It’s essentially not who you beat, but who you played and how who you played did.

St. Augustine lost three games but was 20th in the state and No. 1 in Division II in Cal-Hi Sports‘ final 2015 rankings.

Cathedral lost five but its schedule was so difficult that the Dons earned a Cal-Hi ranking of sixth in Division II and 38th overall.

Mission Hills, No. 1 in the final Union-Tribune poll, was 11-1 but didn’t finish among Cal-Hi‘s top 50.

IT’S ABOUT THE SCHEDULE

The Saints and Cathedral faced far more demanding, regular-season nonleague tests than Mission Hills.

St. Augustine was steeled by tough losses to Los Angeles Loyola and Vista Murrieta.

Cathedral took on Rancho Santa Margarita, Westlake Village Oaks Christian, Bakersfield Liberty, and St. Augustine, among others.

The Grizzlies, ranked No. 1 for most of the season in the Union-Tribune‘s weekly poll and king in a weak North County, were no match when St. Augustine ran away to a 48-14 victory in the San Diego Section Open Division semifinals.

The Saints, although losing to Helix, 44-30, in  the Open championship, rose three spots from 23rd on Cal-Hi‘s final list.

Reliable Helix ranked seventh overall, might have become a state D-I champion had it not lost in the final two minutes, 32-28, to eventual winner Mission Viejo in the Southern California playoff.

Mission Viejo defeated San Jose Bellarmine, 24-0, for the D-1 title.

TWO OUT OF 13

The San Diego Section had four state finalists and two champions in the 13 competing divisions.

Mater Dei, 56-21 winner over Reedley Immanuel in V-AA,  joined Rancho Bernardo, 30-14 conqueror of Atherton Sacred Heart D-II.

Coronado dropped a 16-6 decision to East Nicolaus in VI-AA and Bonita Vista was a 33-21 loser to Hanford in IV-AA.

BEST 50

Four County squads made Cal-Hi‘s most recent all-time state top 50.

Coach Dick Haines’ 1985 Vista club, 13-0 behind quarterback Sal Aunese, is 27th.  The 1916 national champion San Diego Hilltoppers are 36th, followed by the national champion San Diego club of 1955 at 43rd. Morse, 14-0 and fourth in USA Today‘s national rankings in 1990, is 47th.

The 12-0 Concord De La Salle team of 2001 was selected first.

TRUE GRID

Other 2015 state division rankings included Rancho Bernardo, seventh in D-II, Bonita Vista 10th in D-III, and Mater Dei fifth in D-IV…Santa Fe Christian and Coronado were “on the bubble” in IV and V, respectively, and Mission Bay gained honorable mention in III…Rancho Bernardo was 13-2 but also did not make the state’s top 50…the Broncos played no intersectional games in the regular season…it’s not that Mission Hills didn’t try…the Grizzlies scheduled two intersectionals but they were against mediocre Los Angeles Crenshaw and Long Beach Millikan…Helix’ Nate Stinson was the Section leading scorer with 35 touchdowns and 210 points…C.J. Verdell of Mater Dei and Greg Bell of Bonita Vista had 204 each and Elijah Preston of St. Augustine 198…go to the “Football” link and scroll down to “Top Performances” and “Annual Individual Scorers” for a more complete list….

New Year’s and league play await, but  holiday action continues, most notably with the Under-Armour event hosted by coach John Olive and the Torrey Pines Falcons.

Play begins Saturday with seven of the Union-Tribune Top 10 clubs competing.  Foothills Christian, St. Augustine, and Army-Navy are in the elite National Division.

Foothills, No. 1 in the latest Union-Tribune poll,  plays Oakland Bishop O’Dowd, and No. 2 St. Augustine takes on Bellevue Washington in first-round games Saturday. No. 6 Army-Navy meets Pebblebrook of Mabelton, Georgia.

No. 2 El Camino and No. 4 Cathedral will be in other major tournaments, the Wildcats in Palm Desert for the Max Preps and Cathedral near Chicago at the Proviso West event.

Brandon McCoy, the 6-foot, 11-inch Cathedral transfer from Morse, will be the featured performer in the late game against New Trier Winnetka on Saturday.  McCoy was born in the Chicago area and lived there until moving to San Diego as a sophomore.

Pairings:

Team	Record	Opponent	Record	Event
Foothills Christian	5-1	Oakland Bishop O’Dowd	4-3	Under-Armour @Torrey Pines
St. Augustine	7-0	Bellevue, Washington	5-0	Under-Armour @Torrey Pines
El Camino	7-1	Riverside J.W. North	7-1	Palm Desert Max Preps @Xaverian Prep
Cathedral	5-2	New Trier, Il. Winnetka	2-5	Proviso West @Hillside, Illinois
Torrey Pines	6-1	San Leandro	5-3	Under-Armour @Torrey Pines
Army-Navy	7-3	Mableton, Ga. Pebblebrook	7-4	Under-Armour @Torrey Pines
Kearny	7-0	Manhattan Beach Mira Costa	6-4	Under-Armour @La Costa Canyon
La Jolla Country Day	8-0	South Gate	5-3	Under-Armour  @La Jolla Country Day
San Marcos	7-3	Sherman Oaks Notre Dame	4-2	Under-Armour @Escondido

No. 1 Foothills Christian is scheduled to play  Cypress Lakes of Katy, Texas, in the Phoenix suburb of Goodyear, Arizona, Friday. The game is to be televised on ESPN 2 at 3:30 p.m., according to Max Preps.

Other teams in the upper half of the Union-Tribune Top 10 will be in tournament play beginning Thursday.

No. 2 St. Augustine opens against Las Vegas Cimmaron Memorial or Compton in the Rancho Santa Margarita Christmas Classic.  No. 4 Cathedral takes on Carson City, Nevada, in the Tarkanian  event in Las Vegas.

El Camino, No. 3, meets host Sweetwater in the Lions Club event in National City. No. 4 Torrey Pines will be in the Grossmont Invitational.  San Dieguito and Army-Navy also are in the Santa Margarita tournament.

First-place votes in parenthesis.

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Last Week
1	Foothills Christian (9)	4-1	107	1
2	St. Augustine (1)	4-0	99	3
3	El Camino (1)	5-1	84	4
4	Cathedral	1-2	72	2
5	Torrey Pines	4-1	63	5
6	Army-Navy	5-2	53	6
7	Grossmont	4-0	31	9
8	Kearny	5-0	27	NR
9	Mission Bay	4-1	19	10
10	San Marcos	3-2	15	9

Points awarded on basis of 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.

NR—Not ranked.

Others receiving votes, including record: Francis Parker (4-1, 9), Vista (4-1, 8), La Jolla Country Day (5-0, 7), Christian (7-3, 5), Escondido (1-2, 4), San Ysidro (5-1, 2).

11 media representatives vote, including John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune; Steve Brand, 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 Section teams posted a 4-2 record in the Southern California playoffs (a.k.a. State  Bowl Championship Series) last week, the games hewing to a historic trend of strength in the lower divisions.

Local teams will be favored in at least three of the state championship games this week, with all kickoffs Saturday night at 6.

DIVISION III-A

After a 31-30 victory in a game played amid temperatures that dropped to the mid-thirties at Hesperia Oak Hills, Rancho Bernardo will play host to Atherton Sacred Heart, which won the Northern Regional, 56-20 over Oakland McClymonds.

The Sacred Heart Bears closed with a rush to earn the Central Coast Section championship and are on a 10-1 run, 11-3 overall. Coach Tristan McCoy’s Broncos have averaged 36 points in winning their last eight.

Calpreps.com gives the Broncos a 46.4 rating and Sacred Heart 40.8.  The visitors will be traveling about 470 miles, with at least eight hours on the road.

DIVISION IV-AA

Bonita Vista will make a 346-mile journey to the home of the 13-1 Hanford Bullpups, who were beaten by Lemoore, 42-7, in the West Yosemite League title game but came out of the Central Section playoffs and topped Sonora of the Sac-Joaquin Section, 42-18, last week.

Bonita, 12-2, defeated Anaheim Canyon, 24-21, last week and coach Chris Thompson was named San Diego Section coach of the year by a panel working under the auspices of the San Diego Hall of Champions.

The Barons have a Calpreps.com rating of 41.7.  Hanford’s rating is 35.8.

DIVISION V-AA 

The Central Section’s Reedley Immanuel, 11-2 and with independent status, lost a regular-season game to Santa Barbara Bishop Diego, 43-20.

Bishop Diego won a 29-21 decision from Santa Fe Christian, which defeated The Bishop’s, 51-8, which dropped 42-21 and 49-14 decisions to Mater Dei.

It’s a reach but the comparative scores seem to favor Mater Dei, playing at home, with a 13-1 record sullied only by an early-season forfeit to El Capitan.

Calpreps.com gives the Crusaders a 33.8 rating but only 21.1  for the  Eagles, whose travels will take them 330 miles South after they advanced last week with a 31-21 win over Sacramento Bradshaw Christian of the Sac-Joaquin Section.

DIVISION VI-AA

Coronado, 14-0 winner over Los Angeles Belmont, will play host to Nicolaus East Nicolaus of the Northern Section.

East Nicolaus, a school of less than 300 students, is located in Nicolaus, about 25 miles North of Sacramento and 532 miles from Coronado, making the Spartans’ trip the second longest in the playoffs.

(Eureka St. Bernard will motor 698 miles for its D-V battle at San Juan Capistrano Saddleback Valley Christian).

The Spartans have a 12-2 record and have won  their last 10 after beginning 2-2.  They defeated Merced Stone Ridge Christian of the Sac-Joaquin Section, 34-14, in the Northern Regional.

Coronado was 2-3 in Central League play and 3-4 after 7 games but is 7-0 since then and carries a 10-4 record and Calpreps.com rating of 2.  East Nicolaus has a 14.5 rating.

OPEN AND DIVISION  I

Helix took a 28-20 lead into the fourth quarter at Mission Viejo but couldn’t hold on as the host team went ahead with 1:59 to play and won, 32-28.   Oceanside, up and down all season, was ushered out, 36-14, by La Mirada..

TRUE GRID

Helix’ Nate Stinson tied Reggie Bush’s school scoring record at Mission Viejo.  Stinson and Bush each scored 35 touchdowns and 200 points in 13 games, Bush doing it as a junior in 2001…

BASKETBALL

Cathedral’s opened the season  1-2 in the Father Barry Tournament at Carmichael Jesuit…the Dons won their opener, 68-55, from San Francisco St. Ignatius, then bowed 60-57 to  Jesuit and 66-59 to San Jose Archbishop Mitty…Brandon McCoy, who transferred from Morse, had scoring totals of 27, 22, and 8, respectively, for the Dons…Cathedral next will meet Carson City, Nevada, on Tuesday in the opening round of the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas…Foothills Christian, 4-1, and recovering from a 106-86 loss to USA Today No. 3 Chino Hills, is scheduled to be in Houston Tuesday for a game against Katy Cypress Lakes, a free-wheeling Texas team that already is 8-3….

 

Like ships passing in the night, Birt Slater and Herb Meyer were headed in the opposite direction, but their coaching paths were virtually identical.

Slater confirmed his retirement as head coach at Kearny following the Komets’ 39-28 loss in the San Diego Section championship game to Meyer’s first year, front-loaded El Camino squad at San Diego Stadium.

Each had become a head coach in 1959, Slater after an outstanding run as assistant coach and head track coach at San Diego, and Meyer at Oceanside, the school for which he played.

Slater finished his career with 134 victories (against 41 losses and nine ties), second in County history only to the 140 wins of Escondido’s Bob Chick Embrey.

Meyer’s championship was victory No. 125 (against 44 losses and six ties), but he was not even halfway through his career, which would conclude more than a quarter-century later with a probably-never-equaled 339 triumphs.

Slater and Meyer were neck and neck in other areas of coaching achievement.  Birt’s won-loss percentage was .753 and Herb’s .731.

The championship was Meyer’s fourth (two in the small schools division) and Slater won three.  Both coaches had made five title-game appearances.

Kearny was a slight favorite over the Wildcats, who numbered Meyer plus 17 lettermen who went to the new school after leading the Oceanside team that defeated Granite Hills for the 1975 title.

Seldom has a first-year entry gotten such an infusion of veteran, high-class talent.

DOKIE DOES IT

One of those who followed Meyer to the eastside campus was Darryl (Dokie) Williams, a brilliant football and track performer who would play at UCLA and in the NFL and who provided the scoring difference in the game with  kickoff touchdown returns of 92 and 89 yards.

“They came right at us at the most opportune times,” Slater told Henry Wesch of The San Diego Union.  “It’s always a mistake when they run one back on you, but they were great runs.  I don’t ever remember anyone running back two like that on us.”

Slater, emotional and mercurial at times, was classy and understated when it was over.  “I’ve had a good career and this was a good ball game,” he said.  “I think everybody got their three dollars worth.”

Kearny had an advantage of 434 yards to 266 in rushing and receiving, but the Komets had 132 yards in penalties and four turnovers.

El Camino had zero turnovers and also profited from the heavyweight thrusts of 205-pound Toussaint (Tootie) Tyler, who had 190 yards rushing in 32 attempts and scored two touchdowns.

NEW TIE-BREAKER TESTED

“History-making events are supposed to be heralded with sounding trumpets and helium-filled balloons,” wrote Steve Brand of The San Diego Union.

But the writer noted that a 6-6, semifinals playoff  tie between Morse and El Camino resulted in “disappointment and confusion,” all because of new tie-breaking rules.

Brand, on a morning newspaper deadline, was not a happy camper when he described what happened following the regulation-time deadlock:

“A twenty-minute discussion between officials, coaches, players, and statisticians over first downs, penetrations inside the 20-yard line, and a mysterious stopping of the clock just before the game ended.”

The teams tied with 7 first downs each and both had made two penetrations inside their opponent’s 20-yard line.  Those represented the first two elements of the new “California Tie-Breaker”  system.

Play resumed when the third tie-breaker kicked in.  Each team was given four plays from the 50-yard line.  Morse lost the coin toss and had first possession.

The Tigers had a net of minus two yards after four plays that included a 15-yard penalty. El Camino took over and essentially fell on the ball four consecutive plays, according to Brand.

The Wildcats were declared winners but the game went into the books as a tie.

The game was played at Vista, a technically neutral site, but the  the clock “inadvertantly” stopped as regulation time was running out and El Camino close to what would be an eighth and tie-breaking first down.

SLIPS THEM A MICKEY

El Camino quarterback Mickey PaoPao, the last in a long line of seven athletic PaoPao brothers, was a 15-tackle warrior on defense and “made like the cavalry” on offense.

PaoPao came on at quarterback late in the third quarter and directed his team to its first five first downs and a touchdown to tie the game.

PaoPao later pushed the Wildcats to two more first downs and a inside-the-20 penetration which set up the overtime.

PaoPao also wedged two yards for a first down on a quick count, but game officials ruled time had run out before the snap, this after officials re-started the mysteriously stopped clock.

Yes, it was confusing and still is, but Brand made his deadline.

MASSIVE RELEAGUING

Dissolution of the Coast League after three years triggered changes in leagues, conference models, and playoff systems.

The six County leagues in the San Diego Section each became part of its own conference, moving away from the “City” and “County” format.

The Avocado League became the 14-member Avocado Conference and was split into Avocado East and Avocado West.

The Grossmont, Southern, and Metropolitan each had a conference designation and the Eastern and Western leagues were representative of the City Conference.

Schools from the unwieldy, nine-team Coast scattered to new locations.  Larger schools in the city affiliated with the Eastern League. The schools of less enrollment moved to the Western.

After and before:

Team                                       1976 League                             1975 League
Lincoln	Western	Eastern
Hoover	Western	Eastern
La Jolla	Western	Coast
Mission Bay	Western	Coast
St. Augustine	Western	Eastern
Madison	Eastern	Western
Kearny	Eastern	Western
Point Loma	Western	Eastern
Crawford	Eastern	Coast
Coronado	Metropolitan	Coast
Mt. Carmel	Avocado East	Coast
Poway	Avocado East	Coast
Torrey Pines	Avocado West	Coast
Ramona	Avocado East	Coast
San Dieguito	Avocado West	Coast

RISING STAR

Lincoln was a year away, but the Hornets and free safety-quarterback Marcus Allen were coming on.

Coach Vic Player’s squad was eliminated by Morse in the first round of the playoffs, but Allen, a  6-foot, 2-inch, 190-pound junior, was the Western League’s back of the year and all-San Diego Section first-team as a defensive player.

The license plates on Vista coach Dick Haines’ car said “CIF 74” in honor of the Panthers championship that year, but Haines changed the plates to “Win CIF” this year.

ANOTHER PAPER ERROR

The Evening Tribune on Nov. 2, under the byline of Jerry (Sigmund) Froide, revealed that Chula Vista was forfeiting four victories for use of a scholastically ineligible player.

This latest instance of the historically ever-present “Dreaded Administrative Glitch” was one of the more impacting in San Diego Section history.

Chula Vista would be 9-0 on the field and an expected playoff presence, but  was legislatively reduced to 5-4 and out of the postseason.

Thousands of words filled the sports pages for the next two weeks as coach Bob Korzep’s team ran the gamut of emotions.

General timeline of events:

—The player was scholastically ineligible the previous spring at another school.

—His  academic status not changed, the player remained ineligible when enrolling in the fall at Chula Vista. He turned out for football.

—The ineligibility went unnoticed by Chula Vista administrators until after the fifth game.

—Chula Vista self-reported the oversight to CIF commissioner Kendall (Spider) Webb and sought a hardship waiver.

—Webb agreed that there was a hardship and granted a waiver for the upcoming playoffs, but not retroactively.

HONCHOS LOWER HAMMER

—Webb pointed out that the CIF could impose forfeitures only in playoff situations, essentially lateraling the matter to league principals.

—Metro bosses, meeting for two hours at Hilltop High, announced that the Spartans would forfeit the four games in which the ineligible player participated.

—The decision was by majority vote, announced league president Dale Newell, principal at Mar Vista.

— Chula Vista parents, booster club members, and community supporters hired a lawyer.

—Attorney Donald McGrath won a temporary restraining order from Superior Court judge Eli Levinson after a 10-minute meeting, essentially putting Chula Vista back in the playoffs.

“We’re basing our case on the idea that there can be no penalty without a crime, and there is no rule in the Metro League calling for such penalties,” said McGrath.

Using his best metaphor, McGrath argued that “if you’re going to throw a flag you’d better have a penalty.”

—The San Diego section board of managers, the final educational stop in Chula Vista’s appeal process, voted in favor of the league and CIF.

—Chula Vista’s last chance now rested with the court.

—Finally, on Nov. 18, Superior Court judge Jack R. Levitt heard four hours of testimony and, citing numerous issues, dissolved the temporary restraining order against the Metro League and CIF, thus ruling against the team and ending its season one day before the playoffs began.

PLAYOFF GREETING

El Camino players were surprised to see a chalked message in front of their bench when the team arrived at Vista for a quarterfinals playoff against Granite Hills:

“Good luck, E.C.  See you in San Diego Stadium.  Love, Vista.”

The Wildcats made it to the big stadium, but Vista was knocked out in the semifinals by Kearny, 33-16.

DOORS OPEN AGAIN

Mira Mesa and Serra made it five new schools in the last two years.  They joined 1975 newcomers Mt. Carmel, Valhalla, and Southwest.

Coach Brad Griffith’s Marauders defeated Don Wadsworth’s Conquistadors, 22-0, in the junior varsity “Super Bowl.”  Mira Mesa finished with a 9-0 record and Serra 7-2.

Griffith and Wadsworth each had been assistants under Slater, as had Birt’s successor at Kearny, Tom Barnett.

STARTUP FALSE STARTS

Equipment was an issue at the new schools.

Serra ordered 120 mouthpieces but none had arrived by time of the first practice.  El Camino did not receive its full complement of helmets.  Mira Mesa didn’t have belts for its practice pants.

There were no rest room facilities at Mira Mesa and Serra and helmets were a problem even after they arrived.

“We guessed on a few sizes,” said El Camino’s Herb Meyer.  “We guessed wrong on a few.”

Brad Griffith noted that “you might have a small player, but that doesn’t mean he has a small head.”

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

It wasn’t always El Camino High.

Bill Finley  of the Evening Tribune wrote in December, 1975, following conclusion of the football season, that Herb Meyer would be the football coach and athletic director on the “Oceanside East” campus the following spring, before the new school opened its doors.

Chuck Hall, Meyer’s longtime assistant, would become head coach at “Oceanside West” on the campus of the original Oceanside High.

Juniors would have their choice of which school to attend (many followed Meyer), wrote Finley.  Freshmen and sophomores would abide by the new school boundaries.

THEY SAID IT

“We’ll handle Morse like a JV team would a Pop Warner club.  We’re stopping Eddie Ford. We put out Henry and Morse is next.  They’ve never seen a defense like ours.” Kearny’s Ronnie Person, whose words backfired when Morse  scored a 12-7 victory over the Komets.

“This is our Alamo.”  Montgomery coach Jay Mack before the  Aztecs faced Chula Vista, which won Metropolitan League showdown, 28-16.

MAKES A POINT

On the field, Southwest’s first-year varsity was winless in nine games and did  not score a point while giving up 411.  But Chula Vista forfeited a 76-0 victory over the Raiders.  The game went into the books as a 1-0 Southwest victory.

THUNDER IN THE LAGUNAS

Fifteen seconds into the first game and Mountain Empire coach Bill Prince knew his team was special.

“We threw about a 70-yard touchdown pass to Ed Jones to get going and we’ve been going ever since,” said Prince.

A 28-6 victory over Christian in the 1-A championship game capped the Campo school’s first unbeaten season at 8-0, bettering the back-to-back, 7-2 campaigns of 1965 and ’66.

AND ANOTHER 15 YARDS

Santana coach Joe DiTomaso was penalized six times for unsportsmanlike conduct, at which point the game against Helix, with Santana trailing, 21-0, with three minutes remaining, was called by referee Pat Sweeney.

“I was yelling at my team  and I think he thought I was yelling at him,” said DiTomaso. “Then when we got the interference call, I called timeout, which is my right, to get an interpretation.  I sent my captain out to talk to him and he refused.”

The rule book, reported Steve Brand, revealed that Sweeney was not required to explain the foul because pass interference was a judgment call and not subject to “misapplication or misinterpretation.”

DiTomaso got into Sweeney’s face coming off field and claimed he was bumped. Observers said DiTomaso bumped Sweeney, a 25-year veteran flag thrower and president of the local association.

QUICK KICKS

El Camino’s Toussaint Tyler was headed to the University of Washington and then to the New Orleans Saints in the ninth round of the 1981 NFL draft…Tyler, who played two seasons in the NFL, was a first-team choice on the Parade Magazine All-America team, which was announced the week of the El Camino-Kearny final…Birt Slater wasn’t the only coach to step down…Shan Deniston resigned at San Diego and Garry Morgan quit at San Dieguito…after his team was penalized 190 yards in one game, Deniston said to Steve Brand of The San Diego Union, “We probably deserved a lot more, but I think they (game officials) felt sorry for us”…students chose “Marauders” as the school mascot for Mira Mesa…other considerations were Jaguars, Bobcats, Mavericks, and Sidewinders…Dokie Williams led El Camino to a state track title in Bakersfield in 1978, scoring in the 100-meter dash and winning the long and triple jumps…September heat was at its most intense…the temperature was 106 degrees when El Cajon Valley turned out for coach Jim Mann…the thermometer reached 103 at Morse…new CIF commissioner Kendall (Spider) Webb, who replaced the retiring Don Clarkson, planned to visit all 56 schools playing football and had been to 29 by the time practice started….