Hoover did it.
The Cardinals scored, not once but twice, in a 49-14 loss to Patrick Henry.
Hoover had not even registered a blip in its first eight games and was closing in on a record set in 1976 by San Diego Southwest.
The Southwest Raiders were blanked on the field in a 0-9 season in 1976 but scored one point legislatively after Chula Vista forfeited a 76-0 victory.
Many Hoover players come from around the globe and never were introduced to American football until they arrived at the vintage East San Diego campus at El Cajon Boulevard and 44th Street.
Hats off to coach Jimmy Morgans and his team.
The Cardinals trailed 42-7 at halftime and, with help of a running clock, played the Patriots even in the second half.
Patrick Henry clinched a tie for the City League title and, with a win over Serra this week, would finish the regular season with a 6-4 record, its best since 2012.
ANOTHER CHALLENGE
Cathedral burst for 21 points in the first quarter, shut out St. Augustine, 35-0, before more than 8,000 persons at Mesa College, and can clinch its first undefeated regular season since the Tyler Gaffney-led Dons were 10-0 en route to 14-0 and a state Division III championship in 2008.
Standing in the way of coach Sean Doyle’s Dons are the fast, efficient Madison Warhawks, 8-1, with only a 20-9 loss to Vista Murrieta in the season opener.
Cathedral is home to Madison, with the Western League championship and probable top seed in the San Diego Section Open Division playoffs to the winner.
The Dons remained No. 1 in the Union-Tribune poll this week and Madison stayed at 2.
BACKYARD BEEF
No. 3 Rancho Bernardo visits neighboring Poway, No. 6, in a battle of 9-0 teams with the Palomar League championship on the line.
Mater Dei (8-1) can clinch the Metropolitan Conference Mesa League championship with a win over visiting Olympian (6-3).
Helix (Grossmont Hills), San Ysidro (Metropolitan Pacific), and Granite Hills (Grossmont Valley) gained ties for first and will go for outright league titles against Valhalla, El Cajon Valley, and San Diego Southwest, respectively.
Cathedral remained seventh in Cal-Hi Sports’ state rankings, with Helix moving up from 18th to 16th and Rancho Bernardo crashing the top 25 for the first time.
Madison is on the bubble and St. Augustine’s bubble burst.
Union-Tribune poll:
First-place votes in parenthesis.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
| Rank | Team | W-L | Points | Last Week |
| 1. | Cathedral (23) | 9-0 | 266 | 1 |
| 2. | Madison (2) | 8-1 | 240 | 2 |
| 3. | Rancho Bernardo (2) | 8-1 | 232 | 3 |
| 4. | Helix | 7-2 | 175 | 5 |
| 5. | Mater Dei | 8-1 | 167 | 4 |
| 6. | Poway | 9-0 | 134 | 7 |
| 7. | St. Augustine | 7-2 | 71 | 6 |
| 8. | Torrey Pines | 7-2 | 62 | NR |
| 9. | The Bishop’s | 9-0 | 52 | 9 |
| 10 | Grossmont | 8-1 | 38 | 8 |
Others receiving votes:  Oceanside (7-2, 25 points), Christian (9-0, 20), Valhalla (8-1), Valley Center (8-1), 2 each; Olympian (6-3), Mission Hills (6-3), 1 each.
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. Paul Rudi, Brandon Stone, Rick Willis (KUSI Chl. 51). 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.
