80 teams and 40 games opened the San Diego Section Boys playoffs last night.  Girls first-round competition is tonight.

Surprises, the polite term for upsets, were few. Six that are highlighted below.

Most significant was Helix (12-17) a 14 seed but with a long tradition of success, defeating No. 3 and 21-6 Christian, 43-41, in Division II.

DIVISION I

16 Hoover 54 (7-22), @1 La Jolla Country Day 80.

9 University City 66 (12-16), @8 Rancho Buena Vista 76.

13 Del Norte 51 (15-14), @4 Victory Christian 64.

11 Vista 47 (10-18), @6 Sage Creek 61.

14 Scripps Ranch 48 (8-20), @3 San Diego 52.

10 La Costa Canyon 55 (13-16), @7 El Camino 62.

15 Lincoln 39 (8-18), @2 St. Augustine 80.

12 Mater Dei 49 (7-20), @5 Mission Hills 52.

D-II

14 Helix 43, @3 Christian 41 (21-6).

16 Ramona 63 (13-15), @1 Olympian 86.

9 La Jolla 44 (17-12), @8 Poway 56, OT.

12 Calexico Vincent Memorial 35 (14-9), @5 Madison 56.

13 Patrick Henry 35 (9-20), @4 Bonita Vista 73.

11 Westview 49 (14-15), @6 The Bishop’s 59.

7 Eastlake 67 (10-17), @10 Steele Canyon 75.

15 Canyon Crest 54 (14-15), @2 Mira Mesa 73.

D-III

16 Valley Center 55 (9-20), @1 San Diego Southwest 75.

9 Valhalla 67 (18-11), @8 Fallbrook 81.

12 Mount Miguel 50, @5 Calexico 48 (16-10). 

13 Oceanside 41 (12-15), @4 Rancho Bernardo 66.

11 Canyon Hills 58, @6 El Centro Central 57 (15-11).

14 Clairemont 47 (13-16), @3 Maranatha 54.

10 Imperial 58 (11-13), @7 Coronado 81.

15 High Tech Chula Vista 41 (15-11), @2 Point Loma 73.

D-IV

16 San Diego Jewish 52 (9-15), @1 Tri-City 80.

9 Kearny 66 (19-10), @8 Foothills Christian 74.

12 Mar Vista 59 (11-15), @5 Escondido Charter 74.

11 Morse 50 (15-14), @6 Del Lago 56.

10 Calipatria 57 (10-13), @7 Granite Hills 65.

14 Calvin Christian 46 (12-12), @3 Brawley 59.

13 West Hills 55 (12-17), @4 Army-Navy 80.

15 Blythe Palo Verde Valley 57 (10-17), @2 Crawford 74.

D-V

9 Bayfront Charter 42 (13-10), @8 Santana 80.

12 Holtville 35 (7-16), @5 Mabel O’Farrell 62.

11 Classical 54, @6 Preuss 48 (19-8).

10 High Tech North County 19 (14-8), @7 Escondido 62.

D-VAA

8 Horizon Prep 51 (13-12), @9 Logan-Memorial 53.

6 Chula Vista Community Learning Center 36 (9-11), 11 Cristo Rey 41, @Mar Vista.

12 Ocean View 33 (6-17), @5 Warner Springs Warner 39.

10 Monarch 31 (4-16), @7 Liberty Charter 65.

Twenty-eight teams won or shared 24 league championships, according to Max Preps, which provides editorial content as supplied by respondents.

Lincoln was the competitive champion in the Central League but was suspended from the playoffs, giving a league co-title to Canyon Hills and Coronado.  There were no signs of life in the Manzanita League; its teams competed in a so-named Southern League.

LEAGUE	TEAM	W-L	OVERALL	AVERAGE SCORE
Avocado	Mission Vista	8-0	13-12	44-40.5
Central	Canyon Hills	7-3	17-10	34,5-32.3
	Coronado	7-3	16-3	37.3-33.5
City	Christian	8-0	20.4	64.8-35.5
Coastal	Francis Parker	6-0	18-8	53.1-46
North County Coastal	Rancho Bernardo	10-0	20-8	54.2-46.4
Desert	Brawley	9-0	16-11	46.8-40.4
Eastern	La Jolla	6-2	19-9	50.6-41.8
	San Diego	6-2	13-13	49.4-44
Grossmont Hills	Grossmont	8-0	22-3	55.4-37-7
Grossmont Valley	West Hills	10-0	20-6	50.2-33.1
Imperial Valley	Imperial	8-0	23-4	50.4-35.8
Metropolitan Mesa	Victory	8-0	15-4	46.8-29.7
Metropolitan Pacific	San Diego Southwest	8-0	16-9	42.2-32.8
Metropolitan South Bay	Otay Ranch	6-0	22-5	50.9-34.9
Ocean	Tri-City	12-0	18-10	64.1-46.5
Pacific	Escondido Charter	10-0	20-8	55.7-39.5
Palomar	Mission Hills	9-1	20-8	68.9-48.3
	Westview	9-1	19-8	56.7-44.1
Patriot	High Tech North County	8-0	11-6	28.8-26.5
Pioneer	High Tech Mesa	4-0	9-4	37.8-21.4
Sierra	San Diego Academy	6-0	12-5	37.9-28.4
Southern	Warner Springs Warner	9-0	19-2	29.5-13.1
Summit	Mabel O’Farrell	6-0	16-7	37-30.1
Sunset	Coastal Academy	5-1	14-6	26.9-24.4
	Foothills Christian	5-1	11-5	33.3-27.4
Valley	San Marcos	10-0	19-9	56.1-37.9
Western	Scripps Ranch	7-1	17-7	55.9-48.5

 

What’s in a league championship?

Especially in this era of power ratings and strengths of schedules and what they mean in playoff pairings and postseason division assignments, which were to be announced today.

A league title represents essentially just bragging rights, but ask the players and coaches who achieved it and what they think when banners are hoisted in gymnasium rafters.

Nineteen league champions and four co-champions were crowned last night, according to Max Preps, and began preparing for the second season and playoffs that start Tuesday.

LEAGUE	TEAM(S)	W-L	OVERALL	AVERAGE/TOTAL PF-PA*
Avocado	Sage Creek	8-0	19-8	65.7-53.8 (1773-1453)
Central	Crawford	10-0	24-4	59.7-46.2 (1671-1296
City	Madison	9-1	20-8	62.4-50.8 (1748-1423)
Coastal	Santa Fe Christian	7-1	22-6	65.8-53.4 (1804-1494)
North County Coastal	Torrey Pines	10-0	23-5	66.3-53.4 (1858-1494)
Desert	Brawley	9-0	20-8	58.5-48.8 (1632-1369)
Eastern	San Diego	7-1	23-5	61.1-49.4 (1710-1383)
	Christian	7-1	21-5	59.1-48.3 (1654-1257)
Frontier-Patriot	High Tech Mesa	10-0	17-5	57.1-37.5 (1256-825)
Grossmont Hills	Steele Canyon	8-0	18-9	58.6-56.7 (1583-1530)
Grossmont Valley	Granite Hills	10-0	16-10	58.5-56.2 (1542-1462)
Imperial Valley	El Centro Central Calexico Vincent Memorial	5-3	15-10 14-8	59.9-52.4 (1497-1305) 52.2-53.6 (1305-1340)
Metropolitan Mesa	Bonita Vista	8-0	20-8	62.8-51.9 (1759-1454)
Metropolitan Pacific	Chula Vista	5-1	21-6	58.7-46.2 (1585-1247)
	Sweetwater	5-1	15-13	52.6-52.5 (1474-1470)
Metropolitan South Bay	Montgomery	7-1	26-2	69.0-57.1 (1931-1260)
Ocean	Foothills Christian	8-0	18-10	57.2-47.8 (1600-1338)
Pacific	Tri-City	7-1	15-9	56.8-50.3 (1362-1207)
Palomar	San Marcos	10-0	25-3	70.3-52.8 (1970-1477)
Sierra	Preuss	8-0	19-7	60.4-43.3 (1570-1100)
Southern	Warner Springs Warner	8-0	13-5	46.1-28.5 (830-513)

John Maffei’s weekly The San Diego Union poll. First place votes in parenthesis.                                                                                                    First place votes in parenthesis.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Bold entries in columns are up-to-date rankings, followed by previous.
Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max-Preps’ represent state rankings. NR—Not ranked.
Records as of Feb 9.

	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	PREVIOUS	MAXPREPS	CAL-HI SPORTS
1	Montgomery	24-2 (18)	180	1	11/11	15/15
2	San Marcos	23-3	161	2	31/25	On Bubble/Bubble
3	Torrey Pines	21-5	143	3	41/41	On Bubble/Bubble
4	Carlsbad	20-5	128	4	23/30	On Bubble/Bubble
5	Cathedral	16-9	75	7	87/85	NR-NR
6	Olympian	20-5	72	5	52/54	NR-NR
7	Mission Bay	19-7	70	6	50/49	NR-NR
8	St. Augustine	12-14	69	10	144/164	NR-NR
9	Santa Fe Christian	20-5	34	8	60/57	NR-NR
10	San Diego	21-5	22	9	119/132	NR-NR

Others receiving votes
Francis Parker (17-10, 15 points), Christian (20-5, 11), Victory Christian (14-12, 7), La Jolla Country Day (14-11, 3 points.
Voting panel: 18 sportswriters, sportscasters, and administrators who cover the San Diego Section, plus MaxPreps:

John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
Aaron Burgin (Full-time hoops).
Steve Brand,  Bodie DeSilva (Union-Tribune freelance correspondents).
Todd Cassen (CIF office).
Rick Smith (Partletonsports.com).
Joe Evangelist (Coaching Legends).
Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference).
Rex Johnson (CIF Advisory Committee).
Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
Braden Surprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
John Kentera, Dennis Ackerman, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Eric Williams, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (freelance contributors).

John Maffei’s weekly The San Diego Union poll. First-place votes in parenthesis.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Bold entries in columns are up-to-date rankings, followed by previous.
Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max-Preps’ represent state rankings. NR—Not ranked.
Records as of Feb 2.

	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	PREVIOUS	MAXPREPS	CAL-HI SPORTS
1	Montgomery	22-2 (18)	180	1	11/13	16/15
2	San Marcos	21-3	160	2	25/30	On Bubble/Bubble
3	Torrey Pines	19-5	137	4	41/51	On Bubble/27
4	Carlsbad	17-5	128	3	30/26	On Bubble/NR
5	Olympian	17-2	113	5	52/40	NR-NR
6	Mission Bay	17-6	87	7	49/53	NR-NR
7	Cathedral	15-8	66	6	85/77	NR-NR
8	Santa Fe Christian	19-4	65	8	57/61	NR-NR
9	San Diego	19-4	25	10	119/130	NR-NR
10	St. Augustine	10-14	21	9	164/171	NR-NR

Others receiving votes
La Jolla Country Day (14-10, 8 points), Christian (17-5, 6), Sage Creek (15-7, 6), Francis Parker (15-10, 2), Mission Hills (16-8, 2), Crawford (20-4, 1), Mira Mesa  (18-4, 1), Madison (16-7, 1).

Voting panel: 18 sportswriters, sportscasters, and administrators who cover the San Diego Section, plus MaxPreps:

John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
Aaron Burgin (Full-time hoops).
Steve Brand,  Bodie DeSilva (Union-Tribune freelance correspondents).
Todd Cassen (CIF office).
Rick Smith (Partletonsports.com).
Joe Evangelist (Coaching Legends).
Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference).
Rex Johnson (CIF Advisory Committee).
Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
Braden Surprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
John Kentera, Dennis Ackerman, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Eric Williams, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (freelance contributors).

The long game ended the longest wait in the 18-season history of the San Diego Section.  Hilltop’s 3-1 victory over Vista in the 17-inning 2-A finals marked the first year that a team not from the Eastern, Western or Grossmont leagues had won the title.

Championships had been won by Eastern League schools Hoover (4), Crawford (4), San Diego (1), and Patrick Henry (1), the Western League’s University (2), Kearny (1), Madison (1), and Point Loma (1), or the Grossmont League’s Helix (1), Santana (1) or Granite Hills (1).

Keeping with history, Hilltop coach John Baumgarten’s lineage included a link to the Eastern League.  Baumgartner was a 1958 graduate of St. Augustine.

Baumgarten was head coach at Hilltop from 1972-2001 and posted a career record of 407-299. His teams earned seven league titles and the 1983 and ’85 teams won San Diego Section championships.

5/15/79

Eight schools, half of the 16-team bracket, qualified for the San Diego Section playoffs.

Kearny earned the City Conference Eastern League title with an 8-4 win over Clairemont.  Madison claimed the No. 2 spot despite losing to Patrick Henry, 8-6.

University won the City Western League championship, 1-0, over Serra, and Hoover finished second with a 17-4 victory over Mira Mesa.

Hilltop’s 10-5 win over Bonita Vista gave the Lancers the Metropolitan League crown and a No. 2 qualifier went to the Barons.  Castle Park, 6-0 over Sweetwater and Coronado, 6-5 over Marian, filled out the first eight playoff positions.

—Kearny’s third consecutive title was fueled by the complete-game pitching of Mike Bregante and the hitting of Marty Hunter and John Wynns, who each drove in two runs.

—Gary Harris and Bob Warner combined for five runs batted in for Hoover.

—John Alvarez hit his sixth and seventh home runs and Helix beat Grossmont, 9-5, to tie for first place in the Grossmont League with the Foothillers, each with an 11-3 record. Highlanders catcher Jim Oxe was 4 for 4 and 8 for his last 12 at-bats.

5/18/79

Grossmont League teams concluded the regular season with Helix and Grossmont tying for first place after the Highlanders beat Valhalla, 3-1, and Grossmont defeated Monte Vista, 4-1. El Capitan was in the playoffs after a 11-4 win against El Cajon Valley and Mount Miguel, despite a 5-3 loss to Santana, took the final bid.

School bosses voted for Helix as the league’s No. 1 playoff seed.

—El Capitan lefthander Steve Cook allowed three hits and struck out six and the right-hand-hitting Cook was 2 for 3 at the plate, scored three runs, and slugged a home run.

—Steve Lopez’ four-hit pitching stifled Monte Vista and Helix’ Steve Bazzar went the distance for the win over Valhalla.

FINAL STANDINGS

GROSSMONT LEAGUE

LEAGUE						OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	TIED	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	TIED	Pct.
Helix	13	3	0	.829	—	19	4	0	.826
Grossmont	13	3	0	.829	—	14	7	1	.659
El Capitan	11	5	0	.688	2	14	9	0	.609
Mount Miguel	8	8	0	.500	5	11	11	0	.500
El Cajon Valley	7	9	0	.463	6	9	14	0	.391
Santana	7	9	0	.463	6	9	13	0	.409
Granite Hills	6	10	0	.375	7	8	14	0	.364
Monte Vista	5	11	0	.313	8	8	15	0	.348
Valhalla	1	15	0	.062	12	2	19	0	.

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE

LEAGUE						OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	TIED	Pct.	GBL		WON	LOST	TIED	Pct.
Hilltop	13	4	1	.750	—		15	6	1	.705
Bonita Vista	11	7	0	.611	2		14	9	0	.609
Castle Park	9	8	1	.528	3 1/2		12	9	1	.568
Coronado	9	9	0	.500	4		9	13	0	.409
Chula Vista	8	9	1	.472	4 ½		12	12	1	.500
Marion	8	10	0	.444	5		11	11	0	.500
Montgomery	8	10	0	.444	5		9	13	0	.409
San Diego Southwest	7	10	1	.417	5 1/2		11	12	1	.479
Sweetwater	7	10	0	.412	6		10	12	0	.455
Mar Vista	7	11	0	.389	6 ½		9	13	0	.409

EASTERN LEAGUE

LEAGUE						OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	TIED	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	TIED	Pct.
Kearny	11	2	0	.786	—	17	6	0	.737
Madison	9	4	1	.679	1 ½	17	6	1	.729
Patrick Henry	8	6	0	.571	3	16	8	0	.667
Crawford	7	6	1	.536	3 ½	13	10	1	.563
Morse	7	7	0	.500	4	10	12	0	.455
Clairemont	6	8	0	.429	5	14	10	0	.583
San Diego	5	9	0	.357	6	10	12	0	.455
Point Loma	2	12	0	.143	9	5	16	0	.238

WESTERN LEAGUE

LEAGUE						OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	TIED	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	TIED	Pct.
University	12	2	0	.857	—	20	4	0	.833
Hoover	10	4	0	.714	2	17	6	0	.737
Mission Bay	8	5	1	.607	3 ½	12	10	1	.543
Serra	8	6	0	.571	4	14	9	0	.609
St. Augustine	6	7	1	.464	5 ½	10	12	1	.457
La Jolla	5	9	0	.357	7	9	12	1	.432
Lincoln	4	10	0	.286	8	7	14	0	.333
Mira Mesa	2	12	0	.157	10	4	16	0	.200

AVOCADO WEST

LEAGUE						OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	TIED	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	TIED	Pct.
Vista	8	3	1	.708	—	13	6	2	.667
Fallbrook	8	4	0	.667	½	12	12	0	.500
San Dieguito	7	5	0	.583	1 ½	14	10	0	.583
Carlsbad	6	5	1	.542	2 1/2	13	10	1	.563
El Camino	6	6	0	.500	3	9	13	—	.409
Oceanside	4	8	0	.333	4	10	12	0	.455
Torrey Pines	2	10	0	.167	6	5	17	0	.227
Mira Mesa	2	12	0	.157	10	4	16	0	.200

AVOCADO EAST

LEAGUE						OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	TIED	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	TIED	Pct.
San Pasqual	9	3	0	.750	—	14	9	0	.609
Mt. Carmel	9	3	0	.750	—	16	7	0	.696
Orange Glen	8	4	0	.667	1	12	10	0	.545
San Marcos	7	5	0	.583	2	12	10	0	.545
Poway	5	7	0	.417	4	8	13	0	.381
Escondido	3	9	0	.250	6	5	16	0	.238
Ramona	1	11	0	.083	8	6	16	0	.273
Mira Mesa	2	12	0	.157	10	4	16	0	.200

5/22/79

SAN DIEGO SECTION PLAYOFFS

FIRST ROUND

University (20-5) 2, @Madison 6.

University’s attempt to be the first team since Crawford in 1964 and ’65 to win back-to-back championships came a cropper when Madison’s Mark Wilson and Bill Watson combined to halt the Dons on five hits.

The Warhawks batted around in the second inning and scored four runs on five singles. Paul Peterson, Steve Clark and Bill Davis paced Madison’s 10-hit attack with two hits each.

Hoover (17-7) 5, @Kearny 6.

—John Wynns hit a two-run home run and Forrest Goodman singled and tripled, and David Buttles pitched a complete-game eight-hitter as Kearny, after losing a five-run lead, scored a run in the bottom of the sixth inning for the victory.

El Capitan (14-10) 2, @Grossmont 5.

—Mike Hook gave up one hit, a fourth-inning, bases-empty home run to John Ramirez, and Grossmont defeated El Capitan, with Hook continuing to enjoy a hot streak.  The 6-foot, 170-pound senior pitched a two-hitter and one-hitter in his previous two starts.

Mount Miguel (11-12) 4, @Helix 6.

The Highlanders’ Phil Oyos pitched a complete game victory…in relief.

Oyos stepped in for starter Joe Carter after the Matadors scored four runs before anyone was out in the first inning and allowed two singles and struck out 13.

Coronado (9-15) 3, @Hilltop 12.

Kerry Everette’s two-run home run was among 12 base hits by the Lancers, who led, 8-0, after three innings.

Castle Park (12-10-1) 6, @Bonita Vista 7.

Fallbrook (12-13) 4, @San Pasqual 11.

Trailing, 4-2, the Golden Eagles scored nine runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Mt. Carmel (16-8) 2, @Vista 5.

Bill Baldwin gave up five hits, Tom Davis hit a two-run home run in the first inning, and Vista jumped to a five-run lead in the first three innings.

QUARTERFINALS

5/23/79

Kearny 3, San Pasqual (15-10) 2, @University San Diego.

Kearny players gave coach Jack Taylor a signed birthday card on his 49^th and then delivered a victory.

Steve Dreher relieved starting pitcher Mike Bregante with one out after the Eagles had scored a run and had the tying and winning runs on first and third base.

Dreher got Dan Lane to miss an attempted squeeze bunt that resulted in one runner being tagged out in a run down. Lane then struck out to end the game.

“It was a tough situation but I kind of like pressure,” said Dreher, who moved from his position at third base to the mound.  “I signaled to coach Taylor in the dugout that I was ready if he needed me.”

Hilltop 6, Grossmont (15-8-1) 4, @Grossmont College.

The Lancers rode a five-run first inning to victory.

Vista 5, Madison (18-7-1) 4, @Palomar College.

The Panthers stunned the favored Warhawks with a four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Helix (20-5) 3, Bonita Vista 4, @Grossmont College.

Steve Ray worked his way out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the sixth inning to preserve the Barons’ win over the favored Highlanders.

5/25/79

SEMIFINALS

Hilltop 4, Kearny (19-7) 3, @University San Diego.

Successive singles in the fifth inning by Todd Fileccia, Bryan Wagner, and Manny Salinas scored one run and a hit batter forced in another run as Hilltop tied the score at 3, and Wagner’s double over the centerfielder’s head, drove in the winning run in the seventh.

Vista 11, Bonita Vista (16-10) 1, @Grossmont College.

Ed Lisi’s three-run home run highlighted a four-run third inning and Doug Moxley’s grand slam in the top of the sixth was the coup de grace as Vista hammered the Barons, handcuffed by Bill Grim’s two-hit pitching.

5/26/79

CHAMPIONSHIP

Hilltop (19-6-1) 3, Vista (16-7-1) 1, 17 Innings, @University San Diego.

The game was so long, five hours, that the 1-A title contest between Christian and Mountain Empire had to be rescheduled to the following Wednesday.

With the score tied, 1-1, Hilltop’s Howard Rasmussen drew a one-out walk in the top of the 17^th.  Rob Hughes’ single advanced Rasmussen to third and Todd Fileccia, hitless in his first five times at bat, singled in Rasmussen.  Hughes scored one out later on a single by Manny Salinas.

Bill Collins pitched the first 8 1/3 innings for Hilltop and Davie Martinez blanked the Panthers over the last 8 2/3 innings.  Panthers starter Bill Baldwin pitched 10 innings before giving way to three relievers.

The sides combined for 28 base hits, all singles.  Collins gave up one run in the first and survived a near disaster in the bottom of the seventh, when the Panthers loaded the bases with none out.

After a walk in the ninth inning, Lancers coach John Baumgartner called on Martinez, normally used in short relief.

Bryan Wagner and Hughes each had three hits for the Metro League squad.  Ron Tart and Charlie Somers had three hits each for the Avocado West representative.

5/30/79

1-A CHAMPIONSHIP

Mountain Empire defeated Christian, 2-0, at University of San Diego, snapping a two-game losing streak to the Patriots this season and preventing Christian from a third consecutive 1-A championship.

Junior Mike Davis cuffed the Patriots on two hits, singles by Dave Tenney and Kenny Watson.  Davis struck out 4 and walked 4.

6/4/79

Helix’ Jim Oxe hit a bases-loaded single in the fourth inning to lead County seniors to a 4-3 win over the City in the annual San Diego Baseball Coaches’ All-Star game at University San Diego.