Grossmont became the eighth different team since 1980 to win the San Diego Section 2-A championship.  Forgotten by many, the title also was the Foothillers’ first since they claimed a larger bauble.  They won the Southern Section major division crown, 5-0, over Compton in 1951.

The Foothillers also won a Southern Section minor division title in 1955.

Mt. Carmel had won four of the previous 10 championships in 3-A, but Mira Mesa, about 5 miles and a few traffic signals South on Black Mountain Road to Camino Ruiz,  challenged that domination.

The Marauders’ 8-1 defeat of Monte Vista in the finals would be followed by championships in 1991 and ’92.

Julian won its second 1-A title in three seasons, 5-2, over Midway Baptist, later known as Ocean View Christian.

Rather than have Julian or Midway travel 67 miles, the longest trip in San Diego County, the CIF sent the teams to marginally more geographically desirable Grossmont College, still a distance of 51 miles for the mountain-high Eagles.

UGLY SCENE

Winner Monte Vista and loser Patrick Henry gathered for the handshake ceremony following their playoff semifinal.

Suddenly a Patrick Henry player sucker punched a Monte Vista player, creating a black eye and bruising.

The ensuing brawl lasted about three minutes as both side engaged.

“It was brewing all game long,” a Monte Vista player told Pedro Gomez of The San Diego Union.  “You could tell something was going to happen the way they were talking (trash).”

“It takes the fun out of our victory,” said the Monarchs’ Steve Dolias.

“LITTLE KIDS”

Said Monte Vista coach Rob Phillips: “That was one of the most classless things I’ve ever seen.  Can’t you just play the game?”

Patriots coach Bob Imlay was furious with his team: “You guys have no idea what class is.  Some of you think you’re men but you’re nothing but immature little kids.”

Section rules stated that anyone involved in a fight would be ineligible for the next game, but CIF commissioner Kendall (Spider) Webb exonerated the Monarchs.

“From everything that I’ve gathered it doesn’t appear that they were the instigators,” said Webb.

 5/4/90

“They act like we made their season,” a Mt. Carmel player said of Poway players after the Titans had scored a come-from-behind, 10-9 victory over the visiting Sundevils, four-time Section champions in the 1980s.

“Not at all…we’d be acting the same way if we beat (bottom feeder) San Dieguito,” retorted Poway pitcher Dan Miller.

The loss was Mt. Carmel’s first in the Palomar League since 1988, leaving coach Sam Blaylock’s team with a 9-1 circuit record and 19-4 overall.

—Lincoln pounded out 28 hits to Hoover’s 13, and the Hornets won a 12-inning, Central League slugfest, 15-13.

5/11/90

Grossmont’s Todd Cady set a San Diego Section record for one season with 52 runs batted in.

Cady, who was 4 for 6, hit a grand slam home run and drove in eight runs in Grossmont’s 18-3 win over West Hills.

Jeff Meyers of Carlsbad drove in 47 runs in 1988.

5/14/90

DREADED ADMINISTRATIVE GLITCH

Hilltop, 18-7 competitively, tied for first at 9-3 with Montgomery and San Diego Southwest in the Metropolitan League and ranked fourth in the section, forfeited 18 wins.

Sergio Guzman, the Lancers’ leading hitter with a .455 batting average, was declared ineligible because a hardship waiver for Guzman was not filed by one of Hilltop’s bosses.

Guzman had transferred after playing for Morse in 1989. CIF rules require the waiver when a student changes districts without being accompanied by his parents or legal guardian.

Guzman was said to be living with friends in the Hilltop district.

GLITCH, MARK II

Another residential beef, but this time Hilltop avoided the glitch after a question of outfielder’s Mike Romero’s home address. “It checked out; he’s fine,” said Lancers athletic director Bob Dodds after Romero was cleared by the San Diego Section police.

5/15/90

University scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 7-6 victory over Mission Bay and clinched the Western League championship. The visiting Buccaneers won or tied for first in the last seven seasons.

The Dons had five base hits in the seventh, climaxed by David Sanchez’ game-winning single.

Win and Mission Bay would have tied for the title, which they shared with University in 1983.

5/18/90

Helix closed the regular season with its sixth straight win and clinched a first-place tie in the Grossmont 3-A League with El Capitan, the 4-3 loser to the Highlanders.

“I feel like this is a team that didn’t believe in itself for a long time,” Highlanders coach Jerry Schniepp told Helix alum and The San Diego Union writer Kirk Kenney.  “But they believe in themselves now.  They’re playing like they know they’re going to win.”

–Poway’s Dan Miller allowed two hits and struck out 12 in a 4-0 win at Rancho Buena Vista.

“All we knew coming back on the bus is that we were at least tied for the title,” said Titans coach Rudy Casciato.

“But when the bus pulled into the parking lot a group of parents were holding a five-foot long sign that said, ‘MC lost.’  The kids went wild.”

Vista had beaten Mt. Carmel, 6-3, knocking out the Sundevils.

—Mauricio Martinez was 4 for 4 at the plate and Montgomery backed Martinez’ pitching with 11 runs in the fifth inning of a 14-5 win over San Diego Southwest.

The Aztecs gained the Metro League’s No. 1 playoff seed over the Raiders after the teams tied with 11-3 records.

REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS

EASTERN LEAGUE

                   League                                                                                                                  Overall

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Patrick Henry	8	4	.667	—	14	11	.560
Point Loma	8	4	.667	—	14	12	.538
Mira Mesa	7	5	.583	1	18	8	.692
Serra	5	6	.455	3	11	17	.393
Morse	1	10	.091	7	6	18	.250

CENTRAL LEAGUE

                       League                           Overall

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
San Diego	9	3	.750	—	17	7	.708
Crawford	9	3	.750	—	18	7	.720
Madison	8	4	.667	1	14	9	.609
Hoover	2	10	.167	7	10	17	.370
Lincoln	2	10	.167	7	7	16	.304

WESTERN LEAGUE

                          League                                Overall

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
University	11	1	.917	—	24	5	.828
Mission Bay	9	3	.750	2	15	10	.600
La Jolla	5	7	.417	6	13	12	.520
Kearny	4	8	.333	7	11	15	.423
University City	1	11	.091	10	6	18	.250

HARBOR LEAGUE

                          League                                Overall

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
St. Augustine	9	3	.750	—	17	11	.607
Coronado	8	4	.667	1	17	8	.680
Clairemont	8	4	.667	1	16	12	.571
Marian	3	9	.250	6	7	19	.269
Christian	2	10	.167	7	5	19	.208

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE

                          League                                Overall

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Montgomery	11	3	.786	—	20	8	.714
Southwest	11	3	.786	—	14	13	.519
Castle Park	10	4	.713	1	19	10	.655
Sweetwater	8	6	.571	3	20	8	.714
Bonita Vista	7	7	500	4	12	13	.480
Chula Vista	5	9	.357	6	10	15	.400
Hilltop	2	12	.167	9	2	24	.077
Mar Vista	2	12	.167	9	5	23	.179

AVOCADO LEAGUE

                          League                               Overall

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
San Pasqual	10	2	.833	—	14	9	.609
Escondido	8	4	.667	2	20	8	.714
Oceanside	8	4	.667	2	15	10	.600
San Marcos	7	5	.583	3	14	11	.560
El Camino	6	6	.500	4	12	12	.500
Ramona	2	10	.167	8	6	17	.261
Carlsbad	1	11	.083	9	9	19	.321

GROSSMONT 3-A

                             League                             Overall

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST/TIE	Pct.
Helix	6	2	.750	—	18	8-1	.685
El Capitan	6	2	.750	—	18	10	.643
Granite Hills	4	4	.500	2	18	9	.667
Monte Vista	3	5	.375	3	17	11	.607
Mount Miguel	1	7	.125	5	5	22	.185

GROSSMONT 2-A

                              League                            Overall

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST/TIE	Pct.
Grossmont	8	0	1.000	—	25	2	.926
Santana	6	2	.750	2	20	6	.769
Valhalla	4	4	.500	4	14	13-1	.500
El Cajon Valley	2	6	.250	7	16	16	.304
West Hills	0	8	.000	8	3	22	.120

PALOMAR

                               League*                           Overall

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Poway	11	3	.786	—	19	6-1	.750
Rancho Buena Vista	10	4	.714	1	15	11-1	.574
Mt. Carmel	10	4	.714	1	20	7	.741
Orange Glen	7	7	.500	4	16	12	.571
Vista	6	7	.462	5	12	14	.462
Fallbrook	5	9	.357	6	10	14	.517
San Dieguito	3	10	.231	8	4	23	.148
Torrey Pines	2	12	.167	9	12	16	.429

*Incomplete.

PLAYOFFS

3-A

FIRST ROUND

16, San Diego Southwest (14-14) 2, @1 Poway 3.

Dan Miller (13-1), the County’s top-ranked pitcher, came on in relief in the fifth inning, shut down the Raiders, and the Titans scored the winning run in the last of the seventh.

15 Mira Mesa 6, @2 Helix (18-9-1) 3.

The Marauders, losers of six of their last eight games, dealt Helix righthander Eric Nicholson (11-1) his first defeat.

“These guys were insulted,” Marauders coach Mike Prosser said of the seeding meeting days before.  “Teams we beat all year long were seeded ahead of us.  They asked, ‘Does that mean we’re no good?’”

Point Loma (15-12) 1, @3 Montgomery 2.

Castle Park (19-11) 2, @4 Patrick Henry 6.

Granite Hills (18-10-1) 2, @Mt. Carmel 3.

Sweetwater (20-9) 4, @Rancho Buena Vista 5.

9 Monte Vista 1, @8 Hilltop (2-25) 0.

The Monarchs’ Robbie Stone allowed two hits and Hilltop’s Jose Silva gave up three.

Orange Glen 4, @El Capitan (18-11) 3.

QUARTERFINALS

Monte Vista 7, @Poway (20-7-1), 5.

The Monarchs scored all their runs in a four-run sixth inning and three-run seventh.

Mt. Carmel 4, Montgomery (21-9) 3.

John Moon’s fly ball, about 15 feet foul, was caught by the left fielder and became a sacrifice out for Mt. Carmel’s winning run.

Orange Glen (17-13) 2, @Patrick Henry 10.

Mira Mesa 5, @Rancho Buena Vista (16-12-1) 0.

Marc Nielsen homered, tripled, and pitched Mira Mesa’s shutout.

SEMIFINALS
Monte Vista 9, Patrick Henry (16-12) 7, @University of San Diego.

Mira Mesa 5, Mt. Carmel (22-8) 0, @USD.

“Everyone thinks that (Coach) Sam Blalock is a god and Mt. Carmel can’t be beat,” said Marauders coach Mike Prosser.  “We want to prove once and for call that Mira Mesa is a good baseball school.”

CHAMPIONSHIP

Mira Mesa (22-8) 8, Monte Vista (20-12) 1, @USD.

“The perseverance, sticking with it, the never-say-die…it paid off,” said coach Mike Prosser.  “I’m happy for these kids.  They deserve it.”

Mira Mesa was 13-0 at the start of the season, lost 7 of its last 12 and six of its last eight.  The Marauders were relegated to a 15 seed in the post-season pairings.

Mira Mesa struck eight consecutive base hits, including seven straight singles in a seven-run second inning.

Starting pitcher Marc Nielsen and relievers Brendon Hause, and Mike Bovee combined to hold the Monarchs to six hits.

The victory was the fourth straight in the postseason, which followed a victory in the Marauders’ last regular season game.

2-A

16 La Jolla (13-14) 2, @1 Grossmont 11.

Todd Cady, Danny Lennon, and John Tatum each homered for the Foothillers.

 15 Clairemont 6, @2 University (23-6) 5.
Chieftains pitcher Oscar Sanchez (11-6) survived a four-run sixth inning and was backed by three hits from David Salonius and Jesus Jauregui.

Madison (16-11) 1, @Oceanside 3 (8 innings).

Escondido 2, @3 Crawford (17-8) 1.

Coronado 6, @5 Santana (20-7) 5.

Mission Bay 11, 5 St. Augustine (17-12) 6 (10 innings) @Hickman Field.

The Buccaneers scored five runs in the top of the 10^th inning.

Valhalla (14-14-1) 0, @4 San Pasqual 1.

San Marcos (14-12) 5, @3 San Diego 8.

QUARTERFINALS

Escondido (21-9) 3, @Grossmont 5.

Todd Cady’s hit his 10^th home run and drove in his 60^th run, but the Foothillers advanced after Scott Brennan’s two-run single in the sixth inning.

Mission Bay (16-11) 7, @San Pasqual 9.

Dave Vejtasa and Eric Marsh hit home runs and the Golden Eagles outlasted a 4-for-4 day by the Bucs’ Marlon Gardinera.

Coronado (18-9) 4, @San Diego 5.

Pitcher Josh Stepner earned a save but also homered, doubled, scored two runs and drove in three.

Clairemont 7, @Oceanside (21-10-1) 6.

Angel Torres’ two home runs weren’t enough for the Pirates.

SEMIFINALS

Grossmont 5, San Pasqual (15-11-1) 2, @Grossmont College.

San Diego 9, Clairemont (17-14), 2, @Grossmont College.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Grossmont (29-2) 5, San Diego (20-8) 2, @University of San Diego.

Mike Spears, Dan Lennon, and John Tatum combined to limit the Cavers to three hits.

“Mike had good stuff but I don’t think he was overpowering,” Grossmont coach Jeff Meredith said of his starting pitcher, to writer Jim Trotter. “And when you have a guy who is 10-1 (Lennon) and a guy with 12 saves (Tatum), why take a chance?”

Spears, who finished the season with a 7-0 record, gave up two hits and no runs before he was derricked after four innings.

1-A

QUARTERFINALS

La Jolla Country Day (8-15-1) 5, @1 Midway Baptist 8.

The Bishop’s 1, @4 Holtville 5.

Mountain Empire (11-9-1) 6, @ 3 Imperial 10.

Borrego Springs 5, @2 Julian 12.

SEMIFINALS

Julian 7, Imperial (12-7-3) 0, @Ramona

The Eagles’ Travis Denmark struck out 10 and hit a 400-foot home run.

Midway Baptist 8, Holtville 4, @Mar Vista

CHAMPIONSHIP

2 Julian (20-6) 5, Midway Baptist (20-4) 2, @Grossmont College.

Travis Denmark, who led the County during the regular season with 13 home runs (Christian’s Tony Clark, who would hit 251 in the major leagues, was second with Grossmont’s John Tatum, each with 10) retired 16 of the last 18 batters and struck out nine.

Denmark went to what the Union’s Ed Graney described as a “biting curveball” after giving up two, run-scoring singles in the second inning.

The week’s schedule is loaded with potential benchmark league openers as 11 of the 18 San Diego Section loops begin play. Key games:

AVOCADO

Carlsbad (5-0), @Mission Hills (4-1).

Mission Hills leads, 4-3, since 2011 in games matching two of the section’s most successful coaches, the Grizzlies’ Chris Hauser and Carlsbad’s Thadd MacNeal…Hauser is in his 23^rd season, 193-83-2 (.696) overall and 155-67-2 since starting the Grizzlies’ program in 2004 after four seasons at alma-mater Vista…MacNeal is in his 17^th season, 132-66 (.667) overall and 91-47 since moving to Carlsbad in 2011…was head coach at Lakewood of Southern Section’s Long Beach-area Moore League from ’06-‘10 with 41-19 record…Lancers have won last three meetings…they’re led by quarterback Julian Sayin and rank second to Lincoln in Union-Tribune poll, averaging 47 points a game.…

CENTRAL

Kearny (4-1), @Hoover (3-2).

Winner likely would have only Clairemont (3-3) in way of league championship since San Diego (0-5) and Canyon Hills (0-6) figuratively are out to lunch…Hoover has not had winning season since Jerry Ralph coached 10-3 club to D-III championship game in 2014…Will Gray is 10-19 since ‘20 with Cardinals but has local knowledge, having coached Kearny to 34-25 record from ’15-19…Jeremy Stump is 12-16 as Gray’s successor….

COASTAL

La Jolla Country Day (5-1), @The Bishop’s (2-3).

Tyler Hales is 66-43 since replacing Jeff Hutzler in 2014 but Torreys are 0-8 against The Bishop’s, including 37-21 loss to Knights when Torreys were DV-A state finalist in ’16…’Day’s only loss is 48-26 in opener to Chula Vista…it shut down undefeated Army-Navy, 35-6, last week…The Bishop’s, 21-10 under Shane Walton, in his fourth season, seem to be finding stride, winner of last two, 24-13 over Mount Miguel, 35-0 over Classical….

EASTERN

Christian (4-2), @Point Loma (3-3).

The Pointers had been around for 90 years (1926) before they became acquainted with Christian, which opened in 1971…the teams have split four games since the first in 2016 and are aligned as Eastern League brethren after the Pointers  jumped from the City loop…Point Loma coach Joel Allen retired in 2019 after posting a 100-35-1 (.739) record in 11 seasons at La Jolla Country Day…Allen quickly unretired when Mike Hastings retired at Point Loma and the Pointers are 17-12 with Allen since ’20…Christian is 10-7 under Patrick Bugg since ’22….

John Maffei’s Week 7 Union-Tribune Poll:
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes.
NR–Not ranked.
Last entries in columns are previous rankings.
Max Preps‘ and Cal-Hi  OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Del Norte (4-1, 24 points),  St. Augustine (3-3, 12), Brawley (5-0, 11), La Jolla Country Day (5-1, 4), West Hills (4-1, 4), Torrey Pines (3-2, 3), Christian (4-2, 2), Mount Miguel (5-1, 1), Imperial (5-1, 1), Mission Bay (5-1, 1).

29 sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from San Diego County, plus Max Preps.com.

• John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
• Don Norcross, Steve Brand, Rick Hoff, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez , Freelance contributors.
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll (KUSI, Channel 51).
• Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
• Adam Paul (EastCountySports.com).
• Bodie DeSilva (ScorebookLive.com). 
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
• Steve (Biff) Dolan (Mountain Country 107.9-FM). 
• Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
• Troy Hirsch, Nic Pollino (Fox 5 San Diego). 
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (CIF San Diego Section).
• Mike Dolan, Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee).
• Joe Evangelist (San Diego Coaching Legends Committee).
• Will Torrez (Valley Sports Network).
• Tom Ronco  (Imperial Valley Press).
• Raymond Brown  (SDfootball.net).
• Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference Advisor).
• Max Preps.

TRUE GRID

Brawley, which couldn’t travel over the mountains during the big storm in the season’s first week, has rescheduled its game at Scripps Ranch this week…El Camino evened its classic North County rivalry with neighboring Oceanside at 25 wins each with a bragging rights, 49-8 win over the Pirates…schools are located four miles apart…with Army-Navy losing to La Jolla Country Day, five teams remain undefeated:  Brawley and the Section’s  D-I big 4, Lincoln, Carlsbad, Granite Hills, and Helix….

 

The Army and Navy Academy, which has graduated future officers and gentlemen since 1910, won its fourth straight game last week, 55-0, over Francis Parker in the Coastal League opener and has not allowed a point this season, rampaging to consecutive blowouts of at least 40 points.

But it will be a huge underdog this week against an old nemesis, if previous scores mean anything.

La Jolla Country Day, 4-1, has won eight in a row from the Warriors since 2009 by  combined scores of 373-53.  It was 47-10 in their last meeting in 2021, which followed knockouts of 60-3 in ’19 and 61-0 in ’16.

A win over ‘Day would make the cadets 5-0 for the first time since 2012 and for only the fifth time in academy history, others in the seasons of 1920, ‘87, and ’90.

Army-Navy, 9-2 in 2022, joined the more competitive Coastal loop this season after a year in the Sunset League and from 2007-21 in the Pacific.

FATHER AND SON

Coach and athletic director Nehemiah Brunson took over the program in 2015 and was 18-36 through ‘20 but 19-7 in the last two-plus seasons, helped in part by his son, Nehemiah, Jr., who has scored six touchdowns and intercepted three passes this year.

Landon Schrom has scored five touchdowns and Tonton Drobny four.  Xavier Leatherman is averaging more than eight tackles a game, according to Max Preps, which  ranks the Warriors 39^th in the San Diego Section and 406^th in the state.  La Jolla Country Day is 26^th and 271^st.

John Maffei’s Week 6 Union-Tribune Poll:
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes.
NR–Not ranked.
Last entries in columns are previous rankings.
Max Preps‘ and Cal-Hi  OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Del Norte (4-1, 8 points),  Army-Navy (4-0, 4), Oceanside (3-2, 3), La Jolla Country Day (4-1, 2), Chula Vista (4-1, 1).

VOTING PANEL

29 sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from San Diego County, plus Max Preps.com.

• John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
• Don Norcross, Steve Brand, Rick Hoff, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez , Freelance contributors.
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll (KUSI, Channel 51).
• Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
• Adam Paul (EastCountySports.com).
• Bodie DeSilva (ScorebookLive.com). 
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
• Steve (Biff) Dolan (Mountain Country 107.9-FM). 
• Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
• Troy Hirsch, Nic Pollino (Fox 5 San Diego). 
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (CIF San Diego Section).
• Mike Dolan, Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee).
• Joe Evangelist (San Diego Coaching Legends Committee).
• Will Torrez (Valley Sports Network).
• Tom Ronco  (Imperial Valley Press).
• Raymond Brown  (SDfootball.net).
• Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference Advisor).
• Max Preps.

Carlsbad cut into Lincoln’s first place lead in the Union-Tribune poll for a second straight week and had 13 No. 1 votes to the Hornets’ 17.

Lincoln had 19 first-place votes two weeks ago but lost ground again despite a 54-19 win over declining state Division II-AA champion Mater Dei, while Carlsbad crowned Queen Creek Castille, the number 8 team in Arizona from the traditionally tough Phoenix-Mesa area, 49-9.

Helix, rapidly ascending, stayed fourth in the San Diego voting but has climbed to 19 in the human eyes of non-computer Cal-Hi Sports.

Lincoln gets another Southern Section test at home  week against usually tough San Bernardino Cajon (3-0).  Carlsbad is a big favorite over Ramona

Helix seeks its fifth win in a row at Cathedral, 1-3 and coming off a 35-28 loss to San Francisco St. Ignatius in the Bay Area.  A better idea could result in how far Helix has come and how far Cathedral has fallen.

John Maffei’s Week 5 Union-Tribune Poll:

Points awarded on  10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes.
NR–Not ranked. Last entries in columns are previous rankings.
Max Preps‘ and Cal-Hi  OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Mount Miguel (4-0, 16 points), San Marcos (3-1, 7), El Capitan (3-1, 5), Del Norte (3-1, 3), Mission Bay (4-0, 2), Oceanside (2-2, 2), Poway (3-1, 2), Ramona (2-1, 1).

VOTING PANEL

29 sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from San Diego County, plus Max Preps.com.

• John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
• Don Norcross, Steve Brand, Rick Hoff, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez , Freelance contributors.
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll (KUSI, Channel 51).
• Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
• Adam Paul (EastCountySports.com).
• Bodie DeSilva (ScorebookLive.com). 
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
• Steve (Biff) Dolan (Mountain Country 107.9-FM). 
• Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
• Troy Hirsch, Nic Pollino (Fox 5 San Diego). 
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (CIF San Diego Section).
• Mike Dolan, Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee).
• Joe Evangelist (San Diego Coaching Legends Committee).
• Will Torrez (Valley Sports Network).
• Tom Ronco  (Imperial Valley Press).
• Raymond Brown  (SDfootball.net).
• Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference Advisor).
• Max Preps.

A month ago, before the games, Lincoln and Carlsbad were the likely candidates for a destination game in the Open Division playoffs, well into November.

The Hornets and Lancers have not disappointed, 6-0 combined with impressive wins against intersectional rivals.

It’s too early to rule out other contenders, but Cathedral, after an early rout of Mater Dei, has lost two intersectionals; Madison dropped  a 22-20 decision to El Dorado Oak Ridge from the Sacramento-area Sierra Foothills league, arguably the strongest in Northern California, and Mission Hills has lost to heralded Granite Hills, which struggled before pulling out a 24-21 victory over St. Augustine.

Then there is Helix, which opened the season ranked a telescopic-distance 88th in the state by Max Preps, had a low CalPreps index (13.7) ,wasn’t noticed by Cal-Hi Sports, and was No.8 in the Union-Tribune poll. The Highlanders are 3-0 after wins of 38-34 over Huntington Beach Edison, 45-21 over St. Francis of Mountain View, and 30-21 over Red Mountain of Mesa, Arizona.

Coach Damaja Jones’ Scots get another big test this week at No. 4 Madison.

EAGLES FINALLY TAKE FLIGHT

Granite Hills, 82-38 since 2013 under coach Kellen Cobbs, who weathered a 1-9 inaugural, 2012 campaign and are defending state Division II-AA champions, had to score a very late touchdown after leading, 17-7, and then survived a missed field goal in the last seconds to edge up-and-coming St. Augustine last week.

Ron Gladnick, 5-7 in 2014 at Clairemont, and 38-22 from 2016-’21 at Torrey Pines, was hired by St. Augustine last season after the Saints had fallen to 2-9 in ’21 and made a coaching change.  Gladnick is from Long Island, N.Y., and attended Hillsborough College in Michigan.

A group of us were having lunch at Pete’s, on 30th Street and Upas, during the preseason.  Gladnick came in and picked up an order of takeout lunches for all his coaches.  Gladnick’s coaching stipend reportedly goes to his assistants.

John Maffei’s Week 4 Union-Tribune Poll:

Points awarded on  10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes.
NR–Not ranked. Last entries in columns are previous rankings.
Max Preps‘ and Cal-Hi  OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
San Marcos (3-0, 27 points), El Capitan (3-0, 16), Ramona (2-0, 7), Mater Dei (0-2, 4), Mount Miguel (3-0, 3).

VOTING PANEL

29 sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from San Diego County, plus Max Preps.com.

• John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
• Don Norcross, Steve Brand, Rick Hoff, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez , Freelance contributors.
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll (KUSI, Channel 51).
• Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
• Adam Paul (EastCountySports.com).
• Bodie DeSilva (ScorebookLive.com). 
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
• Steve (Biff) Dolan (Mountain Country 107.9-FM). 
• Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
• Troy Hirsch, Nic Pollino (Fox 5 San Diego). 
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (CIF San Diego Section).
• Mike Dolan, Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee).
• Joe Evangelist (San Diego Coaching Legends Committee).
• Will Torrez (Valley Sports Network).
• Tom Ronco  (Imperial Valley Press).
• Raymond Brown  (SDfootball.net).
• Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference Advisor).
• Max Preps.

IT’S IN THE GENES

Stephen Michael Cota, Jr.,  is St. Augustine’s deep snapper on punts, plays on special teams and is a safety on defense, contributing to the legacy of a remarkable athletic family.

Stephen’s grandfather, Ron Cota, was a first team all-San Diego Section center and linebacker for St. Augustine in 1961 and Stephen’s  father was a second team all-section linebacker on Benny Edens’ 13-0 Point Loma team in 1987.

THERE ARE MORE

Uncle Bob Cota played for coach Robert (Bull) Trometter at University in 1969 and cousin Adrian Bueno was a free safety for Point Loma a decade ago. Uncle Charlie Cota set a record of 12 feet and tied for first in the Southern Section Class B  pole vault finals for Kearny in 1953.  Uncle Paul Cota ran the 880 and mile at St. Augustine in 1958 and uncle Richard Cota was the Eastern League champion in the in the mile with a best time of 4:26.8 in 1964.

The Cota brothers and many of their relatives also attended St. Charles Borromeo parochial school.  Paul, Richard, and Ron helped their civil engineer father Paul Cota design and install a track and field oval at St. Augustine in the early ‘sixties.

 

 

After a 45-21 win at Mountain View St. Francis of the Central Coast Section the question this week is Helix back? The question last week was whether Cathedral was back.  Not quite, after a 40-30 loss at L.A. Mission Hills Chaminade.

The Honor Bowl, a Sean Doyle favorite, will provide another opportunity for Doyle’s Dons this week against Phoenix Brophy Prep, Arizona’s No. 18-ranked team.

Helix also is on the Honor Bowl schedule. The Highlanders take on the Mesa Red Mountain Mountain Lions, Arizona’s No. 15.

Helix which has won 16 Grossmont South or Hills titles and tied for another since 2000, was second to Granite Hills in the Grossmont Hills loop last season. After a 2-4-1 in the pandemic 2020, it was 9-4 (outscoring opponents only 343-337) in 2021, and 7-4 in 2022. Not bad, but not quite up to Highlanders standards.

The Scots will face Madison and Cathedral after the honor bowl and then open Grossmont Hills play against league newcomer West Hills, which moved over from the Grossmont Valley.

Points awarded on  10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes.  NR–Not ranked. Last entries in columns are previous rankings.                                                                             OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
San Marcos (2-0, 23 points), El Capitan (2-0, 10), Mater Dei (0-2, 7), Ramona (1-0, 2), La Jolla (2-0, 1), Mount Miguel (1-0, 1).

VOTING PANEL

29 sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from San Diego County, plus Max Preps.com.

• John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
• Don Norcross, Steve Brand, Rick Hoff, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez , Freelance contributors.
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll (KUSI, Channel 51).
• Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
• Adam Paul (EastCountySports.com).
• Bodie DeSilva (ScorebookLive.com). 
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
• Steve (Biff) Dolan (Mountain Country 107.9-FM). 
• Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
• Troy Hirsch, Nic Pollino (Fox 5 San Diego). 
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (CIF San Diego Section).
• Mike Dolan, Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee).
• Joe Evangelist (San Diego Coaching Legends Committee).
• Will Torrez (Valley Sports Network).
• Tom Ronco  (Imperial Valley Press).
• Raymond Brown  (SDfootball.net).
• Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference Advisor).
• Max Preps.

ROSSOVICH REMEMBERED

Helix’ win in the Bay Area last week was against the frequent No. 2 team in the Central Coast, behind San Mateo Serra.

Ten Mountain View graduates have made NFL teams since the school opened in 1955, led by Tim Rossovich, an all-America linebacker at USC and 1968 No. 1 draft choice of the Philadelphia Eagles. “Rosso” played for the San Diego Chargers in 1972.

Rossovich had a post-football career in television and movies after he gained dubious fame for being known along the way to chew glass, eat spiders, or dive into a whirlpool tub naked, among other pranks.

Through a secure trick Rossovich also once set himself on fire, noting only that his moustache was singed.

TRUE GRID

St. Augustine’s Brady Palmer has interesting lineage…his uncle is former NFL  quarterback great Carson Palmer…Brady completed 13×16 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns in the Saints’ 31-7 win over Poway…Army-Navy was 17-35 from 2015-’19 and is 18-8 since ’20…Carlsbad is 44-9 since 2018…win this week and San Diego Southwest will be 3-0 for the first time since 1991, when Cal Parrick’s Raiders enjoyed a 9-2 season, best in the school’s 48-season history….Top 10 biggie this week, 8 St. Augustine versus 3 Granite Hills at Mesa College…Helix’ opponent in the Honor Bowl, Mesa Red Mountain, is 1-0 and opened with a 41-7 win over Mesa…Brophy Prep, Cathedral’s Honor Bowl opponent, is 0-1 following a 35-34 defeat to Gilbert Williams Fields…Madison fills out the Honor Bowl  against El Dorado Hills Oak Ridge of the Sac-Joaquin Section…Oak Ridge is 2-0 after a 55-0 win over Spanish Springs of Sparks, Nevada, and 21-18 against Sacramento Grant…Section No. 1 Lincoln will be in Ventura to take on Cal-Hi‘s 39th-ranked St. Bonaventure in a rematch of the Hornets’ 27-24 win at Lincoln last season….