A nagging, Week 2 loss to Lancaster Paraclete that Helix appeared to overcome reared up again after the Highlanders were beaten by Folsom, 49-42, in the state 1-AA championship.

Helix, seventh in the state going into the game as selected by Cal-Hi Sports, dropped to a final ranking of 10^th.   Helix might have finished eighth or ninth, but the loss to Folsom, combined with Harbor City Narbonne’s stunning, 50-13 win over Paraclete, sealed the Highlanders at 10^th.  Narbonne was ninth and Long Beach Poly eighth.

Mission Hills is 12th in Cal-Hi’s final rating and Torrey Pines, which came close in Avocado League battles with Mission Hills, crashed the top 50 at 49^th.  San Marcos was 54^th and Ramona and Steele Canyon earned honorable mention.

HIGH SCORER IN DESERT

Tyler Saikhon of El Centro Southwest led all San Diego Section scorers with 234 points after finishing second in 2016 with 188.

Saikhon is the third Valley runner to outscore all others, joining Brawley’s Zay Shepard, who had 192 points in 2003 and 276 in ’04, and Imperial’s Royce Freeman, whose three-peat probably never will be surpassed.

Freeman had 240 in 2011, 216 in ’12, and 258 in ’13 before embarking on a collegiate career at Oregon that will likely conclude with his selection in the 2018 NFL draft.

Scoring totals are not always accurate or are incomplete, because they often are impossible to find in newspapers or are unreported.  Max Preps, from which the below totals come, tries to keep score.

Steele Canyon’s winning the State Division 3-A championships was comparative to an NFL team sneaking into the playoffs as a wild card and taking home the Super Bowl trophy.

The Cougars of Coach Scott Longerbone were 4-4 at midseason, got into the San Diego Section playoffs as a No. 7 seed, won 4 games in San Diego, and went on to the state championship with a 44-42 victory over Central Coast champion Half Moon Bay, which had won 14 in a row.

Steele Canyon (12-4) tied La Jolla Country Day’s 2016 state finalist and several others for the most games played by a California high school.

Sixteen games! It’s what they play in the big league.

San Diego Section teams won 2 of 5 state finals in 2016 and 1 of 5 this year.  But the section was more competitive this season, no blowout losses compared to 2016, when The Bishop’s was beaten by Oakdale, 47-0, and Horizon was taken down by Strathmore, 62-22.

The most decisive score differential in 2017 was Calexico Vincent Memorial’s 38-20 loss to San Francisco Galileo.

The most recent CIF state format was adapted in 2015.  San Diego Section teams are 5-8 in that period and 9-13 since state playoffs were reinstated in 2007.

SECTIONS

*Sac-Joaquin.  *^North Coast. ^*Central Coast. #*Oakland. **Central. *#San Francisco.

QUICK KICKS

The Los Angeles Rams’ Jared Goff is one of the hottest quarterbacks in the NFL but five years ago, Goff’s Marin Catholic team from the North Coast Section was  a 38-35 loser to Madison in the state D-IV championship…San Francisco Galileo, conqueror of Calexico Vincent Memorial in VI-A, is the alma-mater of many Italian-American baseball players  of generations past and of  prominent people in business and the arts but probably is best known as the school from which O.J. Simpson graduated and the school that baseball immortal Joe DiMaggio did not attend…DiMaggio never went to high school…San Diego State came hard at the last minute and received a commitment from Helix quarterback Carson Baker, who originally had  chosen California-Davis….Baker completed 19 of 31 passes for three touchdowns and ran for another as Helix battled Folsom before losing, 49-42…Highlanders sophomore Elejon Noa rushed for 1,013 yards in five playoff games…Galileo scored touchdowns on three of its first five snaps in the third quarter after trailing, 14-8, at halftime…Cameron Junger passed for five touchdowns and rallied El Centro Southwest from a 34-14 deficit early in the third quarter but Milpitas scored the winning touchdown with 2:37 remaining in the game…Steele Canyon withstood a Half Moon Bay rally after the school on Highway 94 led, 34-15, in the third quarter…the championship was a breakthrough for Coach Scott Longerbone’s program…the Cougars had not moved beyond the San Diego Section semifinals in seven previous tries….

Three coaches each moved up three spots in the annual review of those with at least 100 victories in their careers in this area or in the San Diego Section.

Monte Vista’s Ron Hamamoto now has 218 victories and is fifth all-time behind Herb Meyer (339), John Carroll (248), Bennie Edens (239) and John Shacklett (229).

Hamamoto started the season eighth.  Mission Hills’ Chris Hauser, with 154 victories, climbed from 19^th to 16^th and Madison’s Rick Jackson, with 128 wins, moved from 32^nd to 29^th.

Jackson, whose overall record is 128-39-1, has the best active won-loss percentage, .765, and will enter the 2018 season as the Section all-time leader among coaches of least 100 victories.

Carroll is second in won-loss percentage at .763. Kearny’s Birt Slater  next at .753, followed by Chula Vista’s George Ohnessorgen (.745), and Eastlake’s John McFadden (.735).

Several mentors, if they return next year, are not so far from 100 that they couldn’t make the jump in one season.

Olympian’s Paul Van Nostrand has 94 victories, Grossmont’s Tom Karlo, 91, Ramona’s Damon Baldwin, 90, and St. Augustine’s Richard Sanchez, 89.

Chula Vista’s Chet DeVore, who coached from 1951-55, was 44-7-1 and has the highest percentage (.856) among coaches of at least 50 games.  San Diego’s Duane Maley, 1947-59, was 97-19.3 (.828).  Hobbs Adams of San Diego, 1929-34, was 41-11-2 (.772), and Amos Schaefer of Coronado, 1926-35, was 55-25-5 (.676).

John Perry was 53-15-5 (.760) from 1920-27 at San Diego and 40-34-6 (.538) from 1930-39 at Hoover for an overall 93-49-11 (.644).

Mira Mesa will have its third coach in the school’s 41-year history.  Gary Blevins (145-117-4, .552) announced his retirement.  Blevins succeeded Brad Griffith, who started the program in 1977 and was 112-82-3, .576 when he retired after the 1994 season.

For a complete list of 100-game winners, go to the “Football” menu on the home page and drag to “Coach 100 Club”.

The San Diego Section has four chances to win at least one of the six state championships this week.  Last year the Section was 2-3, with victories by Cathedral in Division I-AA and Madison in D-3.

Most of this week’s games appear tossups, but no team has a challenge like that facing the Helix Highlanders, who will be a decidedly visiting team at  Hornet Stadium on the Sacramento State campus.

Helix’ opponent is the Sac-Joaquin Section’s 15-0 Folsom, painfully remembered as the team that clobbered Oceanside, 68-7, in Pirates coach John Carroll’s final game in 2014.

Sacramento is the hub of the Sac-Joaquin Section and Folsom, for which Johnny Cash brought some notoriety when he wrote “Folsom Prison Blues” in 1957, is its heartbeat, about 17 miles and 20 minutes from Hornet Stadium.

The Bulldogs were 16-0 in 2014, 14-1 in 2015, and 12-2 in 2016.

The Highlanders had success against another tough team from that area, defeating Loomis Del Oro, 35-24, for the Division II championship in 2011, but that game was played at the Carson Stub Hub in Southern California.

Cathedral topped Stockton St. Mary’s of the Sac-Joaquin Section, 38-31, for the 1-AA championship in 2016.  That game also could have been considered a home engagement for St. Mary’s, which is located about 45 miles from Hornet Stadium.

As a prognosticator, I’ve been a shade above average, nothing to brag about.  I’m 13-9 in the last three weeks, falling from 8-3 in Week 12 to 2-3 and 3-3. Here’s another shot trying to pick the winners:

DIVISION 1-AA

The moons seemed to be aligned for Folsom, realistically the home team at this “neutral” facility.  The Bulldogs have scored 721 points and average 48 points a game.  No team has come closer than Carmichael Jesuit, which bowed, 27-14, in the Sac-Joaquin playoffs.

Helix’ outstanding defenders Isaac Stuart-Taylor and Rashad Scott will be tested by Folsom wide outs Elijah Badger and Joe Ngata. Joe and his brother Daniyel combined for five touchdowns last week in the Bulldogs’ 54-35 win over 12-2 Fresno Central.

Helix, 13-1 after an opening loss to Paraclete, was tough and resourceful last week, hiking 165 miles through the Los Angeles and Ventura County fire areas, overcoming an early deficit, and walking away from Cal-Hi Sports’ No. 8 team, Westlake Village Oaks Christian, 28-13.

Scott’s 27-yard touchdown interception return put the Highlanders ahead for good, 14-13.

The win elevated Helix from 13^th to seventh in Cal-Hi’s top 50.  Folsom now stands fifth.

The Pick: Folsom 28, Helix 21, @Sacramento State.

D3-A

Rancho San Diego and areas around Mt. San Miguel are agog.  The Cougars’ game with Half Moon Bay has been moved from Steele Canyon (11-4) to Southwestern College in response to an anticipated crowd that would swamp Steele facilities.

Steele, under Coach Scott Longerbone, has come all the way from being a No. 7 seed in the San Diego Section playoffs to knock off unbeaten Ramona in the San Diego finale and top Orange El Modena last week.  Those wins came after blowout losses to Helix and Grossmont in the middle of the season.

Half Moon Bay (14-0), from the Central Coast Section, overlooks the Pacific and sits 57 miles South of San Francisco on Highway 1.  The also-named Cougars represent one of the oldest schools in the area, opening in 1909, and are members of the Peninsula Bay League.

The Central Coast is not regarded as one of the upper-echelon sections in California football, although the West Catholic League of San Mateo Serra, San Jose Village Christian, Mountain View St. Francis, and San Jose Bellarmine have solid, state-wide reputations.

The Half Moon Cougars received a 46.0 score from Cal Preps.com, while the Steele Cougars’ score is 42.8.

The Pick:  Steele Canyon 24, Half Moon Bay 20, @Southwestern College.

D4-A

The Pick:  Milpitas 31, @El Centro Southwest 35.

D-6A

The Pick:  San Francisco Galileo 30, @Calexico Vincent Memorial 45.

TRUE GRID

Folsom’s Cal Preps.com score is 73.6, Helix’ 67.5……Helix’ Cal Preps.com score dipped from 68.4 after Paraclete was shocked by Harbor City Narbonne, 50-14…San Diego teams came close to sweeping all six Southern California playoff games last week…Monte Vista was edged by Anaheim Katella, 36-35, after leading, 35-7, and El Camino was upset by Los Angeles Crenshaw, 13-10…Cathedral lost to Loomis Del Oro of the Sierra Foothill League, 22-12, in the season opener…Del Oro, 8-6 overall, was on the short end of a 54-10 score against Folsom…the Folsom state prison is 3.3 miles from the high school campus, opened in 1880, and was the first California lockup to have electricity…Milpitas (12-2) won its Northern championship, 52-38, over Moraga Campolindo, the team that overcame a three-touchdown deficit in the final seven minutes  to top El Capitan, 35-28, in the state final in 2014…Milpitas has a 38.7 Cal Preps.com score to 14-0 El Centro Southwest’s 38.2…San  Francisco Galileo (10-2) is the alma mater of O.J. Simpson…the Imperial Valley is hosting two championship games within five miles…El Centro Southwest is at home and Calexico Vincent Memorial (12-2) is playing at Calexico High….

Note:  Westlake Village Oaks Christian closed school today because of smoke and ash from the nearby wildfires. Helix is scheduled to play there Friday night, Dec. 7.

The field at Southwestern  faces south to North but the football moved east.

Helix, Steele Canyon, and Monte Vista, from the two Grossmont leagues in the foothills of San Diego County, won championships and El Centro Southwest and Calexico Vincent Memorial from the Far East in Imperial Valley also took home hardware.

El Camino, from the oft-ballyhooed Avocado League, provided a break in the trend.

All five division winners will move on to the Southern California championship “bowl series” games this week, prelude to the state championships Dec. 15-16.  Five qualifiers from Open through D-1A will play at Hornet Stadium on the Sacramento State campus.

The winner between Helix and Westlake Village Oaks Christian will go to Sacto for a game on Dec. 15.  Other division winners will compete Dec. 16 at sites to be determined.

The five other San Diego Section champions have been slotted in D-3A through D-6AA.

DIVISION I-AA

Placed in the highest alignment behind the Open Division, which will be settled by Santa Ana Mater Dei and Concord De La Salle on Dec. 16, Helix (12-1) is presented with another daunting challenge on the road, 165 miles away, unless evacuations and continual fire danger force a change of venue.

The Highlanders led favored Mission Viejo, 28-25, with two minutes remaining and had the ball, but a fumble recovered by the Diablos in Helix territory led to a 32-28 Mission Viejo victory in 2015.  The Orange County team went on to defeat San Jose Bellarmine, 24-0, and wrap a 16-0 season.

Oaks Christian is 12-2 and winner of its last nine after an uneven start in which the Lions lost their opener to West Hills Chaminade, 47-10, and a game 5, 38-20 decision to Murrieta Valley.  They’ve outscored their opponents by an average of 36-11 since and are No. 8 in Cal-Hi Sports’ Top 50.

Helix, which jumped from 20^th to Cal-HI’s 13^th this week, has solid quarterbacking in Carson Baker and can pound the ball with sophomore running back Elelyon Noa. The Scots will face the exponential need to protect the ball and play their game in what would be a hostile setting, much like 2015.

Their Cal-Hi rankings fairly close, both teams are closer in the analytics department.  Oaks has a computer score of 66.5, according to Cal Preps.com, Helix 65.5.

A nagging, Week 2 loss of 23-6 to Lancaster Paraclete, which lost to Oaks Christian, 30-21, seems to have cost Helix more in the ratings.

The Pick:  Helix 34, @Oaks Christian 28.

Winner meets Northern champion Fresno Central or Folsom.

D-3A

Steele Canyon (10-4), the seventh seed in the San Diego Section Open Division, won its last six after blowout losses of 41-7 to Helix and 51-14 to Grossmont, and knocked off top seed Ramona, 33-29, in the finals.  Orange El Modena (12-2) played in a softer North Hills League of Orange County.  Steele has a 41.4 Cal-Preps score, El Modena 40.

The Pick:  Steele Canyon 24, @El Modena 20.

Winner meets Northern champion Sutter or Half Moon Bay.

D-4AA

El Camino (8-5) overcame the loss of suspended coach Jerry Ralph, who had put the Wildcats in position for a run this season, and rallied behind Mike Hobbs, the former El Centro Central mentor, with strong play through the playoffs.  Crenshaw, a member of the weak Los Angeles Coliseum League, was beaten by Harbor City Narbonne, 48-7, in the L.A. City finals.

The Pick: @El Camino, 35, Crenshaw 21.

Winner meets Northern champion Placer or Salinas.

D-4A

El Centro Southwest (13-0) won its first championship since joining the San Diego Section in 2000 and was one of the three unbeaten finalists to survive last weekend at Southwestern (Ramona and San Diego, the two others, each went down).

San Joaquin Memorial (11-2) lost to Fresno Edison and Fresno Bullard, which finished a combined 13-12,  in league play but got hot with four playoff wins and will have to overcome an expected seven-hour trip of 430 miles down U.S. 99, through Los Angeles, east to Palm Springs and South to the Imperial County.

The Pick:  San Joaquin Memorial 30, @El Centro Southwest 27.

Winner meets Northern champion Milpitas or Moraga Campolindo.

D-5AA

Monte Vista (8-5) and coming hard, will play at an interesting venue, Anaheim’s Western High, better known as the alma-mater of Tiger Woods.  Coach Ron Hamamoto, with 218 career victories, will send big running back Jahmon McClendon against Anaheim Katella (12-1).

The Pick:  Katella 41, Monte Vista 28.

Winner meets Northern champion Oakland McClymonds or East Nicolaus.

D-6AA

Huntington Park (11-3) won the Los Angeles City Section after finishing third in the Eastern League.  Calexico Vincent Memorial (11-2) will be at home at nearby Calexico High.

The Pick:  Huntington Park, 27, Calexico Vincent Memorial 20.

Winner meets Northern champion San Francisco Gallileo or Rio Vista.

TRUE GRID

The dream season of San Diego High ended with a 71-48 loss in D-IV to Monte Vista..Monte Vista coach Ron Hamamoto, believe it or not,  coached a 71-48 Rancho Bernardo victory over West Hills in a 1999 playoff…the Monarchs’ Jahmon McClendon, a tall, upright runner in the mold of pro football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson, wore down the Cavers with 8 touchdowns…San Diego, which led, 22-21, in the second quarter, finished with a 12-1 record and tied the 1916 Hilltoppers team for most wins…Helix’ 26-19 victory over Mission Hills attracted a standing-room crowd of 9,304 to Southwestern College, not an easy place to get to on a Friday or Saturday night, but the best locale in the area, by far…Helix thus earned the No. 1 ranking in the final Union-Tribune poll….

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

NR: Not Ranked.

Others receiving votes:  La Costa Canyon (7-4, 39 points),  St. Augustine (7-4, 23), Monte Vista (8-5, 10),  The Bishop’s (9-1, 8), Oceanside (6-7,  4), Grossmont (7-4, 3).

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.

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.