2021 Week 0: Back to the Future
Call it a return to (the new) normal.
Football is back in real football time, but the Covid still looms, with the likelihood of canceled games and quarantines.
And the pandemic, which reduced the 2020 season to an abbreviated schedule of 2021 spring games, probably was a factor in the turnover of coaches.
There will be at least 13 new head coaches (not counting eight-man teams) when action begins this week, according to John Maffei of The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Eleven, actually.
Charles Bussey returns to Valhalla, where Bussey was 40-40 from 2011-17.
New Mt. Carmel boss Drew Westling was 28-18 from 2016-19 at Hilltop.
Others:
Canyon Hills (nee Serra), Brandon Harris.
Classical Academy, Josiah Cruz.
Francis Parker, Stephen Cooper.
Grossmont, Chris Holmes.
Maranatha, Nick Novak.
Mar Vista, Syd Reed.
Olympian, Jimmy Clark.
Orange Glen, Tido Smith.
Tri-City Christian, Neil Breight.
University City, Paul Lawrence.
Westview, Neil Donnelly.
CATHEDRAL SCHEDULE…YIKES!
Top-ranked Cathedral opens against rugged Torrey Pines and then it gets tougher… games against Corona Centennial, Helix, Concord de la Salle, and Mission Hills Chaminade, not to mention Western League contests versus Lincoln and St. Augustine.
Because of racist remarks toward the Lincoln team by players on the Dons’ squad, head coach Sean Doyle, the captain of the ship will have to sit out two games, probably when the Dons open City Conference play against Madison in Week 7.
DONS IN TOP 5
Cal-Hi Sports’ preseason top 50 has strong San Diego Section representation.
Cathedral is fifth, just behind No. 4 De La Salle. Carlsbad is 14th, Mission Hills 23rd, Lincoln 26th, Eastlake 36th, and La Jolla 50th.
St. Augustine and Torrey Pines have “on the bubble” designation.
AT RISK
Several species of the Manzanita plant are listed as endangered in California and the San Diego Section league by that name since 2011 has been declared extinct by the CIF, at least for the present.
The far flung circuit (173 miles between Buckman Springs’ Mountain Empire and Blythe’s Palo Verde Valley and which also includes Calexico Vincent Memorial, Calipatria, and Holtville), is back to being called the Desert League.
Since Mountain Empire joined in 1960 the league had been known as the Desert or Mountain-Desert.
‘BYE
The San Diego Section bid Happy Trails to the Metro Pacific, whose members merged with the Metro Mesa or Metro South Bay leagues.
Several other teams changed leagues (see table below) and San Diego Southwest notified the CIF that it will play only a junior varsity schedule. Newcomer Coastal Academy is in Oceanside.
For a complete list of teams and schedules, use the “Football / Scores / By Team” or “Football / Teams menu.
TEAM NEW LEAGUE OLD LEAGUE
| Sweetwater | Metro South Bay | Metro Pacific |
| San Ysidro | Metro South Bay | Metro Pacific |
| Mar Vista | Metro South Bay | Metro Pacific |
| Castle Park | Metro South Bay | Metro Pacific |
| Hilltop | Metro Mesa | Metro Pacific |
| Bonita Vista | Metro Mesa | Metro South Bay |
| Mabel O’Farrell | Pacific | Independent |
| Foothills Christian | Pacific | Ocean/2019 |
| San Pasqual Academy | Citrus | Ocean |
| Julian | Citrus | Ocean |
| Borrego Springs | Citrus | Ocean |
| Ocean View | Ocean | Citrus |
| Calvin Christian | Ocean | Citrus/2019 |
| Kearny | Central | City |
| Point Loma | Eastern | Western |
| Canyon Hills | Eastern | City |
| Scripps Ranch | Eastern | City |
| San Diego | City | Eastern |
| Coronado | City | Central |
| Morse | City | Eastern |