Idleness breeds contempt or a drop in the ratings.
Mission Hills has fallen from ninth to 11th in Cal-Hi Sports’ state top 25, partly because the Grizzlies drew a bye in the first round of the San Diego Section playoffs last week.
Also byed last week, Helix remained 12th.  Cathedral  and St. Augustine  are on the bubble after they, too, sat out.
Under Cal Hi’s nomenclature, there are no Open division ratings, but begin with Division I and with 15 teams rated.
Mission Hills is 10th and Helix 12th in D-I.  St. Augustine is fifth and Cathedral 12th in D-II followed by  one-the-bubble Valhalla.
Ten teams are rated in D-III-V, with Bonita Vista (III), Santa Fe Christian (IV), and La Jolla Country Day (V) on the bubble.
The San Diego Section playoffs increase in interest this week after a first round in which there were few surprises and the clearing process of washing out bad teams began.
Forty-six  teams in six divisions are still alive, with 23 games scheduled.
Helix-Madison (Open), San Marcos-Oceanside (I), and Christian-Valhalla (II) match  No. 8 seeds versus No. 1 seeds in each division but probably have the most marquee value.
Does Madison, which could contend for a state championship if it were left in its natural D-IV environment, have a shot against the fast, savvy Highlanders?
Westview (5)-at Mt. Carmel (4) promises an old-fashioned, roll-in-the-dirt, backyard brawl in D-II. Â The schools are very close geographically.
Imperial (5)-Santa Fe Christian (4) has a distinct intersectional flavor in D-III. Â So does Calexico Vincent Memorial (3)-Crawford (2) in D-5, with the Imperial Valley schools making the long trek over the mountains.
The Rock takes on Calvin Christian for the D-VI championship.
HERE COMES BASKETBALL
Foothills Christian is sixth and St. Augustine 17th in Cal-Hi’s preseason top 35. Torrey Pines  and Cathedral are in the “just missed” category.
Foothills, with 6-foot, 9-inch nationally recognized T.J. Leaf, was 25-7 last season. Â So was St. Augustine, which returns its entire starting five.
QUICK KICKS
Fallbrook writer David Willauer reminds that Warriors under Kyle Williams were 2-9 in ’13,  6-4 in ’14, and  now are 7-4 after a  7-3 win over 5-6 Hilltop in first round of D-III…the seventh-seeded Warriors visit second-seeded Mission Bay (8-2) this week…
