2017-18 Weeks 1-5: It’s Been a Wild Ride
Like the automobiles that are continually jarred by San Diego’s city streets, the supposed top teams in the San Diego Section negotiated a December full of potholes.
Which is the best, as the season enters league play and the weekend shootouts or the so-called”classics”?
I cast my vote for Torrey Pines, followed by Mission Bay, Foothills Christian, St. Augustine, La Jolla Country Day, Vista, Mater Dei, Montgomery, Santa Fe Christian, and San Marcos.
Don’t press me. I can’t explain why.
There were so many surprising results, some stunning. Perhaps it was the grind of the four-day Torrey Pines Holiday Tournament, one of the country’s premier events, or coaches just trying to find the right combinations and still evaluating personnel.
–But Torrey, 10-0 and an early championship favorite, fell behind by 15 points and was beaten in the Falcons’ annual Holiday Classic, 69-68, by St. Augustine, despite the Saints featuring an all-underclass lineup and missing two expected starters who transferred.
–St. Augustine followed its inspired win over Torrey Pines with a 78-52 loss to state-ranked Los Angeles Fairfax, which was beaten by Foothills Christian.
–Mission Bay beat Foothills Christian, 72-56, but lost to La Jolla Country Day, 62-50.
–Foothills Christian not only lost to Mission Bay, but also to 7-7 Westview, 73-71, in overtime and then beat two Los Angeles City Section powers, Westchester, 73-49, and Fairfax, 74-73.
Mission Bay (12-3) is Cal-Hi Sports‘ No. 12 team in the state and Foothills is 14th. Torrey Pines surprisingly was not even at least on the newsletter’s “bubble” .
Union-Tribune Boys’ poll through Tuesday, Jan. 2:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Last Poll |
| 1 | Mission Bay (6) | 12-3 | 109 | 3 |
| 2 | Torrey Pines (4) | 13-2 | 100 | 1 |
| 3 | Foothills Christian (1) | 9-5 | 95 | 4 |
| 4 | St. Augustine (1) | 7-2 | 88 | 5 |
| 5 | Vista | 10-5 | 78 | 2 |
| 6 | San Marcos | 12-2 | 60 | 7 |
| 7 | La Jolla Country Day | 11-4 | 49 | 8 |
| 8 | Mater Dei | 11-5 | 46 | 6 |
| 9 | Montgomery | 11-3 | 14 | NR |
| 10 | Canyon Crest | 9-5 | 8 | NR |
NR–Not rated.
Others receiving votes: Poway (9-5, 5 points), Rancho Bernardo (6-4, 4), Santa Fe Christian (8-5, 3), Mount Miguel (14-2, 2), Helix (8-6, 1), Westview (8-7, 1).
Poll participants: John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune; Terry Monahan, freelancer; Steve Brand, San Diego Hall of Champions; Adam Paul, Ramon Scott, EastCountySports.com; John Kentera, Prep Talent Evaluator; Rick Smith, partletonsports.com; Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com; Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM; Christian Pedersen, S.D. Preps Insider; Aaron Burgin, Fulltime Hoops; Brad Enright, L.A. Court Report.