Not the most significant achievement in school history, but St. Augustine celebrated.

The Saints won at Los Angeles Loyola, 17-14, last week, defeating the Cubs for the first time since Prohibition.

Okay, so it was only the eighth time the teams had faced each other in the 88 years and 89 seasons since 1928.

But the victory was the San Diego squad’s first since the series resumed in 2014.  Loyola won as the host, 42-35, two years ago and 23-20 as the visitor in 2015.

Wheel and Deal Herb Corriere was the Saints coach when the schools first got together for a 0-0 tie in 1926.

BUT NOT OF VOTING AGE

Strengthened by the addition of six San Diego High graduates who were eligible because none had reached the age of 21, the Saints defeated the Cubs, 25-0, two seasons later.

(Relations between San Diego and St. Augustine were poor during the ‘twenties, but a truce was reached after principal John Aseltine and Father O’Meara of St. Augustine issued a joint statement of athletic cooperation. Search 1928: Eligibility Showdown for Saints and Hilltoppers.)

The Saints’ victory in the  final game was the highlight of a 6-3 season, since Loyola had been 9-0 in 1927.  Despite the influx of Hilltoppers, St. Augustine had dropped its opener to San Diego, 6-2.

The local team and the Cubs did not meet again until St. Augustine, struggling in its attempt to land a league affiliation, joined the far-flung Southland Catholic loop in 1945.

All of the Saints’ league opponents were in the Los Angeles area, but at least some of the games were played in Balboa Stadium, the Saints’ home turf in those days.

The Saints were part of this long-distance alignment through the 1950 campaign.  They lost to the Cubs, 26-0, in 1945, 25-7, in 1947, 35-0 in 1949, and 27-6 in 1950.

Loyola holds a 6-2-1 lead in the series.

Heading into Week 4, St. Augustine retained the top spot in the Union-Tribune poll.

THREE IN FIRST 18

The Saints’ 248 points were one less than in  Week 3.  Maybe that was because I voted for Helix No. 1 this week and the Saints No. 2, after having the Saints on top last week.

The situation is reversed in the Cal-Hi Sports rankings.  Helix is 13th, Cathedral 14th, and St. Augustine 18th.  Madison, Oceanside, and Rancho Bernardo are teams “on the bubble.”

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

Rank	Team	W-L	Points	Last Week
1.	St. Augustine (13)	3-0	248	1
2.	Helix (6)	2-1	237	2
3.	Cathedral (3)	3-0	218	3
4.	Oceanside  (3)	3-0	195	4
5.	Rancho Bernardo (1)	3-0	168	5
6.	Madison	2-1	124	7
7.	Mission Hills	2-0	110	6
8.	Mater Dei	2-0	80	9
9.	San Marcos	3-0	35	10
10.	Poway	3-0	34	9

Others receiving votes: Mt. Carmel (3-0, 15 points); Grossmont (2-0, 10), La Costa Canyon (2-1, 6); Carlsbad (1-2, 5), Valhalla (2-0, 3), The Bishop’s (2-0, 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.

QUICK KICKS—Carlsbad’s record went from 2-1 to 1-2 after the Lancers self-reported to the CIF the use of an ineligible player, who got into five plays at the end of the 27-0, season-opening win over Del Norte…Lincoln’s Asante Hartzog threw for 379 yards and six touchdowns in a 40-27 win over Point Loma…the Hornets led, 40-13, after three quarters and are 2-0 with a home game coming up against Hilltop…Lincoln was 2-0 last season, then bottomed out at 2-8…University City quarterback Kees Van Daelen is Dutch, so his first name is pronounced “Case”…Van Daelen was 20 x 29 for 294 yards and two touchdowns but lost a passing duel to Scripps Ranch’s Kyle Mullin, who threw for 436 yards and 4 touchdowns in the Falcons’ 35-19 victory…Escondido may wonder why it resumed playing La Costa Canyon after dropping a 40-14 decision…it was the first time the teams had played since 2009 and increased La Costa’s all-time record in the series to 8-0 since 1996….

At 3:38 p.m. on Thursday, September 8, 2011, all of San Diego County and communities north to San Clemente, south to northern Mexico, and east into Arizona suddenly were without power.

Something had gone awry at a connecting station in the western Arizona desert.

A total of 1.4 million customers across the region were without electricity.

Flights were canceled at Lindbergh Field. Streets became gridlocked as traffic signals went blank. Trolleys were stopped dead on their tracks. Hospitals activated generators, and school districts announced shutdowns.

What about football, with a full schedule the next day?

Writer Kirk Kenney of The San Diego Union captured the moment and described how Poway coach Damian Gonzalez handled the situation.

Gonzalez apparently had no problem getting  the word to his players about the status of the next day’s game at La Costa Canyon, according to Kenney.

TWITTLEDEE…

Before the season, Gonzalez made the Titans’ varsity and JV players follow him on twitter @coachgonzopoway.

“The kids all laughed at me,” Gonzalez said.  “They thought it was a joke.”

But Gonzalez’ tweets kept everyone in the loop during the blackout and into the morning afterward.

Gonzo tweets:

Thursday, 9 p.m.:  “School is canceled tomorrow. No idea on game yet.”

Thursday, 10 p.m.: “Football games will be decided in the morning. Compete!”

Friday, 8 a.m.:  “Hang tight.  No word yet this morning.”

Friday, 11:01a.m.:  “We have not gotten the word to play. There is no official decision.”

Friday, 11:07 a.m.:  “It is now official.  Game on!”                                                                  

Electricity was restored at 4:30 Friday morning, approximately 13 hours after the failure, and life gradually was returning to normal.

Poway defeated the host La Costa Canyon Mavericks, 28-14, that night.

Keeping with the spirit of the moment, a La Costa Canyon cheerleader participated in the halftime banner run-through by carrying a candle, in the shape of a light bulb.

ELECTRICITY OF ANOTHER KIND

Writer Jim Lindgren noted that at one point in 1973 vocalist Vicki Lawrence hit the top of the record charts with “The Night the Lights Went out in Georgia.”

In San Diego the lights did go out on Skyline Drive, 38 years ago.

Morse and other city schools were advised by Education Center bosses that night football was out.

Rowdyism, a fact of life on the high school circuit for many years, was cited and football became an afternoon sport.

Night games eventually returned and schools in recent years began adding lights to their stadiums.

Luminosity was part of the $15 million ball park that Morse unveiled on its campus this year.

One problem, Kearny dimmed the glow by defeating the Tigers, 35-20, in the first game under the stars.

HIGHLAND FLING

A first-week, 21-14 stumble against Eastlake was all that kept Helix from a perfect season.

The Highlanders rolled to 13 consecutive victories and won the State Division II championship by defeating Loomis Del Oro, 35-24.

Helix outgained the Sacramento-area team known as the Golden Eagles, 384-272, and led, 28-10, at halftime.

The growing state playoffs included 6 teams in three divisions.

Helix had gotten such a head of steam late in the season that, although penalized 12 times, the Scots walloped Torrey Pines, 44-7, and followed with a 21-0 win over Mission Hills the next week and beat Oceanside, 44-7, for the San Diego Section championship.

There was the usual uncertainty about availability of Qualcomm Stadium, where the finals were held.

The get use of the San Diego Chargers’ home field, the CIF was forced to implement an unpopular playoff schedule that resulted in three games in 10 days for the finalists.

RANKINGS RISE

Oceanside was 11^th, Helix 15^th, and Eastlake 40^th in the preseason Cal-Hi Sports poll.  Helix rose to fifth in the final selections, Poway to 18^th, and Cathedral to 33^rd.

The final Union-Tribune poll had Helix, Cathedral, and Poway 1-2-3.

THIS BUD’S FOR YOU

Between teaching classes in Advance Placement Literature and Theory of Knowledge, Walter (Bud) Mayfield found time to coach football at Coronado.

Mayfield hung up his whistle after the season, closing his career on a 70-32 rush over the last 10 years, representative of the  Islanders’ best run since the Amos Schaeffer-coached teams of 1926-33 went 45-10-5.

Mayfield was at the trans-bay helm for 23 of his 31 seasons, with time out for stints at University, Anaheim Servite, and Santa Ana Mater Dei, and finished 130-119-4 overall.

Two other prominent coaches also left the scene.

Dave Lay moved from assisting at Valley Center to a similar position at Mesa College.  Lincoln’s Ron Hamamoto also left for an assistant position at Mesa.

BUZZER-BEATING MADNESS

Carlsbad coach Thadd McNeal never will forget his first victory.  The Lancers defeated San Diego, 36-35, with a two-point conversion with no time remaining.

The winning score was set up on a 39-yard, flea-flicker touchdown pass play on the final snap of regulation play.

Carlsbad hired McNeal, who quarterbacked there in 1985, after McNeal posted a 45-15 record in five seasons as head coach at Lynwood.

BUZZER-BEATING MADNESS, II

San Marcos missed a two-point conversion and trailed Orange Glen, 31-30 with 1:30 remaining in the game, but the Knights recovered the ensuing on-side kickoff.

Christian Gomez’ 28-yard field goal on the final play of the game gave San Marcos a 33-31 victory.

BUZZER-BEATING MADNESS, III

Eighth-ranked San Pasqual scored 10 points in the final 2:39 and tied No. 4 Poway, 17-17, with a 40-yard field goal on the final play.

NOTHING PERSONAL

Gil Warren won his 200^th game against Sweetwater, the school at which he got his start.

Warren was a wingback on the 1958 Red Devils squad that was 7-3-1 and reached the semifinals of the Southern California playoffs before bowing to Santa Monica, 34-20.

Warren became the seventh San Diego-area coach to win 200.

Herb Meyer, with 338 victories, ranked third all-time in the state.  Bennie Edens followed Meyer with 238, with John Shacklett (229), Jim Arnaiz (212), and John Carroll (211) also in the select group.

CANCELATION FOLLOWS INJURY

San Diego’s game at Morse was called in the second quarter after Cavers quarterback Khari Kimbrough sustained a  broken leg that required surgery.

San Diego athletic director Ty Guzik described a “very emotional scene” on the Morse gridiron.

Tension enveloped the stadium when there was a delay in attending to Kimbrough, the son of Cavers coach Keir Kimbrough. Because of the delay a second ambulance had to be summoned.

The game, scoreless at the time of the injury, was declared no contest.

FIRST TIME?

San Diego Jewish Academy defeated Los Angeles Milken, 25-8.  Mark Wetzel, coach of the San Diego team, said the game was the first tackle football contest between two Jewish high schools.

HOW MANY?

Classical defeated Capistrano Valley Christian, 82-67, a common basketball score.

Except the game was eight-man football.

A total of 149 points.

A lot, but not enough to set a record.

St. Joseph (96) and Lutheran (74) scored 170 points in 2008 for the San Diego Section standard.

San  Diego High holds the 11-man record of 137, having defeated Army-Navy, 130-7, in 1920.

The closest any 11-man teams have come to the Cavers’ outburst were Rancho Bernardo (71) and West Hills (48) in 1999.

THEY WINGED IT

Seldom in their 62 seasons have the Mar Vista Mariners created a noise that could be heard beyond their Imperial Beach city limits.

The Mariners averaged about one winning season every decade and had won 1 of 10 playoff games since 1950, but they rolled out a vintage Winged-T attack this season that could be felt all over the South Bay region.

The Mariners went 11-2 and defeated city power St. Augustine, 42-28, in the quarterfinals of the Division III playoffs.

As Jim Lindgren of The San Diego Union reported, the Mariners rushed for 355 yards and had scoring drives of 11, 12, and 15 plays.

“It’s the number one offense in the history of high school football,” said coach Brian Hay.  “We use it because it fits our people.”

The fit was so snug the Mariners rushed for almost 5,000 yards, but their season came to an end in the semifinals in a 40-8 loss to Olympian.

SAY, AREN’T YOU?

Reintroductions were in order before Chula Vista “avenged” a playoff loss to Escondido with a 30-0 victory.

Escondido had beaten the Spartans, 13-7, in the playoffs, 43 years earlier, in 1968.

TRAGEDY                                                                                                                

A drunk driver was charged in an auto accident that killed four players from Grande Prairie Composite High in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The  school, known as the “Comp”, was the visiting team for a game at Santana just three weeks before.

RECORD FALLS

San Francisco Sacred Heart Cathedral returned five fumbles for touchdowns in a 56-6 victory over St. Ignatius.  The Oakland-area Emeryville squad in 1974 and El Camino in 1978 had shared the record.

The Wildcats returned four fumbles for scores in a 33-13 win over Fallbrook.

FANCY PEWS

Football was going uptown at La Costa Canyon, where seat backs were installed and concession stands were equipped with closed-circuit television.  What’s next, luxury suites?

COACHING COUNT

Ninety-seven of 120 San Diego Section schools fielded teams.  Eight in 8-man, 18 each in Division I-III, 16 in IV, and 19 in V.

Twelve of the 98 head coaches had been on the job for more than 10 years.  Twenty-five coaches were reported in their first year, 6 in their second, and 15 in their third.

IS IT MAGIC?

Hilltop’s Omar Hernandez, who quarterbacked the Lancers to six straight victories after a 0-3 start, was known as Houdini.  He escaped Castle Park defenders to score two touchdowns and kicked a 52-yard field goal in a 23-7 victory.

TRUEV GRID

Cathedral’s 17-3 victory over St. Augustine increased the Dons’ lead to 31-19 in the Holy Bowl series…Sweetwater announced plans to construct a new football stadium at a cost of $2.2 million…Patrick Henry had to play all but one of its games in a 3-7 season on the road because of a delay in the resurfacing of the Patriots’ stadium field…Mt. Carmel coach John Anderson is uncle of Poway wideout Teddy Anderson…St. Augustine was 6-0 for the first time since 1970…the Saints’ Seamus McMorrow tied the section record with a 58-yard field goal and won a postseason all-star game in Carson with a 45-yard field goal after setting up the winner with a successful onside kick…McMorrow also ran 26 yards with a fake punt….

There was not a track and field event in which Dick Coxe did not have expertise, but he probably preferred the grueling discipline of cross country.

Friends and former athletes will honor Coxe with their recollections of the demanding, straight-shooting and compassionate mentor in a celebration of his life on Sept. 18 from 1-4 p.m. in the Captain’s Room of Marina Village, 1936 Quivera Way, San Diego, 92109.

Coxe, who recently passed  at age 95, coached 30 years at area high schools Mar Vista, Sweetwater, and Lincoln, and at San Diego Junior College and Mesa College

“He had champions in events ranging from distance, jumps, relays, weights and sprints (as a college volunteer assistant at Hoover in 1952, Coxe even coached pole vaulters),” remembered Mesa distance runner Rich Cota.

“Dick Coxe was organized, structured, and focused,” said Cota.  “He took great pride in having well-rounded dual meet teams. To him, this proved your coaching ability.  Plus, there was a winner and a loser.”

The graduate of Hoover High and San Diego State developed, among dozens of others, 1972 Olympic long jump bronze medalist and 1976 Olympic gold medalist Arnie Robinson at Mesa, where Coxe’s  teams produced 15 state and 4 national community college champions from 1964-65 through 1981-82.

His first-year programs in 1964-65 at the school on Kearny Mesa won the Pacific Southwest Conference and state cross country championships in the fall and the conference track championship the following spring.

“I know I’m biased,” Cota said, “but I believe Coach Coxe thought his greatest accomplishment was winning the state cross-country title in ‘sixty-four, our first year.”

Included among Coxe’s  standouts were Bob Hose, who set an American community college record of 1:48.3 in the 880; Wesley Williams, and James King, who went on to become world-ranked 440-yard intermediate hurdlers.

Williams, who won the state 300 intermediate hurdles championship in 1967,  claimed  the National AAU indoor 600-yard title in 1974 and ’75 and King was the Pan American games winner in 1975.

Williams anchored the state mile relay championship quartet in 1968.  King was leadoff man in 1968 and the first runner on the title-winning 1969 foursome.

Bill Trujillo was a state individual champion in 1964 and

Mesa’s mile relay squad of Bill Millar, Jay Elbel, Wes Williams, and Harold Moore set a national community college indoor record of 3:20.9 in the inaugural 1966 San Diego Indoor Games.

A scholarship in Coxe’s name is being established at Mesa College, c/o Simone Sherrard, 7250 Mesa College Drive, San Diego, 92111.

El Camino was 58-81 through 2015 after Herb Meyer took his 339 career victories and walked into the coaching sunset in 2001.

Jerry Ralph is the Oceanside school’s fourth coach since Meyer stepped down and may have the Warriors positioned to end a run of mediocrity.

El Camino has had 4 winning seasons following Meyer, whose brilliant career started at Oceanside in 1958.

The Wildcats last week led Rancho Bernardo, the defending state Division III-A champion, 10-0, in the third quarter and 17-14 in the fourth, but a couple disastrous turnovers opened the door.

The Broncos of coach Tristan McCoy, playing at home before 5,000 blue-clad and logo-appareled loyalists, snatched the opportunity and pulled out a 28-17 victory.

HEAD COACH OF 5 TEAMS

Ralph was 16-17 in three seasons at Santana, 78-32-2 in nine at St. Augustine, 2-8 in a startup program at Del Norte, and 27-19 at long-dormant Hoover.

Can he do it at El Camino, where the tide rolled back to neighborhood rival Oceanside after the millennium?

Ralph, who holds the San Diego County record with five different head-coaching appointments, obviously learned as he moved along his coaching track.

Go where you can win.

Ralph’s best move may have been exiting Del Norte after one season (the Nighthawks have an all-time record of 24-44).

Legendary mentor Ed Burke, 243-95 at King City, Taft Union, San Dieguito, and Torrey Pines, may have said it best when he spoke with Ralph of the pain that usually accompanies a first-year school playing a varsity schedule:

“It’s something you will never forget and something you will never do again,” Burke said.

El Camino is a place where Ralph can win.

MILESTONES

Poway’s 43-19 win over Mount Miguel was the 100^th of coach Damian Gonzalez’ career.  Gonzalez is the 42^nd locally to earn that many victories.

Valley Center defeated Brawley for the 198^th victory in Rob Gilster’s coaching career.

Gilster was 63-43-3 from 1989-97 at Orange Glen, then opened Valley Center in 1998, and is 135-74-2 with the Jaguars.

Gonzalez, is 82-60-1 since 2004 at Poway, following a stint at Army-Navy, where Gonzalez was 18-22-2 from 1997-00.

Calipatria defeated visiting Maranatha for coach Mike Swearingen’s first win in 12 seasons.

Swearingen was 55-50-1 at Imperial and El Centro Southwest before going on hiatus after the 2005 campaign.

OUT OF TOWNERS, CON’T.

San Diego Section teams were 3-1 last week and are 7-6 overall in principal intersectional games.

Coronado dropped a 26-12 decision to Sun Valley Village Christian.  Cathedral topped Modesto Central Catholic, 28-25. Eastlake whipped Lake Forest El Toro, 41-21, and Helix beat Concord Clayton Valley, 13-0.

3 IN TOP 20

My weekly vote in the Union-Tribune Top 10 is different than the overall poll below, but is similar to that of  Cal-Hi Sports.

My No. 1 is Cathedral, followed by Helix, and St.Augustine.  Cal-Hi Sports  chose Cathedral No. 13 in its top 25, with Helix 19th, and St. Augustine 23rd.

Bubble teams include Rancho Bernardo, Oceanside, and Madison.

WEEK 3 TOP 10

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

Rank	Team	W-L	Points	Last Week
1.	St. Augustine (14)	2-0	249	1
2.	Helix (6)	1-1	231	2
3.	Cathedral (4)	2-0	218	3
4.	Oceanside  (2)	2-0	189	4
5.	Rancho Bernardo (1)	2-0	173	5
6.	Mission Hills	1-0	111	6
7.	Madison	1-1	95	7
8.	Mater Dei	2-0	80	9
9.	Poway	2-0	33	NR
10.	San Marcos	2-0	20	NR

Others receiving votes: Mt. Carmel (2-0, 15); Grossmont (2-0), El Camino (1-1), 11 each; La Costa Canyon (1-1, 10); Carlsbad (1-1), Eastlake (1-1), 4 each; Olympian (2-0), Valhalla (2-0), Santa Fe Christian (1-1), 1 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.

 

 Grossmont School District superintendent Lewis Smith was one of the most ardent advocates of what could have been termed the “Free San Diego” movement in the late 1950s.

Smith and other educational and school board associates wanted out of the vast Southern Section and were instrumental in formation of the tiny, 28-school San Diego Section in 1960.

The mere mention of “Grossmont” was music to Smith’s ears.  The former Grossmont administrator naturally found no confusion in the name he selected for the league in which district schools would participate.

The circuit was known as the Grossmont League and, beginning in 1961, was the largest in the fledgling section.

EXPANDING

Two decades later the original seven-school alignment had grown to nine, having added Santana in 1965 and Valhalla in 1974.

Nine teams and eight league games were migraine-causing headaches for athletic directors and coaches charged with scheduling.

–A 10-week season allowed for only one pre-league game and one bye week.

–A mid- or late-season bye made it difficult and sometimes impossible to find opponents (Helix had to go on a long road trip to Dana Hills in the last week of the regular season).

–Grossmont basketball teams were forced to start league play ahead of the Christmas vacation, before the traditional start on the first Friday night in January.

But most nettlesome was a system that allowed the Grossmont only two berths in the San Diego Section playoffs, especially when compared to their County counterpart.

METRO REALIGNED

The Metropolitan League also had experienced growing pains, but in 1981 split into Mesa (large) and South Bay (small) leagues of five teams each under the Metropolitan Conference umbrella.

The move guaranteed the Metro four playoff berths in the 3-A and 2-A divisions, which were created to best address fluctuating school enrollment numbers and athletic performance.

The two Metros were getting 25 per cent of the 16 San Diego Section 3-A and 2-A entries. The Grossmont, competing only in 3-A, received 12.5 percent.

“We have the longest league season in the County,” said Granite Hills coach Paul Wargo.  “Every game counts. There are other schools who only have to worry about four league games.”

“We need a 2A-3A situation,” said Grossmont coach Lynn Cole on the eve of the first league game.

The Grossmont might have gone to 10 teams and separated into two, five-squad alignments had Christian joined in 1978, but a proposal did not pass.

“There are real inequities in our league (in enrollment and in athletic success),“said Helix coach Jim Arnaiz.  “But back a few years ago, when there was discussion, the straw vote always came out 5-4 against splitting. It’ll take some real concern to get the interest up again and I don’t hear that concern.”

FIRST LOSER IN POSTSEASON

The level of concern heightened for the Helix mentor and others in the Grossmont hierarchy when they saw that Bonita Vista, with a 3-7 record, but second in the Mesa League, was going to the postseason.

Something needed to be done.

Helix and Granite Hills, each with an 8-2 record, were not in the playoffs.

Mount Miguel, 9-1, and Monte Vista, 8-2 with wins over Helix and Granite  Hills, were the Grossmont representatives.

Bonita Vista meanwhile became the first losing team so anointed in the section’s 25-season history.

With cooperation of the CIF board of managers, the East County schools were able to solve the problem after addressing the issue for the first time in three years.

The nine schools divided in 1985 and managed to not change names, becoming the Grossmont 3-A and Grossmont 2-A leagues.

Lewis Smith smiled from high above.

 

 

 

 

Two things learned in Week 1:

Helix might be less and St. Augustine might be more.

The No. 1 Highlanders, ranked ninth in the state in Cal-Hi Sports’ preseason Top 25, was surprised, 28-21, by Timpview of Provo, Utah, in a home game that marked the debut of coach Robbie Owens.

Timpview is no chump, with a flock of state championships and a 115-18 record the last 10 seasons, but Helix, 102-22-2, in the last decade, figured to get the measure of a travel-weary squad that had come more than 700 miles.

The Scots are out of the top position in the San Diego Union–Tribune ratings and St. Augustine, No. 2 last week, moved to No. 1 after scoring a touchdown on every possession until taking a knee in the final minute of a running-clock, 62-13 rout of usually representative Ramona.

My only quibble with voting colleagues was their giving too much cred to Mission Hills, which defeated middling Los Angeles Crenshaw, 21-20, on the road.  The Grizzlies, perhaps living on their strong reputation, jumped from ninth to sixth.

Mission Hills’ rise bumped Madison from sixth to seventh, but the Warhawks on the road played tough Vista Murrieta, the Los Angeles’ Times‘ No. 7 team, 12-2 in 2015, to a 20-9 loss in a game tied, 6-6 at the half.

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

Rank	Team	W-L	Points	Last Week
1.	St. Augustine (11)	1-0	246	2
2.	Helix (9)	0-1	228	1
3.	Cathedral (3)	1-0	213	3
4.	Oceanside  (3)	1-0	196	4
5.	Rancho Bernardo (1)	1-0	168	5
6.	Mission Hills	1-0	98	9
7.	Madison	0-1	94	6
8.	La Costa Canyon	1-0	90	7
9.	Mater Dei	1-0	80	8
10.	Carlsbad	1-0	17	NR

Others receiving votes: Poway, 1-0, 15; 10, Grossmont, 1-0, 11; El Camino, 1-0, 8;  San Marcos, 1-0, 7; Torrey Pines, 1-0, 4;  El Capitan, 0-0, 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.

OUT OF TOWNERS

Including the Helix and Madison defeats and Mission Hills’ victory, San Diego Section squads were 4-3 in major intersectional games.

Oceanside won, 51-42, at L.A. Times No. 25 San Clemente; La Costa Canyon topped visiting Whittier La Serna, 30-21;  Menifee Paloma Valley clobbered Rancho Buena Vista, 55-3, and Cathedral topped Nevada’s Reno Damonte, 49-12.

PLEASED TO MEET YOU

Visiting athletic directors and travel honchos may have resorted to Triple-A or a Global Positioning System last week.

Granite Hills’ 13-12, home-game victory over San Pasqual did not move the coyotes on nearby El Capitan to howl at the moon  but  provided an interesting footnote in the schools’ histories.

The game at Valley Stadium was the first between the squads, separated by 38 miles and 44 years.

Granite Hills and San Pasqual, both known as the Eagles, together had played more than 950 contests since San Pasqual first kicked off in 1972,  but they’d never met, in the regular season or playoffs.

The opening week exercise was the North County Eagles’ 496th game and the 456th in the same time frame for the East County Eagles.

OTHERS, TOO

Grossmont had never been to Morse before the Foothillers’ 31-12 victory, and they’d met only once in the previous 46 years, a 49-17 Grossmont victory in Aztec Bowl in quarterfinals of the 1970 playoffs.

La Jolla had not rolled with Montgomery since 1999 and Eastlake, around since 1993, finally played Rancho Bernardo.  Valhalla got acquainted with Scripps Ranch, which opened in 1994 and took on the Norsemen for the first time.

QUICK KICKS

Poway’s 33-14 victory over Bonita Vista marked the 99^th career victory for Titans coach Damian Gonzalez…41 area coaches have won at least 100 since Grossmont’s Jack Mashin became the first in 1947 (follow the “Football” drop down menu to “Coach 100 Wins”)…Cathedral was  23^rd and St. Augustine and Madison were teams on the bubble in Cal-Hi Sports’ Week 1 rankings….