Who are these guys and girls?
Ninety-four of the 128 dues-paying members of the CIF San Diego Section fielded football teams in 2017, which leaves more than 30 to pursue other sports. Many do, in the hoops game.
They perform in relative obscurity, their game results often not reported or appearing in the newspaper, but all were visible when the CIF announced pairings for 2017-18 basketball playoffs, which begin Tuesday.
Eighteen schools in the basketball postseason didn’t play football or don’t play for various reasons. Who they are probably begs the question:
Where are they?
| School | Team | Record | Address |
| Adventist | Boys & Girls | 18-7 & 25-1 | Escondido |
| Bayfront Charter | Boys & Girls | 13-9 & 11-8 | Chula Vista |
| The Cambridge School | Boys | 16-1 | Rancho Penasquitos |
| Canyon Crest | Boys & Girls | 18-8 & 10-17 | Carmel Valley |
| Del Lago | Boys | 12-10 | Escondido |
| Guajome Park | Boys | 18-5 | Vista |
| High Tech | Boys | 14-13 | Chula Vista |
| High Tech | Boys & Girls | 10-14 & 9-9 | Liberty Station Point Loma |
| Horizon Prep | Boys | 14-6 | Rancho Santa Fe |
| Liberty Charter | Girls | 12-8 | Lemon Grove |
| Mission Vista | Girls | 10-17 | Oceanside |
| Monarch | Girls | 9-6 | Barrio Logan |
| Our Lady of Peace | Girls | 11-15 | Normal Heights |
| Pacific Ridge | Boys | 17-9 | Carlsbad |
| Preuss | Boys & Girls | 21-6 & 12-10 | U.C. San Diego |
| Sage Creek | Girls | 7-16 | Carlsbad |
| San Diego Academy | Boys | 12-12 | National City |
| SoCal Yeshiva | Boys | 10-5 | Clairemont |
Some interesting first-round matchups:
GIRLS OPEN
5 San Marcos (18-6) @4 Mission Hills (21-7).
BOYS OPEN
8 St. Augustine (17-6) @1 Foothills Christian (24-5). 6 Vista (22-7) @Mission Bay (24-5).
DIVISION I
12 Grossmont (15-12) @5 Orange Glen (16-12).
D-II
9 Francis Parker (10-12) @8 Serra (17-9).
D-III
10 Santana (17-11) @7 Brawley (18-9).
BIG TEAMS WAIT
Open Division teams have byes until Friday. All eight, no matter their first-round outcomes, will advance into the Southern California regionals.
St. Augustine at Foothills Christian is by far the most compelling game of the first round.
The Saints saw 6-foot-8-inch Arizona Stare commit Taeshon Cherry transfer to Foothills days before the opening game. After a slow start Cherry is averaging 22 points and 11 rebounds and the Knights are 24-5 and have won 16 in a row.
St. Augustine, with an all-underclass team, has cobbled together a 17-6 record and is a traditionally tough out come postseason.
The Saints, with Cherry, defeated Foothills Christian, 72-69, in a playoff barnburner last season, the conclusion of which resulted in Foothills coach Brad Leaf’s receiving two technical fouls, was ejected with 1.9 seconds remaining in the game, and forced to sit out the Knights’ 66-65, Southern California playoff loss to Oak Park.
Leaf was T’d after he stormed across the floor of Dougherty Gym shouting that he had not asked for a time out.
Someone in the Foothills group called a timeout, but the Knights were out of time outs, resulting in the first technical. Leaf received the second and third.
The Saints’ Otto Taylor made three of six technical attempts and the Saints won by three.
It was a fitting climax to the last game at Dougherty Gym, a historic bandbox of accelerated decibel levels and frenzied finishes that had served as the Saints’ home since 1951. They moved into a beautiful new facility this season.
Union-Tribune last regular-season Boys’ poll through Monday, Feb. 19:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Last Poll |
| 1 | Foothills Christian (8) | 24-5 | 116 | 1 |
| 2 | Torrey Pines (4) | 27-2 | 112 | 2 |
| 3 | Mission Bay | 24-5 | 86 | 3 |
| 4 | Mater Dei | 23-6 | 83 | 4 |
| 5 | San Marcos | 23-3 | 81 | 5 |
| 6 | Vista | 22-7 | 60 | 6 |
| 7 | St. Augustine | 17-6 | 43 | 8 |
| 8 | La Jolla Country Day | 21-8 | 39 | 7 |
| 9 | Mount Miguel | 26-4 | 21 | 10 |
| 10 | Montgomery | 22-5 | 12 | 9 |
Others receiving votes: Canyon Crest (18-8, 5 points), El Camino (15-12, 1.
Poll participants: John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune; Terry Monahan, freelancer; Steve Brand, San Diego Hall of Champions; Adam Paul, Ramon Scott, EastCountySports.com; John Kentera, Prep Talent Evaluator; Rick Smith, partletonsports.com; Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com; Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM; Christian Pedersen, S.D. Preps Insider; Aaron Burgin, Fulltime Hoops; Brad Enright, L.A. Court Report.
