Fourteen weeks have passed since they were each other’s first test back in August.
Friday night in Thousand Oaks, they meet again as each other’s biggest obstacles.
Grace School (10-3) will host Santa Paula (8-5) in the CIF-Southern Section Division 12 championship game at Cal Lutheran University’s Rolland Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“It’s the matchup we were all thinking about,” said Santa Paula head coach Mike Montoya.
It is the 13th All-Ventura County football sectional final, dating back to Camarillo’s 16-14 win over Ventura in the 1984 Coastal Conference title game, and 20th involving two local teams.
“We look forward to it,” Grace coach Tom Coate said.
For the second straight season, four local football teams will play three sectional finals this weekend.
Pacifica (13-0) will visit Palos Verdes (10-3) in Rancho Palos Verdes for the Division 3 title on Friday.
“We’ve put in the work,” Pacifica coach Mike Moon said. “But we’ve got to finish the job.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Tritons, who edged St. Bonaventure 27-20 in last year’s Division 4 final, can become the second public school in county history to win back-to-back sectional titles. Palos Verdes, the defending CIF-State Division 2-A champion, has won nine straight playoff games.
Santa Paula head coach Mike Montoya (from left), Pacifica head coach Mike Moon, Grace School head coach Tom Coate and Ventura head coach Tim Garcia pose for a photo at the CIF-Southern Section football finalists luncheon on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025, in Long Beach.Nordhoff won consecutive Northwest Division titles in 2012 and 2013.
Ventura (11-2) will travel to St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy (4-6) in Downey for the Division 6 final on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Cougars are playing in their sixth sectional final, their first since a 32-24 loss to Palos Verdes in the 2014 Western Division final.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNewbury Park fell at St. Pius 46-41 on Sept. 12, one week before it beat Ventura 43-28 on Sept. 19.
For the fourth straight week, two local teams will meet in the CIF-SS football playoffs. This time, it will be for a ring.
“We both earned our way into this game so I’m looking forward to a great matchup,” Montoya said.
Ryan Luna and Sebastian Alcantar combined for 334 yards and five TDs on the ground in Santa Paula’s 45-34 win on Aug. 22 at Moorpark College.
“Santa Paula is obviously a good team,” Coate said. “They beat us.”
Both coaches are wary of letting the first meeting dictate their approach Friday.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“It was a great game the first time we played them,” Montoya said. “I really think they’re a different team than they were then and so are we, so we’ll see how that goes.”
This is the third local rematch of the postseason.
Oaks Christian eliminated St. Bonaventure 16-13 in the Division 4 first round after falling 19-0 in Marmonte League play on Oct. 17.
Ventura eliminated Moorpark 35-28 in the Division 6 quarterfinals after also winning their Channel League meeting 34-23 on Oct. 10.
The Lancers hope they can roar like Lions on Friday.
“We’re hopeful, that’s all I can say,” Coate said. “I think our kids felt like they didn’t play their best game (in the first meeting). We had so many rookies on the field at that time. They feel like they underperformed. They’re ready for a chance to redeem themselves.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBoth teams have reached the Division 12 finals by prevailing in a series of physical tests.
Grace edged Rialto (28-27), Yucca Valley (41-28) and Coachella Valley (49-42). Santa Paula overcame Ocean View (27-7), Arroyo Valley (21-14), and Bellflower (17-14).
The last two opponents ran double-wing offenses that challenged the Cardinals defense.
“Our defense has carried us throughout these playoffs,” Montoya said. “Double-wing teams are so difficult to prepare for because we can’t replicate it in practice as well as they do it.”
Senior running back Jake Williams has powered Grace on its postseason run, carrying the ball 109 times over the three playoff wins, rushing for 641 yards and six TDs in the postseason.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“They’re a resilient, scrappy team,” Montoya said. “You can tell they’re well-coached. … Their skill guys are very good. The running back jumps out at you on film.”
Six-foot-5, 300-pound senior Jorge Gonzalez anchors a Santa Paula offensive line who will be front and center.
“They’ve got big size up front,” Coate said. “They’re solid across the board and big. We’re going to have to work hard to win this game. Everything is going to have to go right for us. We’re going to need some breaks of the game to be successful.”
More than seven decades after it delivered Ventura County’s second and third CIF-SS championships in 1948 and 1950, Santa Paula will become the 19th Ventura County program to play 14 games in a season.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“You can feel the electricity here in the city, especially on campus all last week,” Montoya said. “A lot of people are paying attention to his. A lot of people are behind us and we definitely feel it.”
On to the Jostradamus’ final picks. Let’s see how much Joe Knows.
Friday, Nov. 28
Division 3
Pacifica 37, Palos Verdes 27: The Tritons have passed 13 straight tests. Now they have a chance to becoming Ventura County’s 10th 14-0 team.
Division 6
St. Pius X-St. Matthias 28, Ventura 21: Tim and Derek Garcia are bidding to join Joe and Brady Smigiel as recent father-son coach-quarterback combinations to win sectional titles.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDivision 12
Santa Paula 31, Grace 30: Grace will play a 14th game for the ninth time. Santa Paula will do so for the first time.
Last week: 2-3 (.400).
This season: 158-39 (.802).
Joe Curley — aka Jostradamus — writes The Star’s high school football picks column. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him at @vcsjoecurley on Twitter/X, Instagram/Threads, Bluesky and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Jostradamus previews and picks the CIF-SS football finals
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