With the fall sports season coming to an end, teams are now focusing on the second season — playoffs.
Champions in girls tennis and girls volleyball will be crowned this week, and water polo playoffs started earlier this week.
However, football playoffs kick-off Friday, and all four Madera-area schools will be in action.
The Liberty Hawks earned the highest seeds of all of the Madera schools. They took undefeated Chowchilla to the last minute before suffering a tough 22-21 loss Friday night for the Northwest Athletic Conference championship.
The Hawks were moved up from their base Div. V, and earned the No. 3 seed in Div. IV. They host Atascadero in the first round Friday at the newly revamped Hawks Nest. The Hawks are also looking for revenge after Atascadero knocked the Hawks out of the playoffs in 2024.
The winner will play the winner of No. 6 North-Bakersfield and No. 11 Exeter on November 13 in the quarterfinals.
Madera suffered a tough loss last Thursday to Sunnyside, giving the Wildcats their first non-forfeit win of the year. The loss also could have cost the Coyotes a first-round home game in Div. III.
Instead, the Coyotes earned the No. 11 seed, and will travel to the coast to face No. 6 Templeton on Friday. The winner will play the winner of No. 4 Nipomo and No. 14 Righetti in the quarterfinals.
Torres played through the rain, and almost came up with an upset victory over Justin Garza on Friday. They earned the No. 14 seed in Div. V, and will travel to No. 3 Orosi.
The winner of Friday’s game will play the winner of No. 6 Chavez and No. 11 Bishop Union.
Madera South’s game Friday night was called with about five minutes left in the third quarter against Sanger West because of lightning strikes in the area. The Stallions earned the No. 14 seed in Div. VI, and will play at defending champion, Minarets on Friday.
The winner will face the winner of No. 6 McFarland and No. 11 Sierra in the quarterfinals.