Sports

Aptos received the No. 5 seed in the CCS Open Division III playoffs, and will travel to No. 4 Terra Nova on Friday for a rematch of last year’s quarterfinals matchup.

A week after falling one yard short of a game-winning touchdown against Palma, the Mariners fell a yard short of icing what would have been a title-clinching victory in Friday night’s 28-24 loss to Salinas at “The Pit.”

No. 2 Mt. Madonna outlasted top-seeded Notre Dame-Salinas 25-16, 11-25, 25-17, 27-29, 15-11 to win the program’s third section crown and first since 2009.

Outside hitters Mara Peruzzi and Paola Jacobs combined for 21 kills, 20 digs and seven aces, setter Savannah Cambell had 30 assists, seven digs and three kills and No. 2 Mt. Madonna looked refocused in a 25-22, 25-18, 25-14 sweep of No. 6 Summit-Shasta in the semifinals of the Central Coast Section Division V playoffs on Thursday.

When Kyle Shanahan was looking to get into the NFL as an assistant coach more than a decade ago, his father, Mike, called Jon Gruden and asked him to hire his son for an entry-level job in Tampa.

The Cabrillo College women’s volleyball team, currently ranked No. 4 in the state, swept the visiting West Valley College Vikings on Halloween night to protect their undefeated Coast Conference North record heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.

Several local high school football squads have put down the clipboards and picked up the iPads over the last three years, tapping into instant replay technology that has exploded across the state and country at the prep level.

Santa Cruz has a deep roster that screams switchability on defense, and attention to detail everywhere else. Ten of 12 players on the team’s opening day roster are 6-foot-4 or taller, and half have NBA experience.

Aptos and Salinas will meet tonight at “The Pit” for a share of the Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan division championship.