Granite Hills shook off a tie with Monte Vista, one of the the poorest teams in the County.  The deadlock had prevented the Eagles from a championship tie with Helix in the Grossmont League, but the Eagles went on to win their first San Diego Section title.

3/11/77 

Granite Hills, a preseason No. 2-ranked in the San Diego Section, stumbled in its season opener, losing, 6-4, to less regarded Clairemont.

The Eagles committed four errors in the first three innings and Clairemont, it its third game, took advantage with a 4-3 lead.

The Chieftains’ Byron Eiler followed with a home run in the fourth inning.

—A two-run double in the eighth inning by Vince Angarola broke a 3-3 tie and was the impetus for No. 7 Carlsbad’s 7-3 win over Poway.

—Jeff Mallon allowed only two hits, tripled in the tying run, and scored the winning run on an error in the top of the seventh as No. 9 La Jolla beat  San Dieguito, 2-1.

3/18/77

No. 1-ranked Bonita Vista managed one hit, a run-scoring single by Dave Kinsell, and struggled to a nine-inning, 4-4 tie with Monte Vista in a season opener that was called because of darkness.

—Crawford opened with a 6-0 shutout of Santana, behind the five-hit pitching of right hander Charlie Burkhead and the hitting of catcher Brent Wittmayer, whose home run cleared a 20-foot embankment and 10-foot fence in right field.

A news report declared that Wittmayer’s drive was a not-to-be-believed, paltry 300 feet.

“We’re going to have to scratch and scramble all year, but should have good pitching,” said Colts coach Jerry Tooze.

—Patrick Henry’s Jim Peterson gave up four hits and shut out No. 3 Helix, 3-0, and No. 4 Madison moved to 3-0 with a 3-1 win over Castle Park.

5/11/77

Bob (Rags) Ragland’s no-hitter in a 6-0 win over Marian pushed Bonita Vista closer to the Metropolitan League championship.

—Helix’ Greg Morton struck out 19 El Cajon Valley batters and allowed two hits, but it took Paul Springs’ squeeze bunt that scored Scott Demchak for the game’s only run in the last half of the seventh inning.

—University won its ninth in a row, 9-5 over La Jolla and Kearny claimed a fifth straight, 8-5 over Morse.

5/13/77

David Martinez’ two hits and a triple play helped University to a 5-1 victory over Serra that kept the Dons one game ahead in the Western League.

—Brian Graham’s triple, double, and two singles led Granite Hills to a 6-3 win over Santana and Grossmont beat El Capitan, 6-3.

The winners remained tied for the Grossmont League and El Capitan coach Ed Olsen was not a happy camper, ejected for arguing an interference call on a Vaqueros batter.

—Tim Ellis’ fifth-inning home run was the difference in Kearny’s 4-3 win over Clairemont and maintained the Komets’ one-game lead in the Western League.

5/17/77

Rich Desmond’s two-out single scored Ed Armijo in a 1-0 victory over Mission Bay that allowed the Dons to win the Eastern League championship.

The win gave Uni a two-game lead with one to play over St. Augustine and Mission Bay.

5/18/77

Kearny lost to Point Loma, 4-1, but backed into the Western League title; Crawford and Madison lost to miss tying for the championship, and those two plus Clairemont and Henry deadlocked for second place.

5/19/77

Eastern League vice principals voted for Madison as the circuit’s second San Diego Section playoff team, casting a stink eye at Clairemont, Crawford, and Patrick Henry, which tied the Warhawks, each with an 8-6 loop record, behind Kearny’s 9-5.

5/20/77

Madison (18-6) was ranked No. 1in the Evening Tribune’s Final Top 10.  Bonita Vista (17-5-1) won the honor in The San Diego Union.

STANDINGS

*TIE GAME

WESTERN LEAGUE

	LEAGUE				OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
University	12	2	.857	—	16	6	.727
St. Augustine	10	4	.714	2	12	10	.522
Mission Bay	9	5	.643	3	14	8	.636
La Jolla	8	6	.571	4	14	10	.583
Hoover	8	6	.571	4	12	9	.571
Lincoln	4	10	.286	8	6	15	.286
Mira Mesa	4	10	.286	8	5	15	.250
Serra	1	13	.071	11	3	19	.143

EASTERN LEAGUE

	LEAGUE				OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Kearny	9	5	.643	—	14	10	.583
Madison	8	6	.571	1	18	6	.750
Clairemont	8	6	.571	1	13	9	.591
Patrick Henry	8	6	.571	1	14	7	.667
Crawford	8	6	.571	1	13	9	.591
Point Loma	6	8	.429	3	11	13	.458
Morse	6	8	.429	3	12	10-1*	.543
San Diego	3	11	.286	6	9	14	.391

AVOCADO EAST

	LEAGUE				OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
San Pasqual	10	2	.833	—	16	8	.667
San Marcos	10	2	.833	—	15	7	.682
Poway	8	4	.667	2	9	11	.450
Escondido	7	5	.583	3	12	10	.545
Mt. Carmel	5	7	.415	5	11	13	.458
Orange Glen	1	11	.091	9	3	15	.167
Ramona	1	11	.091	9	1	21

AVOCADO WEST 

	LEAGUE				OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Torrey Pines	11	1	.909	—	18	4	.818
Carlsbad	9	3	.750	3	16	6	.727
San Dieguito	7	5	.583	4	13	9	.591
Oceanside	5	7	.417	6	9	10	.474
Fallbrook	4	8	.333	7	12	9	.571
Vista	4	8	.333	7	6	13	.316
El Camino	2	10	.167	9	4	13	.235

 METROPOLITAN LEAGUE

	LEAGUE				OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Bonita Vista	16	2	.889	—	17	5-1*	.761
Marian	12	6	.667	4	13	9	.591
Mar Vista	11	7	.611	5	14	10	.583
Hilltop	10	8	.556	6	12	10	.545
Montgomery	9	9	.500	7	10	12	.455
Coronado	8	10	.444	8	11	12	.478
Chula Vista	7	10-1*	.417	8 ½	12	11-1*	.520
Sweetwater	7	11	.389	9	9	14	.391
San Diego Southwest	5	13	.278	11	8	15	.348
Castle Park	4	13-1*	.250	11 1/2	4	17-1	.250

GROSSMONT LEAGUE            

	LEAGUE				OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Helix	11	5	.688	—	14	9	.609
Granite Hills	10	5-1*	.656	½	16	7-1*	.688
El Capitan	9	7	.563	2	11	11	.500
Grossmont	9	7	.563	2	10	12	.455
Valhalla	8	8	.500	3	11	11	.500
Mount Miguel	8	8	.500	3	10	12	.455
El Cajon Valley	7	9	.438	4	10	12	.455
Santana	6	10	.375	5	9	15	.375
Monte Vista	3	12-1*	.219	7 ½	6	13-2*	.333

5/21/77

2-A PLAYOFFS

San Marcos 3, @Torrey Pines (18-5) 2, @Warren Junior High.

The day’s upset hinged on one play.

The Knights’ Bob Schmautz singled in runners from second and third and kept running after the throw to the plate got past the Falcons’ catcher.  Schmautz then drew a wild throw sliding into third base and scored, giving San Marcos a 3-1 lead.

University 7, Madison (18-7) 0, @University of San Diego.

Uni pitcher Mike Thomas allowed two hits, both to leadoff hitter Dennis Brickel.

Kearny 10, St. Augustine (12-11) 2, @USD.

The Komets put together nine hits and seven runs in the third and fourth innings after the Saints took a 1-0 lead.

Carlsbad (16-7) 5, @San Pasqual 6, 10 innings.

El Capitan (11-12) 1, @Helix 2. 

Run-scoring singles by Larry Hayes and Phil Strom in the first inning were enough for Dave Ciampoli, who stopped the Vaqueros on four hits.

Hilltop (12-11) 3, @Bonita Vista 10.

Mar Vista (14-11) 4, @Marian 5, nine innings.

Granite Hills 3, Grossmont (10-13) 2-0.

Lefthander Bill Demo gave up six singles, did not allow a runner past second base, and won his ninth game for the Eagles.

5/23/77

QUARTERFINALS

Helix-San Marcos, @Palomar College, postponed, rain.

San Pasqual-Granite Hills, @Grossmont College, postponed, rain.

Bonita Vista-University, @Hoover, postponed, rain.

Kearny 10, Marian (13-10) 7, @San Diego.

Kearny scored three times to break 7-7 tie in the bottom of the sixth inning and shortstop Jimbo Harris, the Komets’ football quarterback, singled twice, doubled, and walked.

5/24/77

Bonita Vista 2, University (17-7) 0, @Hoover.

San Marcos 3, Helix (15-10) 2, @Palomar College.

Jack Thomas pitched the victory and drove in the winning run.

Granite Hills 9, San Pasqual (17-9) 4, @Grossmont College.

1-A SEMIFINALS

Francis Parker (15-1) gave up two runs in the first inning, but moved on with a 5-3 victory over visiting Mountain Empire.

5/25/77

Army-Navy 1, @Christian 9.

The Patriots gave up a run but Dave Carpenter pitched a no-hitter.

5/26/77

SEMIFINALS

Kearny 5, San Marcos (17-8) 2, @Palomar College.

A throwing error by Bonita Vista attempting to complete a double play opened the door for Kearny to break 1-1 tie in the seventh inning.

“We didn’t have a lot of hits today, but we hit the ball hard at people, so I’m not discouraged (by) our offense today,” said Komets coach Jack Taylor.

Granite Hills 5, Bonita Vista (19-5-1) 1, @Southwestern College.

Henry Coleman was touched for five hits and the Barons did not score on the Granite Hills right-hander until an Eagles error with two outs in the seventh inning.

“I had good control of my curve today and I was able to keep the ball outside,” said Coleman, who had been tagged with all losses in Granite Hills’ 11-5 league record.

Coleman’s teammates gave him a two-run lead in the third inning.

“Some of the games I’ve lost have been 0-0 in the late innings, but with these hitters I knew they could explode at any time,” Coleman said of Granite’s 22-hit attack, led by a single and double by Shawn Davidson that was responsible for three runs.

CHAMPIONSHIP

1-A

Christian 2, Francis Parker (15-2) 1, at University San Diego.

Dan Besieger scored from second base on a fielder’s choice for the winning run in the seventh inning.

2-A

Granite Hills (20-7-1) 8, Kearny (17-11) 4, @USD.

A seven-hits, five-run sixth inning broke a 3-3 tie for the title-bound Eagles.

Mike Vint doubled, Gary Hanson walked, and Duane Antijuntti, Pat Jackson, Glenn Stemmer, Dale Hanson, and Brian Graham singled to close out the scoring. Gary Hanson had tied the game in the fourth inning with a two-run, 380-foot home run.

The Trinity League forms a 30-mile stretch of Orange County, with side trips to State 55 and the area around I-605.

Bellflower St. John Bosco, Anaheim Servite, Santa Ana Mater Dei, Orange Lutheran, Rancho Santa Margarita, and San Juan Capistrano JSerra comprise the far-flung circuit, where it is a 43-mile trip from Bosco to JSerra and several others of at least 20 miles.

It has not been a good place to travel for San Diego Section squads or to have those schools come South.

Dating to 1957, schools that now constitute the Trinity League have a 24-10 advantage in head-head meetings.

Beginning with No. 1 Mater Dei, Cal-Hi Sports ranks teams from the Trinity 2, 3, 4, 5, and 12 this week.  Max Preps gives those teams ratings of 1,3,5,6,7, and 10.

Lincoln played JSerra last week at Southwestern College (the Hornets’ home field, Vic Player Stadium, is undergoing construction/repairs) and the Hornets, No. 1 here, were in the game but lost, 28-19.

The defeat was the 13^th in the last 15 meetings with the Northerners.

The on-and-off series:

TEAM & SITE	YEAR	SCORE	OPPONENT	SCORE
@Escondido	1957*	14	Santa Ana Mater Dei	20
@Oceanside	1963	7	Anaheim Servite	13
Oceanside	1964	14	@Servite	34
@Sweetwater	1965	6	Mater Dei	47
@San Diego	1966	6	Servite	47
San Diego	1967	33	@Servite	14
@Oceanside	1987	7	Mater Dei	33
Oceanside	1988	36	@Mater Dei	33
@Rancho Bernardo	1991	37	Rancho Santa Margarita	23
St. Augustine	1995	6	@Santa Margarita	28
Grossmont	1996	7	@Bellflower St. John Bosco	30
@St. Augustine	1996	7	Santa Margarita	27
@Carlsbad	1996	1+	@Santa Margarita	0
@Rancho Bernardo	1998	23	Santa Margarita	24
@Carlsbad	1999	40	Santa Margarita	20
Fallbrook	2001	21	@Mater Dei	28
Holtville	2004	35	@San Juan Capistrano JSerra	7
Horizon	2004	59	@JSerra	0
Army-Navy	2005	25	@JSerra	23
@Midway Baptist	2005	6	JSerra	28
@St. Augustine	2005	14	Servite	37
@St. Augustine	2006	0	Servite	23
@La Costa Canyon	2008	14	Santa Margarita	18
@Poway	2008	20	Santa Margarita	42
Mission Hills	2010	21	@St. John Bosco	47
@Oceanside	2010	7	Servite	31
@Cathedral	2015	14	Santa Margarita	40
@Cathedral	2017	0	Orange Lutheran	37
@Cathedral	2021**	71	Orange Lutheran	62
@Helix	2021	7	Servite	42
St. Augustine	2021	10	@Santa Margarita	39
@Helix	2022	38	Servite	31
@St. Augustine	2022	0	Servite	1+
#Lincoln	2024	19	JSerra	28

*Southern Section Small Schools playoff.

**Southern California Division I playoff.

#At Southwestern College.

MAFFEI FEELS IT

John Maffei’s The San Diego Union Week 4 poll:

Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes. Previous ranking in (italics).
Bold indicates latest ranking. NR–Not ranked. Max Preps‘ and Cal-Hi Sports‘ are state rankings.

RANK	TEAM/RECORD	POINTS	MAXPREPS.COM	CALPREPS.COM	CAL-HI SPORTS
1.	Lincoln (2-2) 20*	289 (1)	16 (18)	51.4 (50.5)	16 (15)
2.	Cathedral (3-1) 2*	260 (2)	48 (28)	33.0 (40.4)	48 (16)
3.	Granite Hills (3-1) 8*	242 (3)	49 (47)	32.9 (32.0)	18 (19)
4.	San Marcos (4-0)	174 (4)	56 (51)	30.3 (31.0	36 (38)
5.	Mission Hills (3-1)	172 (5)	69 (70)	32.9 (26.1)	40 (41)
6.	La Costa Canyon (4-0)	164 (6)	31 (31)	38.8 (38.2)	42 (43)
7.	Carlsbad (3-1)	137 (7)	42 (30)	34.3 (38.9)	On Bubble (Bubble)
8	Mount Miguel (4-0)	99 (8)	134 (151)	14.7 (10.4)	NR (NR)
9.	El Camino (2-1)	47 (10)	109 (90)	19.3 (21.4)	On Bubble (Bubble)
10.	Rancho Bernardo (4-0)	42 (NR)	93	21.9	NR (NR)

OTHERS RECEIVING VO TES
La Jolla (3-1, 10 points), Mt. Carmel (4-0, 8). Helix (2-2, 4).  University City (3-0, 1),

VOTING PANEL

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

• John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
• Don Norcross, Steve Brand, Rick Hoff, Kevin Farmer (Union-Tribune Freelance contributors).
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (CIF San Diego Section).
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, Chase Izidor (KUSI, Channel 51).
• Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
• Bodie DeSilva (ScorebookLive.com).
• Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
• Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
• Tom Helmantoler, (Southern Conference advisor).
• Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee).
• Mike Dolan, Joe Evangelist (San Diego Coaching Legends).
• Raymond Brown (SDfootball.net).
• John Kentera, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Dennis Ackerman, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (Freelance contributors).

Take a bow, Chris Hauser, and a doffing of the fedora  to the Mission Hills coach, the 11th in San Diego County history to win at least 200 games.

Hauser (200-87-2) last week coached the Grizzlies to a 28-14 victory over Oceanside 21 seasons after his first, 26-6 over Vista Murietta in 2004.

That win in ’04 was the only taste of success for the Grizzlies, who, finished 1-10 and followed with a 4-6 in 2005 before finding their stride with a 9-3 campaign in 2006.

Hauser played for the legendary Dick Haines at Vista and coached the Panthers to a 34-15 record from ’00-03 before taking the start-up program at Mission Hills.

Hauser’s 200 wins is third among active coaches to the 237 of Monte Vista’s Ron Hamamoto and 234 of Cathedral’s Sean Doyle.

The all-time leader is Herb Meyer, light years away with 339, after 113 at Oceanside and 226 at El Camino, from 1959-2003.

Several coaches could earn their 100th victories his season.  San Pasqual’s Tony Corley (98), Carlsbad’s Thadd MacNeal (98), Lincoln’s David Dunn (96), and  Granite Hills’ Kellan Cobbs (95) are well placed.  La Costa Canyon’s Sean Sovacool (92) has a shot.

GLOBAL WARMING?

The term wasn’t a part of the lexicon more than 60 years ago, but the triple index temperatures that visited the area last week brought back memories of a game I covered for the Evening Tribune on a hot Friday night.

From the 1963 football narrative:

“Hoover and Helix battled heat that set a San Diego record of 111 degrees on Thursday, Sept. 27, and on Friday reached 104, the fifth highest reading since records began in 1874.

Temperature for the 8 p.m. kickoff on Sept. 28 was at least 100 degrees and the Cardinals and Highlanders responded with a memorable game before about 6,000 persons at Hoover.

The Cards won, 14-13, when Hoover drove 81 yards in the final 4 minutes to score the winning touchdown.”

MAFFEI FEELS IT

John Maffei’s The San Diego Union Week 3 poll:

Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes. Previous ranking in (italics).
Bold indicates latest ranking. NR–Not ranked. Max Preps‘ and Cal-Hi Sports‘ are state rankings.

RANK	TEAM/RECORD	POINTS	MAXPREPS.COM	CALPREPS.COM	CAL-HI SPORTS
1.	Lincoln (19)* 2-1	281 (2)	18 (21)	50.5 (50.6)	15 (17)
2.	Cathedral (7)* 3-0	268 (3)	28 (27)	40.4 (40.6)	16 (18)
3.	Granite Hills (4)* 2-1	239 (1)	47 (20)	32 (47.2)	19 (15)
4.	San Marcos (3-0)	191 (4)	51 (67)	31 (26.8)	38 (46)
5.	Mission Hills (2-1)	179 (5)	70 (46)	26.1 (32.9)	41 (49)
6.	La Costa Canyon (3-0)	152 (8)	31 (60)	38.2 (28.5)	43 (NR)
7.	Carlsbad (2-1)	116 (7)	30 (50)	38.9 (31.6)	On Bubble (Bubble)
8	Mount Miguel (3-0)	107 (6)	151 (168)	10.4 (7.6)	NR (On Bubble)
9.	La Jolla (3-0)	59 (9)	90 (100)	21.4 (19.5)	NR (NR)
10.	El Camino (2-1)	41 (10)	108 (130)	25.8 (17.3)	On Bubble (Bubble)

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Rancho Bernardo (2-0), 5 points.  Mt. Carmel (3-0, 4). Helix (1-2, 3).  University City (3-0, 2), El Centro Central (2-0), 1), Scripps Ranch (3-0), 1.

VOTING PANEL

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

• John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
• Don Norcross, Steve Brand, Rick Hoff, Kevin Farmer (Union-Tribune Freelance contributors).
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (CIF San Diego Section).
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, Chase Izidor (KUSI, Channel 51).
• Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
• Bodie DeSilva (ScorebookLive.com).
• Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
• Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
• Tom Helmantoler, (Southern Conference advisor).
• Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee).
• Mike Dolan, Joe Evangelist (San Diego Coaching Legends).
• Raymond Brown (SDfootball.net).
• John Kentera, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Dennis Ackerman, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (Freelance contributors).

Long Beach Poly, since losing, 11-0, to San Diego High in 1910, has pretty much had its way with teams from San Diego.

Lincoln’s 42-14 victory last week at Long Beach Veterans’ Memorial Stadium, was infrequent.  Poly leads the series, 40-15-1.

This once was a premier rivalry in Southern California, with the Jackrabbits and San Diego usually battling for Coast League supremacy.

As the cities and population grew, new leagues were created, making the schools less dependent on travel. Poly and San Diego didn’t see much of each other.

Mira Mesa’s 13-6 loss here in 2006 was the last season Long Beach faced off with an opponent from this area and only the fifth time since 1960.

Poly holds a 24-11-1 lead over San Diego and hasn’t met the Cavers since a 26-18 victory 64 years ago.

MAFFEI FEELS IT

John Maffei’s The San Diego Union Week 2 poll:

Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes. Previous ranking in (italics).
Bold indicates latest ranking. NR–Not ranked. Max Preps‘ and Cal-Hi Sports‘ are state rankings.

RANK	TEAM/RECORD	POINTS	MAXPREPS.COM	CALPREPS.COM	CAL-HI SPORTS
1.	Granite Hills (2-0)	287/*20 (1)	20 (21)	47.2 (44.9)	15/(16)
2.	Lincoln (1-1)	263/*6 (2)	18 (18)	50.6 (48.2)	17/ (18)
3.	Cathedral (2-0)	254/*4 (3)	27 (47)	40.6 (30.1)	18/(21)
4.	San Marcos (2-0)	183 (4)	67 (103)	26.8 (16.7)	46/(50)
5.	Mission Hills (1-1)	168 (5)	46 (44)	32.9 (30.9)	49/(On Bubble)
6.	Mount Miguel (2-0)	144 (6)	168 (177)	7.6 (4.5)	NR (NR)
7.	Carlsbad (1-1)	129 (7)	50 (71)	31.6 (24.1)	On Bubble/(NR)
8	La Costa Canyon (2-0)	120 (9)	60 (83)	28.5 (21.4)	NR/(On Bubble)
9.	La Jolla (2-0)	57 (10)	100 (111)	19.5 (15)	NR/NR
10.	El Camino (1-1)	43 (8)	130 (60)	25.8 (13.4)	On Bubble/NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Rancho Bernardo (2-0), 5 points.  Helix (0-2, 5), Mt. Carmel (2-0, 4). University City (2-0, 2),  El Centro Central (1-0, 1), Scripps Ramch (2-0), 1.

VOTING PANEL

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

• John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
• Don Norcross, Steve Brand, Rick Hoff, Kevin Farmer, Union-Tribune Freelance contributors.
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (CIF San Diego Section.
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, Chase Izidoro  (KUSI, Channel 51).
• Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
• Bodie DeSilva (ScorebookLive.com).
• Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
• Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
• Tom Helmantoler, (Southern Conference advisor).
• Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee).
• Mike Dolan, Joe Evangelist (San Diego Coaching Legends Committee.
• Raymond Brown  (SDfootball.net).
• John Kentera, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Dennis Ackerman, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (Freelance contributors).

Patrick Henry opened the season with a 77-48 victory over Grossmont and broke the school record, set in a 69-14 win over Coronado in 2021.

The outburst also more or less squared the record of a  previous Patriots encounter.  They were on the opposite end of a 77-point explosion by The Bishop’s seven years ago (see table).

Henry’s result marked the eighth time a San Diego County team had scored 77 points, tied for 21^st highest all time.

There have been 109 games in which the winning team scored at least 70 in 11-man football.  San Diego High set the all-time high in a 130-7 win in 1920 over Army-Navy.

We’ll go out on a limb and suggest that the Hilltoppers’ record, now 104 years old, is not in danger.

There have been an estimated nearly 30,000 games played by San Diego County teams since students from San Diego High teed up on Christmas Day, 1891, against  “adults” from the “San Diego Football Club”.

The game, more like rugby, with no score ever reported, took place at what is now Chicano Park, near the on ramp to the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge.

The 77’s:

YEAR	TEAM	OPPONENT	SCORE
1923	San Diego	Oxnard	77-0
1969	Castle Park	Bonita Vista	77-14
1972	Vista	San Pasqual	77-0
2003	Marian	Hilltop	77-0
2005	San Pasqual	San Marcos	77-6
2008	Christian	Foothills Christian	77-24
2017	The Bishop’s	Patrick Henry	77-0
2024	Patrick Henry	Grossmont	77-48

MAFFEI FEELS IT

John Maffei’s first The San Diego Union weekly poll.

Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes. NR–Not ranked.
Max Preps‘ and Cal-Hi Sports‘ are state rankings. Bold indicates latest ranking.

RANK	TEAM/RECORD	POINTS	MAXPREPS.COM	CALPREPS.COM	CAL-HI SPORTS
1.	Granite Hills (1-0)	274/*13	21	44.9	16/21
2.	Lincoln (0-1)	266/*10	18	48.2	18/9
3.	Cathedral (1-0)	261/*7	47	30.1	21/23
4.	San Marcos (1-0)	158	103	16.7	50
5.	Mission Hills (0-1)	146	44	30.9	On Bubble
6.	Mount Miguel (1-0)	136	177	4.5	NR
7.	Carlsbad (0-1)	130	71	24.1	NR/27
8	El Camino (1-0)	124	60	25.8	On Bubble
9	La Costa Canyon (1-0)	92	83	21.4	NR
10.	La Jolla (1-0)	33	111	15	NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Helix (0-1, 15 points), Del Norte (1-0, 9), El Centro Central (1-0, 2), Mt. Carmel (1-0, 2).

VOTING PANEL

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

• John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
• Don Norcross, Steve Brand, Rick Hoff, Kevin Farmer, Union-Tribune Freelance contributors.
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (CIF San Diego Section office.
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, Chase Izidoro  (KUSI, Channel 51).
• Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
• Bodie DeSilva (ScorebookLive.com).
• Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
• Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
• Tom Helmantoler, (Southern Conference advisor).
• Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee).
• Mike Dolan, Joe Evangelist (San Diego Coaching Legends Committee.
• Raymond Brown  (SDfootball.net).
• John Kentera, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Dennis Ackerman, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (freelance contributors).

Nick Barkett was determined to improve his lot in the Hoover basketball program after serving as the fifth of five guards on the 26-2 team of the 1959-60 Cardinals.

“He lived at Muni Gym all Summer with (John) Bocko,” remembered Cardinals coach Charlie Hampton.

Barkett and Bocko spent many days, and evenings, in the vintage emporium, Bocko preparing for his college career at San Diego City College and Fresno State, and Nick striving to take his game to a higher level and earn a starting role in his senior year at Hoover.

Barkett, who passed away recently at age 81, did not just improve.  He etched his name in the lore of Hoover’s great basketball history.

The skinny, 6-foot guard became a lean, almost 6-foot 2-inch forward and led the 1960-61 Cardinals to a 24-3 record and the first San Diego Section championship. Nick also was the first CIF San Diego Section Section player of the year, scoring 356 points for a 13.2 average.

Barkett was a starter on the 25-5 San Diego City College squad that was runner-up to Fresno City in the 1962-63 state junior college championship game and he started for two seasons at Cal Poly-Pomona.