Carlsbad, Avocado League champion five consecutive years from 2019-23 before being unseated by La Costa Canyon in 2024, finds itself in a four-way battle this season and with a showdown against Mission Hills this week.
The Grizzlies, under interim coach DJ Zapata while Chris Hauser is sidelined by an administrative order, matched Carlsbad’s 6-0 record after topping La Costa Canyon (5-1), 35-34, last week.
A Mission Hills or Carlsbad victory won’t settle the battle for North County supremacy. San Marcos, 5-1 and awaiting its league opener this week versus still-in-the-hunt La Costa Canyon, is lying in the weeds, with additional upcoming opportunities against Mission Hills and Carlsbad.
The Avocado League is arguably the strongest in the San Diego Section since its humble beginning in a meeting at the Helms Athletic Foundation office in Los Angeles on Dec. 4, 1953.
That session, chaired by Chula Vista principal and Southern Section president Joe Rindone, saw the formation of then-small, far-flung suburban schools Coronado, Escondido, Fallbrook, Oceanside, San Dieguito, and Vista.
Times, demographics, and population have changed.
MAFFEI MADNESS
John Maffei’s The San Diego Union-Tribune Week 7 poll:
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes. Previous rankings in (italics).
NR–Not ranked. MaxPreps, Cal Preps, and Cal-Hi Sports are state rankings.
| RANK | TEAM/RECORD | POINTS | MAX PREPS | CAL PREPS | CAL-HI SPORTS |
| 1. | Lincoln (5-1) 29* | 297 (1) | 8 (8) | 57.1 (55.2) | 8 (8) |
| 2. | Cathedral (5-1) | 273 (2) | 13 (13) | 56.0 (56.5) | 16 (9) |
| 3. | Mission Hills (6-0) 1* | 238 (3) | 14 (15) | 59.3 (55.1) | 13 (15) |
| 4. | La Costa Canyon (5-1) | 214 (4) | 15 (14) | 49.7 (49.9) | 17 (14) |
| 5. | Carlsbad (6-0) | 178 (5) | 19 (23) | 47.5 (44.8) | 36 (42) |
| 6. | Granite Hills (3-3) | 139 (6) | 27 (36) | 44.8 (42.9) | 45 (33) |
| 7. | San Marcos (5-1) | 117 (7) | 31 (64) | 39.3 (31.1) | On Bubble/ (NR) |
| 8. | Rancho Bernardo (6-0) | 84 (8) | 77 (140) | 25.8 (21.4) | NR (NR) |
| 9. | Mount Miguel (5-2) | 40 (9) | 44 (61) | 32.9 (29.9) | NR (On Bubble) |
| 10. | Poway (3-3) | 18 (10) | 69 (106) | 27.4 (19.8) | NR-(NR) |
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Point Loma (6-0, 18 points), Imperial (7-0, 7) Santa Fe Christian (7-0, 5), Oceanside (2-4, 4), Mission Bay (7-0, 1), Steele Canyon (6-0, 1).
VOTING PANEL
Twenty-nine sportswriters, sportscasters, and administrators from the San Diego Section, plus Max Preps:
- John Maffei (The San Diego Union-Tribune)
- Donald Ray Norcross, Kevin Farmer, Rick Hoff, Steve Brand (Union-Tribune correspondents)
- Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (San Diego Section)
- Brandon Stone, Allison Edwards, John Carroll, Chase Izidoro (KUSI-TV)
- Rick Smith (partletonsports.com)
- Braden Suprenant (93.7 FM “The Fan”)
- Mike Dolan (Coaching Legends)
- Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference)
- Joe Evangelist, Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee)
- Raymond Brown (sdsports.net)
- Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association)
- Bodie DeSilva, John Kentera, Dennis Ackerman, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (freelance contributors).
