Oakdale has earned the No. 1 seed for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs after its 28-0 dismantling of Manteca on Friday, Oct. 29 at The Corral.

While most division match-ups were announced in a live online show on Sunday, the Section delayed the release of the D-III brackets by one day because of Capital Christian’s fight to have its postseason ban lifted in court. The Sacramento-based school is one of three in the SJS to be punished for their participation in what were deemed to be illegal club football contests last spring.

On Monday, a judge ruled in favor of the SJS. Based on CalPreps computer rankings, the Mustangs (4-2 Valley Oak League, 7-2 overall) were sure to have wrapped up the No. 1 seed with their Week-10 regular season finale victory.

Capital Christian would have been a top-four seed. Regardless of the outcome in court, Oakdale took care of business on the field to snag the top spot. In doing so, the Mustangs snapped a four-game skid against one of their greatest rivals and roll into the playoffs with some momentum.

Oakdale leads the all-time series with Manteca, 53-45-4.

“Huge,” Oakdale head coach Trent Merzon said of the win. “I don’t see any scenario, CalPreps numbers-wise, where the loser of this game drops lower than 2. I don’t know, it’s not my call, but we won so we’re less concerned about it.”

Manteca actually did go lower; they got the No. 3 seed, but that also secured a first round bye.

Oakdale dominated the Buffaloes (3-3, 7-3) on Friday night and handed them their first shutout loss since 2011. Both teams were without their best players — Oakdale fullback Yahir Ayala is out for the season with a knee injury, while Manteca’s Blake Nichelson, the state’s leading scorer, was sidelined with a sprained ankle.

“We’ve been reeling a little bit just trying to find our identity,” Merzon said. “We’re banged up. Losing Yahir took a lot of wind out of our sails. We’re small, we don’t have a ton of depth but our kids ball out.”

Different players have had to help pick up the slack and on Friday that was Kevin Camelin. He totaled three touchdowns (two receiving) and rushed 20 times for 99 yards.

“I thought Kevin Camelin was a stud,” Merzon said following the win on Friday. “He did it all and was a complete football player for us tonight.”

See football game story and photos in Sports, Page A11.

The postseason kicks off this week for Division III, with some games on Friday and others on Saturday. The SJS moved some first-round games a day later because of its delay in releasing brackets for the division. Not that it matters to Oakdale, which is one of four teams to get a first-round bye. No. 2 Lincoln, No. 3 Manteca and No. 4 Yuba City all get the first round bye.

Oakdale, as the top seed, will welcome the winner of the No. 8 Davis vs. No. 9 Roseville match up, being staged Friday night, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. at Modesto Junior College. The quarterfinal game, at The Corral, is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.

Semifinals are Nov. 19; Section championships will be on Nov. 26 or 27 at neutral sites.

“We get to be here until we lose and we love being home in November,” Merzon said. “We think we’re a tough out here this time of year.”