OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Mira Mesa (6-3, 7 points), La Costa Canyon (5-4, 7) University City (7-2, 4), El Capitan (7-2,  4).

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Steve Brand, Thomas Gutierrez, Rick Hoff, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Eric Williams, Freelance contributors.
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, KUSI-Channel 51 TV.
• Rick Smith, partletonsports.com.
• Ramon Scott, Adam Paul, eastcountysports.com.
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant (97.3 FM The Fan).
• Bodie DeSilva, scoreboardlive.com.
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM.
• Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
• Troy Hirsch, Nic Pollino (Fox 5 San Diego).
• Todd Cassen, Joe Heinz, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section.
• Mike Dolan, Rex Johnson, CIF Advisory Committee.
• Joe Evangelist, San Diego Coaching Legends Committee.
• Will Torrez, Valley Sports Network.
• Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net.
• Tom Helmantoler, Southern Conference Advisor.
• MaxPreps.

TRUE GRID 

Helix has won 16 of the last 20 Grossmont South or Grossmont Hills championships, dating to the early 2000s and the era of Reggie Bush and Alex Smith…the Highlanders won 17 loop titles before the millennium, their first in 1956…Granite Hills has won four and tied for one Grossmont Valley or Grossmont Hills gonfalon since 2015, but is 1-3 against Helix during that span and the Highlanders hold a 45-12-1 edge in the series that began when Granite Hills opened in 1960…Eagles coach Kellan Cobbs is 76-38 since a 1-9 start in 2012…Damaja Jones is 7-2 in his first season at Helix…Lincoln holds a 13-12 edge over Madison in a series that goes back to 1970…Madison coach Rick Jackson is 16th all-time in the section with 162 wins and Jackson’s .742 winning percentage is third to John Carroll’s .763 and Birt Slater’s .753 and ahead of George Ohnessorgen’s .735 among coaches with at least 100 victories (see Coach 100 Club)… David Dunn is 78-57-1 at Lincoln, but 57-22 since 2016….

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Mission Hills (5-3, 8 points), Mira Mesa (5-3, 7),  University City (6-2, 3)..

VOTING PANEL

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Steve Brand, Thomas Gutierrez, Rick Hoff, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Eric Williams, Freelance contributors.
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, KUSI-Channel 51 TV.
• Rick Smith, partletonsports.com.
• Ramon Scott, Adam Paul, eastcountysports.com.
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant (97.3 FM The Fan).
• Bodie DeSilva, scoreboardlive.com.
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM.
• Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
• Troy Hirsch, Nic Pollino (Fox 5 San Diego).
• Todd Cassen, Joe Heinz, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section.
• Mike Dolan, Rex Johnson, CIF Advisory Committee.
• Joe Evangelist, San Diego Coaching Legends.
• Will Torrez, Valley Sports Network.
• Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net.
• Tom Helmantoler, Southern Conference Advisor.
• MaxPreps.

TRUE GRID  

Granite Hills, seventh in San Diego, is unranked by Cal-Hi Sports. Or is it? The  publication also has categories for  so-called medium-sized schools and small schools…the Eagles are 17th among medium schools and Mira Mesa is on the bubble…Escondido Charter is a small schools bubble team…things have picked up at Chula Vista…prevail this week and the Spartans will have a five-game winning streak for the first time since 2008…El Camino’s 6-2 record after eight games is the best since Herb Meyer’s last good team in 2001 opened 7-2…Mike Hobbs’ Wildcats started 3-6 in 2019, and went on a six-game winning streak before bowing to Santa Rosa Cardinal Newman, 31-13, in the state III-AA championship…Kyle Wiliams’ Poway 11 hasn’t been 8-0 since Damian Gonzalez’ last club opened 9-0 in 2016….

Point Loma, 6-1 for the first time since 2014, visits University City Saturday evening in a City League game with championship implications.

The Centurions are 2-0 in league play and the Pointers 1-0. Mission Bay, Morse, and Canyon Hills all have at least one defeat.

U. City is feeling good about itself, 5-2, and back in friendlier environs after two seasons in the Eastern League (1-5 in league, 2-12 overall). The Centurions are coming off a 71-6 win over Canyon Hills preceded by 49-46 over The Bishop’s and 42-31 over Mission Bay.

Point Loma, led by third-year coach Joel Allen, has recovered from a 64-0 loss to Lincoln in its only game of 2020, Allen’s first after a brief hiatus following 11 seasons (100-35-1) at The Bishop’s.

The Pointers canceled the rest of their schedule after that game in ’20 and Allen could have been thinking, why did I do this?

The former Christian star, who quarterbacked his team to a San Diego Section Division IV title in 2002, had announced that he was going to go into business with his brother at conclusion of a 12-1 campaign and 75-59 loss to El Camino in the D-II title game in 2019.

Veteran coach Mike Hastings suddenly announced his retirement after 22 seasons at Point Loma and almost just as quickly Allen came out of retirement to become only the Pointers’ fourth head coach in 74 years, succeeding Don Giddings (1946-54), Bennie Edens (1955-97), and Hastings (1998-19).

Paul Lawrence is 13-7 in two seasons with the Centurions and Allen is 10-8-1 at Point Loma, which leads the series with eight wins in nine games dating to 1982.

The San Diego Union-Tribune weekly Top 10:

First-place votes in parenthesis.  NR—Not ranked.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes.
Last entries in columns indicate previous rank. **Ranking unchanged.
Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
La Costa Canyon (4-3, 15 points), Point Loma (6-1, 10), Mission Hills (4-3, 7).

VOTING PANEL

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Steve Brand, Thomas Gutierrez, Rick Hoff, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Eric Williams, Freelance contributors.
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, KUSI-Channel 51 TV.
• Rick Smith, partletonsports.com.
• Ramon Scott, Adam Paul, eastcountysports.com.
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant (97.3 FM The Fan).
• Bodie DeSilva, scoreboardlive.com.
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM.
• Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
• Troy Hirsch, Nic Pollino (Fox 5 San Diego).
• Todd Cassen, Joe Heinz, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section.
• Mike Dolan, Rex Johnson, CIF Advisory Committee.
• Joe Evangelist, San Diego Coaching Legends.
• Will Torrez, Valley Sports Network.
• Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net.
• Tom Helmantoler, Southern Conference Advisor.
• MaxPreps.com.       

TRUE GRID

Reader Nick Pellegrino provided the obscure stat that Julian’s 36-34 win over Warner Springs Warner last week marked the Eagles’ first venture into overtime…Julian has played 487 games since 1967…the contest also was Warner’s first in extra minutes after 233 jousts since 1996…The Manzanita League designation, dumped in 2021 for the return to the Desert League, resurfaced this season and replaced the Citrus League appellation…Petrich is a name in San Diego football that goes back to the 1960s, when Bob Petrich was a linebacker for the San Diego Chargers from 1963-66 before embarking on a successful real estate career in El Cajon…Petrich’s grandson, Robert, is a placekicker for Granite Hills, following his father and Bob’s son, Aaron, who kicked for the Eagles a generation ago….

Lincoln, now No. 2, crept up on No. 1 Madison in the Top 10 poll this week by virtue of the Hornets’ 31-17 win over Cathedral  and trail the Warhawks by four first-place votes and six overall.

The Hornets and Warhawks won’t meet until the season’s final regular-season game, but Madison’s status will be challenged this week by Cathedral, still dangerous despite four losses in a killer schedule that includes teams of national prominence.

Will Madison have memory loss or be cowed by the results of the last four meetings with its Western League rival?  Cathedral has won, 49-6, 41-0, 51-0, and 52-6.

Weekly The San Diego Union-Tribune Top 10:
First-place votes in parenthesis.  NR—Not ranked.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes.
Last entries in columns indicate previous rank.
Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Mt. Carmel (5-1, 18 points), Mission Hills (3-3, 13), La Costa Canyon (3-3, 11), San Marcos (4-2, 4) Point Loma (5-1, 3).

VOTING PANEL

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Steve Brand, Thomas Gutierrez, Rick Hoff, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Eric Williams, Freelance contributors.
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, KUSI-Channel 51 TV.
• Rick Smith, partletonsports.com.
• Ramon Scott, Adam Paul, eastcountysports.com.
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant (97.3 FM The Fan).
• Bodie DeSilva, scoreboardlive.com.
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM.
• Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
• Troy Hirsch, Nic Pollino (Fox 5 San Diego).
• Todd Cassen, Joe Heinz, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section.
• Mike Dolan, Rex Johnson, CIF Advisory Committee.
• Joe Evangelist, San Diego Coaching Legends.
• Will Torrez, Valley Sports Network.
• Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net.
• Tom Helmantoler, Southern Conference Advisor.
• MaxPreps.com.                                                                                                                                                                                     

TRUE GRID

Cathedral was 11-8 versus Madison from 1963-2004 when it was known as University of San Diego High, or Uni for short…Mount Miguel and El Capitan, whose coaches, Troy Starr and Ron Burner, respectively won their 100th games last week, will reward one of their mentors a 101st victory when they roll at El Cap this week…Carlsbad is a badge of consistency…two coaches in the last 28 years…Thadd MacNeal is 81-46 (.638) in his 12 seasons as head coach, following Bob McAllister, who was 132-66-6 (.661) in his 17 seasons, 1994-2010…Poway’s 6-0 start is the best since the Titans won their first nine in 2016…Madison was 6-0 in 2017…Roderick Robinson, Lincoln’s big, swift running back, rushed for 206 yards in 30 carries and scored three touchdowns but it was a 90-yard pass interception return for a score by Josiah Cox which broke up what was a close game after Cathedral had overcome a 14-0 deficit and were tied, 14-14, at halftime….

El Capitan coach Ron Burner and Mount Miguel’s Troy Starr can become the 45th and 46th coaches in San Diego County history to win at least 100 games when the Vaqueros take on neighborhood rival Santana and the Matadors meet Monte Vista this week.

Burner, who became the Vaqueros’ coach in 2005, is 99-94 as a head coach.  Starr is 99-42-1 in two Grossmont Conference stints, 2008-’16 at Helix and from 2018 at the Lemon Grove school, which is closer to Morse (3.5 miles) a city school in another league, than it is to Grossmont Valley rival Monte Vista, 4.3 miles away.

El Capitan in Lakeside, 4 1/2 miles from Santana in Santee, can claim big brother status, having opened in 1959 to Santana’s 1965.  Same for Mount Miguel, whose doors first swung wide in 1957 compared to Monte Vista’s in 1961.

El Capitan is 30-17-2 all-time against the Sultans and Burner is 9-2.  Mount Miguel is 33-27 against Monte Vista in a series that was continuous from 1961 until the pandemic canceled the 2020 game. Starr is 3-2 versus the Monarchs at Helix and Mount Miguel.

Getting to the milestone has not been easy.  Mount Miguel (2-4) will try to end a four-game losing streak and El Capitan (3-2) ended a two-game slog last week.

WESTERN BIG ONE

Meanwhile, Lincoln, No. 3 in The San Diego Union-Tribune poll, will play No. 4  Cathedral in a Western League opener at Mira Mesa as the regular season turns into the second half. The decision of neutral site for Hornets-Dons was made by the CIF’s City Conference and also will be in effect in 2023, according to John Maffei of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Mission Hills (2-3, 13), El Camino (3-2, 7), Mt. Carmel (4-1, 5), Point Loma (5-1, 2).

VOTING PANEL

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Steve Brand, Thomas Gutierrez, Rick Hoff, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Eric Williams, Freelance contributors.
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, KUSI-Channel 51 TV.
• Rick Smith, partletonsports.com.
• Ramon Scott, Adam Paul, eastcountysports.com.
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant (97.3 FM The Fan).
• Bodie DeSilva, scoreboardlive.com.
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM.
• Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
• Troy Hirsch, Nic Pollino (Fox 5 San Diego).
• Todd Cassen, Joe Heinz, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section.
• Mike Dolan, Rex Johnson, CIF Advisory Committee.
• Joe Evangelist, San Diego Coaching Legends.
• Will Torrez, Valley Sports Network.
• Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net.
• Tom Helmantoler, Southern Conference Advisor.
• MaxPreps.com.

TRUE GRID

Who would have thought?  Oceanside, long a San Diego Section power in the era of coach John Carroll, is 0-5 for the first time since 1941…Orange Glen is experiencing its first 0-5 since 2002…Eastlake’s 0-6 start is the poorest in school history, dating to 1993… hard times at Grossmont (0-6) are remindful of the Foothillers’ 1-5 start in 1999 that followed an 0-10 in ’98…evolving demographics, school emphasis, and enrollment shortfalls and boundaries often are cited as reasons, not to mention coaching, for the trip from top to bottom. Rick Jackson (159-55-1) in 28 seasons at  Madison can move into 16th place among all-time coaches’ victories, ahead of Mike Dolan (159-90-5) in 21 seasons at San Pasqual…five teams, Madison, Poway, Calexico, Victory Christian, and St. Joseph’s, are 5-0…10 teams are 5-1…Point Loma is 5-1 for the first time since 2014, and Calexico is 5-0 for the first time since 2016…The 57 points Hoover scored against Maranatha last week were the most since Jerry Ralph’s 10-3 2014 club scored 63 and 69 in back-to-back games…Carlsbad beat the Central Section’s No. 2-ranked team, visiting Bakersfield Liberty, 27-0, last week….

The San Diego Union-Tribune weekly poll:
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes.
Last entries in columns indicate previous rank.
NR—Not ranked. Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Rancho Buena Vista (5-0, 24 points), Mission Hills (2-3, 14), El Camino (3-2, 10), Fallbrook (4-1, 1), El Centro Central (2-2, 1).

VOTING PANEL

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Steve Brand, Thomas Gutierrez, Rick Hoff, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Eric Williams, Freelance contributors.
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, KUSI-Channel 51 TV.
• Rick Smith, partletonsports.com.
• Ramon Scott, Adam Paul, eastcountysports.com.
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant (97.3 FM The Fan).
• Bodie DeSilva, scoreboardlive.com.
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM.
• Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
• Troy Hirsch, Nic Pollino (Fox 5 San Diego).
• Todd Cassen, Joe Heinz, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section.
• Mike Dolan, Rex Johnson, CIF Advisory Committee.
• Joe Evangelist, San Diego Coaching Legends.
• Will Torrez, Valley Sports Network.
• Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net.
• Tom Helmantoler, Southern Conference Advisor.
• MaxPreps.com.