Three veteran coaches will lead the San Diego Section contingent in state championship games this week at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo and Fullerton High.
Monte Vista’s Ron Hamamoto, who also coached at University, Rancho Bernardo, and Lincoln, has an all-time record of 246-193-2 (.560) and trails only Herb Meyer (339) and John Carroll (248) in victories.
El Capitan’s Ron Burner (122-102-2 (.547) has state championship game experience, losing to Moraga Campolindo, 35-28, in 2014.
Lincoln’s David Dunn (104-60-1 (.633) goes for his second state 1-AA title after winning in 2022 and is 35-4 in the last three seasons.
The competing teams:
DIVISION I-AA
Lincoln (11-2) versus Pittsburg (12-2) Friday, 8 p.m., Mission Viejo Saddleback College.
David Dunn’s Hornets played one of the toughest schedules in the state and emerged in the final seconds last week to win the Southern regional, 34-27, over Newbury Park…Lincoln opponents posted an overall record of 101-60, actually bettered by the 105-53 by opponents of Pittsburg, about 41 miles East of San Francisco and winner of the Sac-Joaquin Section, 28-27 over 13-1 Folsom…the Pirates lost to Bellflower St. John Bosco, 35-14, and Concord de La Salle, 10-7…Pittsburg is Cal-Hi Sports No. 7 team this week, followed by Folsom and then Lincoln at No. 9…Calpreps.com is calling a 31-27 victory for Lincoln….
DV-AA
El Capitan (11-3) versus Carmel (14-0) Friday, 8 p.m., Fullerton High.
Ron Burner is in 20th consecutive season as Vaqueros’ coach…14-0 El Cap lost the state D-III championship game in 2014 to Moraga Campolindo, 35-28…Carmel won the Central Coast Section title and the Northern regional, 42-41, over Acalanes Lafayette…Carmel High opened in 1940 and the school mascot is known as the Padre…a beautiful community along state Highway 1, Carmel’s many attractions include the Hog’s Breath Inn, opened in 1970 by Clint Eastwood, who sold the restaurant a few years ago…a popular item still on the menu is the Dirty Harry New York strip steak with garlic mashed potatoes, chef veggies and grain mustard mushroom sauce…Calpreps.com predicts a 41-26 Padres victory….
DVI-A
Monte Vista (10-5) versus Tuolomne Summerville (13-1) Saturday, 3 p.m. at Fullerton High.
Monte Vista’s Ron Hamamoto won San Diego Section championships in 1994 at University (34-0 versus La Jolla), 2017 at Monte Vista (71-48 versus San Diego), and 38-20 over Bonita Vista two weeks ago…the Monarchs, a No. 12 seed, got into the San Diego Section DV playoffs only after 1-9 Rancho Buena Vista bailed on the postseason, opening the door for Monte Vista to squeeze in…a graduate of Long Beach Poly, Hamamoto became a head coach in 1985 at University…succeeded at Uni in 1996 by Sean Doyle and succeeded in 2011 at Lincoln by David Dunn…the orange and black-clad Summerville Bears’ only loss was to Mother Lode League rival Calaveras San Andreas (9-3 with minus 1.2 Calpreps.com rating), 35-34…the Sac-Joaquin Section champion defeated Atherton Sacred Heart, 45-28, in the Northern California regional final…Tuolomne is located in the California Gold Country, approximately 60 miles east of Modesto…Calpreps.com predicts a 48-21 Summerville victory….
| DIVISION | TEAM | WON-LOSS | CALPREPS | OPPONENT | WON-LOSS | CALPREPS |
| I-AA | Lincoln | 11-2 | 66.3 | Pittsburg | 12-2 | 59.9 |
| V-AA | El Capitan | 11-3 | 7.4 | Carmel | 14-0 | 22.4 |
| VI-A | Monte Vista | 10-5 | -11.4 | Tuolumne Summerville | 13-1 | 9.9 |
