Number 1 Lincoln is at No. 2 Cathedral and unranked Scripps Ranch visits No. 10 University City Friday with the winners the likely champions in the Western and Eastern leagues.
By the numbers:
Lincoln is No. 1 in the San Diego Section Top 10 and 13th in the state, according to MaxPreps. Cathedral is No. 2 and No. 24, respectively. Lincoln has a 57.8 Calpreps rating and Cathedral 46.5.
Lincoln coach David Dunn will be seeking his 100th career victory.
A win by Cathedral would be coach Sean Doyle’s 238th, tying Doyle with the late Bennie Edens, Point Loma’s coach from 1955-97, one year after Doyle’s appointment at the school then known as University of San Diego High on Kearny Mesa.
Cathedral leads the all-time series, 22-10, but Lincoln won, 40-14, in 2023.
Scripps Ranch and University City represent the fourth pairing of 7-0 teams since 1980, according to web master Henrik Jonson. Other similar matchups were Monte Vista-Mount Miguel in 1984, Cathedral-La Jolla in 1991, and Ramona-Valley Center in 2009.
Jonson also pointed out that 274 teams in County history have begun the season with 7-0 slates.
Scripps Ranch leads the all-time series, 10-3, but the Centurions won, 33-30, in 2023. Falcons coach Marlon Gardinera is 52-29 since 2017 and Paul Lawrence is 27-17 at U.C. since ’21.
CENTURY HONOR
One has entered the Coach 100 Club. Two are pounding on the door. Two others could use strong finishes in the regular season or playoffs, or wait till next year.
Forty-seven San Diego Section coaches have won at least 100 games, led by Herb Meyer, ensconced in the distant reach of the coaches’ universe with 339.
Jack Mashin of Grossmont won more than 100 games when the Foothillers were in the Southern Section. The careers of Meyer, Chick Embrey, Gene Edwards, Birt Slater, and Edens also overlapped with the Southern Section (see Coach 100 Club).
Records for 2024 are in parenthesis.
| NAME | SCHOOL | WON-LOSS-TIE | Pct. | THIS WEEK |
| Thadd MacNeal | Carlsbad | 101-46-0 (5-2) | .687 | Torrey Pines (3-4) |
| David Dunn | Lincoln | 99-58-1 (5-2) | .630 | @Cathedral (6-1) |
| Tony Corley | San Pasqual | 99-90-1 (2-5) | .524 | @Rancho Buena Vista (1-6) |
| Kellan Cobbs | Granite Hills | 98-50 (5-2) | .662 | @Mount Miguel (6-1) |
| Sean Sovacool | La Costa Canyon | 96-65 (7-0) | .596 | Mission Hills (6-1) |
MAFFEI FEELS IT
John Maffei’s The San Diego Union Week 8 poll:
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes. Previous ranking in (italics).
Bold indicates latest. NR–Not ranked. MaxPreps‘ and Cal-Hi Sports‘ are state rankings.
| RANK | TEAM/RECORD | POINTS | MAXPREPS | CALPREPS.COM | CAL-HI SPORTS |
| 1. | Lincoln (5-2) 22* | 284 (1) | 13 (14) | 57.8 (55.5 ) | 14 (14) |
| 2. | Cathedral (6-1) 8* | 277 (2) | 24 (35) | 46.5 (41.8) | 21 (41) |
| 3. | Mission Hills (6-1) | 216 (4) | 49 (45) | 36.9 (36.0) | 32 (32) |
| 4 | La Costa Canyon (7-0) | 206 (5) | 32 (40) | 43.8 (39.9) | 33 (35) |
| 5. | Granite Hills (5-2) | 195 (3) | 65 (47) | 37.6 (40.7) | 31 (17) |
| 6. | San Marcos (6-1) | 154 (6) | 58 (62) | 31.3 (31.3) | 46 (46) |
| 7. | Carlsbad (5-2) | 118 (7) | 79 (85) | 30.7 (26.6) | On Bubble (Bubble) |
| 8 | Mount Miguel (6-1) | 90 (8) | 115 (127) | 23.2 (19.9) | On Bubble (Bubble) |
| 9. | Rancho Bernardo (6-1) | 50 (9) | 113 (113) | 23.3 (23.1) | NR (NR) |
| 10. | University City (7-0) | 19 (NR) | 197 | 11.5 | NR |
+Through Week 6.
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Torrey Pines (3-4, 16 points), Scripps Ranch (7-0, 14). El Camino (4-3, 6) Imperial (8-0, 2), Valley Center (6-2, 1).
VOTING PANEL
Twenty-nine sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from San Diego County, plus Max Preps.com.
- John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
- Don Norcross, Steve Brand, Rick Hoff, Kevin Farmer (Union-Tribune Freelance contributors).
- Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (CIF San Diego Section).
- Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, Chase Izidor (KUSI, Channel 51).
- Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
- Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
- Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
- Tom Helmantoler, (Southern Conference advisor).
- Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee).
- Mike Dolan, Joe Evangelist (San Diego Coaching Legends).
- Raymond Brown (sdfootball.net).
- Bodie DeSilva, John Kentera, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Dennis Ackerman, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (Freelance contributors).
Could this be the year that Grossmont beats rival Helix after decades of losing to the Scotties? It seems possible.
Grossmont scores a lot and gives up a lot. Helix in decline. The Scots’ dominztion goes back gto the ‘nineties. All the best.