Day: August 19, 2025 - SAN DIEGO PREP SPORTS HISTORY

San Diego Union-Tribune prep maven John Maffei issued a week-of-the-first-game top 20, with Western League leaders Lincoln and Cathedral at the top.

Both teams aren’t afraid to schedule tough opponents, ala legendary Duane Maley during San Diego High’s great run from 1948-59.

Lincoln coach David Dunn, a former player at Morse and a five year, tight-end veteran in the NFL out of Fresno State, drove his team to a 12-2 record and state Division 1-AA championship, posting a 3-2 regular-season record against such bluebloods as Long Beach Poly, Los Alamitos, Sacramento Grant and San Juan Capistrano J Serra, plus Las Vegas Arbor View.

Lincoln, which played every game in 2024 on a neutral or opponent field, is back home in Vic Player Stadium this year after repairs to the playing surface. Dunn, 106-60-1 since 2011 and 78-20 since 2017, has to replace, among others, star quarterback Akili Smith, Jr., from the team that beat Pittsburg, 28-26, for the state championship.

Lincoln has another loaded nonleague schedule that includes Honolulu Punahou, Poly, Mission Viejo, Arbor View, Los Alamitos, and Bakersfield Frontier.

Sean Doyle is 238-115 in 29 seasons at Cathedral, which was University of San Diego High when Doyle played there, before he became head coach in 1996. The Dons also are scheduled up, including games against longtime power Concord de la Salle and Chandler, Arizona; Mountain View St. Francis, Watsonville St. Francis, Granite Hills, with a Week10 Western League matchup against Lincoln.

The first 20 , according to Maffei, and how three major outlets rate them in California:

RANK	TEAM	2024 RECORD	*MAX PREPS*	*CAL PREPS*	*CAL-HI SPORTS*
1.	Lincoln	12-2	11	50.9	10
2.	Cathedral	9-3	20	48.4	15
3.	Mission Hills	8-3	59	33.6	37
4.	Granite Hills	11-3	35	30.4	31
5.	La Costa Canyon	10-1	29	35.4	24
6.	Carlsbad	8-4	31	31.6	On Bubble
7.	San Marcos	11-2	96	22.5	Not ranked
8.	Mount Miguel	9-3	216	24.5	On Bubble
9.	Oceanside	7-4	224	2.3	NR
10.	Helix	5-7	83	3.1	NR
11.	Poway	6-8	123	10.4	NR
12.	Rancho Bernardo	9-3	185	0.1	NR
13.	El Camino	6-6	95	14.5	NR
14.	Mater Dei	9-4	85	10.8	NR
15.	Del Norte	7-5	180	-4.8	NR
16.	Torrey Pines	5-7	114	9.9	NR
17.	The Bishop’s	7-4	236	-8.6	NR
18.	Santa Fe Christian	9-2	295	-8.6	NR
19.	St. Augustine	4-11	146	-4	NR
20.	Imperial	9-2	315	-12.5	NR

ON THE ROAD

A Triple-A Trip Ticket or Rand-McNally atlas would come in handy for a dozen or so travelers, except Lincoln, which will need a flight plan.

The Hornets will make their first trip in 35 years to Hawaii, visiting Punahou, the prestigious Honolulu school and former President Barack Obama’s alma mater.

Not close to matching the Hive’s six hours and 2,600 miles in the air, but still but still a long haul:

—Army-Navy to Las Vegas Meadows, 313 miles;

—Imperial to Phelan Serrano, 264 miles;

—Blythe Palo Verde Valley to Playa del Rey St. Bernard (replacing Francis Parker, which is downsizing to 8-Man), 243 miles;

—El Centro Central to Jurupa Valley, 168 miles;

—Horizon Prep to Helendale Careers and Exploration, 151 miles;

—El Centro Southwest to Moreno Valley Canyon Springs, 150 miles.

SAN DIEGO VERSUS HAWAII

*Maui; **Honolulu. *!Kauai

YEAR	TEAM	SCORE	OPPONENT	SCORE
1983	Ramona	6	*@Baldwin	34
1984	Sweetwater	34	*St. Anthony	3
1985	Morse	41	*@St. Anthony	7
	Sweetwater	32	*Baldwin	7
1986	Fallbrook	38	*Kahului	14
1988	Morse	63	*@St. Anthony	8
1989	Ramona	46	*St. Anthony	0
	Morse	17	**@St. Louis	24
1990	Lincoln	13	**@St. Louis	44
	Morse	55	**@Punahou	15
1991	Monte Vista	9	**Punahou	28
	Morse	41	**Farrington	15
	Bonita Vista	24	*Baldwin	25
1992	Morse	22	**@Kamehameha	15
	Monte Vista	2	**@Castle	6
	Orange Glen	22	**@Punahou	20
1993	Torrey Pines	32	**@Punahou	21
1994	Bonita Vista	0	**@Farrington	12
	University	10	**@Damien	0
	Morse	22	**@Punahou	36
	Mount Miguel	0	**@Farrington	17
1995	Morse	36	**@Kahuku	36
	Horizon	34	*Ka‘ahumanu	0
	Orange Glen	20	**@Farrington	13
1996	Bonita Vista	7	*@Baldwin	21
	Morse	27	**@Farrington	0
	Torrey Pines	31	**@Punahou	14
1998	Horizon	40	*Ka’ahumanu	14
1999	Bonita Vista	41	*@Baldwin	24
	Horizon	53	*Ka’ahumanu	12
2001	Kearny	0	*Ka’ahumanu	56
2003	Horizon	7	*Kahului	6
2004	Otay Ranch	35	*Pukulani Kamehameha	0
2005	Bonita Vista	37	*!@Kapa’a	0
	Valley Center	45	*!@Waimea	7
	West Hills	41	*!@Lijue	13
2007	Bonita Vista	7	*Lahainaluna	37
	El Capitan	51	*@King Kekaulike	35
	The Bishop’s	44	*Kahului	2
	Valley Center	36	*@Pukulani Kamehameha	0
	West Hills	37	*St. Anthony	16
	Coronado	21	*!@Kapa’a	0
2008	Serra	7	*!@Lihue	28
2009	Coronado	13	*!Lihue	49
2010	La Jolla Country Day	0	@*Pukulani Kamehameha	32
2011	Vista	7	**Punahou	19
2013	Helix	6	**Punahou	10
2014	Francis Parker	22	**Radford	20
2016	La Jolla Country Day	19	**@Iolani	27
2017	Torrey Pines	7	**@Punahou	23
	Valley Center	34	*Pululani Kamehameha	0
2018	Classical	14	*!Waimea	35
2019	Orange Glen	41	Waimea	16
2023	Bonita Vista	6	**@Kalani	28

ISLAND BREEZES

Punahou is 1-2 in 2025, losing to Kapolei, 46-21, and defeating Moanalua, 44-6, and ranks seventh in Hawaii, whose schools generally have opened a couple weeks before those in San Diego… mainland clubs hold a 32-21-1 lead in the interstate rivalry…Lincoln is the 28^th team from the San Diego Section to visit or host a team from the islands of Oahu, Maui, or Kauai since 1983…Morse went to the islands nine times through 1996, posting a 6-2-1 record…Don Coryell got his coaching career started with head coaching gigs at Gov. Wallace Farrington High and Punahou before his legendary stints at San Diego State and with the San Diego Chargers…Barack Obama was graduated in 1979 from Punahou, which is known as the Buff and Blue and which opened in 1842…the school is located about two miles inland from Waikiki Beach….

2025 Football Week 0: Maffei Tabs Hornets and Dons as Season Gets Under Way