Many of the San Diego Section cognoscenti declared an upset when winless St. Augustine defeated La Jolla Country Day, 16-0, in the first round of the Division III playoffs last week.
That the Saints (0-10) were seeded seventh in the division and the 5-5 Torreys were 10th, according to CIF power ratings, didn’t seem to register.
The Saints were reeling, having canned coach Ron Gladnick after a 10-5, Southern California regional playoff season in 2023, and the subsequent exodus of players to other schools.
Ron Caragher was named coach and kept things together in a brutal season that included losses of 42-0 and 63-0 to Western League rivals Cathedral and Lincoln.
The 0-10 was the Saints’ first without a victory since an 0-9 in 1975 and only the seventh washout in their 101 seasons, dating to 1924.
Now the Saints face a 125-mile bus jaunt over cold and windy Laguna Mountains passes to the Imperial Valley and No. 2-ranked Holtville, 10-0, and outscoring opponents 491-60, including romps against San Diego County teams Mission Bay, 46-7; Mountain Empire, 54-0; El Cajon Valley, 57-0, and Coronado, 54-14.
FIRST SINCE 1938
St. Augustine and Holtville will need a re-introduction.
The Vikings hold a 2-1 lead in previous games, but the schools haven’t opposed each other for 86 years, dating to 1938, the Great Depression, gas at 19 cents a gallon, and when you could get three pounds of ground beef for 59 cents and a loaf of bread for a dime.
Holtville won that 1938 game, 12-0, and 15-12 in 1936. Sandwiched between was a 13-0 Saints victory in ’37.
RATINGS 92.3 PER CENT CORRECT
Seedings favorites won 24 first-round games against two losses: No. 12 Monte Vista, 34-33 over No. 5 Fallbrook, and No. 9 Del Norte, 42-35 over No. 8 Oceanside.
Not having delved into the algorithmic formula which they’ve employed for the 2024-25 scholastic year, I can’t claim to have a firm understanding of it; nor can I allege with no uncertainty that it was constructed without any tinge of human bias.
However, at least in its inaugural trial, one cannot argue with these initial results (based on the seedings). Plus, it we were treated to some intriguingly unusual matchups, including ones (per this blog) featuring opponents that haven’t faced each other in many decades.
On a side note, I noticed that Rancho Buena Vista was still in line for the #7 seed in Division 5, despite recording only one win. Any word as to whether this was punitive action for their on-field brawl in the season finale? Or was it an internal decision on the part of RBV’s administrators and coaching staff?
I can’t answer either of those questions, Matt, but I think human nature prevails in all our sports orientations. I see that Escondido, involved in the game-ending brawl with Steele Canyon, still is playing. Maybe Rancho Buena Vista just didn’t want another week of misery.