Bishop Diego moved down a division while Dos Pueblos, Santa Barbara, San Marcos and Carpinteria remained in the same groupings for the CIF-Southern Section football playoffs this fall.
The CIF-SS released the playoff divisions for 11-man football on Thursday. Each school is placed according to a power-ranking formula that includes strength of schedule, regular-season and post-season performances and state rankings over the last two seasons.
Lompoc scored the highest of any county school and was placed in Division 3. The Braves went 12-1 and reached the semifinals of Division 4 last season. In 2015, they were 10-1 and a quarterfinalist in the Northern Division. Division 3 has 19 schools vying for 16 playoff spots.
Arroyo Grande is the highest-rated team from the area. The Eagles are in Division 2 with the likes of Oaks Christian, Calabasas and St. Bonaventure.
Bishop Diego, which went 7-4, finished second in the Tri-Valley League, and lost in the first round of the Division 5 playoffs in 2016, will be in Division 6 this season. The Cardinals join teams like Oxnard, Nipomo, Canyon Country-Canyon, Saugus, Mira Costa and St. Paul in the 22-school division. Their non-league schedule includes games against Arroyo Grande, Nipomo and Division 5 St. Joseph.
Santa Barbara stays in Division 9 after tying DP and Ventura for the Channel League title and falling to Agoura in the first round of the playoffs last season. There are 29 schools vying for 16 playoff spots, including Division 10 champion St. Anthony (which beat DP in the quarterfinals last year) and runner-up Aquinas.
Dos Pueblos, which won a first-round playoff game in Division 10, will remain in the division this fall. Santa Ynez, Templeton and San Luis Obispo also stay in the 37-team division. Newcomers include Division 11 champion Valley View and runner-up Quartz Hill.
San Marcos and Carpinteria remain in Division 12, where there are 45 schools. Santa Maria, Morro Bay and Santa Paula also in the division.
Division 13 has the most schools with 84. The area entries include Hueneme, Fillmore, Malibu and Santa Clara.
From the North County, St. Joseph is placed in Division 5, Pioneer Valley and Righetti in Division 8 and Cabrillo in Division 11.
Channel League schools Ventura and Buena are in Division 5 and 8, respectively.