2016 Week 10: Rivals Face Moments of Truth
Take a good look at this week’s Union-Tribune Top 10 poll. It won’t be the same next Tuesday and likely will change even more after the last of several blockbuster matchups take place 10 days from now on the final Friday of the regular season.
THIS WEEK
No. 1 Cathedral (8-0) meets Western League rival No. 6 St. Augustine (7-1) at Mesa College and No. 8 Grossmont (8-0) visits Grossmont Hills nemesis No. 5 Helix (6-2) this Friday.
League championships and bragging rights are in the mix for the winners in these old and intense rivalries.
Helix, originally the little brother to Grossmont when it opened on the Foothillers’ campus as the schools split sessions in 1951, holds a 40-18-2 lead in the series.
Grossmont was a competitive, 12-10 leader from 1951-72, when Jim Arnaiz became coach at Helix.
After losing his first four games against Grossmont, Arnaiz guided the Highlanders on a path of 19 victories, two defeats, and two ties until he retired in 1999.
Arnaiz and four successors are a combined 19-0 against Grossmont since 1992, the victories by an average score of 41-12, including 68-16 in 2015.
Grossmont’s last victory, 28-14 in 1991, was quarterbacked by Tom Karlo, who has compiled a 39-16 record since becoming the Foothillers’ head coach in 2011.
Cathedral is 30-23 against St. Augustine since 1966. Dons coach Sean Doyle, a graduate of the school when it was known as University of San Diego High, is 11-12 against the Saints, including a forfeit loss in 2012.
Richard Sanchez, a 35-21 winner last year, is 4-3 versus Cathedral from the time of his appointment as the Saints’ coach in 2009.
NEXT WEEK
If all goes well this week, neighborhood don’t invitems Poway and Rancho Bernardo will take undefeated records into a Palomar League championship tussle and Olympian will meet Mater Dei for the Metropolitan Mesa loop title.
WOES CONTINUE
Hoover still is looking for its first point, crushed by a cumulative total of 405-0 in a record-tying eight games.
If the Cardinals are shut out by Patrick Henry this week (the Patriots have won 3 in a row for the first time since 2012) they will be alone at the bottom with nine consecutive zeroes since the start of the season, although an asterisk may be appropriate.
Southwest was blanked in all nine games in 1976, but was credited with a 1-0 “win” after Chula Vista forfeited a 76-0 victory. The Raiders officially were outscored, 335-1, that season.
CAL-HI STATIC
There were no changes as Cathedral remained seventh and Helix 18th in the weekly Cal-Hi Sports ratings. Rancho Bernardo, St. Augustine, and Madison were joined on the bubble by Grossmont.
Union-Tribune poll:
First-place votes in parenthesis.
Points on basis of 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.
| Rank | Team | W-L | Points | Last Week |
| 1. | Cathedral (21) | 7-0 | 261 | 1 |
| 2. | Madison (3) | 7-1 | 228 | 3 |
| 3. | Rancho Bernardo (3) | 7-1 | 226 | 2 |
| 4. | Mater Dei | 7-1 | 164 | 4 |
| 5. | Helix | 6-2 | 163 | 5 |
| 6. | St. Augustine | 7-1 | 156 | 6 |
| 7. | Poway | 8-0 | 105 | 7 |
| 8. | Grossmont | 8-0 | 83 | 8 |
| 9. | Mission Hills | 6-2 | 58 | 9 |
| 10 | The Bishop’s | 8-0 | 24 | 10 |
Others receiving votes: Christian (8-0, 5 points), Oceanside (6-2), San Marcos (5-2), 4 each. Torrey Pines (6-2) Valhalla (7-1), Valley Center (7-1), Olympian (6-3), La Costa Canyon (5-3), 1 each.
Twenty-seven sportswriters, sportscasters, and other representatives comprise the voting panel:
John Maffei, Union-Tribune. Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Tom Saxe, Rick Hoff, Jim Lindgren, Union-Tribune contributors. Michael Bower, Pomerado News. Lisa Lane, Fox 5 News. Montell Allen, MBA Sports-SDFNL Magazine. Brandon Stone, Rick Willis, KUSI, Channel 51. Adam Clark, Ted Mendenhall, Taylor Quellman, The Mighty 1090. Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Radio 107.9 FM. Bob Petinak, 1360 Radio. Bill Dickens, Adam Paul, Chris Davis, eastcountysports.com. Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com. Drew Smith, sdcoastalsports.com. Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net. Rick Smith, partletonsports.com. Steve Brand, San Diego Hall of Champions. Jerry Schniepp, John Labeta, CIF San Diego Section. John (Coach) Kentera, Prep Talent Evaluator.
QUICK KICKS
Patrick Henry is positioned to win the City League championship, which would be the Patriots’ first since 1997, when the Jerry Varner-coached squad raced to a 6-0 record in the Eastern League…Chula Vista’s 40-29 victory over Sweetwater meant that the two South Bay rivals had played 70 consecutive seasons, beginning in 1947…Sweetwater leads the all-time measuring stick, 38-29-3 and Red Devils running back Marty Sesma turned in one of the more impressive performances in the series…Sesma carried the ball 37 times for 197 yards and one touchdown…