You win your last four games by combined points of 168-21 Â and lose votes?
That’s what happened to Oceanside (7-0) in this week’s  UT-San Diego poll.  The Pirates, who defeated Torrey Pines, 42-21,  remained on top,  but it wasn’t unanimous.
No. 3 Helix (6-1) claimed two first-place votes.
Cathedral, ranked second with a 7-1 record and a victory over Helix, must be scratching its head. The Dons won their sixth in a row, routing Lincoln, 48-0.
Helix has scored 167 points in the last month. Â Oceanside has had four consecutive outings of 42 points each, while Helix has scored 42 in each of three games and 41 in the other.
Poll result after Week 8:
| # | Team (1st place votes) | W-L | Points* | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oceanside (17) | 7-0 | 188 | 1 |
| 2 | Cathedral | 7-1 | 163 | 2 |
| 3 | Helix (2) | 6-1 | 154 | 3 |
| 4 | El Capitan | 7-0 | 125 | 4 |
| 5 | Mission Hills | 5-2 | 110 | 5 |
| 6 | San Marcos | 7-0 | 84 | 6 |
| 7 | Ramona | 6-1 | 75 | 7 |
| 8 | Eastlake | 4-3 | 49 | 8 |
| 9 | Steele Canyon | 6-1 | 29 | NR |
| 10 | Christian | 7-0 | 26 | 10 |
Anyone that doesn’t have Oceanside as #1 should have their UT Poll vote revoked permanently! It’s either ignorance or bias – or maybe both. One can argue who is #2, Cathedral/Mission Hills/Helix in some order, but no one in the county is close to the Pirates. Also a joke that the poll has El Capitan at #4, above Mission Hills. Laughable. that wouldn’t even be a game – running clock in the 3rd quarter. Eastlake is also being seriously underrated. No way the Titans should be ranked below ElCap or Ramona – heck Cathedral barely beat Eastlake!
I voted for Oceanside No. 1. That was easy. Certainly the two votes for Helix did not come from the specific bloc of media that has a widely perceived North County bias. From top to bottom, North County leagues have been stronger for the last 30 years or so. It all began to change in 1960, when Escondido “upset” San Diego in the first year of the San Diego Section playoffs. I would clearly pick Mission Hills head to head with El Capitan, but I think there are instances when you have to go with results. Mission Hills was surprised by the team from Utah and pretty much blown out by Oceanside. El Capitan (7-0) has met all challenges (to now). You can have fun arguing about strength of schedules. After Oceanside, my top 10 was Cathedral, Helix, El Capitan, San Marcos, Mission Hills, Eastlake, Ramona, Christian, and Point Loma. As I said, there comes a time when you should give some weight to results.