I was informed this morning that Birt Slater, the legendary coach at Kearny and San Diego High, had passed away yesterday afternoon , Sept. 3, 2013.

I hope to soon have more information to pass along.

Oceanside, unapproachable in the first half and approachable in the second half of a 47-28 win over St. Augustine, picked up additional support in this week’s UT-San Diego prep football poll.

The Pirates, who led 28-0 at halftime against the Saints, will need all hands on deck for all four quarters this week when they play host to Southern Section power Gardena Serra.

Oceanside out-polled Mission Hills, 23 first-place votes to 7, and scored 302 points to the Grizzlies’ 281.  Biggest improvement went to Cathedral, which jumped from sixth to third after a 38-6 victory over Utah power Sandy Jordan.

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

Others receiving votes with points in parenthesis: Poway (38), Carlsbad (31), Ramona (27), Mount Miguel (13), Rancho Buena Vista (11), Olympian (9), Patrick Henry (5), Del Norte (2), Steele Canyon (2), El Capitan (2),  Steele Canyon (2). Valhalla (2), Brawley (1), Vista (1).

Thirty-one sportswriters, sportscasters and administrators vote each week, including:  John Maffei, Craig Malveaux, Dennis Lin, Don Norcross, Lisa Lane, and Andrew Burer,    U-T San Diego); Steve Brand, Terry Monahan, Bill Dickens, Tom Saxe, Rick Hoff, UT-San Diego correspondents); Nick Pellegrino, East County Sports.com; Steve (Biff) Dolan, Rick (Red) Hill (107.9 FM The Mountain); Jeff Kurtz, playonsports.com; Ernie Martinez, XTRA Sports 1360; John Kentera, Jack Cronin, Ted Mendenhall, Bob Petinak, Jordan Carruth, Bobby Wooldridge, Mark Chiebowski (The Mighty 1090), Rick Willis, Brandon Stone, Jake Fadden, KUSI-TV; Craig Elsten, 619sports.net; Rick Smith, Partletonsports.com; Jerry Schniepp, John Labeta, CIF San Diego Section, and Bruce Ward, San Diego Unified School District.

Oceanside, Helix, Mission Hills, Cathedral, and Eastlake, five of the San Diego Section’s best, posted a combined, 3-2 record and scored a couple impressive, intersectional victories in the Under Armour Brothers in Arms San Diego Classic games on the season’s first weekend.

Most impressive was Cathedral’s 38-6 victory over Sandy of Jordan, Utah, ranked 25^th in the country by Max-Preps and No. 1 in Utah.

The Dons pounded the Beetdiggers with a rushing attack that gained 285 yards and averaged 4.8 yards for 59 attempts.

No. 2 Mission Hills, with only 136 total yards, handled Desert Vista of Phoenix, 13-0, on a suffocating afternoon at Cathedral.

The Grizzlies muted the Thunder, ranked seventh in Arizona, holding the visitors to 123 yards.

Hamilton of Chandler, Arizona, ranked in the top 30 nationally, managed the heat more effectively, sweeping to a 28-0 halftime lead and holding off Eastlake, 28-17.  The  Huskies outgained the Titans, 383-174.

Honolulu Punahou, with famous alum and Chargers rookie Manti Te’o watching, used a goalline stand to stop Helix 10-6.

Coach John Carroll’s Oceanside Pirates took a 28-0, second-quarter lead on St. Augustine in a battle of the section’s No. 1 and No. 5 teams and rode out a 47-28 victory.

Oceanside gets its biggest test in several years this week when it plays host to Gardena Serra, ranked anywhere from second to eighth in some national polls.

SIGN OF THE TIMES

It was St. Augustine’s home game, but the sign at the snack bar on the Northeast corner of the stadium said, “Mesa College Concessions,” with prices listed.

A smiling group of apparent Mesa students taxed the capacity of the concession stand, although it didn’t open for business until minutes before kickoff, after a couple long lines had formed.

Following a 10-minute wait I was told the hot dogs were on the grill but they weren’t available until after kickoff.

Channeling their inner “What, me worry?”, the part-time vendors were not stressed.  They probably were thinking about their postgame plans.

Meanwhile, St. Augustine personnel were aggressively hawking a football yearbook and logoed apparel.

The Saints’ side of the field was filled with about 3,000 followers, plus another 500 or so who were socializing behind the upper row of the Mesa bleachers.

Oceanside had about 600 persons on its side.  The rest may have been home awaiting next week’s big one with Serra Gardena or didn’t want to battle I-5 traffic during Friday rush hour.

QUICK KICKS—El Capitan scored 70 points, marking the 58^th time that plateau has been reached, dating to 1920, when the Vaqueros shutout Peace River of Alberta, Canada…70 points has been achieved on 13 other occasions…in what must have been a record, San Diego Section teams were involved in 54 games in Week 1…San Diego County teams were 9-5 against all intersectional opposition….Julian and Borrego Springs, now annually meeting in a nonleague game at the start of the season and playing a Citrus League contest later, engaged in another “Battle of Banner Grade”, with Julian winning 46-26 and improving its overall series record to 33-9 since 1967…

High school football has become all about ratings in California.

Cal-Hi Sports is out with its first poll of the 2013 campaign and already has Concord De La Salle representing the North in the State Open Division championship game, probably against Corona Centennial,  Bellflower St. John Bosco, or Gardena Serra.

Serra comes South in Week 2 to meet Oceanside, pride of the San Diego Section.  With the local section adding an Open Division this year, Oceanside and others are eligible to play in the State Open Division Bowl.

But if coach John Carroll’s Pirates lose to Serra, or anyone else, they will be eliminated from State Open Division consideration, according to Cal-Hi Sports.

It will be one and out.

Cal-Hi Sports has ranked Oceanside No. 8 in California, behind  De La Salle, Centennial, St. John Bosco, Serra, Long Beach Poly, and Vista Murrieta.

Mission Hills is ranked 30th, Helix 34th, and Madison 49th, among other San Diego entries.

In the breakdown by divisions, Oceanside is fifth in D-I South, Mission Hills 18th and Helix 20th.

Madison is ninth in D-II and St. Augustine 14th.  Hoover is 10th in III, with Santa Fe Christian sixth and Francis Parker seventh in IV.

Oceanside has some important business to take care of before it confronts Serra.  The Pirates visit pugnacious St. Augustine  at Mesa College in a big opening game Friday, Aug. 30.

*Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.                                                                     #Cathedral record was 8-2 before forfeits.

Others receiving votes with points in parenthesis: Ramona (27), Patrick Henry (17), Lincoln  (16), Carlsbad (13), Brawley (113), Rancho Buena Vista (12), El Norte (11), Point Loma (5), Valley Center (5), Mount Miguel (5), Olympian (4), Mar Vista (5), Steele Canyon (1), El Capitan (1), Vista (1).

Thirty-one sportswriters, sportscasters and administrators vote each week, including:  John Maffei, Craig Malveaux, Dennis Lin, Don Norcross, Lisa Lane, and Andrew Burer, UT San Diego); Steve Brand, Terry Monahan, Bill Dickens, Tom Saxe, Rick Hoff, UT San Diego correspondents); Nick Pellegrino, East County Sports.com; Steve (Biff) Dolan, Rick (Red) Hill (107.9 FM The Mountain); Jeff Kurtz, playonsports.com; Ernie Martinez, XTRA Sports 1360; John Kentera, Jack Cronin, Ted Mendenhall, Bob Petinak, Jordan Carruth, Bobby Wooldridge, Mark Chiebowski (The Mighty 1090), Rick Willis, Brandon tone, Jake Fadden, KUSI-TV; Craig Elsten, 619sports.net; Rick Smith, Partletonsports.com; Jerry Schniepp, John Labeta, CIF San Diego Section, and Bruce Ward, San Diego Unified School District.

A reader submitted that a Torrey Pines team coached by Ed Burke should be considered as having the all-time best defense among San Diego Section championship teams.

Burke’s 2003 Falcons posted a 12-1 record, defeated Fallbrook, 7-3, in the Division I finals, scored 369 points, and allowed their 13 opponents only 69 points, an average of 5.3 points a game.

We researched the points allowed of  more than 160 San Diego Section champions in all 11-man divisions since the section was formed in 1960. By our calculation Torrey Pines ranks ninth.

However, we eliminated the 1978 Christian team that allowed only 1.7 points in 10 games; number 6 Coronado, and number 8 Julian.  Those teams played on a level much lower than Torrey Pines’.

The revised list, showing only six teams above the Falcons:

1–Herb Meyer’s 1984 El Camino Wildcats, who were 13-0, outscored opponents 401-48, and allowed  3.7 points a game.

2—Walt Harvey’s 1961 Crawford team that was 8-0-2, and outscored opponents 182-40 for a 4.0 defensive average.

3—Vic Player’s  Marcus Allen-led 1977 Lincoln Hornets, who were 12-0-1 and had a 373-54 scoring advantage, their opponents averaging 4.2.

4—Gene Alim’s 1983 Sweetwater squad that was 13-0 with a 354-64 scoring edge and a 4.9 defensive average.

5—The 1984 Sweetwater Red Devils, who allowed 5.0 points while posting a 13-0 record with a scoring difference of 448-65.

6–In its third season, Rancho Bernardo allowed 5.1 points

However, Torrey Pines’ 2003 squad still looks pretty good.

High school offenses  have continued to evolve  each year as teams have passed more often and offenses have spread the field, putting increased pressure on defenses.

From 1985 through 2012 no other championship team had a defensive scoring average  of better than 6.0.  Morse was 14-0 in 1992 and gave up 84 points, a 6.0 average.