A significant accomplishment was overlooked for a few weeks. Mater Dei’s John Joyner became the 49^th San Diego Section coach to win a career 100^th game.

Fast-finishing for a second straight year, the Crusaders coach’s team defeated Eastlake, 36-7, for its fifth straight win after an 0-3 start and gave Joyner his 103rd victory.

Victory No. 100 was in Week 6, 23-14, over St. Augustine.  (thanks for the reminder, East County stat maven Adam Paul.)

Mater Dei lost its first four in 2022 and roared to a 11-4 finish and a state Division II-AA championship, 26-18, over Oakland McClymonds.

Knock off 2-7 Otay Ranch this week and the Crusaders and Joyner (103-68 overall) can claim their third consecutive Metro Mesa title.

NOT OVER TILL IT’S OVER

Of the 19 leagues in the San Diego Section, all but the Western  still have some unfinished business.

Lincoln, which completed its first 10-0 regular season in the school’s 70 varsity seasons, has won the league and will sit back with the assuredly No. 1 seed in the Open Division playoffs.

Several teams have clinched ties for loop titles, but losses this week could affect playoff pairings.

AVOCADO

Carlsbad (4-0) has a tie for crown and closes at home against El Camino.  Stumble against the Wildcats and see Torrey Pines (3-1) beat La Costa Canyon would mean a 4-1 deadlock with the Falcons.

The tie should be easily resolved.  Carlsbad scored a 17-7 victory over the Falcons in Week 8.

CENTRAL

San Diego is 3-0 and Hoover 3-1.  The Cavers must beat Clairemont or fall into a tie.  Hoover is done with league play.  San Diego has the edge in a tie-breaker, having topped the Cardinals, 56-45, in Week 8.

CITY

Mission Bay (2-1) visits Scripps Ranch (3-0).  The Buccaneers need a win after stumbling last week, 26-14, to Crawford, which lost to Scripps Ranch, 37-7, in Week 6.

COASTAL

The Bishop’s (5-0) and host Santa Fe Christian (5-0) will determine seaside bragging rights from Bird Rock to Moonlight Beach.

EASTERN

La Jolla (3-0) clinches with a win at Christian (0-3).  The Vikings beat Point Loma (3-1), 48-29 in Week 8.  The Pointers, 6-4 overall, are waiting for the playoffs.

GROSSMONT HILLS

Granite Hills (4-0) has taken charge in a circuit ruled for years by Helix (3-1).  The Eagles’ double-overtime, 44-43 win over the Highlanders last week was their third in the last four seasons over the Scots, who lost a four-overtime, 47-44 crusher to Granite in 2022.

Birds of prey and defending State Division II-A champion, the Eagles face in-and-out Grossmont (2-2) this week, while Helix takes on similarly mediocre Steele Canyon (2-2).

GROSSMONT VALLEY

Mount Miguel (3-0) closes with a visit from Monte Vista (2-1) and holds a 46-20 victory over El Capitan (2-1).

IMPERIAL VALLEY

El Centro Central (5-0) and Brawley (5-0), blood rivals 15 miles apart and at each other’s throats since 1921, meet for the 173^rd time, Brawley holding an 82-80 advantage with 10 ties.

Central, Brawley, and Calexico are the only schools in California that have met every year for 102 years.

“The High”, as El Centro locals know the Spartans, played two games every season through 2005 against Brawley and some time in the ‘seventies the rivals began playing for a perpetual Bell trophy, which can be heard from Plaster City to Glammis, according to legend.

MANZANITA

The Dragons of San Pasqual Academy (5-0) defeated Borrego Springs (4-1), 60-20, a month ago and finishes against Salton City West Shores, while the Rams meet Ocean View Christian.

METRO MESA

Bonita Vista (1-1) and Eastlake (1-1) will battle at Southwestern for runner-up honors to Mater Dei (2-0), a virtual lock versus Otay Ranch (0-2).

METRO PACIFIC

CalPreps.com gives Chula Vista (3-0) a 99 per cent chance of victory against San Ysidro (0-3).

Castle Park (2-1), 49-13 loser to the Spartans in Week 9, plays for second place against San Diego Southwest (1-2).  A victory by the Raiders would create a three-way tie with Mar Vista and the Trojans.

METRO SOUTH BAY

Olympian (2-0) can avoid a  tie by defeating Montgomery (1-1).  Sweetwater (1-1) takes on Hilltop.

OCEAN

St. Joseph (3-1) is at Calvin Christian (3-1) and the winner hopes that Foothills Christian (4-0) stumbles at San Diego Jewish (0-4).

PACIFIC

Orange Glen (4-0) goes to Tri-City Christian (4-0) in Vista, looking for its first title since Rob Gilster’s Patriots club went 7-0 and won the Palomar League in 1995.   The Eagles won the Pacific in 2018.

PALOMAR

This is rarefied air for Del Norte (4-0) as it awaits San Marcos (4-0).  The Nighthawks tied for a Valley League championship in 2013 but in other seasons have not done better than third place since opening in 2010.

San Marcos is 8-0 against Del Norte since that inaugural campaign, but the Nighthawks have come on this season, 8-1 overall.  They have a 32.6 CalPreps.com rating to the Knights’ 27.6.

VALLEY

Oceanside (5-0) has found the surroundings much more agreeable after 64 of the previous 69 years in the Avocado League or Avocado West League.  The Pirates know the Valley, having posted an overall record of 64-8-2 during a couple stints in the early 2000’s.

Valley Center (4-1) can tie for first by defeating the Pirates and San Pasqual (4-1) also would garner a slice of the pie if the Golden Eagles top Escondido and V.C. pulls a surprise.

WESTERN

Cathedral and St. Augustine, each 3-1, collide in the Holy Bowl, while Lincoln, having clinched the title, takes it all in.  The Hornets beat both teams, 40-14 and 42-7, respectively.

John Maffei’s Week 11 Union-Tribune Poll:
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.*First-place votes.
NR–Not ranked.
Last entries in columns are previous rankings.
Max Preps‘ and Cal-Hi RANK TEAM/RECORD POINTS MAXPREPS.COM CALPREPS.COM CAL-HI SPORTS 1. Lincoln (10-0) *27/297/1 8/9 61.3/59.9 6/6 2. Carlsbad (9-0) *3/269/2 12/14 59.5/58.9 7/7 3. Granite Hills (9-0) 244/3 27/36 50.3/42.7 14/18 4. Helix (8-1) 210/4 28/18
50.1/54.3 18/16 5. Torrey Pines (6-3) 165/6 47/59 39.6/35.1 On Bubble/On Bubble 6. Mission Hills (6-3) 146/7 40/47 42.3/31.6 On Bubble/On Bubble 7. El Camino (6-3) 103/5 68/68 35.1/34.3 NR/NR 8  Del Norte (8-1) 79/8 85/83 32.6/29.8 NR/NR 9 La Costa Canyon (5-4) 52/9 72/80 34.8/34.6 NR/NR 10. Cathedral (3-6) 45/10 67/63 35.6/30.7 On bubble/On Bubble

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Mater Dei (5-3, 18 points),  Mount Miguel (8-1, 9), San Marcos (7-2, 6), St. Augustine (5-4,3), La Jolla (7-2, 2), Brawley (8-1, 1).

VOTING PANEL

Twenty-nine sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from San Diego County, plus Max Preps.com.

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

Lincoln won its 21st game in a row, 42-7, over St. Augustine last week and improved to 9-0 this year.  The Hornets will be seeking their first, undefeated, 10-0 campaign Saturday when they wrap the regular season at University City.

Coach Vic Player’s Hornets were undefeated in the 1979 regular season but city schools played only nine games.  Lincoln posted a 12-0 record that included three playoff wins and a San Diego Section championship.

Led by Marcus Allen in 1977,  the Hive was 8-0-1 in the regular season, tied, 0-0, by Point Loma in the second game, and went on to finish 12-0-1.

Lincoln is tied with La Jolla for the eighth longest run of consecutive victories in County history. Sweetwater, coached by Gene Alim, won 36 in a row from 1982-85. The Hornets also have the longest active winning streak, 21, in the state, according to Cal-Hi Sports, and are No. 6 in California in the newsletter’s weekly ratings.

*Kearny and Grossmont each was unbeaten for 24 consecutive games, including one tie game each.

**Eastlake was unbeaten for 24 consecutive games, including 2 ties.

ohn Maffei’s Week 10 Union-Tribune Poll:
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.*First-place votes.
NR–Not ranked.
Last entries in columns are previous rankings.
Max Preps‘ and Cal-Hi RANK TEAM/RECORD POINTS MAXPREPS.COM CALPREPS.COM CAL-HI SPORTS 1. Lincoln (9-0) *24/294/1 9/9 59.9/57.7 6/6 2. Carlsbad (8-0) *6/274/2 14/7 58.9/58.2 7/7 3. Granite Hills (8-0) 227/3 36/29 42.7/41.2 18/19 4. Helix (8-0) 224/4 18/15
54.3/48.5 16/16 5. El Camino (6-2) 145/6 68/73 34.3/24.7 On Bubble/On Bubble 6. Torrey Pines (5-3) 144/5 59/59 32.3/21/3 On Bubble/On Bubble 7. Mission Hills (5-3) 112/9 47/58 31.6/31.1 NR/NR 8  Del Norte (7-1) 82/8 83/80 29.8/26.4 NR/NR 9 La Costa Canyon (5-3) 59/7 80/74 34.6/35.9 NR/NR 10. Cathedral (3-6) 51/10 63/78 30.7/26 On bubble/NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Mater Dei (4-3, 14 points),  Mount Miguel (7-1, 9), San Marcos (6-2, 8), Mission Bay (7-1, 4), Brawley (7-1, 1).

29 sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from San Diego County, plus Max Preps.com.

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

Two of the San Diego Section’s most enduring rivalries were on display.

San Diego and Hoover met for 73^rd time,  Helix and Grossmont for the 70^th.

San Diego ended a nine-game, non winning streak against the Cardinals with a 56-45 victory, the Cavers’ first of the season.  Helix beat Grossmont for the 27th consecutive time, 57-8.

CAVERS FADE

Things have not gone well for San Diego since it won a state division IV championship in 2018.  Coach Charles James revitalized a long dormant program but retired after an 8-3  2021 season and overall record of 42-29 from 2015 and 30-9 from 2017.

San Diego is 5-12 since James called it a day and the win over Hoover was its first against the Cardinals since 2003, eight losses and a tie against a now infrequent opponent that once was its major rival.

There was a time when San Diego annually crushed Hoover, winning 19 of the first 24 games, beginning in 1933.

That began to change when Duane Maley retired as Cavers coach following the 1959 season.

Under coach Roy Engle the Cardinals won three straight from 1961-64 and they are 27-16-1 since 1960.

Hoover even got some belated revenge of an infamous, 72-0 loss to the Cavers in 1944 when Jerry Ralph’s team won, 63-0, in 2014.

San Diego still leads, 40-32-1.

HIGHLANDERS’ FLINGS

Grossmont led, 16-10, in 1976 in a series that began in 1951, when the Foothillers opened their doors…to the new Helix High.

Highlanders students were part of double sessions at Grossmont while the Helix campus was under construction.

Helix’ 27-game streak against their former big brother is just the largest dose of what has been unending punishment.  The Scots are 37-2-2 since 1977 and 50-18-2 overall.

ohn Maffei’s Week 9 Union-Tribune Poll:
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.*First-place votes.
NR–Not ranked.
Last entries in columns are previous rankings.
Max Preps‘ and Cal-Hi RANK TEAM/RECORD POINTS MAXPREPS.COM CALPREPS.COM CAL-HI SPORTS 1. Lincoln (8-0) *22/292/1 8/9 59.9/57.7 6/7 2. Carlsbad (7-0) *8/278/2 7/10 58.9/58.2 7/8 3. Granite Hills (7-0) 229/3 29/30 42.7/41.2 19/24 4. Helix (7-0) 223/4 15/15
54.3/48.5 16/16 5. Torrey Pines (5-2) 160/8 59/88 34.3/24.7 On Bubble/On Bubble 6. El Camino (5-2) 126/10 73/100 32.3/21/3 On Bubble/On Bubble 7. La Costa Canyon (5-2) 94/5 74/61 31.6/31.1 NR/NR 8  Del Norte (6-1) 88/9 84/80 29.8/26.4 NR/NR 9 Mission Hills (4-3) 76/6 58/44 34.6/35.9 NR/NR 10. Cathedral (2-6) 28/7 78/78 30.7/26 NR/NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Mater Dei (3-3, 21 points),  Mount Miguel (6-1, 13), St. Augustine (4-3, 12), Ramona (4-2, 7) Mission Bay (6-1, 4), San Marcos (5-2, 1).

29 sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from San Diego County, plus Max Preps.com.

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

TRUE GRID

Calexico has lost three in a row, but it is 18-13 in two-plus seasons under coach Fernando Solano, very good considering the Bulldogs were 41-127 from 2003 through 2020, not counting an 8-2 surprise in 2012…Orange Glen set a school record for points in its 68-19 win over the Rock…the record was 61 versus Francis Parker in 2016…the Patriots have had some manic reversals in this century, playing for a state Division V championship in 2018, but allowing at least 60 points 10 times, 70 four times, and topping out at 81 in a 2020 game against Santa Fe Christian in which Orange Glen had 54….

Del Norte survived four overtime possessions and finally defeated Rancho Bernardo, 49-43, last week, tying a 46-44 Granite Hills victory over Helix in 2022 for the longest game ever played by a San Diego County team.

Existing rules are that each team has four downs beginning at the 25-yard line with straight football rules.  Simply put, score and your opponent has to score or the game is over.

Overtime essentially became part of the landscape when the state CIF invoked a “California Tie-Breaker” in 1968, but there had been overtime, or discussion of overtime or tie-breakers, years before, such as in the 1927 small schools championship between Grossmont and Calexico.

In 1975 Madison and Point Loma played what may have been the first to go to an extra session in the San Diego Section regular season.  Madison was credited with a 1-0 victory. Kearny advanced in a 1974 playoff with Sweetwater that ended in a 14-14 tie.  The Komets had a 12-10 advantage in first downs at the end of four quarters, but there would be no overtime.

San Diego High’s 1955 championship involved one of the epic games in Southern Section history.

The Cavemen and Anaheim were deadlocked at 20 when the game ended but San Diego advanced because it had a 17-14 advantage in first downs, the “tiebreaker” that had been in effect for decades.

The San Diego Section adopted the “new” California tiebreaker in 1976 and overtimes in playoffs would be implemented.   Overtimes originally were officially declared ties, no matter if one team outscored the other.  That non-tiebreaker was dropped in the 1980s.

Several years ago the Grossmont Conference began counting the results of overtime play as a team win or loss and eventually all San Diego Section schools followed.

Since 1976 there have been 107 overtime games in the San Diego Section.  Seventy-eight have been decided in the first overtime, 23 in the second, four in the third, and two in the fourth.

John Maffei’s Week 8 Union-Tribune Poll:
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes.
NR–Not ranked.
Last entries in columns are previous rankings.
Max Preps‘ and Cal-Hi RANK TEAM/RECORD POINTS MAXPREPS.COM CALPREPS.COM CAL-HI SPORTS 1. Lincoln (7-0) *18/288/1 8/9 59.1/57.7 6/7 2. Carlsbad (6-0) *12/280/2 7/10 60.3/58.2 7/8 3. Granite Hills (6-0) 231/3 29/30 42.7/41.2 24/25 4. Helix (7-0) 223/4 15/15
50.8/48.5 16/17 5. La Costa Canyon (5-1) 173/6 61/80 31.1/23.9 On Bubble/NR 6. Mission Hills (4-2) 142/5 44/45 35.9/31 On Bubble/On Bubble 7. Cathedral (2-5) 91/8 78/77 26/24.3 NR/NR 8. Torrey Pines (4-2) 60/NR 88 24.7 NR/NR 9 Del Norte (5-1) 55/NR 80 26.4 NR/NR 10. El Camino (4-2) 43/7 100/95 21.3 NR/NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Mater Dei (3-3, 40 points),  St. Augustine (3-3, 11), Mount Miguel (6-1, 8), Madison (2-4, 5),Mission Bay (6-1, 2).  Ramona (3-2, 2).

29 sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from San Diego County, plus Max Preps.com.

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

The week’s schedule is loaded with potential benchmark league openers as 11 of the 18 San Diego Section loops begin play. Key games:

AVOCADO

Carlsbad (5-0), @Mission Hills (4-1).

Mission Hills leads, 4-3, since 2011 in games matching two of the section’s most successful coaches, the Grizzlies’ Chris Hauser and Carlsbad’s Thadd MacNeal…Hauser is in his 23^rd season, 193-83-2 (.696) overall and 155-67-2 since starting the Grizzlies’ program in 2004 after four seasons at alma-mater Vista…MacNeal is in his 17^th season, 132-66 (.667) overall and 91-47 since moving to Carlsbad in 2011…was head coach at Lakewood of Southern Section’s Long Beach-area Moore League from ’06-‘10 with 41-19 record…Lancers have won last three meetings…they’re led by quarterback Julian Sayin and rank second to Lincoln in Union-Tribune poll, averaging 47 points a game.…

CENTRAL

Kearny (4-1), @Hoover (3-2).

Winner likely would have only Clairemont (3-3) in way of league championship since San Diego (0-5) and Canyon Hills (0-6) figuratively are out to lunch…Hoover has not had winning season since Jerry Ralph coached 10-3 club to D-III championship game in 2014…Will Gray is 10-19 since ‘20 with Cardinals but has local knowledge, having coached Kearny to 34-25 record from ’15-19…Jeremy Stump is 12-16 as Gray’s successor….

COASTAL

La Jolla Country Day (5-1), @The Bishop’s (2-3).

Tyler Hales is 66-43 since replacing Jeff Hutzler in 2014 but Torreys are 0-8 against The Bishop’s, including 37-21 loss to Knights when Torreys were DV-A state finalist in ’16…’Day’s only loss is 48-26 in opener to Chula Vista…it shut down undefeated Army-Navy, 35-6, last week…The Bishop’s, 21-10 under Shane Walton, in his fourth season, seem to be finding stride, winner of last two, 24-13 over Mount Miguel, 35-0 over Classical….

EASTERN

Christian (4-2), @Point Loma (3-3).

The Pointers had been around for 90 years (1926) before they became acquainted with Christian, which opened in 1971…the teams have split four games since the first in 2016 and are aligned as Eastern League brethren after the Pointers  jumped from the City loop…Point Loma coach Joel Allen retired in 2019 after posting a 100-35-1 (.739) record in 11 seasons at La Jolla Country Day…Allen quickly unretired when Mike Hastings retired at Point Loma and the Pointers are 17-12 with Allen since ’20…Christian is 10-7 under Patrick Bugg since ’22….

John Maffei’s Week 7 Union-Tribune Poll:
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes.
NR–Not ranked.
Last entries in columns are previous rankings.
Max Preps‘ and Cal-Hi  OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Del Norte (4-1, 24 points),  St. Augustine (3-3, 12), Brawley (5-0, 11), La Jolla Country Day (5-1, 4), West Hills (4-1, 4), Torrey Pines (3-2, 3), Christian (4-2, 2), Mount Miguel (5-1, 1), Imperial (5-1, 1), Mission Bay (5-1, 1).

29 sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from San Diego County, plus Max Preps.com.

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

TRUE GRID

Brawley, which couldn’t travel over the mountains during the big storm in the season’s first week, has rescheduled its game at Scripps Ranch this week…El Camino evened its classic North County rivalry with neighboring Oceanside at 25 wins each with a bragging rights, 49-8 win over the Pirates…schools are located four miles apart…with Army-Navy losing to La Jolla Country Day, five teams remain undefeated:  Brawley and the Section’s  D-I big 4, Lincoln, Carlsbad, Granite Hills, and Helix….

The Army and Navy Academy, which has graduated future officers and gentlemen since 1910, won its fourth straight game last week, 55-0, over Francis Parker in the Coastal League opener and has not allowed a point this season, rampaging to consecutive blowouts of at least 40 points.

But it will be a huge underdog this week against an old nemesis, if previous scores mean anything.

La Jolla Country Day, 4-1, has won eight in a row from the Warriors since 2009 by  combined scores of 373-53.  It was 47-10 in their last meeting in 2021, which followed knockouts of 60-3 in ’19 and 61-0 in ’16.

A win over ‘Day would make the cadets 5-0 for the first time since 2012 and for only the fifth time in academy history, others in the seasons of 1920, ‘87, and ’90.

Army-Navy, 9-2 in 2022, joined the more competitive Coastal loop this season after a year in the Sunset League and from 2007-21 in the Pacific.

FATHER AND SON

Coach and athletic director Nehemiah Brunson took over the program in 2015 and was 18-36 through ‘20 but 19-7 in the last two-plus seasons, helped in part by his son, Nehemiah, Jr., who has scored six touchdowns and intercepted three passes this year.

Landon Schrom has scored five touchdowns and Tonton Drobny four.  Xavier Leatherman is averaging more than eight tackles a game, according to Max Preps, which  ranks the Warriors 39^th in the San Diego Section and 406^th in the state.  La Jolla Country Day is 26^th and 271^st.

John Maffei’s Week 6 Union-Tribune Poll:
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes.
NR–Not ranked.
Last entries in columns are previous rankings.
Max Preps‘ and Cal-Hi  OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Del Norte (4-1, 8 points),  Army-Navy (4-0, 4), Oceanside (3-2, 3), La Jolla Country Day (4-1, 2), Chula Vista (4-1, 1).

VOTING PANEL

29 sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from San Diego County, plus Max Preps.com.

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