The Western League  race begins  this week with the season’s premier matchup to date:  No. 1 St. Augustine (5-0) plays host to No. 6 Madison (4-1) at Mesa College on Friday.
Two of the San Diego Section’s most successful coaches will be on opposite sidelines. Madison’s Rick Jackson has a 112-35-1 record in 13 seasons at the east Clairemont school. Richard Sanchez  is 71-21 at St. Augustine since 2009.
St. Augustine is ninth in the state as rated by Cal-Hi Sports. Â Madison is “On the bubble”, not in the top 25. Â Cathedral, No. 2 in the Union-Tribune poll, is eighth in Cal-Hi rankings, while Helix is 18th and Rancho Bernardo is on the bubble.
MONARCHS RISING
They’re not in the San Diego Top 10 and have received no votes, but Monte Vista’s 4-1 start is the Monarchs’ best since the 2004 team was 11-1 under Ed Carberry.
The Monarchs are coached by Ron Hamamoto, who had strong programs at University, Rancho Bernardo, and Lincoln, and whose 207 vicories in 31-plus seasons ranks eighth all-time in San Diego County.
HOW ABOUTÂ SOME RESPECT?
Mater Dei was the state Division IV champion in 2015 but I pretty much dismissed their chances against North County power Mission Hills last week.  Oops.  The Crusaders ran the Grizzlies off the field, 41-14.
Because of the state’s computer-generated “power ratings”, Mater Dei will not be able to flex its muscle in the  San Diego Section Open Division playoffs, which will be open only to teams that are in Division I.  Coach Jon Joyner’s team is in D-II and can go no higher after jumping two divisions.
The power ratings determine division playoff alignments and take several factors  into consideration , including strength of schedules, previous records, etc.  Enrollment is not a factor.
The San Diego Section’s Division I power ratings (next paragraph) are much different than the  Union-Tribune poll (below):
1, Cathedral. 2, Rancho Bernardo. 3, Mission Hills, 4, Oceanside.  5, Grossmont.  6, Helix.  7, Mt. Carmel. 8, St. Augustine.  9, El Camino. 10, Madison.
Go figure.
But the season is essentially only about half over. The computer will even things out, right?
Mater Dei and Poway are 1-2 in D-II.
CALI OR ‘ZONIES?
Winterhaven San Pasqual Valley played a rare game against a California school and dropped a 30-6 decision to Calipatria last week.
Rare? Â Winterhaven is in California.
The Warriors were members of the San Diego Section from 1980-84 and posted a 5-33-2 record.  They became affiliated with the Arizona Interscholastic Association and now play mostly small Western Arizona schools.
Seems to make sense.  Winterhaven is only 3.8 miles west of Yuma and the Arizona border. The closest California school to Winterhaven is  47 miles away in Holtville.
San Diego voting:
First-place votes in parenthesis.
Points awarded on basis of 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.
| Rank | Team | W-L | Points | Last Week |
| 1. | St. Augustine (17) | 5-0 | 260 | 1 |
| 2. | Cathedral (7) | 5-0 | 246 | 2 |
| 3. | Rancho Bernardo (1) | 5-0 | 194 | 4 |
| 4. | Mater Dei | 4-1 | 172 | 9 |
| 5. | Helix | 3-2 | 146 | 5 |
| 6. | Madison | 4-1 | 142 | 6 |
| 7. | Mission Hills (2) | 4-1 | 102 | 4 |
| 8. | Oceanside | 4-1 | 89 | 7 |
| 9. | Poway | 5-0 | 72 | 8 |
| 10T | Grossmont | 5-0 | 43 | 10T |
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 (Coach) Kentera, Prep Talent Evaluator.
Not sure why this is not going through, but I tried to send a note that I believe Holtville rather than Calexico is the next closest California high school to Winterhaven.
You’re right, Jim. According to mapquest, while Calexico is 53 miles from Winterhaven, Holtville is 47 miles. El Centro is 58. Calipatria was a trek, 76 miles.
After half a century of hunting in that area, I think Holtville High is closer to Winterhaven than Calexico, but this would not be the first time I was wrong.
Both messages went through and you were on the money with Holtville.