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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Not that they give a rip, but the Cathedral Dons’ 43-point, 57-14 defeat last week at Corona Centennial didn’t represent the worst loss in school history.

More decisive was a 45-point loss, 55-10 to Sacramento-area power Folsom in 2014. Almost as painful was another 43-point reversal, 56-13 to Marian in the 2003 San Diego Section playoffs.

Contributing to the misery was that the Dons had defeated the Huskies in San Diego, 44-41, in 2019.

On the devastation scale, 57-14 ranks close to Oceanside’s 68-7 loss to Folsom and El Capitan’s  35-28 defeat to Moraga Campolindo, after the Vaqueros blew a 21-point lead in the final seven and a half minutes, in state championship games on the same day in 2014.

The Dons have no time to grieve, playing at home this week in one of the Honor Bowl games against a another tough Southern Section team, Los Angeles Mission Hills Chaminade, which is 2-0 after victories of 48-17 over the Southern Section’s Westlake Village Oaks Christian and 49-7 over Lake Balboa Birmingham of the Los Angeles City Section.

Chaminade is ranked 13^th in the state in this week’s Cal-Hi Sports poll and 29^th, according to Max Preps.  The Eagles have a 38.0 Cal Preps.com rating.  See below for how San Diego teams rate.

QUICK KICKS

Cathedral hasn’t seen the last of Corona Centennial…the Huskies will play Chatsworth Sierra Canyon at Cathedral this week in one of the Honor Bowl games…Lincoln, down 21-3 at halftime, took the fight to Los Alamitos and had a chance to win but a pass was knocked down in the endzone on the last play…the Hornets, who lost, 21-17, struck for 495 yards against the Cal-Hi Sports No. 9-ranked Griffins…Roderick Robinson had 145 yards rushing and 1 touchdown and Nathan Azevedo caught 4 passes for 150 yards and 1 TD…Army-Navy and El Capitan are feeling chipper after their 2-0 starts, the first for the Cadets since 2013 and the first for El Cap since its 14-1 season in  2014…Hoover’s 30-14 win over El Cajon Valley broke a 15-game losing streak and was the Cardinals first since a 34-16 victory over Coronado in Week 9 of 2018…the Cardinals are 7-44 since the 2015 season, a stretch of misery comparable to a 7-46-1 slog from 1970-75…Calexico’s 60-6 destruction of Castle Park represented most points for the Bulldogs since a 65-0 blowout of neighboring Vincent Memorial in 2008….

THE RATINGS

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

Others receiving votes:  El Camino (1-1, 11 points), Poway (1-1 10), Ramona (2-0, 8), La Jolla  (1-1, 7), Oceanside (1-1, 4), El Capitan (2-0, 3), Eastlake (1-1) & Santa Fe Christian (2-0), 1 point each.

Voting panel:  Twenty-three 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, 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.

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

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

PREP FOOTBALL SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
Sportswriters/Sportscasters Poll
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
Points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis

Others receiving votes

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

scorebooklive.com), John Kentera and Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan), Ramon Scott (EastCountySports.com), Steve Dolan (Mountain Country 107.9-FM, Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association), Troy Hirsch (Fox 5 Sa

Cathedral and Lincoln, each with high aspirations, leave the sanctuary of comfortable surroundings and head North to face two of the state’s bests this week.

Cathedral, No. 1 in San Diego and fifth in the state, as ranked by Cal-Hi Sports, takes on No. 8 Corona Centennial.  Lincoln, No. 24, goes to No. 10 Los Alamitos.

Coach Sean Doyle’s Dons won a rouser from the visiting Centennial Huskies, 44-42, here in 2019 and  annually play a stiff intersectional schedule.  Lincoln is stepping up in class, keeping with the progress the Hornets have made under coach David Dunn.

Dunn, in his 11th season,  has posted a 63-52-1 record but is 43-17 since 2017. Los Al, long one of the Southern Section’s top teams, is 36-17-1 since Ray Fenton replaced the legendary John Barnes in 2016.

Carlsbad, which also has developed under coach Thadd MacNeal, visits Long Beach Millikan, a rival when MacNeal coached at Lakewood.  The Lancers are 65-44 under MacNeal in 10-plus seasons and 16-2 since 2019.

THE RATINGS

John Maffei’s The San Diego Union-Tribune Top 10:

First place votes in parenthesis.  Points on scale of 10 points to 1 point.

Others receiving votes:  Granite Hills (1-0, 14 points), Helix (1-0 14), Otay Ranch (1-0, 6), Scripps Ranch (1-0, 5), Rancho Bernardo (1-0, 1), Steele Canyon (0-1, 1).

Voting panel:  Twenty-three 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, freelance contributors.
• John Carroll, Nick Pollino,KUSI Ch. 51
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant (97.3 The Fan).
• Adam Paul, Ramon Scott, Eastcountysports.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.

How others see San Diego’s Top 10:

*The second entry in Cal-Hi Sports’ ratings is from the previous week.

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

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

Call it a return to (the new) normal.

Football is back in real football time, but the Covid still looms, with the likelihood of canceled games and quarantines.

And the pandemic, which reduced the 2020 season to an abbreviated schedule of 2021 spring games, probably was a factor in the turnover of coaches.

There will be at least 13 new head coaches (not counting eight-man teams) when action begins this week, according to John Maffei of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Eleven, actually.
Charles Bussey returns to Valhalla, where Bussey was 40-40 from 2011-17.
New Mt. Carmel boss Drew Westling was 28-18 from 2016-19 at Hilltop.

Others:
Canyon Hills (nee Serra), Brandon Harris.
Classical Academy, Josiah Cruz.
Francis Parker, Stephen Cooper.
Grossmont, Chris Holmes.
Maranatha, Nick Novak.
Mar Vista, Syd Reed.
Olympian, Jimmy Clark.
Orange Glen, Tido Smith.
Tri-City Christian, Neil Breight.
University City, Paul Lawrence.
Westview, Neil Donnelly.

CATHEDRAL SCHEDULE…YIKES!

Top-ranked Cathedral opens against rugged Torrey Pines and then it gets tougher… games against Corona Centennial, Helix, Concord de la Salle, and Mission Hills Chaminade, not to mention Western League contests versus Lincoln and St. Augustine.

Because of racist remarks toward the Lincoln team by players on the Dons’ squad, head coach Sean Doyle, the captain of the ship will have to sit out two games, probably when the Dons open City Conference play against Madison in Week 7.

DONS IN TOP 5

Cal-Hi Sports’ preseason top 50 has strong San Diego Section representation.

Cathedral is fifth, just behind No. 4 De La Salle.  Carlsbad is 14^th, Mission Hills 23^rd, Lincoln 26^th, Eastlake 36^th, and La Jolla 50^th.

St. Augustine and Torrey Pines have “on the bubble” designation.

AT RISK

Several species of the Manzanita plant are listed as endangered in California and the San Diego Section league by that name since 2011 has been declared extinct by the CIF, at least for the present.

The far flung circuit (173 miles between Buckman Springs’ Mountain Empire and Blythe’s Palo Verde Valley and which also includes Calexico Vincent Memorial, Calipatria, and Holtville), is back to being called the Desert League.

Since Mountain Empire joined in 1960 the league had been known as the Desert or Mountain-Desert.

‘BYE

The San Diego Section bid Happy Trails to the Metro Pacific, whose members merged with the Metro Mesa or Metro South Bay leagues.

Several other teams changed leagues (see table below) and San Diego Southwest notified the CIF that it will play only a junior varsity schedule. Newcomer Coastal Academy is in Oceanside.

For a complete list of teams and schedules, use the “Football / Scores / By Team” or “Football / Teams menu.

TEAM                                      NEW LEAGUE                    OLD LEAGUE               

The world pandemic almost  brought the San Diego Section to its knees, but the governing athletic body survived, thanks to determined coaches, players, and administrators.                     

Thirteen of the 96 schools fielding varsity teams were able to play a maximum six games, as mandated by the state CIF.  Sixty-nine managed from 1 to 5 games and 13 canceled their entire season.

Six-game survivors: Calexico Vincent Memorial, Brawley, El Capitan, Granite Hills, Helix, Holtville, La Costa Canyon, Mira Mesa, Mountain Empire, Santa Fe Christian, Steele Canyon, Torrey Pines, and Valhalla.

A possible game of the year between Cathedral and Carlsbad couldn’t be put together, although teams were scrambling up to the last week looking for possible matchups.

Cathedral got all 17 votes for first place in the final poll. Carlsbad was a solid second and Mission Hills was not far behind as the first three separated themselves from the pack.

First place votes in parenthesis.  Points on scale of 10 points to 1 point.

Others receiving votes:  Torrey Pines (3-3, 19 points), Otay Ranch (3-1), Sweetwater (5-0, 3 each), Mater Dei (4-2, 2), El Centro Central (5-0, 1).

Voting panel:  Seventeen sportswriters and sportscasters throughout San Diego County.

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune
• Steve Brand, Jim Lindgren, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, and Thomas Gutierrez, freelance contributors.
• Brandon Stone, Nick Pollino, KUSI Ch 51
• Adam Paul, ECPreps.com.
• Bodie DeSilva, ScoreBookLive.com.
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant (97.3 The Fan).
• Ramon Scott, EastCountySports.com
• Rick Smith, PartletonSports.com
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM
• Christian Pederson, San Diego Sports Association.

How others saw San Diego’s Top 10

*Max Preps’ and CalPreps’ computer ratings are identical, except Max Preps gives Carlsbad a 58.1 rating.

#Four teams not in the Union-Tribune Top 10 had higher placement and ratings from Max Preps:

• Torrey Pines, 46/37.9
• El Camino, 58/34.5
• Oceanside, 110/25.9
• Mater Dei, 112/25.8

Cal-Hi Sports’ ranks only the top 50.

CAL-HI SPORTS HONORS EAGLES

Tri-City Christian, which finished with a 4-1 record, was named the state Division V Team of the Year by Cal-Hi Sports.

The Eagles, a member of the Coastal League, defeated  Division II The Bishop’s, D-III Orange Glen, D-IV Classical, and D-V Temecula Rancho Christian.  Their only loss was to D-III Santa Fe Christian.