Monday Morning Lights: What data says about CCS, NCS football playoffs

Emotional Mountain View season ends in narrow defeat, Los Gatos enjoying its gravy, what McClymonds’ Michael Peters learned from legendary Oakland coach John Beam and it’s all in family for Pittsburg receiver.

WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY ABOUT THE CCS VS. NCS PLAYOFFS

The section football playoffs have concluded, which means that new data is now available for anyone interested in comparing the Central Coast Section and the North Coast Section.

The CCS playoff format is 100 percent competitive equity, with divisions determined on the day of the seeding meeting and based on a points system that considers results, strength of schedule, and computer ratings from calpreps.com.

The NCS is based on competitive equity and enrollment, and its divisions are announced each off-season.

If you enjoy competitive games, the CCS remains the clear leader among the Bay Area’s two largest sections.

Here’s the information from this year’s playoffs:

Winning margin

CCS: 16.3 per game (35 games)

NCS: 25.5 per game (48 games)

Single-digit results

CCS: 14 in 35 games (40 percent)

NCS: 10 in 48 games (20.8 percent)

Games decided by 40-plus points

CCS: 1 in 35 games (2.9 percent)

NCS: 9 in 48 games (18.8 percent)

Games decided by 30-plus points

CCS: 6 in 35 games (17.2 percent)

NCS: 18 in 48 games (37.5 percent)

Games decided by 20-plus points

CCS: 15 in 35 games (42.9 percent)

NCS: 31 in 48 games (64.6 percent)

Biggest upsets

CCS: No. 7 Wilcox over No. 2 St. Francis 52-28 in Open/Division I and No. 8 Christopher over No. 1 Archbishop Mitty 32-28 in Division II.

NCS: No. 5 Ferndale over No. 1 Clear Lake 20-12 in Division VII.

The best games

CCS: No. 4 Los Gatos won 21-17 over No. 3 St. Ignatius in Open/Division I, No. 8 Christopher won 21-17 over No. 5 Menlo School in Division II, and No. 1 Palo Alto won 34-33 over No. 2 Mountain View in Division IV.

NCS: No. 2 San Ramon Valley 38-31 (OT) over No. 7 Campolindo in Open/Division I, No. 1 El Cerrito 34-31 over No. 2 Windsor in Division II.

Champions (including seeded players)

CCS: 1st Serra, 4th Los Gatos (Open/Division I), 2nd Soquel (Division II), 4th Palma (Division III), 1st Palo Alto (Division IV), 3rd South San Francisco (Division V).

NCS: De La Salle (No. 1), Pittsburg (No. 3), El Cerrito (Division II), Marin Catholic (Division III), Acalanes (Division IV), Miramonte (Division V), St. Vincent de Paul (Division VI), Ferndale (Division VII).

MOUNTAIN VIEW: THE EMOTIONAL SEASON IS OVER

Dillon Daniels put two fingers as close together as he could without touching them to demonstrate Mountain View’s season-ending loss to Palo Alto for the CCS Division IV championship on Saturday.

Daniels wore his white No. 5 jersey and spent the majority of the game taking photos and encouraging teammates, his role after suffering a severe leg injury in the season opener.

Daniels took a knee and lowered his head as the game went back and forth. He admitted after the game that he was thinking about everything that had happened this season.

Lucinda, Daniels’ mother, collapsed on the field the night he was injured and died a few days later. In an outpouring of love and compassion, the Mountain View community rallied around the Daniels family. Brandon, Dillon’s brother, was a freshman in the football program this past season.

Dillon was one of the last Mountain View players to leave the field after the Spartans lost 34-33 to San Jose City College on Saturday.

“It’s hard on him,” Mountain View coach Tim Lugo said. “He’s all in as a teammate. He’s completely committed to our team. Tonight, the kids gave it their all. We were all expecting a good football game.”

Mountain View came close to winning the section championship despite a season that began with unimaginable tragedy, injuries, and a 0-5 start in the Peninsula Athletic League’s strongest division. However, Palo Alto secured the victory by stopping a two-point attempt in the final minute.

“Our kids will be successful for the rest of their lives because of what they endured this year,” he said. “They’ll figure it out.” As an educator, all you want to do is teach kids how to overcome obstacles.”

When asked what his message to Dillon is for the future, Lugo said, “I hope he plays again.” We had a brief discussion about keeping him in school. His older brother, Juju, who graduated a few years ago, is considering returning to school. They want to have fun together. I hope he plays JC because I believe it will be beneficial for him to put on the pads and play on his terms.”

IT’S STILL GRAVY IN LOS GATOS.

Los Gatos defeated Wilcox in late October, essentially clinching the league championship, which coach Mark Krail stated was the ultimate goal, as it is for his program every season.

He refers to the section, regional, and state championships as “gravy,” something added on top of what happened during the regular season.

Was Krail still convinced after his team routed Wilcox on Friday, giving Los Gatos its 16th CCS title, a spot in a NorCal regional, and a path to its first state championship?

He did, indeed.

“Yeah, this is kind of gravy,” Krail commented on Sunday. “That doesn’t mean we’re going to take this lightly or not play our hearts out, but everything after this point is a bonus.” Everything after the Menlo-Atherton game (to end the regular season) was a bonus.”

Krail and his players agreed that having that kind of attitude has helped the team stay calm as the stakes have risen.

“Who doesn’t like gravy after Thanksgiving?” asked running back Boxer Kopcsak-Yeung. “We’ve got two more games of gravy.”

MCCLYMONDS: HOW PETERS FOUND OUT BEAM’S SECRET

Michael Peters, the architect of a team that has dominated the Oakland Athletic League for over a decade, will retire at the end of this season as the league’s elder statesman.

Back in the early 1990s, however, Peters was just another assistant coach in a league obsessed with unseating John Beam’s similarly dynastic Skyline team, which won 15 league titles from the late 1980s to the early 2000s.

Beam, now the longtime head coach at Laney College, where he gained national acclaim after appearing in the Netflix documentary “Last Chance U,” was among many friends who attended Peters’ final home game on Saturday night. Mack easily defeated Oakland Tech in the Silver Bowl.

“When he was younger, he was one of the few coaches who asked, ‘What’s the secret?'” “What exactly do you do?” Beam stated. “So I spent hours talking to him and (former McClymonds coach) Alonzo Carter about things you can do to help your program grow.”

And what exactly was the secret?

“You have to put the same amount of time off the field into these young people as you do on it,” he said. “You have to show them that you love them.” … Sometimes tough love is required, and they must be removed until they realize what a privilege it is to be out there.”

Beam claims Peters has followed the same formula that he did while building Skyline into a powerhouse off the field.

“You have to be available 24 hours a day to these young men, and there’s a lack of resources,” Beam said of the coaching difficulties at an Oakland public school. “We’re going to do more with less, and give more to get more.”

ALL IN THE FAMILY FOR SHAW IN PITTSBURG

Bobby Shaw III made the play of the night for Pittsburg in an NCS Division I championship game full of pivotal moments.

On third-and-14 from the Pirates’ 1-yard line early in the second half against San Ramon Valley on Friday, Shaw somehow chased down Marley Alcantara’s deep pass, kept his balance, and outraced defenders to the end zone, breaking a tie score and giving Pittsburg a lead it would not relinquish.

Shaw’s touchdown reception also broke his father’s family record for the longest touchdown reception.

Bobby Shaw II, a former Cal All-American, caught a 90-yard touchdown to help the Pittsburgh Steelers win the AFC North against the Baltimore Ravens in 2001.

The younger Shaw’s touchdown tied the national high school record.