The St.Charles Borromeo Church was filled to its football-field-sized capacity Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, as family members and friends said goodbye to Elena Casanova Cota, who accomplished much in her 94 years.

Mrs. Cota raised five sons and a daughter and three of those sons created an athletic legacy at St. Augustine High.

Eldest son Paul was a standout half-mile runner at St. Augustine and San Diego State. Paul and younger brothers Ron and Richard helped their designer father, a civil engineer, assemble the track and field facilities at the school.

Richard was the Eastern League mile champion at 4:26.8 in 1964 and was a member of outstanding teams at Mesa College and San Diego State, where he lowered his best time to 4:12.

Ron was a first-team all-San Diego Section linebacker on the 1961 Saints team that posted a 6-1-1 record.  Ron also played at Cal Poly (Pomona).  His son, Stephen, was a second-team all-section choice as a linebacker and played on the 13-0 Point Loma team of 1987.

Stephen ‘s nephew and Ron’s grandson lettered in football on Point Loma’s 2013 squad.

“Above all, our mother was always there, for all of us,” said Ron.

The San Diego Section could get as many as three teams and as few as none in the upcoming state football playoffs.

OPEN DIVISION

Oceanside, now ranked fifth in Cal-Hi Sports’ top 25  (the highest a San Diego Section team has been since the ‘Side finished third in 2009), is a probable lock for a Division I berth if it can get past Helix in the San Diego Open final.

The Pirates (12-0) struggled in the semifinals, falling behind Mission Hills, 28-14, before overcoming the Grizzlies, 38-31.

Helix (10-2) defeated Cathedral (10-2), 27-5, reversing an early-season loss to the Dons.

Oceanside has been gaining in the Cal-Hi Sports’ poll, moving up three spots in recent weeks as teams in front of the Pirates have been eliminated in the Southern Section playoffs.

Oceanside would take a 13-0 record into the state playoffs if it knocks off Helix, No. 21, according to Cal-Hi Sports, but the Pirates aren’t a candidate for the State Open Division.

The South opponent for the North’s Concord De La Salle will be the winner of the Southern Section Open final between Bellflower St. John Bosco and Corona Centennial. Those teams rank 1-2 in Southern California.  Oceanside is third.

With two losses, 9-7 to Cathedral in September and 27-17 to El Capitan in the Grossmont Hills title game, Helix could beat Oceanside but not advance.

Oceanside is making its 23^rd trip to the finals, Helix its 16^th.  The teams have met in the championship seven times in the last 14 seasons, coach John Carroll’s Pirates leading, 5 games to 2.

Kickoff is Saturday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m. at Southwestern College, site for all five championships.

THE PICK

Helix 24, Oceanside 17.

DIVISION I

The winner of this division would be aligned in Division II in a State playoff, but neither Madison (9-3) nor St. Augustine (7-5) will go any further. Too many losses.

The Saints beat the Warhawks, 36-29, in the season’s second week.  Madison has come on, winning 9 in a row, and the Saints have battled back from injuries to running back Elijah Preston and others.

Kickoff is Friday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m.

THE PICK

Madison 38. St. Augustine 34.

DIVISION II

El Capitan (12-0) is overall 20^th in the state and No. 1 in Southern California’s D-III, which is where the Vaqueros will go if they get past Rancho Bernardo (10-2), ranked sixth in D-III.

This is El Cap’s first trip to the finals in 51 years.  Birt Slater’s Kearny Komets topped Art Preston’s Vaqueros, 20-6, in 1963.

Rancho Bernardo, 1-10 in 2012 and 1-9 in 2013, has enjoyed a remarkable turnaround, punctuated by a 42-10, semifinals victory over San Marcos.

Kickoff is Dec. 6 at 3:30 p.m.

THE PICK

El Capitan 40, Rancho Bernardo, 21.

DIVISION III

Christian (12-0) has been No. 1 in D-IV South for several weeks and meets Hoover (10-2) in one of the most interesting matchups.

Christian trailed with 20.1 seconds remaining in the game before Adrian Petty ran 33 yards for a touchdown on third down (Petty’s second consecutive game-winning run; he covered 53 yards in a 42-38 victory over La Jolla the week before) as the Patriots defeated underdog Morse, 20-19, in the semifinals.

Hoover has won eight in a row and is bidding for its first Section championship, in the Southern or San Diego, since the school opened in 1930.

A Christian victory in its 14^th section final would drop the Patriots into the State D-IV playoffs, based on Christian’s enrollment of less than 500 students.

Kickoff is at noon Dec. 6.

THE PICK

Christian 31, Hoover 28.

DIVISION IV

The Bishop’s Bulla Graft, who grew up in Chula Vista and played for that city’s Little League World Series champions in 2009, scored 4 touchdowns as the Knights ousted Chula Vista squad Castle Park, 49-14.

Graft and The Bishop’s (12-0) will go against another Chula Vista team, Mater Dei (7-5), which the Knights defeated, 38-21, during the regular season.

The Bishop’s, in its 12th final and with an enrollment of more than 500 students, would be slotted in D-III for state consideration and vying against higher-rated El Capitan.

Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 5.

THE PICK

The Bishop’s 42, Mater Dei 21.

DIVISION V

No state playoffs here.  La Jolla Country Day won the championship, 42-0 over Calexico Vincent Memorial.

No less than seven teams still alive in the San Diego Section playoffs haven’t been this far in at least 10 years.

Sixteen teams are preparing for eight semifinal games this week, with the computer-oriented seeding process playing out well, but not much differently than when  it was with coaches hollering and screaming on Selection Saturday.

El Capitan, the 24th-ranked team in the state, has not been to the semifinals since 1991. Morse is making its first foray since 1996, followed by El Camino and Hoover (2000), Mater Dei (2003), and Castle Park and Rancho Bernardo (2004).

Pairings-wise, the Open Division is perfectly aligned with No. 1 Oceanside (11-0) acting as  host to No. 4 Mission Hills (9-2) and No. 2 Cathedral (10-1) welcoming No. 3 Helix (9-2).

The stars also are positioned in D-II with 1 El Capitan (11-0) at home to 4 Brawley (9-2) and 3 Rancho Bernardo (9-2) at 2 San Marcos (10-1).  Same for D-IV, with 4 Castle Park (8-3) at 1 The Bishop’s (11-0) and 3 El Centro Central (6-5) at 2 Mater Dei (6-5).

There were some quarterfinals surprises.

Actually, a big surprise  when 11 Morse (6-6) shut down 3 Sweetwater’s run-crazy Wing T offense and ushered the Red Devils out, 12-0,  ending their winning streak at 19 consecutive games.

D-I No. 7 El Camino (7-5), a loser of 4 in a row at the end of the regular season and outscored 106-28 during that span, won its second straight playoff, edging 2 Steele Canyon, 34-33, on a field goal by Antonio Garcia with six seconds left.

The Wildcats face 5 St. Augustine (6-5) while 4 Madison (8-3) visits 1 La Costa Canyon (7-5).

Morse now tries again against No.2 Christian (11-0) in D-III, while 5 Granite Hills (9-2) goes to 1 Hoover.

FORMER STAFFERS MEET

In surviving a game which saw six lead changes in  the second half and 31 fourth-quarter points, El Camino coach John Roberts forged an interesting matchup.

Roberts was on the staff of Richard Sanchez’s at St. Augustine before taking over the Oceanside school’s program this season.

The real racing in the San Diego Section playoffs, including competition in the Open Division, begins tonight with quarterfinals games on fields drying out from recent rain.

Teams with championship hopes also have their sights set beyond, to the state playoffs which begin in  three weeks,  following section championships.

Oceanside is seventh in Cal-Hi Sports‘ Top 25 for the third consecutive week, with Cathedral  17th, and El Capitan 24th.

Oceanside is fifth in Division I South, El Capitan first in D-III South, and Christian first in D-IV South.

Cathedral is 13th in D-I South, while Helix, Eastlake, and Mission Hills tread cautiously on the bubble.

San Diego’s Open Division champion, be it Oceanside or Cathedral, likely will get strong consideration for a berth in the State D-I playoffs.

Oceanside would be a longshot for a state Open invitation, logically because Southern Section contenders for the Open would have gone through a competitively much tougher playoff run.

Cathedral  would not be considered  even if it won San Diego’s Open.  The Dons would not be able to live down the 55-10, season-opening loss to Folsom.

El Capitan would be favored for a D-III state playoff berth should it win out in D-II in San Diego.   Christian, because it has less than 500 students, would drop from D-III to D-IV if it gets that far.

Rancho Bernardo, Sweetwater and San Marcos rank 8, 9, and 10 respectively in D-III South.

State playoff divisions are determined in part by enrollment, “competitive equity” (good wins vis-a-vis bad losses, strength of schedule), and politics.

Sixty-four playoff teams became 32, but the action was more like an 11th regular-season game, everyone awaiting the real postseason.

It all should change this week, with Open Division competition beginning in the quarterfinals and with some decent offerings.

Eastlake (7-3), seeded fifth in the Open, visits No. 4 Mission Hills (8-2).

Division I sends 6 Vista (6-5) to 5 St. Augustine (5-5).

D-IV  has 4 University City (7-4)  at 5 Castle Park (7-3), and 3 Classical (9-1) goes to 2 Calexico Vincent Memorial (9-1) in D-V.

QUESTIONS

–Has St. Augustine recovered enough from mid-season injuries and a loaded schedule to stop rising Vista, which has outscored its last two opponents, 76-21.

–What’s with Oceanside, averaging a touchdown less a game in its last three, after averaging 37 points in its first seven?  The ‘Side labored  in a 28-14 win over Carlsbad in Week 8 and take on the Lancers again.

–Can 9 seed  Francis Parker pull off the longest of long shots against 1 seed Hoover in D-III? Always low in  numbers, the Lancers, struck by a veritable tsunami of injuries,  morally  forfeited a mid-season game to Morse. They bounced back and were impressive in a 41-21 win over 8 Monte Vista.

–Will Scripps Ranch have another kookie comeback up its sleeve when the No. 11 Falcons take on almost-neighbor Rancho Bernardo, the 3 in D-III?  Coach Joe Meyer’s birds of prey were out of it, 20-0, at 6 Valley Center, then scored 27 points in the final 8:47 to win, 27-20.

–Can Madison  run the table after 3 losses to start the season?  The Warhawks have won their last seven and take on Point Loma, which they rousted, 36-14, for the Western League championship two weeks ago.

–Is 9-1 San Marcos to be discounted or is Mission Hills that good?  The Knights took a 55-13 shellacking from the Grizzlies two weeks ago and now meet 6-5 Lincoln, whose Hornets are up and down but pack a sting.

UPSETS?

Favorites won 70 per cent of first-round games, 14 of 20.  Seeds 1 through 5 escaped disaster.  Most significant reversals were by Scripps Ranch and Morse,  which topped 6 Bonita Vista, 14-7, in overtime in another 6-11 game.

Buying or selling?  No. 5 Granite Hills (8-3) at No. 4 Fallbrook (7-3) in D-III.  The East County Eagles have scored 159 points in their last three game and are averaging 38.8.

Buying or selling? No. 10 La Jolla (6-5)  at 1 Christian (10-0) in D-III.  The Vikings look overmatched against the powerful Patriots, but La Jolla has scored 121 points in its last two games and is averaging 39.

The computer and the writers, broadcasters, and administrative honchos are in agreement. The elite, top 10 teams in the UT-San Diego poll won’t be asked to mingle with the proletariat in the first round of the Division I-V postseason.

The CIF’s computer-based seedings  byed each team, from Oceanside to San Marcos.  The top 10 clubs have a combined, 89-11 record.

The poll vote after Week 11:

*Awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

Others receiving votes:  Madison, 18; Ramona, 15; The Bishop’s 10; Hoover, 5; Torrey Pines, 4; Steele Canyon, 3; West Hills, 2; Bonita Vista, 1.

Nineteen sportswriters, sportscasters, and CIF representatives from throughout San Diego County vote in the weekly poll: John Maffei, Kirk Kenney, UT-San Diego; Terry Monahan, Tom Saxe, Rick Hoff (UT-San Diego correspondents); Bill Dickens (eastcountysports.com); Steve Brand (San Diego Hall of Champions); John Kentera, Ted Mendenhall, Bob Petinak, (The Mighty 1090); Jerry Schniepp (CIF San Diego Section); Rick Willis, Brandon Stone, (KUSI-TV); Bruce Ward (San Diego City Schools); Rick Smith (partletonsports.com); Steve (Biff) Dolan, Rick (Red) Hill (Mountain Country 107.9 FM); Bodie DeSilva (Sandiegopreps.com); Drew Smith (sdcoastalsports.com).

SEEDINGS AFTERTHOUGHTS

Why not Mar Vista?

The Mariners were 6-4 but were unable to crash the D-III lineup, which included five teams with 5-5 records and another with a 4-6.

Tyler Arciaga’s team won two intersectional games and played undefeated Sweetwater to a 24-13 loss.

The computer wasn’t impressed.

EL CAP 10-0 BUT IN D-II

Ron Burner’s Vaqueros became the unexpected kings of the East County after beating Helix, 24-17, for Grossmont Hills championship.

Why wouldn’t El Capitan go into the Open Division, what with its victory over Helix and that  Helix is a No. 3 seed in that alignment?

Because teams were slotted by a formula which weighed their overall success during the previous five years (see Mar Vista, but that doesn’t make sense; the Mariners were 35-22 from 2009-13).

The five-year rule was established in 2013, not to overwhelming approval.

WHY LA COSTA CANYON NO. 1 IN D-I?

It couldn’t be that the computer also was affected by the perceived bias of the  North County media?  Could it?

La Costa Canyon finished with a 5-5 record and won the top seed, over Madison (7-3), Steele Canyon (7-3), and St. Augustine (5-5).

The Mavericks biggest win I suppose was 21-13 over Rancho Bernardo, the No. 3 seed in D-II.

La Costa Canyon defeated  lower-level Orange County squad Trabuco Hills, 34-7, and came up soft against Newport Beach Corona Del Mar, 38-0, and Oceanside, 35-6.

St. Augustine and Madison played much tougher schedules.

Off the five-year comparisons!

CAN YOU TOP THIS?

Don Carlos Stafford was an all-San Diego Section fullback at St. Augustine in 1962, but Stafford took a backseat to his nephew last week.

Torrey Pines wide receiver, Jack Bailey, headed to San Diego State,  one-upped his uncle and caught 4 passes for 217 yards in the Falcons’ 13-0 victory over La Costa Canyon.  Included was a 70-yard touchdown and gains of 74, 12, and 61 yards.