How far has Cathedral fallen and how high has Helix risen?

The Dons are coming off two huge losses and Helix is undefeated.

They’ll meet this week at Helix and the Highlanders might smell blood in the water after Cathedral’s successive losses of 42-7 to Corona Centennial and 63-7 to Chandler, Arizona, in the 12th annual Honor Bowl.

Helix won an Honor Bowl game, 24-21, against Arizona’s Mesa Mountain View and is 3-0, moving up to No. 3 in the San Diego Section, 26 in Cal-High Sports and 30 in Max Preps.

Cathedral is No. 4 in San Diego, 16 in Cal-Hi Sports, and 21 in Max Preps.

Cautionary note to Helix:  Cathedral won last year’s game between the teams, 52-0.

San Diego Union-Tribune Sportswriters/Sportscasters Week 3 poll.

Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes. “Previous” indicates last week.  NR—Not ranked. Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Torrey Pines (1-2, 18 points), Del Norte (3-0 12), El Camino (2-1, 10), Rancho Buena Vista (3-0, 8), Granite Hills (2-1, 4), San Marcos (2-1, 4), El Centro Central (2-1, 3), Kearny (3-0, 2), University City (2-1, 2).

VOTING PANEL

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

TRUE GRID

Inglewood made a rare visit to these shores last week, setting down Carlsbad, 35-18…it was the Sentinels’ first visit here since they took a 28-0 loss to Monte Vista in 2010…Inglewood holds a 7-5 advantage over San Diego schools, dating to a 1933 victory in the Southern Section finals…the Sentinels upset heavily favored San Diego, 7-6, after losing to the Hilltoppers, 21-0 in the season opener….

The thermometer is expected to reach three digits in San Diego Friday, recalling a similar day and high school football 59 years ago.

On Thursday, Sept. 26, 1963, an all-time high of 111 degrees scorched the area. The next day the  high was 104.

I was in the Hoover stadium when the Cardinals and Helix, two of the best San Diego Section teams, kicked off at 8 p.m. on Sept. 27, 1963.

And it still was hot, 102 degrees.

“Cards Rally to Nose Out Helix, 14-13″ was the headline over my game story.

Hoover quarterback Rick Shaw drove his team 77 yards in five plays to the winning touchdown with 3:02 remaining in a duel with Helix signal caller Joe Lavage.

The message today is the same as then:  Stay hydrated, all.

Despite a 42-7 loss to state No. 3 Corona Centennial, in which it manufactured only 138 yards offense, Cathedral still is held in high esteem by  the computer services.

Max Preps ranks Cathedral  fifth and gives the Dons a 60.7 strength-of-schedule rating, highest among any team in California.  Anaheim Servite (60.4) and Norco (60.1) are closest.

Cathedral remained the No. 10 team in the Cal-Hi Sports poll and their 60.6 Cal Preps.com score was higher than the previous week’s.  Computer rankings generally are based on who you play and who your opponents play.

San Diego Union-Tribune Sportswriters/Sportscasters Week 2 poll.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes. “Previous” indicates last week.  NR—Not ranked. Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Torrey Pines (0-2, 8 points), El Centro Central (2-0, 6), Granite Hills (1-1, 2), St. Augustine (1-1, 2), Del Norte, 1), Mira Mesa (1).

VOTING PANEL

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

TRUE GRID
Cathedral goes back into the cauldron this week after the 42-7 loss to Corona Centennial…the Dons play Chandler, the No. 5-ranked team in Arizona, coached by former San Diego State footballer Rick Garretson, whose brother (Ron) and father (Darell) were referees in the NBA…Ron retired after 32 seasons  in 2019 and Darell, who worked 27 years, is in the NBA Hall of Fame…Rick was a wide receiver for the  Aztecs from 1975-78 and is 23-0 as the Wolves’ head coach through 2021, beginning with a 13-0 state championship season in 2019…a win this week at Montgomery and Troy Starr will become the 45^th San Diego County coach to win 100 games…Starr,  99-38-1 (.721),  is in his fifth season at Mount Miguel after eight at Helix…the Matadors have yet to be scored on with 42-0 and 22-0 wins over Sweetwater and Chula Vista…El Cajon Valley tied a school record in its 56-0 win over Hoover…the Braves defeated Orange Glen, 56-26, and Castle Park, 56-32, in back-to-back playoff games in 2005, during an 11-3 season led by  passing star Abraham Muheize…Army-Navy is 2-0 and hasn’t given up a point…the last time was in 1968, when the John Maffucci-coached Warriors opened with shutouts of 18-0 over La Jolla Country Day and 9-0 over San Miguel School…A-N head coach and athletic director Nehemiah Brunson may cut his son some slack this week when it comes to cleaning his dorm room or mowing the lawn and taking out the trash at home…Nehemiah, Jr., scored two touchdowns, one on a 91-yard run, in a 24-0 win over Clairemont….

Visiting Calexico was in a 7-7 tie in the fourth quarter in the season’s first game when the lights went out at the Blythe Palo Verde Valley stadium.

The final score was reported to Max Preps as a tie, a result increasingly uncommon as teams nowadays usually find a conclusion in overtime.  A few hours later Cal-Preps.com weighed in with a different result.

Which was correct?

Coaches and other officials apparently huddled in the darkness of the Yellowjackets’ facility and agreed to resume the game the following day, more than 100 miles away at Calexico.

Calexico won in overtime, 14-7, in a game reminiscent of a contest between Kearny and Point Loma more than 40 years earlier.  (Search: 1979: Eighteen Hours Later Komets Emerge as Winners).

Francis Parker’s Chris Williams set a San Diego Section record when he scored all 52 points in the Lancers’ 52-27 win over Pasadena Poly, according to   information provided to The San  Diego Union.

Williams did it all:  Six touchdown runs, 10, 23,25,27,27, and 45 yards.  A 62-yard pass interception for a touchdown.  Seven points after and a 28-yard field goal.

(According to Max Preps, Williams missed one point after and finished with 51 points.  Cal Preps.com went with the reported 52).

Fifty-one or 52, Williams still broke the record of 50 by three players, most recently Mac Bingham of Torrey Pines in 2018. Mountain Empire’s Chad Cox scored 50 in 1998 and Paul Delgado of St. Joseph 50 in 2008.

GREENE STILL KING

Williams ranks third all time in San Diego County.

Coronado’s Frank Greene scored 80 points in the Islanders’ 108-0 win over Sweetwater in 1929.    Greene scored 11 touchdowns and 14 points after and also still holds the California high school record.

San Diego’s John Hunter scored 57 points on seven touchdowns and 15 points after in a 130-7 win over Army-Navy in 1920.  Hunter played in an era when the team that scored also received the following kickoff.

DONS FACE ANOTHER BIG ONE

Cathedral’s  solid, 28-14 win over Mater Dei in the season opener last week verified the Don’s preseason No. 1 ranking in the San Diego Section and their clout among the state’s best clubs will receive a severe test this week.  Coach Sean Doyle’s squad takes on state No. 3 Corona Centennial at Cathedral.

The Dons won a wildly entertaining, 44-41 contest from the Huskies in 2019 but traveled north and took a 57-14 beating in 2021.

Doyle (222-96 in 26-plus seasons) does not flinch when it comes to scheduling powerful intersectional opponents.

His team also will face Chandler, Arizona, in the Honor Bowl at Cathedral in Week 3 and has a rematch at home versus Concord De La Salle in Week 5, plus a tough Western League lineup that includes state-ranked Lincoln and Madison,  and Helix and Steele Canyon from the Grossmont Hills loop.

San Diego Union-Tribune Sportswriters/Sportscasters poll.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes. “Previous” is ranking in 2021 final top 10.
NR—Not ranked.
Max Preps’ and Cal-Hi Sports’ are state rankings.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES 
Steele Canyon (1-0, 18 points), El Camino (1-0, 13), Brawley (1-0, 10), San Marcos (1-0, 3), Scripps Ranch (0-1, 3), Granite Hills (0-1, 2), El Centro Central (1-0, 2), Patrick Henry (0-0, 1).

VOTING PANEL

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

TRUE GRID

Foothills Christian, after moving up to Division V and going 3-6 in the 11-man game in 2021, has returned to the 8-man game and landed in the Ocean League…there now are three, eight-man leagues of 16 teams, Citrus, Ocean, and Surf…the first-year Surf includes Calvin Christian, Coastal Academy, The Rock, and Horizon Prep…Foothills Christian last week lost, 40-14, to the visiting Sultans of  Bagdad, Arizona, located at 3,400 feet elevation, 160 miles east of Lake Havasu City and 65 miles West of Prescott…visiting Carlsbad (2) and Mater Dei  (5) represent one of the feature games this week and each is on a roll…the Lancers, under Thadd MacNeal (76-45) are 26-3 since 2019…Mater Dei, guided by John Joyner (87-61 despite a 2-18 start in 2009-10) are 17-3 since ’20…Lincoln’s 56-0 victory at Sacramento Capital Christian, was mercifully called after three quarters…

John Maffei of The San Diego Union-Tribune and three other ranking services have offered their opinions on 2022 football in the San Diego Section.

Maffei canvassed coaches, noted the results of summer 7-on-7 passing competitions, and compared roster compositions, among other factors.  The U-T’s weekly poll will begin after this week’s opening round of games.

Cal-Hi Sports and Maffei agree that Cathedral is No. 1 in San Diego, although the Max Preps and Cal Preps.com computers are going with Mater Dei.

It won’t take long to see who is prescient.  Cathedral visits Mater Dei Saturday night in the season’s featured opener and ‘Dei plays Maffei’s No. 2 Carlsbad next week.

Others considered, with 2021 records in parenthesis:

Patrick Henry (10-3), Granite Hills (5-7), Ramona (9-4), Steele Canyon (3-8), Brawley (9-3), Eastlake (8-4), La Costa Canyon (5-6), El Camino (7-6), Christian (6-5), University City (8-5), Oceanside (4-7). La Jolla Country Day (9-3).

COACHING CHANGES

Fifteen jobs opened and closed, with two coaches changing addresses.  Syd Reed, 5-5 at Mar Vista in 2021, takes over for Charles James at San Diego.  Ron Gladnick (43-30-1) at Clairemont (2013) and Torrey Pines (2016-21) replaces Joe Kremer at St. Augustine.

Late additions:  Ben Jameson for Rali Schwartz at Rock; Andrew Serrano for Mario Gonzalez at Salton City West Shores.

LEAGUE CHANGES