Carmel football

 What the merger of the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League and Mission Trail Athletic League did this fall for football was eliminate one automatic playoff spot.
 Last year the SCCAL and MTAL each got two automatics. This year just three teams among the two divisions from the merger gather automatic bids.
 Why?
 Because 'B' Leagues in the CCS get two automatic qualifiers while 'C' Leagues get one. The Mission Division is a 'B' League while the Coastal Division was downgraded to a 'C' League.
 Which means a deserving team in the Mission Division will have to apply as an at-large team to get into the postseason. There are only so many at-large spots left in Division IV and Division V.
 So, even if Carmel runs the table, its run of 10 straight postseason appearances may be in jeopardy as it may not have enough points to qualify for the CCS Division V playoffs.
 "Our No. 1 goal isn't to make the postseason,'' Carmel coach Golden Anderson said. "If we've shown improvement, we've maintained some of our goals.''
  If the Padres close the season with four straight wins, they will finish with no worse than 19 points. Last year 19 1/2 points was the cutoff.
 Getting Dakota Mornhinweg back has made a significant difference on both sides of the ball, as he has accounted for six touchdowns and two interceptions in two games.
 After being told by the Central Coast Section that Mornhinweg was eligible after transferring from Stevenson, a reverse in the decision forced him to sit out six games.
 "You know where that hurt us is we didn't learn until the week before the season started that he was not being cleared,'' Anderson said. "We had to put players in his place that weren't ready.''
 While three of Carmel's four losses are to league champions, it may take a league title from Willow Glen to give them that extra point to extend its season.