What does it mean when an unprecedented five different teams receive first-place votes in John Maffei’s latest The San Diego Union poll?

It could mean that area hoops are mediocre, at best, this year. No team stands out and the usual powers have done little to get excited about.

Or could it be Covid, which won’t go away and which already has caused postponements and cancelations of games and at least one tournament (Mt. Carmel)?

The Max Preps computer deals in cold, hard results.  Cal-Hi Sports offers more of an eye test and, in this case, reality.

Max Preps has eight San Diego Section teams in its state top 100, but the first is San Marcos at No. 53, followed by Mission Hills (68), La Costa Canyon (73), Torrey Pines (80), St. Augustine (85), Mission Bay (90), Cathedral (93), and San Diego (98).

Cal-Hi Sports has St. Augustine 20th, down from No. 7, and is almost apologetic, noting that it “threw out with the bathwater” the Saints’ disappointing results last week in the Torrey Pines tournament, citing the fact that coach Mike Haupt  was missing four starters with Covid.

I like the eye test and the newsletter’s respect was validated last night when the revived Saints defeated Madison, 97-56.

The newsletter also accorded “On the Bubble” status to San Marcos and San Ysidro.

Let’s see what this challenged season holds as play continues.

RATINGS GAME

The San Diego Union poll.  First-place points in parenthesis.  Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
La Jolla Country Day (9-2, 15 points), Carlsbad (9-7, 6) Otay Ranch (9-34. 4), Scripps Ranch (12-5, 3).

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Aaron Burgin Fulltime Hoops.com.
• Nick Pollino, Fox 5 San Diego.
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant, 97.3-FM The Fan.
• Adam Paul, ECPreps.com.
• Bodie DeSilva, scorebooklive.com.
• Rick Smith, Partletonsports.com.
• Terry Monahan, Eric Williams, Steve Brand, Freelance correspondents.
• Brad Enright, LA Court Report.
• Ramon Scott, Eastcountysports.com.
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country, 107.9-FM. Christian 
• Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sportts Association.
• Max Preps.   

WEEK 4

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES

Mission Hills (5-4, 17 points), Montgomery (7-2, 6), Otay Ranch (5-1, 3), El Camino (3-0, 2).

WEEK 3

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES 

Otay Ranch (4-1, 4 points), Francis Parker (4-2, 2), La Costa Canyon (2-3, 2), The Bishop’s (8-2, 2), Madison (5-1, 6), Montgomery (6-1, 2). El Camino (0-0, 5) The Bishop’s (5-2), Montgomery (4-1), University City (4-4), 1 point each.

The first The San Diego Union-Tribune basketball poll has a couple old reliables, St. Augustine (6-1) and Torrey Pines (7-0 after a 70-57 win over Santa Fe Christian last night, after the poll was completed) at the top.

St. Augustine’s only loss was to Chatsworth Sierra Canyon, 51-46, in a game  the Saints led, 33-27, after three quarters in the Montgomery Tip-Off Challenge in November.

Sierra Canyon is 7-1 and ranked sixth in the California by Max Preps.  The Trail Blazers also defeated Montgomery, 72-19, and San Ysidro, 84-70, in the Chula Vista school’s event.

Torrey Pines has swept local opposition, more or less laying low until its annual Christmas tournament, when it opens Dec. 27 against Iona Prep of New Rochelle, N.Y. The Falcons are ranked second in the state, while St. Augustine is 14th, so says Max Preps.

Coach John Olive’s Torrey Pines Falcons are rated so high perhaps out of respect for the Falcons’ 20-21 team that was 30-1, losing only to Rancho Cucamonga Etiwanda, 68-65, in the Southern California finals.

RATINGS GAME

The San Diego Union poll.  First-place points in parenthesis.  Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES 

Francis Parker (2-2, 18 points), La Costa Canyon (17), Madison (5-1, 6),
El Camino (0-0, 5) The Bishop’s (5-2), Montgomery (4-1), University City (4-4), 1 point each.

VOTING PANEL
Fourteen sportswriters and sportscasters throughout San Diego County.

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Aaron Burgin Fulltime Hoops.com.
• Nick Pollino, KUSI Ch. 51.
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant, 97.3-FM The Fan.
• Adam Paul, ECPreps.com.
• Bodie DeSilva, scorebooklive.com.
• Rick Smith, Partletonsports.com.
• Terry Monahan, Eric Williams, Freelance correspondents.
• Brad Enright, LA Court Report.
• Ramon Scott, Eastcountysports.com.
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country, 107.9-FM. Christian 

Cathedral, Mater Dei and Scripps Ranch will seek state championships this week in games that are ranked tossups.  All games Friday and Saturday will be at Mission Viejo Saddleback College.

Cathedral (11-2) will get an opportunity to reverse a 21-14 loss in 2018 to Folsom (11-3).  Folsom is eighth in the weekly Cal-Hi Sports poll, Cathedral 10th.  The Dons have a 70.7 Cal Preps.com rating and Folsom 59.5.  Cathedral is fifth, according to Max Preps and Folsom 17th.

Cathedral won a legendary playoff last week, 71-62, over Orange Lutheran as running back Lucky Sutton posted pinball machine numbers: seven touchdowns, 27 rushing attempts and a Southern California playoffs record of 435 yards.

Folsom topped Concord De La Salle, 28-27, after dropping an early-season 31-0 decision to the Spartans, who hold a 49-21 win over Cathedral.

Kickoff is at 8 p.m. Friday.

Mater Dei (12-1) meets Modesto Central Catholic (13-1) at 4 p.m.  Friday.

The  Crusaders from Chula Vista are 21st in the state according to Cal-Hi Sports, Central Catholic 25th. Mater Dei is 24th with Max Preps, the Raiders 30th.  Mater Dei has a 51.5 Cal Preps.com rating, Central Catholic 49.8.

‘Dei beat Helix, 24-21, for the San Diego Section DII-AA title and Central advanced, 44-42, over Fresno Bullard.

Scripps Ranch (12-1) plays Santa Clara Wilcox (10-4) at noon Saturday.

The Falcons and Chargers are not among Cal-Hi Sports’ top 50 teams, each receiving “0n the Bubble” status. Scripps is 47th, according to Max Preps and Wilcox 59th.  The Falcons have a 42.4 grade from Cal Preps.com and Wilcox 39.0.

Scripps advanced with a 45-38 win at Santa Clarita Valencia.  Wilcox beat Manteca, 35-21.

Previous state championship games, with San Diego teams’ score listed first:

The teams in the Southern California Division 6-AA playoffs tonight play the long game.

The Quartz Hill Royals (9-4), located 70 miles north of Los Angeles and on the upper edge of the Southern Section boundary, will travel almost 250 miles, a distance not  unfamiliar to their opponent, Blythe Palo Verde Valley.

The Yellow jackets have represented the furthest  point in the San Diego Section since they joined in 2000, 216 miles from the city and 173 miles from Desert League rival Mountain Empire.

The Yellow jackets sustained 11 losing seasons in the next 14 after posting 10-2 record  and 20-12 loss to Santa Fe Christian in 2004 in the D-IV championship.

Enter Wally Grant in 2019.  Blythe was 6-6 in Grant’s first season as coach, followed by a 3-1 record in 2020, and 11-2 this season, including a  41-19 victory over Mission Bay and D-V title last week.

The ‘Jackets come to run the ball, averaging as few as three passes a game, putting the ball in the hands of running backs Zavier Bejarano and Marcus Macon, who’ve rushed for almost 3,200 combined yards and 42 touchdowns.

Quartz Hill defeated once-powerful Compton, 43-8, for the Southern Section D-XII championship last week and depends on quarterback Chalin Crawford, who has rushed and passed for 2,500 yards and 18 rushing touchdowns.

Resurgent Patrick Henry, 19-9 in three seasons under coach J.T. O’Sullivan and 10-2 in 2021, takes on visiting Lake Balboa Birmingham Saturday night in the Southern California Division III-A playoffs.

San Diego Section schools don’t often play those from the Los Angeles City Section, usually only in postseason matchups such as this.

Birmingham (8-5), which has the same Van Nuys address as when the school opened in 1953, is now identified as representing the district neighborhood of Lake Balboa.

That’s not the only change. Originally known as the Braves but now as Patriots, Birmingham’s mascot is the same as Patrick Henry’s.

Each school also can claim at least one famous Hollywood actor among its alumni. Birmingham has Sally Field from the class of 1963 and Henry has Annette Benning from 1975.

Football fortunes at Henry were decidedly different until O’Sullivan, a former NFL quarterback and University of California-Davis graduate, arrived in 2019.

The Henry Patriots had a combined record of 21-44 from 2013-’18.

Birmingham has been a West Valley League representative and is 62-40 since 2013. Most important,  these Patriots are on an eight-game winning streak and averaging 48 points a game following a 44-0 loss to Westlake Village Oaks Christian of the Southern Section.

Cal Preps.com awarded Henry a 28.5 grade and Birmingham 27.1.  Max Preps ranks Patrick Henry No. 113 in the state and Birmingham No. 124.  Cal-Hi Sports’ rankings stop at 50.

Scripps Ranch and the rubber will hit the road Saturday for a 6 p.m. game in the Southern California Division II-A playoffs at Santa Clarita Valencia, 160 miles away.

Coach Marlin Gardinera’s team,  11-1 and averaging 44 points after a 42-0 win over La Jolla in the San Diego Section finals last week, are on a 31-6 roll since 2018.

The Falcons veered from the path of the historically middling program since the school opened in 1993.

Gardinera (33-14) took over in 2017, when the Falcons were in the midst of a six-losing-seasons-in-seven funk and went 2-8.

The unsuccessful birds of prey flapped their wings with a 6-4 record in 2018 and took flight in 2019, when the Falcons were 12-1, losing in the section finals to La Jolla, 17-10.

Running back Jalen Shaw had 170 yards and three touchdowns in 25 carries last week. Quarterback Jax Leatherwood, a 6-foot, 7-inch junior, has thrown for more than 3,000 yards.

Valencia, not be confused with the school of the same name in the Southern California community of Placentia, is 8-4, on a five-game winning streak, having defeated Westlake Village Oaks Christian, 28-14, in a Southern Section final last week.

Scripps Ranch has a 40.0 rating from Cal Preps.com, Valencia 40.5. Valencia is 56^th and Scripps Ranch 58^th in the state, according to Max Preps. Neither team is in Cal-Hi Sports’ top 50.