The Centennial football team will face a familiar foe when it opens the CIF Southern Section playoffs in two weeks.

Centennial was the lone Inland program drawn into an eight-team Division 1 bracket this season. The Huskies (7-3) are the No. 6-seeded team and will take on No. 3 Mater Dei (8-2) in a first-round showdown Friday, Nov. 13, at Santa Ana Stadium.

It will be the sixth meeting between the programs in three years and 14th since the 2014 campaign, which was Centennial’s first time competing in the Division 1 playoffs. These teams previously met in the playoffs in 2014, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2024 and 2025.

“It’s definitely not ideal,” Huskies coach Matt Logan said about seeing the same opponent so many times. “But these things will keep happening as long as they don’t have a 16-team Division 1. … It’s going to be the same teams almost every year.”

The big question each season heading into the pairings reveal is how many teams will be included in the Division 1 bracket.

The choice of an eight-team Division 1 bracket this year greatly benefited one Inland team in particular. Chaparral finished No. 9 in the hsratings.com rankings used to determined the playoff divisions. And that gave the Pumas the No. 1 seed in Division 2.

Chaparral (6-4) will open up the playoffs at home Friday, Nov. 6 against Orange, which finished the regular season at 10-0.

“We talked about all of those what-ifs,” Chaparral coach Andrew Ramer said about landing in Division 1 or Division 2. “We would be prepared to play no matter where they put us. … Division 2 is going to be a challenge. There are no easy games there.”

Rancho Cucamonga coach Alex Pierce echoed those sentiments about a strong field of Division 2 teams. The Cougars (7-3) are the only other Inland team in the Division 2 bracket and will travel to Crean Lutheran (8-2) for a first-round game Friday.

“It’s tough from top to bottom, and almost every single one of them (first-round games) is going to come down to one of two plays,” Pierce said. “It’s been our story all season long. We feel our preseason and the Baseline League has prepared us for this.”

Chino Hills benefited from an eight-team Division 1, too. The Huskies (6-4) received the No. 1 seed in Division 4 and host Culver City in Friday’s opening round. If more than eight were selected, Chino Hills would have been a double-digit seed in Division 3.

“You have to be ready to play no matter where you are,” Chino Hills coach Keland Johnson said about the playoff draw. “We’re really excited about where we ended up. We’ve been on the road a lot this year. It’s going to be nice to have that one at home.”

Four other Inland teams received the No. 1 seed in their respective playoff brackets.

San Dimas is the top-seeded team in Division 7, and the Saints (8-2) open at home Friday night against Paramount (9-1).

Notre Dame is the No. 1 seed in Division 11, and the Titans (9-1) will face South Torrance (6-4) on Friday at Ramona High.

Ontario picked up the top seed in Division 12, and the Jaguars (8-2) host Arcadia (7-3) in a playoff opener Friday evening.

Rialto is the No. 1 seed in Division 13, and the Knights (3-7) open the playoffs at home Friday night against Arroyo (6-4).

Eleven additional teams from the Inland area received a top-four seeding in their respective playoff divisions.

Four teams are seeded No. 2: Norco (Division 3), Colton (Division 9), Banning (Division 11) and Carter (Division 12).

Seven teams are No. 3 seeds: Great Oak (Division 3), Beaumont (Division 6), Citrus Valley (Division 7), Santiago (Division 8), Moreno Valley (Division 9), Montclair (Division 11) and Rubidoux (Division 12).