One week before the 1969 football season A.J. (Art) Sisk resigned as coach at Hilltop High to pursue a career in publishing for the McGraw-Hill Company.

Sisk began selling textbooks to schools in the San Diego area, launching a publishing career that led to real estate on both coasts, and other ventures.

The graduate of Redlands High and Redlands University was  82 when he died recently at his home in Indian Wells, near Palm Springs.

Friends and family celebrated Sisk’s life with a memorial that was held at Nunu’s Bar and Grill in Hillcrest.

Sisk owned the popular “dive bar” that was known as Cosimo’s when it opened at 5^th Avenue and Ivy Place in 1961 and was owned by former San Diego High and USC standout Cosimo Cutri.

Sisk was 29-24 from 1963-68 as Hilltop’s head coach in the Metropolitan League.  The Lancers were 6-3 in each of the ’64 and ’67 seasons.

The Western League  race begins  this week with the season’s premier matchup to date:  No. 1 St. Augustine (5-0) plays host to No. 6 Madison (4-1) at Mesa College on Friday.

Two of the San Diego Section’s most successful coaches will be on opposite sidelines. Madison’s Rick Jackson has a 112-35-1 record in 13 seasons at the east Clairemont school. Richard Sanchez  is 71-21 at St. Augustine since 2009.

St. Augustine is ninth in the state as rated by Cal-Hi Sports.  Madison is “On the bubble”, not in the top 25.  Cathedral, No. 2 in the Union-Tribune poll, is eighth in Cal-Hi rankings, while Helix is 18th and Rancho Bernardo is on the bubble.

MONARCHS RISING

They’re not in the San Diego Top 10 and have received no votes, but Monte Vista’s 4-1 start is the Monarchs’ best since the 2004 team was 11-1 under Ed Carberry.

The Monarchs are coached by Ron Hamamoto, who had strong programs at University, Rancho Bernardo, and Lincoln, and whose 207 vicories in 31-plus seasons ranks eighth all-time in San Diego County.

HOW ABOUT SOME RESPECT?

Mater Dei was the state Division IV champion in 2015 but I pretty much dismissed their chances against North County power Mission Hills last week.  Oops.  The Crusaders ran the Grizzlies off the field, 41-14.

Because of the state’s computer-generated “power ratings”, Mater Dei will not be able to flex its muscle in the  San Diego Section Open Division playoffs, which will be open only to teams that are in Division I.   Coach Jon Joyner’s team is in D-II and can go no higher after jumping two divisions.

The power ratings determine division playoff alignments and take several factors  into consideration , including strength of schedules, previous records, etc.  Enrollment is not a factor.

The San Diego Section’s Division I power ratings (next paragraph) are much different than the  Union-Tribune poll (below):

1, Cathedral. 2, Rancho Bernardo. 3, Mission Hills, 4, Oceanside.  5, Grossmont.  6, Helix.  7, Mt. Carmel. 8, St. Augustine.  9, El Camino. 10, Madison.

Go figure.

But the season is essentially only about half over. The computer will even things out, right?

Mater Dei and Poway are 1-2 in D-II.

CALI OR ‘ZONIES?

Winterhaven San Pasqual Valley played a rare game against a California school and dropped a 30-6 decision to Calipatria last week.

Rare?  Winterhaven is in California.

The Warriors were members of the San Diego Section from 1980-84 and posted a 5-33-2 record.  They became affiliated with the Arizona Interscholastic Association and now play mostly small Western Arizona schools.

Seems to make sense.  Winterhaven is only 3.8 miles west of Yuma and the Arizona border.  The closest California school to Winterhaven is  47 miles away in Holtville.

San Diego voting:

First-place votes in parenthesis.
Points awarded on basis of 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.

Twenty-seven sportswriters, sportscasters, and other representatives comprise the voting panel:

John Maffei, Union-Tribune. Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Tom Saxe, Rick Hoff, Jim Lindgren,  Union-Tribune contributors. Michael Bower, Pomerado News. Lisa Lane, Fox 5 News. Montell Allen, MBA Sports-SDFNL Magazine. Brandon Stone, Rick Willis, KUSI, Channel 51. Adam Clark, Ted Mendenhall, Taylor Quellman, The Mighty 1090. Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Radio 107.9 FM. Bob Petinak, 1360 Radio. Bill Dickens, Adam Paul, Chris Davis, eastcountysports.com. Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com. Drew Smith, sdcoastalsports.com. Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net. Rick Smith, partletonsports.com. Steve Brand, San Diego Hall of Champions. Jerry Schniepp, John Labeta, CIF San Diego Section. John (Coach) Kentera, Prep Talent Evaluator.

The first athlete inducted into the Sweetwater High Hall of Fame, Roger Lively was a standout in the major sports and a steady, vital presence in a remarkable run by the Red Devils in the 1956-57 basketball season.

The 6-foot, 3-inch Lively, who passed at age 77 earlier this month, played center for coach Wells Gorman’s team, which had a 1-7 record when Metropolitan League play began in January.

The Red Devils caught fire, after dropping a 45-44 decision to Coronado in the leagueopening game.

They tied for the league championship with Helix, each with a 7-1 record, Sweetwater claiming its share after a rejecting a Grossmont strategy that took the air out of the ball in the final regular-season game.

The Foothillers did not take a shot from the field until 4 minutes had elapsed and Sweetwater did not score in the game’s first 10 minutes.

Sweetwater, trailing, 3-0, after one quarter and 6-5 at the half, finally put the game away, 23-19, and won a coin flip to enter the playoffs as the Metro’s No. 1 entry.

The Red Devils’ reward was a game at San Diego High against the 16-9 Cavemen, whose frontline of Artist Gilbert, Edward Lee Johnson, and Dick (Bunky) Wiseman made San Diego a decided favorite against this Johnny-come-lately squad from National City.

VICTORY IN FIRST ROUND

Junior Bobby Jordan scored 22 points, Bob Beardsley had 14, and Lively added 12 and Sweetwater stunned the Cavers, 57-47.

Next up in the second round was another favored squad, Newport Beach Newport Harbor, with three starters back from a 1955-56 postseason entry.

Sweetwater edged the Sailors, 49-45, as Lively led his team with 14 points and converted 10 of 12 free throws.

Sweetwater then moved into the quarterfinals of the 25-team event and took on No. 1 seed Los Angeles Mt. Carmel, which boasted a 28-1 record, and 6-foot, 7-inch Alvin Claiborne, one of the top players in Southern California.

Lively and the Red Devils battled their taller rivals to a standstill, trailing only 34-33 entering the fourth quarter as the crowd at Point Loma high sensed another upset.

Lively, operating strongly against the taller Claiborne, was 7 for 7 from the free throw line and scored 11 points to Claiborne’s 12.

Sweetwater lagged only 44-41 with three minutes remaining before foul trouble and Mt. Carmel free throws pushed the Crusaders to a 49-41 triumph.

Sweetwater finished the season with a 10-10 record.  Mt. Carmel, beaten in the finals by El Monte, was 30-2.

Mission Hills is at Mater Dei in this week’s top game as many clubs are idle, prepping for the beginning of league races next week.

Cathedral, 49-7 winner over a Bakersfield Liberty team that won the Central Section Division I title a year ago, is eighth in the latest Cal-Hi Sports rankings.

St. Augustine, which meets the Dons at Mesa College Oct. 28 in the  game of the regular season, jumped from 13th to ninth after a workmanlike, 26-14 victory over Eastlake.

I am one of the seven voters who have tabbed Cathedral No. 1 in the San Diego Union-Tribune poll for the last few weeks, although St. Augustine still gets most of the first place votes and the No. 1 ranking.

Mission Hills jumped from seventh to fourth after a 42-25 victory over Oceanside.  I haven’t been impressed with Oceanside since coach John Carroll’s last game, a stunning, 68-7 loss to Folsom in the 2014 state D-1 game.

Mission Hills has taken control of the rivalry with its North County neighbor but still is somewhat of an unknown quantity this season.

Mater Dei definitely has Grizzlies coach Chris Hauser’s attention, but the Crusaders probably do not have  the muscle to beat this big program.

Helix is the third San Diego Section squad to earn Cal-Hi Sports favor, moving from 21st to 17th this week.   Mission Hills, Mater Dei, and Rancho Bernardo are teams “on the bubble”.

The San Diego voting:

First-place votes in parenthesis.
Points awarded on basis of 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.

NR–Not ranked.                                                                                                                         Others receiving votes: The Bishop’s (4-0), La Costa Canyon (3-2), San Marcos (2-1), 1 point each).

Twenty-seven sportswriters, sportscasters, and other representatives comprise the voting panel:

John Maffei, Union-Tribune. Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Tom Saxe, Rick Hoff, Jim Lindgren,  Union-Tribune contributors. Michael Bower, Pomerado News. Lisa Lane, Fox 5 News. Montell Allen, MBA Sports-SDFNL Magazine. Brandon Stone, Rick Willis, KUSI, Channel 51. Adam Clark, Ted Mendenhall, Taylor Quellman, The Mighty 1090. Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Radio 107.9 FM. Bob Petinak, 1360 Radio. Bill Dickens, Adam Paul, Chris Davis, eastcountysports.com. Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com. Drew Smith, sdcoastalsports.com. Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net. Rick Smith, partletonsports.com. Steve Brand, San Diego Hall of Champions. Jerry Schniepp, John Labeta, CIF San Diego Section. John (Coach) Kentera, Prep Talent Evaluator.

Editor’s Note:  A couple sharp-eyed readers, Gregg Durrant and Justin Schaeffer, noticed a couple whiffs as soon as this article appeared.  I listed Tony Jefferson as a wide receiver when he is a safety and  overlooked kicker Jason Myers of Jacksonville. I should have caught the error that cited Myers as a Mater Dei/Santa Ana graduate when he is a Mater Dei/Chula Vista alum.

Editor’s Note II:  Bill Dobson, former head coach at Mountain Empire, found another error in the NFL’s list.  Alex Mack attended Santa Barbara San Marcos.

The corrected story appears below:

Thirteen San Diego Section graduates were on active, 53-man  rosters when the regular season began earlier this month, according to the NFL. There were 15 in 2015.

Helix leads all San Diego Section schools with 4 active players, Reggie Bush of Buffalo, Alex Smith of Kansas City, Levine Toilolo of Atlanta, and Jamar Taylor of Cleveland.

Florida’s Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas and Belle Glades Central lead all U.S. schools with 9.  Colton, near St. Bernardino is next with 6.  DeSoto, Texas, Cleveland Glenville, Miami Norland, and Miami Northwestern each has 5.

Florida (202) tops all states, followed by California (192), and Texas (187).  Miami is the leader among cities with 27, followed by Houston (18), Cincinnati (17), and New Orleans (15).

San Diego Section alums:

St. Augustine and Cathedral  are on a collision course and, unless Madison gums up their plans, will meet for the Western League championship at Mesa College in  Week 9, the winner being the favorite for the top seed in the San Diego Section Open Division playoffs.

Cathedral showed resolve last week, overcoming Helix leads of 21-0 and 28-7 to win, 35-28,  in a series in which Helix had won 7 of the previous meetings.

St. Augustine rolled  on Otay Ranch, 41-14.  Each team is 4-0, but Cathedral has a demanding intersectional opponent this week, playing host to Bakersfield Liberty.

St. Augustine has been ahead of the Dons in the Union-Tribune Top 10 poll since taking over the top spot in Week 2,  although Cathedral has played an arguably tougher intersectional  schedule, with wins over Reno Damonte Ranch and Modesto Central Catholic, while the Saints only venture outside the area was in a victory over Los Angeles Loyola.

 Cal-Prep Sports recognized Cathedral this week, jumping coach Sean Doyle’s team from 13th to 10th in the state top 25.  St. Augustine moved from 18th to 13th and Helix dropped from 14th to 21st.  Bubble teams are Madison, Oceanside, and Rancho Bernardo.

First-place votes in parenthesis.
Points awarded on basis of 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.

NR–Not ranked.                                                                                                                         Others receiving votes: Grossmont (3-0, 17 points),  Valhalla (3-0, 1), San Marcos (2-1, 8), The Bishop’s (2-0, 1), Carlsbad (1-3, 1).*                                                                                    *Includes forfeit loss.

Twenty-seven sportswriters, sportscasters, and other representatives comprise the voting panel:

John Maffei, Union-Tribune. Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Tom Saxe, Rick Hoff, Jim Lindgren,  Union-Tribune contributors. Michael Bower, Pomerado News. Lisa Lane, Fox 5 News. Montell Allen, MBA Sports-SDFNL Magazine. Brandon Stone, Rick Willis, KUSI, Channel 51. Adam Clark, Ted Mendenhall, Taylor Quellman, The Mighty 1090. Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Radio 107.9 FM. Bob Petinak, 1360 Radio. Bill Dickens, Adam Paul, Chris Davis, eastcountysports.com. Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com. Drew Smith, sdcoastalsports.com. Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net. Rick Smith, partletonsports.com. Steve Brand, San Diego Hall of Champions. Jerry Schniepp, John Labeta, CIF San Diego Section. John (Coach) Kentera, Prep Talent Evaluator.

GILSTER HITS DOUBLE CENTURY

Rob Gilster coached his Valley Center squad to a 34-31 victory over Imperial last week for his 200th victory in a career that started in the  offensive line for legendary coach Chick Embrey at Escondido and then moved a few miles north and east.

Gilster ventured to the North end of Bear Valley Parkway in east Escondido and was 63-43 as head coach from 1989 to ’97, at which time Gilster traveled over the nearby hills and landed in Valley Center, where he began a Jaguar program that is one of the most successful in the San Diego Section.

Gilster is 137-74 with the Jaguars and Terry Monahan of The San Diego Union-Tribune noted such in  an outstanding article on Gilster that appeared Sept. 20.

LOOKING AHEAD

Win this week and nine teams would be 5-0, a high-falutin’ neighborhood for some.

Mt. Carmel has not been 5-0 since 1987, El Cajon Valley since 1997, and Rancho Bernardo, despite winning a state Division 3-A title with a 13-2 record last season, has not won its first five since 2005.

Looking back while looking ahead with the San Diego Section’s 9 teams that have 4-0 records: