Oceanside, Helix, Mission Hills, Cathedral, and Eastlake, five of the San Diego Section’s best, posted a combined, 3-2 record and scored a couple impressive, intersectional victories in the Under Armour Brothers in Arms San Diego Classic games on the season’s first weekend.
Most impressive was Cathedral’s 38-6 victory over Sandy of Jordan, Utah, ranked 25th in the country by Max-Preps and No. 1 in Utah.
The Dons pounded the Beetdiggers with a rushing attack that gained 285 yards and averaged 4.8 yards for 59 attempts.
No. 2 Mission Hills, with only 136 total yards, handled Desert Vista of Phoenix, 13-0, on a suffocating afternoon at Cathedral.
The Grizzlies muted the Thunder, ranked seventh in Arizona, holding the visitors to 123 yards.
Hamilton of Chandler, Arizona, ranked in the top 30 nationally, managed the heat more effectively, sweeping to a 28-0 halftime lead and holding off Eastlake, 28-17. The Huskies outgained the Titans, 383-174.
Honolulu Punahou, with famous alum and Chargers rookie Manti Te’o watching, used a goalline stand to stop Helix 10-6.
Coach John Carroll’s Oceanside Pirates took a 28-0, second-quarter lead on St. Augustine in a battle of the section’s No. 1 and No. 5 teams and rode out a 47-28 victory.
Oceanside gets its biggest test in several years this week when it plays host to Gardena Serra, ranked anywhere from second to eighth in some national polls.
SIGN OF THE TIMES
It was St. Augustine’s home game, but the sign at the snack bar on the Northeast corner of the stadium said, “Mesa College Concessions,” with prices listed.
A smiling group of apparent Mesa students taxed the capacity of the concession stand, although it didn’t open for business until minutes before kickoff, after a couple long lines had formed.
Following a 10-minute wait I was told the hot dogs were on the grill but they weren’t available until after kickoff.
Channeling their inner “What, me worry?”, the part-time vendors were not stressed. They probably were thinking about their postgame plans.
Meanwhile, St. Augustine personnel were aggressively hawking a football yearbook and logoed apparel.
The Saints’ side of the field was filled with about 3,000 followers, plus another 500 or so who were socializing behind the upper row of the Mesa bleachers.
Oceanside had about 600 persons on its side. The rest may have been home awaiting next week’s big one with Serra Gardena or didn’t want to battle I-5 traffic during Friday rush hour.
QUICK KICKS—El Capitan scored 70 points, marking the 58th time that plateau has been reached, dating to 1920, when the Vaqueros shutout Peace River of Alberta, Canada…70 points has been achieved on 13 other occasions…in what must have been a record, San Diego Section teams were involved in 54 games in Week 1…San Diego County teams were 9-5 against all intersectional opposition….Julian and Borrego Springs, now annually meeting in a nonleague game at the start of the season and playing a Citrus League contest later, engaged in another “Battle of Banner Grade”, with Julian winning 46-26 and improving its overall series record to 33-9 since 1967…
