Helix and St. Augustine are 1-2 in the first Union-Tribune football poll and that’s how they finished in 2015.
The Highlanders and most of the rest of the San Diego Section open the season this week, marking one the earliest starts in County history, probably preceded only by the Hawaii preseason trips that were popular a couple decades ago.
Helix, 13-1 at season ago, will waste no time getting into the thick of the intersectional spirit, taking on visiting Provo Timpview, a Utah power that was 11-2 in 2015, and 12-2 Concord Clayton Valley at Mission Viejo in Week 2.
St. Augustine, 10-3 last year, eases in with a home game at Mesa College against Ramona (4-7).
Other Top 10 teams also have early opportunity against out-of-area opponents.
No. 3 Cathedral takes on visiting Reno Damonte (4-7). No. 4 Oceanside visits San Clemente (11-3). No. 6 Madison is at Vista Murrieta (12-2), and No. 7 La Costa Canyon plays host to Whittier La Serna (11-3). Los Angeles Crenshaw (9-5) goes to No. 9 Mission Hills.
MORE COACH MOVEMENT
Ar least five other San Diego Section schools have new coaches, bringing the total to 24 that have changed field bosses since the end of the 2015 season.
Mike Swearingen is back for a third stint in the Imperial Valley, taking over at Calipatria. Swearingen was 55-50-1 at Imperial from 1994-01 and El Centro Southwest from 2004-05.
Others stepping in are Chris Bonta, Escondido Charter; Anthony Johnson, Horizon; Kyle Duggin, Maranatha, and Mark Dederian, San Pasqual Academy.
Stay tuned for possibly others.
First-place votes in parenthesis.
Points awarded on basis of 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.
| Rank | Team | 2015 | Points | 2015 Final |
| 1. | Helix (23) | 13-2 | 265 | 1 |
| 2. | St. Augustine (2) | 10-3 | 203 | 2 |
| 3. | Cathedral (2) | 7-5 | 197 | 8 |
| 4. | Oceanside | 9-5 | 171 | 5 |
| 5. | Rancho Bernardo | 13-2 | 164 | 4 |
| 6. | Madison | 8-3 | 144 | 6 |
| 7. | La Costa Canyon | 7-4 | 88 | NR |
| 8. | Master Dei | 14-1 | 78 | 9 |
| 9. | Mission Hills | 11-1 | 62 | 3 |
| 10. | Bonita Vista | 12-3 | 43 | 7 |
Others receiving votes: Carlsbad (7-4, 10 points), Point Loma, 8-4, 10 points), El Camino (7-6), Grossmont (7-4), nine each; Eastlake (5-6, eight), Torrey Pines (4-8, seven), Poway (6-6, five), San Marcos (8-4, 3), Steele Canyon (8-5, two), El Capitan (2-9, one).
Twenty-seven sportswriters, sportscasters, and other representatives comprise the voting panel:
John Maffei, Union-Tribune.
Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Tom Saxe, Rick Hoff, Jim Lindgren, Union-Tribune contributors.
Michael Bower, Pomerado News.
Lisa Lane, Fox 5 News.
Montell Allen, MBA Sports-SDFNL Magazine.
Brandon Stone, Rick Willis, KUSI, Channel 51.
Adam Clark, Ted Mendenhall, Taylor Quellman, The Mighty 1090.
Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Radio 107.9 FM.
Bob Petinak, 1360 Radio.
Bill Dickens, Adam Paul, Chris Davis, eastcountysports.com.
Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com.
Drew Smith, sdcoastalsports.com.
Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net.
Rick Smith, partletonsports.com.
Steve Brand, San Diego Hall of Champions.
Jerry Schniepp, John Labeta, CIF San Diego Section.
John Kentera, Prep Talent Evaluator.
Mike Swearingen, currently football coach of Calipatria High, has been coaching for over 40 years. I believe I remember when Swearingen was an assistant coach for Imperial Valley College, which makes me think Swearingen has been coaching for over 40 years. IVC no longer has football, but Doug Harvey was an outstanding quarterback, when IVC was known as Central Junior College in the 1950`s, located in El Centro, Ca. Harvey could throw the tightest spiral I ever saw. Most of us know that Doug Harvey went on to be a respected National League Umpire. Doug was so well respected, he was known “AS GOD.”
I’ve known Doug, and his brother Nolan. I remember a Lincoln-San Diego High basketball game in 1960. I think Doug and Nolan refereed the game together. The brother of Abbey Willis, a San Diego player, came out of the stands and punched Al Catlin of Lincoln. Fast work by the officials and coaches kept things from erupting into a full scale brawl. Doug was so commanding as an official and umpire. He had presence and stature. IVC wasn’t the same after Jack Holley was canned as basketball coach. Good luck to coach Swearingen in his return to the sideline.
Al Catlin was a classmate of mine at Lincoln and I attended that game. A scuffle broke out between some of the players, but Al wasn’t involved. The San Diego players wisely stayed away from him, because NO one messed with Al. Al was just standing there, and this little brat about nine or ten years old came running out from the San Diego side of the stands, pushed him from behind and ran back into the stands. I don’t think Al ever saw who pushed him, but once he regained his balance, he went looking for the culprit. Lincoln’s coach, Warren Barritt, saw what Al was up to, and personally had to pin him to the wall to keep him from getting involved in the ruckus. It’s a good thing for the brat that Al lost his balance when he was pushed. If he’d kept his balance, he might have reflexively swung at his attacker, and if he’d landed, the brat would be emerging from his coma just about now. It’s amazing that you were able to identify the kid who pushed Al. Even though it’s been 56 years since that game, and the kid is now in his sixties, he’ll always be “the brat” to me. The fact that legendary ump Doug Harvey was one of the refs for that game makes that memorable event even more fascinating. BTW, I talked with Al at our class 50-year reunion in 2011. He hadn’t gained an ounce, and looked like he could still suit up and play for the Hornets or the Aztecs.
I had graduated from Lincoln but went to that game. Alfred Willis, since deceased, was the younger brother of San Diego player Abbey Willis. Your description of events are pretty much the same as I remember. Al and I share season seats to San Diego State basketball games. I’ll tell him about your post. Thanks for writing, Doug.