After an essentially quiet first week, quarterfinals and Open Division semifinals brought the San Diego Section playoffs to life, starting with a couple wild Open Division battles.
Distance and facing California’s No. 8-ranked team and second seed didn’t deter third seed and California-ranked 14th Granite Hills.
The Eagles bused 44 miles and then outlasted state No. 8 Carlsbad, 46-45, in overtime, while top-ranked Lincoln, behind in the fourth quarter for the first time, rallied to beat Helix, 45-38, in two overtimes.
Two startling contests and two outstanding teams, 10-1 Carlsbad of the Avocado League and 9-2 Helix of the Grossmont Hills, that saw their seasons come to jarring ends.
“It might have been the best game I’ve ever seen,” said veteran Union-Tribune writer John Maffei of the Carlsbad-Granite thriller.
WARHAWKS BRING DOWN FALCONS
Two surprises stood out in Division I and III quarterfinals.
A stunner was No. 9 Madison’s upset of D-I top seed Torrey Pines, 21-0.
The loss shocked not only the Falcons but the North County cognoscenti, which proclaims, sometimes loudly, that the best football is played in the Avocado League.
Other reversals included D-I No. 5 St. Augustine’s thumping No. 4 La Costa Canyon, 32-17, in another Avocado League setback, and No. 6 La Jolla Country Day’s 35-7 win over 3 West Hills in D-III.
Madison, written off after six losses in a seven-game stretch that ended with a seemingly meaningless, 33-0 win against 1-9 University City, pitched its third consecutive shutout.
The Warhawks’ defense constricted Torrey Pines, which mustered 113 yards offense and six yards rushing.
Madison (6-6) will try to continue its late-season run in the semifinals against Western League rival 8-4 St. Augustine, a 34-14 winner in the teams’ Week 9 matchup.
Not all was despair for the Avocado League. Mission Hills, annually tough and seasoned and the No. 2 seed in D-I, takes on loop rival 3 El Camino after a 27-13 win over 7 seed and neighbor San Marcos.
The Grizzlies of coach Chris Hauser, making their 15th semifinals appearance in the last 18 years, gave the ball to Giovanni Harte, who responded with 286 yards in 37 carries and scored four touchdowns.
FOUR FINALS
Games at Escondido High Friday, Nov. 17, and Saturday, Nov. 18, will determine lower division champions:
V-AA—1 Holtville (8-2) versus 2 Army-Navy (8-3), 1 p.m. Saturday.
VI—1 Foothills Christian (8-2) versus 2 St. Joseph (8-3), 4:30 p.m. Friday.
V—No. 1 Calexico Vincent Memorial (9-3) versus 2 Sweetwater (6-6), 7:30 p.m. Friday.
OPEN–1 Lincoln and 3 Granite Hills will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, at Snapdragon Stadium.
Divisions I and IV will be part of a doubleheader Friday, Nov. 24, at Southwestern College. Divisions II & III will settle matters in a twin bill Saturday, Nov. 25. Starting times are 2 and 7:30 p.m. each day
Lincoln (11-0) and Granite Hills (11-0) are the first undefeated, 11-man opponents since Christian (12-0) met The Bishop’s (12-0) in the Division III championship in 2016.
Foothills Christian (10-0) played San Diego Jewish (8-0) in an eight-man title game in 2019.
Three others undefeated but tied also have played.
Bold type indicates winning team:
| YEAR/DIVISION | TEAM | RECORD | TEAM | RECORD | SCORE |
| 1970 AA | Grossmont | 11-0 | St. Augustine | 11-0 | 13-8 |
| 1974 AA | Vista | 12-0 | Patrick Henry | 11-0-1 | 32-0 |
| 1982 AA | El Camino | 12-0 | Pont Loma | 10-0-2 | 6-6 |
| 2004 III | Brawley | 12-0 | Valley Center | 10-0-2 | 39-36 |
| 2016 II | Christian | 12-0 | The Bishop’s | 12-0 | 49-20 |
| 2019 8-MAN | Foothills Christian | 10-0 | San Diego Jewish | 8-0 | 62-0 |
| 2023 OPEN | Lincoln | 11-0 | Granite Hills | 11-0 |
TRUE GRID
Lincoln is 2-0 all-time versus Granite Hills…the 1977 Marcus Allen-led Hornets upset the No. 1 Eagles, 19-12, in the semifinals and they repeated, 34-20, in a 2018 semifinal…St. Augustine is 13-11 against Madison in a series which began in 1968 with a 26-0 Saints victory….2 Chula Vista (9-2), which is host to 3 Westview (7-4) in D-IV, hasn’t been as successful since the 2003 team was 10-2…1 Del Norte (9-2) is in uncharted waters…the D-II Nighthawks, who entertain playoff savvy 5 Point Loma (6-5), came into the season with an all-time best record of 7-5 in 2021 and ’22…Greg Tate was Mission Bay’s fifth coach in four years when he took the job in 2019… the D-III 3 seed Bucs, who take on 5 seed Grossmont (6-5), are 27-13 with Tate…Holtville leads Army-Navy, 15-10, in a series that began in 1981 but hadn’t been renewed since 2014…latest Cal-Hi Sports state rankings: 6, Lincoln; 7, Granite Hills; 11, Carlsbad; 16, Helix. On the bubble: El Camino, Madison, Mission Hills, St. Augustine….
Madison beat Saints in the 2016 CIF Title game on their way to the 2016 state title.
Madison beat St. Augustine twice that year. I’d forgotten. What I remembered was Madison winning a Southern regional playoff against Calabasas, in overtime, by a basketball score, 60-53. Thanks for writing.