Vista Seeded No. 1 in the 3-A Playoffs : High school: El Camino picked No. 1 in Division 2-A.

High school playoff seeding meetings never conclude without a coach or two crying foul. It is almost a given that each year at least one team that most figured wasn’t good enough for the 16-team draw sneaked in while another expected to get a nod was aced out.

Except for one mild surprise, that did not happen this year.

The coaches who gathered at the County Office of Education and waited for the verdict Saturday morning all seemed to accept what they saw when the first-round pairings were posted for the San Diego Section 2-A and 3-A football playoffs.

Palomar League champion Vista drew the No. 1 seed in Division 3-A. The Palomar League was well represented, with five teams.

City Eastern League champion Point Loma (9-1) is seeded second in 3-A and will host the only Saturday game (1 p.m.) in the first round against Montgomery (3-5-2), one of five playoff teams with an overall losing record and one of a record five Metro Conference teams to make it.

The Metro and Palomar leagues, with five each, and the Eastern League, with four, account for 14 of the 16 teams in the 3-A bracket. The Avocado League, with five, and the City Western League, with four, dominate the 2-A bracket.

Sweetwater was the surprise choice. The Red Devils (2-5 in the Metro) got the nod over Southwest, a team with an identical league and overall record that defeated Sweetwater, 14-6, during the season. The Grossmont Conference, which had only two teams from each division chosen, saw Monte Vista (5-5) get turned down. Mount Miguel (4-5-1 before forfeits made it 1-9) didn’t make a bid.

“I think it was between us and Monte Vista,” Sweetwater Coach Gene Alim said. “We’ve been in every ballgame we’ve played but one. We knew if we got in, it would be as the No. 16 seed. That’s OK. For us, it’s another game, and you never know.”

Third-seeded Chula Vista (8-2) drew Serra (5-5), which is returning to the playoffs for the first time in 10 years and doing so for the first time as a 3-A team. Grossmont (9-0-1), the No. 4 seed, will host Orange Glen (5-4-1).

As expected, two-time defending champion El Camino (9-1) received the No. 1 seeding in the 2-A bracket, drawing Crawford (3-6-1), the City Central League’s second-place team, in the first round. Crawford has the worst record of the 32 playoff teams but drew an automatic berth, as did every team that finished second in its league. That opened the door for San Diego, which finished third in the Central League but was 6-3-1 overall.

Second-seeded La Jolla (10-0) will host Clairemont (4-6), while No. 3 Lincoln drew San Pasqual (6-4) and No. 4 El Capitan (7-2-1) was matched with San Diego.

Other 2-A games include St. Augustine (6-3-1) at USDHS (9-1) in a repeat of the “Charity Bowl” won by the Dons, 28-0; Oceanside (6-4) at Kearny (7-3); University City (5-4) at San Marcos (7-3) and Santana (4-5-1) at Escondido (5-5). The marquee first-round game will probably be Lincoln-San Pasqual, a match of two former section champions that have clashed three times before in the playoffs.

“I knew we’d get Lincoln,” said Coach Mike Dolan, whose Eagles finished tied for third at 4-1 in the Avocado League. “I would have bet on it and mortgaged the house.”

“(Assistant coach) Tony Jackson came up to me a week ago and said, ‘We’ve got to change our defense,’ ” said Vic Player, coach of Central League champion Lincoln. “I said, ‘What? We haven’t given up a point in three games.’ He said, ‘We’ve got to get ready for the North County.’ ”

Other 3-A games include Castle Park (5-4-1) at Torrey Pines (8-2), Morse (6-4) at Hilltop (8-2) and Fallbrook at Helix (6-2-1). Perhaps the best first-round matchup is RBV (5-5) at Mira Mesa (7-3), where quarterback Chad Davis will need 91 passing yards to tie Todd Marinovich’s national mark of 9,182.

“I don’t know anything about Mira Mesa except Chad Davis plays for them,” Bell said.

How do the Longhorns, section champs two years ago, defend the pass?

“Well,” said quarterback Davis, who attended the coaches’ gathering. “But we’re healthy and happy, and those are the two big keys.”