Six area teams, from Granite Hills in the East suburbs of El Cajon to Valley Center in the rural North, won San Diego Section championships and are moving on and (possibly/maybe/who knows?) moving up in the super postseason.

Regional playoffs are this week, with winners advancing to State championship games Dec. 12-13  at Saddleback College in Santa Ana.  San Diego Section results:

OPEN DIVISION

CATHEDRAL (10-2) 20, CARLSBAD (10-2) 16.

The Dons scored an unusual victory and coach Sean Doyle’s 12^th title in 14 trips to the finals, the first since 2021, before an estimated 8,700 persons at Southwestern College.

Unusual in that No. 4-seeded Cathedral scored all of its points after trailing, 16-0, at the start of the fourth quarter. A touchdown passing play of 47 yards, quarterback Eli MacNeal to Travis Jeffery, early in the third quarter had given the 3 seed Lancers a two touchdown-plus advantage.

Doyle, his silver mustache glistening in the lights of the Southwestern stadium after a postgame splash by elated players, considered the significance of his team’s comeback.

“To be down like that, when we were shooting ourselves in the freaking foot every offensive series, then come back, right now that win has to rank right at the top,” Doyle exclaimed to reporter John Maffei.

A five-yard run by Honor Fa’alave Johnson got Cathedral on the board in the fourth quarter, then the Dons closed to 16-13 on a 71-yard pass play, Brady Palmer to Isaac Cook.

There were 6:32 left after the Dons’ score, but it wasn’t settled until the final 21 seconds when Fa’alave-Johnson scored from five yards to conclude a 71-yard drive with 2:14 remaining.

Next, Southern California Regional I-AA Playoff:  Los Alamitos (12-2), Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, 7:30 p.m., @Long Beach Veterans’ Stadium on Long Beach City College campus.

DIVISION I

Granite Hills (10-3) 41, Lincoln (10-3) 29.

The Eagles trailed, 14-0, but overcame Lincoln and won a fourth consecutive D-I crown before an estimated 6,500 persons at Southwestern College.

Zac Benitez threw for 296 yards and four touchdowns and Noah Walker caught four passes for 142 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown.

The Eagles’ Gage Spalding put game away late in the fourth quarter on a one-yard run from the Wildcat formation.

Junior Curtis led Lincoln with 159 yards in 18 carries and Rashad Robinson had 129 in 19 and two touchdowns.

Next, Southern California Regional I-A Playoff:  Oxnard Pacifica (14-0), Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, 7 p.m., @Granite Hills.

D-II

SANTA FE CHRISTIAN (13-0) 44, STEELE CANYON (9-4) 41.

Enrollment doesn’t matter where Eagles dare.

“The fact that this tiny school (with 400 high school students) …we said whatever division you put us in, we can’t control.  We just play the team you put in front of us,” said winning coach Jon Wallace to John Maffei.

The Eagles’ opponent at Southwestern College was Steele Canyon, with a student body approaching 2,200.

Santa Fe Christian quarterback Dax Labrum rushed 5 times for 27 yards and completed 21 of 33 passes for 286 yards and four touchdowns.

Next, Southern California Regional II-A playoff: Arcadia Rio Hondo (14-0), Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, 6 p.m., @Carlsbad High.

D-III

CHRISTIAN (7-7) 28, EL CENTRO CENTRAL (10-3) 14.

The Patriots came out of the weeds, rallying from an 0-4 start and entering the playoffs as a No. 6 seed.

Christian beat top seed El Centro Central at Southwestern College as quarterback Kaleb Runkle passed for 280 yards and four touchdowns.

“We had a lot of guys out earlier in the season (injuries), but we stayed the course and everybody worked real hard to get here,” Patriots coach Patrick Bugg told reporter Rick Hoff.

Next, Southern California Regional V-AA playoff: @Cerritos Valley Christian (11-3), Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, 7:30 p.m.

D-IV

VALLEY CENTER (7-6) 21, EASTLAKE (7-7) 14.

Bill Dunckel was teaching physical education classes and coaching baseball and softball when he was asked in 2023 to rescue a Jaguars team that was 0-4 and had been outscored, 154-45.

Dunckel righted the ship and the team northeast of Escondido is 18-13 since.

Dunckel is a North County product, a star, all-round wideout on Fallbrook’s 1986 San Diego Section championship team, scoring 18 touchdowns, four field goals, 35 points after touchdowns and a couple two-point conversions for 159 points in 12 games.

Next, Southern California Regional VI-AA playoff: Moreno Valley Valley View, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, 7:30 p.m., @Valley Center.

DIVISION V

MORSE (9-4) 45, HOOVER (7-7) 30

Superior Garror was superior for the Tigers with 260 yards in 32 rushing attempts, plus six catches for 94 yards, and 4 touchdowns.

Hezekiah Manuel completed 30 of 41 passes for 333 yards and three touchdowns for Hoover.

Hoover hadn’t been in a final since 2014 and Morse was making its first trip since 2018.

Next, Southern California Regional VI-A playoff: Simi Valley Grace (11-3), Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, 6 p.m., @Moorpark College.

D-VAA

MARANATHA (12-1) 24, BLYTHE PALO VERDE VALLEY (8-3) 12.

Season complete.

D-VI

ST. JOSEPH (10-1) 61, BORREGO SPRINGS (8-2) 13.

Season complete.

This is perhaps the finest pair of Open Division and Division I championship game matchups  since the San Diego Section was formed in 1960. Mainly because of the four coaches leading their teams, veterans who have stood the test of time and turn out winners annually,  as their records attest in the table below.

Championship week for the Open and D-I, II, III, IV, and V divisions begins with the Open Tuesday evening, Nov. 25, at Southwestern College with Cathedral facing Carlsbad.

Lincoln and Granite Hills play for the D-I title Saturday, Nov. 29, at Southwestern. Other  championship games are Nov. 28.

Maranatha (12-1) defeated Blythe Palo Verde Valley (8-5), 24-12, for the V-AA title and St. Joseph (10-1) topped Borrego Springs (8-2), 68-13, in D-VI.

OPEN DIVISION/DIVISION I

*Includes coaches with at least 100 victories.

DIVISION II

DIVISION III

DIVISION IV

DIVISION V

**Gray coached at Kearny, 2015-19; McNair coached at Crawford, 2001-06.

Eight more underdogs overcame seeding challenges last week as the San Diego Section playoffs tightened in the quarterfinals.

A second week of 26 games saw two No. 1-ranked squads go down, with additional upsets by 12, 11, 10, and six, and five seeds.

Most significant was No. 9 Hoover’s 52-49 win over top ranked Sweetwater in Division V that put the 6-6 Cardinals in the semifinals for the first time since 2023 and in what has  been rarefied air for the school, completing its 96^th season since opening in East San Diego in 1930.

Hoover had reached playoff semifinals in 1962, ’63, and 2000 and the championship game in D-III in 2014 but its history is marked by long, barren stretches.

Typical was the Cardinals’ 5-45 slog that followed their 31-9 loss to Christian in the D-III championship in 2014 and a 0-4 Covid-shortened start in 2020 under Will Gray, followed by 3-6 and 4-7 finishes. Gray’s team has improved to 19-16 since 2023.

The Cardinals’ semifinals opponent this week is 7-4 Canyon Hills, a 27-20 winner over Hoover in a Week 10 Central League contest.

UPSET?

No. 4 Cathedral eliminated No. 1 Mission Hills, 42-35, in the Open Division in what is hard to classify as an upset.  The Dons, weathering injuries to quarterback Brady Palmer and running back Honor Fa’alave-Johnson and a couple regular-season losses to Concord De La Salle and Point Loma, were given at least an even chance of beating the Grizzlies and advancing.

Fa’alave-Johnson scored five touchdowns for the Dons, including a clinching, 43-yard hike with 50 seconds left in the game.

Other significant wins were by No. 12 Scripps Ranch, 17-14 over No. 4 El Camino in Division II; No. 11 San Diego, 33-19 over No. 3 and undefeated, 10-0 Mission Bay in D-II, and No. 10 La Jolla Country Day, 22-7 over No. 2 El Capitan in D-IV.

STATE RATINGS

Cal-Hi Sports 

13, Carlsbad (9-2); 14, Cathedral (9-2); 17, Lincoln (9-2); 19, Mission Hills (9-2); 20, La Costa Canyon (9-2); 38, Granite Hills (8-3); 46, Mount Miguel (8-3); 47, San Marcos (7-4); On The Bubble, Point Loma (11-1). STATE: 1, Rancho Santa Margarita. (8-3).

Cal Preps

59.4, Cathedral; 57.6, Carlsbad; 55.7, Mission Hills; 53.7, La Costa Canyon; 51.2, Lincoln; 50.1, Granite Hills;  44.5, San Marcos; 41.0, Oceanside; 40.1, Mount Miguel; 38.0, Point Loma. STATE:  83.1, Santa Ana Mater Dei.

Max Preps

10, Cathedral (9-2); 11, Lincoln (9-2); 13, Mission Hills (9-2); 14, Carlsbad (9-2); 18, Granite Hills (8-3); 25, San Marcos (7-4); 29, Mount Miguel (8-3); 34, Point Loma (11-1); 41, Oceanside (7-5); 54, Rancho Bernardo (9-3). STATE: 1, Corona Centennial (10-1).

Rankings and favoritism didn’t matter to eight underdogs in the 26 San Diego Section first-round playoff games.

Two each of 11, 10, and 9 seeds prevailed over sixes, sevens, and eights in the divisional brackets.  The most significant reversal saw 12 seed Scripps Ranch put it to No. 5 La Jolla, 42-0.  Clairemont, another No. 5, also won, over 4 seed Calipatria.

Compared to seedings in basketball tournaments, the Falcons entered the game with a 35 per cent chance of winning. Since the NCAA event expanded in 1985, No. 12 seeds are 55-101 against fives.

Reports have circulated in the community known for its groves of eucalyptus trees (a City of San Diego worker once told me 3 million) that Scripps Ranch coach Marlon Gardinera may step down at the end of the season.  Gardinera, whose team visits fourth-seed El Camino in the second round, is 60-36 (.625) as the Falcons head coach since 2017, including a state II-A championship and 13-1 season in 2021.

LOOKING BACK

Thousands of games had been played since the last time there was an 11-10 result.  Santana defeated Bonita Vista in a Division V first-round contest by that score, matched only once, in 1982, when San Dieguito defeated Vista.

Santana won when 40 seconds remained after the Sultans scored a touchdown to close to 10-9 and lined up for a tying point after kick, but holder Koko Thornton took the snap and passed to Xavier Bennett for the winning two-point conversion.

TRUE GRID

St. Augustine’s Pai Polamalu, the son of retired Pittsburgh Steelers all-pro Troy Polamalu, rushed for 263 yards in 28 carries, scored five touchdowns, caught three passes for 67 yards and a touchdown, and completed a pass for 32 yards, accounting for 362 of the Saints’ 479 yards as the D-II No. 8 seed defeated No. 9 Mater Dei, 45-20…if that wasn’t enough, Pai also intercepted a couple passes….

STATE RATINGS

Max Preps: 

9, Mission Hills; 10, La Costa Canyon; 11, Carlsbad; 13, Cathedral; 20, Lincoln; 21, Granite Hills; 24, San Marcos; 27, Point Loma; 33, Mount Miguel; 35, Oceanside; 42, Rancho Bernardo.

Cal-Hi Sports:

12, Mission Hills; 13, La Costa Canyon; 15, Cathedral; 19, Carlsbad; 20, Lincoln; 38, Granite Hills; 45, Point Loma; On Bubble, Mount Miguel, San Marcos.

Cal Preps:

59.2, Mission Hills; 57.3, La Costa Canyon; 53.4, Carlsbad; 50.2, Lincoln; 50.2, Point Loma; 49.2, Cathedral; 45.3, Granite Hills; 42.4, San Marcos; 36.9, Mount Miguel; 36.5, Oceanside; 34.9, Rancho Bernardo. STATE:  87.4, Bellflower St. John Bosco.

Sixteen games tonight and 28 more Friday will settle the San Diego Section regular season and determine league champions not yet clinched.  Playoff pairings are expected Sunday afternoon.

Coming down to the wire Cathedral, Lincoln, Mission Hills, Carlsbad, and La Costa Canyon are alive for  berths in what will be a stacked, four-team Open Division bracket.  One of those clubs will drop down and automatically become the favorite in Division I.

MAFFEI MADNESS

John Maffei’s The San Diego Union-Tribune Week 10 poll:
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes. Previous rankings in (italics).
NR–Not ranked. MaxPreps, Cal Preps, and Cal-Hi Sports are state rankings.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Imperial (9-0, 14 points), Santa Fe Christian (9-0, 8), Rancho Bernardo (7-2, 3) Mission Bay (9-0, 2), Holtville (8-1, 1).

VOTING PANEL

Twenty-nine sportswriters, sportscasters, and administrators from the San Diego Section, plus Max Preps:

• John Maffei (The San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Donald Ray Norcross, Kevin Farmer, Rick Hoff, Steve Brand (Union-Tribune correspondents)
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (San Diego Section)
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edwards, John Carroll, Chase Izidoro (KUSI-TV)
• Rick Smith (partletonsports.com)
• Braden Suprenant (93.7 FM “The Fan”)
• Mike Dolan (Coaching Legends)
• Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference)
• Joe Evangelist, Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee)
• Raymond Brown (sdsports.net)
• Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association)
• Bodie DeSilva, John Kentera, Dennis Ackerman, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (freelance contributors).

Game(s) of the Week:

End of the regular season is two weeks out, but host Lincoln and Cathedral should settle the Western League championship and Carlsbad will attempt to close the Avocado League race against visiting La Costa Canyon this week.

The showdowns will bring together four of the San Diego Section’s most successful coaches.

DOYLE AND DUNN

Sean Doyle of Cathedral is fourth all time with 244 victories, having just passed Rob Gilster’s 243. Ron Hamamoto’s 246 is within reach and, with some playoff success, Doyle could catch John Carroll at 248.

Doyle is 10-6 against Lincoln’s David Dunn, but Dunn’s Hornets have won the last four meetings.

Dunn, who played at Morse and was a tight end in the NFL for six seasons, is 113-61-1 (.650) as the Hornets’ mentor since 2010.

Doyle (244-117, .676), who played at University, succeeded Hamamoto in 1996 and stayed when the school moved and officially became Cathedral in 2005.

MacNEAL AND SOVACOOL

Thadd MacNeal, who came to Carlsbad in 2010 after posting a 41-19 (.683) record at Lakewood in the Southern Section’s Long Beach Poly-dominated Moore League, is 112-52 (.683) with the Lancers.

MacNeal is only the sixth coach in Carlsbad’s 69-year history.  Sveto (Swede) Krcmar opened the school in 1957 and was followed by Claude (Buddy) Lewis in 1972, Mel Galli in ’79, Rick Brown in ’87, and Bob McAllister, who was 132-66-6 (.662) from 1994-2010.

Sovacool, a Fallbrook alum, is 106-66 (.616) since 2010 and the Mavericks’ third coach since 1996, when Tim Smith coached the first four teams, followed by Darrin Brown, who was 81-37 from 2000-’09. MacNeal is 8-6 in head-to-head meetings with Sovacool.

MAFFEI MADNESS

John Maffei’s The San Diego Union-Tribune Week 9 poll:
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes. Previous rankings in (italics).
NR–Not ranked. MaxPreps, Cal Preps, and Cal-Hi Sports are state rankings.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Oceanside (4-4, 29 points), Santa Fe Christian (9-0, 13),  Imperial (8-0, 7), Mission Bay (8-0, 1).

VOTING PANEL

Twenty-nine sportswriters, sportscasters, and administrators from the San Diego Section, plus Max Preps:

• John Maffei (The San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Donald Ray Norcross, Kevin Farmer, Rick Hoff, Steve Brand (Union-Tribune correspondents)
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (San Diego Section)
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edwards, John Carroll, Chase Izidoro (KUSI-TV)
• Rick Smith (partletonsports.com)
• Braden Suprenant (93.7 FM “The Fan”)
• Mike Dolan (Coaching Legends)
• Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference)
• Joe Evangelist, Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee)
• Raymond Brown (sdsports.net)
• Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association)
• Bodie DeSilva, John Kentera, Dennis Ackerman, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (freelance contributors).