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John Maffei’s final The San Diego Union poll (first published after the San Diego Section playoffs) plus MaxPreps, Calpreps, and Cal-Hi Sports rankings that include end-of-season CIF state playoffs): Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes. Previous ranking in (italics). Bold indicates latest. NR–Not ranked. MaxPreps‘, Calpreps’, and Cal-Hi Sports‘ are state rankings. RANK TEAM/RECORD POINTS MAXPREPS CALPREPS.COM CAL-HI SPORTS 1. Lincoln (10-2) 30* 300 (1) 10 (12) 67.5 ...

San Diego Section teams were 1-2 in state championship games last week, with Lincoln’s hard fought, 28-26 win over Pittsburg at Mission Viejo Saddleback College in Division 1-AA a tribute to coach David Dunn and his staff. Dunn coached the Hornets to a second D1-AA title in three seasons and their 35th victory in the last ...

Three veteran coaches will lead the San Diego Section contingent in state championship games this week at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo and Fullerton High. Monte Vista’s Ron Hamamoto, who also coached at University, Rancho Bernardo, and Lincoln, has an all-time record of 246-193-2 (.560) and trails only Herb Meyer (339) and John Carroll (248) in ...

The six San Diego Section teams playing in the Southern California regional playoffs this week, their opponents, and the Calpreps.com rating for each team.  Winners will play champions of the Northern California regional. DIVISION TEAM WON-LOST CALPREPS OPPONENT WON-LOST CALPREPS I-AA Lincoln 10-2 63.4 Newbury Park 14-0 66.8 I-A Granite Hills 11-2 46.6 @Huntington Beach Edison 10-4 56.1 III-A Poway 6-7 30.2 Arcadia Rio Hondo 12-1 31.6 IV-A St. Augustine 4-10 11.0 @Downey St. Pius X-St. Matthias 5-9 14.7 V-AA El Capitan 10-3 4.3 Victorville Silverado 9-5 7.5 VI-A Monte Vista 9-5  -15.2 Pasadena 8-6 -9.6

Competitive Equity is defined by the CIF as “finding ways for teams to compete that are similar with each other in a competitive nature.” Back in the day school enrollment and geography determined the levels on which teams competed. You wouldn’t see a school with almost 2,500 students playing one with 120 in the playoffs. You will ...

John Maffei’s final The San Diego Union poll: Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes. Previous ranking in (italics). Previous rankings were before San Diego Section playoffs. Bold indicates latest. NR–Not ranked. MaxPreps‘ and Cal-Hi Sports‘ are state rankings. RANK TEAM/RECORD POINTS MAXPREPS CALPREPS.COM CAL-HI SPORTS 1. Lincoln (10-2) 30* 300 (1) 12 (13) 63.3 (59.9) 12 (14)  2. Cathedral (9-3) 264 (3) 25 (22) 52.8 (47.7) 21 (19) 3. Mission Hills (9-3) 214 (5) 37 (48) 44.4 (46.9) 32 ...

Coach Kellan Cobbs’ Granite Hills Eagles (11-2) take on another tough Orange County opponent when they visit Huntington Beach Edison (10-4) Saturday at Huntington Beach High. Granite Hills was a 49-21 loser to eventual state champion Mission Viejo in a 2023 regional playoff and Edison dropped a 49-24 decision to Mission Viejo this season. Another of Edison’s ...

Beginning with hot summer practices in late July through close to 1,000 games and 14 weeks of action, six teams still are standing. Champions Lincoln (Open), Granite Hills (Division I), Poway (D-II), St. Augustine (D-III), El Capitan (D-IV), and Monte Vista (D-V) embark on another season in the CIF State Southern Regional this week. San Diego Section ...

We’ll return next week. Rick Smith, Henrik Jonson.

November 23 championship game results at Palomar College:  Division I— Classical Academy (25-4) won its second consecutive title, led start to finish and dominated Torrey Pines, 42-19, as they’ve done all season, outscoring opponents, 1,014 to 400. Sophomore quarterback Ella Moore threw for 114 touchdowns, with a 73 per cent completion rate and 123 passer rating, and ...

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November 23 championship game pairings at Palomar College:  Division I— State No. 6 Classical, the 2023 D-II champion, meets No. 37 Torrey Pines, which upset the undefeated No. 25 Otay Ranch. The Caimans topped the Falcons, 20-14, and 36-26 earlier this season. Division II— No. 9 seed Carlsbad pushed past two higher seeds, including 5 Imperial, which ...

Mission Hills played keep away, controlling the ball for 34 plays to 8 in the second half,  and the strategy almost worked, until Lincoln scored an overtime touchdown to win the Open Division semifinal playoff, 13-7. It won’t be the Hornets’ touchdown that will be remembered. Mission Hills’ Giovanni Harte, who battled the Lincoln defense, grinding out ...

The November 19 semifinal pairing brackets are filled. Division I held true to form, but other levels saw turmoil, as there were 5 upsets in 16 games. In D-II No. 9 Carlsbad upset 1 La Costa Canyon to face 4 Imperial*, and 11 San Dieguito surprised 3 San Marcos to meet 2 Westview. [*Update Nov 18: 4 ...

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Many of the San Diego Section cognoscenti declared an upset when winless St. Augustine defeated La Jolla Country Day,  16-0, in the first round of the Division III playoffs last week. That the Saints (0-10) were seeded seventh in the division and the 5-5 Torreys were 10th, according to CIF power ratings, didn’t seem to register. The ...

The Division I/III quarterfinals, and D-II/D-IV semifinal bracket pairings are set for November 16 and 19, respectively. Peaking for the playoffs is D-I No. 12 seed Poway as they bested 5 Mission Hills to face 4 Mira Mesa, while D-II No. 11 San Dieguito topped 6 Patrick Henry, then 3 San Marcos, to earn a semifinal ...

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The four official 2024 San Diego CIF flag football playoff brackets* are set. Go here for complete season game schedules and results. * The selection process divides the top 48 MaxPreps/Calpreps** state-ranked local teams into 4 equal size groups. The top 12 teams become Division I, the next 12 become Division II, and ...

Bloated playoff fields, minimal competition in some instances, such as three games to determine a winner, doesn’t diminish the team accomplishment. So Hats Off to the eighteen San Diego Section league champions. It’s been awhile for a few. La Costa Canyon hasn’t claimed a title since 2011, Hoover and Oceanside since 2014, three others since 2016, and one ...