Stallions, Hawks host football playoff games

When the dust finally settled on the football regular season, the Madera Coyotes defeated the Madera South Stallions to win the Stadium Road Showdown and the Liberty Hawks defeated the Chowchilla Tribe to finish their season.

When the Central Section football playoffs were announced on Saturday, the Hawks and Stallions were awarded home games Friday night.

The Coyotes, who were ranked No. 1 in Div. IV last week, were bumped into Div. III and given the No. 13 seed and will travel Friday to No. 4 Arroyo Grande.

The Stallions were rewarded for a competitive non-league section of their schedule and given the No. No. 4 seed in Div. IV after ranking second last week. They will host No. 13 Mendota on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Hawks were one of the few teams to get an advantage in the new playoff system. Originally seeded No. 12 in Div. V, their 40-0 shutout of Chowchilla propelled them a few spots. They earned the No. 8 seed and will host No. 9 Chavez on Friday.

The seed could work out for the Hawks. The quarterfinal game will be between top seed Immanuel-Reedley or No. 16 Kerman. Both teams, the Hawks lost to in the final minute of the game.

The Matilda Torres Toros, taking advantage of an independent schedule and defeating Chowchilla in their final game of the season, earned entrance into the playoffs. They earned the final seed, a No. 13 in Div. VI, and will play No. 4 Woodlake on Friday.