John Maffei of The San Diego Union-Tribune and three other ranking services have offered their opinions on 2022 football in the San Diego Section.
Maffei canvassed coaches, noted the results of summer 7-on-7 passing competitions, and compared roster compositions, among other factors. The U-T’s weekly poll will begin after this week’s opening round of games.
Cal-Hi Sports and Maffei agree that Cathedral is No. 1 in San Diego, although the Max Preps and Cal Preps.com computers are going with Mater Dei.
It won’t take long to see who is prescient. Cathedral visits Mater Dei Saturday night in the season’s featured opener and ‘Dei plays Maffei’s No. 2 Carlsbad next week.
| MAFFEI RANK | TEAM | 2021 RECORD | MAX PREPS | CAL PREPS | CAL-HI SPORTS |
| 1 | Cathedral | 12-2 | 2 | 57.8 | 12 |
| 2 | Carlsbad | 11-1 | 3 | 40.2 | 18 |
| 3 | Mater Dei | 13-0 | 1 | 58.12 | 15 |
| 4 | Madison | 9-3 | 6 | 34.4 | 41 |
| 5 | Lincoln | 8-4 | 4 | 34.4 | 31 |
| 6 | Helix | 9-4 | 5 | 34.4 | 35 |
| 7 | Mission Hills | 8-3 | 8 | 24.8 | On the Bubble |
| 8 | Torrey Pines | 6-4 | 9 | 22.0 | On the Bubble |
| 9 | Scripps Ranch | 13-1 | 8 | 28.3 | Not Ranked |
| 10 | Poway | 7-4 | 11 | 20.5 | Not Ranked |
Others considered, with 2021 records in parenthesis:
Patrick Henry (10-3), Granite Hills (5-7), Ramona (9-4), Steele Canyon (3-8), Brawley (9-3), Eastlake (8-4), La Costa Canyon (5-6), El Camino (7-6), Christian (6-5), University City (8-5), Oceanside (4-7). La Jolla Country Day (9-3).
COACHING CHANGES
Fifteen jobs opened and closed, with two coaches changing addresses. Syd Reed, 5-5 at Mar Vista in 2021, takes over for Charles James at San Diego. Ron Gladnick (43-30-1) at Clairemont (2013) and Torrey Pines (2016-21) replaces Joe Kremer at St. Augustine.
| SCHOOL | IN | OUT |
| Christian | Patrick Bugg | Danny Mitchell |
| Escondido | Aron Gideon | Jud Boardman |
| Fallbrook | Ross Johnson | Troy Everhart |
| Helix | Damaja Jones | Robbie Owens |
| Mabel O’Farrell | Jake Passot | Tim Baxter |
| Mar Vista | David Moore | Syd Reed |
| Otay Ranch | Brad Burton | Lance Christensen |
| Patrick Henry | Colby Davies | J.T. O’Sullivan |
| San Diego | Syd Reed | Charles James |
| San Marcos | Tom Carroll | Derek Stank |
| St. Augustine | Ron Gladnick | Joe Kremer |
| Torrey Pines | Robby Collins | Ron Gladnick |
| Valhalla | Wayne Cherry | Charles Bussey |
Late additions: Ben Jameson for Rali Schwartz at Rock; Andrew Serrano for Mario Gonzalez at Salton City West Shores.
LEAGUE CHANGES
| SCHOOL | NEW | OLD |
| Army-Navy | Sunset | Pacific |
| Tri-City | Sunset | Coastal |
| Mabel O’Farrell | Sunset | Pacific |
| Maranatha | Sunset | Pacific |
| Coronado | Central | City |
| Mission Bay | City | Central |
| Point Loma | City | Eastern |
| Patrick Henry | Eastern | City |
| Classical | Pacific | Coastal |
| La Jolla | Eastern | Western |
| Scripps Ranch | Western | Eastern |
| Hilltop | Metro Mesa | Metro South Bay |
| Olympian | Metro Mesa | Metro South Bay |
| Mar Vista | Metro South Bay | Metro Pacific |
| Chula Vista | Metro South Bay | Metro Pacific |
| San Ysidro | Metro South Bay | Metro Pacific |
| Sweetwater | Metro Pacific | Metro South Bay |
