Greater challenges lie ahead, but San Diego Section teams in the Southern California regional playoffs were successful in three of four Open Division quarterfinals games last night.

—The Foothills Christian Knights stunned Santa Ana Mater Dei, dealing the Monarchs their first loss at home in 10 years, 50-46, and moving on to Tuesday’s semifinals and a third shot at Chino Hills, the nation’s No. 1 team.

The 31-0 Huskies defeated Foothills, 106-86, and 85-83, earlier in the season and  their Open quarterfinals, 103-71 victory over Reedley Immanuel tied Chino Hills with the 1995-96 San Francisco Balboa Buccaneers for a state-record, eighteen 100-point games.

Fifth-seeded Foothills (25-4) reversed a 61-53 loss to No. 4 Mater Dei (27-5) five weeks ago, benefitting from the Monarchs 5-for-25 shooting on three-point attempts and closing down low to outrebound their hosts, 34-18.

T.J. Leaf led the winners with 21 points, blocked three shots, and brought down 16 rebounds.

The Knights trailed only at 2-0 and tenaciously kept the Monarchs at a distance in the second half  in the hosts’ big arena game environment of scoring table dasher boards, jumbotron, and almost 2,500 raucous fans.

The Foothills-Chino game will be at Colony High in Ontario Tuesday night at 7.

—Seventh-seeded Cathedral defeated No. 2 Chatsworth Sierra Canyon in overtime, 83-80, in arguably the major boys upset of the postseason.

According to Max Preps, Cathedral was ranked 31^st in the state and 156^th nationally.  Sierra Canyon was fourth in California and ninth in the country.  Cathedral stood 17^{th in} the state, according to Cal-Hi Sports, while Sierra was fourth.

Complicating the Dons’ bid was the absence 6-11 Brandon McCoy, who was on the bench in foul trouble for all but four minutes of the first half.  McCoy, who scored 23 points, led a Dons comeback that had the visitors in front, 73-65, late in the fourth quarter.

Sierra Canyon tied the score at 73 to force the overtime but Cathedral raced to an 83-73 advantage in the extra session and held on.

Cathedral (21-6) now faces the 3 seed, Torrance Bishop Montgomery (27-2), which overcame Los Angeles Westchester, 72-58, in overtime and outscored Sierra Canyon, 78-69, two weeks ago in the Southern Section playoffs.

—The fourth-seed Mission Hills girls (29-3) defeated No. 5 Los Angeles Price, 49-45, and get No. 1-ranked West Hills Chaminade in the San Fernando Valley suburb on Tuesday.

Mission Hills is ranked sixth and Chaminade fourth in the Cal-Hi Sports ratings, but Chaminade is second in California and fourth in the country as seen by Max Preps, which ranks the Grizzlies 23^rd in California and 99^th in the country.

The only Open Division losers from the San Diego Section were the  La Jolla Country Day girls, beaten, 46-39, by host Long Beach Poly.

 

Despite being seeded in the nether regions of the Southern California regional playoffs, No. 15 Kearny and No. 12 St. Augustine scored significant road victories last night, while most other San Diego Section squads, including all 13 girls’ teams in action, were stowing their gear today.

Kearny (31-3) overcame a 53-47, fourth-quarter deficit to upset No. 2-ranked and host Huntington Beach Edison, 65-58, in Division III.

Martin Tombe’s three-point basket with 21 seconds remaining lifted St. Augustine (23-7) past No. 5 Corona Centennial, 60-59, after the Saints trailed, 42-29, in the third quarter and were down, 59-57, in the final minute.

Following Tombe’s field goal, the Huskies called timeouts at :21, :17, and :11, and never got in position for an offensive thrust.

Coach Mike Haupt’s Saints defenders frustrated the hosts to the point that the game ended with the ball being tipped  into the back court.

Centennial made 22 trips to the free-throw line and converted 10.  Tombe made 3 of St. Augustine’s 5 attempts.

THE MARTIN AND ERIC SHOW

Tombe’s  27 points were complemented by Eric (Vaughn) Monroe’s 15. The four-year varsity veterans were members of the 2012-13, Trey Kell-led Saints, who won the state D-III title.

St. Augustine gets a home game Saturday evening, possibly at a venue other than its 600-seat  Daugherty Gymnasium, against lower seed (13) Eastvale Eleanor Roosevelt (23-8), a 56-55, double-0vertime winner over No. 4 Los Angeles Fairfax.

Kearny has another daunting challenge. The Komets will travel almost 150 miles north through routinely brutal Los Angeles traffic to take on the 7 seed, 25-7 Calabasas Coyotes, who ushered out No. 10 Fresno Roosevelt, 55-52.

St. Augustine and Eleanor Roosevelt faced one common opponent. The Mustangs  were 1-2 against Corona Centennial, winning, 56-55, and losing, 73-61, and 83-55.  The latter was in a Southern Section playoff consolation game.

Meanwhile, there was total devastation in the San Diego Section Girls’ brackets, low-lighted by No. 1-ranked The Bishop’s 57-52 loss to visiting Westlake Village Oaks Christian.

OTHER RESULTS

BOYS

D-I

No. 9 Torrey Pines 50, @Inglewood 66.

D-II

No. 11 Mission Bay 58,  @No. 6 Rancho Santa Margarita 73.  No. 12, Army-Navy 62, @Orange Lutheran 63. No. 13 Poway 58, @No. 4 Los Alamitos 67.

D-III

No. 11 La Jolla Country Day 48, @No. 6 LaVerne Bonita 52.

D-IV

No. 8 El Camino 90, No. 9 Rancho Mirage 66. No. 13 San Marcos 61, @No. 4 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 69.

D-V

No. 9, Bonita Vista 59, @No. 8 Capistrano Valley Christian 46.  No. 11 Mission Vista 52, @No. 6 Saddleback Valley Christian 53.  No. 14 O’Farrell 46, @No. 3 Temecula Rancho Christian 84.

GIRLS

D-I

No. 10 Santa Barbara 69, No. 7 Torrey Pines 60.

D-II

No. 9 La Cresenta Crescenta Valley 57, No. 8 Mount Miguel 55. No. 10 Manhattan Beach Mira Costa 61, No. 7  Westview 54,    No. 13 Serra 34, @No. 4  Anaheim Fairmont Prep 56.

D-III 

No. 10 Lake Elsinore Lakeside 47, No. 7 Eastlake 38.  No. 14 Horizon 61, @No. 3 Norco 64.  .

D-IV

No. 9 L.A. Notre Dame Academy 66, No. 8 Poway 51. No. 10 La Costa Canyon 45, @7 Newport Beach Corona del Mar 54.  No. 12, Imperial 34, @L.B. St. Anthony 68.

D-V

No. 9 Mira Mesa 35, @No. 8 Sun Valley Village Christian 64. No. 10 Escondido Adventist 34, @No. 7 Cypress Oxford Academy 39.  No. 12, Grossmont 43, @L.A. Price 53.

 

Army-Navy Academy in Pacific Beach couldn’t rely on a six-game County League schedule to complement a full slate of games.

As reported in The San Diego Union,”…through an error at the beginning of the County League the eleven was omitted.”

If that report is to be believed, the person who drew up the County League schedule “forgot” that the Cadets were in the league.

Coaches and school bosses at loop members Grossmont, Escondido, and Sweetwater also must have whiffed.

Army-Navy played four games, two against teams from Los Angeles and two against San Diego Junior College, then was stung by an residential eligibility beef with the CIF  (see below).

SWEETWATER FIT TO BE TIED

Football was constantly evolving, but officiating did not seem to be keeping pace.

Sweetwater’s successful onside kick late in the game resulted in the winning touchdown and a tie for first place in the County League after a 20-14 battle with Coronado.

The Islanders complained that the Red Devils players were not correctly situated behind the player who kicked off.  The Islanders said there should have been a penalty and Sweetwater’s being  forced to repeat the kick.

The game referee who sided with Sweetwater was Lee Waymire.

The same Lee Waymire, who was Coronado’s coach in 1920. After a couple days, Waymire reversed his decision, declaring a 14-14 tie and leaving Coronado in first place in league standings.

The San Diego Union reported the following Friday:

“The play was a very peculiar one and Waymire, unquestionably one of the best officials in the section, after making his decision delved into the record (sic) book and consulted football officials, discovering that he was wrong.”

Call it delayed instant replay.

COUNTY PLAYOFF?

Coronado (4-1-1) won the league championship for the fourth time in five years, but loop bosses ordered the Islanders to play Grossmont (4-2) in a postseason winner-take-all.

The decision to play the game came after Grossmont upset the Islanders, 16-13, in the final round of play.

The rematch apparently did not take place.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE LATELY?

John Perry, in his second year as coach at San Diego High, was thought to have a Southern California contending team and one worthy of the 1916 Southern California title team that was declared the national high school champion.

The Hilltoppers defeated Sweetwater, 40-0, in the season opener and then avenged a 1920 playoff loss with a 6-0 victory over Los Angeles Poly on a muddy layout in City Stadium.

A 14-0 loss to powerful Santa Ana was not received well by representatives of the local media, which offered several opinions in stories that did not include bylines.

“Perry Plans Changes in Hilltop Eleven; Desires More Fight” was one headline in The San Diego Union following the loss.

“Coach John Perry of the locals plans a complete reorganization of the team,” wrote the author of a piece the following Tuesday morning.  “He expects more fighting spirit.  New tactics, fast training, and snappy playing will be the main points to be harped upon.”

“The feeling seems to be at the Hilltop that the team has the goods for a banner year and what is needed is the jazz, support, and coaching,” was the focal point of another story.

RIPS CONTINUE

Perry must have taken umbrage at the criticism following a 48-0 rout of Orange:

“While the game appears a slaughter,” wrote one writer,” San Diego should have compiled a higher result on their opponents, close observers of the game remark.  It is also thought that some of the players are not attending to strict training regulations and stage spasms of over-confidence.”

Writers for the city’s three daily newspapers, Union, Evening Tribune, and Sun, sometimes were paid stringers who were students at the high school and who also wrote for the San Diego High Russ.

One of the writers was Allen McGrew, whose nettlesome presence would be felt by Perry when McGrew continued to correspond for the Union even after he graduated from the Hilltop.

CIF DROPS HAMMER  

Rules of the Southern California governing body were proving onerous for Army-Navy, abiding by CIF statutes for the first time since the academy went into business in 1910.

Ineligibility would be problematical for the Cadets for years.

Four players were declared ineligible before a game at Hollywood because they had not attended the academy for 10 weeks before the close of school the previous June.

A total of 7 players had been forced to sit this season and Academy boss Capt. Thomas Davis threw in the towel, shutting the program after the 28-6 loss to the Hollywood High Sheiks.

The players’ parents had not changed their residences to San Diego addresses when the school year began in September.  The residential rule would be a benchmark with the CIF for generations.

Davis was upset because the rules made no distinction between boarding schools and day schools.  Many of the Academy students come from other states and countries.

SCHEDULE SCRAMBLE

San Diego was forced to look for another opponent after Army-Navy bailed.  The Cavemen scheduled a game against the Alumni (3-0 loss) and another against the USS Charleston (25-7 victory).

The contests were described as “midseason exhibitions” by one publication, but they were played under game rules with full officiating crews and scoring.

Don King’s “Caver Conquest” listed the Hilltoppers’ record at the end of the season as 7-2.

I counted the two midseason games as official, giving Perry’s team an 8-3 record.  That reasoning is based on San Diego’s and other local squads’ often competing against alumni and military teams for years in recognized games.

HILLERS LOOK TOUGH, UNTIL

The Hilltoppers entered the playoffs as one of the favorites in the eight-team postseason.

A 70-0 victory over Montebello was followed with a 20-point fourth quarter in a 48-14 conquest of Los Angeles Manual Arts that forged a rematch with Santa Ana.

The game at  Bovard Field on the University of Southern California campus marked San Diego’s first appearance in the championship game since 1916.

The Hilltoppers took an early, 3-0 lead on Lawrence Hall’s 30-yard field goal before being crushed by the Saints, 34-3.

TOILERS GOT EXTRA YEAR

San Diego received a tremendous boost from the CIF when rulings were handed down against Manual Arts.

Five Toilers players, including all-Southern California halfback and captain Bill Blewett, had played in the flu-shortened season of 1918.  The Los Angeles City League gave those players another year of eligibility.

The ruling by the Los Angeles circuit did not pass the smell test with the CIF and the five were not allowed to play against San Diego.   .

SIGNS OF TIME

Residents of La Jolla appealed to the city council to ask the railroad commission to investigate high telephone toll rates charged by the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company.

La Jollans objected to a 10-cent, long-distance toll for calls to San Diego.  Charges escalated based on length of conversations.

National City and Chula Vista, which were paying 5 cents for similar service, also complained.

SOUR VINTAGE

John Cantonagonla was cleared of malicious mischief by a local magistrate after Cantonagonla drained 75 gallons of wine onto a street in Little Italy.

The wine belonged to Serafino Romani, the defendant’s brother-in-law.

Justice L.D. Jennings ruled that, because wine is not legally rightful property (this was during prohibition), it is not legally subject to mischief.

It was said there was ongoing friction between the Romani and Cantonagonla families.

HANGING JUDGE

Walter Coleman, ticketed for driving his motorcycle 43 miles an hour on a city street, pleaded guilty, and served a 60-hour sentence as part of a police crackdown on speeding.

UNOFFICIAL

Scoring totals in the newspapers usually were incomplete or nonexistent.  Kenny Zweiner led San Diego with 51 points, followed by Coney Galindo, who missed the last 4 games with an ankle injury, with 40.

Hobbs Adams scored 35 points, Norton Langford and Justin (Pug) Bennett, 30 each, and  Gordon Thompson, 22. Eight other Hilltoppers got on the scoreboard.

TRUE GRID

John Perry moved his team out of the City Stadium after the playoff win over Montebello and practiced several days over the next two weeks on the Coronado Polo Grounds…Perry decided the turf layout at the trans-bay facility would serve the Cavers well in playoff games at USC’s Bovard Field against Manual Arts and, if they advanced, against Santa Ana…”Machines” driven by students and other boosters motored through city streets advertising the Montebello game…Hilltoppers officials weren’t happy that the CIF charged 50-cent admission to the contest with the Oilers, double what San Diego principal Thomas Russell and the school executive council wanted…to boost the gate for a game with Santa Monica each student was given one ticket for personal use and one for sale to another person…the Alumni team that defeated San Diego was organized in two days and included a few members of the 1916 squad…Perry, principal Russell, and several players went  North to watch the Manual Arts-L.A. High game for the Los Angeles city title…the Hilltoppers put numbers on their jerseys for the games in Los Angeles…half of game proceeds for the championship went to disabled war veterans…Red Cross women were selling tickets to the Santa Ana game on city streets…about 10,000 attended Santa Ana’s victory…San Diego halfback Hobbs Adams made the all-Southern California first team…tackles Larry Hall and guard Gordon Thompson were on the second team….

Records through Monday, March 7:

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Last Poll
1	Foothills Christian (11)	24-4	110	1
2	Cathedral	20-6	96	2
3	St. Augustine	22-7	79	4
4	Kearny	30-3*	77	7
5	Torrey Pines	25-5**	71	3
6	El Camino	27-6	50	5
7	Army-Navy	21-10	42	6
8	La Jolla Country Day	28-5	33	NR
9	Mission Bay	21-8	25	8
10	Poway	24-8	13	9

**Forfeited 73-64 victory over Manhattan Beach Mira Costa Dec. 26.                                    *Forfeited 57-37 victory Dec. 5 over Horizon.                                                                                  Points awarded on basis of 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.

Others receiving votes, including record: San  Marcos (22-7, 11), Grossmont (22-7, 4); La Jolla (19-11, 2); Bonita Vista (20-12, 1); Helix (19-11, 1).

Eleven media representatives vote, including John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune; Steve Brand (San Diego Hall of Champions), Terry Monahan, Jim Lindgren, Union-Tribune correspondents; Bill Dickens, Adam Paul, EastCountySports.com; Rick Willis, KUSI-TV; Rick Smith, partletonsports.com; Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com; Lisa Lane, San Diego Preps Insider; Aaron Burgin, fulltimehoops.com.

San Diego’s eternal quest for respect from the Southern Section renews this week with opening rounds of the state regional playoffs.

Respect still is to be earned.

Only one of 15 boys teams is seeded higher than its opponent in the six divisions, Open and I-V, brackets for which were announced yesterday by the state CIF office in Sacramento.

El Camino (27-5)  is eighth in D-IV and plays host to No. 9 Rancho Mirage (30-1) on Wednesday.

San Diego Section girls fared better.

No. 5 Los Angeles Windward (20-6) will visit No. 4 Mission Hills (28-3) in the Open Division, which begins play Friday.

The Bishop’s is top seed in D-I and will take on No. 16 Westlake Village Oaks Christian (20-8) on Wednesday and No. 7 Torrey Pines (22-8) plays host to 10 Santa Barbara (26-4).

No. 8 Mount Miguel (21-11) entertains No. 9 Crescenta Valley and 7 Westview (25-6) receives 10 Manhattan Beach Mira Costa (22-9) in D-II.

No. 7 Eastlake (26-6) plays host to No. 10 Lake Elsinore Lakeside (25-5) in D-III.  No. 8 Poway (19-11) is home to No. 9 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (16-15) in D-IV.

Thirty squads, 15 girls, 15 boys, will be in action this week.

Boys matchups to watch:

OPEN DIVISION

No. 5 seed Foothills Christian (24-4), seventh-ranked in California and 23^rd in the country by Max Preps and fifth in the state by Cal-Hi Sports, gets another shot at Santa Ana Mater Dei (27-4), which beat the Knights, 61-53, a couple weeks ago and hasn’t lost a home game in 10 years…Mater Dei, Max Preps’ state No. 4 and U.S. No. 8, and Cal-Hi Sports’ No. 4, is recovering from one of the worst defeats in school history, 102-54, to Chino Hills in the Southern Section semifinals a week ago…the winner will be “rewarded” with another shot at Chino Hills, the No. 1 team  in the United States…Foothills lost to the Huskies, 106-86 in December and 85-83 in January and is one of the few to test this squad, which has surpassed 100 points 14 times…Thomas Jefferson of Brooklyn lost a 91-90 decision and Montverde Academy of Florida was edged, 83-82…St. Patrick’s of Elizabeth, N.J., also came close but lost, 66-60, and Torrance Bishop Montgomery fell, 71-67 to Chino Hills…Cathedral (20-6) is seeded seventh and gives the San Diego Section two of the eight Open berths, compared to 4 for the Southern and one each for the Los Angeles City and Central sections…the Dons will make a 140-mile jaunt to Chatsworth and meet No. 2-ranked Sierra Canyon, a ballyhooed club that Max Preps ranks third in the state and seventh in the U.S. and is coming off a 105-83 loss to Chino Hills…the 26-4 Trailblazers defeated tough Redondo Beach Redondo Union, 74-70, and Bishop Montgomery, 78-69, in the Southern playoffs and had losses to national powers Oak Hill Academy of Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, 49-48, and Montverde Academy, 81-67…Cathedral is ranked 28^th in the state by Max Preps….

DIVISION III

What am I missing?  Kearny (30-3) has been dismissed as a 15 seed..the Komets visit second-ranked Huntington Beach Edison (24-9), which played a predominantly Orange County schedule with no great wins and two bad losses, 83-44 to Santa Ana Mater Dei, and 72-52 to Villa Park. Kearny lost one game by forfeit and another when star player Takoda Browne was absent..the Komets are quick, have a decent big man, defend, and hustle at both ends of the court….

Girls matchups to watch:

OPEN DIVISION

Mission Hills (26-3) and La Jolla Country Day (24-5) are the fourth and sixth seeds, respectively, and San Diego has two teams in the elite division, compared to 4 for the Southern and 1 each for the Los Angeles City and Central sections…’Day, coached by Terry Bamford, who has taken the Torreys to four state championships, opens at Long Beach Poly (25-4)…the Jackrabbits lost, 72-63, to West Hills Chaminade, the No. 1 seed, in the Southern finals but also hold a 50-39 victory over Chaminade…the Poly environment shouldn’t bother the La Jolla team, which has been steeled over the years with big games and intersectional schedules…Mission Hills’ 68-64 win over ‘Day in the San Diego finals elevated the Grizzlies…they have a home game against No. 5 Los Angeles Windward (20-6).

Other pairings:

BOYS

El Camino (27-5)  is eighth in D-IV and plays host to No. 9 Rancho Mirage (30-1) on Wednesday.

GIRLS

The Bishop’s is top seed in D-I and will take on No. 16 Westlake Village Oaks Christian (20-8) on Wednesday and No. 7 Torrey Pines (22-8) plays host to 10 Santa Barbara (26-4).

No. 8 Mount Miguel (21-11) entertains No. 9 Crescenta Valley and 7 Westview (25-6) receives  10 Manhattan Beach Mira Costa (22-9) in D-II.

No. 7 Eastlake (26-6) plays host to No. 10 Lake Elsinore Lakeside (25-5) in D-III.  No. 8 Poway (19-11) is home to No. 9 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (16-15) in D-IV.

Jerry Ralph made history earlier this week when he was announced as the head football coach at El Camino High in Oceanside, becoming the first to lead five different San Diego Section programs.

Ralph has compiled a 123-76-2  (.614) record in 18 seasons, beginning in 1997 at Santana, followed by stints at St. Augustine, Del Norte, and Hoover.

Willie Matson (184-132-6, .581) also has had five head coaching assignments, but two were at the same school.  Matson began at Mission Bay in 1984 and returned there in 2005.

Matson is still active, ranking 12^th all-time in number of wins.  Ralph is 30^th.

Dave Gross (106-123-3, .464) also was a five-time head coach, including two tenures each at Imperial and El Cajon Valley.

Ralph had shared the lead with Monte Vista’s Ron Hamamoto, who also guided programs at University, Rancho Bernardo, and Lincoln. Hamamoto is eighth on the career list with 203 victories.

Gil Warren and Walter (Bud) Mayfield also had four head coaching tenures.

Warren began at Castle Park in 1967 and returned there in 1992 and also was  at San Diego Southwest and Olympian.

Mayfield began at Coronado in 1979 and was reappointed there in 1989 and again in 1993.  Sandwiched between his runs at Coronado was a year stay at University in 1981.

See list of Coaches with a minimum of 100 wins here.