Carlsbad will be at  an interesting juncture as the regular season turns to the second half and the Lancers riding a 10-game winning streak.

At 5-0, duplicating its record in the pandemic 2020 campaign and 5-0 starts in 2013 and 2007, coach Thadd MacNeal’s team will try to become  6-0 for the first time since 2006 when it takes on Avocado League neighbor Torrey Pines Oct. 1.

The Falcons have won 17 of 26 games with the Lancers since 1975, but, although only about 17 miles and 20-25 minutes apart, the rivals were not always in the same league and would go years without playing.

Carlsbad won, 42-0, in 2020 and 42-7 in 2019.

The Lancers are first and have 13 No. 1 votes in the weekly The San Diego Union poll, but Cathedral, depite  thumpings by state powerhouses Corona Centennial and Concord de La Salle, still is getting love from the voters with 11 first-place votes.

Cal-Hi Sports ranks Carslbad 13th this week and Cathedral, despite the two losses, is 20th.

The clubs won’t meet unless they tangle in the Open Division playoffs. Torrey Pines, winner of 3 in a row since an opening, 28-14 loss to Cathedral and Cal-Hi Sports‘ 41st-ranked team this week, hopes to have a voice.

RANK	TEAM/RECORD					POINTS	PREVIOUS
1.		Carlsbad		5-0 (13)		227	1
2.		Cathedral	4-2 (11)			223	2
3.		Lincoln		3-1		191	3
4.		Mater Dei		4-0		165	4
5.		Torrey Pines		3-1		136	5
6.		Mission Hills		3-2		130	6
7		Scripps Ranch		4-0		93	7
8.		Madison		4-1		53	9
9.		Mt. Carmel		5-0		36	NR
10.		Helix		3-2		21	8

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
El Camino (3-2, 19 points), Santa Fe Christian (5-0, 17),  Eastlake (3-2), Poway (3-2, 2). West Hills (6-0, 2), Oceanside (3-2, 1).

VOTING PANEL
Twenty-four sportswriters and sportscasters throughout San Diego County.

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Steve Brand, Thomas Gutierrez, Rick Hoff, Jim Lindgren, Terry Monahan, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, freelance contributors.
• John Carroll, 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.
• Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
• Troy Hirsch, Fox 5 San Diego.
• Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net.
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez, Mike Dolan, CIF San Diego Section.
• Ramon Scott, Eastcountysports.com.
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country, 107.9-FM.

How others see San Diego’s Top 10:
*The second entry in each rating is from the previous week.

Team	Record	Cal-Hi Sports	MaxPreps	CalPreps
Cathedral	4-2	20/20*	14/11	54/61.6
Carlsbad	5-0	13-13	18/21	48.8/47.9
Mission Hills	3-2	25/25	33/31	42.5/40.7
Lincoln	3-1	15/15	25/21	47.4/48.8
Mater Dei	4-0	47/49	32/61	33.5/26.2
Helix	3-2	NR/NR	65/67	31.1/23.6
Torrey Pines	3-1	40/41	39/39	40.5/39.2
Scripps Ranch	4-0	NR/NR	70/70	32.9/29.3
Mt. Carmel	5-0	NR-NR	121	22
Madison	4-1	NR-NR	104/104	25.1/23.2

MaxPreps.com and CalPreps.com computer ratings are usually the same and based on strength of schedules and other factors.

Cal-HiSports.com ratings are created by publisher Mark Tennis, who coordinates with several state-wide sources.

By three points, Carlsbad retained its lead over Cathedral, 226 points to 223 and will sit out this week with a bye.

John Maffei’s weekly The San Diego Union-Tribune Top 10:
First place votes in parenthesis.  Points on scale of 10 points to 1 point.

RANK	TEAM/RECORD					POINTS	PREVIOUS
1.		Carlsbad		5-0 (13)		226	2
2.		Cathedral	3-2 (11)			223	1
3.		Lincoln		3-1		191	3
4.		Mater Dei		3-0		167	4
5.		Torrey Pines		3-1		133	6
6.		Mission Hills		3-2		129	5
7		Scripps Ranch		4-0		82	7
8.		Helix		3-1		55	10
9.		Madison		3-1		52	8
10.		Eastlake		3-1		33	9

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Mt. Carmel (4-0, 12 pts), Santa Fe Christian (5-0, 11),  El Camino (2-2, 6), Poway (3-2, 4).

VOTING PANEL
Twenty-four sportswriters and sportscasters throughout San Diego County.

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Steve Brand, Thomas Gutierrez, Rick Hoff, Jim Lindgren, Terry Monahan, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, freelance contributors.
• John Carroll, 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.
• Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
• Troy Hirsch, Fox 5 San Diego.
• Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net.
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez, Mike Dolan, CIF San Diego Section.
• Ramon Scott, Eastcountysports.com.
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country, 107.9-FM.

How others see San Diego’s Top 10:
*The second entry in each rating is from the previous week.

Team	Record	Cal-Hi Sports	MaxPreps	CalPreps
Cathedral	3-2	20-10*	11/8	54/61.6
Carlsbad	5-0	13-13	18/21	48.8/47.9
Mission Hills	3-2	25/25	31/35	42.5/40.7
Lincoln	3-1	15/15	21/14	47.4/48.8
Mater Dei	3-0	49/Bubble	61/74	33.5/26.2
Helix	3-1	NR/NR	67/76	31.1/23.6
Torrey Pines	3-1	41/44	40/38	39.2/35.4
Scripps Ranch	4-0	NR/Bubble	72/70	29.3/18.6
Eastlake	3-1	NR-NR	76/86	28.2/22.9
Madison	3-1	NR-NR	104/100	23.2/20

MaxPreps.com and CalPreps.com computer ratings are usually the same and based on strength of schedules and other factors.

Cal-HiSports.com ratings are created by publisher Mark Tennis, who coordinates with several state-wide sources.

San Diego High, for decades the No. 1 team in Southern California baseball, was undefeated and favored to win an 11^th CIF championship.

Until….

The Hillers, as they were most often called (besides Cavemen, Cavers, and Hilltoppers) during the era, lost a quarterfinals playoff to a team it had beaten, handily, twice before.

This San Diego team had several players who signed professional contracts and two, Floyd Robinson and Deron Johnson, would have long careers in the major leagues.

The loss  (below) ranked as perhaps the most unexpected and disappointing in school history.

NO STOPPING CHULA VISTA

Coach Bob Geyer’s Chula Vista Spartans, closing with 15 consecutive victories won a CIF Southern Group (small schools) trifecta.  The Spartans also had claimed titles in football and basketball.

So strong was Chula Vista that it would be placed in the large school (Central Group) playoffs at the beginning of the 1955-56 school calendar.

3/1/54

San Diego High announced a 22-game schedule that included a visit by Orange County power Fullerton and visits to Los Angeles Loyola and Lynwood.

3/3/54

Tony Asaro’s two-run home run and Paul Gaughan’s five-hit pitching was enough for San Diego to win its opener, 2-1, at Chula Vista.

Lennie Arevalo drove in three runs and Percy Campbell homered as new City Prep League member Lincoln, with no senior class, improved to 2-0 with a 7-3 victory over Mar Vista.

Dave Jordan hit two home runs and drove in six and pitched La Jolla to a 9-5 win against San Dieguito.

3/5/54

Edward (Duke) Hottell of Kearny blanked Chula Vista on two hits, 2-0, and home runs by Louie Serrano and Frank Rogers paced Point Loma to a 7-3 win over Mar Vista.

3/6/54

Sophomore Jim Gilchrist hit an inside-the-park home run on San Diego’s diamond and Lee Babbitt scattered eight hits as the Hillers defeated Fullerton, 7-2.

Freddy Tooze and Johnny Bates combined for a no-hit pitching performance and Helix bats and six Brown Military errors led to a 17-0 victory.

3/9/54

Kearny and Escondido and Hoover and St. Augustine couldn’t come to a decision.

The teams headed home after each game was called because of darkness.

Hoover and St. Augustine went 11 innings to an 0-0 standoff, with the Cardinals’ Ron Wilkins and Joel Mogy holding the Saints to one hit.

Kearny and Escondido were at a 2-2 deadlock after eight innings.

3/10/54

Floyd Robinson had two hits and three runs batted in and Horace Tucker and Deron Johnson each had two hits, backing Lee Babbitt in San Diego’s 9-3 win against Chula Vista.

3/12/54

City Prep League teams were 4-0 against outside opponents until independent St. Augustine defeated La Jolla, 5-3.

The Vikings’ Jack Cravens had struck out 12 and allowed the Saints no hits for the first six innings.

San Diego sophomore Deron Johnson struck out 10 and gave up five hits as the Hillers stopped Metropolitan League toughie Sweetwater, 4-1.

3/16/54

Evening Tribune writer Jerry Brucker called it one of the best played games of the (very young) year “in spite of the wind, dust, and cold” on the “bitter-cold Sweetwater diamond.”

The Red Devils beat City Prep League power Hoover, 2-1, on home runs by Jim Redman and Alonzo Boles, and defensive plays that three times cut down Hoover runners at the plate.

Hoover’s Billy Capps was the hitting star with a double and two triples, but was thrown out at home in the first and eighth innings.

Hoover scored in the ninth when Bob Youngs singled with two outs and scored on Gene Leek’s long hit to left, but Leek also was out trying for an inside-the-park home run.

3/17/54

La Jolla and Sweetwater went nine damp innings to a 4-4 tie in National City, but 5 miles North at Lincoln the Hornets and visiting Chula Vista canceled because of wet grounds.

Rain washed out a San Diego trip to Los Angeles Loyola.  Escondido’s trip to Point Loma also was off.

3/27/54

Hoover’s trip to El Camino Junior College in Inglewood was rewarded with a 12-6 win over Manhattan Beach Mira Costa as Bob Youngs (four for five) and Jerry Smith (three for four) set the pace.

3/30/54

March came in like a lion but was not going out like a lamb.

The fields at Point Loma and Grossmont, where Kearny and Hoover would open the CPL season, were still wet from a drenching two nights earlier.

Two games, La Jolla’s defending champion at San Diego, and Helix at Lincoln, were worth braving the weather.

Floyd Robinson’s seventh-inning home run was the difference in a pitching duel between the Hillers’ Lee Babbitt and the Vikings’ Dave Jordan.

Babbitt allowed four hits and struck out 10 in the 4-3 victory.

Lincoln’s Vince Kilpela and Helix’ Freddie Tooze each struck out 15, but Lincoln won, 3-2, as Joe Merino scored on David Washington’s eighth-inning triple.

Kenny Lee restricted Sweetwater to three hits and Chula Vista (2-0) beat their Metropolitan League arch rival, (1-1), 6-1.

4/2/54

Trailing, 4-1, after six innings, San Diego scored 13 runs in the final three innings at Grossmont to win, 14-5.

Joe Barrington of La Jolla limited Helix to one hit and the Vikings clinched an 8-3 victory with a six-run fifth.

Kearny’s Edward (Duke) Hottell shut down first-year Lincoln, 5-0.

4/8/54

“Sophomore Bob Imlay, a pink-cheeked  right hander who specializes in several varieties of curves, a changeup, and expert control…” was part of the opening sentence in the Point Loma-Kearny writeup by Jerry Brucker of the Evening Tribune.

Brucker was describing Imlay’s two-hit pitching and the Pointers’ 4-1 victory. The Komets’ Bud Clark allowed only one hit but was victimized by walks and outfield errors.

Gene Leek homered and Tommy Rinks hit a pair of doubles as Hoover bombed Grossmont, 15-2. Helix routed Lincoln, 17-3.

Bob Franklin hit two home runs as Chula Vista (7-0) beat San Dieguito, 14-6.  Sweetwater (5-2) beat Oceanside, 13-6, and Mar Vista topped Vista, 13-6.

4/12/54

The fourth annual Lions Club tournament opened for approximately 425 players and 32 games in three days at San Diego High, Navy Field diamonds, and an Unlimited Division championship game at Lane Field, home of the Pacific Coast League San Diego Padres.

Yuma, Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, Fullerton, Inglewood, Banning, Brawley, and Thermal Coachella provided out-of-area flavor.

San Diego (Unlimited Division) and Mar Vista (Limited) were defending champions.

All games were scheduled for seven innings, short of the usual regular-season game.

4/12/54

Deron Johnson, who held Sweetwater to three hits, drove in Floyd Robinson with the winning run in the sixth inning of the 2-1 decision after Robinson had tripled.

Thermal Coachella and Oceanside set a record in the Limited Division as the Desert squad outpointed the Pirates, 23-14, in a game of 24 base hits and 12 errors.

Helix’ Ron Svalstad, Oceanside’s Dick James, and Fullerton’s Jerry Fishel hit first-day home runs.

4/13/54

Mar Vista claimed its second straight Limited Division crown, defeating Coachella, 11-8, after eliminating Fallbrook, 2-1.

San Diego gained the Unlimited final by blanking Yuma, 8-0, and Lincoln, 10-0, but the Hillers went to bed not knowing if their championship opponent would be Fullerton or Chula Vista, which were deadlocked at 4 when the game was called because of darkness.

Kearny’s Duke Hottell pitched the first no-hitter in tournament history, 7-0.

4/13/54

Fullerton outlasted Chula Vista, 5-4, in 11 innings to qualify for the championship against San Diego.

The first game of the Lane Field doubleheader (the Padres and Portland Beavers also were on the card) was called after six innings with the Hillers ahead, 13-2.

Floyd Robinson was named tournament most-valuable player after hitting two triples to the farthest reaches of the park and knocked in three runs.

Lee Babbitt allowed four hits and was the championship-game winner for the second year in a row.

4/23/54

Coach Bob Geyer’s Chula Vista Spartans stayed unbeaten in the Metropolitan League by scoring single runs in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings and winning, 5-4, at Escondido.

Kearny (4-1) defeated defending CPL champion La Jolla, 4-3, behind two-base hits by Tommy Gonzalez and Bud Clark in the ninth inning after the Vikings (4-2) tied the game with three runs in the eighth.

4/27/54

Deron Johnson pitched San Diego to an 18-3 win over Helix, moving the Hillers to 7-0 in the CPL and 17-0 overall.

4/28/54

Kearny (6-1) kept pace with San Diego as undefeated Duke Hottell struggled but held on for a 7-5 victory in a rain-makeup game against Point Loma.

5/1/54

San Diego’s Deron Johnson relieved Lee Babbitt in the first inning and checked La Jolla on two hits as the Hillers ram their record to 18-0 with an 18-3 victory.

Jim Gilchrist and Joe Dini each had four runs batted in for the Cavers.

5/8/54

San Diego’s 20^th consecutive win was an 18-5 laugher over Point Loma.

Sophomore pitcher Deron Johnson went the distance. Jim Gilchrist and Scott Armitage each had three hits, and Richie Johnson tripled and homered.

Vince Kilpela out pitched La Jolla’s Dave Jordan and Lincoln earned a third win against eight league losses, 2-1.

5/12/54

San Diego (11-0) clinched a CPL title tie and won its 21st in a row after scoring six runs in the first inning and hanging on for a 6-4 triumph over Kearny (8-3).

The Hillers scored on two hits, five walks and three Kearny errors.

San Diego pitcher Lee Babbitt ran into control problems and walked in two runs in the third, giving way to Paul Gaughan, who kept the Komets at bay until Hugh McMillan doubled, Bud Clark singled, and Bud Romero doubled for two runs in the seventh.

Sophomore Deron Johnson came on in relief after Gaughan walked the leadoff batter in the eighth inning and checked the Komets.

Point Loma was outhit, 12-4, by Helix but won, 7-6.

5/14/54

San Diego (12-0) clinched the CPL championship and won its 22^nd game in a row, 13-7, after Hoover (6-6) took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

Richie Johnson’s two-run homer in the first inning ignited the Hillers, who scored the next 10 runs.

A bunt safety by Helix’ Ron Hamilton was all Bud Clark allowed as Kearny (9-3) won, 3-0.

5/18/54

Fifteen-year-old Deron Johnson gave up three hits, one a Lenny Arevalo fourth-inning home run over the short right field fence at Lincoln, and San Diego moved to 13-0 in the CPL and 23-0 overall, 7-1.

Defending CPL champion La Jolla (6-7) lost its fourth in a row as Kearny’s Duke Hottell, with a 7-0 league record, pitched the 7-2 win.

Chula Vista (10-0) clinched a tie for the Metropolitan League championship with two games remaining by stunning Vista with a nine-run first inning in an 11-0 win on the Panthers’ diamond.

Escondido (8-2) stayed alive with a 3-2 win over Sweetwater.

There were no field goals or touchdowns but football came to mind when Mar Vista beat San Dieguito, 20-15.

The Mariners, who struck 20 base hits that helped ease the burden of nine errors, led, 19-3, after six innings.

5/20/54

San Diego was roaring into the playoffs with a 24^th consecutive win, secured in a 22-2 rout of visiting Helix.

Floyd Robinson hit two home runs, tripled, and drove in seven, completing the 14-game league season with a .508 batting average, six home runs and 27 runs batted in.

Jim Gilchrist backed up Robinson with four hits and Lee Babbitt pitched a three-hit, nine-inning complete game.

5/21/54

Hoover played one game but picked up two victories.  An earlier loss to Point Loma was reversed as Pointers officials were found guilty of the Dreaded Administrative Glitch.  A Point Loma player was found ineligible and a Pointers victory was forfeited to the Cardinals.

Hoover defeated La Jolla, 7-3, on the City Prep League’s final regular-season day to finish 9-5 behind San Diego’s 14-0 and Kearny’s 11-3. Billy Capps hit a three-run home run and drove in four for Hoover.

Kearny’s Duke Hottell, who relieved Bud Clark in the fifth inning, received credit for an 11-4 win over Grossmont and a league-leading 8-0 record.

5/25/54

Chula Vista, 12-0 and Metropolitan League champion, defeated visiting San Bernardino Pacific, 8-3, in its opening round game of the Southern Section small schools (Southern Group) playoffs.

The Spartans, outhit 7-5, committed one error to the Pirates’ six and all of Chula Vista’s runs were unearned.

5/28/54

San Diego, rested after having received a first-round bye, faced Fullerton, a team the Hillers had beaten, 7-2, and 13-2 during the season.

Fullerton was more formidable than the two losses would have indicated.  It reached the quarterfinals with a 14-inning, 3-2 win over 23-2 Ontario Chaffey.

San Diego had a powerful lineup led by Floyd Robinson’s 24-game, .456 average and eight home runs.  Others included Horace Tucker (.404), Scott Armitage (.393), Deron Johnson (.373), Jim Gilchrist (.367), and Tony Asaro (.302).

The game had a 2 p.m. first pitch at Lane Field, where the Cavers had defeated Fullerton for the Lions Tournament title, and the Hillers started fast, taking a 3-0 lead after two innings.

But Fullerton hung around and trailed only 3-2 after the top of the seventh.

San Diego scored what appeared to be an insurance run on Robinson’s single and Deron Johnson’s triple to right centerfield in the seventh.

Fullerton scored two runs to forge a 4-4 tie in the eighth inning, driving San Diego starter Lee Babbitt to cover.  Deron Johnson came in from right field and maintained through the 10^th inning.

Johnson was the losing pitcher after the Indians scored on a single that brought one run home from second base and another on squeeze bunt in the 11th in a devastating, 6-4 loss for the Cavers.

SPARTANS EXACT REVENGE

Chula Vista exacted a measure of revenge in its semifinal, 20-2 victory over Laguna Beach.  The Artists had eliminated the Spartans, 19-0, in the 1952 football playoffs.

Coach Bob Geyer’s team was disappointed only in that they wanted to beat the visitors by 19 runs.

Leadoff man and centerfielder Bob Neeley collected four hits in five at-bats, hit two home runs and a triple, and drove in six.

Catcher Vern Sanna was 4 for 6, doubled, tripled, and hit his second home run of the postseason.  Bob Lusky also homered.

Laguna Beach was the “home” team because it could not find a suitable site to play the game in its area.

6/4/64

Edson Fielder was 2 for 3 and hit a home run, but the El Centro Central pitcher could not duplicate his feat of 1953, when he pitched his team to the championship over Chula Vista.

The Spartans, backed by busloads and carloads of supporters, won the rematch in the Imperial Valley city, 16-6.

Bob Neeley, who finished the season and Chula Vista’s 15^th straight win, with 10 hits in his last 11 at bats (6 for 6 with a double and triple), and Dave Erwin were the only players who also were on the winning football and basketball clubs.

Chula Vista’s Kenny Lee struck out 17 Central Spartans and scattered six hits over nine innings.

Cathedral coach Sean Doyle, whose team fosters a we’ll-play-anyone-anytime-anywhere mantra, gets another test this week against perhaps the most honored team in Califoria prep history.

The Dons, recovering fast from their disaster in Week  2 at Corona Centennial, blitzed Helix, 52-0, last week and head North to play Concord de La Salle, which has a 4-0 record against San Diego Section teams and won more than 150 games in a row in the 1990’s-early 2000’s.

De La Salle had home-and-home contests against Rancho Buena Vista in 1995 and ’96 and La Costa Canyon in 2002 and ’03.

The Spartans defeated Craig Bell’s RBV Longhorns, 35-16, there in 1995 and 36-19 in 1996 here.

They defeated Darrin Brown’s La Costa Canyon Mavericks, 28-7 here in ’02 and 56-27 there in ’03.

De La Salle had a 318-game winning streak against Northern California squads broken last week when upset by Mountain View St. Francis, 31-28. It has victories of 52-16 over Stockton St. Mary’s and 68-6 over Elk Grove Monterey Trail.

Cathedral is ranked 10th in Calfornia by Cal-Hi Sports.  De La Salle is 11th.

LOW POINT FOR HIGHLANDERS

The 52-point loss to Cathedral was the most decisive in 68 years and 753 games for Helix, which was beaten by Hoover, 50-0, in 1953, the Highlanders’  third season.  The points equaled a 52-6 loss at Oxnard in the flu-epidemic 1957 season.

THE RANKINGS

John Maffei’s weekly The San Diego Union-Tribune Top 10:
First place votes in parenthesis.  Points on scale of 10 points to 1 point.

RANK	TEAM/RECORD					POINTS	PREVIOUS
1.		Cathedral		3-1 (11)		227	2
2.		Carlsbad	4-0 (14)			226	1
3.		Lincoln		2-1		191	3
4.		Mater Dei		2-0		177	4
5.		Mission Hills		3-1		155	5
6.		Torrey Pines		2-1		121	7
7		ScrippscRanch		4-0		91	8
8.		Madison		3-1		53	10
9.		Eastlake		3-1		34	NR
10.		Helix		2-1		20	6

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES

Santa Fe Christian (4-0, 16 points), Mt. Carmel (4-0, 15), El Camino (1-2, 9), Oceanside (2-1, 6),  Poway (2-2, 2),  DEl Norte (3-1, 1), El Capitan (3-1, 1).

VOTING PANEL

Twenty-four sportswriters and sportscasters throughout San Diego County.

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Steve Brand, Thomas Gutierrez, Rick Hoff, Jim Lindgren, Terry Monahan, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, freelance contributors.
• John Carroll, 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.
• Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
• Troy Hirsch, Fox 5 San Diego.
• Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net.
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez, Mike Dolan, CIF San Diego Section.
• Ramon Scott, Eastcountysports.com.
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country, 107.9-FM.

How others see San Diego’s Top 10:
*The second entry in each rating is from the previous week.

Team	Record	Cal-Hi Sports	MaxPreps	CalPreps
Cathedral	3-1	10-12*	8/8	61.6/44
Carlsbad	4-0	13-11	21/16	47.9/49
Mission Hills	3-1	25-29	35/27	40.7/45.2
Lincoln	2-1	16-15	13/25	48.8/39.6
Mater Dei	2-0	Bubble-Bubble	74/71	26.2/24.6
Helix	2-1	NR-45	76/83	23.6/21.7
Torrey Pines	3-1	44-Bubble	38	35.4/32.6
Scripps Ranch	4-0	Bubble-Bubble	70/108	18.6/15.0
Eastlake	3-1	NR-NR	86/85	22.9/NR
Madison	3-1	NR-NR	100/98	20.0/NR

MaxPreps.com and CalPreps.com computer ratings are usually the same and based on strength of schedule and other factors.

Cal-HiSports.com ratings are created by publisher Mark Tennis, who coordinates with several state-wide sources.

San Diego High bounced back with a 7-0 dual-meet record after a mediocre season in 1953 and finished fourth in the CIF Southern Section championships.

It was a fitting farewell for coach Bill Patten, whose teams annually were among the best in Southern California since he became head coach in 1944.

Patten’s teams posted a 61-6-1 record in dual meets and from 1946, when postwar competition lengthened the season, through 1954 the Hillers finished at least in the top five in team scores at the Southern Section championships every year but 1953.

San Diego was second three times, third twice, and fourth once.  They won the team championship in 1948 and thought they were first in 1951 until a film review changed the final score.

FASTER, FURTHER

Times and distances were improving each year.

Herman Thompson of San Diego ran the first :09.7 100-yard dash and the first :19.2 180-yard low hurdles, although by all accounts Thompson received too much aid from a tailing wind.

Grossmont’s Dick Bronson set a record and ranked high nationally with a 60-foot, 4 1/2-inch shot put.  Jim Giyer of Grossmont was the first to shade 1:58 in the 880-yard run and Giyer and Jim Weir of Kearny ran the first sub-4:30 miles since 1939.

3/3/54

Darrell Sager of Sweetwater began what would become a frequent assault on the school record in the 880-yard run when he logged 2:07 in a 74 ½-29 ½ dual meet win over Escondido.

Grossmont coach Jack Mashin talked shotputting with Dick Bronson, Mel Kemp, and Richard Loftus (from left).

3/5/54

San Diego’s Herman Thompson won the individual 100 in :10.1 and Ron Wade of Grossmont took the 120-yard high hurdles in :16.0 in the City Prep League Relays. Other races and field events were scored by the teams’ three-man, combined efforts.

Thompson, Ardell Finley, and Bill Walters averaged 20 feet 8 inches, and won the broad jump.  Three Grossmont shot putters, Dick Bronson, Richard Loftus, and Mel Kemp, averaged 53 feet, 8 inches.

Grossmont won the team championship with 65 points to San Diego’s 45.  Hoover had 32 points, Kearny 27, Point Loma 20, and Helix 9.  La Jolla and Lincoln were shut out.

3/9/54

Grossmont made its CPL intentions even more clear when it topped defending dual-meet champion Hoover 67 ½-36 ½, and middle distance runners Jim Giyer and Rene Rogers pushed weightmen Dick Bronson, Mel Kemp, and Richard Loftus off center stage.

Giyer set a school record of 1:58.4 in the 880 and Rogers set a school mile record of 4:33.5.  Bronson won the shot at 55-1 ½.

La Jolla’s Billy (Cookie) Taylor set a school record of 6 feet, 4 inches, in the high jump, competing with the Class B squad, as La Jolla nipped Helix, 56-48.

Darrell Smith won the 800 in 2:00.5 and Vista beat San Dieguito, 61-43, in Metropolitan League dual competition.  Mark Shearer won the 100 (:10.5), 220 (:23.8), and anchored the Panthers to a 1:36.4 win in the 880 relay.

3/12/54

Darrell Sager’s Sweetwater school record in the 880 was lowered a third time from 2:05 to 2:04.8 and the Red Devils edged Coronado, 53-51.

3/14/54

Twenty-seven large schools, including San Diego, Hoover, and Grossmont, entered the 28^th annual Southern Counties’ Invitational at Huntington Beach High.

Twenty-seven small schools, including Kearny, Vista, San Dieguito, Army-Navy, Fallbrook, La Jolla, and Coronado also were scheduled to compete.

Grossmont led a group of almost 100 entries from San Diego with 27.  Two-time small schools defending champion Kearny had 19.

3/15/54

Bolstered by Jim Giyer’s 4:29.9 mile, fastest of the season in Southern California, coach Jack Mashin’s Grossmont Foothillers were third.

The Foothillers scored 26 2/13 points, trailing Riverside Poly, which had 35, and Santa Ana, 27 2/13.

Grossmont’s power in the weigh event was prevalent as Dick Bronson won the shot put at 57-6 ¼, followed by Richard Loftus, third at 52-11 ½, and Mel Kemp, fourth at 52-6 ¾.

Rene Rogers was third to Giyer with a 4:31 mile and Parker Damon was second in the pole vault at 12-9.

Herman Thompson of San Diego finished second behind the :09.6 100-yard dash of Santa Ana’s Bill Swisshelm and Leonard Kary was second in the 120-yard high hurdles.

KEARNY FIRST, AGAIN

Kearny won the team title for the third consecutive year with 24 2/3 points to Hawthorne’s 19.

Charlie Cota won the pole vault at 12 feet, and Jim Weir took the mile in 4:34.  Paul Rushing was fourth in the 100 and Lee Buchanan third in the 440.

3/19/54

Grossmont took a rare trip to Long Beach Wilson for a triangular meet with the host Bruins and Santa Barbara.

Rene Rogers set a school record of 4:30.4 in the mile and Jim Giyer ran the 880 in 1:58.7 as the Foothillers won with 64 ¼ points to Wilson’s 55 ¾, and Santa Barbara’s 9 ½.

3/21/54

Don Wells set a school record of 50-1 in the shot put and miler Jim Weir showed what he could do at a shorter distance, running the 880 in 2:03.3 in Kearny’s 80-23 win over Lincoln.

4/2/54

It wasn’t raining but the wind blew and Herman Thompson flew at Point Loma, where San Diego was more hard-pressed than expected in a 60 ½-43 ½ dual meet victory.

Thompson set San Diego school records of :09.7 in the 100-yard dash and :19.2 in the 180-yard low hurdles.

Thompson also won the broad jump at 21 feet, 2 1/2 inches, and anchored the Hillers to victory in 1:33.5 in the 880-yard relay.

That Thompson was so significant did not go unnoticed by Point Loma officials, who were unhappy and had suspected San Diego High influence when Thompson transferred to the Hillers before his senior year.

Point Loma’s Tom Gueston set a school record of 6 feet, ¾ inches in the high jump and Ray Blasingame was second to Thompson’s windy low hurdles in :19.5.

Grossmont’s Jim Giyer ran the Southern California season’s fastest 880, logging a school record 1:58 in a 73-31 win over La Jolla.

George Paddick of Grossmont took the County lead with a 21-9 ½ broad jump. Rene Rogers added a 4:32.5 mile and Dick Bronson a 56-9 ½ shot put.

Lincoln, which in years to come would be a power throughout the state, was feeling the struggle of growing pains.

Hoover came up one point short of a century in a 99-4 carnage.

There was no third-place scorer in the pole vault, denying the Cardinals, who had two entered in the event and Lincoln none, a 100^th point…and saved the Hornets from a historic embarrassment.

4/6/54

Herman Thompson won three events and was part of a fourth as San Diego defeated Grossmont, 66 1/2-37 1/2.

Thompson ran the 100 in :10, 220 in :21.9, broad Jumped 21-6, and ran the anchor leg of a winning relay team (1:32.5).

La Jolla’s Cookie Taylor high jumped 6-4 in an 83 1/2-20 1/2 win over Lincoln.  Kearny’s Jim Weir logged a school-record, 4:29 mile and Don Wells joined Weir with a 51-9 1/2 shot put in a 60-44 win over Hoover.  Ed Perkins’ :10.1 100 tied Helix, school reord but Point Loma won the dual, 66-38, as Ray Blasingame cleared the 120 high hurdles in :14.8.

4/23/54

Grossmont coach Jack Mashin assayed the end of the shot put competition, in which Dick Bronson, a mid-40-feet tosser as a sophomore two years before, became the fifth U.S. prep to reach 60 feet, according event guru and historian Mashin.

The national record was set by Ontario Chaffey’s Don Vick at 62-5 ¼ in 1953.
Bronson’s throw, during Grossmont’s 73-31 win over Point Loma, was accompanied by George Paddick’s County-leading, 21-11 ¼ broad jump.

La Jolla’s Cookie Taylor won a duel with Kearny’s T.C. Johnson by clearing 6-3 in the high jump, but the Vikings lost, 63 2/3-40 1/3.

C.R. Roberts won his usual, unique triple in Oceanside’s 67-37 loss to Sweetwater.  Roberts clocked :10.8 in the 100, broad jumped 20-1 ¼ and claimed a personal best of 45 feet in the shot put.

4/26/54

Chula Vista earned its third consecutive Metropolitan League championship, 67 2/3-36 1/3, over visiting Vista.

The Spartans saved the best for last as a team of Benny Martin, Bill Lancaster, Don Moore and Wayne Eisenman set a school record of 1:33 in the relay.

Spartans coach Tom Rice said the relay win was “by one deep breath,” as Vista’s Mark Shearer almost caught Eisenman, who was staked to an eight-yard lead, according to Rice, when teams passed the baton for the final time.

Shearer set a Vista record of :10.2 in the 100 and won the 220 in :23.

4/30/54

Grossmont edged Kearny, 56 ½-47 ½, for second place and a 6-1 record in the CPL standings, but the Komets’ Jim Weir routed the Foothillers’ Jim Giyer and Rene Rogers, who had been unbeaten in the mile.

Weir’s time was 4:31.9 and his rapid pace took the finishing kick of Giyer’s, who was second about 15 yards behind.

San Diego whipped Helix, 76-28, to clinch the dual-meet championship with a 7-0 record.  It was the last dual that retiring Bill Patten would coach.

Herman Thompson sat out the 100, won by Ardell Finley in :10.1, but won the 180 low hurdles in :19.5 and minutes later turned in the season’s fastest 220, :21.8, on the Helix straightaway.

5/8/54

CITY PREP LEAGUE, @BALBOA STADIUM

Herman Thompson was party to three of eight records starting with his :09.9 100 that bettered Thompson’s :10.0 in the CPL trials earlier in the week.

Thompson set a record of :19.5 in the 180 low hurdles in the trials and returned to negotiate the stadium curve and break the record again with :19.3.

Lee Buchanan of Kearny ran :50.7 in the 440, bettering a record of :51.5 by Buchanan and Point Loma’s Jesse Denny in the trials.

Jim Giyer of Grossmont ran the 880 in 1:58.9, better than his 1:59.9 in the trials.  Giyer’s mile record of 4:32.4 in 1953 was broken by Kearny’s Jim Weir, 4:31.8.

Dick Bronson heaved the shot 59-8 ¼, better than Clyde Wetter’s 57-3 in 1951, and teammate Parker Damon cleared 12 feet ¾ inch to top the pole vault record of 11-10.

Thompson anchored a team that also included Ardell Finley, Lloyd McKinney, and Atron Gentry and set a third standard with a 1:30.6 win in the 880 relay.

San Diego won the team championship with 51 points.  Grossmont had 36, Point Loma 30 ½, Hoover 29, Kearny 22, Helix 16, and La Jolla 7.  Lincoln did not have a participant.

SOUTHERN PREP, @FALLBROOK

Army-Navy scored 72 ½ points, host Fallbrook 63 ½.

Darrough of Ramona ran 4:51.7 in the mile, better than the 4:56.2 by Wilson of Vista in 1951.

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE, @ESCONDIDO

Sweetwater’s Darrell Sager ran the 880 in 2:00.3, bettering the oldest meet record, 2:02.4 by La Jolla’s Earl Russell in 1934.

Mark Shearer of Vista was the meet’s only double winner, in the 100 (:10.3) and 220 (:22.7) and anchored the winning relay (1:35.8).

Chula Vista ran away with the team title with 53 points, to Vista’s 37, followed by San Dieguito, 23, Sweetwater, 21, Coronado, 18, Oceanside, 17, and Mar Vista, 9.  Escondido did not score.

5/15/54

San Diego led all Class A qualifiers with 12 at the Southern Section Divisional quarterfinals meet on a day marked by rain, cold, and blustery wind at San Diego State.

Santa Ana had 11 qualifiers, Point Loma, 9, and Grossmont 7 in a competition featuring advancers from the San Diego City Prep League, Imperial Valley, Sunset, and Orange league championships.

San Diego’s Herman Thompson won a 100-yard dash heat in :10.4.  CIF favorite Bill Swisshelm of Santa Ana won his in :10.

Lee Buchanan of Kearny and Charlie Love of Coronado were heat leaders in the 400 in :51.7 and :52.9, respectively.

Darrell Sager of Sweetwater (2:06.4) and Jim Giyer of Grossmont (2:01) set the pace in 880 trials.

Thompson qualified second in the 180-yard low hurdles in his best event, won by Jim Trainor of Laguna Beach in :20.2.

Mark Shearer of Vista won one of the 220s in :22.7 and Jim Weir of Kearny was first in a mile test in 4:30.  Dick Bronson of Grossmont, followed by teammates Mel Kemp and Richard Loftus, led shotputters at 59 feet, 9 ½ inches.

5/18/54

Competition moved to the Division semifinals at El Rancho High in Pico (eventually renamed Pico-Rivera) and at Carpinteria.

Pole vaulter Leon Doxey discovered that he left his implement at home when he arrived.

The San Diego High athlete borrowed a pole and cleared 12 feet, 4 inches, a lifetime best, and was one of five Hillers to qualify for the CIF finals a week later at Excelsior High in Norwalk.

Doxey’s teammate, Herman Thompson, advanced in the 100 and 180-yard low hurdles, second in the former and leader at :19.5 in the latter.

 

5/22/54

San Diego was a surprising fourth in the Southern Section finals with 10 ½ points.  Grossmont’s double first places put the Foothillers fifth with 10.

Thompson was second to Laguna’s Jim Trainor’s :19.7 in the 180 lows, an event that could have been disastrous.

Trainor was a clear winner.  Going over the last barrier Thompson, Whittier’s Mickey Machamer, and Compton Centennial’s Paul Lowe were “dead even,” according to John De La Vega of the Los Angeles Times.

Trainor’s three pursuers “bumped, all were thrown off stride and it’s a miracle nobody fell,” De La Vega wrote.

Thompson was awarded the runner-up spot after a review and Lowe was third.

FOOTHILLERS FIRST

Grossmont’s Jim Giyer won the 880 in 1:59.1 and Dick Bronson took the shot put at 59-5 1/8.

San Diego also got points from high jumper Don Strickland, tied for third at 6-1 ¾, and broad jumper Alex Hudson, fifth at 21 feet, 7 inches.

Kearny’s Jim Weir was second to the 4:25.8 mile of Bellflower’s Ty Hadley.  Cookie Taylor of La Jolla won the Class B high jump at 6 feet, 1 3/4 inches, and Helix’ Bob Withem won the 10-pound Class B shot with a put of 52-6,

5/29/54

Dick Bronson of Grossmont won a tight competition with Dan Everage of Los Angeles Jordan in the state meet at Berkeley.  Bronson’s winning toss was 59-7 1/8 to Everage’s 59-5 7/8.

San Diego’s Herman Thompson was fourth in a morning 100 trial, won by Delano’s Leamon King in :09.9, and unplaced in the final.

Thompson was second to Kingsburg’s Rafer Johnson, who ran :19 in Thompson’s heat. Thompson was fourth in :19.5 in the final, won by Piedmont’s Monte Upshaw in :19 after Upshaw set a national record of 25-4 1/4 in the broad jump.

Grossmont’s Jim Giyer ran a career best 1:57.6 in the 880 but finished sixth.

The school named for Mabel E. O’Farrell was created in 1957 and opened in 1959 as a junior high, became a School of Performing Arts, and now operates under the tony brand of “The O’Farrell Charter School.”

The Falcons got on the favored side of the scoreboard for the first time last week.

After 18 consecutive losses dating to its football debut in 2018, the Falcons defeated Whittier Christian at Whittier College, 24-12.

The same Whittier Christian that dispatched Coach Tim Baxter’s club, 35-7, in 2019.  The Falcons did not play in the 2020 season and they have moved on from being an Independent to the Pacific League.

The Falcons have a game this week against, gulp, San Diego High.

WHO WAS SHE?

Mabel E. O’Farrell was said to have been born around 1870 and was an early 20th century member of the San Diego County board of supervisors.  There is no online record of her serving in such a position.  According to her wikipedia, Mabel served on a committee charged with creating a detention home for wayward youth.

Not much else is known.

“I’m an O’Farrell fan already,” I wrote in 2018.  “One of its alumni was the late Rosie Hamlin, lead singer of Rosie and the Originals, who recorded a ‘sixties favorite, Angel Baby.

Angel Baby was a top 10 hit in January, 1961.

Rosie spent most of her high school years at Sweetwater but also had a cup of coffee at Mission Bay.

STATS

University City rolled on El Centro Southwest, 75-6, last week, tying the Centurions with seven other teams that have scored 75 points.  The total ranks 35th among 11-man squads on the all-time Top Team Scoring list, headlined by San Diego’s 130-7 destruction of Army-Navy in 1920.
U.C. broke its own record, made in a 69-13 rout of La Jolla Country Day in 2018.

For a complete list of historic blowouts, see Football / Top Performances / Top Team Scores.

THE RATINGS

John Maffei’s weekly The San Diego Union-Tribune Top 10:
First place votes in parenthesis.  Points on scale of 10 points to 1 point.

RANK	TEAM/RECORD					POINTS	PREVIOUS
1.		Carlsbad		3-0 (16)		231	1
2.		Cathedral	2-1 (8)			220	2
3.		Lincoln		3-0		196	3
4.		Mater Dei		3-0		154	5
5.		Mission Hills		2-1		147	3
6.		Helix		3-0		116	6
7		Torrey Pines		2-1		86	10
8.		Scripps Ranch		3-0		75	9
9.		Poway		2-1		27	NR
10.		Madison		2-1		19	NR

Others receiving votes

La Jolla (2-1, 8 points), Santa Fe Christian (3-0, 8), El Camino (1-1, 7), Eastlake (2-1, 6), Grossmont (2-1, 5), Granite Hills (2-1, 4), Mt. Carmel (3-0, 3), Rancho Buena Vista (3-0, 3), Oceanside (1-1, 1), University City (3-0, 1).

Voting panel:  Twenty-four sportswriters and sportscasters throughout San Diego County.

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Steve Brand, Thomas Gutierrez, Rick Hoff, Jim Lindgren, Terry Monahan, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, freelance contributors.
• John Carroll, 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.
• Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
• Troy Hirsch, Fox 5 San Diego.
• Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net.
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez, Mike Dolan, CIF San Diego Section.
• Ramon Scott, Eastcountysports.com.
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country, 107.9-FM.

How others see San Diego’s Top 10:
*The second entry in each rating is from the previous week.

Team	Record	Cal-Hi Sports	MaxPreps	CalPreps
Cathedral	2-1	12-14*	8/19	60.6/44
Carlsbad	3-0	11-12	16/12	47.9/49
Mission Hills	2-1	29-19	27/15	40.7/45.2
Lincoln	3-0	15-22	14/25	48.8/39.6
Mater Dei	3-0	Bubble-NR	71/70	26.2/24.6
Helix	3-0	45-NR	83/82	23.6/21.7
Torrey Pines	2-1	Bubble-NR	46/44	35.4/32.6
Scripps Ranch	3-0	Bubble-NR	108/192	18.6/15.0
Poway	2-1	NR-NR	85/NR	22.9/NR
Madison	2-1	Bubble-NR	98/NR	20.0/NR

MaxPreps.com and CalPreps.com computer ratings are usually the same and based on strength of schedule and other factors.

Cal-HiSports.com ratings are created by publisher Mark Tennis, who coordinates with several state-wide sources.