Lucky Sutton became one the 10 highest single-season scorers in San Diego County history this season.

Sutton’s 40 touchdowns for 240 points tied the Cathedral senior and San Diego State-bound running back for ninth with Imperial’s Royce Freeman, who also scored 240 in 2011.

Sutton played in 13 games and was deprived of a 14th when Cathedral sat out a 1-0 forfeit victory over Lincoln.

The Dons’ school and County record is 336 by Tyler Gaffney, who played in 14 games in 2008.

For a complete list of seasonal leaders, dating to the 1920s, see the All Time Individual Leading Scorers page.

EVOLUTION OF HIGHEST SCORERS

*Rashaan Salaam of La Jolla Country Day scored 322 points in 1990, but his team played both 11-man and eight-man games.

**Julian’s Evan Fisher scored 342 points in 12 games in 2001, playing a full schedule of eight-man games.

GARDINERA HONORED

Scripps Ranch’s Marlon Gardinera, who led the Falcons to a 13-1 record and the state Division II-A championship, has been named the overall State Coach of the Year by Cal-Hi Sports.

The Falcons’ mentor is the seventh San Diego coach honored by Cal-Hi Sports. Others:

Cal-Hi Sports also recognized Gardinera as state medium schools coach of the year, an honor won by Madison’s Rick Jackson in 2012 and Cathedral’s Sean Doyle in 2008. Matt Oliver of Christian was state small schools coach of the year in 2013.

HENRY LOSES COACH

J.T. O’Sullivan, who resurrected a flailing Patrick Henry program, has stepped down.  O’Sullivan has been rumored to already have received an offer for another coaching position in San Diego.

O’Sullivan, who played quarterback at the University of California at Davis and in the NFL, coached the Patriots to a 20-10 record in three seasons after inheriting a program that was 4-17 the previous two years.

Scripps Ranch Coach Marlon Gardinera would have been in the spotlight on every college, NFL pregame or postgame show.

But Gardinera’s gutsy (crazy?) move did not go “national”, instead raising eyebrows and begging comment on a level just as significant to all involved.

Gardinera decided to “relax” his defense and allow Santa Clara Wilcox to score a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s state Division II-A championship game at Mission Viejo Saddleback College.

Wilcox, which had battled back from a 21-0 deficit, took a 28-24 lead with less than two minutes to play.

“We backed off,” said Gardinera, according to Bodie DeSilva of Scoreboard Live.  “I knew if we got our offense back on the field we’d be okay….”

The Falcons, behind 6-foot, 6-inch quarterback Jax Leatherwood, embarked on an 11-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with Leatherwood‘s 10-yard pass to Dean Paley for the winning touchdown and 31-28 victory with 31 seconds to play.

The touchdown pass was Leatherwood’s 52^nd of the season, against two interceptions.

SECTION IS 3-0

Scripps Ranch’s and Cathedral’s 33-21 win over Folsom and Mater Dei’s 34-25 triumph against Modesto Central Catholic represented the first San Diego Section three-game sweep since state playoffs were resumed in 2006.

Cathedral and Madison won titles in 2016. San Diego teams were 1-2 in 2015, 2-2 in 2016, 1-2 in 2017, 1-3 in 2018, and 0-2 in 2019.

DOYLE GAINS

Cathedral’s Sean Doyle continues to move up the ladder in all-time wins.

Doyle’s 1-AA win over Folsom was the 221^st of his 26-season career, moving the Dons’ mentor into seventh place in the San Diego Section, past Jim Arnaiz, Ed Burke, and Gil Warren.

Nine wins in 2022 would elevate Doyle to fifth.  John Shacklett is next at 229.

Valley Center’s Rob Gilster now is third with 239 wins, edging the late Bennie Edens, who had 238.

Go to the “Football” menu on the website and select “”Coaches”, then scroll down to “Coach 100 Club” for a complete list.

HOW OTHERS SEE US

And a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all the coaches, players, administrators, and fans who love the San Diego Section brand of football.

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

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

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

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

Kickoff is at 8 p.m. Friday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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