There were twenty outright league champions and four league co-champions, most of whose seasons will continue with the first round of  San Diego Section playoffs beginning Tuesday.  Pairings and division alignments are expected today.

Twelve teams were unbeaten in loop play, Victory Christian posted the overall highest won-loss percentage (.857), and San Marcos, averaging 70.4 points a game, edged Victory (69.7) for offensive average.  Warner Springs Warner opponents averaged only 37.9 points.

What  does it say when the highest ranked San Diego Section basketball teams are Max Preps‘ state ranked 29th and Cal-Hi Sports’  22nd?  And that No. 30 is Francis Parker, which has lost nine games but leads The San Diego Union-Tribune poll with 11 of 18 first-place votes?

Basketball here is down this season, compared to the rest of California.

Torrey Pines and St. Augustine, coached by legendary war horses Mike Haupt and John Olive,  have teams with a combined record of 27 wins and 23 losses and are out of the Section top 10 poll this week.

No. 1 Parker, No. 2 Victory Christian, and No. 3 Santa Fe Christian are small, private schools with alleged advantages in resources.  Cathedral is sixth and Christian 10th. No.  4 Mission Bay is the highest ranked public school.

There’s an axiom I heard many years ago:  “Good coaching can’t win with bad players; bad coaching will lose with good players.”  I prefer to think  there are more good coaches than not but the overall team talent level here is diminished this season.

The “Maffei Madness” top 10 poll, conducted by the very sane John Maffei of the Union-Tribune:

First-place votes in parenthesis. Previous ranking in bold italics, if changed.
Cal-Hi Sports rankings are by Mark Tennis, the newsletter’s publisher, with contribution from statewide correspondents.
Max Preps essentially relies on individual school representatives.

Others receiving votes: Torrey Pines (14-12, 15 points), St. Augustine (13-11, 2 points), Calexico (19-4, 2), Patrick Henry (18-8, 2), Ramona (18-8, 2),  Del Lago (20-5, 1).

VOTING PANEL (18)
John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
Aaron Burgin (Full-Time Hoops),
Steve Brand, Bodie DeSilva (Union-Tribune freelance contributors).
Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (San Diego Section honchos).
Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference).
Joe Evangelist, Rex Johnson (San Diego Section Advisory Committee).
Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
Braden Surprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
Dennis Ackerman, Steve (Biff) Dolan, John (Coach) Kentera, Adam Paul, Tom Ronco, Eric Williams (freelance contributors).

Playoff pairings, traditionally an arduous, sometimes day-long exercise punctuated by shouting and finger-pointing participants, centered around the Scripps Ranch boys team, which had forfeited 15 games for using an ineligible player, among several transfers to the relatively new, third-year school.

Wrote Steve Brand of The San Diego Union-Tribune: “Sentiments…ranged from not allowing Scripps to play at all (never a possibility) to making the Falcons play all of their games on the road (being seeded ninth or below).”

Instead, coach John King’s team received a fourth-round seed.  Although King was unhappy with his seed, the Falcons reached the Division II finals, losing to Montgomery but defeating No. 1 El Camino in the semifinals, 64-56.  Scripps’ seeding also hadn’t sat well with Wildcats coach Ray Johnson.

The semifinal loss meant El Camino wouldn’t be considered for a Southern California Regional playoff bid. ”It’s a travesty,”  Johnson said to Steve Brand.

“We probably would have represented Division two in a regional playoff better (than qualifiers Montgomery or Monte Vista),” said Johnson. “After the season we had (26-4) our players deserve to have that chance.  It just doesn’t seem fair.”

Johnson made no excuses for the surprising loss.  “Once we had to play them, we had to play them, and we didn’t come to play.”

UNIQUE REPEAT

Larry Armbrust, coach of the 26-5 Eastlake girls, champions in Division III, received a Gatorade shower from his team after the 75-47 win over University.

Armbrust and his Chula Vista High teammates participated in a similar moment when principal Joe Rindone and coach Clarence Burton showered, with their clothes on, after a 61-47 Southern Section small schools’ championship against San Bernardino St. Bernardine at Colton High 1954.

PLAYOFFS
Some scores missing.

BOYS

DIVISION I
Mt. Carmel (16-11) 58, @Vista (16-12) 62.
Morse (11-15) 56, @Poway (21-7) 69.
Fallbrook (12-16) 45, @4 Chula Vista (20-7) 40.
Patrick Henry (14-12) 79.@Bonita Vista (17-10) 106,
The Barons, supported by 300 “Bonita Spirit” towels ordered by coach John Santignon for players and “anyone who wanted to come to the  game,” raced to a 31-19, first-quarter lead after forcing six turnovers.
San Dieguito (17-14) 58, @Helix (16-11) 81,
Highlanders sophomore Ron Johnson scored all of his 25 points in the second half.
San Pasqual (14-11), 35, @Grossmont (17-7) 48,

QUARTERFINALS
Bonita Vista (17-11) 78, @3 Rancho Bernardo (18-10) 112.
Sophomore Rei Rivera set a Broncos school record with 42 points.
Vista (16-13) 49, @1 Torrey Pines (27-3) 67.
Helix (17-12) 70, @2 Rancho Buena Vista (22-5) 84.
Fallbrook (12-17) 37, @5 Poway (22-7) 62,

SEMIFINALS
At Mira Mesa High.
Rancho Buena Vista (23-5) 66, Rancho Bernardo (18-11) 56.
Torrey Pines (28-3) 49, Poway (22-8) 42.

CHAMPIONSHIP
At Sports Arena.
Torrey Pines (29-3) 67, Rancho Bernardo (23-6) 27.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL PLAYOFFS
FIRST ROUND
4 Fremont, (27-4, L.A. City) 49, @Torrey Pines (29-4) 44.

D-II
University City (11-15) 35, @1 El Camino (25-3) 84.
The Wildcats made 10 of their first 11 field-goal attempts.  Conan Moore scored 26 points and Joe Eyres 20.
West Hills (20-6) 57, @Valhalla (22-7) 74.
El Capitan (12-16) 51, @Oceanside (21-7) 86.
Jim Gould led the Pirates with 27 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
Sweetwater (14-13) 63, @4 Scripps Ranch (8-20) 87.
Tavaroa Daniels led the Falcons with 26 points, nine assists, and five steals.
Mount Miguel (9-19) 58, @2 Point Loma (22-2) 91.
Ramona (17-10) 47, @Monte Vista (18-12) 49.
The Monarchs’ 6-foot, 5-inch Will Goodloe scored 18 points and had 18 rebounds.
Serra (9-15) 38, @3 Montgomery (25-2) 54.

QUARTERFINALS
Oceanside (21-8) 53, @Scripps Ranch (9-20) 76.
Valhalla (22-8) 70, @1 El Camino (26-3) 72.
Monte Vista (19-12) 80, @2 Point Loma (22-3) 61.
Grossmont (18-8), 41, @3 Montgomery (26-2) 53.
Trailing, 21-18, at halftime, easing ahead, 31-29, after three quarters, the Aztecs broke it open with a 22-12 final eight minutes.

SEMIFINALS
At Torrey Pines High.
4 Scripps Ranch (10-20) 64, 1 El Camino (26-4) 56.
3 Montgomery (27-2) 52, Monte Vista (19-13) 49.
CHAMPIONSHIP
At Sports Arena.
Montgomery (28-2) 51, Scripps Ranch (10-21) 48.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL
FIRST ROUND
2 Inglewood (29-4, Southern) 93, @Montgomery (28-3) 50.
@4 Rancho Santa Margarita (24-6, Southern) 95, Scripps Ranch (10-22) 40.

D-III

QUARTERFINALS
Mar Vista (10-15) 55, @3 Madison (19-8) 64.
Kearny (14-12) 50, @4 Eastlake (15-11) 53.
SEMIFINALS
At Serra High.
3 Madison (20-8) 54, 2 Mission Bay (13-8) 51.
1 University (24-2) 66, 4 Eastlake (15-12) 57.

CHAMPIONSHIP
At Sports Arena.
1 University (25-2) 88, 3 Madison (20-9) 38.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL
FIRST ROUND
At Pasadena High.
3 Pasadena Muir (23-10, Southern) 72, Madison (20-10) 45.
At Inglewood High.
2 University (26-2) 74, Inglewood Morningside (20-10) 66.

SEMIFINALS
Pasadena Muir (23-11, Southern) 59, @2 University (27-2) 71.

CHAMPIONSHIP
At Anaheim Arrowhead Pond.
Studio City Harvard-Westlake (29-2, Southern) 58, University (27-3) 47, OT.

“What a soldier,” declared Uni coach Jim Tomey of the injured Nate Walton, who played 24 minutes on a sore ankle and scored 9 points.  “He couldn’t walk yesterday.  The doctors worked on him.  He showed tremendous character and courage.”

D-IV
At Imperial High.
Play-in: Holtville (13-10) 79, Clairemont (8-17) 73, OT.
QUARTERFINALS
Imperial (17-7) 49, @4 Coronado (17-7) 72.
Jon Skaalen punished the Tigers with 22 points and 14 rebounds.
Holtville (13-11) 64, @3 The Bishop’s (20-7) 65.
Sadiki Ellis’ 17-foot jump shot with two seconds remaining was the difference for winning Knights.

SEMIFINALS
At Eastlake High.
1 Lincoln (20-8) 81, 4 Coronado (17-8) 67.
CHAMPIONSHIP
At Sports Arena.
Lincoln (21-8) 71, Christian (19-8) 58.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL
FIRST ROUND
3 Bakersfield Garces (21-7, Central) 83, @Lincoln (22-8) 89.
Christian (18-8) 49, @2 Santa Monica Crossroads (26-8, Southern) 75.
SEMIFINALS
Lincoln (22-9) 62, @Santa Monica Crossroads (27-8, Southern) 84.
D-V
Lutheran (14-9) 40, @Francis Parker (11-15) 50.
Calvin Christian (10-13) 62, @Tri-City Christian (11-13) 59.
Jacob Young buttressed the Crusaders with 34 points.
QUARTERFINALS
Francis Parker (11-16) 52, @2 La Jolla Country Day (19-7) 68.
Calvin Christian (10-14) 26, @1 Horizon (22-5) 91.
Twenty-four of Stacey Robinson’s 28 points came on eight, three-point baskets as Robinson outscored the Crusaders.
Borrego Springs (7-14) 44, @Calipatria (9-15) 42.
At Southwestern College.
Marian (7-15) 71, Julian (11-13) 50.

SEMIFINALS
At Francis Parker School.
2 La Jolla Country Day 87, Borrego Springs (7-15) 43.
1 Horizon (23-5) 68, Marian (7-16) 39.

CHAMPIONSHIP
At Sports Arena.
1 Horizon (24-5) 60, La Jolla Country Day (20-8) 51.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL
FIRST ROUND
Antelope Valley Christian (25-5, Southern) 55, @2 Horizon (25-5) 84,
West Hollywood Pacific Hills (19-1, Southern) 43, @4 La Jolla Country Day (21-8) 64.
SEMIFINALS
La Jolla Country Day (21-9) 67, @1 Van Nuys Montclair (28-3, Southern) 72, OT.
2 Horizon (26-5) 82, Visalia Central Valley (19-10, Central) 51.

CHAMPIONSHIP
At Cal State-Fullerton.
Van Nuys Montclair (29-3, Southern) 67, Horizon (26-6) 62.

GIRLS
FIRST ROUND
DIVISION I
Southwest (11-14) 24, @4 Rancho Buena Vista (20-8) 68.
Orange Glen (12-17) 42, @Poway (16-10) 52.
San Dieguito (10-16) 60, @Torrey Pines (19-10), 67
Sarah Pearcy’s 18 points included four three-pointers for the Falcons.
Bonita Vista (15-10) 46, @Patrick Henry (20-6) 79.
Michelle Brunker outscored the Barons with a career high 49 points, dedicating her game to Michelle’s six-year-old sister Maria, hospitalized with flu.
Mt. Carmel (12-17) 73, @Helix (21-7) 62.
Sophomore Jill Talbot missed her first three shots, turned over the ball over on her next possession, then torched the favored Highlanders with 25 points and 17 rebounds as the Sundevils overcame an early, 15-7 deficit and led 60-59 with 3:27 left.

QUARTERFINALS
Poway (17-10) 71, @3 Morse (21-6) 38.
Torrey Pines (19-11), 55, @4 Rancho Buena Vista (21-8) 76.
Sophomore Janeene Arendsen brought down the Falcons with 25 points and 12 rebounds.
Patrick Henry (20-7) 48, @Rancho Bernardo (22-5) 78.

SEMIFINALS
At Mira Mesa High.
Vista (18-10) 59, Poway (18-11) 34.
Rancho Bernardo (23-5), 64, 4 Rancho Buena Vista (21-9) 53.
RBV sophomore Eisha Bowman’s 31 points and 11 rebounds weren’t enough to stop the Broncos from a second straight trip to the championship game.

CHAMPIONSHIP
@Sports Arena.
Rancho Bernardo (24-5) 48, Vista (23-6) 46.
Ninth-grader Sarah Wilson drained two free throws with eight seconds left in the game and then Kelly Kernan intercepted Vista’s long inbound pass to seal the victory.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL
FIRST ROUND
2 Palos Verdes Peninsula (30-2, Southern) 55, @Rancho Bernardo (25-5) 64.
SEMIFINALS
Rancho Bernardo (25-6) 57, @3 Santa Ana Mater Dei (27-3) 59.
D-II
Escondido (9-19) 52, @4 Montgomery (22-5) 42.
El Camino (13-13) 48, @Oceanside (14-14) 43.
Carlsbad (11-14) 33, @2 Scripps Ranch (28-0) 89.
The Falcons’ Alyssa Murphy: 25 points, 10 assists, 9 steals.
Hilltop 33, @1 Santana (27-1) 92.
Kelly Simers scored 21 points and Sofia Sledge added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Sultans.
University City (10-16) 41, @San Pasqual (19-6) 48.
Five-foot, 5-inch Alicia Smith led the Golden Eagles with 24 points.
Point Loma (14-9) 25, @3 El Capitan (20-7) 50.
Kendra Rhea scored 16 points and pulled in 19 rebounds for the Vaqueros.
Serra (12-14) 47, @2 Valhalla (18-10) 51.
Mount Miguel (12-15) 40, @Ramona (15-10) 58.

QUARTERFINALS
El Camino (13-14) 41, @1 Santana (28-1) 42.
Ramona (15-11) 41, @2 Scripps Ranch (29-0) 90.
Alyssa Murphy had 29 points and 11 assists despite sitting out part of the first quarter and noted, “We’re in a pretty good groove, especially on defense.”
3 El Capitan (21-7) 48, @2 Valhalla (18-11) 36.
Escondido (9-20), 43, @San Pasqual (20-6) 52,
Amy Combe led the Golden Eagles with 20 points, nine steals, and eight rebounds.
SEMIFINALS
At Grossmont College.
1 Santana (29-1) 89, San Pasqual (20-7) 41.
2 Scripps Ranch (30-0) 54, El Capitan (21-8) 39.

CHAMPIONSHIP
At Sports Arena.
2 Scripps Ranch (31-0) 67, 1 Santana (29-2) 60.
“It got old (the lack of respect),” said the Falcons’ Alyssa Murphy.  “We were undefeated. Santana had one loss, but we didn’t even get one first-place vote (from the coaches who voted in the Union-Tribune poll).”

Murphy, who scored 32 points and had 10 assists, added that “it goes ‘way back.  Even when we were 20-4 last year we never got higher than sixth.”

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL
At Bakersfield High.
5 Santana (30-2) 75, 4 Bakersfield North (25-4, Central) 54.
SEMIFINALS
5 Santana (30-3) 52, @1 Irvine Woodbridge 81.
The Sultans trailed, 63-52, with more than five minutes remaining, then saw the hosts score the last 18 points.

D-III
QUARTERFINALS
@4 Our Lady of Peace (10-18) 54, Kearny (7-16) 36.
@3 Madison (15-10) 60, Mission Bay (4-19) 45.
1 Eastlake (24-5), bye.  2 University (12-13), bye.
SEMIFINALS
At West Hills High.
2 University (13-13) 61, 3 Madison (15-11) 53.
1 Eastlake (25-5) 72, 4 Our Lady of Peace (10-19) 34.
CHAMPIONSHIP
At Sports Arena.
Eastlake (26-5) 75, 2 University (13-14) 47.
Debbie Stanton, a five-foot sophomore, scored 20 points and coach Larry Armbrust got a winner’s soaking.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL
FIRST ROUND
Ojai Nordhoff (21-8, Southern) 61, @Eastlake (26-6) 49.
University (13-15) 41, @Inglewood Morningside (26-3, Southern) 61.

D-IV
QUARTERFINALS
Holtville (16-11) 39, @4 Clairemont (13-12) 44.
Christian (21-3) 36, @3 The Bishop’s (18-10) 48.
SEMIFINALS
At University City High.
2 Lincoln (17-4) 44, 3 The Bishop’s (18-11) 38.
Laronda Hite hit a three-point basket, followed by a two-point basket, and dished an assist as Lincoln broke from a 26-25 lead with a 7-0 run in the third quarter.
Coronado (21-2) 47, Clairemont (13-13) 33.
“We may not be the most skilled team or the most experienced team, but we have a lot of heart,” said Islanders senior guard Vanessa Bowman.
CHAMPIONSHIP
At Sports Arena.
Coronado (22-2) 43, Lincoln (17-5) 41.
The Islanders withstood a Hornets charge after leading, 29-16, in the third quarter.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL
FIRST ROUND
Playa del Rey St. Bernard (23-8, Southern) 77, @Coronado (22-3) 35,.
Lincoln (17-6) 42, @Corcoran (26-2, Central) 89.

D-V
FIRST ROUND
At Lincoln.
Christian (21-2) 59, Imperial (11-11) 26.
The Patriots blew it open with a 24-2 second quarter.
Santa Fe Christian (8-14) 48, @Tri-City Christian (8-15) 31.
The visiting Navigators won their first-ever playoff game.
Calipatria (9-12) 38,  @Borrego Springs (11-11) 39.

QUARTERFINALS
Santa Fe Christian (8-15) 28, @2 Horizon (14-10) 57.
Francis Parker 34, @3 La Jolla Country Day (15-7) 57.
Borrego Springs (11-12), @1 Julian (25-3) 93.
Lutheran (15-4) 22, @4 Calvin Christian (10-14) 42, 

SEMIFINALS
At Scripps Ranch High.
1 Julian (26-3) 82, Calvin Christian (10-15) 44.
2 Horizon (15-10) 64, 3 La Jolla Country Day (15-8) 44.

CHAMPIONSHIP
@Sports Arena.
1 Julian (27-3) 53, 2 Horizon (15-11) 35.
“We don’t run plays much, but we do play defense,” said Eagles center Erin Voris, who had 10 points and 13 rebounds.  Horizon surrendered 27 turnovers. Four-foot, 9-inch Amber Holt contributed six steals.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL PLAYOFFS
FIRST ROUND
At Ramona High.
2 Julian (28-3) 56, Covina Western Christian (17-11, Southern) 48.

SEMIFINALS
At Ramona High.
2 Julian (29-3) 67, Camarillo Cornerstone (21-3) 67-53.

CHAMPIONSHIP
At Cal State-Fullerton.
1 San Luis Obispo Mission (25-2, Southern) 66, Julian (29-4) 48.

The so-called “Maffei Madness” San Diego Section poll, conducted by the very sane John Maffei of the Union-Tribune:

First-place votes in parenthesis. Previous ranking in italics.
Cal-Hi Sports rankings are by Mark Tennis, the newsletter’s publisher, with contribution from statewide correspondents.
Max Preps essentially relies on individual school representatives. *Includes 2 forfeits.

Others receiving votes: St. Augustine (13-11, 4 points), Calexico (17-4, 1), Christian (14-8, 1) Del Lago (18-4, 1).

VOTING PANEL (18)
John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
Aaron Burgin (Full-Time Hoops),
Steve Brand, Bodie DeSilva (Union-Tribune freelance contributors).
Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (San Diego Section honchos).
Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference).
Joe Evangelist, Rex Johnson (San Diego Section Advisory Committee).
Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
Braden Surprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
Dennis Ackerman, Steve (Biff) Dolan, John (Coach) Kentera, Adam Paul, Tom Ronco, Eric Williams (freelance contributors).

Originally posted Nov. 18, 2017.

Two young coaches destined to become legendary in San Diego basketball lore arrived as varsity mentors at the city’s two prep powerhouses.

Rickey Wilson, a former San Diego High player, succeeded Lawrence Carr at Hoover and Merrill Douglas, a transplanted Montanan, took over for Bill Schutte at San Diego High.

The schools  continued to be San Diego’s prime representatives, the Hilltoppers going 15-3 under Douglas and Hoover 10-4 under Wilson.

Teams in the Metropolitan and Southern Prep Leagues also commanded their shares of attention, but most headlines were about the war clouds looming in the West after a summer and early fall dominated by  the “The Battle of Britain”, fought between the British and Germans in the skies above the English Channel and London.

EARLY FINISH

San Diego, Hoover, and Long Beach Poly were the only members of the Coast League. The three would join a 17-team super conference beginning in 1941-42 as the CIF attempted to separate large schools from small schools.

Down to three teams since Santa Ana bailed after the 1935-36 school year and Alhambra after 1938-39, the Coast basketball season was shortened.  The Hilltoppers and Hoover seasons ended  in late January.  The Metropolitan and Southern Prep were active through the end of February.

CIF commissioner Seth Van Patten often had to hustle to fill playoff brackets.  Some leagues, notably the Metro, at the geographical bottom of the Federation, just didn’t want to be bothered.  Records in the CIF archives showed only a four-team field this year.

Poly won the Coast, taking three out of four from San Diego and Hoover, but the Jackrabbits were beaten in the CIF finals by Glendale Hoover, 23-20.

BULLDOZING BULLDOGS

Ramona ran the table with a 12-0 record to win its sixth consecutive Southern Prep championship and then claimed a CIF Southern Section championship at Calexico, topping the Bulldogs, 29-23.

The victory, for the overall 13-0 Bulldogs of coach Charlie Snell, was for the San Diego-Imperial County area.

A spirited, six-game Metropolitan League race ended with Coronado, Escondido, and Grossmont, each 5-1, tying for first place.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

It took the San Diego news corps awhile to get it right with Ermer Robinson, the San Diego High star and future Harlem Globetrotter.  He was known as “Irma” Robinson for the first month of this, his junior season.

Martin Payne, the sports editor of The Russ, San Diego High’s weekly newspaper, covered several games for The San Diego Union and was the first to ensure that Robinson was correctly identified, when Payne covered the Hilltoppers’ 25-19 league victory over Long Beach Poly.

DECEMBER FANCY

—Known as the County Interscholastic Tournament, an eight-team event took place with games at San Diego High, Hoover, Municipal Gym, and San Diego State. Grossmont defeated Point Loma, 30-12, for the championship.

—San Diego and Hoover at the same time were in the Huntington Beach Tournament, which also included Coronado. The Islanders opened with a 46-7 victory over Laguna Beach as Bud Ingle scored 20 points.  They were eliminated the next day by Ontario Chaffey, 22-17.

San Diego defeated Hoover, 24-15, for the Huntington Beach title after advancing with wins of 28-20 over defending champ Chaffey and 29-23 over Long Beach Wilson.  Hoover was in the finals after defeating Whittier, 36-26, and Santa Barbara, 20-19.

San Diego was forced to give up the Huntington Beach trophy when Bob (Lefty) Felthaus was declared ineligible by the CIF a few days later for having signed a professional baseball contract in 1939, days before his 17^th birthday.

Brooklyn Dodgers scout Tom Downey, under heavy criticism from local prep officials, said that he signed Felthaus after the player stopped attending school, his having dropped out of Hoover.  Felthaus became a student again at San Diego and had turned out for basketball.

—“Irma” Robinson scored 10 points as San Diego, playing for the first time without Felthaus, opened the post-Christmas Chino Tournament with a 42-9 win over San Juan Capistrano.  The Hilltoppers buried Huntington Beach, 38-13, but lost to Burbank, 30-20, in the semifinals.  Poly won its second straight title, 34-24, over Burbank.

—St. Augustine lost to St. Mary’s of Phoenix, 36-27 in the Los Angeles Catholic League tournament.  Hoover defeated Grossmont, 11-7, and Point Loma topped Hoover, 26-8, in finals of the San Diego High invitational for Class C and D teams, respectively.

WE’LL PLAY ANYONE

Army-Navy’s 34-33 victory clinched a best, two-of-three series against the Oceanside chapter of the Knights of Pythias.  The cadets were not as fortunate against the so-named Vista Outlaws, who prevailed, 21-15.

OFFENSIVE OUTBURSTS

Ramona’s 59-17 victory over Fallbrook represented the single-game scoring high for the season. The Bulldogs also defeated Julian, 53-26.

Julian’s Bud Farmer had the top individual performance with 24 in a 38-31 victory over Army-Navy and added 22 in a 30-24 win over San Dieguito. Julian’s 51-6 rout of Fallbrook, with Farmer scoring one point, represented the third, 50-plus game in the county.

LATE ADDITION

San Diego’s season was over but Coach Merrill Douglas enticed Chino to come south a couple weeks later.  Douglas employed only players who would return for the 1941-42 season, opening with a starting lineup of Ermer Robinson, Jim Warner, Ron Maley, Denzil Walden, and Gerald Patrick.

The underclassmen delivered a 32-15 victory. Douglas would respond to a call from Uncle Sam after the next season and not return until the 1946-47 campaign.

ANYTHING FOR THE TEAM

Hoover’s Willie Steele set a record of 24 feet, ¾ inch, in the broad jump at the Southern Section track finals in Glendale in May, a few months after Steele served as student manager of the varsity basketball squad.  Steele was awarded a letter by coach Rickey Wilson, as was B squad manager Monroe (Bookie) Clark.

Steele, who played class B basketball the season before, went on to win the national collegiate broad jump championship at San Diego State and was the 1948 Olympic gold medalist in the event, with an all-time best of 26 feet, 6 ½ inches.

BE IT EVER SO HUMBLE

St. Augustine principal the Very Rev. W.B. Kirk announced that the Saints had found a home and would join the Southern Prep League in the next school year, after free-lancing and scuffling as an independent since the school opened in 1922.  The agreement was for one year, depending on the circuit’s ability to develop a schedule for eight teams.

Ramona, Julian, Fallbrook, Brown Military, Army-Navy, San Dieguito, and Vista were the other SPL members.  St. Augustine’s games would not count in the standings and the Saints eventually joined the Southland Catholic League of the Los Angeles area in 1945.

SIGNS OF THE TIME

The U.S. census for 1940 reported San Diego County’s population at 289,348, including 203,737 in the city.   Other “township” totals: Borrego, 90; El Cajon, 20,160; Encinitas, 4,473; Escondido, 9,487; Fallbrook, 2,308; Jacumba, 1,214; National City, 32,213; Oceanside, 8,191;  Ramona, 3,384, and Vista, 4,091.

San Diego State, which would win the 1941 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championship, drew a record 19,256 persons to 17 home games in the 1,800-capacity Men’s Gym.  The largest turnout was 1,713 for Santa Barbara State, although the record was 1,907 for a 1939 game against the Broadway Clowns.

SET SHOTS

The San Diego High gym figuratively was packed to the rafters with an estimated 1,900 persons when Hoover upended the Hilltoppers, 32-17…seven days later San Diego won at Hoover, 32-17…Coronado’s Metro League co-championship was achieved despite Coach Hal Niedermeyer’s suspension of Bud Ingle, the Metro’s leading scorer in 1939-40; Bill Hakes, and Al Galpin, early in the season…the three-team Coast’s all-league squad featured San Diego’s Bob (Lefty) Felthaus, Bob Carson, and Jack Maupin…Felthaus’ selection apparently was made on his reputation; he didn’t participate in league play…Hoover’s Rupert Crosthwaite, later well-known in San Diego circles for his ownership of a local sporting goods store, made second team….