Rumblings out of the South Bay have become a roar.
Mater Dei Catholic and Sweetwater barged into the upper half of the ratings in the U-T San Diego poll this week.
Mater Dei, a 26-7 squad and Southern California Division  IV regional semifinalist in 2012-13, is no surprise, posting a 12-2 record and losing only to San Juan Capistrano JSerra and West Hills Chaminade, two schools from higher divisions.
The second-ranked Crusaders received two first place votes and their 118 points are only one less than top-ranked St. Augustine.
Sweetwater’s Running Red Devils went from  unranked to No. 5.
At 12-0, the Red Devils are the only unbeaten team in the top 10 and adamantly made their intentions known in a 91-56 victory over a regarded Poway club last week.
The Red Devils are in their fourth season under coach Jesse Aguirre, who took over a team that was 0-23 in 2009-10.  the Red Devils were  13-11, 17-12, and 12-13 in Aguirre’s first three seasons.
SAINTS RECOVER
Despite two losses in the Under Armour Tournament at Torrey Pines during the Christmas break, St. Augustine  stayed on top.
The Saints regrouped with a 73-63, home victory over La Verne Damien, which was 13-1 coming into the game.
The Saints were muscled in a 66-55 loss to Chino Hills and beaten, 62-61, by a mid-level Lakewood Mayfair squad in the Torrey Pines event.
| # | Team (1st place votes) | W-L* | Points** | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Â 1 | St. Augustine (8) | 13-2 | 119 | Â Â Â 1 |
|
2 |
Mater Dei Catholic (2) |
13-2 |
118 |
6 |
|
3 |
La Costa Canyon (2) |
13-2 |
107 |
2 |
|
4 |
Torrey Pines |
13-2 |
93 |
T3 |
|
5 |
Sweetwater (1) |
12-0 |
67 |
NR |
|
6 |
Francis Parker |
12-1 |
54 |
9 |
|
7 |
El Camino |
12-3 |
54 |
9 |
|
8 |
San Marcos |
11-4 |
53 |
5 |
|
9 |
Poway |
9-5 |
14 |
10 |
|
10 |
Hoover |
7-6 |
7 |
T3 |
**Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis
NR Not ranked.
Others receiving votes: Lincoln, Cathedral Catholic, 6 each; Foothills Christian, 5; Mission Hills, Grossmont, 3 each; Escondido, Eastlake, 2 each.
Thirteen sportswriters, sportscasters and CIF representatives from throughout San Diego County vote in the weekly poll:
John Maffei, Craig Malveaux, Don Norcross (U-T San Diego);
Terry Monahan (U-T San Diego correspondent);
Bill Dickens, Andrew Smith (eastcountysports.com);
Steve Brand (San Diego Hall of Champions);
John Kentera and Jack Cronin (The Mighty 1090);
John Labeta (CIF San Diego Section office);
Rick Smith (Partletonsports.com);
Bodie DeSilva (sandiegopreps.com);
Aaron Burgin (fulltimehoops.tumblr.com).
