Two of the four better seeded teams prevailed in the first round of the San Diego Section Division I playoffs, including  Scripps Ranch, which had a close call with Hilltop, 13-12.

No. 11 seed Olympian upset 6 Mira Mesa, 12-7. The 9-5 Lady Eagles were behind early to the 8-9 Lady Marauders, but came back with a late interception and touchdown pass. They’ll travel to face 3 seed Grossmont (11-4) in the quarterfinals.

No. 10 seed Brawley bested 7 San Ysidro, 18-6. The Lady Wildcats were a low seed, despite a 16-4 overall record and 10-2 Southeastern Conference record. The Cougars went 6-0 in the Metro Conference, but only 5-9 versus outsiders. Brawley next meets 2 seed Torrey Pines (14-0).

D-II pairings were more  to form, with all favorites scoring 20 or more points in convincing victories.
The quarterfinals bring in previously byed top seeds for their first tests, as shown below.

PLAYOFF BRACKETS

—Henrik Jonson, Webmaster

The  CIF’s power ratings, a football version of diversity, inclusion, and equity, worked in all but four games in the week 12, first round of San Diego Section playoffs.

The National Football League long has fostered the “on-any-given-day-any team-can-win” mantra.  There aren’t upsets; they’re…well, surprises.

There were four “surprises” as the San Diego Section postseason got underway. Three ninth-ranked squads beat No. 8 seeds and a 5 seed upended a 4 seed.

WARHAWKS HAVE HISTORY

No. 9 Madison’s 27-0, Division I victory over No. 8 Mater Dei might be classified as an upset, considering what played out in the regular season.

The Warhawks, traditionally strong and blooded with two state championships in three seasons since 2010, limped into the Division I bracket with six losses in their eight previous games.

Mater Dei, the defending state D-IIAA champion, was riding a six-game winning streak but ran into a Warhawks defense that suffocated the Crusaders, who finished with minus 45 yards rushing.

COUGARS GET HEALTHY

Escondido coach Stephen Dixon told John Maffei of The San Diego Union that his Cougars squad was “whole” for the first time, after losing eight of 10 during the regular season, including its last six.

The 37-21 D-IV win over Calexico was a nice bounce and also maintained the Cougars’ record of never losing to the Bulldogs in this infrequently played series.

*Playoff games.

El Capitan, seeded ninth, ushered out Patrick Henry, another eight seed, 30-14 in D-III, and Maranatha ranked fifth in DV-AA, rocked No. 4 Rock, 35-14.

DREADED ADMINISTRATIVE GLITCH

Orange Glen had a whopper.

The Patriots forfeited their D-IV playoff opener to Crawford not long after it was determined the Patriots had used an ineligible player for a 10^th consecutive game.

Someone was asleep at the Academic check point.

The player was a classroom grading casualty almost from Day I but was allowed to play the entire regular season before those responsible apparently discovered the oversight.

OPEN SEASON

Action advances to the quarterfinals this week with four Open Division stalwarts beginning play in a couple blockbusters.  Helix (9-1) is at Lincoln (10-0) and Granite Hills (10-0) visits Carlsbad (10-0).

Those four rank from sixth to eighteenth in Cal-Hi Sports’ state Top 50.

There are lots of other interesting quarterfinals matchups, including but not limited to those ranging up and down the Roman numerals:

D-I—6 Cathedral (4-7), @3 El Camino (7-4).

D-II—6 El Centro Central (9-2), @3La Jolla (8-2).

D-III—9 El Capitan (7-4), @1 Mission Bay (8-3).

D-IV—5 Crawford (8-3), @4 Santana (5-6).

D-V—4 Hoover (7-4), @1 Calexico Vincent Memorial (8-3).

DV-AA—4 Maranatha (5-6), @1 Holtville (7-2).

D-VI—4 Coastal (5-5), @Foothills Christian (7-2).

Bonita Vista and Classical drew the top seeds in the two-division, inaugural postseason.

DIVISION I

While Torrey Pines (14-0) is the only undefeated San Diego Section team, MaxPreps ranks Bonita Vista (16-1) higher, based on strength of schedule. CIF bosses made the Lady Barons the number 1 seed and the Lady Falcons number 2. Calexico (16-2) is third.

Overall records were not the determining factor, i.e., Brawley (15-4) is a 10 seed, below 4 Grossmont (11-4,) and 5 San Dieguito (7-2). Mira Mesa, despite an 8-9 record, is ranked number 6, but four of its losses were to Bonita Vista, Torrey Pines (2) and Cathedral, elevating the Marauders over 7 San Ysidro (12-8) and 9 Hilltop (10-5).

DIVISION II

The top 7 seeds were as expected, but Santa Fe Christian at number 9 and with a 3-7 record also got some respect. Losses to Classical, Cathedral, Torrey Pines and Bonita Vista were factored in for the Lady Eagles, who rated ahead of 10 Chula Vista Learning Community Charter (6-6),11 Kearny (7-7), and 12 Castle Park (8-4).

Games are scheduled at sites of the better seeds, except for Scripps Ranch at Hilltop.  The Lady Falcons, seeded eighth, visit the number 9 Lancers.

INAUGURAL SEASON LEADERS

Standout individual performers include Giovanna Ortiz of Calexico with  4,188 passing yards (232 average), Abrielle Hagans of Morse with 1,049 rushing yards, and Mahliya Wilson of Bonita Vista, with 23 touchdown passes and 22 defensive pass interceptions.

PLAYOFF BRACKETS

—Henrik Jonson, Webmaster

The advent of  power ratings, leading to alteration of teams’ division and league placements and affecting playoff seeding, changed the landscape.

League championships don’t carry that once-cherished cachet.

But don’t tell that to the players, coaches, and student bodies.  A league title still goes down as a matter of  record and still looks great on that letterman’s jacket or sweater.

There are 20 champions in the CIF San Diego Section’s 18 leagues this season, with playoffs beginning this week (schedules on the Football/Scores/2023 page).  Oceanside, Valley Center, and San Pasqual tied for first in the Valley loop.

The 17 other champions were outright winners:

*Coin flip held for purpose of playoff seeding.  San Pasqual declared  champion.

John Maffei’s Week 12 Union-Tribune Poll:
This is the final regular-season poll.  There will be a “final final” poll after the San Diego Section playoffs.
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes.
NR–Not ranked.
Last entries in columns are previous rankings, except for San Marcos and St. Augustine.
Max Preps‘ and Cal-Hi RANK TEAM/RECORD POINTS MAXPREPS.COM CALPREPS.COM CAL-HI SPORTS 1. Lincoln (10-0) *27/297/1 6/8 63.9/61.3 6/6 2. Carlsbad (10-0) *3/269/2 9/12 61.1/59.5 7/7 3. Granite Hills (10-0) 244/3 26/27 50.3/50.3 14/14 4. Helix (9-1) 210/4 28/28
50.1/50.1 16/18 5. Torrey Pines (7-3) 155/5 41/47 42.539.6 On Bubble/On Bubble 6. Mission Hills (7-3) 145/6 38/40 43.6/42.3 On Bubble/On Bubble 7. El Camino (6-4) 96/7 73/68 35.4/35.1 NR/NR 8 San Marcos (8-2) 65/NR 91 32.6/29.8 NR/NR 9 La Costa Canyon (5-5) 52/9 77/72 34.8/34.6 NR/NR 10. St. Augustine (6-4) 45/NR 80 34.6/31.3 NR/NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Mater Dei (6-3, 38 points),  Mount Miguel (9-1, 11), Del Norte (8-2, 6), The Bishop’s (7-3, 3), Cathedral (3-7, 3), La Jolla (8-2, 3), El Centro Central (8-2, 2).

VOTING PANEL

Twenty-nine sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from San Diego County, plus Max Preps.com.

• John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
• Don Norcross, Steve Brand, Rick Hoff, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez , Freelance contributors.
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll (KUSI, Channel 51).
• Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
• Adam Paul (EastCountySports.com).
• Bodie DeSilva (ScorebookLive.com). 
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
• Steve (Biff) Dolan (Mountain Country 107.9-FM). 
• Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
• Troy Hirsch, Nic Pollino (Fox 5 San Diego). 
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (CIF San Diego Section).
• Mike Dolan, Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee).
• Joe Evangelist (San Diego Coaching Legends Committee).
• Will Torrez (Valley Sports Network).
• Tom Ronco  (Imperial Valley Press).
• Raymond Brown  (SDfootball.net).
• Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference Advisor).
• Max Preps.

Torrey Pines (13-0) remains the only undefeated team and stays put on MaxPreps’ state rankings as number 13, while Bonita Vista (14-1) buoyed to number 5 from 6 in rankings this week.

About 38 games remain in the regular season. The top 12 teams in each division will be announced with playoff pairings on Nov 2. The lower eight  teams will play Nov. 7 at  home of the higher seed. The four winners meet the top four byed teams on Nov. 9, with semi-finals Nov. 14 and finals Nov. 16.

Our projected Division I contenders are Torrey Pines, Bonita Vista, Calexico (14-2), and Brawley (14-3).

Cathedral (9-1), Our Lady of Peace (10-1), and Classical (13-2) lead D-II teams, with La Costa Canyon (5-2) a possible No. 4.

Calexico and Brawley (14-3) get ‘no respect’ from MaxPreps, ranking 58 and 71, respectively, well behind Classical (18), Cathedral (23), OLP (34), Grossmont (37) and  8-3 Olympian (47).

MaxPreps ranks Newport Harbor (24-1) as No. 1, with a single loss to No. 2 Irvine Woodbridge (22-2) , by a score of 13-12, which Woodbridge later avenged, 33-13.

No games beyond local playoffs, such as Southern California and State, are planned this year. In the few (10) matches with teams outside the San Diego Section, Torrey Pines and Calexico are each 3-0.

Henrik Jonson, Webmaster

A significant accomplishment was overlooked for a few weeks. Mater Dei’s John Joyner became the 49^th San Diego Section coach to win a career 100^th game.

Fast-finishing for a second straight year, the Crusaders coach’s team defeated Eastlake, 36-7, for its fifth straight win after an 0-3 start and gave Joyner his 103rd victory.

Victory No. 100 was in Week 6, 23-14, over St. Augustine.  (thanks for the reminder, East County stat maven Adam Paul.)

Mater Dei lost its first four in 2022 and roared to a 11-4 finish and a state Division II-AA championship, 26-18, over Oakland McClymonds.

Knock off 2-7 Otay Ranch this week and the Crusaders and Joyner (103-68 overall) can claim their third consecutive Metro Mesa title.

NOT OVER TILL IT’S OVER

Of the 19 leagues in the San Diego Section, all but the Western  still have some unfinished business.

Lincoln, which completed its first 10-0 regular season in the school’s 70 varsity seasons, has won the league and will sit back with the assuredly No. 1 seed in the Open Division playoffs.

Several teams have clinched ties for loop titles, but losses this week could affect playoff pairings.

AVOCADO

Carlsbad (4-0) has a tie for crown and closes at home against El Camino.  Stumble against the Wildcats and see Torrey Pines (3-1) beat La Costa Canyon would mean a 4-1 deadlock with the Falcons.

The tie should be easily resolved.  Carlsbad scored a 17-7 victory over the Falcons in Week 8.

CENTRAL

San Diego is 3-0 and Hoover 3-1.  The Cavers must beat Clairemont or fall into a tie.  Hoover is done with league play.  San Diego has the edge in a tie-breaker, having topped the Cardinals, 56-45, in Week 8.

CITY

Mission Bay (2-1) visits Scripps Ranch (3-0).  The Buccaneers need a win after stumbling last week, 26-14, to Crawford, which lost to Scripps Ranch, 37-7, in Week 6.

COASTAL

The Bishop’s (5-0) and host Santa Fe Christian (5-0) will determine seaside bragging rights from Bird Rock to Moonlight Beach.

EASTERN

La Jolla (3-0) clinches with a win at Christian (0-3).  The Vikings beat Point Loma (3-1), 48-29 in Week 8.  The Pointers, 6-4 overall, are waiting for the playoffs.

GROSSMONT HILLS

Granite Hills (4-0) has taken charge in a circuit ruled for years by Helix (3-1).  The Eagles’ double-overtime, 44-43 win over the Highlanders last week was their third in the last four seasons over the Scots, who lost a four-overtime, 47-44 crusher to Granite in 2022.

Birds of prey and defending State Division II-A champion, the Eagles face in-and-out Grossmont (2-2) this week, while Helix takes on similarly mediocre Steele Canyon (2-2).

GROSSMONT VALLEY

Mount Miguel (3-0) closes with a visit from Monte Vista (2-1) and holds a 46-20 victory over El Capitan (2-1).

IMPERIAL VALLEY

El Centro Central (5-0) and Brawley (5-0), blood rivals 15 miles apart and at each other’s throats since 1921, meet for the 173^rd time, Brawley holding an 82-80 advantage with 10 ties.

Central, Brawley, and Calexico are the only schools in California that have met every year for 102 years.

“The High”, as El Centro locals know the Spartans, played two games every season through 2005 against Brawley and some time in the ‘seventies the rivals began playing for a perpetual Bell trophy, which can be heard from Plaster City to Glammis, according to legend.

MANZANITA

The Dragons of San Pasqual Academy (5-0) defeated Borrego Springs (4-1), 60-20, a month ago and finishes against Salton City West Shores, while the Rams meet Ocean View Christian.

METRO MESA

Bonita Vista (1-1) and Eastlake (1-1) will battle at Southwestern for runner-up honors to Mater Dei (2-0), a virtual lock versus Otay Ranch (0-2).

METRO PACIFIC

CalPreps.com gives Chula Vista (3-0) a 99 per cent chance of victory against San Ysidro (0-3).

Castle Park (2-1), 49-13 loser to the Spartans in Week 9, plays for second place against San Diego Southwest (1-2).  A victory by the Raiders would create a three-way tie with Mar Vista and the Trojans.

METRO SOUTH BAY

Olympian (2-0) can avoid a  tie by defeating Montgomery (1-1).  Sweetwater (1-1) takes on Hilltop.

OCEAN

St. Joseph (3-1) is at Calvin Christian (3-1) and the winner hopes that Foothills Christian (4-0) stumbles at San Diego Jewish (0-4).

PACIFIC

Orange Glen (4-0) goes to Tri-City Christian (4-0) in Vista, looking for its first title since Rob Gilster’s Patriots club went 7-0 and won the Palomar League in 1995.   The Eagles won the Pacific in 2018.

PALOMAR

This is rarefied air for Del Norte (4-0) as it awaits San Marcos (4-0).  The Nighthawks tied for a Valley League championship in 2013 but in other seasons have not done better than third place since opening in 2010.

San Marcos is 8-0 against Del Norte since that inaugural campaign, but the Nighthawks have come on this season, 8-1 overall.  They have a 32.6 CalPreps.com rating to the Knights’ 27.6.

VALLEY

Oceanside (5-0) has found the surroundings much more agreeable after 64 of the previous 69 years in the Avocado League or Avocado West League.  The Pirates know the Valley, having posted an overall record of 64-8-2 during a couple stints in the early 2000’s.

Valley Center (4-1) can tie for first by defeating the Pirates and San Pasqual (4-1) also would garner a slice of the pie if the Golden Eagles top Escondido and V.C. pulls a surprise.

WESTERN

Cathedral and St. Augustine, each 3-1, collide in the Holy Bowl, while Lincoln, having clinched the title, takes it all in.  The Hornets beat both teams, 40-14 and 42-7, respectively.

John Maffei’s Week 11 Union-Tribune Poll:
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.*First-place votes.
NR–Not ranked.
Last entries in columns are previous rankings.
Max Preps‘ and Cal-Hi RANK TEAM/RECORD POINTS MAXPREPS.COM CALPREPS.COM CAL-HI SPORTS 1. Lincoln (10-0) *27/297/1 8/9 61.3/59.9 6/6 2. Carlsbad (9-0) *3/269/2 12/14 59.5/58.9 7/7 3. Granite Hills (9-0) 244/3 27/36 50.3/42.7 14/18 4. Helix (8-1) 210/4 28/18
50.1/54.3 18/16 5. Torrey Pines (6-3) 165/6 47/59 39.6/35.1 On Bubble/On Bubble 6. Mission Hills (6-3) 146/7 40/47 42.3/31.6 On Bubble/On Bubble 7. El Camino (6-3) 103/5 68/68 35.1/34.3 NR/NR 8  Del Norte (8-1) 79/8 85/83 32.6/29.8 NR/NR 9 La Costa Canyon (5-4) 52/9 72/80 34.8/34.6 NR/NR 10. Cathedral (3-6) 45/10 67/63 35.6/30.7 On bubble/On Bubble

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Mater Dei (5-3, 18 points),  Mount Miguel (8-1, 9), San Marcos (7-2, 6), St. Augustine (5-4,3), La Jolla (7-2, 2), Brawley (8-1, 1).

VOTING PANEL

Twenty-nine sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from San Diego County, plus Max Preps.com.

• John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
• Don Norcross, Steve Brand, Rick Hoff, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez , Freelance contributors.
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll (KUSI, Channel 51).
• Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
• Adam Paul (EastCountySports.com).
• Bodie DeSilva (ScorebookLive.com). 
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
• Steve (Biff) Dolan (Mountain Country 107.9-FM). 
• Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
• Troy Hirsch, Nic Pollino (Fox 5 San Diego). 
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (CIF San Diego Section).
• Mike Dolan, Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee).
• Joe Evangelist (San Diego Coaching Legends Committee).
• Will Torrez (Valley Sports Network).
• Tom Ronco  (Imperial Valley Press).
• Raymond Brown  (SDfootball.net).
• Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference Advisor).
• Max Preps.