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….

Is Cathedral back?

The Dons, uncharacteristically uneven in 2022 despite their even 6-6 record, blasted Mater Dei, Cal-Hi Preps’ preseason state No. 34 and San Diego Section’s No. 3, 55-14, in the season opener and look for more success this week at Los Angeles West Hills Chaminade, a team coach Sean Doyle’s state Division I championship club clobbered, 50-17, in 2021.

Doyle, who annually opts for a challenging intersectional schedule that this year includes Phoenix Brophy Prep, Henderson Liberty of Nevada, and San Francisco St. Ignatius (Dan Fouts’ alma mater), plus Helix and the loaded rivalry teams of the Western League, rolled with quarterback Jack Stevens to knock out the state defending Division II-AA champion Crusaders.

Stevens completed 8 of 13 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 83 yards in seven carries for the San Diego Section preseason No. 7 Dons.

Doyle compared Stevens to Carlsbad’s heralded Julian Sayin and Stevens enthusiastically agreed. “I think Julian’s a helluva player,” the 6-foot, 1 inch senior said to Don Norcross of the Union-Tribune, “but I think I’m just as good.”

TRUE GRID

Six former NFL players are active head coaches:  Eric Weddle made his debut at Rancho Bernardo, losing to Poway, 14-6;  Bryan Wagner, in his fourth season at Hilltop, was a 27-21 winner at Valhalla;  Maranatha’s Rick Novak began his third season with a 42-7 loss to Temecula Linfield; David Dunn’s 13^th season at Lincoln started with a 41-0 victory at Honolulu Wai’anae; Shane Walton’s fourth season at The Bishop’s began with a 41-21 loss to La Jolla, and Nick Barnett is the first-year head coach at Del Norte and a 23-14 winner over Torrey Pines…

…Bonita Vista follows Lincoln in continuing San Diego’s Hawaii connection this week at Honolulu Kalani, 2-0 after wins of 20-9 over Waialua and 20-9 over William McKinley…the Barons’ 34-12 triumph over Castle Park was their first in the opening game since 2015…San Diego Section teams are 32-20 all time in visits to the islands…Sweetwater was the first, winning, 34-3, at Maui Wailuka Baldwin in 1984…Westview is 77-139-1 since its debut in 2003 but 15-4-1 in openers after a 34-14 decision against Olympian…

…Brandt Barker of El Capitan tied a school record of 7 touchdown passes and was 21×30 for 308 yards in the Vaqueros’ 47-18 blowout of Valley Center…Tanner Rust also threw for 7 TD’s in a 46-14 win over Santana in 2007…Julian Sayin of Carlsbad completed 24 of 34 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown as Carlsbad won a rematch at Inglewood, 30-6…Lincoln’s Akili Smith, Jr., son of the former Hornet and NFL No. 1 draft choice, was 9×17 for 167 yards and two touchdowns…La Jolla’s Jackson Diehl passed for 289 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 174 yards and three touchdowns  in the Vikings’ 41-19 win over The Bishop’s…

…Brawley apparently didn’t want to test expected dangerous, stormy weather over the Laguna Mountains and passed on the trip to Scripps Ranch… doubtful the game will be rescheduled….

Points awarded on  10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
El Camino (0-1, 18 points), El Capitan (1-0, 11), Poway (1-0, 10 points), Del Norte (1-0, 7), San Marcos (1-0, 5), Chula Vista (1-0, 1). Mira Mesa (0-1, 1).