2021 Week 12: Playoffs Shift Into High Gear With Open Division Play

Round two of the San Diego Section playoffs offer quarterfinals in Divisions I-V and semifinals in the  Open Division.

The four clubs in the highest bracket, beginning play after a week off:

 4 TORREY PINES (6-3) @1 CARLSBAD (10-0)

The Falcons get another shot at the unbeaten Lancers, a team Torrey Pines had on the ropes, 33-27, only to lose, 34-33, in the final seconds after a 90-yard Carlsbad touchdown drive in Week 6.

The Falcons’ second and third losses were to the other semifinalists, Cathedral, 28-14, in the season opener and Mission Hills, 20-14, in Week 8.

Coach Thadd MacNeal is 75-44 in 11 seasons at Carlsbad.  Ron Gladnick is 38-23 in six seasons at Torrey. MacNeal and Gladnick are 3-3 against each other, but Carlsbad has won the last three.

Carlsbad takes a 15-game winning streak and 25 wins in the last 27 into the contest.

The Lancers lead the all-time series, 18-9.

Carlsbad has a 55.2 Cal Preps.com rating and Torrey Pines 44.4.  The Lancers are Cal-Hi Sports’ No. 13 team and Torrey Pines No. 37.

Another barnburner could be in the works and Carlsbad will try to defeat this tough opponent a second time in the same season.

The pick:  Torrey Pines.

3 MISSION HILLS (8-2) @1 CATHEDRAL (8-2).

Cathedral was a 44-21 winner in the 2016 playoff semifinals in the only meeting between the schools.

Sean Doyle and Chris Hauser have head-coached 429 games in their long careers but this will be only the second time they’ve been on opposite sidelines.

Doyle and Hauser are two of the most successful coaches in San Diego County history.

Doyle is 212-96, .688, in 26 seasons at University-Cathedral and a victory would tie Helix’ Jim Arnaiz for the ninth most wins in County history.

Hauser is 180-76, .703, in 22 seasons at Vista and Mission Hills.

Cathedral has a 58.0 Cal Preps.com rating, the Grizzlies 50.5. Cal-Hi Sports has Cathedral at 16^th in the state and Mission Hills 20^th.

Cathedral beat Torrey Pines, 28-14, in the season opener.  Mission Hills edged the Falcons, 20-14, in Week 8.

Cathedral received a forfeit, 1-0 win over Lincoln in Week 10.  Mission Hills lost to Lincoln, 30-13, in Week 3.

It will have been 18 days since their last game and the ensuing controversy surrounding Lincoln’s decision to not play the Dons after racial taunts last season by Cathedral players.

The pick:  Mission Hills.

“POWER PERCEIVED IS POWER INDEED”

That was a line uttered by Ernie Hudson, the crooked principal at Florida’s Miami Columbus High,  to Tom Berenger in “The Substitute”, a 1990’s movie starring Berenger as a faux substitute teacher who cracks a drug ring.

Power indeed was the story in the first round.

Seeded favorites had a combined 34-6 record, with a few mild upsets (3) two not-really upsets, and one sort-of shocker.

The latter was manufactured by San Ysidro, a 12 seed in Division V, squeezing past No. 5 Escondido Charter, 16-13.

TENS ROLL SEVEN

Three 10’s dispatched 7 seeds.

Granite Hills eliminated Oceanside, 31-14, in D-I. El Cajon Valley topped No. 10 Army-Navy, 21-14 in D-IV, and El  Centro Central ushered out Otay Ranch, 33-28 in D-II.

A couple No. 9’s edged No. 8’s.

D-I Grossmont edged Steele Canyon, 17-14, and D-II Christian beat San Diego and retiring coach Charles James, 31-28.

There were blowouts of 49-7 (Brawley over Westview) 50-18 (Rancho Buena Vista over Mar Vista) and one why-did-they-bother-with-this (Sweetwater 73-6 over Valhalla).