2022 Week 11A: As Regular Season Ends, Playoffs Begin

Ten things, among many, to remember about the 63rd San Diego Section regular season:

–Nineteen teams won or tied for 18, eleven-man league championships.  Fallbrook and San Pasqual deadocked for first in the Valley.

–Carlsbad ruled the Avocado League for the fourth consecutive year.

–Chula Vista won an outright championship for the first time since 2003.

–Poway is undefeated and untied (in a post-pandemic, full season) for the first time since 2007.

–Granite Hills won the Grossmont Hills and defeated Helix for the 13th time in 59  games, and did it in four overtimes, a first in San Diego Section history.

–Blythe Palo Verde Valley’s 9-1 is its best since the 10-0 of 2004.

–Crawford’s 9-1 is its best since 2013.

–Oceanside (0-10) was winless for the third time in the school’s 97 seasons, matched by the 1941 (0-7) and 1927 (0-7-1) squads.

–Grossmont (0-10) was winless for the fourth time in the school’s 103 seasons, rivaled  by the 1953 (0-8), 1944 (0-5-2), and 1920 (0-4) teams.

–Army-Navy’s 13 points allowed the best since the 1976 (59 points) and 1940 (36) squads, which played eight-game seasons.

LEAGUE TEAM RECORD OVERALL COACH
Avocado Carlsbad 6-0 9-1 Thadd MacNeal
Central Crawford 4-0 9-1 Matt Marquez
City University City 4-0 8-2 Paul Lawrence
Coastal The Bishop’s 3-0 8-2 Shane Walton
Desert Blythe Palo Verde Valley 3-0 9-1 Wally Grant
Eastern Christian 4-0 6-4 Patrick Bugg
Grossmont Hills Granite Hills 3-0 8-2 Kellan Cobbs
Grossmont Valley El Capitan 6-0 8-2 Ron Burner
Imperial Valley El Centro Central 4-0 6-3 David Pena
Metro Mesa Mater Dei 3-0 6-4 John Joyner
Metro Pacific Chula Vista 4-0 6-4 Howard Bannister
Metro South Bay Montgomery 3-0 8-2 Freddie Dunkle
Pacific Escondido Charter 3-0 8-2 Jon Goodman
Palomar Poway 5-0 10-0 Kyle Williams
Sunset Army-Navy 3-0 9-1 Nehemiah Brunson
Valley* San Pasqual 4-1 7-3 Tony Corley
Fallbrook 4-1 7-3 Ross Johnson
Western Lincoln 4-0 9-1 David Dunn

*San Pasqual defeated Fallbrook, 14-6, in head-to-head matchup. San Pasqual lost to Valley Center, 19-7. Fallbrook defeated Valley Center, 42-20.

EIGHT-MAN

LEAGUE TEAM RECORD OVERALL COACH
Manzanita San Pasqual Academy 3-0 5-2 Mark Dederian
Ocean Victory Christian 4-0 9-0 Earl Benson
Surf Rock 3-0 8-1 Ben Jameson


2022 Week 11 B: Overtime, How it Began; Lincoln Regular-Season Champion

Granite Hills’ epic, four-overtime, 46-44 win over Helix for the Grossmont Hills championship represented the longest game in San Diego County history, although the first overtime contest also was long, for another reason.

From the 1976 season narrative:

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 tie:

“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 time was running out and El Camino close to what would be an eighth and tie-breaking first down.”

Brand did make his deadline for the game story and overtime, after some refinements, became an exciting part of the landscape.

HORNETS WIN POLL, BUT…

Lincoln finished first (see below) but there will be a final, final poll at the end of the playoffs.  The Hornets won the head-to-head with Madison, 24-12,  and moved into first place for the first time. The Hornets will have to beat the Warhawks again, in a Open Division game between No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the playoffs’ second round.

Pairings are available elsewhere on the site.  Follow the drop-downs in the “Football” menu to “Scores” or “Teams”.

The San Diego Union-Tribune Week 11 Top 10:

First-place votes in parenthesis.  NR—Not ranked.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes.
Last entries in columns indicate previous rank. **Ranking unchanged.
Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings.
RANK TEAM/RECORD POINTS MAX PREPS.COM CAL-PREPS.COM CAL-HI SPORTS
1 Lincoln (9-1) 22*/292/2 17/24 51.1/48.5 15/17
2 Carlsbad (9-1) 8*/271/3 20/18 50/51.8 18/19
3 Madison (9-1) 239/12 30/29 45.2/46.9
 29/18
4 Poway (10-0) 216/4 46/45 39.8/39 43/On the bubble
5 Granite Hills (8-2) 156/7 56/65 37.4/35.5
 **On the bubble
6 Cathedral (5-5) 151/6 51/47 39/40.2 35/35
7 Helix (7-3) 105/5 79/58 33.9/37 NR/NR
8 Mater Dei (6-4) 89/8 82/80 32.7/32.1 **On the bubble
9 Mission Hills (7-3) 81/9 59/63 37.2/35.8 On the bubble
10 El Camino (7-3) 38/10 76/76 34.3/36.4 NR/NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Mira Mesa (7-3, 3 points), La Costa Canyon (6-4, 2) University City (7-2, 1), El Capitan (7-2,  1).

  • 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 Committee.
  • Will Torrez, Valley Sports Network.
  • Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net.
  • Tom Helmantoler, Southern Conference Advisor.
  • MaxPreps.

TRUE GRID

Granite Hills’  victory over Helix  marked the 81st overtime since the first in 1976…the breakdown:  four overtimes (1), three  (4), two (18), one (58)…Sixty-four of 98 football-playing teams made the playoffs, 65.3 per cent…we’ve gotten used to teams with awful won-loss percentages getting in…this year’s champ, Westview, 1-9.

 



2022 Week 10: Many League Races Too Early to Call

Five league championships have been decided in the San Diego Section and 14 more will be settled this week or end with ties. No. 1 Madison is at No. 2 Lincoln for the Western League flag and No. 7 Granite Hills is at No. 5 Helix for Grossmont Hills honors in featured jousts.

Carlsbad (Avocado), University City (City), Blythe Palo Verde Valley (Desert), Christian (Eastern), and El Capitan (Grossmont Valley)  are in the house or about to knock down the front door.

The weekly poll below will be on hiatus after this week’s final round of regular season games.  Poll honcho John Maffei will ask voters to cast choices one more time after the postseason championships and the following Southern California and state playoffs.

The San Diego Union-Tribune Week 10 Top 10:

First-place votes in parenthesis.  NR—Not ranked.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes.
Last entries in columns indicate previous rank. **Ranking unchanged.
Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings.
RANK TEAM/RECORD POINTS MAX PREPS.COM CAL-PREPS.COM CAL-HI SPORTS
1 Madison (9-0) 20*/285/1 29/25 46.3/47.6 18/19
2 Lincoln (8-1) 5*/266/2 24/24 48.5/47.6 17/18
3 Carlsbad (8-1) 5*/265/3 18/21 51.8/49.3 19/20
4 Poway (9-0) 202/4 45/48 40.4/39 **On the bubble
5 Helix (7-2) 172/5 58/50 37/38.5
 **On the bubble
6 Cathedral (4-5) 154/6 47/43 40.2/41.2 35/37
7 Granite Hills (7-2) 106/7 65/70 35.5/33.2 NR/NR
8 Mater Dei (5-4) 89/8 80/75 32.7/32.1 **On the bubble
9 Mission Hills (6-3) 57/NR 63 35.8 NR/NR
10 El Camino (6-3) 27/9 71/55 34.3/36.4 NR/NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Mira Mesa (6-3, 7 points), La Costa Canyon (5-4, 7) University City (7-2, 4), El Capitan (7-2,  4).

  • 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 Committee.
  • Will Torrez, Valley Sports Network.
  • Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net.
  • Tom Helmantoler, Southern Conference Advisor.
  • MaxPreps.

TRUE GRID 

Helix has won 16 of the last 20 Grossmont South or Grossmont Hills championships, dating to the early 2000s and the era of Reggie Bush and Alex Smith…the Highlanders won 17 loop titles before the millennium, their first in 1956…Granite Hills has won four and tied for one Grossmont Valley or Grossmont Hills gonfalon since 2015, but is 1-3 against Helix during that span and the Highlanders hold a 45-12-1 edge in the series that began when Granite Hills opened in 1960…Eagles coach Kellan Cobbs is 76-38 since a 1-9 start in 2012…Damaja Jones is 7-2 in his first season at Helix…Lincoln holds a 13-12 edge over Madison in a series that goes back to 1970…Madison coach Rick Jackson is 16th all-time in the section with 162 wins and Jackson’s .742 winning percentage is third to John Carroll’s .763 and Birt Slater’s .753 and ahead of George Ohnessorgen’s .735 among coaches with at least 100 victories (see Coach 100 Club)… David Dunn is 78-57-1 at Lincoln, but 57-22 since 2016….

 

 



1967 Baseball: Go East, Young Man; Power Continues to Shift From Cavers

San Diego High, one year removed from a San Diego Section championship, posted a 10-12 record. The sub-.500 finish represented the Cavemen’s poorest record since the 1907 squad of coach Lawrence Carr, Sr., was 0-7.

Yes, 1907, according to Don King’s Caver Conquest.

Power had moved East after being seated for most of the last 60 years at the school near downtown.  Crawford had won three championships, Hoover two, and Helix one since 1961, the first season of the San Diego Section.

San Diego, since Clarence (Nibs) Price became coach in 1915, succeeded mostly by John Perry, Dewey (Mike) Morrow, and Les Cassie, had enjoyed unparalleled success through the 1950s.

The competition was ramping up, but first-year coach Jerry Dahms guided the Cavers to the Southern California finals in 1960 and Bernie Flaherty won a championship in 1966.

Flaherty left for San Diego City College and was replaced by Charlie Davidson. The Cavers were 8-7,  fourth in the Eastern League and out of the playoffs, but they were 3-0 against eventual section champion Hoover.

EXPANSION

The CIF board of managers agreed to extend the playoffs this year by increasing the 2-A field from eight to 12 teams. 


Sweetwater’s Jack Oliver slides but Mission Bay’s Mike Shepherd has ball in glove for putout. Buccaneers won playoff, 1-0.

5/2/67

Chula Vista clinched its first Metropolitan League championship since 1962, 1-0 over Hilltop.  The Spartans, 10-1 in league, would take a 17-7 record into the playoffs.

—The 11-run mercy rule ended San Miguel’s 12-1 win over Julian in the fifth inning of the first game of their Southern Prep League doubleheader.  The second game went six innings before the Knights made it a mercy sweep of the Eagles, 20-9.

—Dale Davis (8-3) won his third game against Hoover, scattering four singles in San Diego’s 3-2 victory that left the Cavers with an 8-5 Eastern League record, one game behind Crawford and Hoover, and clinching the championship for St. Augustine (11-3), which shut out Morse, 4-0.

—Saints coach Bill Whittaker had a four-man pitching rotation of Mike Valeri, Jim Adesso, Skip Redondo, and Steve Chipp, which had a combined earned-run average of 1.59 in league play and 1.28 for the season.

—The Saints (19-3 overall) also could run out a hard-hitting lineup that included future major leaguer John Wathan (.391), Charles Benitez (.380), Wayne Bradley (.348), Skip Redondo (.340), Steve Ferrari (.333), and Dave Gonzalez (.318).

—Point Loma (11-3), fifth in 1966, clinched the Western League championship with an 8-1 win over La Jolla, while Clairemont was routing Mission Bay (9-5), 11-2.

—El Capitan (11-2) wrapped the Grossmont League gonfalon, 6-4, over Helix, as coach Art Preston’s team opened a 2 ½-game lead on the Highlanders and Santana, each 8-4.

5/5/67


Santana coach Bob Guess could be surrending in frustration or sending a sign during Brien Bickerton’s losing no-hitter.

Brien Bickerton pitched a no-hitter and lost.

The Santana lefthander’s career ended with a 1-0 defeat to Helix, which clinched second place in the Grossmont League and a berth in the San Diego Section playoffs.

“He took the challenge,” said Helix coach Bill White of his ace, Larry Sweat.  “I told him he was going against the best lefthander in the County and he would have to match him.  And by golly, he did.”

Helix scored in the first-inning on a pair of errors, one for three bases, and a swinging bunt, and Sweat kept the Sultans at a distance, scattering three hits, striking out 10.  He improved to 10-3 and lowered his earned-run average to 0.52.

Bickerton finished the season with a 9-2 record.  He gave up 46 hits in 92 innings,  struck out 150 and posted a 1.67 E.R.A.  Bickerton also hit six home runs, drove in 33, and batted .384.

–Mission Bay took some pleasure although out of the Western League title race when the Buccaneers scored on a bases-loaded walk in the last half of the ninth inning to defeat champion Point Loma, 3-2.

—Al Forman’s three-run home run and solo shot by Vic Foster wasn’t enough as Morse dropped a regular-season finale, 5-4, at Hoover.

—Brad Cutler lost a no-hitter on a leadoff single by Clairemont’s Dwayne Lawson, but Kearny defeated Clairemont, 5-0.

—Marian was going nowhere in the Palomar League but it traveled in style on the final day, hammering undefeated San Marcos, 14-0.

FINAL LEAGUE STANDINGS

PALOMAR

TEAM W-L Pct. G.B. ALL GAMES
San Marcos 9-3 .800 — 13-9, .591
Army-Navy 7-4 .667 1/12 9-8, .529
Marian 7-5 .583 2 11-10, .524
Ramona 0-11 .000 8 1/2 2-17, .105

EASTERN

St. Augustine 12-3 .800 — 21-3, .875
Crawford 10-5 .667 2 19-5, .792
Hoover 10-5 .667 2 14-9, .609
San Diego 8-7 .533 4 10-12, .455
Morse 4-11 .267 8 7-15, .318
Lincoln 1-14 .067 11 3-20, .130

WESTERN

Point Loma 11-4 .733 — 16-6-1, .717
Mission Bay 10-5 .667 1 15-9, .625
Kearny 8-7 .533 3 13-11, .542
Madison 8-7 .533 3 13-11, .542
Clairemont 6-9 .400 5 11-11, .500
La Jolla 2-12 .143 9 2-18, .105

SOUTHERN

S.D. Military 8-0-1 .944 — 12-2-1, .833
L.J. Country Day 6-3 .667 2 ½. 9-4, .692
San Miguel 2-5-1 .313 5 1/2 6-6-1, .500
Julian 0-8 .000 8 0-8, .000

METROPOLITAN

Chula Vista 10-2 .833 — 17-7, .708
Sweetwater 8-3-1 .708 1 ½ 10-9-2, .524
Hilltop 8-4 .667 2 16-6, .727
Escondido 6-5-1 .542 3 ½ 10-10-1, .500
Mar Vista 4-7-1 .375 5 /1/2 6-16-1, .283
Castle Park 3-8-1 .292 6 1/2 4-17-1, .205
Coronado 1-11 0.83 9 3-16, .158

AVOCADO

Poway 12-2 .857 — 18-5, .783
Orange Glen 10-4 .714 2 14-4, .778
University 9-5 .643 3 16-7, .696
Oceanside 7-7 .500 5 11-12, .478
Carlsbad 6-8 .429 6 10-10-1, .500
San Dieguito 6-8 .429 6 11-11, .500
Fallbrook 5-9 .357 7 9-12, .429
Vista 1-13 .071 11 4-18, .182

GROSSMONT

El Capitan 11-3 .786 — 13-8, .619
Helix 10-4 .714 1 14-7, .667
Santana 8-6 .571 3 14-8, .636
Granite Hills 8-6 .571 3 12-6, .667
Mount Miguel 7-7 .500 4 12-11, .522
Monte Vista 5-9 .357 6 8-14, .364
Grossmont 4-10 .286 6 9-13, .409
El Cajon Valley 3-11 .214 8 6-16, .273


Mike Fox (left) strategizes with Mission Bay batterymate Gary Myron during Buccaneers’ 5-2 win over Point Loma.

5/9/67

2-A PLAYOFFS

FIRST ROUND

Mission Bay 1, Sweetwater (10-10-2) 0, @Southwestern College.

The Buccaneers’ Gary Myron gave up two hits and stretched his scoreless innings streak to 27. 

“We won’t hurt many people with the bat,” said Bucs coach Ken Bailey, after his team scratched four hits against the Red Devils’ Bill O’Quinn and didn’t get a runner past first base until the seventh inning.

Mike Shepherd doubled and eventually came home on Mike Fox’ single.

Hoover 2, Helix (14-8) 1, @Mesa College.

George Cappelletti singled in Pat Roark with the winning run in the ninth inning and offered that luck was involved.

“I think it was a curve,” Cappelletti said of pitcher John Sturgeon’s offering.  “I know he had me faked out.”

Crawford 2, Orange Glen (14-5) 1, @MiraCosta College.

Tim McClure hit a 350-foot home run over the left field fence in the eighth inning, giving Leo Edge the pitching victory over Ernie Oliva.

Hilltop 3, Poway (18-6) 1, @Palomar College.

The Lancers’ Ed Saffer had two hits and Hilltop made the most of three Poway errors, all runs unearned.

5/12/67

QUARTERFINALS

Hoover 4, Point Loma (16-7-1) 2, @Mesa College.

“I didn’t expect to hit it that well, but I’m not complaining,” said Hoover’s Dana Baltzer of his ringing, two-run triple in the fifth inning that overcame a 1-0 Pointers lead.

“I just wanted to hit the ball someplace,” Baltzer told Bill Finley of the Evening Tribune.

Paul Brunner hurled the first five innings for the Cardinals and then was backed up by Ben Epstein and Mike Harrison.

Mission Bay 5, St. Augustine (21-4) 1, @Westgate Park.

Mission Bay’s Rick Phillips socked a three-run home that broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning and stunned the favored Saints.

Phillips’ drive, on an incoming fastball, cleared the centerfield fence, 405 feet away. “That’s the longest ball I’ve ever hit…by far,” said the Buccaneers’ third baseman.

“He seems to be thriving on throwing,” ‘Bay coach Ken Bailey said of the sturdy Myron, of whose 9 strikeout victims included 8 in the last four innings, and scattered six hits.

Crawford 7, El Capitan (13-9) 1, @Grossmont College.

Leo Edge (14-4) gave up a run on two hits in the first inning and then battled through seven bases on balls to shut out the Vaqueros for the remainder of the game.

The Colts broke open the game with five runs in the third inning on four singles, El Capitan errors, and force plays.  Earl Altshuler drove in the first run with a single.  

San Marcos’ Ed Worek avoided pickoff when he scrambled back safely to second base. San Diego Military’s George Melia dived to take throw in future officers’ 3-2 victory.

5/15/67

1-A CHAMPIONSHIP

San Diego Military (13-2-1) 3, San Marcos (12-8), 2, @MiraCosta College.

5/16/67

SEMIFINALS

Hoover 3, Chula Vista (18-8) 1, @Southwestern College.

Jerry Bartow’s comments seemed patronizing. “Chula Vista’s got a good little team,” said the Hoover coach to Bill Weurding of the Evening Tribune.

“They handled several balls that we hit real well,” Bartow added.

The coach declared that his sore-armed pitcher, Paul Brunner, benefitted from the hot, Santa Ana weather: “The heat was just what he needed.  Just as good as having his arm in a whirlpool.”

Pat Roark was 4 for 4 for Hoover and Brunner cuffed the favored Saints on three hits. Of Roark, Bartow said, “He’ll run the count on you, because he knows he’s not going to strike out.  He’s got that much confidence.”

Crawford 3, Mission Bay (17-10) 2, @Mesa College.

The Colts made it five trips to the finals in Bill Sandback’s six years as coach.

“We’ve been lucky, but we’ve had some fine talent here, too,” said Sandback.  “In a single-elimination playoff anything can happen.  Any team in it can win.”

Crawford had a 3-0 lead after three innings, two resulting from Mission Bay errors. The Buccaneers reached Colts ace Leo Edge for two runs in the sixth inning.


Hoover’s Dana Baltzer, charging from outfield, made catch (ball in glove) as teammate Pat Roark (left) prepared to duck…

…Baltzer (left) landed after leapfrogging Roark. Centerfielder John Morstad, lurking in background, wiped his brow. Hoover won title in 13th inning.

CHAMPIONSHIP

5/19/67

Hoover (18-9) 6, Crawford (22-6) 4, 13 innings, @Beeson Field, Marine Corps Recruit Depot.

The game went on and on, the lights of Beeson Field illuminating, some of the 1,200 persons on hand eventually heading home for dinner, before the Hoover Cardinals, after three hours and 45 minutes, finally edged the Crawford Colts.

Dana Baltzer’s two-run home run in the top of the 13th inning, was the difference. Hoover, which won the first San Diego section championship in 1961, went home with a second championship trophy.

Baltzer’s drive over the left field fence saddled Crawford’s ace pitcher, Leo Edge, with his fifth loss against 15 victories.  “It was a low curve, down and away,” said Edge.  “He must have been looking for it.”

Baltzer, rushed after the game by many in a mob of about 500 Hoover students, also had cleared the fence in the ninth inning but his drive drifted foul.

Ross Barnhart, who was on base when Baltzer homered, pitched the last eight innings in relief. “My arm felt good,” said Barnhart, adding, “That’s the longest I’ve pitched in a while.”

Edge, who had pitched 35 innings in the last two weeks and four games, received a standing ovation from the crowd when he came to bat in the 11th. “I was physically exhausted, but my arm felt all right,” said Edge.

Jerry Bartow, the emotional and somewhat eccentric Hoover coach, was asked what he was going to do with the trophy.   “I’m going to take it home and just look at it, I guess…for a long time.”

 



2022 Week 9: Cathedral and St. Augustine Renew “Holy” Rivalry

The so-called  “Holy Bowl” tees up for the 61st time this week when St. Augustine visits Cathedral. They have met every year since 1966 except 2007, including playoff games.

Cathedral leads, 38-22, in a series that began six years after Cathedral, then known as University of San Diego High, played its first season of varsity football.

University’s first game was in 1960, but Uni was small time, for lack of a better term, usually competing against equally small North County schools. The Saints were established and playing  major schedules. That was the reason given by the Saints’ for their slow acceptance of a potentially outstanding annual rivalry.

The success of the Dons under coach Robert (Bull) Trometter resulted in mounting pressure for St. Augustine to eventually squeeze the younger school, located across Linda Vista Road from the University of San Diego, into its schedule.

The teams met for the first time in 1966.

Uni 30, St. Augustine 7.

A rivalry had begun.

The series was interrupted only by the raging 2007 Witch fire that forced cancelation of all County games for one week (see 2007: Oceanside’s First and 10th Titles, subhead “October, The Cruelest Month”).

The San Diego Union-Tribune Week 9 Top 10:

First-place votes in parenthesis.  NR—Not ranked.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes.
Last entries in columns indicate previous rank. **Ranking unchanged.
Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings.
RANK TEAM/RECORD POINTS MAX PREPS.COM CAL-PREPS.COM CAL-HI SPORTS
1 Madison (8-0) 19*/285/1 25/20 47.6/48.2 19/20
2 Lincoln (8-1) 6*/267/2 24/24 47.6/49.3 18/19
3 Carlsbad (7-1) 5*/248/3 21/25 49.3/46.8 20/21
4 Poway (8-0) 200/4 48/43 39/39.2 **On the bubble
5 Helix (6-2) 184/5 50/44 38.5/39
 **On the bubble
6 Cathedral (3-5) 155/6 43/40 41.2/39.2 37/37
7 Granite Hills (6-2) 111/7 70/65 33.2/32.1 NR/NR
8 Mater Dei (4-4) 85-8 75/76 32.1/31.9 **On the bubble
9 El Camino (6-2) 76-9 55/70 36.4/31.4 NR/NR
10 La Costa (5-3) 21/NR 84 30.4 NR/NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
 Mission Hills (5-3, 8 points), Mira Mesa (5-3, 7),  University City (6-2, 3)..

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.

TRUE GRID  

Granite Hills, seventh in San Diego, is unranked by Cal-Hi Sports. Or is it? The  publication also has categories for  so-called medium-sized schools and small schools…the Eagles are 17th among medium schools and Mira Mesa is on the bubble…Escondido Charter is a small schools bubble team…things have picked up at Chula Vista…prevail this week and the Spartans will have a five-game winning streak for the first time since 2008…El Camino’s 6-2 record after eight games is the best since Herb Meyer’s last good team in 2001 opened 7-2…Mike Hobbs’ Wildcats started 3-6 in 2019, and went on a six-game winning streak before bowing to Santa Rosa Cardinal Newman, 31-13, in the state III-AA championship…Kyle Wiliams’ Poway 11 hasn’t been 8-0 since Damian Gonzalez’ last club opened 9-0 in 2016….



2022 Week 8: City League on Center Stage This Week

Point Loma, 6-1 for the first time since 2014, visits University City Saturday evening in a City League game with championship implications.

The Centurions are 2-0 in league play and the Pointers 1-0. Mission Bay, Morse, and Canyon Hills all have at least one defeat.

U. City is feeling good about itself, 5-2, and back in friendlier environs after two seasons in the Eastern League (1-5 in league, 2-12 overall). The Centurions are coming off a 71-6 win over Canyon Hills preceded by 49-46 over The Bishop’s and 42-31 over Mission Bay.

Point Loma, led by third-year coach Joel Allen, has recovered from a 64-0 loss to Lincoln in its only game of 2020, Allen’s first after a brief hiatus following 11 seasons (100-35-1) at The Bishop’s.

Cherubic Allen led champion Christian Patriots in ’02.

The Pointers canceled the rest of their schedule after that game in ’20 and Allen could have been thinking, why did I do this?

The former Christian star, who quarterbacked his team to a San Diego Section Division IV title in 2002, had announced that he was going to go into business with his brother at conclusion of a 12-1 campaign and 75-59 loss to El Camino in the D-II title game in 2019.

Veteran coach Mike Hastings suddenly announced his retirement after 22 seasons at Point Loma and almost just as quickly Allen came out of retirement to become only the Pointers’ fourth head coach in 74 years, succeeding Don Giddings (1946-54), Bennie Edens (1955-97), and Hastings (1998-19).

Paul Lawrence is 13-7 in two seasons with the Centurions and Allen is 10-8-1 at Point Loma, which leads the series with eight wins in nine games dating to 1982.

The San Diego Union-Tribune weekly Top 10:

First-place votes in parenthesis.  NR—Not ranked.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes.
Last entries in columns indicate previous rank. **Ranking unchanged.
Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings.
RANK TEAM/RECORD POINTS MAX PREPS.COM CAL-PREPS.COM CAL-HI SPORTS
1 Madison (7-0) 21*/287/1 20/26 48.2/45.3 20/23
2 Lincoln (7-1) 6*/268/2 24/20 46.9/49.3 19/19
3 Carlsbad (6-1) 3*/252/3 25/23 46.8/46.8 21/20
4 Poway (7-0) 196/6 43/43 39.2/38.3 **On the bubble
5 Helix (5-2) 173/4 44/35 39/41.8
 On the bubble/29
6 Cathedral (3-5) 150/5 40/30 39.2/38.3 37/28
7 Granite Hills (5-2) 113/7 65/77 32.1/29.2 NR/NR
8 Mater Dei (3-4) 77-8 76/66 31.9/28.7 **On the bubble
9 El Camino (5-2) 65-53 70/85 31.4/28.3 NR/NR
10 Mira Mesa (5-2) 24/10 109/96 24.4/26.1 NR/NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
 La Costa Canyon (4-3, 15 points), Point Loma (6-1, 10), Mission Hills (4-3, 7).

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

Reader Nick Pellegrino provided the obscure stat that Julian’s 36-34 win over Warner Springs Warner last week marked the Eagles’ first venture into overtime…Julian has played 487 games since 1967…the contest also was Warner’s first in extra minutes after 233 jousts since 1996…The Manzanita League designation, dumped in 2021 for the return to the Desert League, resurfaced this season and replaced the Citrus League appellation…Petrich is a name in San Diego football that goes back to the 1960s, when Bob Petrich was a linebacker for the San Diego Chargers from 1963-66 before embarking on a successful real estate career in El Cajon…Petrich’s grandson, Robert, is a placekicker for Granite Hills, following his father and Bob’s son, Aaron, who kicked for the Eagles a generation ago….