Game(s) of the Week:
End of the regular season is two weeks out, but host Lincoln and Cathedral should settle the Western League championship and Carlsbad will attempt to close the Avocado League race against visiting La Costa Canyon this week.
The showdowns will bring together four of the San Diego Section’s most successful coaches.
DOYLE AND DUNN
Sean Doyle of Cathedral is fourth all time with 244 victories, having just passed Rob Gilster’s 243. Ron Hamamoto’s 246 is within reach and, with some playoff success, Doyle could catch John Carroll at 248.
Doyle is 10-6 against Lincoln’s David Dunn, but Dunn’s Hornets have won the last four meetings.
Dunn, who played at Morse and was a tight end in the NFL for six seasons, is 113-61-1 (.650) as the Hornets’ mentor since 2010.
Doyle (244-117, .676), who played at University, succeeded Hamamoto in 1996 and stayed when the school moved and officially became Cathedral in 2005.
MacNEAL AND SOVACOOL
Thadd MacNeal, who came to Carlsbad in 2010 after posting a 41-19 (.683) record at Lakewood in the Southern Section’s Long Beach Poly-dominated Moore League, is 112-52 (.683) with the Lancers.
MacNeal is only the sixth coach in Carlsbad’s 69-year history. Sveto (Swede) Krcmar opened the school in 1957 and was followed by Claude (Buddy) Lewis in 1972, Mel Galli in ’79, Rick Brown in ’87, and Bob McAllister, who was 132-66-6 (.662) from 1994-2010.
Sovacool, a Fallbrook alum, is 106-66 (.616) since 2010 and the Mavericks’ third coach since 1996, when Tim Smith coached the first four teams, followed by Darrin Brown, who was 81-37 from 2000-’09. MacNeal is 8-6 in head-to-head meetings with Sovacool.
MAFFEI MADNESS
John Maffei’s The San Diego Union-Tribune Week 9 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 (7-1) 30* | 300 (1) | 8 (8) | 52.9 (55.8) | 8 (8) |
| 2. | Carlsbad (8-0) | 275 (2) | 14 (15) | 56.9 (55.3) | 14 (15) |
| 3. | Mission Hills (7-1) | 221 (4) | 13 (16) | 55.6 (54.2) | 16 (13) |
| 4. | La Costa Canyon (7-1) | 203 (3) | 18 (19) | 50.2 (50.1) | 17 (17) |
| 5. | Cathedral (6-2) | 185 (5) | 17 (18) | 44.5 (45.4) | 35 (41) |
| 6. | Granite Hills (5-3) | 144 (6) | 34 (33) | 43.5 (43.6) | 40 (42) |
| 7. | Point Loma (8-0) | 104 (8) | 59 (71) | 45.5 (46.3) | 44 (40) |
| 8. | San Marcos (5-3) | 70 (9) | 40 (54) | 39.8 (39.9) | On Bubble (NR) |
| 9. | Mount Miguel (6-3) | 44 (10) | 53 (64) | 33.6 (33.7) | NR (On Bubble) |
| 10. | Rancho Bernardo (7-1) | 35 (7) | 94 (91) | 27.9 (28.1) | NR (On Bubble) |
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Oceanside (4-4, 29 points), Santa Fe Christian (9-0, 13), Imperial (8-0, 7), Mission Bay (8-0, 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).
