Bloated playoff fields, minimal competition in some instances, such as three games to determine a winner, doesn’t diminish the team accomplishment.

So Hats Off to the eighteen San Diego Section league champions.

It’s been awhile for a few.

La Costa Canyon hasn’t claimed a title since 2011, Hoover and Oceanside since 2014, three others since 2016, and one since 2018.

Horizon Prep won its first in the seven-season school history.

*Hoover, Santa Fe Christian, Tri-City tied but won head-to-head matchups.
+First championship.
**Tied with San Marcos, Valley Center.

EAGLES SOAR

Granite Hills’ 90-46 victory over Grossmont was the eighth highest score by one team in County history.

The Eagles jumped to a 28-6 first quarter lead, then were staggered by a 28-13 Foothillers second quarter, leaving the halftime score at 41-34.

Coach Kellan Cobbs’ Eagles blew open the game with a 35-12 third quarter and finished with a relatively tame 14-0 final period.

Others with high scores

MAFFEI FEELS IT

John Maffei’s The San Diego Union Week 10 poll (the last until a final poll at end of season):
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes. Previous ranking in (italics).
Bold indicates latest. NR–Not ranked. MaxPreps‘ and Cal-Hi Sports‘ are state rankings.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
El Camino (6-4, 13 points), University City (9-1, 3),  Brawley (9-1, 4), Santa Fe Christian (9-1, 3), Christian (8-2, 3), Oceanside (7-3, 2), Holtville (10-0, 1).

VOTING PANEL

Twenty-nine sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from San Diego County, plus Max Preps.com.

• John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
• Don Norcross, Steve Brand, Rick Hoff, Kevin Farmer (Union-Tribune Freelance contributors).
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (CIF San Diego Section).
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, Chase Izidor (KUSI, Channel 51).
• Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
• Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
• Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
• Tom Helmantoler, (Southern Conference advisor).
• Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee).
• Mike Dolan, Joe Evangelist (San Diego Coaching Legends).
• Raymond Brown (sdfootball.net).
• Bodie DeSilva, John Kentera, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Dennis Ackerman, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (Freelance contributors).

The Webmaster

Mabel O’Farrell is on a roll.

The Falcons won their second consecutive game and fourth all-time last week, dating to 2018 and 54 losses.

Bruce Newland is Mabel’s third coach since the Falcons began playing football seven seasons ago.  The 27-6 win over Mountain Empire followed a 38-12 triumph over Rock.

Heady stuff for the squad from the area sometimes known as South Encanto.

O’Farrell’s only other victories were 24-12 at La Habra Whittier Christian in 2022 and 1-0 by forfeit over Orange Glen in 2023.

A junior high when it opened in 1959, the campus on Skyline Drive, about halfway between Lincoln and what would become Morse, O’Farrell eventually transitioned to a performing arts school and in 1994 took on charter status.

The Falcons were independents for three seasons and then were slotted into the Pacific League in 2021.  They moved in 2022 to the Sunset League.

Who was Mabel O’Farrell? Not much is known.

She reportedly was born in the 1870s and one report claimed she was on the San Diego Board of Supervisors (unsubstantiated) and was said to once seeking to open a school for wayward youth in the early 20th century.

SOUTH BAY TRADITION

Sweetwater, which opened as the National City School in 1910, was the only high school south of the San Diego City limits until 1947 and the Red Devils’ No. 1 rival was Escondido or Grossmont, first in the County League and then the Metropolitan.

Chula Vista opened its doors in September, 1947, in a temporary facility on the grounds of the Brown Field Airport, about 10 miles from its present site.

The Red Devils and Spartans met for the first time in that post World War II era and last week’s 28-12 Sweetwater victory marked the 78^th consecutive season the teams have gone head to head.

Sweetwater holds the series edge, 41 victories to 34.  Three games ended in ties.

MAFFEI FEELS IT

John Maffei’s The San Diego Union Week 10 poll:
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes. Previous ranking in (italics).
Bold indicates latest. NR–Not ranked. MaxPreps‘ and Cal-Hi Sports‘ are state rankings.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
El Camino (5-4, 10 points), Torrey Pines (4-5, 9),  University (8-1, 5),  Brawley (8-1, 4), Valley Center (7-2, 2). Santa Fe Christian (8-1, 2), El Centro Central (7-2, 1).

VOTING PANEL

Twenty-nine sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from San Diego County, plus Max Preps.com.

• John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
• Don Norcross, Steve Brand, Rick Hoff, Kevin Farmer (Union-Tribune Freelance contributors).
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (CIF San Diego Section).
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, Chase Izidor (KUSI, Channel 51).
• Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
• Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
• Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
• Tom Helmantoler, (Southern Conference advisor).
• Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee).
• Mike Dolan, Joe Evangelist (San Diego Coaching Legends).
• Raymond Brown (sdfootball.net).
• Bodie DeSilva, John Kentera, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Dennis Ackerman, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (Freelance contributors).

They were flying last week.

John Maffei, The San  Diego Union high school expert, noted the many infractions and uneven play in the Western League showdown between Lincoln and Cathedral.

“It was choppy,” observed Maffei.

Perhaps that was because there was an officiating crew of seven instead of the standard six.  Play was interrupted 19 times because of a penalty.

With the  27-7 victory (coach David Dunn’s 100th) Lincoln remained No. 1  in the weekly Top 10 voting and likely clinched top seed in the Open Division playoffs. San Diego Section bosses will use the Calpreps.com ratings formula to seed the 64 postseason teams in five divisions.  Two weeks remain in the regular season.

San Pasqual’s Tony Corley also won his 100th, 41-6 over Rancho Buena Vista.  Closing in are Granite Hills’ Kellan Cobbs (99) and La Costa Canyon’s Sean Sovacool (97).

HELIX CONTINUES TO DOMINATE 

At 2-5 against a blood rival, Helix might have finally appeared ready to be taken when the Highlanders lined up against 4-3 Grossmont, which hadn’t won in this vintage East County rivalry since George H.W. Bush was in office in 1991.

Not yet, Foothillers.  The Scots beat them for the 29th consecutive time, 56-26.  The once “Little Brother” Helix now leads the series, 48-18.

Helix opened in September, 1951, with morning-afternoon, double-session classes at Grossmont while the Highlanders’ campus on University Avenue in La Mesa was under construction.

MAFFEI FEELS IT

John Maffei’s The San Diego Union Week 9 poll:
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes. Previous ranking in (italics).
Bold indicates latest. NR–Not ranked. MaxPreps‘ and Cal-Hi Sports‘ are state rankings.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Torrey Pines (3-4, 16 points),  El Camino (4-3, 6), Imperial (8-0, 2), Valley Center (6-2, 1).

VOTING PANEL

Twenty-nine sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from San Diego County, plus Max Preps.com.

• John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
• Don Norcross, Steve Brand, Rick Hoff, Kevin Farmer (Union-Tribune Freelance contributors).
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (CIF San Diego Section).
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, Chase Izidor (KUSI, Channel 51).
• Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
• Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
• Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
• Tom Helmantoler, (Southern Conference advisor).
• Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee).
• Mike Dolan, Joe Evangelist (San Diego Coaching Legends).
• Raymond Brown (sdfootball.net).
•  Bodie DeSilva, John Kentera, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Dennis Ackerman, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (Freelance contributors).

Number 1 Lincoln is at No. 2 Cathedral and unranked Scripps Ranch visits No. 10 University City  Friday with the winners the likely  champions in the Western and Eastern leagues.

By the numbers:

Lincoln is No. 1 in the San Diego Section Top 10 and 13^th in the state, according to MaxPreps.  Cathedral is No. 2 and No. 24, respectively.  Lincoln has a 57.8 Calpreps rating and Cathedral 46.5.

Lincoln coach David Dunn will be seeking his 100^th career victory.

A win by Cathedral would be coach Sean Doyle’s 238^th, tying Doyle with the late Bennie Edens, Point Loma’s coach from 1955-97, one year after Doyle’s appointment at the school then known as University of San Diego High on Kearny Mesa.

Cathedral leads the all-time series, 22-10, but Lincoln won, 40-14, in 2023.

Scripps Ranch and University City represent the fourth pairing of 7-0 teams since 1980, according to web master Henrik Jonson. Other similar matchups were Monte Vista-Mount Miguel in 1984, Cathedral-La Jolla in 1991, and Ramona-Valley Center in 2009.

Jonson also pointed out that 274 teams in County history have begun the season with 7-0 slates.

Scripps Ranch leads the all-time series, 10-3, but the Centurions won, 33-30, in 2023.  Falcons coach Marlon Gardinera is 52-29 since 2017 and Paul Lawrence is 27-17 at U.C. since ’21.

CENTURY HONOR

One has entered the Coach 100 Club.  Two are pounding on the door. Two others could use strong finishes in the regular season or playoffs, or wait till next year.

Forty-seven San Diego Section coaches have won at least 100 games, led by Herb Meyer, ensconced in the distant reach of the coaches’ universe with 339.

Jack Mashin of Grossmont won more than 100 games when the Foothillers were in the Southern Section. The careers of Meyer, Chick Embrey, Gene Edwards, Birt Slater, and Edens also overlapped with the Southern Section (see Coach 100 Club).

Records for 2024 are in parenthesis.

MAFFEI FEELS IT

John Maffei’s The San Diego Union Week 8 poll:
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes. Previous ranking in (italics).
Bold indicates latest. NR–Not ranked. MaxPreps‘ and Cal-Hi Sports‘ are state rankings.

+Through Week 6.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Torrey Pines (3-4, 16 points), Scripps Ranch (7-0, 14). El Camino (4-3, 6) Imperial (8-0, 2), Valley Center (6-2, 1).

VOTING PANEL

Twenty-nine sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from San Diego County, plus Max Preps.com.

• John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
• Don Norcross, Steve Brand, Rick Hoff, Kevin Farmer (Union-Tribune Freelance contributors).
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (CIF San Diego Section).
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, Chase Izidor (KUSI, Channel 51).
• Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
• Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
• Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
• Tom Helmantoler, (Southern Conference advisor).
• Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee).
• Mike Dolan, Joe Evangelist (San Diego Coaching Legends).
• Raymond Brown (sdfootball.net).
•  Bodie DeSilva, John Kentera, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Dennis Ackerman, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (Freelance contributors).

MAFFEI FEELS IT

John Maffei’s The San Diego Union Week 7 poll:
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes. Previous ranking in (italics).
Bold indicates latest. NR–Not ranked. MaxPreps‘ and Cal-Hi Sports‘ are state rankings.

+Through Week 6.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
El Camino (4-2, 17 points), University City (6-0, 12), Brawley (6-0, 11) Mt. Carmel (5-1, 8)  Scripps Ranch (6-0, 6), Oceanside (3-3), Imperial (7-0, 2).

VOTING PANEL

Twenty-nine  sportswriters, sportscasters, administrators from San Diego County, plus Max Preps.com.

• • John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
  • Don Norcross, Steve Brand, Rick Hoff, Kevin Farmer (Union-Tribune Freelance contributors).
  • Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (CIF San Diego Section).
  • Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, Chase Izidor (KUSI, Channel 51).
  • Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
  • Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
  • Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
  • Tom Helmantoler, (Southern Conference advisor).
  • Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee).
  • Mike Dolan, Joe Evangelist (San Diego Coaching Legends).
  • Raymond Brown (SDfootball.net).
  •  Bodie DeSilva, John Kentera, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Dennis Ackerman, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (Freelance contributors).