The so-named expert is trying his hand again as 10 San Diego Section teams come together for the playoff finals at Southwestern College Friday and Saturday.

I tied the Union-Tribune’s resident genius, prep honcho John Maffei, each of us picking seven out of 10 winners last week.  My bad was a stinko choice of Hilltop over El Centro Southwest.  I lost a close call when Mission Hills edged Torrey Pines and was surprised when Monte Vista beat University City.

Numbers in parentheses following school names below are seedings.

OPEN

Helix (2) vs. Mission Hills (1).

There’s more at stake than a San Diego Section championship.  Seedings  in the upcoming Southern California bowl game playoffs also will come into play for all division winners.  Helix (10-1), now ranked 20^th in the state by Cal-Hi Sports, can take it to the house from anywhere on field, as the Highlanders did numerous times last week, building a 48-6 halftime lead that ended with a 62-41 win over San Marcos. Quarterback Carson Baker will have a tough matchup against Mission Hills’ Jack Tuttle.  The Grizzlies, who hold a 49-27 win over San Marcos, have gotten to 12-0 for the first time in school history and are Cal-Hi’s No. 8 team. Coach Chris Hauser’s club was 12-2 in 2013, when it beat Helix, 24-21, in the semifinals.

The Pick:  Helix, 42-35.

DIVISION I

El Camino (1) vs. Eastlake (3).

It doesn’t speak well that the Wildcats are the top seed in this division with a 7-5 record, indicative of a so-so field, although Eastlake is 10-2. Scores against common opponents are tight.  El Camino beat Carlsbad, 31-24, and Olympian, 29-21.  Eastlake beat Carlsbad, 24-21, and Olympian, 27-20. El Camino comes from the stout Avocado League, Eastlake from the decidedly thinner Metro Mesa.

The Pick: Eastlake 24, El Camino 21.

DIVISION II

Ramona (1) vs. Steele Canyon (7).

The Bulldogs (12-0) rank No. 40 in the state, according to Cal-Hi Sports.  Steele Canyon (8-4) has won 4 in a row, but never got a whiff in the weekly Union-Tribune Top 10.

The Pick:  Ramona 38, Steele Canyon 28.

DIVISION III

El Centro Southwest (1) vs. (2) Santa Fe Christian.

Southwest (12-0) has been virtually unchallenged, outscoring its opponents by an average score of 44-7.  The only close game was against Brawley, which battled but lost, 20-12. Mount Miguel (7-5) dropped a 39-21 decision in the quarterfinals, after which Matadors Coach Shaun McDade leveled some howitzer-like shots at the officiating crew.  My disrespect for Imperial Valley teams other than Brawley bit me in the back side when I suggested that Hilltop would top the Eagles, who sent the Lancers home with a 62-18 whipping.

Santa Fe Christian (8-4) represents a savvy program from the Coast, one of the best small school circuits in the state.  The also-named Eagles are making their seventh trip to the finals since 2001 and ninth overall.  They’re used to competing against larger schools.  Southwest has an enrollment of about 2,100, compared to Santa Fe’s less than 450. Santa Fe’s playoff 63-14 rout of La Jolla and 14-12 verdict against San Pasqual look good.

The Pick:  Santa Fe Christian 34, El Centro Southwest 28.

DIVISION IV

San Diego (2) vs. Monte Vista (4).

San Diego is on the brink of history.  Its win over El Centro Central last week elevated the Cavers to a 12-0 record, matched in school history only by the 1916 Hilltoppers. The Cavers’ success and the prospect of a 13^th victory after decades of mediocrity is the feel-good story of the season.  Neutral observers of last week’s fourth-quarter comeback noted, however, the consecutive dead ball fouls at El Centro’s three-yard line, an example of a lack of poise, perhaps fueled by the Cavers’ over-the-top stadium public address.

Monte Vista (7-5), an in-and-outer most of the season, stepped up and won two tough playoff games, including 30-21 over top seed University City last week.  The victories sent coach Ron Hamamoto passed a couple legendary colleagues on the all-time list.  Hamamoto now is fifth with 217 victories, behind Herb Meyer (339), John Carroll (248), Bennie Edens (239), and John Shacklett (229) and ahead of the retired Gil Warren (216) and Ed Burke (215).  Hamamoto can continue his neck-and-neck battle next year with Valley Center’s Rob Gilster, who closed the season with 216 victories.

The Pick:  Monte Vista, 28, San Diego 21.

RATINGS, CON’T

Games were close for the most part and the CIF ratings system held strong.  Of the six championship contests, 9 of the 12 teams represented are No. 1 or 2 seeds.  This includes Calexico Vincent Memorial and Crawford, which played last week for the D-V title, Vincent winning, 45-3 after leading 19-3 in the third quarter.

Mission Hills scored the winning touchdown in a 20-17 battle with Torrey Pines by crossing the Falcons’ goal with 1:12 remaining.  San Diego overcame a 22-12 disadvantage with under nine minutes left to beat El Centro Central, 26-22. El Camino edged Oceanside 49-42 on a touchdown with 10.8 seconds left. A failed two-point conversion attempt with 4:27 remaining doomed Granite Hills, 28-27 loser to Steele Canyon.

Fledgling Lincoln High began to create its great athletic legacy after Luther Hayes, a vital member of San Diego high’s 1955 Southern California championship team, transferred to the young school at 49^th Street and Imperial Avenue.

Hayes, 78, who passed on Thanksgiving Day, surrounded by his wife, Anita, and family at his home in Palos Verdes Estates, starred in football, basketball and track and field at Lincoln, was a standout in football and track at USC, and played on the first Chargers team in San Diego in 1961.

Hayes, who was born in Houston and came to San Diego at age 5, was a starting end as a sophomore on Lincoln’s first varsity team in 1954.

Hayes transferred to San Diego after the football season and competed in track and field for the Cavers, finishing fifth in the Southern California broad jump competition in Ontario, at 22 feet, 1 inch.

Hayes was an offensive and defensive end on the 1955 San Diego team that posted an 11-0-1 record and was declared the national champion by a New York publication.

A dramatic play in the Cavers’ march to the title that season came in a game that Anaheim tied, 20-20, late in a semifinals struggle at Long Beach Veterans’ Stadium.

The 6-foot, 4-inch, 190-pound Hayes had gotten his hand up and deflected an attempted point after following Anaheim’s first touchdown in the fourth quarter.  If successful, the Colonists would have won the game, 21-20.

Hayes’ family (and that of San Diego teammate David Grayson) moved during the ’55-56 school year, back into the Lincoln district.

Luther helped Lincoln post a 20-4 record in basketball and he won the first of two Southern California broad jump championships, overcoming a markedly short runway at Inglewood with a 22-foot, 9 ¾-inch, effort.  He had set the City Prep League meet record of 23-9 ½ three weeks before.

Hayes was all-City as a fullback on the ’56 Lincoln team, its leading scorer in basketball and, defeated favored Preston Griffin with a 23-11 broad jump in the track finals at Ontario Chaffey.

Hayes finished fourth with a jump of 24 feet, 1/8 inch in the state meet at Chico in 1956 and won the event the following year at 23-8 ½ at Edwards Field in Berkeley.

The first athlete from Lincoln to be recruited by USC, Luther earned two varsity letters before an injury slowed his senior season, but he etched his name in Trojans’ lore in 1958 when he returned a kickoff 74 yards for a game-tying touchdown as underdog USC battled UCLA to a 15-15 standoff.

Hayes won the national collegiate championship in the hop, step, and jump in 1960 and ’61, and set a NCAA meet record of 51-2 ¼.  He still ranks among all-time USC leaders with a 25-6 ¼ broad jump and 51-9 ½ in the event that became known as the triple jump.

Drafted by the NFL Philadelphia Eagles and the San Diego Chargers of the AFL, Hayes opted to sign with the hometown team and played one season, catching 14 passes for a 20-yard average and three touchdowns.

Luther went on the coach and educate in Los Angeles in a career that lasted 40 years.

He is remembered as an athlete that  came up big in the big games and meets and as the gentleman Lincoln student who always had time for anyone, no matter their status on campus.

Here they are, our predictions for the five San Diego Section semifinals and one final this week. I pretty much went with the seeds, although there are a few strays from chalk.  I’m not Colin Cowherd or the late “Jimmy the Greek,” so take these picks for what they’re worth.

OPEN DIVISION

3 SAN MARCOS (9-2) @2 HELIX (10-1).

Helix dropped a 23-6 decision to Lancaster Paraclete in what was considered a moderate upset in the opening game. The Paraclete Spirits still are winning, 11-1 with only a 30-21 loss to well-regarded Westlake Village Oaks Christian.   Since that game in September the Highlanders have run off 10 straight victories, including their annual beat down of big brother Grossmont, 57-3, one month ago.

San Marcos, laboring in the  shadow of the neighboring and more renown Mission Hills, is 9-2 and sent St. Augustine packing last week, 41-21.  The Knights are the No. 2 team in the muscular Avocado League, despite a 38-21 loss to Torrey Pines and 49-27 loss to Mission Hills.

The Pick:  Helix.

5 TORREY PINES (7-4) @1 MISSION HILLS (11-0).

Mission Hills, 52-42 over Grossmont in the quarterfinals, has been here before and is the elephant among the Avocados, taking charge since Oceanside’s John Carroll retired and rode off with his 248 career victories.  Mission Hills’ Chris Hauser is moving up the list with 153 wins. Quarterback Jack Tuttle, wideout Chris Olave, and the rest of the Grizzlies’ crew will have the home crowd behind them.

Torrey Pines, despite four losses and a 7-4 resume, emerged as one of the best teams in the San Diego Section beginning in Week 5.  The Falcons were 5-2 down the stretch, losing to No. 1 Mission Hills, 24-23, and to La Costa Canyon, 27-21.

The loss to the Grizzlies was not surprising, but Torrey’s rematch seven days later with La Costa Canyon got people’s attention. The Falcons, pounding it with a flock of runners in the Wing T tradition of Ed Burke and used today by Coach Ron Gladnick, kayoed the Mavericks, 40-0, in a stunning 46-point swing.

The Pick: Torrey Pines.

DIVISION I

5 Oceanside (6-6) @1 El Camino (6-5).

2 Carlsbad (6-5) @3 Eastlake (9-2)

The Picks:  El Camino & Eastlake.

DIVISION II

7 Steele Canyon (8-4) @6 Granite Hills (10-2).

4 Otay Ranch (8-3) @1 Ramona (11-0).

The Picks: Steele Canyon & Ramona.

DIVISION III

4 Hilltop (7-4) @1 El Centro Southwest (11-0).

3 San Pasqual (7-4) vs. 2 Santa Fe Christian (7-4) @Torrey Pines.

The Picks: Hilltop & Santa Fe Christian.

DIVISION IV

3 El Centro Central (10-1) @2 San Diego (11-0).

4 Monte Vista (6-5) @ 1 University City (10-1).

The Picks: San Diego & University City.

DIVISION V

2 Crawford (8-4) vs. 1 Calexico Vincent Memorial (10-2) @Southwestern College.

The Pick: Calexico Vincent Memorial.

SCHEDULE STRENGTHS

Except for Division II, the new ratings system is working, but the real test comes in the next two weeks.

Three of the five top seeds still are in the hunt in the Open and Division I, respectively. The top 4 in III and IV are active and the top two will meet in the D-V championship.  Numbers 2 and 3 went down in D-II

The Bishop’s, No. 2 in D-II and a state finalist in 2016, lost a 61-52 shootout to 7 seed Steele Canyon and 6 seed Granite Hills topped No. 3 Valley Center, 49-30.

Two fifth seeds, Torrey Pines in the Open and Oceanside in D-I, will continue making their cases.

QUICK KICKS

El Centro Central has not scored on San Diego High in 100 years…not that the Spartans have had many opportunities…San Diego won at Central, 20-0, in 1987 and blanked the visitors from Imperial Valley, 28-0, in 1917 in the teams’ only meetings…San Marcos’ win over St. Augustine last week was the Knights’ fifth against no defeats versus the Saints…the teams had last met in 1984…Mission Hills remained 11^th in Cal-Hi Sports’ top 50, Helix dropped from 25th to 26^th, Ramona rose from 44^th to 42^nd, and Torrey Pines joined at 50^th…San Marcos is on the bubble.

Two young coaches destined to become legendary in San Diego basketball lore arrived as varsity mentors at the city’s two prep powerhouses.

Rickey Wilson, a former San Diego High player, succeeded Lawrence Carr at Hoover and Merrill Douglas, a transplanted Montanan, took over for Bill Schutte at San Diego High.

The schools  continued to be San Diego’s prime representatives, the Hilltoppers going 15-3 under Douglas and Hoover 10-4 under Wilson.

Teams in the Metropolitan and Southern Prep Leagues also commanded their shares of attention, but most headlines were about the war clouds looming in the West after a summer and early fall dominated by  the “The Battle of Britain”, fought between the British and Germans in the skies above the English Channel and London.

EARLY FINISH

San Diego and Hoover would join a 17-team super conference beginning in 1941-42 as the CIF attempted to separate large schools from small schools.  San Diego, Hoover, and Long Beach Poly, were the only members of the Coast League.

Down to three teams since Santa Ana bailed after the 1935-36 school year and Alhambra after 1938-39, the Coast basketball season was shortened.  The Hilltoppers and Hoover seasons ended  in late January.  The Metropolitan and Southern Prep were active through the end of February.

CIF commissioner Seth Van Patten often had to hustle to fill playoff brackets.  Some leagues, notably the Metro, at the geographical bottom of the Federation, just didn’t want to be bothered.  Records in the CIF archives showed only a four-team field this year.

Poly won the Coast, taking three out of four from San Diego and Hoover, but the Jackrabbits were beaten in the CIF finals by Glendale Hoover, 23-20.

BULLDOZING BULLDOGS

Ramona ran the table with a 12-0 record to win its sixth consecutive Southern Prep championship and then claimed a CIF Southern Section championship at Calexico, topping the Bulldogs, 29-23.

The victory, for the overall 13-0 Bulldogs of coach Charlie Snell, was for the San Diego-Imperial County area.

A spirited, six-game Metropolitan League race ended with Coronado, Escondido, and Grossmont, each 5-1, tying for first place.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

It took the San Diego news corps awhile to get it right with Ermer Robinson, the San Diego High star and future Harlem Globetrotter.  He was known as “Irma” Robinson for the first month of this, his junior season.

Martin Payne, the sports editor of The Russ, San Diego High’s weekly newspaper, covered several games for The San Diego Union and was the first to ensure that Robinson was correctly identified, when Payne covered the Hilltoppers’ 25-19 league victory over Long Beach Poly.

DECEMBER FANCY

–Known as the County Interscholastic Tournament, an eight-team event took place with games at San Diego High, Hoover, Municipal Gym, and San Diego State. Grossmont defeated Point Loma, 30-12, for the championship.

–San Diego and Hoover at the same time were in the Huntington Beach Tournament, which also included Coronado. The Islanders opened with a 46-7 victory over Laguna Beach as Bud Ingle scored 20 points.  They were eliminated the next day by Ontario Chaffey, 22-17.

San Diego defeated Hoover, 24-15, for the Huntington Beach title after advancing with wins of 28-20 over defending champ Chaffey and 29-23 over Long Beach Wilson.  Hoover was in the finals after defeating Whittier, 36-26, and Santa Barbara, 20-19.

San Diego was forced to give up the Huntington Beach trophy when Bob (Lefty) Felthaus was declared ineligible by the CIF a few days later for having signed a professional baseball contract in 1939, days before his 17^th birthday.

Brooklyn Dodgers scout Tom Downey, under heavy criticism from local prep officials, said that he signed Felthaus after the player stopped attending school, his having dropped out of Hoover.  Felthaus became a student again at San Diego and had turned out for basketball.

–“Irma” Robinson scored 10 points as San Diego, playing for the first time without Felthaus, opened the post-Christmas Chino Tournament with a 42-9 win over San Juan Capistrano.  The Hilltoppers buried Huntington Beach, 38-13, but lost to Burbank, 30-20, in the semifinals.  Poly won its second straight title, 34-24, over Burbank.

–St. Augustine lost to St. Mary’s of Phoenix, 36-27 in the Los Angeles Catholic League tournament.  Hoover defeated Grossmont, 11-7, and Point Loma topped Hoover, 26-8, in finals of the San Diego High invitational for Class C and D teams, respectively.

WE’LL PLAY ANYONE ANYTIME

Army-Navy’s 34-33 victory clinched a best, two-of-three series against the Oceanside chapter of the Knights of Pythias.  The cadets were not as fortunate against the so-named Vista Outlaws, who prevailed, 21-15.

OFFENSIVE OUTBURSTS

Ramona’s 59-17 victory over Fallbrook represented the single-game scoring high for the season. The Bulldogs also defeated Julian, 53-26.

Julian’s Bud Farmer had the top individual performance with 24 in a 38-31 victory over Army-Navy and added 22 in a 30-24 win over San Dieguito. Julian’s 51-6 rout of Fallbrook, with Farmer scoring one point, represented the third, 50-plus game in the county.

LATE ADDITION

San Diego’s season was over but Coach Merrill Douglas enticed Chino to come south a couple weeks later.  Douglas employed only players who would return for the 1941-42 season, opening with a starting lineup of Ermer Robinson, Jim Warner, Ron Maley, Denzil Walden, and Gerald Patrick.

The underclassmen delivered a 32-15 victory. Douglas would respond to a call from Uncle Sam after the next season and not return until the 1946-47 campaign.

ANYTHING FOR THE TEAM

Hoover’s Willie Steele set a record of 24 feet, ¾ inch, in the broad jump at the Southern Section track finals in Glendale in May, a few months after Steele served as student manager of the varsity basketball squad.  Steele was awarded a letter by coach Rickey Wilson, as was B squad manager Monroe (Bookie) Clark.

Steele, who played class B basketball the season before, went on to win the national collegiate broad jump championship at San Diego State and was the 1948 Olympic gold medalist in the event, with an all-time best of 26 feet, 6 ½ inches.

BE IT EVER SO HUMBLE

St. Augustine principal the Very Rev. W.B. Kirk announced that the Saints had found a home and would join the Southern Prep League in the next school year, after free-lancing and scuffling as an independent since the school opened in 1922.  The agreement was for one year, depending on the circuit’s ability to develop a schedule for eight teams.

Ramona, Julian, Fallbrook, Brown Military, Army-Navy, San Dieguito, and Vista were the other SPL members.  St. Augustine’s games would not count in the standings and the Saints eventually joined the Southland Catholic League of the Los Angeles area in 1945.

SIGNS OF THE TIME

The U.S. census for 1940 reported San Diego County’s population at 289,348, including 203,737 in the city.   Other “township” totals: Borrego, 90; El Cajon, 20,160; Encinitas, 4,473; Escondido, 9,487; Fallbrook, 2,308; Jacumba, 1,214; National City, 32,213; Oceanside, 8,191;  Ramona, 3,384, and Vista, 4,091.

San Diego State, which would win the 1941 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championship, drew a record 19,256 persons to 17 home games in the 1,800-capacity Men’s Gym.  The largest turnout was 1,713 for Santa Barbara State, although the record was 1,907 for a 1939 game against the Broadway Clowns.

SET SHOTS

The San Diego High gym was packed to the rafters with an estimated 1,900 persons when Hoover upended the Hilltoppers, 32-17…seven days later San Diego won at Hoover, 32-17…Coronado’s Metro League co-championship was achieved despite Coach Hal Niedermeyer’s suspension of Bud Ingle, the Metro’s leading scorer in 1939-40; Bill Hakes, and Al Galpin, early in the season…the three-team Coast’s all-league squad featured San Diego’s Bob (Lefty) Felthaus, Bob Carson, and Jack Maupin…Felthaus’ selection apparently was made on his reputation; he didn’t participate in league play…Hoover’s Rupert Crosthwaite, later well-known in San Diego circles for his ownership of a local sporting goods store, made second team….

CIF boss Jerry Schniepp had a thoughtful response recently to criticism of the San Diego Section playoff formula by writer John Maffei, but even if Schniepp’s assertion that the system implemented this year is the best of several that have been tried, teams like Bonita Vista. 0-11 and counting, continue to get postseason invitations.

Bonita Vista apparently had a stronger “strength of schedule” than 6-4 Brawley or 5-5 Morse, but the Barons were only the most recent example of the “participation trophy” mentality that has been evolving since the CIF first admitted a losing team, coincidentally Bonita Vista, in 1984.

The CIF seemed to even go out of its way to include 0-10 San Marcos in 2006.

Steve Brand, then of The San Diego Union, wrote of the Knights’ inclusion that year:

“Mission Hills dumped San Marcos, 42-0 (in the regular-season-ending game) but the Knights received an unexpected bonus.   They were given a playoff berth.

“Madison and Crawford were out of the postseason because of (combined 11) forfeits, but instead of constructing an eight-team playoff bracket in Division IV, the committee of former coaches, overseen by (commissioner) Dennis Ackerman, opted for a 10-team bracket.”

Of the 11 eligible IV possibilities in 2006, San Marcos was picked over another winless club, Kearny.

“0-10 is 0-10,” Knights coach Desi Herrera admitted to Brand, “but the beauty is we’re starting 0-0 and the playoffs are where we aspire to be.  I want the players to get used to going to the playoffs every year.”

San Marcos was game but bowed in the first round to Coronado, 27-21. Bonita Vista exited last week after a 35-19 loss to Oceanside.

SOLUTIONS, ANYONE?

If not fewer divisions, smaller brackets would make for a more competitive postseason.

That won’t happen. The more the merrier is the financially-enhancing go-to philosophy throughout the state CIF’s 10 sections.

There will be more blowouts this week as the surviving 44 teams from the original 64 reach the quarterfinals in Open, I, II, II, and IV.  D-V teams are in the semifinals. Games should tighten up the following week.

RECORD SETTER

The echoes of Rancho Buena Vista’s thundering herd of the late 1980s were loud and clear on Longhorn Drive last week.  Running back Dorian Richardson brought back memories of Markeith Ross, Scott Garcia, and O.J. Hall, who ran and ran and ran in that era for the Rancho squads of Coach Craig Bell.

Richardson scored 8 touchdowns and rushed for 499 yards in 37 carries in the Longhorns’ 62-43, first-round win over Santana.

The yardage total bettered the section record of 436 by Mt. Carmel’s Ken James in 2009.

Richardson’s record touchdown total would have led the County for the whole season in 1943 and  been runner-up in in 1937 and ’40.

Hoover’s Eddie Crain and San Diego’s Tom Poole each scored 25 points in the abbreviated, wartime, six-game season of 1943. Point Loma’s Paul (Red) Isom had 54 points in 8 games in 1937 and Sweetwater’s Marcus Alonzo had 54 in 8 games in 1940.

Frank Green of Coronado scored 11 touchdowns in one game and a ttoal of 80 points in  a 108-0 win over Sweetwater in 1929

CALVIN CONKED

Julian upset undefeated and favored Calvin Christian, 26-21, in the D-VI eight-man finals at Ramona.

Eagles quarterback Ozzie Martinez scored 20 seconds into the game when he faked a pass and hustled 65 yards for a touchdown.

Julian’s Roman Sanders halted a Crusaders drive with less than a minute to play when he returned an intercepted pass 28 yards, allowing the Eagles to take possession and do  akneel-down.

QUICK KICKS

Despite having a bye, Mission Hills profited from some playoff losses of teams ahead of the Grizzlies, who advanced from 16^th to 11th in Cal-Hi Sports’ Top 50…Helix gave ground, dropping to 25th from 24^th despite a bye, and Ramona moved from 48^th to 44th…The Bishop’s and San Marcos are on the bubble.

A doffing of the fedora to the 16, playoff-bound teams that won league championships:

*Tied for Eastern League championship, 1974.

+Tied for Eastern League championship, 1994.

#Won championship as member of Desert League; tied for Manzanita championship, 2016.

^First championship since school opened in 2004.

^^Tied for Mesa League championship, 1986.

**Tied for championship as member of Ocean League, 2014.

++Won championship as member of Eastern League.

Not included:  Eight-man and Independent squads.

POSTSEASON PEEVISHNESS

Playoff selections have stirred emotions for as long as most people can remember.

In a simpler time, league champions and, sometimes, second-place teams were included.

Then the playoffs began to expand and expand and expand…and expand.

Coaches were drafted to make selections. Complaints of bias and oversight were as common as if the media or school bosses were making the choices.

Then a few years ago came the ratings system, which took into account team performances over a multi-year period.

The ratings are out, replaced this season by a combination of  formulas developed  by Max Preps and Cal Preps.com, two nationally recognized sites recommended by coaches.

Sixty-four of the San Diego Section’s 80-odd teams playing 11-man football have postseason dates on their calendars.

It was inevitable that stinko teams would be included, winless Bonita Vista (0-10), among several others.

“There is no perfect formula to determine the seeds, but I think this is very close to right,” said CIF honcho Jerry Schniepp to writer John Maffei.

Tell that to Brawley (6-4) and Morse (5-5), two schools that were left out, despite long playoff traditions and  success, apparently because they had insufficient strengths of schedules.

MEYER PULLED NO PUNCHES

I like what legendary Herb Meyer said about the playoffs to writer Steve Brand in 1998, after Meyer declined a playoff invitation for his sub-.500 El Camino team:

“If you’re upright and can take a breath you’re in the playoffs these days.  It’s a joke. The playoffs should be a reward for having a good season and I certainly don’t consider 3-6-1 a good season.”

IRONIC

It was such when Valley Center defeated Monte Vista, 51-10, in the regular-season ending game.

The victory was the 214th in Jaguar coach Rob Gilster’s career.  He’s now tied with, you guessed it, Monte Vista’s Ron Hamamoto for seventh place on the all-time list.

TURNAROUNDS

QUICK KICKS

The Bishop’s Mozes Mooney has 65 career touchdown receptions, one less than the state record, set in 2000 by Earvin Johnson of L.A. Cathedral and tied last week by Murrieta Valley’s Marquise Spiker…Mooney and Spiker both will  have opportunities for more in the playoffs…Mission Hills moved from 16th to 11th in Cal-Hi Sports’ weekly top 50…Helix climbed to 24th from 29th and Ramona from 50th to 48th…San Marcos is on the bubble,., Mission Hills, on top since Week 3,  finished the regular season No. 1 locally, with voting suspended from now until the end of the postseason….

The Union-Tribune Week 11 poll:

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

*Forfeit loss.

NR: Not Ranked.

Others receiving votes:  Valley Center (9-1, 18 points),  Eastlake (8-2, 12) El Centro Southwest (10-0, 10), San Diego (10-0, 4),  Otay Ranch (7-3, 2), Grossmont (7-3, 1).

Voters (28 sportswriters, sportscasters, officials): John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune; Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Tom Saxe, Rick Hoff, Jim Lindren, Union-Tribune correspondents; Paul Rudy, Brandon Stone, Rick Willis, KUSI Chl. 51; Adam Paul, East County Preps.com; Ramon Scott, East County Sports.com; Bodie DeSilva, San Diego Preps.com; Ted Mendenhall, Taylor Quellman, The Mighty 1090; Steve Brand, San Diego Hall of Champions; Troy Hirsch, Fox 5 San Diego; Rick Smith, partletonsports.com; Jerry Schniepp, John LaBeta, Carlton Hoggard, CIF San Diego; Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net; Montell Allen, MBASports-SDFNL Magazine; Bob Petinak,  1360AM; John Kentera, Prep Talent Evaluator; Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9FM; Jim Arnaiz, Mike Dolan, John Carroll, CIF Football Tournament Directors.