2025 Football Week 1: No Change From 1-6 in 2024 to 2025
John Maffei’s The San Diego Union Week 1 poll:
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes. Previous ranking (2024) in (italics).
NR–Not ranked. MaxPreps‘ and Cal-Hi Sports‘ are state rankings.
| RANK | TEAM/RECORD | POINTS | MAX PREPS | CAL PREPS | CAL-HI SPORTS |
| 1. | Lincoln (1-0) 25* | 295 (1) | 10 | 52.4 | 10 |
| 2. | Cathedral (1-0) 5* | 248 (2) | 17 | 49.6 | 11 |
| 3. | Mission Hills (1-0) | 225 (3) | 60 | 34.9 | 36 |
| 4. | Granite Hills (1-0) | 213 (4) | 39 | 30.6 | 30 |
| 5. | La Costa Canyon (1-0) | 185 (5) | 24 | 36.7 | 17 |
| 6. | Carlsbad (1-0) | 155 (6) | 28 | 32.8 | On the Bubble |
| 7. | Mount Miguel (1-0) | 117 (8) | 174 | 28.4 | On the Bubble |
| 8. | El Camino (1-0) | 85 (NR) | 74 | 15.7 | NR |
| 9. | San Marcos (0-1) | 64 (7) | 125 | 21.0 | NR |
| 10. | Poway (1-0) | 27 (NR) | 113 | 14.3 | NR |
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Oceanside (0-1), Rancho Bernardo (1-0), 15 points each; The Bishop’s (1-0), Torrey Pines (1-0), 4 each; Point Loma (1-0), 2; Santa Fe Christian (1-0), 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 (97.3 FM “The Fan”)
- Mike Dolan (Coaching Legends)
- Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference)
- Joe Evangelist, Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee)
- Raymond Brown (sdfootball.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).
RIVALRY REVISITED
North County antagonists Oceanside and Carlsbad, 4.7 miles apart, have played every year since 1958 excepting 1964, 2002, 2008-09 and 2023-24.
After sustaining losses of 49-6 and 55-7 in 2021 and ’22, Oceanside left the Avocado League for the Valley and this year joined the Palomar.
Despite those blowout losses, the Pirates, mostly behind legendary coaches Herb Meyer and John Carroll, largely held the upper hand, building a 37-20-5 advantage over the decades.
They’ll roll again this week, Oceanside the visiting team.
TRUE GRID
Lincoln scored a surprising, at the time, 42-14 victory in Week 2 last season over Long Beach Poly and plays host to the apparently declining Jackrabbits this week.
Poly dropped its 2025 opener, 14-3, to Lawndale Leuzinger. The school which has sent more players to the NFL than any other and a power almost from the time the CIF Southern Section was formed in 1914, fell to 6-6 in 2024.
Poly has made a couple coaching changes since Raul Lara, their previously highly successful coach, left and now is head coach at Santa Ana Mater Dei.
Long Beach, which has not played here since a 13-6 victory at Mira Mesa in 2006, has a 40-15-1 record all time against San Diego Section teams, including 24-11-1 versus San Diego High, its blood rival in the old Coast League of Southern California, primarily in the first half of the 20th century.
The Jackrabbits will meet a Lincoln team playing its first game since 2023 in Vic Player Stadium. The playing field last season was in such condition and in need of repair that the Hornets traveled to every practice and every game.
Lincoln, 12-2 and state Division I-AA champion in 2024, opened last week with a 57-29 win at Honolulu Punahou as Jordan Roa, replacing graduated quarterback and now Oregon freshman Akili Smith, completed 15 of 19 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown.
Roa also rushed for 42 yards, complementing 148 yards rushing in 14 attempts by Rashad Robinson and 79 in 16 attempts by Junior Curtis. Kainan Manna completed 6 of 8 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown. Darien Bridges caught 8 for 106 yards and Courtney Miller-Thompson 7 for 86 and a touchdown.
TRUE GRID, CON’T
Junior Keenan Ward scored 4 touchdowns on 161 yards in 11 carries and kicked three extra points and a field goal for all of La Jolla Country Day’s points in a 30-21 win over Chula Vista…Romeo Carter caught 7 passes for 236 yards and three touchdowns in Point Loma’s 42-24 win over Del Norte…Zac Benitez completed 38 of 45 passes for 456 yards and four touchdowns as Granite Hills whipped Oceanside, 45-29…Carlsbad’s Lancers reversed a 20-17, opening-game loss at Lakewood last season with a 43-0 home win over the same-named Lancers…Fallbrook snapped an 0-12 streak with a 27-24 win over Escondido…Mt. Carmel beat Westview, 43-21, as Trevor Taumoepeau passed for 340 yards and five touchdowns…Enrique Armas outscored West Hills with four touchdowns, leading Holtville to a 43-21 win…Trey Arnold passed for 412 yards and six TD’s as Mission Bay beat Kearny, 55-0….