Thirteen players on opening week NFL rosters made their bones on fields of the San Diego Section:

SCOTS STEP UP

Helix’ 45-27 victory last week over Cathedral, not predicted but not surprising, vaulted the Highlanders to No. 1 in the San Diego Section, according to the panel coordinated by John Maffei of the Union-Tribune.

“We didn’t play good and they’re great,”  Cathedral coach Sean Doyle told Jim Lindgren of the Union-Tribune, adding, “They had two weeks to prepare for us and did a great job.”

Helix will be immediately tested Friday night at Mesa College when the Scots  visit St. Augustine.

The Saints have rolled to 4-0 by an average score of 47-3, but they’ll be facing one of the premier running backs in Helix’ Elelyon Noa. who scored three touchdowns and rushed for 116 yards and caught five passes for 79 yards against Cathedral.

Noa, powerful and quick, recently broke Reggie Bush’s school career rushing record.

The San Diego Union-Tribune Week 4 poll:

Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

First-place votes in parenthesis. NR–Not ranked.

Others receiving votes: Oceanside (2-1, 42 points), San Diego (3-0, 6), Vista (3-1, 5), Madison (2-2, 3), Granite Hills (3-1, 2), Hilltop (4-0, 2), Scripps Ranch (4-0, 1), Poway (3-1, 1).

Voting panel of 31 sportswriters, sportscasters, various County football honchos:

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune
• Jim Lindgren, Rick Hoff, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Thomas Gutierrez, freelance contributors.
• Paul Rudy, Brandon Stone,Ted Mendenhall, KUSI Chl. 51
• Adam Paul, ECpreps.com
• Ramon Scott, EastCountySports.com
• Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com
• Taylor Quellman, The Mighty 1090
• Steve Brand, San Diego Hall of Champions
• Troy Hirsch, Kaylyn McMakin, Tabitha Lipkin, Fox 5, San Diego
• Rick Smith, PartletonSports.com
• Jerry Schniepp, John Labeta, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section
• Joe Heinz, Coordinator, Athletics, Sweetwater School District
• Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net
• Bob Petinak, free lance.
• John Kentera, Brandon Suprenant, 97.3 FM The Fan
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM
• Mike Dolan, John Carroll, San Diego Section Tournament Directors.
• Christian Pederson, SoCal Prep Insider.
• Joe Heinz, Athletics Director, Sweetwater School District.
• Eric Williams, WBK Sports/San Diego Friday Night Lights Magazine.

AS OTHERS SEE SAN DIEGO’S TOP 10

Cal Preps.com and Max Preps ratings are based on computer algorithms.  Cal-Hi Sports ratings are product of publisher Mark Tennis’ eye test and information from Tennis’ correspondents throughout the state..

POINTS

There has been a 37-34 final score five times in the almost 50,000 games played by San Diego County schools since the first in 1891.

All of those 37-34’s have occurred since 2006.

But with the same team involved, on successive weeks?

It happened this season with the Imperial Tigers, who lost to Coronado and Valley Center by scores of 37-34.

La Costa Canyon in 2006 against Lakewood came out a winner.  So did Valley Center against San Pasqual in 2008 and Cathedral versus Stockton St. Mary’s in a state championship game in 2008.

Corona Centennial did not make an appearance at Cathedral last week until less than 3 minutes before kickoff.

The Huskies did not engage in the usual, pregame warmup.

“Gamesmanship,” observed Don Carey, retired, longtime NFL official who now scouts high school officiating crews.

If that was the late-arriving Riverside County powerhouse’s message to the Dons it seemed to work, for awhile.

Huskies wide receiver Gary Bryant took a handoff on a reverse and raced 67 yards to a touchdown on the game’s second play from scrimmage.

Centennial barged up and down the field for 583 total yards (to Cathedral’s 378) but 3-0 Cathedral punched back each time in a marvelous game that was tied on three occasions and had five lead changes before a crowd of about 6,000 at Cathedral’s Manchester Stadium.

Trailing, 42-37, Dons quarterback D.J. Ralph scored from the one-yard line with 46 seconds remaining to pull out a 44-42 victory.

Ralph rushed for three touchdowns and passed for two and running back Zavien Watson (28 carries, 140 yards) kept the Dons coming when the speedy Huskies threatened to create some distance.

FLAGS

Officials worked hard to keep the teams’ emotions in check in a physical and chippy contest.

Centennial coach Matt Logan tried not to complain, but did.

“There were a ton of calls and it’s unfortunate that that was a factor in the game,” Logan told  writer Tim Meehan of the Riverside Press-Enterprise.  “It’s not an excuse, but it’s a fact.  It’s very unfortunate.”

Corona was penalized 16 times for 173 yards.  The more disciplined Dons were fined five for 40 yards,

THE DON

Despite the disparity, Cathedral coach Sean Doyle also did not appear ready to enjoy a repast with the zebra-striped police.

Doyle prowled the sideline, exhorting his staff and players, and aggressively worked the officials, particularly referee Brian Bortness, usually after hearing from Doyle’s assistant coaches, who spotted possible infractions from high above the field in the press box.

Doyle engaged in the almost comical repetition of removing his headset to bark a complaint to the game referee or instructions to his quarterback, and then placing the device back on his head.

RATINGS

Cathedral traded places with Centennial in Cal-Hi Sports’ weekly ratings and now is fifth, behind Santa Ana Mater Dei, Bellflower St. John Bosco, Concord De La Salle, and Folsom.

St. Augustine rose from 19^th to 17^th.  Helix is 42^nd and Lincoln 44^th.  A loss to San Clemente dropped Carlsbad to the bubble, on which it sits with Torrey Pines.

Max Preps ranks Cathedral third in California and a somewhat eye-brow-raising ninth in the country.  St. Augustine is 17^th in the state, Helix 41^st, and Lincoln 51^st.

Cal Preps.com awards Cathedral a 77.1 computer score, the highest ever for a San Diego team since the service began in 2001. The 15-0 Dons of 2016 scored 72.6.  Next highest were Helix, 65.8 and 64.4 in 2017 and 2011, respectively.

HELIX

The Highlanders did not play last week after losing at home to West Herriman, the No. 6 team in Utah, with a loss only to No. 1 Draper, Utah.

Helix will be home to Cathedral this week.  The Dons look superior but Helix, a traditional power, at this point is an unknown quantity.

ST. AUGUSTINE

Barring a stunning upset, the Saints and Cathedral will meet in Week 7 at Mesa College, with the Western League championship at stake and offering an early barometer of which team will be the Division I favorite in the playoffs.

A 47-0 Saints win over Eastlake in Week 1 was the most decisive loss in Titans coach John McFadden’s 16 seasons at the South Bay school.

The Saints impressed again last week in a 42-5 victory over Los Angeles Loyola and will be favored  this week against Otay Ranch.

TRUE GRID

Two of Catheral coach Sean Doyle’s assistants, offensive line coach Matt White and receivers coach Jerry Ralph, have been head coaches in the San Diego Section and between them own 177 victories…White and Ralph are graduates of University OF sAN dIEGO High, which was the school name before it became Cathedral in 2004…the San Diego Section merry-go-round continued with at least 18 new coaches, same as in 2018…one of the changes was Classical’s Jon Goodman’s moving a few blocks to Escondido Charter…Salton City West Shores still has not announced a coach and has a scheduled opener this week versus Ocean View Christian…the Wildcats’ schedule, however, has been removed from Max Preps‘ listings, meaning perhaps no football this season…the spread offense brought to Patrick Henry by former NFL quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan resulted in 111 points in the first three games, the most in school history, dating to 1969…the Mike Martinez-coached team scored 108 in 2015…O’Sullivan is assisted by Nate Nelson, who was the head coach’s wide receiver battery mate at the University of California at Davis…when a scheduling conflict arose, El Centro Central made a week-of-the-game decision and agreed to play El Paso Del Valle…the Spartans loaded up some buses, hiked 614 miles each way, and came home with a 34-21 victory….win this week and Hilltop will be 4-0 for the first time since 2013…

San Diego Union-Tribune Week 3 poll:

Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

First-place votes in parenthesis. NR–Not ranked.

Others receiving votes: Granite Hills (2-0, 26 points), Oceanside (1-1, 14), Madison (1-1, 12), San Marcos (1-1, 2), San Diego (2-0, 1), El Camino (1-1, 1), San Pasqual (2-0, 1).

Voting panel of 31 sportswriters, sportscasters, various County football honchos:

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune
• Jim Lindgren, Rick Hoff, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Bob Petinak, Thomas Gutierrez, freelance contributors.
• Paul Rudy, Brandon Stone,Ted Mendenhall, KUSI Chl. 51
• Adam Paul, ECpreps.com
• Ramon Scott, EastCountySports.com
• Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com
• Taylor Quellman, The Mighty 1090
• Steve Brand, San Diego Hall of Champions
• Troy Hirsch, Kaylyn McMakin, Tabitha Lipkin, Fox 5, San Diego
• Rick Smith, PartletonSports.com
• Jerry Schniepp, John Labeta, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section
• Joe Heinz, Coordinator, Athletics, Sweetwater School District
• Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net
• John Kentera, Brandon Suprenant, 97.3 FM The Fan
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM
• Mike Dolan, John Carroll, San Diego Section Tournament Directors.
• Christian Pederson, SoCal Prep Insid
• Eric Williams, WBK Sports/San Dego Friday Night Lights Magazine

Cathedral Catholic takes on visiting Corona Centennial Friday night in a battle of elite privates and publics.

Coach Sean Doyle’s private-school Dons defeated Arizona’s big one, Scottsdale Saguaro, 18-10, last week at home in the final of the Honor Bowl tripleheader.

Public school Centennial, after a 42-12, opening-game loss to national No. 1 Santa Ana Mater Dei, won its second straight blowout, 56-14 over usually rugged Orange Lutheran.

Matchups like these have become common for Doyle’s team, which does not flinch when assembling a  schedule.

Part of the work is done for Cathedral because it embraces the opportunity each year to participate in the Honor Bowl, a season-opening series played to assist wounded war veterans and brings together some of the top teams in the country.

The Dons are guaranteed a tough opponent in those games, but Cathedral takes it a step further.

Cathedral is acknowledged as having one of California’s top programs and it has gotten there by venturing out of San Diego County.

Winning the league championship and moving through the playoff rounds are the preeminent goals every year, but ratings rate, too.

Three major observers, Cal-Hi Sports, Cal-Preps.com, and Max Preps consider this week’s Dons-Huskies one of the season’s top matchups.

Cathedral is weekly Cal-Hi Sports’ No. 6 team and Centennial  No. 5.

Max Preps rates Cathedral No. 5 in California and No. 19 nationally.  Centennial  is No. 3 and No. 6, respectively.

Cal Preps.com gives Centennial a computer score of 80.1, Cathedral 68.4.

Doyle, who played at University and became the Dons’ coach in 1997 and was part of the move to Carmel Valley when the school was renamed Cathedral Catholic in 2004, has won 198 games in his career and is 16-10 against teams from out of San Diego County.

Cathedral and Helix are two teams from this area who approach the season in much the same manner as the Duane Maley teams of San Diego High in the late ‘forties and 1950s. Maley’s pre-league schedule always was loaded.

Cathedral’s intersectional record since 1997:

Meanwhile, the Dons continued to rank No. 1 in the San Diego Section ahead of arch rival and Western League opponent St. Augustine.

The Saints whacked former power Eastlake, 47-0, last week and take on old rival Los Angeles Loyola at Mesa College this week.

The teams first met in 1926, were members of the Southland Catholic League from 1945-50, and then went their separate ways.

The Saints and Cubs renewed aquaintances and have played every year since 2014, with Loyola holding a 3-2 edge, although St. Augustine won last year’s game, 28-10, in Los Angeles.

Loyola holds an overall, 8-3-1 lead in the series.

QUICK KICKS

“There’s no doubt that it hurts, because we invested a lot of time, effort, and energy in trying to win that game,” Saguaro coach Jason Mohn said to Richard Obert of the Arizona Republic in recapping the loss to Cathedral….

San Diego Union-Tribune Week 2 poll:

Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

First-place votes in parenthesis. NR–Not ranked.

Others receiving votes: Granite Hills (2-0, 26 points), Oceanside (1-1, 14), Madison (1-1, 12), San Marcos (1-1, 2), San Diego (2-0, 1), El Camino (1-1, 1), San Pasqual (2-0, 1).

Voting panel of 31 sportswriters, sportscasters, various County football honchos:

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune
• Jim Lindgren, Rick Hoff, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Bob Petinak, Thomas Gutierrez, freelance contributors.
• Paul Rudy, Brandon Stone,Ted Mendenhall, KUSI Chl. 51
• Adam Paul, ECpreps.com
• Ramon Scott, EastCountySports.com
• Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com
• Taylor Quellman, The Mighty 1090
• Steve Brand, San Diego Hall of Champions
• Troy Hirsch, Kaylyn McMakin, Tabitha Lipkin, Fox 5, San Diego
• Rick Smith, PartletonSports.com
• Jerry Schniepp, John Labeta, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section
• Joe Heinz, Coordinator, Athletics, Sweetwater School District
• Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net
• John Kentera, Brandon Suprenant, 97.3 FM The Fan
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM
• Mike Dolan, John Carroll, San Diego Section Tournament Directors.
• Christian Pederson, SoCal Prep Insider
• Eric Williams, WBK Sports/San Dego Friday Night Lights Magazine

Westbound traffic will pick up on Escondido’s Valley Parkway Friday night.

A neighborhood bragging rights game is scheduled when revitalized Orange Glen motors West from the eastern edge of town on the old thoroughfare to visit big brother Escondido High.

They’re only 4.5 miles apart, but the visiting Patriots and host Cougars haven’t met since 2015.

Fortunes have ebbed and flowed for both teams in a rivalry that once annually drew crowds of up to 10,000.

Orange Glen is in the midst of a renewal, following the lead of coach Gary Patterson and his son, Cael, who scored 35 touchdowns a season ago and helped the Patriots win four straight playoffs games before they bowed to San Francisco Lincoln, 24-13 in the state VI-AA finals.

Orange Glen’s 10-5 standing marked its first winning season since Rob Gilster coached it to a 9-3 record in 1997 and then moved on to open Valley Center.

Escondido has not been above .500 since 2009 and opened last week with a 45-42 loss to Hilltop, while the Patriots were on the island of Kauai and defeating Waimea, 41-16.

The Cougars lead the series, 28-18, and own a 15-game winning streak, dating to 1998.  Orange Glen had won the 13 previous crosstown matchups, from 1985-97 and  the teams’ first meeting, 14-7, in 1967, but Escondido held a 13-5 advantage through 1984.

CALIFORNIA’S BEST

Cal-Hi Sports‘ weekly state top 50 lists Cathedral No. 6, which is where the San Diego Section No. 1 club was in the newsletter’s first ranking last week.

St. Augustine is 19th, up from 21st.  Torrey Pines, off a 36-10 win over Orange County toughie Los Alamitos, jumped a whopping 16 spots, from 41st to 25th.  Helix is 31st and Lincoln joined the group at 48th.

Mission Hills, 31st last week, dropped out and Carlsbad is on the bubble, which consists of teams near the top 50.

Cathedral, 42-9 over La Costa Canyon last week,  gets it first big test in the Honor Bowl extravaganza Saturday.  Three different matchups on the same day: Sherman Oaks Notre Dame versus Phoenix Desert Vista at noon, followed by Capistrano JSerra and St. Joseph’s Regional of Montvale, New Jersey, at 3:30 p.m., and the host Dons and Arizona’s Scottsdale Saguaro at 7.

QUICK KICKS

Kearny’s 65-16 rout of Calexico required a visit to the Komets’ list of all-time scores…the victory ranks third to a 66-0 win over Patrick Henry last season and a 70-0 win over Crawford in 1969…Army-Navy prepared to meet Clairemont for the first time since 1993, but the Chieftains were forced to bail when only 14 players were available… Valhalla snapped an 0-18 slump with a 35-21 win over University City and El Cajon Valley won its first after 16 losses in a row, 13-7 over Francis Parker…the San Pasqual Academy Dragons have a new coach, Tyrone Shelley, who played basketball for Steve Fisher at San Diego State and holds the San Diego Section single-game record with 76 points in 2005 for Crawford against a team from Canada….

San Diego Union-Tribune Week 1 poll:

Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

First-place votes in parenthesis.

Others receiving votes: La Costa Canyon (0-1, 29 points), Granite Hills (1-0, 12), Oceanside (0-1, 8), Eastlake (0-1, 6), San Marcos (0-1, 4), San Diego (1-0, 4), Grossmont (1-0, 4), El Camino (1-0, 1), Olympian (1-0, 1), Vista (1-0, 1).

Voting panel, 31 sportswriters, sportscasters, various County football honchos:

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune
• Jim Lindgren, Rick Hoff, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Union-Tribune correspondents
• Paul Rudy, Brandon Stone,Ted Mendenhall, KUSI Chl. 51
• Adam Paul, ECpreps.com
• Ramon Scott, EastCountySports.com
• Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com
• Taylor Quellman, The Mighty 1090
• Steve Brand, San Diego Hall of Champions
• Troy Hirsch, Kaylyn McMakin, Tabitha Lipkin, Fox 5, San Diego
• Rick Smith, PartletonSports.com
• Jerry Schniepp, John Labeta, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section
• Joe Heinz, Coordinator, Athletics, Sweetwater School District
• Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net
• Bob Petinak, Freelance
• John Kentera, Brandon Suprenant, 97.3 FM The Fan
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM
• Mike Dolan, John Carroll, San Diego Section Tournament Directors.
• Christian Pederson, SoCal Prep Insider
• Eric Williams, WBK Sports/San Dego Friday Night Lights Magazine
• Thomas Gutierrez, Cal-Hi Sports

Football, which used to open with 90-degree practices under blazing Labor Day suns, is back with a now usual berginning in August’s semifinal week.

The dates have changed, but not the weather.

Cathedral is the San Diego Union-Tribune voting panel’s No. 1-ranked team in the first weekly poll.

Dons coach Sean Doyle, who should become the 11^th coach in County history to win 200 career games, embarks on his 24^th season in a career that began in 1996 at University, which moved its campus on Linda Vista to Carmel Valley and became Cathedral Catholic in 2004.

Doyle has posted a 196-91 (.683) record and trails only Monte Vista’s Ron Hamamoto (227) and Valley Center’s Rob Gilster (224) among active coaches.

HERB MEYER ON TOP

With 23 seasons, Doyle is in a tie with Gary Blevins, who retired after the 2017 season, at 16^th in longevity.  The leaders are Herb Meyer (45 seasons), Bennie Edens (43), Hamamoto (33), John Shacklett (32), and Gilster (30).

Cathedral (13-2) sustained an unlikely loss to La Costa Canyon, 19-7, in its opening game last season and then ran the table until a 21-14 defeat to Folsom in the state Division I championship.

The Dons will face off again this week against the well-regarded and neighboring Mavericks, No. 6 in the preseason poll.

Then, as is their early-season custom, Cathedral takes on a couple bluebloods.

The Dons will face state No. 3 and U.S. No 9 Corona Centennial in Week 2 and Scottsdsale Saguaro, No. 1 in Arizona and 22nd in the country, in Week 3. Max Preps, responsible for these ratings, places Cathedral at 13^th in California and 45^th nationally.

Cathedral has a solid 58.0 Cal Preps.com rating but Centennial’s is 76.6 and Saguaro’s 64.4.

At least the Dons’ first three tests will be at home.

QUICK KICKS—Helix, which opened No. 1 in San Diego in 2018 and then felt the Week 1 hammer of San Bernardino Cajon, 43-3, switches sites and opens as host to the Cowboys…the Highlanders are Max Preps’ 32^nd rated team in California and Cajon is 56^th…the Scots follow with tough West Herriman, Utah…after that?  Cathedral visits  and then comes Westlake Village Oaks Christian…sandwiched between is a game at Mesa College with St. Augustine…Carlsbad also has a strong intersectional schedule, opening with Newhall Hart, Long Beach Millikan, and Lawndale, which was 14-2 a year ago and is Cal Hi Sports’ preseason state No. 26…Torrey Pines, 41^st by Cal-Hi Sports, opens with Los Alamitos, 9-2-1 last season and ranked 46^th…others accorded props in the newsletter’s top 50:  Cathedral, No. 6; St. Augustine, No. 21; Mission Hills, No. 31, Helix No. 33, and Poway, out of the top 50 but with “On The Bubble” status…Max Preps ranks the Cathedral-Corona Centennial game as No. 6 in its Top 10 matchups of the season….

Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

First-place votes in parenthesis.

Others receiving votes: San Marcos (8-2), 26 points, Eastlake (10-2), 22, Madison (6-5), 12, San Diego (12-2) 3, Otay Ranch (6-5), 1.

Voting panel, 31 sportswriters, sportscasters, various County football honchos:

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune
• Jim Lindgren, Rick Hoff, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Union-Tribune correspondents
• Paul Rudy, Brandon Stone,Ted Mendenhall, KUSI Chl. 51
• Adam Paul, ECpreps.com
• Ramon Scott, EastCountySports.com
• Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com
• Taylor Quellman, The Mighty 1090
• Steve Brand, San Diego Hall of Champions
• Troy Hirsch, Kaylyn McMakin, Tabitha Lipkin, Fox 5, San Diego
• Rick Smith, PartletonSports.com
• Jerry Schniepp, John Labeta, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section
• Joe Heinz, Coordinator, Athletics, Sweetwater School District
• Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net
• Bob Petinak, Freelance
• John Kentera, Brandon Suprenant, 97.3 FM The Fan
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM
• Mike Dolan, John Carroll, San Diego Section Tournament Directors.
• Christian Pederson, SoCal Prep Insider
• Eric Williams, WBK Sports/San Dego Friday Night Lights Magazine
• Thomas Gutierrez, Cal-Hi Sports

Kearny High became the second school (after Grossmont in 1971-72) in the 14-season history of the San Diego Section to win football and basketball championships in the same school year.

The Komets took the Grossmont accomplishment a giant step further.  They were undefeated in both sports, football, 12-0-1, basketball, 32-0.

No team has come close since.

Tying it together was Mark Hoaglin, a 6-foot, 8-inch, 230-pound tight end in football and a husky presence in basketball, the only Birt Slater-coached gridder to also be a regular starter for hoops coach Wayne Colborne.

How the Komets won 32 straight:

1—Kearny 74, Oceanside 46.  Poway transfer Rick Taylor, the son of Komets baseball coach Jack Taylor, scored 17 points.  The balanced Komets also received 19 from Alan Rhodes, 13 from Donald Page, and 10 from Greg Ashbaugh.

2—Page, with 20, and Taylor, with 18, were joined by seven others who scored in a 74-47 victory over a second Avocado League foe, Vista.

3—The Komets continued their run through the Avocado League, racing to a 40-14 halftime lead and easing to a 74-38 win over Orange Glen.

4—Hoaglin still was involved in football (he caught a pass for 25 yards and punted 4 times for 36 yards in Kearny’s 34-0 playoff victory over Sweetwater, reversing a 6-6 tie in the first game) and Grossmont, which would mount a championship bid in the Grossmont League, did not take advantage, never out of it but never really in it as Kearny moved on, 69-57.

5—Perennially tough Helix couldn’t penetrate a tough defense, which guided the Komets to a 53-28 victory.

6—Poway, which would win 21 games, tested the Komets’ resolve, leading, 37-35, into the fourth quarter before the Linda Vistans put together a 20-8 final eight minutes to win a 27^th annual Kiwanis Tournament opening game, 55-44.

7—Hoaglin, after celebrating the football championship, made his debut and matched Donald Page’s 19 points in a 73-45 win over San Dieguito.

8—The Komets flexed some muscle against Madison, their former Western League antagonist, scoring the first 16 points and cruising, 74-61.

9—Morse was 8-1, fresh from a 69-52 win over Helix, but the Tigers were run off the floor, 82-54, and trailed by 36 points at the end of three quarters.  Hoaglin scored 18 and three other starters, Alan Rhodes, Rick Taylor, and Donald Page scored at least 13.

10—Matchup of the year brought two teams together with a combined 18-0 record for the Kiwanis Tournament Unlimited Division title. Patrick Henry was defending San Diego Section champion and had won 25 in a row, including 64-53 over Kearny in the 1972-73 championship game.

The Patriots socked the Komets with a 14-0 run that erased a 39-30 Kearny advantage and put Henry in front, 44-39, with four minutes left in the game.

Staggered, Kearny regrouped, taking back the lead and separating with two free throws by reserve Phil Thompson with 55 seconds left in 52-48 barnburner.

The last of the County’s unbeaten teams, the Komets were rewarded with a week off before the New Year.  They led the CIF, averaging 68 points on offense and holding opponents to 46.8.

11—January began with Page scoring 17, Rhodes 16, and Hoaglin 15 in a 74-52 victory over St. Augustine in the University Tournament.

12—Santana came with a deliberate offense, the polite term for a semi stall.  Kearny eased, 45-29.

13—Alan Rhodes’ 18, Rick Taylor’s 16, Donald Page’s 12, and Mark Hoaglin’s 11 were enough keep Hoover at a distance, 64-56.

14—A Kiwanis Tournament championship game encore, this time the Komets administering the big punch. Trailing, 29-26 at halftime, Kearny whacked Patrick Henry with a 10-0 blitz at the start of the third quarter and they pulled away to lead, 43-32, before going into a slowdown.

Henry never got closer than 4 points in the last period, although they scored with 13 seconds left to make the final 49-47.

15—Coach Wayne Colborne’s club was living dangerously.  They opened Western League play with a 63-60, overtime victory at 13-3 San Diego, which moved to the West this season after 13 years in the Eastern loop.

Kearny trailed, 38-29, in the third quarter before jumping in front, 41-40.  They trailed again, 48-47, with 4:34 left but tied the Cavers, 56-56, at the end of regulation.  Rick Taylor’s seven free throws during the extra session pulled out the win.

Taylor was 9×10 from the charity stripe and Kearny shot 49 per cent from the field.  Alan Rhodes led the second-half comeback and had 23 points.

16—Nine players, led by Taylor’s 18, scored in a 75-39 rout of Madison.

17—Morse didn’t give up without a struggle, staying close almost all the way before bowing, 66-58, as Taylor scored 21 and Page 20.

18—It wasn’t getting easier.  Kearny finished with a 21-8 fourth quarter to shake the pesky University Dons, 51-38.  Uni held the Komets to four points in the third quarter and defended strongly, forcing a number of off-balance shots.

19—Kearny shot 56 per cent from the floor, Point Loma 28 per cent.  The Pointers fell, 60-32. Page led with 16 and backup Ed Simpson had 14.

20—Hoaglin (23), Page (22), and Taylor (22) combined for 67 points and Clairemont was left behind, 86-64.

Kearny might have approached the school record of 97, set in 1968-69 versus Granite Hills, but the Komets just maintained in a 19-19 fourth quarter as reserves got some minutes.

21—A 25-6 first quarter was all that was needed in an 85-47 romp over St. Augustine.

22—Mark Hoaglin scored 21 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, the Komets’ shot 55 per cent from the floor, and dominated the rematch with San Diego, 80-55, before a capacity crowd of 1,000 in the Komets’ gym. Kearny’s 1-3-1 zone defense swarmed the Cavers, who shot 38 per cent from the field.

“We’re coming on,” said Colborne.

San Diego coach Gary Todd:  “To fast break you have to get some defensive rebounds. There weren’t any rebounds.  Everything they shot was going in.  Then, when we came down against their zone, we couldn’t move fast enough to get good shots.”

Kearny made 28 free throws to the Cavers’ four.

23—67-57, Hoover. The Cardinals were behind by four points with 1:30 left in the game and had the ball, having run off eight points in a row to close to 60-56.  A 16-6 run had brought the Cardinals back after they lagged, 54-40, after three quarters.

Rick Taylor scored 14 points, including six of the last seven; Donald Page had 17 and Alan Rhodes 21.

24—72-60 over Madison, which scored the last 11 points against reserves.  The Warhawks officially stepped down from the Western League throne, on which they sat for seven straight seasons.

25—The third game, matching No. 1 and No. 2, brought no charm for Henry.  Mark Fitzner’s late, 20-foot looper forced an overtime, but the Komets prevailed, 59-55. Donald Page’s three-point play got separation for Kearny

26—Taylor’s 20, Hoaglin’s 18, and Page’s 16 were the difference in an 81-62 victory over University.  The Dons wilted under a 22-10, third quarter run.

27—77-45, Point Loma.  Ten players scored for Kearny, which was assessed only 5 personal fouls in 32 minutes.  The Pointers were only slightly more aggressive, being whistled for 11 infractions.

28—A perfect, 10-0 Western League season concluded with a 58-45 victory against Clairemont.  The Linda Vistans led, 48-25, after three.

Kearny became the fifth team in County history to end the regular season undefeated, joining Hoover (25-0) in 1959-60, La Jolla (26-0), 1963-64, Mount Miguel (28-0), 1967-68, and Helix (29-0), 1969-70.

29—Chula Vista (16-14) trailed, 40-35, at halftime of the first-round playoff.  The Spartans then affected a stall strategy for the first four minutes of the third quarter.  The stall led to a turnover, which Kearny turned into an 8-0 spurt, and the Komets put away the Spartans, 69-45.

Chula Vista took three shots in the third quarter and was blanked, 6-0, for the period. Rick Taylor led the winners with 29 points.

30—Shooting 58 per cent from the field to Vista’s 37 per cent, the result was a 76-47 victory over the Panthers (17-11).  The Big Four, Hoaglin (17), Rhodes (16), Taylor (14), and Page (12) were in sync.

31—One more time and Happy Trails, Patrick Henry.

It is rare to beat the same opponent 4 times in one season, especially one with a 25-8 record, but Kearny again measured the Patriots, 73-57, in the playoff semifinal before 3,630 at the Sports Arena, Taylor had 24 points and Page 22.

32—Beating the same opponent three times in a season isn’t easy either. Hoover, which finished 24-8, had more wins than any Cardinals team since the 24-3 club of 1960-61.

After defeating Hoover by 8 and 10 points in previous meetings, Kearny pulled away before 5,143 persons in the Sports Arena to a 71-50, championship game victory.

“They were much more aggressive on defense than when we played them before,” Cardinals coach Hal Mitrovich said to Will Watson of The San Diego Union.

“We had hoped to stay close…and then go to the press in the second half and make a run at them, but they just wouldn’t let us do it.”

Kearny led, 39-24, at the half.

Colborne didn’t play a we-were-disrespected card, but he may have been thinking along those lines.  “I don’t know if we made believers of people or not,” he said in answer to a question. “It seemed that all we heard most of the season was that somebody could beat us.”

Colborne wouldn’t be drawn into any what-ifs.  His team had made its statement.  The Komets were balanced and consistent to the end.  They led the County with a 68.1 average on offense and their 49-point defense average was third.