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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 way, 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 ...

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The CIF flag playoff structure follows the format and selection process used for tackle football, one based on the Power Ranking algorithm of the MaxPreps/Calpreps system*. Four divisions, based primarily on their state ranking, will be filled with 12 teams each, seeded per their ranking. League champions are guaranteed a spot, no matter their record or ...

Mabel O’Farrell is on a roll. The Falcons won their second consecutive game and fourth all-time last week, dating to 2018 and 54 losses. Bruce Newland is Mabel’s third coach since the Falcons began playing football seven seasons ago.  The 27-6 win over Mountain Empire followed a 38-12 triumph over Rock. Heady stuff for the squad from the ...

San Diego’s march to a Southern Section championship was derailed by Glendale in the most confusing finish in the 20-season career of coach Mike Morrow. “Bait and switch”  is a often-used political term for what happened to the Hilltoppers. They were told by CIF boss Seth Van Patten that a victory over Norwalk Excelsior in their second ...

519 MATCHES PLAYED, JUST 88 REMAINING During the last 10 days of the regular season, most are focused on their League opponents, as the San Diego Section playoffs are on the horizon. The four brackets of 12 teams each will be revealed Nov. 6, with first games Nov. 12. All League champs are  automatically included. Top rungs ...

They were flying last week. John Maffei, The San  Diego Union high school expert, noted the many infractions and uneven play in the Western League showdown between Lincoln and Cathedral. “It was choppy,” observed Maffei. Perhaps that was because there was an officiating crew of seven instead of the standard six.  Play was interrupted 19 times because of ...

San Diego Section playoffs will consist of four divisions/brackets of 12 teams each, to be chosen by a CIF committee. Only criteria given is that seeding is based on record and MaxPreps* ranking, and brackets will include all League champions. Brackets reveal is on Nov 6. The top 4 seeds get a first-round bye, then meet ...

Number 1 Lincoln is at No. 2 Cathedral and unranked Scripps Ranch visits No. 10 University City  Friday with the winners the likely  champions in the Western and Eastern leagues. By the numbers: Lincoln is No. 1 in the San Diego Section Top 10 and 13th in the state, according to MaxPreps.  Cathedral is No. 2 and ...

State No. 3 Classical (17-4), with a 36-26 win over local No. 9 Torrey Pines (10-7), remains the team to emulate. A month is left in the season and more than 400 games have been played by 72 San Diego Section teams. The Caimans have played the most games (21) and the most out-of-section games ...

MAFFEI FEELS IT John Maffei’s The San Diego Union Week 7 poll: 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‘ and Cal-Hi Sports‘ are state rankings. RANK TEAM/RECORD POINTS MAXPREPS CALPREPS.COM CAL-HI SPORTS+ 1. Lincoln (4-2) 26* 296 (1) 14 (16) 55.5 (54.2) 14 (16)  2. Cathedral (5-1) 1* 267 (2) 35 (36)  41.8 (40.2)   41 (43)  3. Granite Hills (4-1) 3* 248 (3) 45 (47)  37.6 (35.8) 17 (18) 4 Mission Hills (5-1) 195 ...

Floating at state No. 3, Classical (16-4) hoped for repeat success over #2 Newport Harbor (19-2), but the Sailors battened the hatches for a 37-0 win. The Caimans had keelhauled the seafaring club, 26-13, as well as #4 San Juan Capistrano JSerra (17-5) and #6 Huntington Beach (17-7) earlier this season. Mira Mesa (11-2) bobbed at ...