The high school football playoffs began this weekend across the Bay Area — and there were some thrillers.

The Bay Area News Group’s roundup has you covered.

Check back every Saturday for scores, highlights and top performers, updated throughout the day.

If you have not already, please subscribe here for complete digital access all school year long. Our high school coverage does not stop when football season ends.

On to the roundup …

Central Coast Section

Division I

No. 2 St. Francis 17, No. 7 Sacred Heart Cathedral 14

Kingston Keanaaina carried 30 times for 163 yards and the go-ahead Touchdown in the fourth quarter as St. Francis edged Sacred Heart Cathedral to advance to the semifinals Friday against another West Catholic Athletic League foe, Archbishop Mitty. Check out Evan Webeck’s game story here.

No. 6 Archbishop Mitty 29, No. 3 Los Gatos 28 (OT)

Danny Scudero caught a pass from Wills Towers near the left sideline for the winning two-point conversion in overtime as Mitty — which won one game last season — prevailed to advance to the Central Coast Section Division I semifinals next week against St. Francis. The game began with Scudero’s 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and was tight throughout. Mitty improved to 8-3. Los Gatos finished 8-3. Darren Sabedra has the complete recap here.

No. 4 Salinas 28, No. 5 Sacred Heart Prep 21

Sacred Heart Prep’s late comeback ended when a Salinas defender knocked away a pass from Mitchell Taylor to Carter Shaw in the end zone as time expired. The victory sends Salinas into the semifinals next weekend against the winner of Saturday’s game between top seed Serra and No. 8 seed Palma. Sacred Heart Prep finished 9-2. Joseph Dycus has all the details here.

Division II

No. 1 Wilcox 56, No. 8 Lincoln-San Jose 14

Seven players scored touchdowns Thursday night as the Bay Area News Group’s ninth-ranked Chargers (10-1) powered into the semifinal round of the Central Coast Section DII playoffs. Quarterback Armand Johnson rushed for 114 yards, scored a TD and passed for another to lead the way. Andrew Palacios ran for two TDs, Ri’yon Cooper went 50 yards to the house on a punt return and Anthan Wingate was 8 for 8 on extra points. Wilcox, which built a 42-14 halftime lead, will host No. 5 seed Bellarmine on Friday. Lincoln, ranked 20th in the BANG Top 25, finished 9-2. “This was a good experience for our kids,” coach Kevin Collins said. The Lions were making their second straight CCS playoff appearance now that the Big Bone game against San Jose has been moved from Thanksgiving Day to Labor Day weekend. Since 2004, four previous nine-win Lincoln teams coached by Collins were forced to miss the playoffs to participate in the Big Bone. Despite the team’s struggles Thursday, Lions freshman receiver Kyan Phillips stood out, catching eight balls for 171 yards and a TD from QB and older brother Tayden Phillips. – Mike Lefkow

No. 2 St. Ignatius 24, No. 7 Half Moon Bay 15

St. Ignatius, playing at home in San Francisco on a cold night, heated up in the second half with 21 points to turn back Half Moon Bay and advance to the semifinals next week against Aptos. Soren Hummel’s touchdown run in the fourth quarter gave SI, which trailed by 12 at halftime, the lead for good. Shayna Rubin has the details from San Francisco here.

No. 5 Bellarmine 30, No. 4 Menlo-Atherton 7

In a rematch of the season opener, a game won by Menlo-Atherton when star receiver Jurrion Dickey was not injured, Bellarmine rolled over the Bears to set up a semifinal game Friday against top seed Wilcox. Nate Escalada threw TD passes on Bellarmine’s second and fourth possessions to help lead the way. Bellarmine improved to 5-6. M-A, which hasn’t had Dickey on the field since its fourth game, finished 5-6. David Kiefer has the full recap here.

Division IV

No. 1 Sequoia 51, No. 8 Overfelt 50 (2 OT)

Sequoia and Overfelt played an all-time classic on Friday night, with the Ravens beating the Royals in double overtime. After Overfelt (9-2) was stopped on a two-point conversion to start the second overtime, junior running back Luke Ulrich ran in a 4-yard touchdown and junior Brody McKenna kicked in the extra point to win the game for Sequoia (10-1). Alex Simon has the story from Redwood City.

No. 4 Santa Teresa 31, No. 5 St. Francis-Watsonville 10

Jayden Arevalo threw two touchdown passes as Santa Teresa (6-5) advanced to play at No. 1 Sequoia in a Friday semifinal. The Saints took the opening kickoff and scored on a 42-yard pass from Arevalo to Jeffrey Kerr. After St. Francis tied it up, Casey Carr’s 25-yard field goal gave Santa Teresa a 10-7 lead at halftime. A 7-yard scoring pass from Arevalo to Noah Gardere made it 17-7. Following a field goal that cut the lead to 17-10, Richard Salazar returned the subsequent kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown. A Joseph Tapia interception set up Evan Smith‘s 2-yard scoring run. — Glenn Reeves

North Coast Section

Open/Division I

No. 1 De La Salle 40, No. 8 James Logan 14

James Logan’s Anthony Delguidice returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown, putting host De La Salle in an immediate hole. The Spartans responded with 19 points to close out the quarter and 14 more in the second for a 33-7 halftime advantage. DLS cruised from there as Charles Greer (two rushing TDs) and Journey McKoy (two receiving TDs) led the offense and Chase Tofaeono was a welcome presence on defense after the standout tackle missed the entire regular season because of foot injuries. De La Salle (8-3) advanced to the Open championship game Friday against Pittsburg at Dublin High. James Logan finished 7-4. – Darren Sabedra

No. 2 Pittsburg 55, No. 7 Antioch 22

Victor Galli, who is stepping down as Pittsburg’s coach after the season, will get one more crack at De La Salle when the two teams meet for the Open Division title next Friday night at Dublin High. The No. 2-ranked team in the Bay Area News Group Top 25 overwhelmed arch-rival Antioch (4-7) for the second week in a row, taking a 35-6 halftime lead and scoring three more touchdowns in the third quarter. Quarterback Jaden Rashada, who made plenty of news a day earlier when he flipped his college destination from Miami to Florida, threw two touchdowns and ran for another in the first half. Then in the third quarter, backup QB Marley Alcantara took over and threw for three more touchdowns. Galli, who has been at Pittsburg for 21 years, has never beaten his alma mater, with 15 straight losses against De La Salle dating back to 2003. But with an all-star cast that includes receivers Rashid Williams (Washington commit) and Zachary Card (Oregon State), his last shot may be his best. Williams caught two TD passes from Rashada. Card had a 60-yard TD run to open the scoring and caught a 36-yard TD from Alcantara. The Pirates (10-1) have plenty of other talented players to use against De La Salle. But the Spartans are hot, having won five in a row after a 3-3 start. Also, they haven’t lost to a North Coast Section opponent since the Pirates beat them in 1991. The winner of next Friday’s contest qualifies for the CIF State NorCal regional game. The loser plays the winner of the Clayton Valley-Liberty Division I semifinal, with a berth in another NorCal regional game on the line. – Mike Lefkow

No. 4 Liberty 35, No. 5 Amador Valley 21

A 61-yard touchdown pass by Bay Valley Athletic League co-MVP Nate Bell sparked host Liberty (8-3) to take charge in its first-round victory over Amador Valley. Bell accounted for four touchdowns, two passing and two rushing. Jamar Searcy also scored for the Lions. Liberty will play at Clayton Valley in the semifinals Friday. Amador Valley finished 5-6. – Jesús Cano

Division II

No. 4 Foothill 34, No. 5 Vintage 28

Foothill survived when Vintage’s fourth-down pass from the 15 sailed out of the end zone, clinching a victory that sent the Pleasanton school into the semifinals next week against top seed San Ramon Valley. Chris Lawson scored on a 50-yard fly sweep to help lead Foothill. Jerry McDonald has the recap from Pleasanton here.

Division III

No. 1 El Cerrito 41, No. 8 Montgomery 0

El Cerrito’s Michael Vanhook threw three touchdown passes and running back Tony McAdoo ran for two scores in the Gauchos’ first-round victory over Montgomery. Aaron Woodard and Warren Smith (twice) had touchdown receptions. El Cerrito had a 34-point lead at halftime. The Gauchos (11-0) will play host to Northgate on Friday. – Jesús Cano

No. 2 Windsor 41, No. 7 College Park 15

College Park was embroiled in another controversy as its first-round game ended with time remaining after a Falcons player charged in from the edge and hit the Windsor quarterback before the snap as the winning side was trying to run out the clock. Afterward, Windsor coach DJ Sexton told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, “We’re lucky our guy isn’t in the hospital right now, because the guy came off the edge and behind him and speared him in the back of the neck. Our kid has a headache so bad he can’t see straight right now.” The controversy comes weeks after College Park coach Travis Raciti and athletic director Jim Keck were suspended two games in the aftermath of an 84-0 win over Ygnacio Valley. Read more here. — Mike Lefkow

No. 3 Rancho Cotate 49, No. 6 Livermore 14

Rancho Cotate quarterback Jacob Pruitt accounted for seven touchdowns — four passing, three rushing — as visiting Livermore’s season came to an end in this first-round game. Pruitt completed 13 of 16 passes for 204 yards and had 115 yards on the ground. Rancho Cotate will play at second-seeded Campolindo in the semifinals Friday. Livermore finished 8-3. – Jesús Cano

No. 5 Northgate 24, No. 4 Las Lomas 21

Lucas Lesieur kicked the decisive field goal early in the fourth quarter to propel visiting Northgate (7-4) to a first-round victory over Las Lomas. The Broncos scored 10 unanswered points in the second half to complete the come-from-behind win. Ben Hosler scored an early rushing touchdown and John Pelletier threw two touchdown passes, a 75-yard pass to Emilio Pucci and a 15-yarder to Jake Berger. Adam Towell ran for two touchdowns and Michael Wood scored once for Las Lomas. Northgate will visit El Cerrito in the semifinals Friday. Las Lomas finished 5-6. – Jesús Cano

Division VI

No. 7 Salesian 14, No. 2 Moreau Catholic 10

Paul Victor Jr. intercepted a pass to seal Salesian’s road upset over host Moreau. In a defensive battle between foes from the long-defunct Catholic Athletic League, each team had four takeaways. Salesian (6-5) advanced to play No. 3 seed Justin-Siena on Friday. Moreau finished 7-4. Check out Phil Jensen’s game story here.