WEB EXCLUSIVE: Central Coast Section carnage for San Mateo County football teams

But the Baler proved seedings are just a number and if there was anything to take away from a 37-7 Hollister win it was that maybe the Balers were seeded incorrectly.

“That was tough,” said Burlingame head coach John Philipopoulos, whose team was dominated in every phase of the game.

“They're a physical football team.”

It was a tough night all over for San Mateo County teams, which went 1-7, with only Sequoia advancing to next week's semifinals.

It became evident “pretty early” when Philipopoulos said he believed he knew his team was in trouble. After the Panthers went three-and-out to start the game, which included sacks on first and third downs, Hollister took over just inside the 50 and immediately went to work.

Ten plays later, Hollister quarterback Abel Galindo went into the end zone from a yard out as the Balers' option offense went through the Burlingame defense like a hot knife through butter.

Philipopoulos thought his team might have unlocked something following the Panthers' 49-21 win over San Mateo last week, a game in which the Burlingame running game finally got going and the Panthers' defense did a good job of keeping the Bearcats version of the option in relative check.

“Hollister is a different animal,” Philipopoulos said.

Hollister's Brayden Watkins did a bulk of the damage at the running back spot and with Galindo running the show, Burlingame struggled to identify the ball carrier.

Even when the Balers lost Galindo for the rest of the game after a leg injury in the second quarter, the Balers' coaching staff just used a lot more Watkins, who went on to rush for 148 yards and two scores on 31 carries.

Hollister scored on its first two possessions and then blocked a Burlingame punt and recovered it in the end zone to build a 21-0 lead at halftime.

“At 21-zero, we thought we still had a fighting chance,” Philipopoulos said.

The defense stabilized a bit in the second half, but the Panthers got victimized by a 26-yard scoring pass. The Balers later converted an interception into their final touchdown of the night and a 34-yard field goal rounded out the scoring.

Even if the Burlingame defense was on top of its game, the Balers completely shut down the Panthers' offense. Burlingame went three-and-out on its first three possessions — with the third punt resulting in a block and score for Hollister.

Burlingame did not pick up its initial first down until a 10-yard completion from Liam Friedman to Lukas Habelt at the 10:47 mark of the second quarter. The Panthers then picked up their only first down on the ground — for the game — following a Habelt 5-yard run at the 9:22 mark to give Burlingame a first down at its own 46.

A sack, a five-yard loss and incomplete pass later, Burlingame punted for the fourth time in the half. At halftime, the Panthers had a grand total of 5 yards of offense — 12 yards passing was offset by negative-7 rushing yards.

Things didn't get much better in the second half as Burlingame gained just one first down over the final two quarters. That came on an 85-yard scoring catch-and-run from Friedman to Zach Shapiro, who caught the ball at 40 and then weaved his way the rest of the way for the Panthers' only score of the night.

All told, Burlingame managed just 99 yards of offense — 85 of which came on the touchdown. Hollister had 270 yards of offense, 170 in the first half.

“(Offensively) they just seemed to be moving at a different speed,” Philipopoulos said. “(Defensively) they were getting off the ball and getting a lot of penetration.”

Division I

It was a disappointing finish for Sacred Heart Prep, as the fifth-seeded Gators fell to No. 4 Salinas, 28-21.

Salinas (10-1) took a 14-0 lead with a pair of first-quarter touchdowns, but Andrew Latu had a 1-yard plunge and Anthony Noto scored on a 19-yard run after recovering a fumble to tie the score at 14-all at halftime for SHP (9-2).

The Cowboys regained the lead in the third quarter on an Adam Shaffer 40-yard run and then pushed their lead back to 14 points when Shaffer found Emmerson Cortez-Menjivar for a 5-yard scoring pass to put Salinas up 28-14.

The Gators cut the deficit to seven following a Mitchell Taylor to Tyler Wong 10-yard touchdown pass with 3:10 to play.

SHP had one last crack at extending its season, driving into the Cowboys' red zone on the final drive, but came up empty.

Division II

Fourth-seeded Menlo-Atherton fell behind No. 5 Bellarmine 14-0 at halftime and could never recover as the Bells came away with a 30-7 victory.

Running back Sherrod Smith provided one of the few highlights for M-A (5-6), scoring on a 30-yard run in the third quarter, cutting the Bears' deficit to 14-7.

Seventh-seeded Half Moon Bay held a 15-3 lead at halftime over No. 3 St. Ignatius, but the Cougars were shut out in the second half as the Wildcats scored 21 unanswered points to end HMB's season at 7-4.

Division III

Eighth-seeded Terra Nova trailed No. 1 Soquel 21-0 at halftime and never recovered, falling to the Knights 28-7.

Terra Nova quarterback Mason Mini tossed a 43-yard scoring pass in the third quarter for the Tigers' only score. Terra Nova finishes the season 8-3.

Division IV

Top-seeded Sequoia was the only San Mateo County team to pull out a CCS win Friday night.

But the Ravens needed double overtime to get past No. 8 Overfelt, 51-50.

Tied at 36-all at the end of regulation, Sequoia (10-1) opened overtime with a score and a 2-point conversion, but was matched by Overfelt (9-2).

The Royals got the ball first in the second overtime and scored — but failed to convert their 2-point attempt and led 50-44.

The Ravens answered with a score and kicked the extra point to clinch the win. Sequoia will host No. 4 Santa Teresa at 7 p.m. Nov. 18. The Saints rolled past No. 5 St. Francis-Watsonville, 31-10.

In another DIV game, No. 6 San Mateo led 14-7 early, but could not hold on as No. 3 Branham pulled away for a 49-28 win.

Gabe Buenrostro gave San Mateo (7-4) a 7-0 lead following a 12-yard rushing touchdown, but Branham outscored the Bearcats 20-7 the rest of the half to lead 27-21 at halftime and then pulled away in the second half.

Division V

Woodside's first CCS appearance since 2009 was a short stay as the sixth-seeded Wildcats went to Monterey County and got thumped by No. 3 Seaside, 47-10.

Evan Usher accounted for Woodside's touchdown in a game that the Wildcats trailed 33-3 at halftime. Woodside, the Lake Division champion, finishes the season 8-3.