Coach Ron Burner has El Capitan on a fast track, but will its wheels hold up?
The Vaqueros have started 5-0 twice, in 1967 under  Joe Till, and in 1973, with Joe Rockhold.
They can become 5-0 this week, but a 5-0 visitor, Granite Hills, stands in the way, as do Steele Canyon (5-0), Helix (4-1), Grossmont and Mount Miguel (each 3-2) Â and Valhalla (2-2), upcoming opponents with a combined record of 22-7.
El Capitan has  gotten an endorsement from Cal-Hi Sports, which elevated the Burners to No. 1 in Southern California Division III, a lofty position helped in part last week by Cathedral’s 42-28 win over then-undefeated Newbury Park.
Christian (5-0) is No. 1 in Southern California D-IV, but hasn’t cracked the San Diego Top 10. The Vaqueros are fifth in the local voting,
Burner, who for many years operated a sheet-metal business in nearby Santee, has guided the Lakeside entry to a 61-43-2 record since 2005.
Oceanside and Mission Hills, which will meet Oct. 10 at Oceanside, each has a bye this week.
Oceanside  moved  to No. 8 in Cal-Hi Sports‘ Top 25 and Mission Hills is 13th. Comebacking Cathedral (4-1) now has “On the Bubble” status, an upgrade from the abyss of its 55-10, opening-game loss to Folsom.
Helix and St. Augustine (2-3) also are on the bubble.
The UT-San Diego poll after games of Week 5:
| # | Team (1st place votes) | W-L | Points* | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oceanside (19) | 5-0 | 190 | 1 |
| 2 | Mission Hills | 4-1 | 159 | 2 |
| 3 | Cathedral | 4-1 | 154 | 3 |
| 4 | Helix | 4-1 | 137 | 4 |
| 5 | El Capitan | 4-0 | 128 | 5 |
| 6 | San Marcos | 5-0 | 61 | 8 |
| 7 | La Costa Canyon | 4-1 | 60 | 9 |
| 7 | Eastlake | 3-2 | 60 | 10 |
| 9 | Steele Canyon | 5-0 | 35 | NR |
| 10 | Ramona | 4-1 | 33 | 6 |
*Awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
NR: not ranked.
Others receiving votes: Â Granite Hills, 14; Sweetwater, 12; Â Christian, 9;Â St. Augustine, 4; Point Loma, 3; Carlsbad, 1.
Nineteen sportswriters, sportscasters, and CIF representatives from throughout San Diego County vote in the weekly poll:
John Maffei, Kirk Kenney, UT-San Diego;
Terry Monahan, Tom Saxe, Rick Hoff (UT-San Diego correspondents);
Bill Dickens (eastcountysports.com);
Steve Brand (San Diego Hall of Champions);
John Kentera, Ted Mendenhall, Bob Petinak, (The Mighty 1090);
Jerry Schniepp (CIF San Diego Section);
Rick Willis, Brandon Stone, (KUSI-TV);
Bruce Ward (San Diego City Schools);
Rick Smith (partletonsports.com);
Steve (Biff) Dolan, Rick (Red) Hill (Mountain Country 107.9 FM);
Bodie DeSilva (Sandiegopreps.com);
Drew Smith (sdcoastalsports.com).
This is a great post. Hope to see it every week. Thx Rick
Thanks, Dean. Sweetwater looking very good under coach Brian Hay. Susie says hi.