, it just shows how strong the PAL has become, top to bottom.

“Everything switched so fast,” Sell said. “The balance of power has shifted.”

***

Reports are that the PAL already has one team qualified for the Northern California regional title game and a chance to add a second.

Only the teams from the three CCS Open Division brackets are eligible to continue on and play for a Nor Cal and state title and there are reports that Menlo-Atherton has already punched its ticket because of its power points, regardless of what happens when the No. 2 Bears take on top-seeded and undefeated Wilcox in the Open Division I championship game.

The Bears will be looking to return to the regional title for the second time in three season, winning the 2016 Nor Cal championship.

But a win by SHP, the No. 2 in the Open Division III bracket, against No. 5 Aptos, would give the Gators their third Nor Cal bowl game in six years. The Gators qualified in 2013 for the first time and again in 2015. Both years, the Gators captured the Nor Cal title before falling in the state championship game.

***

The basketball season is slowly starting to ramp up, as teams get back to a normal routine now that the Bay Area’s air quality has finally been rinsed clean (or, at least, cleaner).

As such, the early part of the basketball calendar is usually chock full of tournaments and one of the earliest, and always one of the better offerings, is the Mills girls’ basketball tournament this week, aka the Kelly Shea-Gallo Tournament.

The eight-team bracket tips off Wednesday, with the championship, third-place and consolation final games slated for Friday night. Head coach Dave Matsu has put together some good-looking matchups, led by Wednesday’s first game at 3 p.m. as San Francisco AAA contender Lowell faces off against WBAL power Sacred Heart Prep. The 4:30 p.m. game pits Irvington-Fremont against Sequoia, last year’s Cinderella story in the PAL. At 6 p.m., Yosemite, which went 25-8 last season, takes on St. Francis, which advanced to the Division I Nor Cal semifinals in 2018. Host Mills caps the first day at 7:30 p.m. against Gunn.

The semifinals and consolation rounds are Thursday.

Nathan Mollat can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: 344-5200 ext. 117.