Eight more underdogs overcame seeding challenges last week as the San Diego Section playoffs tightened in the quarterfinals.
A second week of 26 games saw two No. 1-ranked squads go down, with additional upsets by 12, 11, 10, and six, and five seeds.
Most significant was No. 9 Hoover’s 52-49 win over top ranked Sweetwater in Division V that put the 6-6 Cardinals in the semifinals for the first time since 2023 and in what has been rarefied air for the school, completing its 96th season since opening in East San Diego in 1930.
Hoover had reached playoff semifinals in 1962, ’63, and 2000 and the championship game in D-III in 2014 but its history is marked by long, barren stretches.
Typical was the Cardinals’ 5-45 slog that followed their 31-9 loss to Christian in the D-III championship in 2014 and a 0-4 Covid-shortened start in 2020 under Will Gray, followed by 3-6 and 4-7 finishes. Gray’s team has improved to 19-16 since 2023.
The Cardinals’ semifinals opponent this week is 7-4 Canyon Hills, a 27-20 winner over Hoover in a Week 10 Central League contest.
UPSET?
No. 4 Cathedral eliminated No. 1 Mission Hills, 42-35, in the Open Division in what is hard to classify as an upset. The Dons, weathering injuries to quarterback Brady Palmer and running back Honor Fa’alave-Johnson and a couple regular-season losses to Concord De La Salle and Point Loma, were given at least an even chance of beating the Grizzlies and advancing.
Fa’alave-Johnson scored five touchdowns for the Dons, including a clinching, 43-yard hike with 50 seconds left in the game.
Other significant wins were by No. 12 Scripps Ranch, 17-14 over No. 4 El Camino in Division II; No. 11 San Diego, 33-19 over No. 3 and undefeated, 10-0 Mission Bay in D-II, and No. 10 La Jolla Country Day, 22-7 over No. 2 El Capitan in D-IV.
STATE RATINGS
Cal-Hi Sports
13, Carlsbad (9-2); 14, Cathedral (9-2); 17, Lincoln (9-2); 19, Mission Hills (9-2); 20, La Costa Canyon (9-2); 38, Granite Hills (8-3); 46, Mount Miguel (8-3); 47, San Marcos (7-4); On The Bubble, Point Loma (11-1). STATE: 1, Rancho Santa Margarita. (8-3).
Cal Preps
59.4, Cathedral; 57.6, Carlsbad; 55.7, Mission Hills; 53.7, La Costa Canyon; 51.2, Lincoln; 50.1, Granite Hills; 44.5, San Marcos; 41.0, Oceanside; 40.1, Mount Miguel; 38.0, Point Loma. STATE: 83.1, Santa Ana Mater Dei.
Max Preps
10, Cathedral (9-2); 11, Lincoln (9-2); 13, Mission Hills (9-2); 14, Carlsbad (9-2); 18, Granite Hills (8-3); 25, San Marcos (7-4); 29, Mount Miguel (8-3); 34, Point Loma (11-1); 41, Oceanside (7-5); 54, Rancho Bernardo (9-3). STATE: 1, Corona Centennial (10-1).
