2026 Flag Football Playoffs: Opening Round Results

Divisions I and II

Oddly, all higher seeds in D-I prevailed, whereas in D-II it was the exact opposite, with all lower seeds advancing. The most unexpected was an solid 31-6 win for 12 Vincent Memorial (11-8) over 5 Canyon Crest (16-4).

Divisions III and IV

In D-III it was balanced 2-2 , including the only lower seed with a losing record, 10 Poway (7-9) topping 7 El Camino (12-3). Similarly, D-IV was mixed 2-2, again with a ‘peaking’ team, a lopsided 52-0 win for 6 Imperial (6-12) over 11 Montgomery (11-6).

Next round is on Thursday October 29.

Open Division
Quarterfinal matches begin Wednesday October 28.

All games are at home of higher (smaller number) seed*.
All Final games are at Olympian on November 7, starting at 10am.

OPEN DIVISION

Quarterfinals
 October 28		 Semifinals
 November 3		 Final
November 7
1 San Marcos (21-1)
8 Carlsbad (14-7)		 Quarterfinal
Winners		 Semifinal
Winners
4 Torrey Pines (13-8)
5 Mira Mesa (18-5)
2 Bonita Vista (20-5)
7 Classical (13-6)		 Quarterfinal
Winners
3 Helix (16-1)
6 Mission Hills (16-5)

DIVISION I

Round 1
 October 27		 Quarterfinals
 October 29		 Semifinals
 November 3		 Final
 November 7
8 Ramona (13-6) 14-13
9 Hilltop (15-2)		 1 Cathedral (13-7)
8 Ramona (14-6)		 Quarterfinal
Winners		 Semifinal
Winners
5  Point Loma (16-2) 27-6
12  Brawley (16-6)		 4 Granite Hills (10-7)
5 Point Loma (17-2)
7 Mt. Carmel (12-7) 20-14
10 Steele Canyon (10-10)		 2 Scripps Ranch (13-8)
7 Mt. Carmel (13-7)		 Quarterfinal
Winners
6 Mater Dei (15-5) 34-19
11 Calexico (15-6)		 3 La Costa Canyon (12-5)
6 Mater Dei (16-5)

DIVISION II

Round 1
October 27		 Quarterfinals
October 29		 Semifinals
 November 3		 Final
 November 7
8 Del Norte (10-9)
9 Mission Bay (12-11) 32-7		 1 Morse (14-2)
9 Mission Bay (13-11)		 Quarterfinal
Winners		 Semifinal
Winners
5 Canyon Crest (16-4)
12 Vincent Memorial  (11-8) 31-6		 4 Our Lady of Peace (11-9)
12 Vincent Memorial  (12-8)
7 El Camino (12-3)
10 Poway (7-9) 12-6		 2 Grossmont (12-8)
10 Poway (8-9)		 Quarterfinal
Winners
6 Madison (17-2)
11 Valley Center (12-6) 18-12		 3 Escondido Charter (10-8)
11 Valley Center (13-6)

DIVISION III

Round 1
 October 27		 Quarterfinals
October 29		 Semifinals
 November 3		 Final
 November 7
8 Holtville (13-7) 33-32
9 Lincoln (12-9)		 1 Patrick Henry (8-11)
8 Holtville (14-7)		 Quarterfinal
Winners		 Semifinal
Winners
5 O’Farrell (16-3) 13-0
12 West Hills (10-6)		 4 San Pasqual (15-7)
5 O’Farrell (17-3)
7 El Centro Southwest (13-7) 26-3
10 San Ysidro (10-10)		 2 Westview (5-10)
7 El Centro Southwest (14-7)		 Quarterfinal
Winners
6 Eastlake (10-8)
11 Clairemont (5-13) 13-12		 3 Santa Fe Christian (10-9)
11 Clairemont (6-13)

DIVISION IV

Round 1
 October 27		 Quarterfinals
 October 29		 Semifinals
 November 3		 Final
 November 7
8 Santana (9-9) 35-13
9 Escondido (9-13)		 1 Rancho Buena Vista (8-8)
8 Santana (10-9)		 Quarterfinal
Winners		 Semifinal
Winners
5 El Cajon Valley (11-8)
12 Oceanside (6-14) 26-7		 4 Liberty (14-3)
12 Oceanside (7-14)
7 Hoover (12-11)
10 Rancho Bernardo (5-15) 28-0		 2 El Capitan (7-13)
10 Rancho Bernardo (6-15)		 Quarterfinal
Winners
6 Imperial (8-16) 52-0
11 Montgomery (11-6)		 3 Otay Ranch (9-11)
6 Imperial (9-16)

*The Division and Seeding selection process divides the top 56 MaxPreps** state-ranked local teams into 8 top teams, then 4 equal 12 team groups. The top 8 teams become the Open Division, the next 12 are Division  I (D-I), the next 12 become Division II, and so on.

In the D-I/II/III/IV brackets, the top 4 seeds get a first round bye and teams 5-12  are paired into a standard structure, similar to the national collegiate tackle football 12-team format.

**The entirely computer generated and proprietary MaxPreps.com ranking algorithm, based solely on wins and losses, plus the opponents strength of schedule, is described here.

Henrik Jonson, Webmaster



2026 Football Week 10: Chula Vista Wins 80th Game Between Old Antagonists

Chula Vista and Sweetwater met last week, the 21-14 Spartans victory continuing the longest, uninterrupted rivalry in San Diego.

The South Bay schools have played each other every season since 1947, when Chula Vista High opened to a couple hundred students in at the Brown Field Airport.  The Spartans moved to a permanent campus on the city’s west side in 1949.  Sweetwater has been playing football since 1920 but actually began as National City School in 1908.

The series stands at 42 victories for Chula Vista and 35 for Sweetwater, with three ties.

Neither of the teams have done well recently (Chula Vista is 3-6, Sweetwater 1-8) but they’re predecessors created some of the most successful periods in County history.

Basketball coach Chet DeVore reluctantly accepted football responsibilities at principal Joe Rindone’s request in 1951 and posted a 44-7-1 record through 1955.  George Ohnessorgen was 103-33-7 as coach from 1982-93.  Gene Alim led Sweetwater to a 74-9-1 record from 1981-87. Al Jacobus was 23-7 from 1978-80, and Dave Lay was 68-29 a few years before, although hit with some forfeits.

UNDEFEATED

Santa Fe Christian (9-0), Francis Parker (7-0), and Patrick Henry (9-0) are the remaining teams with spotless records heading into final regular-season games.

Parker meets St. Joseph in an eight-man finale. Some sites list Santa Fe as 10-0 but a forfeit by La Jolla Country Day was not accepted by coach Jon Goodwin’s team, according to veteran prep scribe John Maffei, so the Eagles will reach the CIF limit of 10 regular-season games this week against The Bishop’s.

I missed by picking Madison over Henry last week, finishing with a 2-1 record.  I’ll stick with the Patriots against Mira Mesa and go with Santa Fe Christian and Francis Parker in other selections.

John Maffei’s The San Diego Union Week 10 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’ are state rankings. HS-ratings.com and MaxPreps follow computer model.  Cal-Hi Sports’  rankings are the opinion of creator Mark Tennis.

RANK TEAM POINTS PREVIOUS MAX PREPS HS-RATINGS.COM CAL-HI SPORTS
1. Cathedral (6-3) *25 319 2 31/37  46.3/44.9 19/22
2. Carlsbad (8-1) *1 276 1 23/11 48.4/51.8 34/13
3. Granite Hills (7-2) 274 3 62/58 36.9/32.6 33/33
4. Mission Hills (7-2) 249 4 28/27 44/42.3 35/35
5. La Costa Canyon (6-3) 201 6 50/64 36.8/31.5 39/On Bubble
6. Santa Fe Christian (9-0) *1 170 5 40/41 40.6/41.1 40/41
7. Helix (7-2) 112 8 61/60 32.9/31.6 On Bubble/NR
8. Rancho Bernardo (7-2) 101 7 77/82 33/28.3 On Bubble/Bubble
9.  San Marcos (5-4) 67 9 73/62 22.7/23.7 On Bubble/Bubble
10. Patrick Henry (9-0) Oceanside (4-4) 23 NR 259/NR 30.5/26.9 NR/NR

Others receiving votes: Lincoln (4-5), 17; Oceanside (5-4), 16; Holtville (7-2), 3; Torrey Pines (5-4), 2; Imperial (7-2), 1.

Voting panel: Sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from the San Diego Section:
John Maffei (The San Diego Union-Tribune).
Donald Ray Norcross, Kevin Farmer, Rick Hoff, Steve Brand (The San Diego Union-Tribune independent correspondents).
Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez, Cristina Byrne (San Diego Section bosses).
Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, Chase Isidoro (KUSI-TV, Chl. 51).
Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
Braden Suprenant, Frank Markese (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 (Coach) Kentera, Dennis Ackerman, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (independent contributors).
Max Preps.