The San Diego Section and the rest of California prepare for a final act in the 2022 season with CIF state bowl championships this week.
Teams from here have a 15-18 record (victories below in bold type) in the competition that resumed in 2006 after an 80-year hiatus. Lincoln, Mater Dei, Granite Hills, and Classical will represent the San Diego Section.
San Diego High, a Division-V winner in 2018, has some history with the earlier incarnation of state championships.
The Hilltoppers, as they were known, declined an opportunity to play Bakersfield (1916: “Did Hilltoppers Forfeit to Drillers?”) after winning the Southern Section championship, posting a 12-0 record, and eventually being declared national champions by a publication.
The Hilltoppers played for a mythical Southern California championship in 1922 (after winning the Southern Section), with the winner taking on Berkeley for the state gonfalon. Bakersfield defeated San Diego, 17-6, in City Stadium, which was renamed Balboa Stadium in 1939.
YEAR | DIVISION | TEAM | OPPONENT | SCORE |
2007 | II | Oceanside | Novato (North Coast) | 28-14 |
2008 | III | Cathedral | Stockton St. Mary’s (Sac-Joaquin) | 37-34 |
2009 | II | Oceanside | San Jose Bellarmine Prep (Central Coast) | 24-19 |
Small | Francis Parker | Modesto Christian (Sac-Joaquin) | 44-40 | |
2010 | III | Madison | Escalon (Sac-Joaquin) | 30-14 |
 | IV | The Bishop’s | Stockton Brookside (Sac-Joaquin) | 40-14 |
2011 | II | Helix | Loomis Del Oro (Sac-Joaquin) | 35-24 |
2012 | III | Madison | Marin Catholic (North Coast) | 38-35 |
 | IV | Santa Fe Christian | Modesto Central Catholic (Sac-Joaquin) | 66-7 |
2014 | I | Oceanside | Folsom (Sac-Joaquin) | 68-7 |
 | III | El Capitan | Moraga Campolindo (North Coast) | 35-28 |
2015 | III | Rancho Bernardo | Atherton Sacred Heart (Central Coast) | 35-14 |
IV-AA | Bonita Vista | Hanford (Central) | 33-21 | |
V-AA | Mater Dei | Reedley Immanuel (Central) | 56-21 | |
VI-AA | Coronado | East Nicolaus (Northern) | 16-6 | |
2016 | I-AA | Cathedral | Stockton St. Mary’s (Sac-Joaquin) | 38-35 |
 | II-AA | Madison | San Jose Valley Christian (Central Coast) | 21-17 |
III-A | The Bishop’s | Oakdale (Sac-Joaquin) | 47-0 | |
 | V-A | La Jolla Country Day | McClymonds (Oakland) | 20-17 |
VI-AA | Horizon | Strathmore (Central) | 62-22 | |
2017 | I-AA | Helix | Folsom (Sac-Joaquin) | 49-42 |
 | III-A | Steele Canyon | Half Moon Bay (Central Coast) | 44-42 |
 | IV-A | El Centro Southwest | Milpitas (Central Coast) | 45-41 |
 | VI-A | Calexico Vincent Memorial | Galileo (San Francisco) | 38-20 |
2018 | I-AA | Cathedral | Folsom (Sac-Joaquin) | 24-21 |
III-AA | Lincoln | Menlo- Atherton (Central Coast) |
21-7 | |
V-A | San Diego | Colfax (Sac-Joaquin) | 20-18 | |
VI-A | Orange Glen | Lincoln (San Francisco) | 24-13 | |
2019 | III-AA | El Camino | Santa Rosa Cardinal Newman (North Coast) | 31-14 |
IV-A | La Jolla | Escalon (Sac-Joaquin) | 52-21 | |
2021 | I-AA | Cathedral | Folsom (Sac-Joaquin) | 33-21 |
II-AA | Mater Dei | Modesto Central Catholic (Sac-Joaquin) | 34-25 | |
II-A | Scripps Ranch | Santa Clara Wilcox (Central Coast) | 31-28 | |
2022 | I-AA | Lincoln | Concord De La Salle (North Coast) | |
II-AA | Mater Dei | McClymonds (Oakland) | ||
II-A | Granite Hills | Danville San Ramon Valley (North Coast) | ||
VI-AA | Classical | San Jose Santa Teresa (Central Coast) |