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 Sports‘ are state rankings.

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.

Flag football’s initial season has been a numerical and seeming artistic success, with 217 games played through eight weeks, and about 70 scheduled in the remaining two weeks of the regular season.

The 46 San Diego Section girls teams will split into two Divisions for the playoffs, based on school enrollment. The D-I upper half ranges from 2,860 students at Calexico and Eastlake (2,744), to Point Loma (1,715). Division II ranges from Montgomery (1,691) and Morse (1,685), down to Chula Vista Learning Community Center (393), and Calexico Vincent Memorial (245).

Playoffs begin Nov 7 at the site of each higher seed, with 12 teams in each division, seeded as determined by the CIF San Diego Section selection committee, with championship games Nov 16 at Escondido High.

With two weeks left, and up to four more games each, the top D-I contenders are Bonita Vista (11-1), with a MaxPreps state No. 6 ranking and outscoring opponents, 332-87; undefeated Torrey Pines (10-0, No. 13), Calexico (12-2), and Grossmont (9-2).

Classical (13-2, MaxPreps‘ state No. 16), Cathedral (8-1), and Morse (8-2) are among D-II leaders, plus Our Lady of Peace, the only undefeated team at 9-0. Classical has topped several D-I teams, including Calexico and Eastlake, and has outscored opponents, 457-80.

Henrik Jonson, Webmaster

Lincoln won its 21st game in a row, 42-7, over St. Augustine last week and improved to 9-0 this year.  The Hornets will be seeking their first, undefeated, 10-0 campaign Saturday when they wrap the regular season at University City.

Coach Vic Player’s Hornets were undefeated in the 1979 regular season but city schools played only nine games.  Lincoln posted a 12-0 record that included three playoff wins and a San Diego Section championship.

Led by Marcus Allen in 1977,  the Hive was 8-0-1 in the regular season, tied, 0-0, by Point Loma in the second game, and went on to finish 12-0-1.

Lincoln is tied with La Jolla for the eighth longest run of consecutive victories in County history. Sweetwater, coached by Gene Alim, won 36 in a row from 1982-85. The Hornets also have the longest active winning streak, 21, in the state, according to Cal-Hi Sports, and are No. 6 in California in the newsletter’s weekly ratings.

WINS IN ROW	TEAM	COACH	YEARS
36	Sweetwater	Gene Alim	1983-85
31	The Bishop’s	Joe Lucia (13), Bill Lekvold (18)	1996-98
27	Marian	Matt White	2002-04
26	Cathedral	Sean Doyle	2006-09
23	*Kearny	Birt Slater	1963-65
23	*Grossmont	Jack Mashin	1932-35
22	**Eastlake	John McFadden	2009-10
21	La Jolla	Dick Huddleston	1992-94
21	Lincoln	David Dunn	2022-23

*Kearny and Grossmont each was unbeaten for 24 consecutive games, including one tie game each.

**Eastlake was unbeaten for 24 consecutive games, including 2 ties.

John Maffei’s Week 10 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 Sports‘ are state rankings.

RANK	TEAM/RECORD	POINTS	MAXPREPS.COM	CALPREPS.COM	CAL-HI SPORTS
1.	Lincoln (9-0)	*24/294/1	9/9	59.9/57.7	6/6
2.	Carlsbad (8-0)	*6/274/2	14/7	58.9/58.2	7/7
3.	Granite Hills (8-0)	227/3	36/29	42.7/41.2	18/19
4.	Helix (8-0)	224/4	18/15	54.3/48.5	16/16
5.	El Camino (6-2)	145/6	68/73	34.3/24.7	On Bubble/On Bubble
6.	Torrey Pines (5-3)	144/5	59/59	32.3/21/3	On Bubble/On Bubble
7.	Mission Hills (5-3)	112/9	47/58	31.6/31.1	NR/NR
8	Del Norte (7-1)	82/8	83/80	29.8/26.4	NR/NR
9	La Costa Canyon (5-3)	59/7	80/74	34.6/35.9	NR/NR
10.	Cathedral (3-6)	51/10	63/78	30.7/26	On bubble/NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Mater Dei (4-3, 14 points),  Mount Miguel (7-1, 9), San Marcos (6-2, 8), Mission Bay (7-1, 4), Brawley (7-1, 1).

29 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.

Two of the San Diego Section’s most enduring rivalries were on display.

San Diego and Hoover met for 73^rd time,  Helix and Grossmont for the 70^th.

San Diego ended a nine-game, non winning streak against the Cardinals with a 56-45 victory, the Cavers’ first of the season.  Helix beat Grossmont for the 27th consecutive time, 57-8.

CAVERS FADE

Things have not gone well for San Diego since it won a state division IV championship in 2018.  Coach Charles James revitalized a long dormant program but retired after an 8-3  2021 season and overall record of 42-29 from 2015 and 30-9 from 2017.

San Diego is 5-12 since James called it a day and the win over Hoover was its first against the Cardinals since 2003, eight losses and a tie against a now infrequent opponent that once was its major rival.

There was a time when San Diego annually crushed Hoover, winning 19 of the first 24 games, beginning in 1933.

That began to change when Duane Maley retired as Cavers coach following the 1959 season.

Under coach Roy Engle the Cardinals won three straight from 1961-64 and they are 27-16-1 since 1960.

Hoover even got some belated revenge of an infamous, 72-0 loss to the Cavers in 1944 when Jerry Ralph’s team won, 63-0, in 2014.

San Diego still leads, 40-32-1.

HIGHLANDERS’ FLINGS

Grossmont led, 16-10, in 1976 in a series that began in 1951, when the Foothillers opened their doors…to the new Helix High.

Highlanders students were part of double sessions at Grossmont while the Helix campus was under construction.

Helix’ 27-game streak against their former big brother is just the largest dose of what has been unending punishment.  The Scots are 37-2-2 since 1977 and 50-18-2 overall.

John Maffei’s Week 9 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 Sports‘ are state rankings.

RANK	TEAM/RECORD	POINTS	MAXPREPS.COM	CALPREPS.COM	CAL-HI SPORTS
1.	Lincoln (8-0)	*22/292/1	8/9	59.9/57.7	6/7
2.	Carlsbad (7-0)	*8/278/2	7/10	58.9/58.2	7/8
3.	Granite Hills (7-0)	229/3	29/30	42.7/41.2	19/24
4.	Helix (7-0)	223/4	15/15	54.3/48.5	16/16
5.	Torrey Pines (5-2)	160/8	59/88	34.3/24.7	On Bubble/On Bubble
6.	El Camino (5-2)	126/10	73/100	32.3/21/3	On Bubble/On Bubble
7.	La Costa Canyon (5-2)	94/5	74/61	31.6/31.1	NR/NR
8	Del Norte (6-1)	88/9	84/80	29.8/26.4	NR/NR
9	Mission Hills (4-3)	76/6	58/44	34.6/35.9	NR/NR
10.	Cathedral (2-6)	28/7	78/78	30.7/26	NR/NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Mater Dei (3-3, 21 points),  Mount Miguel (6-1, 13), St. Augustine (4-3, 12), Ramona (4-2, 7) Mission Bay (6-1, 4), San Marcos (5-2, 1).

29 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.

TRUE GRID

Calexico has lost three in a row, but it is 18-13 in two-plus seasons under coach Fernando Solano, very good considering the Bulldogs were 41-127 from 2003 through 2020, not counting an 8-2 surprise in 2012…Orange Glen set a school record for points in its 68-19 win over the Rock…the record was 61 versus Francis Parker in 2016…the Patriots have had some manic reversals in this century, playing for a state Division V championship in 2018, but allowing at least 60 points 10 times, 70 four times, and topping out at 81 in a 2020 game against Santa Fe Christian in which Orange Glen had 54….

 

Del Norte survived four overtime possessions and finally defeated Rancho Bernardo, 49-43, last week, tying a 46-44 Granite Hills victory over Helix in 2022 for the longest game ever played by a San Diego County team.

Existing rules are that each team has four downs beginning at the 25-yard line with straight football rules.  Simply put, score and your opponent has to score or the game is over.

Overtime essentially became part of the landscape when the state CIF invoked a “California Tie-Breaker” in 1968, but there had been overtime, or discussion of overtime or tie-breakers, years before, such as in the 1927 small schools championship between Grossmont and Calexico.

In 1975 Madison and Point Loma played what may have been the first to go to an extra session in the San Diego Section regular season.  Madison was credited with a 1-0 victory. Kearny advanced in a 1974 playoff with Sweetwater that ended in a 14-14 tie.  The Komets had a 12-10 advantage in first downs at the end of four quarters, but there would be no overtime.

San Diego High’s 1955 championship involved one of the epic games in Southern Section history.

The Cavemen and Anaheim were deadlocked at 20 when the game ended but San Diego advanced because it had a 17-14 advantage in first downs, the “tiebreaker” that had been in effect for decades.

The San Diego Section adopted the “new” California tiebreaker in 1976 and overtimes in playoffs would be implemented.   Overtimes originally were officially declared ties, no matter if one team outscored the other.  That non-tiebreaker was dropped in the 1980s.

Several years ago the Grossmont Conference began counting the results of overtime play as a team win or loss and eventually all San Diego Section schools followed.

Since 1976 there have been 107 overtime games in the San Diego Section.  Seventy-eight have been decided in the first overtime, 23 in the second, four in the third, and two in the fourth.

John Maffei’s Week 8 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 Sports‘ are state rankings.

RANK	TEAM/RECORD	POINTS	MAXPREPS.COM	CALPREPS.COM	CAL-HI SPORTS
1.	Lincoln (7-0)	*18/288/1	8/9	59.1/57.7	6/7
2.	Carlsbad (6-0)	*12/280/2	7/10	60.3/58.2	7/8
3.	Granite Hills (6-0)	231/3	29/30	42.7/41.2	24/25
4.	Helix (7-0)	223/4	15/15	50.8/48.5	16/17
5.	La Costa Canyon (5-1)	173/6	61/80	31.1/23.9	On Bubble/NR
6.	Mission Hills (4-2)	142/5	44/45	35.9/31	On Bubble/On Bubble
7.	Cathedral (2-5)	91/8	78/77	26/24.3	NR/NR
8.	Torrey Pines (4-2)	60/NR	88	24.7	NR/NR
9	Del Norte (5-1)	55/NR	80	26.4	NR/NR
10.	El Camino (4-2)	43/7	100/95	21.3	NR/NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Mater Dei (3-3, 40 points),  St. Augustine (3-3, 11), Mount Miguel (6-1, 8), Madison (2-4, 5),Mission Bay (6-1, 2).  Ramona (3-2, 2).

29 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.

 

 

 

Grossmont became the eighth different team since 1980 to win the San Diego Section 2-A championship.  Forgotten by many, the title also was the Foothillers’ first since they claimed a larger bauble.  They won the Southern Section major division crown, 5-0, over Compton in 1951.

The Foothillers also won a Southern Section minor division title in 1955.

Mt. Carmel had won four of the previous 10 championships in 3-A, but Mira Mesa, about 5 miles and a few traffic signals South on Black Mountain Road to Camino Ruiz,  challenged that domination.

The Marauders’ 8-1 defeat of Monte Vista in the finals would be followed by championships in 1991 and ’92.

Julian won its second 1-A title in three seasons, 5-2, over Midway Baptist, later known as Ocean View Christian.

Rather than have Julian or Midway travel 67 miles, the longest trip in San Diego County, the CIF sent the teams to marginally more geographically desirable Grossmont College, still a distance of 51 miles for the mountain-high Eagles.

UGLY SCENE

Winner Monte Vista and loser Patrick Henry gathered for the handshake ceremony following their playoff semifinal.

Suddenly a Patrick Henry player sucker punched a Monte Vista player, creating a black eye and bruising.

The ensuing brawl lasted about three minutes as both side engaged.

“It was brewing all game long,” a Monte Vista player told Pedro Gomez of The San Diego Union.  “You could tell something was going to happen the way they were talking (trash).”

“It takes the fun out of our victory,” said the Monarchs’ Steve Dolias.

“LITTLE KIDS”

Said Monte Vista coach Rob Phillips: “That was one of the most classless things I’ve ever seen.  Can’t you just play the game?”

Patriots coach Bob Imlay was furious with his team: “You guys have no idea what class is.  Some of you think you’re men but you’re nothing but immature little kids.”

Section rules stated that anyone involved in a fight would be ineligible for the next game, but CIF commissioner Kendall (Spider) Webb exonerated the Monarchs.

“From everything that I’ve gathered it doesn’t appear that they were the instigators,” said Webb.

 5/4/90

“They act like we made their season,” a Mt. Carmel player said of Poway players after the Titans had scored a come-from-behind, 10-9 victory over the visiting Sundevils, four-time Section champions in the 1980s.

“Not at all…we’d be acting the same way if we beat (bottom feeder) San Dieguito,” retorted Poway pitcher Dan Miller.

The loss was Mt. Carmel’s first in the Palomar League since 1988, leaving coach Sam Blaylock’s team with a 9-1 circuit record and 19-4 overall.

—Lincoln pounded out 28 hits to Hoover’s 13, and the Hornets won a 12-inning, Central League slugfest, 15-13.

5/11/90

Grossmont’s Todd Cady set a San Diego Section record for one season with 52 runs batted in.

Cady, who was 4 for 6, hit a grand slam home run and drove in eight runs in Grossmont’s 18-3 win over West Hills.

Jeff Meyers of Carlsbad drove in 47 runs in 1988.

5/14/90

DREADED ADMINISTRATIVE GLITCH

Hilltop, 18-7 competitively, tied for first at 9-3 with Montgomery and San Diego Southwest in the Metropolitan League and ranked fourth in the section, forfeited 18 wins.

Sergio Guzman, the Lancers’ leading hitter with a .455 batting average, was declared ineligible because a hardship waiver for Guzman was not filed by one of Hilltop’s bosses.

Guzman had transferred after playing for Morse in 1989. CIF rules require the waiver when a student changes districts without being accompanied by his parents or legal guardian.

Guzman was said to be living with friends in the Hilltop district.

GLITCH, MARK II

Another residential beef, but this time Hilltop avoided the glitch after a question of outfielder’s Mike Romero’s home address. “It checked out; he’s fine,” said Lancers athletic director Bob Dodds after Romero was cleared by the San Diego Section police.

5/15/90

University scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 7-6 victory over Mission Bay and clinched the Western League championship. The visiting Buccaneers won or tied for first in the last seven seasons.

The Dons had five base hits in the seventh, climaxed by David Sanchez’ game-winning single.

Win and Mission Bay would have tied for the title, which they shared with University in 1983.

5/18/90

Helix closed the regular season with its sixth straight win and clinched a first-place tie in the Grossmont 3-A League with El Capitan, the 4-3 loser to the Highlanders.

“I feel like this is a team that didn’t believe in itself for a long time,” Highlanders coach Jerry Schniepp told Helix alum and The San Diego Union writer Kirk Kenney.  “But they believe in themselves now.  They’re playing like they know they’re going to win.”

—Poway’s Dan Miller allowed two hits and struck out 12 in a 4-0 win at Rancho Buena Vista.

“All we knew coming back on the bus is that we were at least tied for the title,” said Titans coach Rudy Casciato.

“But when the bus pulled into the parking lot a group of parents were holding a five-foot long sign that said, ‘MC lost.’  The kids went wild.”

Vista had beaten Mt. Carmel, 6-3, knocking out the Sundevils.

—Mauricio Martinez was 4 for 4 at the plate and Montgomery backed Martinez’ pitching with 11 runs in the fifth inning of a 14-5 win over San Diego Southwest.

The Aztecs gained the Metro League’s No. 1 playoff seed over the Raiders after the teams tied with 11-3 records.

REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS

EASTERN LEAGUE

	LEAGUE				OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Patrick Henry	8	4	.667	—	14	11	.560
Point Loma	8	4	.667	—	14	12	.538
Mira Mesa	7	5	.583	1	18	8	.692
Serra	5	6	.455	3	11	17	.393
Morse	1	10	.091	7	6	18	.250

CENTRAL LEAGUE

	LEAGUE				OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
San Diego	9	3	.750	—	17	7	.708
Crawford	9	3	.750	—	18	7	.720
Madison	8	4	.667	1	14	9	.609
Hoover	2	10	.167	7	10	17	.370
Lincoln	2	10	.167	7	7	16	.304

WESTERN LEAGUE

	LEAGUE				OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
University	11	1	.917	—	24	4	.857
Mission Bay	9	3	.750	2	15	10	.600
La Jolla	5	7	.417	6	13	12	.520
Kearny	4	8	.333	7	11	15	.423
University City	1	11	.091	10	6	18	.250

HARBOR LEAGUE

	LEAGUE				OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
St. Augustine	9	3	.750	—	17	11	.607
Coronado	8	4	.667	1	17	8	.680
Clairemont	8	4	.667	1	16	12	.571
Marian	3	9	.250	6	7	19	.269
Christian	2	10	.167	7	5	19	.208

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE

	LEAGUE				OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Montgomery	11	3	.786	—	20	8	.714
Southwest	11	3	.786	—	14	13	.519
Castle Park	10	4	.713	1	19	10	.655
Sweetwater	8	6	.571	3	20	8	.714
Bonita Vista	7	7	500	4	12	13	.480
Chula Vista	5	9	.357	6	10	15	.400
Hilltop	2	12	.167	9	2	24	.077
Mar Vista	2	12	.167	9	5	23	.179

AVOCADO LEAGUE

	LEAGUE				OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
San Pasqual	10	2	.833	—	14	9	.609
Escondido	8	4	.667	2	20	8	.714
Oceanside	8	4	.667	2	15	10	.600
San Marcos	7	5	.583	3	14	11	.560
El Camino	6	6	.500	4	12	12	.500
Ramona	2	10	.167	8	6	17	.261
Carlsbad	1	11	.083	9	9	19	.321

GROSSMONT 3-A

	LEAGUE				OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Helix	6	2	.750	—	18	8	.692
El Capitan	6	2	.750	—	18	10	.643
Granite Hills	4	4	.500	2	18	9	.667
Monte Vista	3	5	.375	3	17	11	.607
Mount Miguel	1	7	.125	5	5	22	.185

GROSSMONT 2-A

	LEAGUE				OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Grossmont	8	0	1.000	—	25	2	.926
Santana	6	2	.750	2	20	6	.769
Valhalla	4	4	.500	4	14	13	.519
El Cajon Valley	2	6	.250	7	7	16	.304
West Hills	0	8	.000	8	3	22	.120

PALOMAR

	LEAGUE				OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Poway	11	3	.786	—	19	6	.760
Rancho Buena Vista	10	4	.714	1	15	11	.577
Mt. Carmel	10	4	.714	1	20	7	.741
Orange Glen	7	7	.500	4	16	12	.571
Vista	7	7	.500	5	12	14	.462
Fallbrook	5	9	.357	6	10	14	.517
San Dieguito	4	10	.286	8	4	23	.148
Torrey Pines	2	12	.167	9	12	16	.429

PLAYOFFS

3-A

FIRST ROUND

16 San Diego Southwest (14-14) 2, @1 Poway 3.

Dan Miller (13-1), the County’s top-ranked pitcher, came on in relief in the fifth inning, shut down the Raiders, and the Titans scored the winning run in the last of the seventh.

15 Mira Mesa 6, @2 Helix (18-9-1) 3.

The Marauders, losers of six of their last eight games, dealt Helix righthander Eric Nicholson (11-1) his first defeat.

“These guys were insulted,” Marauders coach Mike Prosser said of the seeding meeting days before.  “Teams we beat all year long were seeded ahead of us.  They asked, ‘Does that mean we’re no good?’”

Point Loma (15-12) 1, @3 Montgomery 2.

Castle Park (19-11) 2, @4 Patrick Henry 6.

Granite Hills (18-10-1) 2, @Mt. Carmel 3.

Sweetwater (20-9) 4, @Rancho Buena Vista 5.

9 Monte Vista 1, @8 Hilltop (2-25) 0.

The Monarchs’ Robbie Stone allowed two hits and Hilltop’s Jose Silva gave up three.

Orange Glen 4, @El Capitan (18-11) 3.

QUARTERFINALS

Monte Vista 7, @Poway (20-7-1), 5.

The Monarchs scored all their runs in a four-run sixth inning and three-run seventh.

Mt. Carmel 4, Montgomery (21-9) 3.

John Moon’s fly ball, about 15 feet foul, was caught by the left fielder and became a sacrifice out for Mt. Carmel’s winning run.

Orange Glen (17-13) 2, @Patrick Henry 10.

Mira Mesa 5, @Rancho Buena Vista (16-12-1) 0.

Marc Nielsen homered, tripled, and pitched Mira Mesa’s shutout.

SEMIFINALS
Monte Vista 9, Patrick Henry (16-12) 7, @University San Diego.

Mira Mesa 5, Mt. Carmel (22-8) 0, @University San Diego.

“Everyone thinks that (Coach) Sam Blalock is a god and Mt. Carmel can’t be beat,” said Marauders coach Mike Prosser.  “We want to prove once and for call that Mira Mesa is a good baseball school.”

CHAMPIONSHIP

Mira Mesa (22-8) 8, Monte Vista (20-12) 1, @University San Diego.

“The perseverance, sticking with it, the never-say-die…it paid off,” said coach Mike Prosser.  “I’m happy for these kids.  They deserve it.”

Mira Mesa was 13-0 at the start of the season, lost 7 of its last 12 and six of its last eight.  The Marauders were relegated to a 15 seed in the post-season pairings.

Mira Mesa struck eight consecutive base hits, including seven straight singles in a seven-run second inning.

Starting pitcher Marc Nielsen and relievers Brendon Hause, and Mike Bovee combined to hold the Monarchs to six hits.

The victory was the fourth straight in the postseason, which followed a victory in the Marauders’ last regular season game.

2-A

16 La Jolla (13-14) 2, @1 Grossmont 11.

Todd Cady, Danny Lennon, and John Tatum each homered for the Foothillers.

15 Clairemont 6, @2 University (23-6) 5.
Chieftains pitcher Oscar Sanchez (11-6) survived a four-run sixth inning and was backed by three hits from David Salonius and Jesus Jauregui.

Madison (16-11) 1, @Oceanside 3 (8 innings).

Escondido 2, @3 Crawford (17-8) 1.

Coronado 6, @5 Santana (20-7) 5.

Mission Bay 11, 5 St. Augustine (17-12) 6 (10 innings) @Hickman Field.

The Buccaneers scored five runs in the top of the 10^th inning.

Valhalla (14-14-1) 0, @4 San Pasqual 1.

San Marcos (14-12) 5, @3 San Diego 8.

QUARTERFINALS

Escondido (21-9) 3, @Grossmont 5.

Todd Cady’s hit his 10^th home run and drove in his 60^th run, but the Foothillers advanced after Scott Brennan’s two-run single in the sixth inning.

Mission Bay (16-11) 7, @San Pasqual 9.

Dave Vejtasa and Eric Marsh hit home runs and the Golden Eagles outlasted a 4-for-4 day by the Bucs’ Marlon Gardinera.

Coronado (18-9) 4, @San Diego 5.

Pitcher Josh Stepner earned a save but also homered, doubled, scored two runs and drove in three.

Clairemont 7, @Oceanside (21-10-1) 6.

Angel Torres’ two home runs weren’t enough for the Pirates.

SEMIFINALS

Grossmont 5, San Pasqual (15-11-1) 2, @Grossmont College.

San Diego 9, Clairemont (17-14), 2, @Grossmont College.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Grossmont (29-2) 5, San Diego (20-8) 2, @University of San Diego.

Mike Spears, Dan Lennon, and John Tatum combined to limit the Cavers to three hits.

“Mike had good stuff but I don’t think he was overpowering,” Grossmont coach Jeff Meredith said of his starting pitcher, to writer Jim Trotter.  “And when you have a guy who is 10-1 (Lennon) and a guy with 12 saves (Tatum), why take a chance?”

Spears, who finished the season with a 7-0 record, gave up two hits and no runs before he was derricked after four innings.

1-A

QUARTERFINALS

La Jolla Country Day (8-15-1) 5, @1 Midway Baptist 8.

The Bishop’s 1, @4 Holtville 5.

Mountain Empire (11-9-1) 6, @ 3 Imperial 10.

Borrego Springs 5, @2 Julian 12.

SEMIFINALS

Julian 7, Imperial (12-7-3) 0, @Ramona

The Eagles’ Travis Denmark struck out 10 and hit a 400-foot home run.

Midway Baptist 8, Holtville 4, @Mar Vista

CHAMPIONSHIP

2 Julian (20-6) 5, Midway Baptist (20-4) 2, @Grossmont College.

Travis Denmark, who led the County during the regular season with 13 home runs (Christian’s Tony Clark, who would hit 251 in the major leagues, was second with Grossmont’s John Tatum, each with 10) retired 16 of the last 18 batters and struck out nine.

Denmark went to what the Union’s Ed Graney described as a “biting curveball” after giving up two, run-scoring singles in the second inning.