The season’s first showdown came in the Horsman Invitational at  West Hills and the tournament championship and this week’s No. 1 ranking went to St. Augustine.

Trey Kell fired from three-point range and, driving to the hoop, twisted around Torrey Pines defenders to score 28 points and lead the Saints to a 60-55 victory in a matchup of unbeaten teams.

Torrey Pines went to the foul line 17 times in the first three quarters.  St. Augustine did not make its first visit until early in the fourth quarter.  The Saints led throughout and had opened a 42-33, third-quarter advantage.

La Costa Canyon, the preseason number one, dropped a 61-59 decision to Hoover, then rebounded with a 74-50 win over the Cardinals.

Mater Dei was off to a fast start, then fell to Capistrano JSerra, 63-48, and West Hills Chaminade, 55-47, in the Catholic Cup Challenge in Phoenix.  The Crusaders defeated St. Mary’s of Phoenix, 74-60, in the same event.

#	Team (1st place votes)	W-L*	Points**	Last Week
1	St. Augustine (11)	6-0	128	2
2	La Costa Canyon (2)	5-1	117	1
3	Hoover	5-2	90	3
3	Torrey Pines	5-1	90	5
5	San Marcos	5-1	56	8
6	Mater Dei Catholic	6-2	51	9
7	El Camino (2)	4-2	46	4
8	Foothills Christian	2-1	41	41
9	Francis Parker	4-1	31	7
10	Poway	3-2	30	NR

* Last year
**Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis
NR Not previously ranked.

Others receiving votes: Lincoln, 15; Escondido, 6; Valhalla, Cathedral, 5 each; Mission Hills, El Cajon Valley, 1 each.

Thirteen sportswriters, sportscasters and CIF representatives from throughout San Diego County vote in the weekly poll:
John Maffei, Craig Malveaux and Don Norcross (U-T San Diego);
Terry Monahan (U-T San Diego correspondent);
Bill Dickens (eastcountysports.com);
Andrew Smith (eastcountysports.com);
Steve Brand (San Diego Hall of Champions);
John Kentera and Jack Cronin (The Mighty 1090);
John Labeta (CIF San Diego Section);
Rick Smith (Partletonsports.com);
Bodie DeSilva (sandiegopreps.com);
and Aaron Burgin (fulltimehoops.tumblr.com).

That Tyler Gaffney led Cathedral to a State championship and scored a record 56 touchdowns in 14 games only reinforced the notion that this was a year of the running back.

Thirty-one San Diego Section players rushed for at least 1,000 yards and none were more productive than Gaffney, Escondido’s Ricky Seale, and Madison’s Robbie Rouse.

NORTH-SOUTH RUNNER

The 6-foot, 1-inch, 215-pound Gaffney was a power runner and long distance threat.  Third and short, fourth and goal, or from far outside the redzone, Gaffney was the package.

In 2013, when a group of San Diego writers selected the all-time, all-San Diego County squad, Gaffney was one of three, first-team running backs, joining Oceanside’s C.R. Roberts (1953) and Lincoln’s Darrin Wagner (1987).

Gaffney also was named state player of the year for 2008, selected by the respected Cal-Hi Sports.

“Tyler Gaffney is Justin Green and Demetrious Sumlin (earlier star backs for the Dons) rolled into one,” said Cathedral coach Sean Doyle.  “He’s physically the best back I’ve ever had.”

Gaffney rushed for 324 yards in 33 carries and scored 6 touchdowns in a 58-32, regular-season victory over 5-0 Lincoln.

That monster performance, however, was not close to being the story of Gaffney’s season.

OUTSCORES SCRIPPS RANCH, HIS OWNSELF

Gaffney scored 7 touchdowns and 42 points on runs of 5, 12, 1, 1, 51, 3, and 41 yards in a 70-37 victory over Scripps Ranch.

In the words of The San Diego Union reporter Jim Lindgren, Gaffney “put a crushing, downfield block”  on a 96-yard kickoff return touchdown by teammate Josh Jacko and ran down the Falcons’ Tate Forcier on the Dons’ six-yard line after Forcier had raced 62 yards.”

Nor did that performance define Gaffney’s season

ULTIMATE CHAMPIONSHIP

After a 49-13 win over Valhalla in the San Diego Section Division III finals, the Dons were chosen to play in the State D-III championship against Stockton St. Mary’s.

Gaffney gained 329 yards in 33 carries and scored five touchdowns.

And did more than run.

With the Dons trailing, 27-23, in the fourth quarter, quarterback Parker Hipp pitched to Gaffney, who then completed a 30-yard pass to Hipp.

Gaffney punched in from a yard for a touchdown on the next play, putting Cathedral in the lead, 30-27.

Gaffney’s 51-yard run, following a 96-yard St. Mary’s touchdown kickoff return that put the Rams in front, 34-30, secured the Cathedral victory.

“This means everything,” said Cathedral’s Don.  “Any good team can go to (a section championship), but it takes a real team to win State.  That’s what we went out to prove.”

It took all of Gaffney’s exploits and outstanding field generalship by Hipp (9 pass completions in 11 attempts for 191 yards) to bring down the Sac-Joaquin Section champion.

St. Mary’s quarterback Cody Vaz kept his team coming, completing 31 of 46 passes for 336 yards and four touchdowns.

PUTTING IT IN PERSPECTIVE                

Gaffney had not decided where he would attend college, saying that his choices had come down to Stanford and USC.

“But I don’t want to be known as Stanford-bound or USC-bound,” he said.  “I would rather it be about our team going to the playoffs, not what I did.”

An undefeated season and state championship accomplished, Gaffney chose Stanford and completed an outstanding career (with time out for  one year in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ farm system) in 2013.

The NFL was the next.

RUSHING TO RECORD

Morse’s Gary Taylor had set the San Diego single season rushing record of 2,625 yards in 1990.  Gaffney’s closing push gave him 2,866.

Gaffney not only bettered Taylor’s mark but he passed Seale and Rouse, whose seasons had ended in the San Diego Section finals the week before.

Seale, a junior and the son of 10-year NFL veteran defensive back Sammy Seale, also topped Taylor with 2,679 yards.  Rouse was the third to break the record, finishing with 2,632.

Seale would have another season to take a shot at Gaffney’s record before following the Cathedral ace to Stanford.

The 5-foot, 6-inch, 170-pound Rouse, who was reminiscent of the diminutive Cleveland Jones of the 1955-56 San Diego High teams, went on to a brilliant career at Fresno State.

OCEANSIDE ON ROLL

The Pirates of coach John Carroll had a 21-game winning streak stopped in a surprising, 33-33 tie with Ramona, but Oceanside continued on to end the season with a D-II championship and a streak of 24 games without loss.

The San Diego Section record for most consecutive wins was 36 by Sweetwater from 1983-85. The Bishop’s won 31 between ’96 and ’98, and Marian Catholic put together a 27-game streak from ‘02-‘04.

VISIT BEAUTIFUL UTAH

La Costa Canyon coach Darrin Brown had to get out his road atlas.

The Mavericks’ coach, stuck for an opponent to complete a 10-game schedule, took his team to St. George, Utah, to play Dixie High.

Helix had played Utah teams in 2006 and 2007, but the Mavericks’ 450-mile sojourn marked the first time a San Diego County team had ventured into the Beehive state.

“We couldn’t find a game here,” said Brown.  “Teams that are better have a hard time finding preleague games.”

The eight-hour bus ride and overnight hotel stay didn’t adversely affect the Carlsbad squad, which scored a 42-27 victory over the Flyers, a Utah AAA school of about 1,000 students that opened in 1911.

40 MILES NOT ONLY DIFFERENCE

La Costa Canyon went on to win 10 consecutive games over San Diego County opponents including Escondido, 45-23, for the San Diego Section Division I title.

But the Mavericks, like many others from San Diego County through the years, could not match up with teams from Orange County, particularly Southern Orange County, which is perhaps 40 miles from the La Costa Canyon campus and with probably the same resources and similar student body.

Mission Viejo defeated LCC 38-14, and Rancho Santa Margarita edged the Mavericks, 18-14.

ENOUGH ALREADY

Three weeks after a game in which his team was penalized 15 times (with two personal fouls) and fumbled six (including four center-to-quarterback snaps), John Carroll of Oceanside still was answering questions about what happened in the Pirates’ struggling, 26-23 win over opening-game foe Eastlake.

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” said Carroll. Especially after Oceanside, the defending state II champion went to 3-0 with a 42-24 victory over second-ranked Mira Mesa.

The Pirates made it 15 consecutive years in the Section semifinals under Carroll, then won their ninth championship in 11 tries, defeating Helix 23-19.

MAGNANIMOUS OR…?

Was Madison coach Rick Jackson being sportsmanlike or was he looking for a psychological advantage?

The 10-0 Warhawks were seeded No. 2 in the D-IV playoffs, behind Valley Center, which was 8-2.

“Getting seeded number one should be a reward for not losing, but look at who (Valley Center) lost to, Oceanside and Ramona,” said Jackson.

“When you have won two of the last three championships, you are the team to beat, and overall our league isn’t as strong as theirs, so I understand.”

The seeding panel of former coaches was on the mark. Coach Rob Gilster’s Jaguars defeated Madison, 31-20, for their third championship in four seasons and in a rivalry that would heat up in subsequent seasons.

Other top seeds also came through.  La Costa Canyon (I), Oceanside (II), Cathedral (III), and Francis Parker (V) all won titles.

HE SAID IT

Madison’s Rouse, on playing defense:  “I just want to get a sack and force a fumble and go to the house.”

MAYBE NEXT YEAR

The Norsemen had been going to their Valhalla for 33 years.  Valhalla was 3-28-2 against Helix, but it opened the season 5-0 and averaging 34.4 points.

Valhalla began the Grossmont South league season at Helix with high hopes, but the Highlanders brought their neighborhood rival back to reality with a 28-14 victory.

HERE COMES…CUBA!

Renowned vocalist Cuba Gooding, Sr., was contracted to sing the national anthem before El Camino’s game with Oceanside and to perform in two shows at El Camino, which was raising money to build a new gymnasium floor.

CALVIN ON MISSION

Calvin Christian quarterback David Stout hoped to play under the lights, so Stout and five teammates went before the Escondido City Council.

The quarterback shed some light on the second-year program and sought approval for illumination on the Crusaders’ football field, amid neighborhood concerns about additional nighttime activity and noise.

Permission was granted, allowing Calvin Christian to install in time for the 2009 season.

Stout and all of his teammates also pitched in to help erect new bleachers at the football field, adding seats for about 200 additional spectators.

FIELD OF BAD DREAMS

Chula Vista and Sweetwater had to play most of their schedules on the road because of unsafe conditions at the schools’ home sidelines, made of 60-year-old concrete bleachers.

Rebar was exposed in cracks of the concrete at both venues.   Repair was expected to take four weeks or longer.

A larger problem existed at Carlsbad.  Soil tests revealed elevated levels of arsenic six inches below the surface of the Lancers’ field.

Carlsbad played home games at La Costa Canyon.

FIELD OF BAD DREAMS, CON’T

Oceanside and Scripps Ranch sat out a power outage that lasted almost two hours before the Pirates (with a bow to Monday night football analyst Don Meredith and his rendition of  “Turn out the lights, the party’s over!”) dismissed the Falcons, 49-14.

Oceanside led, 14-0, after 4 minutes, 21 seconds of play, when the lights at Simcox Field blinked and faded at 7:25 p.m. in the D-II playoff.

After one hour and 52 minutes, during which the teams returned to their locker rooms, temporary lights were in play.

The outage was blamed on released balloons becoming entangled in power lines, according to Boyce Garrison of The San Diego Union.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE…

Steele Canyon coach Ron Boehmke’s son, Brad, played quarterback for the Cougars. Brad’s grandfather, Russ Boehmke, was an all-City League quarterback at Lincoln in 1957.

Mission Hills coach Chris Hauser’s son, Aaron, was a quarterback for the Grizzlies.

LIKE FATHER LIKE, CONT.

Steele Canyon defensive lineman Cameron Moss’ father, Martin, played at Lincoln, UCLA, and for the Detroit Lions.

Derek White, a wide receiver at Valhalla, was the son of Leon White, who played at Helix, BYU, and for the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams.

Yet another Father-Son combination was Tanner and Travis Hitt.  Valhalla’s Tanner played linebacker, the position at which Travis was San Diego Section co-player of the year for Grossmont in 1971.

IN NICK OF TIME

Poway’s Nick Ricciardulli had watched the Titans with his older brother  almost from the time of Nick’s Pop Warner days.

“I always knew that there’s a guy at Poway, a guy who’s going to get the ball,” Ricciardulli told Glae Thien of The San Diego Union. “I just wanted to work hard so I could be that guy one day.”

Ricciardulli became that guy as a junior in 2007 and set a school rushing record this season.

Nick finished with 1,912 yards in 283 carries (6.8 average) and scored 22 touchdowns.

TRUE GRID

Cathedral’s Roman Ferreira set a state record with 115 consecutive point-after-touchdown kicks in 2007 and 2008…Gavino Pinal intercepted three passes against Otay Ranch, tying an El Capitan record achieved in 1963 by Dave Nuttall…Ruben Diaz kicked a 35-yard field goal in  the final second to give Mission Bay a 38-38 tie with Point Loma…Madison alum and former St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz addressed the Warhawks before they went out and defeated Clairemont, 21-7…Brawley lost to El Capitan, 41-22, in the D-III playoffs and finished with a 5-6 record, its first under .500 since 1994…said Brawley coach John Bishop:  “Football is like Murphy’s Law…if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong, especially when you don’t have your best athletes available”…St. Joseph and Lutheran set a state, 8-man record in St. Joseph’s 94-76 victory…the combined 170 points broke a 1989 record of 158 points when Smith Valley, Nevada, defeated Big Pine, 82-76…Helix ended the season with 14 straight Grossmont South victories…two of Tyler Gaffney’s blockers were 6-foot, 5-inch, 290-pound Alex Crosthwaite and 6-6, 320-pound Everett Benyard…San Pasqual (2-8) missed the playoffs for the first time since 1990…Helix’ Scott Webb (1982) and Ramona’s Tim Valencia (2001) hold the San Diego Section record with 5 field goals in one game…they were almost joined by Valhalla’s Pete Thomas, who missed a fifth when his 42-yard attempt was wide left against Steele Canyon…Patrick Henry, 24-57 with no winning seasons and four different coaches from 2000-07, rallied to 7-5, then coach Mike Williams stepped down….

Win or lose Saturday evening, coach Chris Hauser’s Mission Hills Grizzlies are an almost unanimous choice as the No. 1 football team in the San Diego Section.

The final Top 10 poll of the season was voted on after conclusion of the  five San Diego Section championships.

The Grizzlies will host the Central Section champion Bakersfield Drillers in a State Bowl Series Southern California Regional playoff.

If Mission Hills wins, the San Marcos squad will play for a Division I state championship against either San Mateo Serra or Loomis Del Oro at the Home Depot Center in Carson the following week.

Two Eastern League teams, Cathedral and St. Augustine, finished third and fourth, respectively.  The Saints also received a first-place vote.

#	Team (1st place votes)	W-L	Points*	Previous
1	Mission Hills (30)	12-1	308	1T
2	Oceanside	10-3	244	1T
3	Cathedral	11-2	232	9
4	St. Augustine (1)	11-2	204	7
5	San Pasqual	11-2	204	5
6	Eastlake	10-2	149	3
7	Helix	9-3	121	5
8	Ramona	10-2	72	8
9	Mission Bay	12-2	47	NR
10	Madison	9-2	29	6

*Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. NR: previously unranked.

Others receiving votes: Christian, 22; Carlsbad, 20; Rancho Buena Vista, 8; Sweetwater, San Marcos, 5 each; Holtville, El Capitan, Imperial, 1 each.

Thirty-one sportswriters, sportscasters and CIF representatives from throughout San Diego County voted in the weekly poll:

John Maffei, Craig Malveaux, Dennis Lin, Lisa Lane, Andrew Burer,
and Don Norcross (U-T San Diego);
Terry Monahan, Tom Saxe, and Rick Hoff (U-T San Diego stringer);
Bill Dickens (eastcountysports.com);
Steve Brand (San Diego Hall of Champions);
John Kentera, Jack Cronin, Ted Mendenhall, Bob Petinak, Jordan Carruth, Bobby Wooldridge, Craig Elsten, and Mark Chiebowski (The Mighty 1090);
Jerry Schniepp and John Labeta (CIF San Diego Section office);
Rick Willis, Brandon Stone, and Jake Fadden (KUSI-TV);
Bruce Ward (San Diego City Schools);
Rick Smith (Partletonsports.com);
Steve (Biff) Dolan and Rick (Red) Hill (107.9 FM The Mountain);
Jeff Kurtz (NFHSnetwork.com; Ernie Martinez (XTRA Sports 1360);  and
Nick Pellegrino.

The discussion already is in full swing.  Who’s No. 1?

The U-T San Diego preseason basketball poll has La Costa Canyon No. 1 and St. Augustine No. 2.

North County bias by a majority of the voters aside,  I’ll take the Saints.  Call me South-of-Highway-56-biased, at least for this vote.

Saints Coach Mike Haupt, 330-173 in 18 seasons, guides the state’s defending Division III champions, 29-4 in 2012-13 and returning, among others, four-star San Diego State commit Trey Kell.

La Costa Canyon, 28-6 last season, was eliminated by Westlake, 66-64, in the Southern California playoff quarterfinals in D-II.

The Mavericks opened with a 56-46 victory over Poway earlier this week.  St. Augustine has beaten Serra, 70-47, and Santa Fe Christian, 80-38.

A top 10  adjustment should already be in the works. El Camino, No. 4, was edged by No. 6 Foothills Christian, 74-71, and unranked Poway topped Foothills, 72-70.

In other action:

No. 9 Mater Dei has been the busiest with wins over Chula Vista, 78-55; Rancho Buena Vista, 83-43; Castle Park, 66-33; Patrick Henry, 63-40, and Grossmont, 55-49.

No. 8 San Marcos eased up in the second half but still rolled over Castle Park, 102-18. Cathedral, No. 10, defeated Patrick Henry, 69-48.

Hoover, No. 3, topped Vista, also No. 10, 61-55.

#	Team (1st place votes)	W-L*	Points**	Previous*
1	La Costa Canyon (6)	28-6	111	6
2	St. Augustine (4)	29-4	94	1
3	Hoover	31-6	88	3
4	El Camino (2)	26-7	87	7
5	Torrey Pines	20-10	67	NR
6	Foothills Christian	20-15	50	NR
7	Francis Parker	16-12	46	NR
8	San Marcos	27-6	43	NR
9	Mater Dei Catholic	26-7	32	8
10t	Cathedral Catholic	29-5	38	5
10t	Vista	15-13	38	NR

*Last year
**Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis
NR Not previously ranked.

Others receiving votes: Westview, 7; Escondido, Mission Bay, 5 each; Lincoln, Helix, 3 each; Eastlake, 2; Serra, Oceanside, Canyon Crest, 1 each.

Twelve sportswriters, sportscasters and CIF representatives from throughout San Diego County vote in the weekly poll:
John Maffei, Craig Malveaux and Don Norcross (U-T San Diego);
Terry Monahan (U-T San Diego stringer);
Bill Dickens (eastcountysports.com);
Steve Brand (San Diego Hall of Champions);
John Kentera and Jack ronin (The Mighty 1090);
John Labeta (CIF San Diego Section office);
Rick Smith (Partletonsports.com);
Jodie DeSilva (sandiegopreps.com);
and Aaron Burgin (fulltimehoops.tumblr.com).

San Diego High first played Bakersfield, then known  as Kern County Union High, in 1917.

The Drillers, who play at Mission Hills Saturday night in a State Southern Regional playoff, last met an area team in  1952.

San Diego holds a 6-5, all-time advantage over the Drillers, the Cavemen having won the last five meetings.  Hoover and Grossmont each is 0-1.

Bakersfield and Long Beach Poly rank 1-2 in most wins by a California prep team.  The Drillers won their 776th  with a 60-21 victory over Clovis North and clinched their 36th Central Section championship.

The school opened in 1893 and is still located at its original site in the middle of the city.  Its 2,800 students represent the largest enrollment in the city but the school’s 25-acre site is the smallest.

All-time results with teams from the San Diego area:

Year	Opponent	Score
1917	@San Diego	7-18
1922	San Diego	32-0
1922	@San Diego	17-6
1938	@San Diego	21-0
1939	@San Diego	13-6
1940	San Diego	35-13
1946	@San Diego	7-13
1947	San Diego	0-25
1948	@San Diego	0-31
1949	San Diego	12-14
1950	San Diego	7-19
1950	Grossmont	38-7
1952	Hoover	33-13

Bakersfield’s second victory over San Diego in 1922 was a state playoff. San Diego had won the Southern California championship a  week before with a 31-14 victory over Gardena.

The CIF dropped  state playoffs in 1926 and didn’t renew the series until 2006.

Mission Hills will be the first San Diego Section team involved in a playoff with a school from another section since Mountain Empire dropped a 34-26, decision to Claremont in 1965.

Mountain Empire had remained in the Southern Section in 1960, when other San Diego County schools formed their own section, and didn’t become a member of the local group until 1969.

CHRISTIAN’S SEASON ENDS WITH NO BID

A Superior Court judge in San Diego sided with the state CIF and the CIF San Diego Section and denied a lawsuit by Christian.

The Patriots claimed a bylaw in CIF rules would allow them to move down to Division IV in the State Bowl Series.

The Patriots, who cited their enrollment of less than 500 students as basis for the action, won the San Diego Section III title but the Section declared them D-II for state playoff consideration.

One San Diego team is in the State Bowl Southern Regional playoffs and another will learn its fate Monday.

Mission Hills (12-1) was invited to play host to the Central Section champion Bakersfield Drillers (11-2) Saturday night, Dec. 14, in Division I.

Christian, which defeated San Marcos, 19-7, for the San Diego Section III title, filed suit to be considered as a D-IV entry in the state playoffs.

A hearing is scheduled in  San Diego Superior Court Monday.

The  winner  of Mission Hills-Bakersfield will take on either the Central Coast’s San Mateo Serra (11-2) or the Sac-Joaquin’s Loomis Del Oro (12-2), which play in the North Regional.

The Grizzlies solidified their standing as the San Diego Section’s best team with a 36-14 win over Oceanside in the Open Division final.  Bakersfield defeated Clovis North, 60-21, for the Central Section I title.

Bakersfield’s two losses were early in the season to Westlake Village Oaks Christian, 51-50, and Long Beach Poly, 27-7.  Mission Hills was beaten, 13-10, in overtime by San Marcos.

A CHEER FOR CHRISTIAN

Coach Matt Oliver has presided over four San Diego Section championship teams and had two others advance to the finals in his 15 seasons at Christian,  but no title was more satisfying than this.

The Patriots (12-1), enrollment less than 400, defeated San Marcos (9-5), enrollment more than 2,200, by a score of 19-7 in the D-III championship at Mesa College.

Paris Miller drove  the Patriots’ offense with 217 yards in 28 carries and a 12-yard touchdown run.  Sebastian Swift led the defense with 10 tackles, a quarterback sack, two interceptions (one returned 45 yards for a touchdown), and recovered a fumble.

RED DEVILS CLOSE FAST

Sweetwater (9-4), which lost four of its first five games, won its eighth in a row, longest streak for the school since 1986, and its first championship since 1984, scoring late to defeat  Monte Vista (7-6), 7-0, for the D-IV title.