The San Diego Section, 63 years young, is back for its 64th season.
Lincoln and Carlsbad, which played for the Division I championship in 2022, begin play this week ranked 1 and 2 in John Maffei’s preseason Union-Tribune poll and they are close in the other major polls, Max Preps and CalPreps and Cal-Hi Sports.
Lincoln will open in Hawaii, 40 miles west of Honolulu, playing Waianae, the state’s No. 12 team, and Helix is home to Huntington Beach Edison in two of several intersectionals.
Game of the week is take-your-choice, Carlsbad at Inglewood or Mater Dei at Cathedral.
Carlsbad will attempt to reverse a home, 35-18 loss to the Inglewood Sentinels, 13-1 in 2022 but ranked 33rd in Cal-Hi Sports’ Top 50 this season, compared to the Lancers’ No. 12 ranking. The game will be a show-time opportunity for Lancers quarterback Julian Sayin, the reported five-star recruit who has committed to Alabama.
Mater Dei and Cathedral complete the second half of a home-and-home series with a rematch of their 2022 opener, won by Cathedral, 28-14. The Crusaders went on to lose another three in a row before 11 straight victories, including a 14-9 playoff victory over the Dons, and a state Division II-AA championship. Cathedral flattened out to 6-6.
Cathedral and Mater Dei will be meeting for only the fourth time. Cathedral won, 49-0, in 2007,
Lincoln’s opponent already has played a game, a 49-0 loss to Kahuku, Hawaii’s No. 1 team. Coach David Dunn’s Hornets begin living life without superstar and now University of Georgia freshman Hot Roderick Robinson.
Huntington Beach Edison, longtime Southern Section power, was 9-2 in 2022. Helix is coming off a 7-4 campaign and looking up at the new Grossmont Hills power, Granite Hills.
PULLS PIN
Missing from the sidelines will be Rob Gilster, the all-San Diego Section lineman from Escondido who went on to a legendary coaching career at Orange Glen and Valley Center.
Gilster retired after 34 seasons and 243 victories, third most in County history to Herb Meyer’s 339 and John Carroll’s 248.
Union-Tribune and other, major preseason polls:
| RANK | TEAM | 2022 RECORD | *MAX PREPS | CALPREPS | *CAL-HI SPORTS |
| 1. | Lincoln | 13-1 | 8 | 51.9 | 11 |
| 2. | Carlsbad | 10-2 | 11 | 50.1 | 12 |
| 3. | Mater Dei | 11-4 | 36 | 27.3 | 34 |
| 4. | Granite Hills | 13-2 | 23 | 32.6 | 29 |
| 5. | Madison | 9-4 | 39 | 26.7 | 22 |
| 6. | Mission Hills | 9-4 | 47 | 24.1 | NR |
| 7. | Cathedral | 6-6 | 80 | 15.1 | 49 |
| 8. | Helix | 7-4 | 86 | 13.7 | NR |
| 9. | La Costa Canyon | 7-5 | 96 | 11.7 | NR |
| 10. | El Camino | 9-4 | 91 | 12.6 | NR |
*State ranking.
COACHING CAROUSEL
| SCHOOL | IN | OUT |
| Brawley | Rick Rubio & Ray Van Diver | John Self |
| Canyon Hills | Marcus Cook | Brandon Harris |
| Clairemont | Eduardo Gonzalez | Desmond Rose |
| Del Norte | Nick Barnett | Leigh Cole |
| El Centro Southwest | Pete Blincoe | Dan Jungers |
| Escondido | Stephen Dixon | Aron Gideon |
| Grossmont | Anthony Lawrence | Chris Holmes |
| Oceanside | Fale Poumele | Dave Rodriguez |
| Olympian | Brad Carter | Jimmy Clark |
| Rancho Bernardo | Eric Weddle | Tristan McCoy |
| Valley Center | Sidaron Wilson | Rob Gilster |
| Vista | Vika Sa’atuiese | David Bottom |
CHANGING LEAGUES
| SCHOOL | NEW | OLD |
| Army-Navy | Coastal | Sunset |
| Calvin Christian | Ocean | Surf |
| Canyon Hills | Central | City |
| Classical | Coastal | Pacific |
| Coastal | Ocean | Surf |
| Coronado | City | Central |
| Crawford | City | Central |
| Escondido Charter | Coastal | Pacific |
| Fallbrook | Palomar | Valley |
| Francis Parker | Coastal | Pacific |
| Mabel O’Farrell | Pacific | Sunset |
| Maranatha | Pacific | Sunset |
| Morse | Eastern | City |
| Ocean View | Manzanita | Ocean |
| Oceanside | Valley | Avocado |
| Orange Glen | Pacific | Coastal |
| Patrick Henry | City | Eastern |
| Point Loma | Eastern | City |
| Poway | Avocado | Palomar |
| Ramona | Palomar | Valley |
| San Diego | Central | Eastern |
| San Marcos | Palomar | Avocado |
| Santana | Grossmont Hills | Grossmont Valley |
