The Coach 100 Club welcomed a new member in 2023 and the 200 club could add another in 2024.

Mater Dei coach John Joyner, who announced he was stepping down at conclusion of the season, became the 49^th to win at least 100 games, finishing the season with an all-time record of 104-69, .601 and state Division II-A championship in 2022.

Chris Hauser ended his 15^th season at Mission Hills with a record of 198-86-2, .686, stands 11^th all-time, and could continue to travel with the elite.

BENNIE IN SIGHT

Among 200-game winners, Cathedral’s Sean Doyle could make the biggest jump in 2024.

Win eight games and Doyle (231-110-0, .677) could move past Bennie Edens (238) into fourth place.

Ron Hamamoto (236-188-4, .556), who coached Doyle at earlier-named University and was succeeded by Doyle at Uni in 1996, is also likely to move past Edens.

Others who gained in 2023:

Ramona’s Damon Baldwin is 32^nd with 128 victories, up from 34^th.  Nine wins in 2024 would leapfrog Baldwin over seven others into a tie at 137 with Steve Sutton.

Point Loma’s Joel Allen succeeded Baldwin at No. 35 with 122 victories before announcing his retirement at the end of the season.

El Capitan’s Ron Burner is 40^th with 111 wins after starting the season in a tie for 43^th with Morse’s Tracy McNair, whose four victories in ’22 moved McNair to 44^th.

100 AWAITING OTHERS

At least four coaches, Tony Corley of San Pasqual; Thadd MacNeal of Carlsbad; David Dunn of Lincoln, and Kellan Cobbs of Granite Hills are within six victories of the Century mark.

Corley has 97 wins, MacNeal 96, Dunn 94, and Cobbs 93.  La Costa Canyon’s Sean Sovacool is next with 89.

The full Coach 100 Club list is here.

It almost was all quiet on the San Diego County track and field front.

Pole vaulter Bob Henderson of San Diego high tied for second in the state meet at 12 feet, 9 inches, and was the only local entry to score.

Henderson had a career best of 13 feet and teammate Ben Sohn was one of the better shot putters in Southern California with a best of 50 feet, 8 1/4 inches.

4/2/36

Metropolitan League nomenclature was changing.

A Class C competition was being added in the upcoming league meet at San Diego State and joined by Class A and Class B entries.

The Metro was formed in 1933 and league championship meets in the first three years included two classes, Unlimited and Limited.

Classes are to be determined by exponents, i.e., height, weight, and age.

With 259 entries from eight schools, competition will begin at 10 a.m. and continue until the late afternoon, according to meet director Morris Gross.

4/4/36

Rain washed out the Metropolitan League championships at San Diego State.

4/11/36

San Diego won the sponsored De Molay track meet, part of the Pacific Exposition in Balboa Park and on an apparent temporary track and field site at the Exposition site.

The Hilltoppers had 38 points, followed by Whittier, 33; Montebello, 32; Compton, 21; Sweetwater, 5; Oceanside 3, and Point Loma, Huntington Beach, Coronado, Hoover, and Santa Ana, 1 each.

Five-foot, 8-inch Bob Henderson won two of the Hilltoppers’ five first places, pole vaulting 12 feet, 9 inches, and high jumping 5-11 ¾.

Ben Sohn hurled the shot 50-8 ¼, bettering the school record of 49-6 ½ by Ray Russell in 1930.  Leslie Webb won the 120-yard high hurdles in :16.6 and C.P. McVay won the discus throw at 117-7.

Virgil DeLapp of Montebello created buzz when he won the 880-yard run in a blazing 1:54.6, but twice around the track oval was determined to cover only 796 yards.

4/17/36

San Diego was first in 10 of 13 events and won its Coast League meet at Santa Ana, 83-30.

Ben Sohn won the shot put at 50-3, Bob Henderson the pole vault at 12-3, and Jerry Rudrauff the broad jump at 21-8 1/2.

Bob Henderson and sophomore future star Bob Logan tied for first in the high jump, each clearing 5-9 7/8.

4/18/36

Grossmont coach Ladimir (Jack) Mashin, described as the “Greyhound of the Foothills,” (later known as the Fox of the Foothills) suggested to fellow coaches during the San Diego State-La Verne-Whittier triangular meet that Mashin could run eight laps on the Aztecs’ oval in 14 minutes.

Coaches Hal Niedermeyer of Coronado; Lawrence Carr of La Jolla, and Joe Beerkle of Point Loma, and two others each ponied up $1.

Mashin covered the two miles in 13:43.5 and walked away with $5.

—Hoover’s Don Grenfell was reported to be timed in :22.2 for first place in the 220 in the Davis Relays, near Sacramento.

4/20/36

Billy Gray set a Grossmont school record when he ran :25.5 in the 220 low hurdles at San Diego State, where the Aztec freshmen defeated the Foothillers, 71-28.

4/21/36

San Diego outscored Hoover, 82-31, in their annual dual meet, and set four meet records.

Leslie Webb ran the 120-yard high hurdles in :15.9.  Bob Henderson pole vaulted 12 feet, 9 inches. C.P. McVay whirled the discus 114-6, and Ben Sohn heaved the shot 48-9 ½.

Dick Grenfell was a double winner for Hoover, :10.1 in the 100-yard dash and :23.2 in the 220.

Jerry Rudrauff of San Diego won the broad jump with a leap of 22-1 ½.

4/23/36

Grossmont’s Billy Gray, who set a school record three days before in the 220-yard low hurdles and a consistent 45-foot shot putter, was declared ineligible for the Metropolitan League finals.

CIF boss Seth Van Patten upheld a league ruling after Grossmont coach Jack Mashin took the matter to the higher authority for clarification.

Metro bosses cited Gray for playing in a Sunday baseball game on April 12, a week after the original date of the league track finals.

Someone in the Metro ratted out Gray for a seemingly minor transgression.

4/24/36

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE FINALS @SAN DIEGO STATE

Grossmont could not defend its league championship, finishing fourth in team standings, the loss of Gray meaning expected points in the hurdles and shot put, and in the 880-yard relay, in which the Foothillers did not run.

Oceanside was first in Class A with 48 points.  La Jolla led Class B with 45 points, and Coronado’s 35 was first in Class C.

A total of 22 records were set in the 32 events.

Oceanside’s Billy Huntales raced to a :10.2 win in the 100 and broad jumped 21-6 for two Class A records.

Jerry Soule of La Jolla set three Class B records, 5-10 ½ high jump, :09.6 70-yard high hurdles, and :14.4 120-yard low hurdles and Class C teammate Jim Tripp also tripled, :10.8 100, 20-6 broad jump, and record, :24.8 220.

—San Diego went North to Alhambra without shot putter Ben Sohn, who apparently missed the bus. The Hilltoppers still won, 72 ½-46 ½, and Charles Bell, not Jerry Rudrauff, was reported to have won the broad jump at 22 feet, 2 inches.

5/2/36

BAY LEAGUE FINALS, @LONG BEACH WILSON

Hoover was seventh in a field of seven teams with 12 points as the Wilson Bruins ran away with the team championship with 64 ½ points, outdistancing Santa Monica, which had 35 ½.

Hoover’s Dave Grenfell was fourth in the 100 and third in the 220, races with winning times of :10 and :21.7.

Hoover’s Bud Berg was timed in 2:04.2 and was fifth in the 880 behind the winning 2:02.7.

The Cardinals also were last in Class B with 6 points and were blanked in Class C.

COAST LEAGUE FINALS, @ALHAMBRA

Glenn Broderick’s Hilltoppers rebounded from the 59 ½-53 ½ dual meet loss to Long Beach Poly.

The border city team won two events and tied for first in another, enough for the Hilltoppers to edge Long Beach Poly, 65 1/6-61 2/3, in the team race.

Leslie Webb’s :16.1 in the 120-yard high hurdles, Bob Henderson’s 13-foot pole vault, and Rudy Gonzalez’ 6-1 ¾ high jump, which was matched by a Long Beach Wilson jumper, put  Broderick’s thinclads over the top.

5/8/36

CIF DIVISIONAL, @SAN DIEGO STATE

Bill Huntales won a heat in the 100-yard dash in :10.2 and broad jumped 22 feet, 1/2 inch to lead Oceanside to the team lead with 38 points.

Entries were from the Metropolitan and Imperial Valley leagues.

First-place finishers automatically qualified.  Others could advance after their marks were compared with those from other divisional meets.

5/8/36

CIF DIVISIONAL, @GLENDALE HOOVER

San Diego High entries were aligned against qualifiers from the Bay, Foothill, and Prep leagues.

Bob Henderson of San Diego tied for first with Dave Bodkins of Inglewood at 13 feet in the pole vault.  Hilltopper John Barnhill also qualified, but did not clear 12-3.

Ben Sohn of San Diego was second in the shot put at 48-9 ¼ and teammate Jerry Rudrauff was third in the broad jump at 21-5.

CIF FINALS, @LONG BEACH WILSON

5/16/36

San Diego scored 9 ½ points to finish sixth in team scoring as seven Wilson athletes scored 27 ½ points.

Los Angeles Jefferson, 1935 champion, did not participate as the school had joined others in forming the L.A. City Section.

Pasadena Muir was second with 14 ½, fired by the early-in-the-meet victory at 23 feet, ¾ inches in the broad jump by Jackie Robinson.

Eddie Arnold, Robinson’s teammate, won the Class B broad jump at 23-2 ½.

Bob Henderson of San Diego tied for first with Dave Bodkins of Inglewood at 12-6 in the pole vault; Henderson’s teammate, John  Barnhill, was third at 12 feet, and Ben Sohn was fourth with a 50-2 ¼ effort in the shot put.

5/23/36

22nd STATE MEET, @GRIDLEY HIGH.

About 125 athletes, including one from San Diego, competed in 90-degree weather at the high school 55 miles North of Sacramento.

Bob Henderson of San Diego tied for second in the pole vault with Jim Peterson of Carpinteria, behind the 12-11 by Dave Bodkins of Inglewood.

Pasadena Muir Tech, aided by a CIF decision to allow Southern Section Class B broad jump champion Eddie Arnold to compete, upset Long Beach Wilson, 18-15 in final point totals.

Arnold, who set a Class B meet record of 23-2 ½ a week before, won the event with a jump of 23-1 ¾.  Jackie Robinson was not listed as placing in the top five.

After five defeats in the Southern California regionals, including a couple jaw-droppers, Del Norte, 30-28 to Lake Balboa Birmingham, and St. Augustine, 21-20 to Ventura St. Bonaventure, the San Diego Section is down to one team.

Would you believe 8-6 Sweetwater?

The same Red Devils, 0-4 at the start of the season and 8-43 from 2015-20, who won their fifth game in a row, the last four in the charged atmosphere of the playoffs, including the regional, 47-27, versus visiting Santa Monica St. Monica (11-4).

The Red Devils of coach Ervin Hernandez, will play 13-0 Colusa of the Northern Section Saturday at 11 a.m. at El Camino College in Torrance for the state VI-A title.

Sweetwater, despite some lean years after the millennium, has a long and honored history, notably the wildly successful 1960’s-‘80’s eras of coaches Dave Lay, Gene Alim, and Al Jacobus.

The latest success represented the Red Devils’ first in an intersectional game in the postseason since a Cinderella run in the 1958 Southern Section playoffs, in which they reached the semifinal round before losing, 34-20, to Santa Monica after tying Anaheim, 7-7, and beating Santa Maria, 27-7.

Dave Lay was 76-27 (.739) from 1967-77, not counting a Dreaded Administrative Glitch which cost his 1968 team eight forfeit losses and a no-contest.  Gene Alim was 74-9 (.892) from 1981-87, and Al Jacobus 23-7 (.767) from 1978-80. The trio overall was 173-39 (.816), not counting forfeits. Alim also coached again at Sweetwater from 1991-94.

WHA’ HAPPENED?

Del Norte (11-3) and St. Augustine (10-5) are asking that question.

Visiting Birmingham, from the Los Angeles City Section, trailed in the III-AA contest, 28-24, and appeared dead in the water until quarterback Kingston Tisdale launched a Hail Mary pass from his 48-yard line on the game’s final play.

Peyton Jackson, Tisdale’s intended receiver, did not make the catch at the 12-yard line but deflected the ball.  Teammate Devyn Jackson was in position at the 17-yard line, made the reception and ran untouched for the winning score.

“I just can’t believe we’re going to go out on a play like that,” Nighthawks wide receiver Ty Olsen, who had put his team ahead on a 75-yard kickoff return with 9:52 remaining, told Don Norcross of The San Diego Union.

Said Nighthawks quarterback Jack Schneider: “I don’t know what to believe.  Disbelief.”

LAST SECOND AGAIN

St. Augustine led visiting St. Bonaventure of the Southern Section, 20-14, until a halfback, four-yard touchdown pass on the game’s final play in the D-I contest.

Not as dramatic as Del Norte’s loss, but equally stunning.  St. Augustine had given up the ball on its 30-yard line with eight seconds to play.

A pass completion put the ball on the Saints’ four-yard line with four seconds to play, followed by a quarterback ball spike that left two seconds on the clock.

Two too many.

NOT AS CLOSE

Granite Hills led the I-AA playoff at Mission Viejo, 14-0, and then was buried under a 49-0 Diablos onslaught to finish the 12-1 season with a 49-21 loss.

Mount Miguel was ushered out in DIII-A, 52-21, by Lakewood Mayfair at Bellflower High and La Jolla Country Day was ousted, 41-21, in DV-A at Wilmington Banning.

TRUE GRID

Sweetwater will be making it 70^th playoff appearance, dating to a 13-6 playoff loss to San Diego High in 1922…the Red Devils were 2-6-1 in Southern Section postseason games, are 33-28-1 in the postseason since joining the nascent San Diego Section in 1960, and 35-34-1 overall…the Colusa Red Hawks are 13-0, having won the Northern California regional, 42-6 over South San Francisco after Northern Section wins of 14-7 over East Nicolaus and 42-13 over Winters…Colusa High opened in 1916, about 65 miles North of Sacramento…until 2010 the school mascot was the Colus plant, a flowering grass endemic to the area…the Red Hawks have a 10.4 Cal-Preps.com rating to Sweetwater’s -4.4…Colusa is ranked 256th in California and Sweetwater 448th by Max Preps … the computer is calling a 38-22 victory for the Red Hawks….

Two of baseball’s all-time greatest players were playing with hundreds of so-called mortals.

Hoover’s Ted Williams and Pasadena Muir Tech’s Jackie Robinson trod on the diamonds and little Escondido High knocked down some  giants and went all the way to the Southern California finals.

3/31/36

A total of 31 teams and up to 600 players were signed to play in the fourth annual Pomona 20-30 Rotary Club tournament, including Escondido, San Diego and St. Augustine, and Hoover, which was on a waiting list.

4/1/36

San Diego divided its squad, with coach Mike Morrow taking the first team to Escondido, where it defeated the Cougars, 4-3.

The second team stayed home and dropped a 13-2 decision to the U.S. Dobbin.

4/7/36

Hoover, late to apply for a berth in the Pomona Tournament and finding the field filled, was allowed in when St. Augustine withdrew.

—A five-run third inning propelled San Diego to a 13-4, Coast League victory in Balboa Stadium against Santa Ana.

Bill Skelley allowed the visitors five hits and hit a home run for the Hilltoppers.

Johnny Le Grand had four hits in five times at bat and San Diego moved into a tie with Santa Ana and Long Beach Poly for the Coast League lead, each 2-1.

4/9/36

POMONA 20-30 ROTARY CLUB TOURNAMENT

Hoover coach Wofford (Wos) Caldwell went with a couple reserve pitchers, saving ace Ted Williams, for a later game, but the Calexico Bulldog erupted for 15 hits and won the opener, 11-0, behind Andrade, who limited the Cardinals to three hits and struck a home run.

—San Diego blanked Chino, 12-0, behind Vidal Ortiz’ three-hit pitching.

—Karl Hoffmann hurled a three-hit, 7-1 victory for Escondido over Azusa Citrus.

4/10/36

San Diego won a second-round game, 7-1 over Norwalk Excelsior in the morning and then scratched out a quarterfinals victory against Lawndale Leuzinger, 3-1, in the afternoon quarterfinals.

The Hilltoppers, trailing, 1-0, scored three runs in the top of the seventh on successive hits by Bill Skelley, Chito Rivas, Roy Ortiz, and James Curtis.

—Escondido also gained the semifinal found with wins of 5-3 over Compton and 4-1 over Pasadena Muir Tech, the latter in which Aden Galindo hit a two-run homer.

—Hoover, exiled to the Consolation bracket after its opening loss, bounced back with Ted Williams, in a 21^st century version of an “opener”, starting both games of 18-1 and 8-2 triumphs over Monrovia and Anaheim, respectively.

Del Ballinger relieved Williams in the first game and Gordon Bennett stepped up in the nightcap.

4/11/36

San Diego (2-1 over Whittier) and Escondido (4-3 over Long Beach Poly) won morning semifinal games, setting up an afternoon championship encounter, and Hoover gained the Consolation finals.

San Diego won its third Pomona 20-30 Club tournament title since the event debuted in 1933, 13-3, over Escondido

The Hilltoppers’ victory, aided by seven Cougars errors and behind the five-hit pitching of Bill Skelley, was accompanied by Ted Williams’ pitching in Hoover’s 7-0 win over Pasadena for the consolation championship.

Williams also was on the mound when Hoover won its consolation semifinal, 13-1 against South Pasadena.

Williams allowed three runs on nine hits in four tournament games, struck out 21 batters in 19 innings and hit four home runs, two in the same inning against Monrovia.

As a team, Hoover hit .331 and Joe Villarino led with eight hits in 11 at-bats.

4/16/36

Bill Skelley pitched an 11-inning, 8-7, Coast League victory at Alhambra and doubled home Johnny Le Grand with the winning run.

—Ted Williams apparently was purposely walked three times and made an infield out in his other time at bat but gave up only a third inning triple before slamming the door on Bay League rival Compton, 7-1.

4/20/30

Ed Vitalich’s home run was the big blow in St. Augustine’s 6-2 victory at Sweetwater.  Catching for the Saints was Solly Hemus, future major league infielder and manager.

4/22/36

Chet Kehn and Al Olsen combined to give up one hit and pitched San Diego’s junior varsity to a 13-2 win over the host Sweetwater varsity.

—The Muhleisen Company team edged San Diego, 9-8, as both teams combined for 30 hits in a warmup for the Hilltoppers before their game with Long Beach Poly.

4/25/36

Ted Williams struck out 19 batters and broke a 1924 Bay League record as Hoover won on the road at Redondo Beach Redondo, 5-2.

—Long Beach Poly clinched the Coast League championship with a six-run ninth inning that stunned coach Mike Morrow’s San Diego Hilltoppers, 8-5.

The Jackrabbits collected four hits and two bases on balls, and capitalized on an error. Bill Skelley, who went the distance on the mound for the Hilltoppers, had two doubles and a single.

4/28/36

Lefty Al Olsen gave up five hits and pitched the San Diego JV to a win over the host La Jolla varsity, 5-0.

5/1/36

San Diego clinched second place in the Coast to Long Beach Poly with a 14-11 win at Santa Ana as Vidal Ortiz hit two home runs. Bill Skelley and Jack Zimmerman also homered.

5/2/36

Ted Williams and Gordon Bennett combined to pitch Hoover to a 17-0 win over Inglewood.

Hoover collectively was almost knocking the cover off the ball, according to statistics most likely provided by the Cardinals to The San Diego Union.

Through 21 games, Hoover batsmen had 215 hits in 614 at-bats for a .351 average with 172 runs scored, an average of eight a game.

Outfielder-pitcher Ted Williams had 28 hits in 61 plate appearances for a .460 average with 19 runs scored.

Catcher Roy Engle, later the Cardinals’ head football coach, was batting .381 and outfielder Del Ballinger, who played many years in the minor leagues, including six with the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League, was batting .319.

5/4/36

Del Ballinger pitched and Roy Engle caught and Coach Wos Caldwell, prepping for a big Bay League contest against Long Beach Wilson, sent his varsity against his reserves and the first team won, 4-3.

5/6/36

Ted Williams homered and Hank Ondler had three hits as Hoover’s first team defeated the visiting Marine Corps Recruit Depot Devildogs, 6-2.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals’ second team invaded the foothills and topped Grossmont, 7-2.

5/8/36

Sweetwater’s Tom Coffman pitched well enough, allowing six hits, but the Red Devils committed 10 errors and Karl Hoffmann pitched an 8-1, Metropolitan League victory for Escondido (3-0), setting up a championship game with Oceanside, also 3-0.

5/12/36

Gordon Bennett homered, tripled, and doubled in four times at bat and cuffed visiting Beverly Hills on two hits, 9-1, as Hoover claimed the Bay League championship.

—Escondido’s Karl Hoffmann outdueled Ortega and the Cougars clinched the Metropolitan League championship with a 1-0 victory over Oceanside.

Willie Reyes singled in the eighth inning and eventually scored on errors by Pirates centerfielder Bobby Betoncini and shortstop Goodin, whose throw to the plate almost caught Reyes.

5/14/36

Hoover was going to play Calexico in a CIF Southern Section first-round playoff until the Civilian Conservation Corps, a product of President Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal”, got involved.

Early in the evening CIF commissioner Seth Van Patten informed Hoover coach Wos Caldwell that the Cardinals would meet coach Ed Covington’s Imperial Valley champion Bulldogs at a site to be determined.

Later in the evening Covington placed a long-distance call to Caldwell  and said that three of Covington’s players were entering a CCC camp and that Calexico would have to disband for the remainder of the season, leaving Hoover without an opponent.

Boss man Van Patten was to go into clarification mode.

5/15/36

SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS

No news for the Cardinals today, but Metropolitan champion Escondido eliminated Mountain Empire of the Southern League, 16-1.

5/16/36

Hoover, given a first-round bye, was assigned a second-round playoff at Escondido and prepared for a game with a team called the San Diego All-Stars at Golden Hill playground.

5/21/36

Metropolitan loop coaches met at the downtown YMCA to discuss whether to play baseball in 1937.  Coronado, Point Loma, and Army Navy did not field teams this season and some coaches favored going to a softball schedule.

5/22/36

QUARTERFINALS

HOOVER 3, @ ESCONDIDO 8

Escondido eliminated Hoover in what The San Diego Union described as “a startling upset.”

Escondido lefthander Karl Hoffmann walked seven but allowed only five hits.  Hoover’s Ted Williams was reached for nine hits.

The Cougars’ Aden Galindo collected three hits in three at bats and Willie Reyes doubled and singled in three tries.

–An interclass baseball game at Coronado High ended in “turmoil.”   A team of seniors defeated juniors, 13-12.

The underclassmen shouted that the seniors used a fifth-year player.

5/23/36

USC assistant football coach Hobbs Adams and San Diego State head coach Leo Calland were principal speakers at San Diego High’s year-end sports banquet.

Approximately 250 athletes from varsity and junior varsity football, basketball, baseball, and track squads, plus letter winners in minor sports were saluted in the school cafeteria.

5/29/36

SEMIFINALS

PASADENA MUIR TECH 4, @ESCONDIDO 5.

Pitcher Karl Hoffmann tripled to centerfield leading off the ninth inning.  Willie Reyes walked, and Aden Galindo singled to centerfield, scoring Hofmann with the winning run.

The Escondido victory was the Cougars’ second over the Mustangs, following a 4-1win in the Pomona 20-30 Rotary Club tournament.

Muir’s lineup included future Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, who broke the major league color line with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

6/3/36

An obscure but historic item appeared in The San Diego Union, headlined “Padres Seek Ted Williams”.

The short story said H.W. (Bill) Lane, owner of the new Pacific Coast League team in San Diego, had offered Williams a contract for the remainder of the season.

Williams would hit .271 with 2 home runs in limited action for the Padres in a precursor to a career as one of baseball all-time great hitters.

6/5/36

FINALS

ESCONDIDO 4, @LONG BEACH POLY 14

The Cougars couldn’t repeat their 4-3 win over the Jackrabbits in the Pomona tournament after taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

Escondido represented the Metropolitan League, one of the Southern Section’s circuits for small schools, while Poly was from the Coast League, arguably the strongest in Southern California.

Poly, which advanced after victories of 8-2 over Paso Robles and 11-1 over Montebello, jumped on Cougars starter Karl Hoffmann for three runs in the first inning, three more in the third, four in the seventh, and finally drove Hofmann from the mound in a three-run eighth.

Chuck Stevens had three hits, including one of the Jackrabbits’ five home runs.  Willie Reyes had two hits for the Cougars and Bob Iliff added a home run.

 

 

This is the curious time of the season.

The San Diego Section rounds of championship games, concluding with Division I, II  III, and IV last week, now centers on the Southern California Regional playoffs.

And many of us are curious about these strangers suddenly looming on the postseason schedule.

How good are San Diego Section teams, which will play representatives from the Los Angeles City and Southern Sections?

Locals are 6-2 in regional 1-AA games since the present format was implemented:

YEAR	TEAM	OPPONENT	CIF SECTION	SCORE
2014	Oceanside	Fresno Edison	Central	37-20
2015	Helix	Mission Viejo	Southern	28-32
2016	Cathedral	Harbor City Narbonne	L.A. City	35-28
2017	Helix	Westlake Village Oaks Christian	Southern	28-13
2018	Cathedral	Harbor City Narbonne	L.A. City	24-21
2019	Helix	Chatsworth Sierra Canyon	Southern	20-38
2021	Cathedral	Orange Lutheran	Southern	71-62
2022	Lincoln	Chatsworth Sierra Canyon	Southern	37-14

The successes of San Diego’s top teams against those Southern Section squads is tempered.

The huge Section’s Open Division champion (Santa Ana Mater Dei, 35-7 winner this season over Bellflower St. John Bosco) always enjoys the  status and plays the Northern California champion each year and will meet San Mateo Serra Dec. 8.

San Diego Section Open Division champions always are slotted in I-AA in the Regional playoff.

DIVISION I-AA

Granite Hills (12-0), @Mission Viejo (11-3)  Friday, Dec. 1, 7 p.m.

South Coast League-dominant Mission Viejo has had its way with San Diego Section teams, posting a 19-4 record since 1974.

San Diego’s infrequent victories are spread out.

Morse prevailed, 3-0, in Balboa Stadium in 1986.  Rancho Buena Vista was a 45-24 winner at home in 1990.  Vista won at home, 26-14, in 2007.

Oceanside, with John Carroll in his last year as coach and headed for a 14-1 season in 2014, scored a 24-7 win over the visiting Diablos, who finished 12-2.

An 11-2 Helix team, on the road in the 2015 Regional, had the Diablos in its grasp, leading, 28-25, with two minutes remaining and in possession of the ball but fumbled; Mission Viejo recovered and pulled out a 32-28 victory en route to a state-record, 16-0 season.

Mission Viejo took field in I-AA playoff title game against Anaheim Servite last week.

COACHES

Chad Johnson, no relation to the legendary Bob Johnson, whom Chad replaced at Mission Viejo in 2018, is 51-15. That includes four consecutive forfeits at the start of his first season.

Kellan Cobbs, a 2005 Granite Hills graduate, played on the 1-9 team in 2004 and took a 1-9 punch in the nose in his first season as coach in 2012.

Cobbs, who also wrestled and played Lacrosse in high school, rallied the program to a 7-6 finish in 2013, is 93-47 overall, and riding a 21-game winning streak.

The Eagles won the state DII-A title in a 13-2 campaign in 2022 and their last loss was in Week 6 of that season, 15-12, to Madison.

TO GET THERE

Mission Viejo (69.8 Cal-Preps.com rating) outscored three Southern Section playoff opponents, 109-51.

The Diablos defeated 59.6 Westlake Village Oaks Christian, 39-14; Murietta Valley (58.9), 31-21, and Anaheim Servite (62.1), 34-15.

Mission Viejo won its 2023 opening game, 38-13, at the San Diego Section’s El Camino.

Granite Hills (65.9) defeated Carlsbad (56.9), 46-45, in overtime and Lincoln (64.0), 27-26.

EAGLES TO WATCH

Zach Benitez, a Max Preps-listed 6-feet, 2-inch, 200-pound freshman quarterback, has passed for 2,135 yards and 22 touchdowns and has a 66 per cent completion average.

Max Turner has rushed for 1,095 yards and 16 touchdowns, with two more receiving, and has a 91.3 game rushing average.

Pablo Jackson has scored 11 touchdowns and placekicker Robert Petrich made 11 field goals.  Petrich has a career 71 per cent average (25×35) with a long of 47 yards and has converted 125×132 PAT, 94.6 per cent.

DANGEROUS DIABLOS

Quarterbacks Luke Fahey and Draiden Trudeau have combined to throw for 38 touchdown passes. Three rushers averaging 6.0 yards a carry, led by Hinesward Lilomaiava’s 75.4-yard average, have combined for 2,312 yards and 27 touchdowns.

Vance Spafford has caught 74 passes for 20 touchdowns.

Individual statistics for both teams from Max Preps.

This is the year of living dangerously for Granite Hills.

The Eagles beat Lincoln, 27-26, for the San Diego Section Open Division championship Saturday night in Snapdragon Stadium in the third of a series of cliffhangers and barnburners in the last four weeks.

The east El Cajon club, 93-47 under coach Kellan Cobbs since 2013, defending state Division II-A, champion, and now winner of 21 games in a row, edged Helix, 44-43, in double overtime a month ago, and knocked out Carlsbad, 46-45, in overtime in the Open semifinals.

Those were just warmups.

Victory Saturday night at came after the Hornets had leads of 13-0 and 26-13.

Granite Hills (12-0) fought back and nudged ahead with 5:32 left in the fourth quarter on a three-yard pass from freshman quarterback Zach Benitez to Josh Zander.

The successful point after kick by Robert Petrich, grandson of Bob, a 1960s San Diego Chargers linebacker, proved the difference in the final score.

NOT OUT OF WOODS

The Eagles still faced a scary finish.

After a change of possession, Lincoln (11-1) took over on its 40-yard line with 1:30 remaining.

Akili Smith ran 6 yards and completed two passes to C.J. Williams to put the ball on the Eagles’ four-yard line with 58 seconds remaining.

Lincoln had second down on the one-yard line after the teams traded penalties and the Hornets’ Aden Jackson gained six yards to the one. Two thrusts into the middle of Granite’s defense netted nothing and a fourth-down snap from center eluded quarterback Smith.

Ball game.

Cue the celebration.

DIVISION VI

“And we’re going to be better next year,” Foothills Christian coach Joe Mackey exclaimed to Rick Hoff of The San Diego Union-Tribune after the 9-2 Knights had defeated 8-3 St. Joseph, 31-26, for their fourth eight-man championship since 2016.

Mackey, 55-17 since taking over the program in 2016, was referring to several underclassmen, notably running back Kameron Brown, who rushed for 175 yards in 32 carries and scored twice on a 15-yard run and 40-yard pass from quarterback Ben Hernandez, who also returns in 2024.

DV-AA

Holtville knows football. The Vikings (9-3) won their sixth San Diego Section championship since 1984, 27-21, over Army-Navy (8-4).

Sophomore quarterback Armando Cuevas threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes and Enrique Armas ran for a clinching touchdown with 3:35 remaining.

Holtville defeated Army-Navy, 37-27, for the Class A title in 1990 and had not appeared in the championship since a 42-6 win over Crawford for the D-V title in 2013.

D-V

Sweetwater (7-6) exploded for 25 consecutive points in the second half and defeated 9-4 Calexico Vincent Memorial, 46-37.

The Red Devils, overcoming an 0-4 start, won their first championship since they started 1-4 but went on to top Monte Vista, 7-0, for the D-IV title in 2013.

Sweetwater, in the eras of coaches Dave Lay and Gene Alim, won championships in 1972, ’83, and ’84. Brian Hay coached the 2013 championship run.

Championships in Division I, II, III, IV will be decided this week at Southwestern College.