Playoff action heating up on Thursday
Nov. 8—There will be a playoff atmosphere through Kern County when area schools return to the gridiron for the Central Section football quarterfinals.
It all starts Thursday night, a day early due to the Veterans Day holiday.
All three of the area's three undefeated teams will be playing in the next 48 hours.
In Division I, No. 2 Frontier (10-0) returns to action following a first-round bye and will host No. 7 Fresno-Central. A few miles south, No. 3 Liberty makes its 2023 playoff debut with a home game against No. 6 Clovis. The winner of the two games will meet in the semifinals next week.
Shafter (10-0) also will play its first postseason game since losing to Orland on a sloppy field in the CIF State final last December. The No. 1 Generals will host No. 9 Golden Valley (9-2).
The other undefeated team, No. 9 Tehachapi (11-0) will be playing Friday at top-seeded Visalia-Central Valley Christian.
No. 3 Centennial plays at home against No. 11 Madera in Division II, with No. 4 Kennedy hosting No. 5 Kerman in D-III.
Wasco, Arvin and Boron will also be at home after first-round byes last week. The Tigers, No. 2 in Division V, will play No. 10 Reedley. In Division VI, the top-seeded Bears play No. 9 Orange Cove, with the No. 2 Bobcats squaring off against No. 7 Fowler.
North and Chavez will play on the road in Division V, with No. 6 Taft playing at No. 3 Mendota in D-VI. The Stars are playing at No. 1 Bishop Union, while the Titans will be at No. 3 Madera-Liberty. All games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
Bakersfield Christian and California City, who captured section volleyball titles last week, will each be playing at home Thursday night as top-seeds in the Southern California Regional playoffs.
In Division II, the Eagles will play No. 8 North Hollywood-Campbell Hall, while the Ravens meet No. 8 Garden Grove-Orangewood Academy.
Four area golfers will also be in action at the Southern California Regional Championships that start at 7:30 a.m. at Los Serranos Golf Course (North Course) in Chino Hills.
Earlier in the day, the cross country league championship events are scheduled for the South Yosemite River, Valley, Horizon and Mountain leagues, along with the South Sequoia League at Hart Park and River Walk Park.
