Many of the San Diego Section cognoscenti declared an upset when winless St. Augustine defeated La Jolla Country Day,  16-0, in the first round of the Division III playoffs last week.

That the Saints (0-10) were seeded seventh in the division and the 5-5 Torreys were 10^th, according to CIF power ratings, didn’t seem to register.

The Saints were reeling, having canned coach Ron Gladnick after a 10-5, Southern California regional playoff season in 2023, and the subsequent exodus of players to other schools.

Ron Caragher was named coach and kept things together in a brutal season that included losses of 42-0 and 63-0 to Western League rivals Cathedral and Lincoln.

The 0-10 was the Saints’ first  without a victory since an 0-9 in 1975 and only the seventh washout in their 101 seasons, dating to 1924.

Now the Saints face a 125-mile bus jaunt over cold and windy Laguna Mountains passes to the Imperial Valley and No. 2-ranked Holtville, 10-0, and outscoring opponents 491-60, including romps against San Diego County teams Mission Bay, 46-7; Mountain Empire, 54-0; El Cajon Valley, 57-0, and Coronado, 54-14.

FIRST SINCE 1938

St. Augustine and Holtville will need a re-introduction.

The Vikings hold a 2-1 lead in previous games, but the schools haven’t opposed each other for 86 years, dating to 1938, the Great Depression, gas at 19 cents a gallon, and when you could get three pounds of ground beef for 59 cents and a loaf of  bread for a dime.

Holtville won that 1938 game, 12-0, and 15-12 in 1936.  Sandwiched between was a 13-0 Saints victory in ’37.

RATINGS 92.3 PER CENT CORRECT

Seedings favorites won 24 first-round games against two losses:  No. 12 Monte Vista, 34-33 over No. 5 Fallbrook, and No. 9 Del Norte, 42-35 over No. 8 Oceanside.

The Division I/III quarterfinals, and D-II/D-IV semifinal bracket pairings are set for November 16 and 19, respectively.

Peaking for the playoffs is D-I No. 12 seed Poway as they bested 5 Mission Hills to face 4 Mira Mesa, while D-II No. 11 San Dieguito topped 6 Patrick Henry, then 3 San Marcos, to earn a semifinal with 2 Westview. In D-III, No. 12 Granite Hills upset 5 Rancho Buena Vista, and now meets 4 Escondido Charter. The rest of the brackets held close to form.

Go here for complete season game schedules and results.

The Division and Seeding selection process divides the top 48 MaxPreps/Calpreps** state-ranked local teams into 4 equal size groups. The top 12 teams become Division I, the next 12 become Division II, and so on.

The top 4 seeds in each division get a first round bye and teams 5-12  are paired into a standard structure, similar to the national collegiate tackle football 12-team playoffs. Some minor adjustments avoid first-round same-league pairings.

**The entirely computer generated and proprietary MaxPreps.com/Calpreps.com ranking algorithm, based solely on wins and losses, plus the opponents strength of schedule, is described here.

Henrik Jonson, Webmaster

The Webmaster

The four official 2024 San Diego CIF flag football playoff brackets* [updated Nov. 11] are set.
Go here for complete season game schedules and results.

* The selection process divides the top 48 MaxPreps/Calpreps** state-ranked local teams into 4 equal size groups. The top 12 teams become Division I, the next 12 become Division II, and so on.

The top 4 seeds in each division get a first round bye and teams 5-12  are paired into a standard structure, similar to the national collegiate tackle football 12-team playoffs. Some minor adjustments avoid first-round same-league pairings.

**The entirely computer generated and proprietary MaxPreps.com/Calpreps.com ranking algorithm, based solely on wins and losses, plus the opponents strength of schedule, is described here.

Henrik Jonson, Webmaster

Bloated playoff fields, minimal competition in some instances, such as three games to determine a winner, doesn’t diminish the team accomplishment.

So Hats Off to the eighteen San Diego Section league champions.

It’s been awhile for a few.

La Costa Canyon hasn’t claimed a title since 2011, Hoover and Oceanside since 2014, three others since 2016, and one since 2018.

Horizon Prep won its first in the seven-season school history.

*Hoover, Santa Fe Christian, Tri-City tied but won head-to-head matchups.
+First championship.
**Tied with San Marcos, Valley Center.

EAGLES SOAR

Granite Hills’ 90-46 victory over Grossmont was the eighth highest score by one team in County history.

The Eagles jumped to a 28-6 first quarter lead, then were staggered by a 28-13 Foothillers second quarter, leaving the halftime score at 41-34.

Coach Kellan Cobbs’ Eagles blew open the game with a 35-12 third quarter and finished with a relatively tame 14-0 final period.

Others with high scores

MAFFEI FEELS IT

John Maffei’s The San Diego Union Week 10 poll (the last until a final poll at end of season):
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes. Previous ranking in (italics).
Bold indicates latest. NR–Not ranked. MaxPreps‘ and Cal-Hi Sports‘ are state rankings.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
El Camino (6-4, 13 points), University City (9-1, 3),  Brawley (9-1, 4), Santa Fe Christian (9-1, 3), Christian (8-2, 3), Oceanside (7-3, 2), Holtville (10-0, 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, Kevin Farmer (Union-Tribune Freelance contributors).
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (CIF San Diego Section).
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, Chase Izidor (KUSI, Channel 51).
• Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
• Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
• Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
• Tom Helmantoler, (Southern Conference advisor).
• Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee).
• Mike Dolan, Joe Evangelist (San Diego Coaching Legends).
• Raymond Brown (sdfootball.net).
• Bodie DeSilva, John Kentera, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Dennis Ackerman, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (Freelance contributors).

The Webmaster